Meadowview of Glastonbury Homeowners' Association
Meeting Minutes

06/12/2000

Meeting:   Minutes of Homeowners’ Association Annual Meeting

Date:  June 12, 2000

Chaired by:  Jean Lareau, President of Homeowners’ Association

Minutes recorded by:  Paul Murray, Secretary of Homeowners’ Association

1.      Introduction of Officers

2. Roll Call of Attendees

·         65% of households (31 of 48) represented at the meeting.

3.   Recap of Formation of Executive Board & Officers

·         Solicited volunteers for the offices via a letter and nomination form.

·         Only one nomination received for each office (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer)

·         By-laws note that the Executive Board consists of three people who direct the actions of the officers of the Association.  Due to only receiving nominations to cover the four offices, we decided to combine the function of the officers and the Executive Board.

·         By-laws note that 80% turnout is needed to validate results but no ballot was distributed to residents as only one nomination received for each position; letter distributed announcing the formation of the board and the officer names.

·         By-laws note that the board members need to rollover every three years.  The current board will need to determine the specifics of how to accomplish.  Recommendation from homeowners to rollover a couple of positions a year to ensure some overlap and continuity to the board.  

4. Recap of Turnover from Creative Communities

·         Board met with Allen Cohn and received Homeowners’ Association documents and finances.

·         The board noted that Creative Communities/Allen Cohn is the builder and any homeowner issues need to be addressed directly with him.  The board does not have the authority or responsibility to pursue Creative Communities or Allen Cohn to address issues with any part of the development; that is negotiated between the builder and the town.

5. Recap of Association Finances

·         Association fees are fully up-to-date for 1999.

·         Billing for the 2000 fees has been mailed to all residents; payment due upon receipt.

·         Association responsibilities:

o        Landscaping of common area

o        Electrical/streetlights

o        Insurance for common area

o        Incidentals (mailings, etc.)

·         The board will prepare a summary of financial responsibilities and will provide to homeowners upon request.

6.   Meeting Location

·         Subsequent Association meetings will be held in Glastonbury.

·         Some residents offered locations; the board will follow-up on these suggestions for the next full Association meeting.

7.   New Business

President – Jean Lareau

·         Role of officers is to help with community issues.  The community property is our focus.

·         All residents should have received a copy of the Association By-Laws at their closing.  If a copy is needed, residents should contact the officers.

·         All residents should read the By-Laws and contact the officers if there are any questions.

·         Residents who need items completed for their house or lot should contact Creative Communities or their subcontractors to ensure the work is completed to their satisfaction.

·         The bio-filter has sand in it and the town environmentalist has indicated that Creative Communities should clean it out now.  The environmentalist also indicated this would need doing every two years so this effort will need to be added to the Association budget.

Treasurer – Peter Ellis

·         Budget – annual fees are $180 for each of 48 homes.  This brings in $8,640 each year.

·         As noted above, expenses are:

o        Electricity/streetlight; expense covers the cost of running and maintaining the streetlights.

o        Landscaping of the common area; put out to bid and the lowest bid accepted. 

o        Insurance on the common area.

·         Additional expense will be snow clearing for common area sidewalks (along Neipsic Road) in the winter and bi-annual cleaning of the bio-filter (as noted above).

·         Budget was ratified by meeting attendees.

Vice President – Evelyn Galiano-Putnam

·         Committees will be formed and the officers are looking for recommendations – examples include gardening, neighborhood watch.

·         Cards will be provided to each household requesting contact information.  The information will be used for:

o        an “officer’s listing” (to be held confidentially by the officers to contact residents in case of emergency)

o        a “directory listing” (optional for all residents; to be distributed to all members of the Association).

Secretary – Paul Murray

§         An e-mail address has been established for the Association:  meadowviewofglastonbury@yahoo.com

§         Officers are also looking into establishing a web site to post all meeting minutes; residents will be notified when this occurs.

§         Mailing address for the Association is P.O. Box 321, Glastonbury, CT  06033.

8.   Questions

·         What does the common area insurance cover?

o        J.Lareau to follow up with insurance agent to get the certificate of insurance; information will be made available to all residents.

·         Will the grass in all common areas be cut?

o        Yes, the landscaper will be shown all the common areas and will maintain them.

·         What will be done with the “bio-filter” area?

o        Need to check with the town environmentalist.

·         Will the board consider a “reserve budget” for items that may need to be replaced in the future (for example, sidewalks)?

o        The officers will consider this.

·         R.Scalise asked that anytime the officers, as an administrative matter, change the approach noted in the by-laws we need to document our change in approach (see Article XV, p.15 of the By-laws).  He suggested a note in meeting minutes could accomplish this.  This applies to the following changes made or contemplated:

o        combining of Executive Board and Officers

o        billing the Association fees annually instead of monthly

o        the changeover of officers (once determined)

o        providing absentee ballots ahead of time to improve nomination/election response.

·         Several residents asked if items (for example: swingsets, pools, basketball hoops, invisible fences) can be put in the common areas. 

o        Initial response is that the board must approve the placement of any item in the common area.

o        Issue of impact on current insurance premiums was raised.

o        Also raised was the issue of items in the common area that could cause an increase to insurance premiums if there was an accident – consensus was that no items should be placed in the common area .

o        That decision raised the issue of a swingset and an invisible fence which are in the common area – the board needs to determine how to address these items.  J.Lareau to check with the insurance agent for any impact.

§         How can conflicts between residents be handled?

o        Residents can contact officers of the Association to help resolve a dispute.

§         Is the Homewowners’ Association a “not-for-profit corporation?”  There are tax implications here.

o        J.Lareau to determine.

9.     Adjournment

·         Officers thanked residents for participating in the meeting.

·         Residents thanked officers for their service.

·         The first Meadowview of Glastonbury Homeowners’ Association Annual Meeting was adjourned.