August 19, 2010 Board Meeting

 

NOTICE

Pursuant to Article VI, Section 1 of the Bylaws of the Brittany Lakes Homeowners Association, Inc. a meeting of the Directors was duly called and held on August 19, 2010 at theLeague City  located at 1700 Brittany Bay  Boulevard in League City, TX 77573.

IN ATTENDANCE

In attendance representing the Brittany Lakes HOA Board of Directors were, Tor Savidge, Ron Wright, Todd Edwards, John Dunn and Greg Ellis. Also in attendance representing Spectrum Association Management was Jennifer Roberson and the owners listed on the sign-in.

DETERMINATION OF QUORUM

A quorum of Board members was announced and the meeting was called to order at 6:37pm.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

CAMSTAT- JOHN DUNN/LEAGUE CITY P.D.

Director Dunn introduced officers with the League City police department who were in attendance to review CAMSTAT survey results for Brittany Lakes. Officer Pena reviewed survey results for the community which indicated a list of items noted as being areas of concern for the community. The homeowners were given an opportunity to ask questions of the officers present as it related to neighborhood concerns. Director Edwards inquired on how to report suspicious activity and LCPD advised that owners could make reports on their website atwww.lcpd.com and it goes to on-beat officers who can review any suspicious activity. Director Edwards also inquired on the enforcement of parking on restricted Association property (and citing motorized vehicles on the same restricted areas) and LCPD advised that if there are signs posted and the Association were to get a power-of-attorney and provide this to LCPD, they could enforce inappropriate parking of resident vehicles. League City P.D would like to determine the primary area of concern for the community for 2010, due to the limited attendance of owners, the Board requested that a decision on 2010 primary focus be postponed and put to owners via the website to ensure a larger response.

CENTERPOINT- GAS LINE EASEMENT

Representatives from Centerpoint Energy met before the Board to discuss their plan to install a gas line loop in the community to facilitate in providing better gas service to residents in the area during cooler months. The Board was presented with a map and description of the area to receive the easement. The Board requested to have the easement paperwork reviewed by the Association’s attorney to ensure the Association would not incur any liability for allowing the gas line in the reserve area.

LAKE- TOR SAVIDGE/MUD DISTRICT 6 REP. WILLIAM HEINS

Director Savidge introduced MUD District 6 Board member Williams Heins who was present to discuss a new neighborhood coalition group he is in the works of developing for the Westside of League City. Mr. Heins’ coalition is meant to ensure that communities in the area are able to express their needs and prioritize items that need attention and he wants Brittany Lakes to become a member of this coalition and join the 3 communities that are currently on Board. Director Savidge also requested that Mr. Heins discuss the matter of how the MUD’s construction fund would/would not be an appropriate source of revenue for resolving the Association’s bulkhead issue. Mr. Heins abstained from responding on the MUD’s use of the construction fund as he advised he could not speak for the MUD Board but advised that the Association’s best options were to pursue all possible avenues for repair with his most favorable option being the American Canal.

IRRIGATION SUMMARY REPORT

Present at the meeting was Rick Hettrick with Earthcare Management who was in attendance at the request of the Board, to discuss the irrigation report previously provided to the Board. Mr. Hettrick provided a breakdown of previous year’s expense on irrigation maintenance and advised the Board that the length of the report includes all areas of the community irrigation system which includes 225 zones and is the work needed to bring the system current. Mr. Hettrick also provided the Board a breakdown of the work he would complete along with the other repairs, at no cost to the Association which amounts to an ~$1500 savings. Director Savidge inquired on what could be done to improve the overall aesthetic of the park area as much of the areas appeared to be bare. Mr. Hettrick advised that his recommendation would be to get the system up and running and then move forward with fertilizing as many of the areas in the park are not getting water due to repairs needed in the system. In addition to the irrigation report, the Board also reviewed proposals sent from ECM in regards to securing the valve fixtures throughout the community to reduce the possibility of vandalism and extra expense for replacing parts of the valves. The Board thanked Mr. Hettrick for his attendance and advised that they would follow-up to advise on what repairs should be completed. Director Ellis reviewed the 2011 budget and noted that the 2011 budget draft will have to have the irrigation system line item adjusted to account for the monthly estimate of maintenance ECM provided in addition to the installation and maintenance of the new system down Landing. Director Savidge requested that the matter of the irrigation repairs be tabled for further Board discussion. Director Ellis approved the matter being tabled until Monday when the Board must have a final vote on their direction for system repairs.

LAKE METER REPORTING

Attending the meeting to review the water well meter reporting was Mike Prado with Hurricane Lake Management who was present at the request of the Board. Mr. Prado provided an overview of how the meters are monitored and read. Director Ellis inquired on the 2010 Subsidence District report and advised that he was concerned for the validity of the report as the numbers provided for 2010 did not come close to the permit use of water estimated in 2009 and as such, put the Association at risk for being fined. Mr. Prado and Director Ellis discussed the meter placement and Mr. Prado advised that the meter was actually not placed at the large lake as Director Ellis had assumed and instead, the meter read from the small lake up front to the irrigation system so that explained the difference in numbers. Mr. Prado and Director Ellis will correspond directly to develop a better water usage estimate and correct any errors in the 2010 Subsidence Report and get a new report submitted for 2010.

