SPECIAL NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING
AUGUST 26, 2024
Board members present: Gordon
Baldwin, Christine Dean, Mindy Ewing, Laurie Kirschner, Tracy MacMillan. Chick Barcellona
was unable to attend.
The meeting was called to
order at 7:04 p.m. It was confirmed that 33 households either had members
present or were represented by a proxy vote, establishing a quorum.
• Gordon opened the meeting by explaining this was a
special meeting to address financing for the dredging of the settling pond. He
gave a brief recent history of the sink hole in the Commons, the replacement of
a section of the drainage pipe that had failed, and he reminded residents that
the pipe and the settling pond are the responsibility of the South Cove HOA.
The cleaning and dredging of the settling pond is
maintenance required by Thurston County. There is some discrepancy about the
extent of the maintenance work that needs to be done on the pond to satisfy
County requirements, so for this year the Board has decided to dredge the pond
two feet and place riprap around the new section of pipe to prevent it from
sinking. This will show the County that SCHOA is acting in good faith to meet
the requirements for our settling pond. It is imperative that the new section
of pipe remain above water level to prevent the same backup that caused the
sink hole last spring. The board has accepted a bid from Howard Construction
and Excavating, LLC to do the necessary work, which will cost $10,667.55 and
can be completed before the rainy season begins.
• Tracy gave a brief Treasurer’s report, showing the
ending balance for calendar year 2024 to be $10,237.63. In
order to keep a balance of $10,000.00 in the bank account for
emergencies, there will need to be an assessment of $250.00 per residence/lot
for the pond maintenance. A motion was made by Ben Kirschner to assess each
residence/lot $250.00. It was seconded by Paul Martin. The vote was unanimous
in favor of the assessment.Tracy
will issue statements to be delivered to each residence. Payment will be
required within thirty (30) days.
• Gordon discussed the new requirement by the state of
Washington for every HOA to have a Reserve Study Plan in place by 2028 to show
that the HOA is financially healthy and has enough funds to cover the
infrastructure and financial requirements of each neighborhood. The Plan needs
to show that 100% of the infrastructure is budgeted and a 30
year plan is in place to grow funds for major projects. The repair of
the drainage pipe will need to be done within the next couple of years. That
cost will need to be reflected in the Reserve Study Plan. The Board has already
received one quote of $117,000.00 for placing a new pipe within the old pipe.
The Reserve Study Plan will be ready by the January Annual Meeting and will be
presented to the community so we may begin planning for this major
infrastructure project, and to start meeting this state requirement. January’s
meeting will require a serious financial discussion as we move forward. Failure
to establish a Reserve Study Plan and show financial health for SCHOA could
make the houses in our neighborhood unmortgageable.
• Tracy suggested forming a special committee to explore repair options and research possible help with financing the mammoth project of repairing the drainage pipe. This suggestion was met with approval. These members have signed up for the special committee:
Sandi Barcellona, Christine Dean, Nick Eilers, John Ewing, David Hamilton, Randy Kramer, Jamie McCarthy
A motion was made by Randy Kramer to adjourn. It was seconded by Roger Neal, with a unanimous vote in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 7:26 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Mindy Ewing, Secretary, on August 26, 2024