FAIRWOOD WEST HOME

Minutes of Meeting

October 11, 2012
Board Meeting

The annual meeting of the Fairwood West Homeowners Association Board of Trustees was called to order at 7 pm on Thursday October 11th, 2012.  Trustees in attendance were Adrian Ryneveld, David Seely, Amrik Pandher, Eileen Richards and Brandy Bradford.  Also in attendance was Barb Simeona, Association Bookkeeper and 5 homeowners.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ MONTHLY REMINDERS ~

Fairwood West now has a Facebook page – please review it
for all kinds of interesting community news.

Visit the Fairwood West website located at www.fairwoodcommunitynews.com – Under the navigation bar, hover over “Communities” and select “Fairwood West." 
Here you can find meeting minutes, architectural request forms, CC&Rs and contact information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome – Association President Adrian Ryneveld welcomed everyone and explained the meeting format.

Board of Trustees Introduction – Each Board member introduced themselves.  Raymond Byrd, Treasurer was not in attendance.  He had made this known to the Board ahead of time.

Nomination of Candidates – It was noted that David Seely, Raymond Byrd and Eileen Richards were all on the paper ballot.

Adrian asked for any nominations from the floor.  He explained the requirements and explained the amount of time it takes to participate. 

Ms. Christine Sylvia was nominated from the floor.

Treasurer Report – Barb Simeona, Association Bookkeeper presented the 2012 performance to date in Mr. Byrd’s absence. 

2013 Budget Proposal – Barb Simeona, Association Bookkeeper presented the proposed 2013 budget. 

Question – Why are their two lines for legal fees?

Answer – We have normal Association legal fees and Covenant Enforcement legal fees.  We want to keep them separate for 2013 for ease in tracking.

Question – Do you bill back legal fees to the lot owners?

Answer – Yes we do.

Question – What is the amount currently owned by all homeowners.

Answer – Barb read the amount to those in attendance.  It is currently in excess of $30K the majority of which are in lien status.

Everything in the 2013 budget has been reviewed and cut back if possible.

It was explained to those in attendance that there is no budget for security patrol in the 2013.  If it were to be added the budget would have to increase by approximately $50K. 

Adrian explained that he is always asked what is being done about a security patrol.  When he explains that it can be brought back if the homeowner is willing to pay more dues to cover it the answer it met with hesitation.  The majority does not want to pay for it.  The Board does reserve the right to put security patrol back into place but not without the consequence of a significant dues increase of approximately double of what it is now.

Adrian also noted that has tested the City of Renton response time on police calls.  After a call to the Renton Police department it took them 6 minutes to be in his driveway.  He had run a similar test with the King County officers we had hired in the past and it was typically 10-12 minutes.  He feels this, along with a different attitude from the Renton Police department are a positive.

Election Results – Ballots were collected from those in attendance and added to the ones received in the mail.

The results are that the 2013 budget passes with a vote of 29 yes and 1 abstention.

The results of the vote for Board of Trustees are that each candidate received at least one vote and there were more open positions than candidates so each person is voted in.

Association Attorney Change –   Adrian explained that the Association is in the middle of changing attorneys.  He explained the reason why and where the Board is in the process.  All homeowner’s will be made aware of the change once a decision is officially made.

Questions and Answers –

Question – What is being done in the park?

Answer – Adrian explained that the plans are to move the playground equipment out of the lower park into the upper park.  Brandy is in the process of obtaining an official written proposal for the cost.  The money will be taken out of reserves if necessary and the contractor is the original builder of the equipment.

Questions – What about the sinkhole in the park?

Answer – The lower park has a sinkhole because the pipe that was installed some time ago has most likely corroded and collapsed to some degree.  Water is exiting out of the man-hole and is going into the stream that is beyond the boundary of the park.  King County contacted the Association and said they wanted to inspect the pipe that comes out Molasses Creek.  Currently water runs thru a pipe under Fairwood Crest - goes under the Seattle Public Utilities right-a-way and then enters our properties, under homes - continues under Fairwood Blvd then into the park where it exits.  The potential problem was if there was damage to the pipe it would be the individual owner’s responsibility along the way as well as for us in the park.  This could be very expensive to all involved. 

Adrian has been in contact with the Surface Water Management Department, the Engineering Department and Regan Dunn.  King County did a video survey and the results were to show where the legality rests.  Adrian argued it should not be the responsibility of the homeowners.  King County argued that there is no money to fix the problem.  The money that might be available is depended upon the damage.  

The official results of the video have not yet been released however the initial results were that the main pipe was ok.  It had a few cracks but nothing major.  The results now rest with an Engineering firm hired by King County for review.  This has been going on for approximately 6 months now. 

It is worth noting that if the park portion of Fairwood West were to be annexed into the City of Renton they would take care of the issue.

Question – It is the perception that Molasses Creek goes underground at the Fairwood Crest and is a King County Surface Water Management responsibility at the creek – so they must have an easement over our park correct?

Answer – No there is nothing on record of this nature with King County.  The creek is not a man made creek – the developer piped it in.  This item is on our radar and will continue to be worked on.

Question – When will the sprinkler system be turned off?

Answer – We have a company that winterizes it every year.  It is scheduled for October 15th.

Question - Can we talk about house maintenance? 
This homeowner drives up and down Fairwood Blvd all the time and still sees all kinds of covenant violations.  Dead trees, abandoned homes.  Is there a committee that goes around, tracks and sends out letters and fines?

Answer – Yes the entire Board takes responsibility of a section of the development.  The reviews are typically done beginning in the Spring and end right in the Fall.  The problem is that there are not enough Board members to take it all on.  The letter writing and fining process was explained further.

Question – Does there ever come a point when the Association hires the work done?

Answer – We do have that option – we have mowed abandoned lawns.  We then bill the lot owner.

Question – Is there a renter policy?

Answer – Yes there is and most landlords have complied with providing the required documents.

The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. after a motion was made, 2nd and approved to adjourn.

The next two monthly meetings of the Fairwood West Homeowners Association will be held on Thursday November 8th and Thursday December 13th, both at 7:00 p.m., at the Nativity Lutheran Church, 17707 140th SE in the portable building. 

All residents are welcome to attend. 

Respectfully Submitted,
Barb Simeona