McQuaid Board Update

Jerry's Board Update #14

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Jerry's Board Update #14
8/8/02

Hi folks

There's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that over 125 residents turned out for the board meeting today. WOW!!! You made history and you made a statement that you are interested in your community. Several of you availed yourselves of the new format and gave input before decisions got made. Good for you. The bad news is that we made it a painful process, one that, if repeated, might drive you away. DON'T GO!! We will find a way to present the issues quickly and concisely without all of the whereas and articles and boilerplate. Our agenda was unusually full and that, unfortunately, cut short the questions period at the end. Stay with us, we'll make this process resident-friendly.

Now, what did we do. The Financial Report revealed that, halfway through the year, we're doing OK. The net operating deficit for the Community Association was ($860,000) versus a budget of ($983,000) which is favorable to the tune of $123,000. However, we got there through a combination of lower than budgeted income and lower than budgeted expenses and the savings in expenses offset the low revenues. It was pointed out that, although initial sales of golf passes were strong, we only recognize this as revenue as the rounds are actually played and actual play has been somewhat less than budgeted.

The Executive Director's report and nearly all of the Committee reports did not require action on the part of the board. Steve O'Donnell did nominate the following residents to serve on three new committees:

Master Plan                   Business Technology                 Properties and Grounds

Jim Hamilton, Chair        Bob Rasmussen, Chair             Stan Raczkowski, Chair
Phyllis Giglinto               Ted Furst                                  Ted Reddy
Joe Fragale                                                                    Bill Heckman
Rich North                                                                     Dick Swader
Bob Replogle                                                                 Tootsie Benjamin.

The board approved these nominations.

Al Thomas presented the Modifications Committee and recommended a special $50 permit fee be assessed when residents start or complete modifications without approval. Bill Brehio spoke against this recommendation, feeling that the fee should be assessed against the contractor instead of the resident. The board approved this fee by a vote of six to one with Steve Koehl voting against.

When the issue of modifications to the "No Solicitation" policy was considered, Lou Herzog spoke, raising questions about the rights of non-chartered clubs to distribute material and also questioning the ownership of the boxes since the Community Association doesn't maintain them. All three board resident board members voiced some concerns about the policy as written. My personal concern is that we probably have not anticipated all of the "what ifs" and there is a growing doubt in my mind that something is broken and really needs fixing at all. The board voted to postpone consideration of this issue pending further discussion.

In an action for which there was no resident input, the board voted to schedule the Community Association Annual Meeting for somewhere in the first two weeks of November. It also established a schedule of monetary fines for violation of CC&R's, Community Rules and Board Policies and there was no resident input on this item. Finally, the board approved changes in the fixed asset capitalization threshold and inventory schedule as well as a credit and collection policy which I won't detail. No resident input here either.

Following adjournment, a number of questions, not related to the formal agenda, were asked:

Clo Sarsfield objected to Pulte's refusal to commit to an amenity plan for the community. Ken Hull assured her that there will be more amenities as the community grows but that they will be concentrated in Town Center, no neighborhood centers. He reiterated that he is unwilling to commit to a configuration or timing for future amenities. Bill Brehio asked if amenities are included in the Five Year Plan. Ken answered that operating expense estimates for new amenities are included but that the amenities are identified as A, B, C, etc

Although not related to the board meeting, the Neighborhood Representatives Council met today, as well. They elected new officers with Stretch Breth as Chairman, Ralph James as Vice Chairman and Jim Schnabel as Secretary. A number of neighborhood representatives, including Stretch, expressed interest in the NRC being more proactive. They were especially interested in availing themselves the opportunity to provide the resident board members with input about community issues. They agreed to increase their frequency of meetings and to schedule them to occur before the board meetings. I see this as a very positive sign. I have long maintained that this, almost the only totally elected leadership body, should be a powerful force in moving the community forward. I am eager to work closely with them.

Lots of stuff today, thanks for your patience. Hang in there, we'll make the board meetings even better, starting in October

Jerry