These notes are provided by volunteers and are not official minutes or part of the Board’s functions.
The HOA meeting on April 19, 2021 opened at 7:08 PM
David announced that we were now in Open Session. David established the quorum. All Board members were present except for Anthony.
A motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting was made and seconded and unanimously passed.
Management Report:
Summarization of item approved via unanimous consent since last meeting:
- Resetting light pole
- Two benches in the sport area
- Rewiring playground
- Installation of new French doors in clubhouse
- No first notice letters were sent between Dec 15th and January 10th as a goodwill gesture.
- Homeowner built a fence with NO ACC approval. Will send them the form and if it is not submitted within 15 days the BOD will complete the form and the homeowner will be charged for it.
- Rental for clubhouse will now be $150. Most of that is for cleaning. BOD will get additional quotes from other cleaning services. Any damages will be billed to homeowner and homeowner will not be in good standing until those charges are paid.
Ransom indicated that dues collected is at 94% which is the same as it was at this time in 2020 and 2019.
Attorney letter concerning recording meetings:
David could not find the letter so he asked Ransom to read it. Letter states that no one can record without prior written approval. Attorney does not think that it is appropriate. The penalty for unauthorized recording will be banning the homeowner from future HOA meetings. David indicated that the D & O (insurance that protects the Board of Directors) deductible increased from $5,000 to $15,000. Attorney says that the recordings cause a liability. Candy said we need to follow the attorney’s recommendation. David indicated that the newsletter is nice but it is not approved by the board. He has scanned the newsletter a few times. He feels certain that the meeting is being recorded as they have been in the past. Randy said we should take it to the community for their opinions. Mark said VW Connected is doing a tremendous job for the community and that it is impossible to write everything said. They do not give all the details but the board minutes do not give any of the discussion that leads to the decision. David wants to hear from Rosa during Open Session since she is an attorney and she is running for the board. Ransom has no opinion but said that other associations have asked people to leave if they are recording. This is tabled until after Open Session.
Annual Meeting: Will be held on June 2nd (public or virtual was not discussed). Notice for Solicitation of Candidates will be mailed on May 3rd. Ballots will be mailed on May 13th.
Gate Access: Software is in. HP computer was ordered on March 11th and will ship on May 9th and delivered on May 13th. Once it arrives, the data will be imported.
Portable Lifeguard Stand: Was approved and has been purchased for $2,149
Clubhouse Improvements: We are working on getting everything from contractors. Everything has been approved except for painting. $17,500 has been approved and work will start May 1st. Not included in the approved amount but need to be replaced is the stove, refrigerator and microwave. Painting will be decided later. Mark recommends Arturo at Memorial Paint. Candy wants to make sure it is not water based.
Wrought Iron Fence: We have been cited by the city for having more than a 4” gap. This has been repaired. Ransom will send David the permit that needs to be posted. We have a quote to sand and paint and replace 100 ft of rusted railing. Candy feels that this needs to be done last. Tabled until everyone can go look at it. This is not urgent.
Wood Deck: This small deck to the right of the club house needs to be stained. The only quote received is too steep. Tabled until more reasonable quotes are received.
Playground: Homeowners have suggested a climbing wall. Received quotes of several different kinds but David doesn’t feel that we need any of these. Parents are also wanting a fence to be installed from the end of the tennis courts to the neighboring homes to prevent the children from running into the street. David felt like a 6 ft fence with gate access would be nice and secure our equipment. Mark suggested a 4 ft fence with no access card as it would be easier for babysitters, etc. David agreed but concerned about people not living here using our facilities. Tabled for further discussion.
Pool Pump Equipment Area: Received bid from McKenna but it does not meet the specs of what the pool committee wants. One bid for $26,000 and the budget is $15,000. Building materials have sky rocketed and it is like pulling teeth to get quotes. John Respess wants David and Ransom to get the quotes based on their specs. John Respess is to send the specs to Ransom.