ARCHITECTURAL- TODD EDWARDS

Director Edwards advised that the Board has met 3 times and they have one final meeting before their draft of the ARC guidelines were complete and ready for review by the Associations attorney.

BEAUTIFICATION

Director Edwards advised that he has been in contact with the rep. from Lynn’s Landscape in regards to arranging a meeting to review the irrigation system install, tentatively set to begin in September. Due to the lack of plans for the current system, the Board discussed the possibility of asking ECM to attend the meeting with the Beautification committee and Lynn’s Landscape as they would also be responsible for maintaining the system once it’s in.

COMMUNICATIONS

No Report.

NEWSLETTER

No Report.

HOMEOWNER FORUM

The homeowners present were given the opportunity to discuss any of their questions or concerns. An owner inquired on if the signs around the lake area had been fixed and they were advised that they had been repaired as of Wednesday. An owner also inquired on who cuts along the reserve area off of Brittany Lakes Dr. and the owners were advised that the City maintains that area so requests for service should be directed to them.

MINUTES

The Board of Directors reviewed the previous meeting minutes. The Board was advised that all previously noted areas of change had been made. Director Dunn motioned to approve the minutes as presents and was seconded by Director Savidge. The motion passed and was unanimously approved approving the July meeting minutes as presented.

FINANCIAL REPORT

The Board of Directors was provided information the Association financial report as of July 31, 2010. Director Savidge requested that a compiled meeting packet be sent to the Board before the meeting so they can review all the items before the meeting. Director Ellis inquired on the status of the changes for the 2010 reserve study. The Board was advised that RDA had been advised to hold off on generating the final draft report due to Director Savidge’s indication that he wanted to make changes. Director Savidge indicated that he wanted to see about including the work for repairing the bulkhead but did not have a definitive figure for the repair work to provide in the reserve study and was also concerned with including it in the reserve as he did not want to indicate the assumption of any liability for the repair by the Association. Director Savidge was advised that the reserve study was not a binding document in which the Association was required to budget and plan as laid out rather it was a planning tool to assist in ensuring the financial stability of the Association. Director Savidge will work with the Lake Sub-committee to get a contractor out to provide an estimate on the cost of repairing and will provide this figure to Spectrum for forwarding to the reserve study company. In the meantime, Director Ellis has requested that Spectrum request an extension on the deadline for requesting changes to the reserve study without the Association incurring any additional expense.

NEW BUSINESS

2010 COMMUNITY GOALS REVIEW

The Board reviewed their previous 2010 goals to determine their effectiveness. The Board noted that the bulkhead, irrigation system and ARC guidelines previously placed on the 2010 goals list are all items being worked on however the matter of the common-area fencing was still left. Director Edwards noted that the issue they are facing is that the fences are homeowner property and so in order to address the dilapidated state of some of the fences, they are ensuring that clear guidelines for fences are placed in the ARC document they are constructing. Director Savidge noted that he wanted to still go with the suggestion of sending out a 30-day letter alerting owners that the Association was going to stain the fences for the owners. Director Edwards notes that the issue of the fences has progressed beyond simply staining the fences and now become an issue of complete replacement as staining will not resolve the issue of those fences that are badly in need of being replaced. The Board discussed possibly taking on a 50/50 ownership of the perimeter fence however they noted that the increase in maintenance expense for this partial ownership would not be fair to those owners who were  not on the perimeter and could not benefit from the maintenance of these fences directly. Director Ellis proposed instead of considering a replacement, staining or waiting for owners to resolve their fence issues by deed restriction enforcement, that the Association plant shrubs all along the perimeter fence that will grow to block out the direct view of the fences behind them. Director Edwards stated he would have to review other neighborhoods who have done the same thing to see how effective the shrubs are in improving the aesthetic of the fence. The discussion of the fence was tabled for future discussion.

CITY OF LEAGUE CITY WATER MAIN ADDITION

The Board reviewed the easement request from the City in regards to installing a new water main line at the cul-de-sac of Slider Ct. Director Ellis advised the work is already happening. Director Ellis motioned and was seconded by Director Dunn to approve the easement for the City for the water main. The motion carried and was unanimously approved.

TENNIS COURT REPAIRS PROPOSAL

The Board reviewed the proposal sent from CL Sports for replacing the damaged backboard in the tennis court as well as replacing the damaged windscreens. The Board requests that other companies be surveyed to see if anyone can do the work for cheaper. Spectrum will obtain new price quotes.

COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE

The Board noted that the First Annual Community Garage Sale will be held August 28th, 2010 and owners will have the option to hold their sale at their houses or they can come and set-up at the community park in a flea market fashion to promote more buyer foot traffic. Advertising has been done through the Galveston County Daily News and also the Greensheet. One homeowner suggested seeing about putting in an advertisement in the Houston Chronicle for the Bay area. Director Ellis noted that there was still ~$150 left in the garage sale that will pay for any needed advertising.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

The Board went into executive session at 9:17pm.

NEXT MEETING DATE

September 16th, 2010, 6:30pm.

ADJOURNMENT

With all business discussed and no other or new business presented to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20pm.

___________________________   ___________________________

Authorized Signer                  Jennifer Roberson

Brittany Lakes Homeowners          Managing Agent
Association , Inc.