BEAUTY BAY HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MEETING MINUTES
November 21, 2019
Attendees: Board Members: Renee Bordelon, Joe Rush, Wayne Christofferson, Patty Bordelon (remote)
BBHOA members: Angela Brown, Corey Bridge, Debbie Bridges
Absent: Board Member: Fred Henkel
The meeting was called to order at 1:00 by Renee Bordelon.
Financial Review: Patty Bordelon reported the following bank activity since July 31, 2019:
Renee asked if there were any questions regarding the finances. Angela referred to the re-stated financial statement that was mailed out with the assessment invoices. She asked what the purpose was. Patty said that since the Annual Meeting Minutes were sent with the assessment, she felt she should address the statement in the minutes that she was “dissatisfied” with the financial statement. To clarify, the “dissatisfaction” came from there being no beginning Cash balance to roll forward all of the activity to the ending cash balance. The re-statement took the ending bank balance at July 31, 2018, added all withdrawals and deposits into the bank accounts during that period, to arrive at the ending balances.
Angela said that by restating the financials had called Angela’s integrity into questions and had damaged her reputation with the homeowners. She also stated that she had been attacked at the Annual Meeting and had been asked questions she was not prepared to answer. Wayne agreed that the attack on Angela appeared to have been orchestrated. Renee said that she did not believe there was an orchestrated attack on Angela. Renee added that some of the other Board Members had given answers to questions concerning the expenses that seemed contradictory to the statements. This caused confusion and further questions. Patty stated it was not her intent to disparage Angela. She was only asking for a cash roll forward.
Angela made the following motion: That BBHOA financial records be audited by a professional accountant or a committee appointed by the Board and cover the period of at least the past three (3) Secretary-Treasurers, if not all the way back to the beginning of our records.
Wayne seconded the motion.
Discussion followed, during which Patty had to leave the conversation because of a prior commitment. Before signing off, Patty stated she did not support the motion. Renee and Joe did not support the motion. Renee stated that there were two matters of utmost priority this year: 1) Road resolution with the East Side Highway District, and 2) Re-writing of By-Laws to protect the Common Areas of BBHOA. Renee felt that spending time and effort on auditing past Treasurers was an unnecessary. As a compromise, Renee asked Angela if she would work with Patty to understand the differences between Statement approved at the Annual Meeting to Patty’s bank balance rollforward. Once the differences were explained to her, Patty would forward this reconciliation to all homeowners. Angela agreed.
Renee asked if there were any further questions regarding the finances. Joe Rush asked if the Lake Water System owed the BBHOA any money. Answer, no invoice is outstanding at this time. It was also asked if there were any other outstanding invoices. Answer, not at this time. Verdis and Sawtooth Surveying have been paid jointly by the Homeowners and the Flowers Estate for services to date.
Road Issue Update: Renee stated that since the Annual Meeting BBHOA began working with Sawtooth Surveying, who wrote legal descriptions and discovered legal possession of the mystery parcel. Jerald Jones was still legally the owner. Jones had “transferred” the parcel to Floyd Flowers in 1986 when Jones left. The expectation was for Floyd to file or dedicate it to the East Side Highway District which he never followed through. Nor was the parcel re-conveyed to the Jones Family Trust. There are two options to remedy this: 1) force the parcel into a quiet title, which would take months. 2) The Eastside Hwy District can recognize a property swap and transfer it to the District via an Abandonment/Exchange Agreement (“Agreement”) between BBHOA and Eastside Hwy District. Fortunately, the Eastside Hwy District has scheduled a hearing to review such an Agreement on January 20, 2020 at 9:00 am. Attorney Susan Weeks has been directed by the Eastside Hwy District to prepare the legal notice and the actual Exchange Agreement. A document detailing the procedure for such a hearing is attached with these minutes.
Renee was asked about the remaining costs associated with this issue. $250.00 processing fee will be paid ($500 paid; Tammy Dolittle will reimburse $250). The BBHOA will need Verdis to represent us at the Hearing, which will generate another cost for 31/2 to 5 of their time.
Road Committee: Corey Bridges and Tim Ochoa make up the Road Committee. (Wayne stepped down this year, believing that Directors should not sit on Standing Committees.) Corey reported there is some concern about the “waffles” in the road and how they may affect runoff. Corey will put some attention to that prior to snowfall.
