2023

July 17, 2023 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Ramona Skinner (Treasurer)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

Business:

• Christen is waiting for the financial forms (spreadsheet) from the county to submit her financial report.

• Christen is going to reach out to those community members who wanted to have another community picnic. 

Treasurer's Report:

• General fund $8337.95 

• Pier fund $1642.46

• Pier fee is $200 per boat. There are currently 3 homes that pay this fee. 

June 12, 2023 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Ramona Skinner (Treasurer)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

Business:

• The community picnic was a HUGE success!

Treasurer's Report:

• General fund $8334.53

• Pier fund $1442.46

• Pier fee is $200 per boat. There are currently 3 homes that pay this fee.

• Purchased 2 picnic tables and 1 bench.

May 8, 2023 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Ramona Skinner (Treasurer)

Business:

• A picnic table is now in the pavilion with signage; we may get another one.

• Community members have planned a community happy hour; flyers were distributed

• Pier and Dockage Rules were printed and given to Bill

• Insurance bill has gone up $5

April 10, 2023 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Ramona Skinner (Treasurer)

Business:

• The dumpsters will be here Wednesday 4/12 to Friday 4/14 at the cul-de-sac at Haskell Dr.

• Bill has been down at the pier and is pulled planks from the pier and shored up the fence at the pier. 

• Bill also requested the Pier and Dockage Rules that outline the rental fee to give to the boat owners who rent a pier space. 

• April 16 and 23 from 10:00-1:00 there will be clean-up days at the other community space to clear overgrowth to prepare to spread mulch on the paths. 

March 13, 2023 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Ramona Skinner (Treasurer)

Business:

• The dumpsters will be here Wednesday 4/12 to Friday 4/14 at the cul-de-sac at Haskell Dr.

• Christen filed the community taxes.

• Bill asked about adding a bench to the community property where the pier is located.

• Tair is working towards becoming a Watershed Steward and met with Christen to discuss having the community property as her project in working towards this. 

Treasurer's Report:

• The PO Box has been paid for another year.

• $4013.66 check from the disbursement of the taxes of the community was finally sent to the PO Box rather than a past president's home.

• The fee for the boat slip has been raised to $200 per year. Bill will be letting users know.

February 9, 2023 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Ramona Skinner (Treasurer)

• Tair Swepston (Board Member)

• John (Community Member)

Business:

• Christen put up new signs to stay off the pier.

• Christen will look into removing the fallen tree on the pier property.

• Tair will be taking a class in Watershed Stewarts regarding water conservation and she will look into grants to fix our bulkhead.

• Tair would like to see more people volunteer to spread mulch on the nature trail community property.

• Tair says that there are several dead trees on the nature trail community property. One supposedly fell and landed on power lines, causing the power to go out. She will get quotes to have them topped.

Treasurer's Report:

• The budget for fiscal year 2024 was approved by unanimous vote. It will go into effect on 7/1/23.

• The slip fees will be $200 per year.

• PO Box fees have gone up.

• The insurance bill did not go up.

Community Member Input:

2022

September 12, 2022 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

Business:

• Slip fees will increase next calendar year. A letter needs to be sent to inform the renters of this increase.

• It was suggested to have a community picnic at the pavilion to increase interest in this shared area.

• The fiscal year balance sheet is due to the county on September 28. Ramona is out of the country and is unable to provide the figures in order to submit the report.

• Updates on Bulkhead: Paul Spadaro, president of Magothy River Association, contacted Christen about how to address the bulkhead without replacing it. He shared photos of his yard and how he created a living shoreline.

• Treasurer’s Report: Ramona was not present at this meeting.

• Community Member Input: No community members present.

August 8, 2022 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Tair Swepson (Board Member)

Business:

• Mago Vista Road traffic study: MVCA has requested a review to be done down by Mago Vista Park.

• Possibility of gutters on pavilion (need to get a new quote—Billy was looking into this—last quote was $900)

• Possibility of picnic tables in pavilion: Home Depot has picnic table kits.

• Possibility of community event this fall: This event would be a great idea to get community members involved in our community.

• Dead tree concern in wooded property: This tree might fall on Tair’s property (shed and fence). Tall Trees would be a good company to get a quote from. We need 2 other companies to get a quote from.

• Status of wooded property trail (we need to get a new permit for cutting invasive): The permits are free.

• Updates on Bulkhead:

  • The bulkhead will cost us even though we could get grants. Approximately $13,000 is needed to possibly get things moving on the design phase.

  • We could possibly shore up the existing bulkhead with plants and not replace it. We need to raise the prices to dock the boats in order to maintain the pier.

• Treasurer’s Report:  Ramona was not present at this meeting.

June 13, 2022 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Ramona Skinner (Finance Officer)

Business:

• The slab at the pavilion has been fixed!

• Billy is going to get an estimate for new gutters to put on the pavilion.

• We are considering getting a picnic table, possibly sponsoring a table so we do not need to use the money in the account. There are picnic table kits for $169 each.

• The dumpsters will be in the cul-de-sac on 6/22-24

• We have not received the BGE bill. Ramona called and paid it.

• There is approximately $3000 left in the budget after the bills have been paid.

