Desert Hills IV

Minutes:

GREEN VALLEY DESERT HILLS NO. 4, INC.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
October 21, 2011

The meeting was held in the Desert Hills Social Center and called to order by President, Phyllis Buchanan at 3 p.m.
Other members of the Board present were: Larry Bivins, Dorothy Sturz, and Doris Austin. Also four (4) homeowners were in the audience.

The agenda was approved as presented. Larry Bivins made the motion to approve and Dorothy Sturz seconded it.
Passed.

Art Stang - Phyllis Buchanan announced the death of Art Stang, a board trustee, in late August. A moment of silence was observed. Art will be greatly missed. A discussion took place about purchasing some kind of bench in memory of Art. It will be further discussed at the November meeting

Minutes from the April 15, 2011 meeting were approved as written without a formal reading. However, Dorothy reported that a word was misspelled where the street paving report was reported. Phyllis will correct. Larry Bivins made the motion to approve the minutes and Doris Austin seconded the motion. Passed.

Treasurer’s Report was approved as presented by Dorothy Sturz. Larry Bivins made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report and Doris Austin seconded it. Passed. Phyllis Buchanan also reported on the status of five (5) homes that may go into foreclosure or has gone into foreclosure. Three are in pre-foreclosure, one is no longer in the foreclosure process, and one home appears to be abandoned. This may or may not affect this years budget, however it will affect next years budget if we are unable to collect dues on these properties.

Community Comments: None

Committee Reports:
1. Maintenance: No Report given. See Item one (1) under old business
2. Beautification: No Report
3. Architectural:
A. Larry Bivins asked all homeowners to look at the back of their homes to check the condition of the wooded areas. If they need painting he suggests that you request a paint request form and have that area painted. Caretaker forms will again be sent out with our Annual Meeting mailing and he suggests that each homeowner fills one out, so we may have a better way of contacting homeowners and/or caretakers.
B. Phyllis Buchanan reported that she sent out 35 letters to homeowners about having their properties cleaned up. Most responded positively and some requested referrals. The Joshua tree at 1597 Travis was removed, because it was leaning over the sidewalk.
4. GVC Representative: No formal report was given because no one attended the September or October GVC meetings. However, Phyllis Buchanan did report some ramp closures along 1-19.
5. Neighborhood Watch: Doris Austin is trying to replace Art Stang’s position as neighborhood watch captain. She thinks she has found one, but is doing more checking.
6. Social: Doris Austin did not have the dates for the two social, but they will be placed in December newsletter
7. Newsletter: Deadline for December’s newsletter will be November 18, 2011
8. CC&R’s: No Report
9. Street Paving: Phyllis Buchanan read the notes from the May 13, 2011 Street Paving Committee Minutes. See attached minutes.
10. Trash: No Report

OLD BUSINESS:
Report on Maintenance Meeting: Phyllis Buchanan read the notes from the October 19, 2011 meeting with the Associations landscaper Val. See Attached meeting notes. She also reported that there are three trees that will be cut down, because they are dead due to freeze that we experienced last winter. Two are on Tirol and one on Helada. Val is a little behind in his schedule because of the excessive rain we had in September.
Discussion of Mural Project Proposal located on the wall on Via de Roma and Retorno de Anza:
At our last meeting, the board discussed a proposed mural project to be constructed on the above mentioned streets. At this meeting several questions were raised and they were answered at this meeting:
1. Would we have to have a County Permit to construct work on the Wall? NO
2. Would we have to have a vote of the homeowners to the project? YES
3. Would we have to have a vote of the homeowners to spend beautification monies to help fund the project? YES
The consensus of the Board at April’s and October’s meetings was that the Board did not wish to use Beautification funds and felt that all money should come from fundraising efforts. Phyllis Buchanan will prepare ballot language to be approved at our November meeting. If approved it will be part of our Annual Meeting Election.
Report on tree problems and complaint letter: The complaint letter that was presented at our last meeting has been dealt with positively. Palm tree and tree in rear at 1577 Mirasol were trim. We still may have a problem with the tree that was partially cut down at 1563 Calle de Plata.

New Business:
Set date for 6th Annual Garage Sale: Saturday, March 10, 2012 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fidelity Bond: When a property is sold, the new mortgage companies always request information about associations. One question that has recently come is do we have a Fidelity Bond. At this point our association does not have this protection. However, it was agreed that we should obtain one. Dorothy will contact our insurance company to see what it will cost. At our November meeting there will be a vote to accept the costs and will be made part of the 2010 budget.
Budget Meeting/Nomination Meetings:
1. Budget meeting will be held 2 p.m. on November 1, 2011 at Dorothy Sturz’s home. Members: Dorothy Sturz, Ann Brooks, and Jessie Eman.
2. Nomination meeting to be held at 2 p.m. on November 2, 2011 at Phyllis Buchanan’s home. Members: Doris Austin, Joann Hansen and Phyllis Buchanan
3. A. Three board members terms will expire in February. They are Phyllis Buchanan, Dorothy Sturz and Jessie Eman. Both Dorothy and Jessie will have to be replaced. As a result, any one interested in running in our next election please contact Phyllis Buchanan. When you run for Board you are not running to be an officer. One is only running to become a member of the Board. The Board will then select the officers. However, with the two departures from the Board, we will need individuals would be interested in filling the Treasurer’s and Secretary’s position.
4. We have one more vacancy to fill and that is Art Stang’s position. This position does not have to be voted on but can be appointed by the Board if we can find a replacement before or at our November meeting.
5. Discussion of raise in dues: Phyllis Buchanan initiated a discussion on raising the 2012 dues by a little over 3.6% which would increase our dues by $10 a year. The reasons for this are:
1. A slight increase in our maintenance cost with our landscaper Val
2. Increase in GVC dues
3. Future paving costs of our streets. It is recommended that we increase our paving reserve every year to cover the cost redoing our streets in about 10 years. Plus having money in our reserves to do general maintenance and repairs.
4. Professional fee reserve should be increased in case of the need for future attorney fees.

Other: Phyllis Buchanan to call GVC to have lot on Comino del Sol and DeAnza cleaned up.

The next Regular Board meeting is November 18, 2011 at 3 PM in Room C.

The meeting was adjourned around 4:05 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Phyllis Buchanan, President for Jessie Eman, Secretary