A Snow Removal Contract has been signed with Gary at KAL Enterprises. Gary offered a highly competitive price. He will plow only Beauty Bay Road. Discussion followed regarding plowing other roads. Wayne mentioned that some homeowners on Ridgetop had spent money working on their road and may have the expectation that as a result, BBHOA would pay for that road to be plowed.
Renee had located a party who was willing to plow the other roads except for Artesian. Joe Rush mentioned that all of the work Roger’s had done on Scenic Bay Road was dirt only; no gravel had been added, which makes the road unsuitable for plowing. More discussion followed regarding plowing of roads other than Beauty Bay and contracting with Renee’s contact.
It was decided that since BBHOA had committed to Gary this year we will not contract with the other party. In the meantime, Renee will reach out to the Ridgetop homeowners and ask if they had fixed their roads with the expectation that the HOA would then plow their road.
Current Committees: The current standing committees of the BBHOA are:
Road Committee: Corey Bridges and Tim Ochoa
Architecture Committee: James Everett, Eric Nowoj, Danny Say
Beach Committee: Corey Bridges and Eric Nowoj
By Laws Update – Rental Restriction Committee: Discussion about this committee commenced. Wayne made the suggestion that the Rental Restriction Committee be dissolved. Wayne said the entirety of the current By-Laws and CC&Rs should be reviewed and adjustments made to reflect the needs and protection of the BBHOA. “Don’t take one bite of the apple at the time.” Discussion followed. Renee stated that this should not be a standing Committee, but rather a “Project”, with a specific goal and end date in mind, as opposed to a Standing Committee.
Discussion followed regarding the need for legal review of proposed by-law and CC&R changes. Angela mentioned that the proposed rental restriction changes are prohibited by House Bill 216, passed in 2018, and by County ordinances. Debbie said those specific legislations spoke to a private rental, not to use of property owned by a community of owners. This discussion furthered the need to consult with attorneys. Joe said the Project Team should give the attorneys the “end game”: This is what we want our by laws to say and do. Can we write them in such a way to achieve this? If not, how can we achieve it?
Angela asked how much this legal review would cost. Renee said we could look back at what previous bills for by-laws consulting were and estimate from there. Renee’s best guess was between $2,000 and $3,000.
After more discussion, about how to form the Project Team, it was decided that Renee would ask for volunteers via email, with the goal of getting started no later than January 1. Wayne suggested that Renee also consult with Barb and Angela and Scott Odell.
Budget: Renee proposed that when making decisions about expenditures, the Board keep in mind the priorities and high cost items of 1) Snow Removal and Road Work, 2) Legal Review of Proposed By-Law Changes, and 3) Insurance. Once we have an indication of the amount of snow removal this year, we will be in a better position to propose the Budget.
Beach Committee: Wayne mentioned that the benches had not been installed. Wayne contacted regulatory agencies including the Department of Lands, Army Corp of Engineers, and others and was informed it is legal to install the benches as long as they are removable. The prior Board of Directors had approved $500 for this project, and Eric had offered to build them. Wayne suggested the Board contact Eric to see if he is still willing to build them. If not, look for someone else. There was a discussion whether this fits within this year’s budget and priorities. The project was tabled.
Wayne voiced concern about the rapid erosion of the beach. The head of the Department of Lands told Wayne that the beach has receded eight feet over several years, and according to Wayne and Corey’s measurements, the beach eroded 8 inches this past year. Wayne suggested asking for volunteers to move rocks while the water level is low. He also mentioned that a break water could be created using logs. Harrison Dock Company could put them in. Wayne said that Eco Blocks could also be used and he had seen some stacked up somewhere on the property. Joe Rush said those blocks were originally intended to keep the road from slipping into the ditch. Wayne says they have been moved.
With low water season rapidly approaching, Wayne would encourage getting a work party to get to work this erosion. This meeting’s minutes will ask for Volunteers who would like to help stop the erosion to contact the Beach Committee as soon as possible.
Third Bank of Mailboxes: Renee said that another bank of mailboxes would cost $1,100, and could be sold to homeowners or other interested parties for $100 each. At this point in time, however, there are not enough people on the waiting list to totally reimburse the HOA for this cost. The following members are on the waitlist: The Says, Renee Bordelon, and James Everett. A resident up Beauty Creek Road has also expressed an interest.
With the other priorities for funds this year, this was tabled.
Renee asked for further discussion. None followed. The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 pm.