Call to Order 6.29 pm
Roll Call of Trustees
President- Nicole Fitzgerald (Present) Trustee- Fred Boogren(Present)
V.P- Victoria Wilcox (Present) Debbie Healy (Present)
Secretary- Nancy Mouradjian (Present)
Treasurer- Frank Kren (Present Via Conference Call)
PRESIDENTS REPORT
Updated the board about the berm issue that is behind the homes on the north side of Monona. I informed the board that the property wouldn’t be surveyed by the survey company, as to whether the berm has deteriorated from the residents that live at frenchtown condominiums driving on it, until frenchtown condominiums is out of bankruptcy. I updated the board with the information from the Army Corps of Engineers that was sent over, that confirms that no one is to be driving a vehicle (emergency vehicles only) on any berm given; by doing so, it will accelerate deterioration and hinder the performance of the berm.
Board discussed an ongoing issue with a resident and the residents’ neighbors. We discussed if we had any options to try to alleviate the situation but at this time we do not, since it is out of our hands at this point. We did suggest just notifying resident, in general, to just be courteous of your neighbors, whether you get along with them or not, because everyone has the legal right to respectfully live in their own yard, be happy and be able to enjoy their property without aggression from neighbor(s).
The board was informed that there are currently two blight officers. We are hoping to get a lot more accomplished for our problem areas that seem to be overlooked or deemed, by the township, as the issue has being resolved,when it hasn’t.
Discussed the work log process that I implemented with the board. This work log has to be done every day. Once you open up the app and click the day, your work is recorded as the tasks are being addressed. Then at the end of the day ( 5:00 p.m.) it is printed and emailed to the association’s email. This only encompasses a summary of what is being done. It does not go into great detail but it also gives an idea of what is being done every day for the association in regards to office work.
The board discussed dates on when the flood gate should be closed and reopened. It used to be Memorial Day to Labor Day. The board changed the dates to being closed on October 15th and reopened April 1st (Unless Weather Does Not Permit).
We’ve had a couple residents suggest that we allow people to set up their garage sales in Bear Park during garage sale days. One resident had a lot of good ideas about the situation. He suggested that we rent spots in the park just like we do the pavilion. For those that do not understand how we rent the pavilion, we simply take a $100 deposit, check, for the pavilion and as long as nothing is left messy, damaged and/or no one has driven in the park, the check is generally shredded or given back to the resident. We would apply this same idea to renting a spot in the park for a garage sale. We would mark off spots, for example 10×20, number them and include all that information in a contract that would have to be honored by the renter. The resident renting would be held responsible for their stuff and for honoring their contract or they would not get their $100 deposit back. The deposit would be used for cleanup and/or repair. We will touch base on this more at the next meeting in May.
TREASURER’S REPORT
A lot of liens have gone out. Some residents have done payment plans and some have just paid off their amounts owed. But we are still substantially behind. Even though we are behind there have been a lot of collections we are doing much better than we were. When taking over the roll of treasurer, we had a little over $47,000 in the bank. We are currently sitting at $67,000. These reflect better numbers on collection and this is a good thing. This may seem like a surplus of money but it is just money that has to be used for repairs, maintenance and bills. Inflation has been really taking its toll on the neighborhood. Everything from lawn maintenance to snow removal is on the up. Repairs of everything is more expensive. Insurance for the common properties as well as other association items is another area that costs are up. Nicole spends a lot of time tracking the housing market in order to monitor the homes that pop up for sale and go after some of the people that have not paid in order to collect the money that is owed before the home is sold. This is a huge help but ultimately The assessments may be affected by this and may have to be raised. This is a current open discussion amongst the board and will be brought up at the next meeting in May.
BEAUTIFICATION, MAINTENAINCE & EVENTS
The JAWs program has been coming periodically throughout the season, including winter, to help empty trash in the parks. We’re working closely with JAWs program coordinator in order to get a regular schedule going for the spring summer and early fall season. This means that the JAWs program will be coming out regularly to help with odds and ends around the neighborhood including, but not limited to; repairs, garbage, weeding and other things that the association may need.
We are responsible as an association for the repair of the seawall that borders any common area. All residents are responsible for maintaining their portion of the wall. With that being said, using proper repair materials, it’s approximately $1000 (give or take) to maintain the wall every year. The JAWS program will be instructed as to how to do it and they will join the board members in making repairs this year.