• Tair is concerned about a dead tree located behind her property, on the community property, that might fall into her yard.

2021

December 13, 2021 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

Business:

• Elections were held. Voting was unanimous.

  • Christen Brown—president, vice-president is vacant, Ramona Skinner—treasurer; Mary Cox—secretary, Tair Swepston—committee member

• Updates on Bulkhead: No new updates.

• Treasurer’s Report: Ramona was not present. We received approximately $4000 from AAC for property taxes.

• Community Member Input: No community members present.

• Next meeting, January 10, 2022, we will need to vote on the budget.

November 8, 2021 at 7:00pm

Meeting Cancelled--Voting postponed until December 13th meeting

October 11, 2021 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

Business:

• No new business. No money yet to repair the pavilion. The money should come in November.

• Committee elections will happen at the November meeting November 8 7:00.

• Updates on Bulkhead: No new updates.

• Treasurer’s Report: Ramona was not present. 

• Community Member Input: No community members present.

September 13, 2021 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Ramona Skinner (Finance Officer)

Business:

• The county has no bearing on the community properties we sell. We can sell properties but not buy properties. IF the property was sold the money can be used for the bulkhead repair.

• Update on Bulkhead: There are no grants available from the state but they can offer us an interest free loan.

• Treasurer's report: We have until September 30 to finish our fiscal year accounting. Pier fund is $272. The budget balance is $6139.58

August 9, 2021 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Ramona Skinner (Finance Officer)

• John G.

Business:

• The dumpster will be here next Monday August 16 by noon and remain until Wednesday August 18 at noon. Check our website for details.

• There is an unfamiliar fishing boat docked at the community pier.

• Treasurer's report: Balance $6172.04. BGE bill outgoing for $16.52. Pier Fund: $172 (after $1400 towards pier repair). The slab of the pavilion will be fixed once we recieve the first installment of tax funds from the county.

July 12, 2021 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

Business:

• Pier Repairs and Raising Dock Fees: $1400 from the pier fund went to repairs of collapsed section of pier. Dock fees are currently $100 per year. Discussed doubling the fee.

• Updates on Bulkhead: Christen sent emails to state agencies to see what funds might be available. Sometimes there are grants for communities. However these grants are highly competitive. Berrywood Community Association was able to get funds for their shoreline. 

• Community Member Input: Is it possible to sell one community property to fund the bulkhead? Could we remove the parts of the pier that are currently underwater at high tide?

• Treasurer’s report: Balance $6172.04. Pier Fund $172 (after paying $1400 for repairs for the pier where the boat slips are).

June 14, 2021 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Ramona Skinner (Finance Officer)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Carol C.

• John G.

Business:

• Landscaper: it was suggested by a resident that we change landscapers after a disagreement between them and the landscaper. We will get estimates before we set the next fiscal year budget. The current landscaper has managed our property for 10+ years without issue prior to this. We will reevaluate at the end of the year.

• Pavilion use: We are still planning to fix the slab since the budget was approved to do that. The Girl and Cub Scouts have been reserving it lately. A few of the lights were out and Billy replaced them. Estimate to fix the cement of the pavilion is approximately $7800.

• Pest issues: The county inspector came out today to inspect several properties. There have been many sightings of rats during the day. A resident provided tips to help mitigate the problem. They will try to get enough pamphlets from AAC Health Department to give to every household regarding actions homeowners can take to help get rid of the problem. We will also push out information on Facebook and the newsletter.

• Website: https://sites.google.com/view/birchwoodimprovement

• Treasurer’s report: Balance $6433. Pier Fund $1272. 

May 10, 2021 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Ramona Skinner (Finance Officer)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• John G.

Business:

• 3 days were used to clean up the vines off trees at the community property. We plan to dedicate 2 weekends in the fall and 2 weekends in the spring every year to continue work. Our Vegetation Management Plan is good for 1 calendar year. A lot of junk has been dumped back there. There is a large area of standing water. Christen proposed we use community money to buy Mosquito Dunk control to put in the standing water. 

• The landscaper was having issues cutting the lawn at the pier because of how the land was left by the contractors. The contractor came and filled in ruts reseeded and added hay May 10.

• August 16-18 dumpster in Haskell cul de sac.

• The landscaper has been paid in full for the season. The taxes have been filed.

• The new fiscal year starts July 1. New pavilion floor can’t be started until then.

• Estimate for gutters on the pavilion is $925.

• To fix bulkhead petition/proposal to change the purpose of our SCBD has to be approved by The Office of Law (AACO) before taking to community members for 50% community approval.

January 11, 2021 at 7:00pm

Virtual Meeting

Attendees:

• Christen Brown (President)

• Ramona Skinner (Finance Officer)

• Mary Cox (Secretary)

• Paula K.

• John G.

• Carol C.

Business:

• There was a unanimous decision to raise the annual tax rate for Birchwood homeowners to $94.58.

• It was stated that the BIA can not use current excess funds to go towards fixing the bulkhead.

• 2 estimates were given to repair the foundation of the pavilion. Pastrana and Sons was by far the cheapest and would cost $7800 to add 5” of cement on top of the current foundation.