ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTERS
HOA
newsletters, which include board meeting minutes, are posted here monthly for
the previous six months.
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JANUARY
2012 NEWSLETTER
Meeting
called to order around 7:05 by Dan Pugh - President Also present were: Bill
Fuller - Secretary; Max Elsman/Gloria Epstein – ARC Members; Carolyn Finnerty –
Landscape Committee Member; Bobbi Marques – Property Manager.
The Board
confirmed the titles for the board members for 2012. Bill Fuller is the
Treasurer. The remaining titles will stay intact.
Financial matters: Dan Pugh presented paperwork confirming a check deposit
($6,000 to the reserve). Other paperwork shows the balance for a CD looking
higher than it perhaps should; also there was a penalty recorded for the CD, so
Dan Pugh and Bobbi Marques decided to investigate further. They also want to
pursue consolidating the development’s CD’s. Balance sheet for 2011 was
discussed.
Proposed
new format newsletter was presented by Max Elsman. The newsletter will be
hand-delivered four times a year. Purpose is to reach residents who may not have
access to news via the computer. The newsletter should also prompt enthusiasm in
the development.
Bill Fuller
reported that he had inspected – and was satisfied with - the recent repair work
(water pooling) at the rear of 27 Roger Valley. Trees struggling to grow in that
area have been marked for removal. Some new trees will be planted – their exact
location and tree type is still to be determined. Decision was made to remove
the bench in the field behind Forest Valley Road. The area has accumulated trash
(beer cans, used fireworks) which will be removed by Michael’s. They will also
fill in a depression in the area.
Discussed a
house identified as needing multiple repairs – the ARC will continue their
contact with the homeowner. Also discussed back payments owed by a homeowner for
work done by the HOA during 2011 – further contact with the homeowner will be
made.
Dan Pugh
advised that an email was received regarding the new development to be built
near Littlewood Road (the development will be adjacent to our development). The
email is to be investigated further. The ARC will see if there’s a
contractor who can give a bulk rate for power washing front steps. Any work to
be done by them would be contracted between them and any homeowner interested in
using them.
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DECEMBER
2011 NEWSLETTER
HOMEOWNERS MEETING 12/7/11 (Next meeting will be January 4, 2012): The
Annual Homeowner’s meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Dan Pugh,
President, with all board members, two ARC members, two Landscaping Committee
members, and one homeowner present. Carl Rubin, Treasurer, submitted the balance
sheet as of 11/30/11. Assets include: operating account: $13,332.02. Carl also
distributed the proposed budget for 2012.
Ms. Marques
of RCM reminded the board that a $6,000 end of year contribution must be made to
the reserve account. Dan Pugh will take care of this transaction.
Annual CHOA
MeetingThis meeting was designated as the Annual CHOA meeting. Low attendance
meant there was not a quorum present for elections of new board members.
Elections will be moved to the January 4, 2012 meeting.
November
Meeting Notes: Dan Pugh gave a brief report on what was discussed at the
November Board meeting. It was determined that the common area between Tigreff
and Roger Valley is not designated as a common area, but the Homeowner
Association has access rights and will maintain this land. Therefore, tree
removal and tree replanting on this swath will be the responsibility of the
Association.
The
Landscaping Committee hired contractors to repair the water pooling at the rear
of 27 Roger Valley.
Old
Business Mailing Newsletters:Reminder: CHOA minutes are no longer mailed or
e-mailed. The minutes will continue to be published on the web site each month.
New
Business: Private Parking signs were erected on the various lots in
the Association. Two cars that had not been moved for a considerable length of
time were finally removed from Tigreff. The Board now has a designated procedure
for tagging abandoned cars.
One
homeowner has paid the contractor bill for work proscribed by the Board last
spring. One homeowner still has an outstanding balance on a contractor bill.
One
townhouse has missing shutters and a notice will be sent requesting replacement
shutters be installed.
Board
elections will take place at the January meeting.
A quarterly
CHOA newsletter will be sent out beginning in 2012.
The meeting
adjourned at approximately 8:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Sarah Drexler, Secretary
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CROMWELL STATION
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
OCTOBER 2011 NEWSLETTER
HOMEOWNERS MEETING 10/5/11
(Next meeting will be November 2, 2011)
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Dan Pugh, President, with all
board members, one ARC member, one Landscaping Committee member, and four
homeowners present. (The current vice president resigned her post.) Carl Rubin,
Treasurer, submitted the total expenditures for September: $ 5,618.82.
