NOTE: Although we usually do not publish draft, unofficial Board meeting minutes, our April meeting was closed due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Below is the Draft, unofficial meeting minutes for our website. During our May meeting we will be voting to approve them.
Hickory Woods Board of Directors Virtual Meeting Minutes
April 15, 2020 (Wednesday) 1:30 PM
Attendees:
Board members: Philip Lee, Rick Newman, Bob Medeiros, Nancy Shearer, Pat Hoopes.
New Star Attendees: Tim Wedge, Sarah Scribner
Clubhouse Committee Chair: Bob McGrath (left meeting after his report)
Meeting called to order at 1:33 PM by Philip Lee
- Review of February 19, 2020 minutes: Motion made and seconded; all present Board members accepted February minutes.
- March meeting was canceled due to Covid-19 virus
- Review of February and March 2020 financials:
* March financials: Overall the financials for March were favorable.
Variances were due to Legal expenses and Water bill. The rental fee of Fire Hydrants increased. Rental fees for Fire Hydrants have increased by $149 per month which will results in an unfunded deficit of $1800 by the end of the year. At this point, the contingency fund has not been touched. A motion was made and seconded to accept the March 2020 financials. All board members accepted the March 2020 financials.
* February financials: Overall the financials for February were also favorable. Variances were due to Legal expenses and a fire alarm repair in the clubhouse.
A motion was made and seconded to accept the February 2020 financials.
All board members accepted the March 2020 financials.
- Management Report:
* Walkabout with Philip Lee, Nancy Shearer and Rick Newman as well as Tim Wege (New Star) and Jason Dumayne (Alliance) was completed on April 8, 2020. The purpose was to assess for plow damage.
* Spring cleanup has started
* Loam with seed has been put on all thin areas including driveway edges
* Golf nets have been hung
* All 3 lights for the American flag have been replaced and were warrantied
* The ceiling fan in the room adjacent to the library has been hung
Board Comments:
* Damage due to plowing will be addressed with Alliance. There should be improved supervision and training.
* Tim to check quote to see if switch was included in the original quote for the installation of the ceiling fan. Currently the switch only turns power to fan & light, the pull cords regulate light brightness and fan speed.
* Since they are considered Capital expenses, payment for the fan and lights around the American flag will come from Reserve funds not Operation funds. - Clubhouse Committee Report (Bob McGrath):
* Pickleball court nets will be hung shortly
* A new cup holder on exercise bike has been ordered and will be replaced once received
* Bob has placed 3 additional disinfectant spray bottles with paper towels in the rooms on the top floor in case these rooms are used.
* The treadmill thought to need replacement of the belt was found to have the motor housing improperly secured. This seems to have fixed the problem. The committee will continue to monitor.
* The cleaning company has increased cleaning coverage including wiping down all handrails, counter and table tops, door knobs and push bars with disinfectant. Additionally, they are wiping down all exercise equipment. There are no additional charges for these extras.
* The supply room door has been locked.
* Dog waste has been found in the clubhouse trash bin
* Board discussion regarding outside facilities:- Patio furniture will not be brought outside
- Grill will be disconnected
- No guests will be allowed to use any outside facilities
- Nancy will send out a message to the community
5. Application for improvement requests:
a. 1 Quarry Road: Request for window in basement was approved by Board email vote on March 20, 2020. The window is in the back of the unit and matches existing windows.
b. 16 Black Forest Circle: Front gutter request approved as routine
c. 27 Quarry Road: Extensive landscaping and patio request. Will resubmit broken up into smaller pieces of work. Because of seasonal timing, the Board will vote on the request via email. The next Board meeting is not until May 20, 2020.
d. 9 Quarry Road: request to place shrub in front. AAI request is not required contingent on shrub being placed in existing mulch bed.
Old Business:
- Outcome of matured CDs:
88K Capital Reserve CD has been rolled over with Enterprise at 2% interest for 18 months
70K Capital Reserve CD was with Enterprise and is now with Primary Bank for 2%, 18 months. We were close to the limit the FDIC insures so the money was broken up in 2 different banks. - 11K was left in the Capital Reserve money market account. This fund is increased every monthly by 4K from our monthly HOA dues.
- There is 25K in a Fidelity account that still has Brian’s name on it. This will be changed to Bob but has been delayed due to the current virus situation.
- A motion was made and seconded to accept the CD plan above via email. All board members accepted the CD plan via email communication.
- Many thanks to Bob Medeiros who was instrumental in securing the rates of 2% prior to the Covid-19 effect on the banking industry. Current rates are about 1.1%. Prompt action by our Treasurer gained us $2120 in additional income over the life of these CDs.
- Financial Review
New Star provided a copy of a review for the Board to consider. This was just provided a short time ago and the Board has not had adequate time to review. The Board will table this discussion until the next Board meeting. - Reordering of Electronic Files:
- All Board members have reviewed their sections
- Philip has moved the files into a new Google access
- Nancy has reviewed the files
- The remainder of the Board will review to ensure no documents have been lost
- Once everyone is in agreement, Nancy will move currently held documents into new filing system
- Standard Operating Procedure for Additions, Alterations and Improvements:
* All Board members approve the version sent on April 9, 2020. Nancy will finalize the document and send to Sarah as well as post in new electronic files.
* The standardized approval letter will be sent to Sarah for comments
Legislative actions: Pat Hoopes and Bob Medeiros will be the Board liaison for the Londonderry Senior Community Coalition and for the state level legislation activity.
CAI membership: Membership will be assumed by Rick Newman once the current membership for Bob Medeiros expires.
New Business:
Spring Walkabout: The Board will be sending a letter to Alliance to address the snow plow damage to curbing and driveways this year. The damage was more extensive this year in comparison to previous years. The letter is to request improved training and supervision of workers. Additionally to increase staking to allow improved visualization for plow drivers.
Alliance proposal: A new proposal for $2875 was received for the removal of the horseshoe pit and the removal of shells in the bocce court. This quote was $1,000 higher with the addition of the shell removal.
* Tim will follow up with other vendors to see if the cost of shell removal can be reduced.
Reserve study update:
Per Reserve Study, the next review would be scheduled in 2023 at a cost of $4502.00 The Board will determine if this is necessary in 2023 after we obtain some further detail on what the update includes.
TEAM engineering evaluation of Tavern Hill Road, Church Lane and Black Forest Circle at the Tavern Hill intersection:
* This will help determine if the above mentioned roads will need replacement prior to the date projected on the Reserve Study.
* This will help determine if substandard materials were used in construction
* This will help determine if construction equipment shortened the life of these roads. Construction equipment needed for later buildout of our community could have used unpaved roads by entering via West Road.
The cost of this evaluation is $2500.00. A motion was made to have TEAM engineering proceed with the evaluation, this motion was seconded and all Board members approved this expenditure.
Shotgun or Artillery fungus from mulch: Nancy asked Tim to follow up with Jason to see if this is an issue with the mulch they will be using.
Turn lane at Cross Farm It is unclear if there is a turn lane being constructed at Cross Farms. This was requested of our developer for Hickory Woods and denied. Bob Medeiros will contact Londonderry Town Engineer to see if a turn lane is being constructed.
Adjournment: 2:49 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Shearer (Secretary)
Hickory Woods Board of Directors