Clean out drain: Cameras were run through the cleanout drain and there is some damage caused by roots. Was able to backwash and capped a pipe to keep trash from going into the pool. This is a temporary fix. Pool actually looks better than it has in a long time. We are not replacing the coping around pool or the pool deck.
Trespassing: David said that the constables have indicated that we should not approach or engage with someone that we think may be trespassing. We should call the constable and let them handle it. They will not ask for an address but will ask to see their access card. They will ask them to leave if they do not have one. The constables will not arrest them for trespassing unless a board member approves. All guests must be accompanied by a homeowner (resident) and if the homeowner leaves, the guests must leave. There was discussion about limiting the number of guests but that was tabled for further discussion. At the pool, it states that anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
American Pool Spring Cleaning: Can scratch off the portable life guard stand as we purchased it ourselves for $600 less. Do not need the sand filters until the pipes are fixed. Mark and David and anyone else on the board can meet and decide if anything else needs to be eliminated. Tabled until further review.
Sprinkler System: A lot more power. New heads and control panel is in. They are supposed to be finished by Thursday. They will test and adjust heads then.
Open Session:
Homeowner 1:
- Asked for extra time as the board wanted to hear her comments concerning recording the meeting. Yes, she is one of the founding members of VW Connected and we are not sanctioned by the board. One of the main reasons that the newsletter felt it necessary to communicate meeting summaries was that many months would go by without the Board posting any official minutes to the HOA website. We do a meeting Recap and do not present them as minutes. We have restaurants offering discounts. Recordings back up our timely reporting for accuracy. We have received nothing but positive feedback. Threatening punishment for recording is a little extreme. Has the attorney recommended amending our bylaws to prevent recordings or is his letter supposed to be sufficient? David indicated that the board wants a disclaimer on the VW Connected newsletter and Webpage. He was told there were disclaimers already in place. Homeowner advised the board that recording meetings is address under Section 209 of the Property Code. Mark suggested that the Board authorize VW Connected to record. Mark added that it is Board members who should be prohibited from recording because there are privacy issues and liability in the executive session. Homeowner sees authentic and complete recordings as a protection against altered or edited ones, rather than a liability. Just as Board members are volunteers, VW Connected are volunteers also.
- Has board decided how we are going to handle election? Nothing decided yet.
- Iron Fence gate on Woodland Park. Outsiders are going in and out of that gate. It is corroded at the top. Is this gate necessary? David indicated that this needs to be a priority. We removed the gate that went onto the tennis courts.
- Trespassing on basketball court is a huge issue. David says he calls the constables daily and asked them to hang out in front of the clubhouse once school lets out until dark.
Homeowner 2:
Homeowner walks every morning and night. Around 8:45pm she saw the constable sitting in his vehicle and she also saw 3-4 young men playing on the dark court. They were very rude and said David allowed them to play here even though they don’t live here. David said they started to film him and take pictures of his car. Then they recorded the constable. They started by playing with a nice boy in the neighborhood but now they come back without him. David said we have made a lot of progress but do NOT approach them but call the constable.
Homeowner 3:
- Believes that recordings should be allowed for accuracy for both the Recap and for the Minutes.
- Even when the meetings are in person in the clubhouse or outside, he feels like Zoom should also be an option in order to increase participation. Mark responded that it would be difficult to capture the dynamics of an entire room using Zoom.
Homeowner 4:
Signs to announce the meetings has been brought up since last October and it is now April and nothing has happened. Candy will check and see if we still have the signs. Since method of meetings has changed the old signs would be useless.
Homeowner 5:
- Since we will be on a new Gate Access System, will we be receiving new access cards or will the old ones work. It was announced that the old cards will still work.
- Since the homeowners are not receiving the 72 hour required notifications of the meetings, they could listen to the recorded meeting and get the newsletter long before minutes are posted. Ransom indicated that they posted the Agenda to our website 72 hours prior to the meeting and that the webmaster sent out and email. Nothing was posted on the message board indicating that the Agenda had been posted so apparently, we are just supposed to know it. Several people indicated that they never received the email either.
Candy made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Randy seconded it and it passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:57 PM
Financials