Assets
include: operating account: $12,549.52
SAVE THE DATE: December 7, 2011 Annual CHOA Meeting
Attend the annual meeting where elections will be held. Please consider
volunteering for a Board position (Vice President or Secretary) or as a member
of the ARC or Landscaping Committees. We need new members to bring ideas and
energy to the CHOA.
NEW
BUSINESS
The Board invited the homeowners from Tigreff Court to begin the meeting. Their
concerns were about unmoved cars that have been sitting on Tigreff for extended
periods of time (over one year). The Board discussed the procedure for having
inoperative or abandoned cars removed from the parking pads that belong to the
Association. All of the Tigreff parking areas are owned by the Association.
Baltimore County owns other areas, and concerns about those areas should be
directed to the county. The Board voted to engage a towing company for the areas
under CHOA jurisdiction. The towing company will put up signs indicating that
vehicles will be towed when violations are reported. Notices will be placed on
vehicles that appear to be inoperative or abandoned, notifying the owners that
the vehicles will be towed in two or three days.
Also, renters on Tigreff appear to have more than two vehicles, and they are
parking these extra cars in front of other owners’
homes. The Board is asking all homeowners to be good neighbors, and only
use the two spaces in front of their homes to park. If a
homeowner has more than two vehicles, please park those in the common
areas. Do not inconvenience your neighbors.
Winterizing your
home. Ms. Marques provided these helpful hints for the homeowners:
Temperature inside the unit — Please keep the temperature inside your unit at
least 55 degrees or above. This is very important if are going to be away. This
will prevent the pipes from freezing and causing the pipes to burst. If a pipe
does freeze, interior damage could be extensive and very costly.
Hose Bibs - When the cold weather comes, the hose bibs must be winterized
properly or the pipes can freeze and cause a pipe to burst. Please turn off the
cutoff valve (both front and rear), the valve is located either inside or
outside your unit. This valve will stop water flowing to the exterior hose bib.
After turning off cutoff valve, please open the hose bib outside and allow the
water to drain out. Leave the outside bib open all winter long.
Discussion of Enforcing ARC violations
There was a prolonged discussion of the pros and cons of various methods of
enforcing repairs of ARC violations. The ARC sends notices to homeowners after
the annual walkthrough. The discussion included imposing fines for
non-compliance, hiring contractors to correct major non-compliance issues, and
seeking more members for the ARC committee. One suggestion that was tabled was
to hire an outside firm to do the work of the ARC. Further discussion was tabled
to the next meeting.
Mailing Newsletters:
Reminder: CHOA minutes are no longer mailed or e-mailed. The minutes will
continue to be published on the web site each month.
ARC Volunteer Needed ASAP: The ARC committee is in need of a third
member. One ARC member has moved. Contact Gloria Epstein at 410-665-3012. Gloria
is willing to tell you about this exciting volunteer activity! Anyone who likes
the outdoors and has free time during the work week would be an asset to the
ARC.
Old Business
The discussion on painting of parking spot demarcations was moved to the
November meeting agenda.
It was determined that the swath of land between Roger Valley Court and Tigreff
is owned by the homeowners, not the CHOA. Thus, any tree replacement should be a
homeowner project. Homeowners are reminded to seek approval from the ARC for
proposed improvements.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Sarah Drexler, Secretary
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CROMWELL STATION
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
SEPTEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER
HOMEOWNERS
MEETING 9/7/11
(Next meeting will be October 5, 2011)
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Dan Pugh, President,
with all board members, two ARC members, two Landscaping Committee
members, and one
homeowner
present. Carl Rubin, Treasurer, submitted the total expenditures for
June: $6,375.61; expenditures for July: $ 4,966.64.
Assets include: operating account: $10,706.69. For the current
month, the expenditures for removing dead trees after the hurricane, and
for repair of sinkholes and erosion have put the Maintenance Fund over
budget for the year.
Old
Business
The discussion on painting of parking spot demarcations was moved to the
October meeting agenda.
New
Business
There was a discussion on whether the Association has a policy on tree
replacement. According to Bill Fuller, Landscaping Committee, it is the
policy of the Association to remove dead trees and replants trees on the
common ground areas. Cost estimate for planting a tree is typically $500
each.
Decks:
The Board members unanimously approved adding the
color “gray” to the approved list of colors for synthetic
deck materials. The Board members unanimously voted on the
following requirement for homes with synthetic deck material: Any part
of the deck that is visible and not clad with synthetic material must be
painted or stained to match the color of the synthetic deck material.
Violations and enforcements:
At the October Homeowner’s meeting, there will be a discussion of how
ARC violations will be enforced. There is CHOA written history that
fines and legal fees were charged in the past for violations that were
not addressed by the homeowners.
Mailing Newsletters:
The Board unanimously voted to begin mailing quarterly newsletters to
all homeowners. There was a consensus that less than half of the
homeowners subscribe to either the email or mailed edition of the
minutes. Participation at the annual meeting has fallen off, and few
homeowners attend the monthly meetings. It is anticipated that direct
mailings will increase awareness of the Board’s decisions, meeting
topics, the
web site, etc. The minutes will continue to be published on
the web site each month.
ARC
Committee:
The ARC committee is in need of a third member. One ARC member has
moved. Volunteers are welcome. Contact the ARC at
ARC@cromwellstation.net if you are interested in helping.
Post
Office Box:
There was a concern that the post office box is not current. Dan Pugh
will resolve this issue.
Open Forum
One homeowner attended the meeting to ask about tree replacement. Behind
his home, two trees have been removed by the Homeowner Association from
the hilly swath of land between Roger Valley Court and Tigreff. So far,
these trees have not been replaced. Another homeowner had brought this
same issue (for another section of the same strip of land) to the
meeting in June. The Board agrees to have new trees planted if it is
determined that the site is common ground . Committee members will work
to quickly resolve this question so that trees might be planted as early
as this fall.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Sarah Drexler, Secretary
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CROMWELL STATION HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
MAY 2011 NEWSLETTER
HOMEOWNERS MEETING 5/4/11
(Next meeting will be June 1, 2011)
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by Dan Pugh, President,
with two other board members, two ARC members, two Landscaping Committee
members, four homeowners, and Roberta Marques of RCM Management present.
Carl Rubin presented the Treasurer’s Report. Total expenditures for
April were $10,581.82. The April expenses include the amount for
contracted repairs to one home that was not in compliance with ARC.
April expenses also include a past due assessment by Baltimore County
for sidewalk repairs done two years ago. The County had been billing the
wrong account for the concrete work, and the discrepancy was resolved
with full payment by the Association. Assets include: operating account:
$12,576.90 and reserve account $132,324.93.
Old Business
1. As previously approved by the Board, the contracting work has been
completed on one home that was not in compliance with ARC. Work is being
done on the second home. The homeowners will be billed for the completed
work.
2. The discussion on painting of parking spot demarcations was moved to
the June meeting agenda.
New Business
1. Ms. Marques has arranged with Baltimore County to have Dumpster Day
on Saturday, July 23rd from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The County will provide two
dumpsters. The Board decided that one dumpster will be designated for
trash, and one for recyclables. More information will be distributed to
the community in June and July.
2. Landscaping Committee: Bill Fuller, Carolyn Finnerty, and Dan Pugh
walked the community last Saturday to assess common area landscaping
needs. They noted sinkholes that need to be filled; tree stumps that
should be ground out; and areas that need to be reseeded and/or trees
planted. Bill Fuller will seek estimates for the work, and set
priorities within the budget allotted for landscape maintenance.
3. ARC Committee: Max Elsman reported that the walkthroughs of Tigreff
and Roger Valley are complete. The rainy weather has put the ARC
somewhat behind schedule. Max said that the neighborhood, in general,
looks better than it did last year. Homeowners will be receiving ARC
notices in the near future and will be given 60 days to make
improvements. Ms. Marques reminded the committee that sellers of home
are obliged by law to disclose to buyers any unsatisfied ARC violation
notices.
Open Forum
1. One homeowner informed the group that his wife had tripped on an
uneven sidewalk and been seriously injured. Bill Fuller will investigate
the location and notify the County to repair that sidewalk. It was
determined that sidewalk maintenance is an annual, ongoing concern and
will be addressed.
2. There was a discussion of deck colors. Since products such as Azek
and Trex decking were not available when the association homes were
built, the Board may have to consider expanding what is approved for
deck replacement. A number of homes have installed decks without seeking
ARC approval.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Sarah Drexler, Secretary |
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