Meeting Notes:

These Notes are preliminary and not approved for distribution

Notes are not to be considered minutes.  Notes are not a transcript.

Notes

Meeting of the Falls Run Community Association Board of Directors

Date:  23 July 2008

Time:  7:00 PM

Members Present:  Toni Brown, Jake Bernard, Jack Mounts, Harriet Schrader, Don Horan, Don Webb, Chuck Strub

Members Absent:  None

Others Present:  Sylva Southwell, Armstrong Property Manager

I:  The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by the Board President; Toni Brown.

II:  Special Presentation:  Louise Mulholland and Steven Cohen of Utility Management Services Inc. [UMS] made a presentation to the board regarding our utility bills.  Their firm had conducted an audit of the last two years electric utility expenditure for the FRCA accounts.  We have been billed under a general default rate by Dominion rather than under a more specialized rate.  They noted that Dominion Power has received a 22% increase in rates which is just going into effect and the general trend of all utility costs is upward.  UMS audits customer’s usage and determines the most advantageous rate structure for their account; then, they work with Dominion to secure that rate and continue monitoring the accounts to determine if other changes will be needed.  FRCA has signed a four year contract with UMS for their services.  This costs FRCA no money up front.  We pay UMS one-half of all independently verified savings from our current rate structure after realization of the savings.  This continues for the entire four year period.  After Mr. Cohen’s presentation, the board asked a number of questions to go into details of the contract, payment and billing processes and other matters.  It was noted that Dominion will be installing new electric meters for the Community Center in order to better monitor our usage and determine peak demand times.

                a:  In an action taken after the meeting, the Board instructed the Property Manager to cancel the contract noted above with Utility Management Services Inc.  The Board voted on this action by email and approved it 5-2, Jake Bernard and Don Webb opposed.

III:  Announcements:

                a:  Villa Board Special Announcement:  Joan Bitely, Villa Board liaison to the FRCA Board, announced that the Villa’s Finance Committee had reviewed their accounts and found assessments collected by the Villa Board which were due to FRCA and never forwarded to FRCA in the confusion caused by the Koger mismanagement.  The total of these assessments is $58, 838 and is in the process of being paid to FRCA. 

                b:  Toni Brown noted that she had talked with the FRCA attorney who informed her that the insurance reimbursement check re: Koger Management should be received shortly.  Apparently, there was some glitch in the insurance company’s processing of the reimbursement.

                c:  As built/final plans to be submitted by Pulte by 8/10/08:  It was announced that Pulte has agreed to supply these plans as requested.

                d:  Toni Brown announced the formation of a Waterfall Ad-hoc committee with Dan Owens serving as its’ Chairman.

                e:  Letter from Social Committee:  Toni Brown read, without comment, a letter dated July 2008 from the Social Committee which disagreed with the FRCA Board’s decision to honor members of the community who volunteer with a Volunteer Appreciation Day event at the Community Center.

IV:  A motion was made by Jack Mounts, seconded by Don Webb, to approve the minutes of the 25 June 2008 meeting of the Board as written.  Approved 7-0.

V:  Activity Director’s Report:  Toni Brown reported for Ann Jones:

                a:  Problems with new server installation:  Dan Augustine and Toni Brown reported that the Board had agreed to purchase a new server to replace the crashed equipment.  It was discovered that Del Webb had not installed a true server when building the Community Center; but, had used a home computer running some server software.  In addition, our workstations are outdated and run on Windows XP Home Edition rather than XP Pro and do not have the necessary memory to handle XP Pro.  This has complicated the new installation and makes necessary the purchase of several new and refurbished computer workstations in order to upgrade the operating systems and network properly with acceptable security.

                b:  Other as necessary:  A petition was being circulated among the residents asking to extend the hours of the outdoor pool use until 15 September 2008 instead of closing the pool on Labor Day.  The petition was given to the Board at this meeting.  It was estimated that the cost to do this would be $500.  Don Horan made a motion, seconded by Harriet Schrader, to extend the outdoor pool season through 15 September as requested in the petition.  The motion was approved 5-2, Jake Bernard and Chuck Strub opposed.

VI:  Management Report:  Sylva Southwell reported:

                a:  Federal Express Truck Fire Check:  A second letter has been mailed out to a Ms Joan Porter.  This will be followed up with a phone call the beginning of next week.

                b:  Meadow Gardens furnished a proposal for waterfall filling and landscaping.  This will be submitted to the Waterfall Ad-hoc Committee.

                c:  Sylva met with a Del Webb-Pulte representative to discuss Lot 9 easement and Waverly easements.  There is nothing to report at this time.

                d:  Status of Master Landscaping Plan proposals:  Three vendors [Shenandoah, TruGreen and Valley Crest] are working on proposals.  As of 22 July, Virginia Water Gardens had not communicated back with Armstrong Management Fairfax.  All proposals are due by Friday, 25 July 2008.

                e:  Smithfield Light Post:  The globe is on order and installation is estimated in mid-August.

                f:  The lane striping at the Middlebrook gate has been completed.

                g:  The carpet and floor installation in the Community Center has been completed.

                h:  Armstrong Connect upload continues when time permits.

                i:  The first 2008 election mailing has been requested of AMS Fairfax.  It will be mailed on 4 August 2008 as requested by the Elections Committee chair.

                j:  Armstrong has mailed the check for the new pool heaters and they have been ordered from a company in southern California.  Arrival date here is unknown at this time.

                k:  Fitness Room TV and sound:  The far right TV has a new component installed to see if this will work to eliminate the audio issues being experienced on all sets.  Timeline for ordering components for the other sets is unknown as we must see if this fix works before spending $350 per set.

                l:  The repair contract for the fitness equipment has been returned and signed.

                m:  The AMS Contract team has commenced working on snow removal proposals.

                n:  The Villa BOD has been given Board access to Armstrong Connect document files.

                o:  Gazette issues for June 2008 and July/August 2008 are available to the community on Armstrong Connect and the Falls Run website.

                p:  A followup has been sent to AMS regarding the $500 late charge.

                q:  Sylva has not started working on the sidewalk expansion joint repair project yet.

                r:  The project to paint signs and lampposts throughout the community is waiting for contractors at this point.

                s:  Abbie Construction is still working on providing the details of the materials used in the repair of the Community Center flooring.

VII:  Treasurer’s Report:  Don Horan reported:

                a:  We have not yet received the June 2008 financial reports.  They should be received soon.

                b:  We have a Certificate of Deposit with Community Association Bank, AZ, which is maturing in the near future.  We will reinvest the $112,000 upon receipt.

                c:  Falls Run currently has $700,000 in CDs and another $300,000 in money market funds which are outgrowing Armstrong Management’s ability to assist us in getting the best return on our investments.  The Villa Association uses Smith, Barney in Fredericksburg as their investment advisors.  Don has talked with Smith, Barney about taking over this role.

                d:  Don Horan made a motion, seconded by Chuck Strub, to initiate an investment account with Smith, Barney and to authorize the FRCA Board President, Treasurer and Finance Committee chair to be the contacts with Smith, Barney.  Approved 7-0.

VIII:  Committee Reports:

                a:  Property & Grounds Committee:  Cindy Horan, Committee Chair, reported that she and Don Webb met on 7 July with Stafford County inspectors to review status of pond bottoms.  The spring cutting of the bottom of pond 4 had not been done due to wet conditions and will be cut in the fall as scheduled.

                b:  Elections Committee:  The deadline for nominations for the FRCA Board is 5 September.

                c:  Finance Committee:  Fiscal 2009 budget work will start on 1 August.

IX:  Old Business:

                a:  TomaHawk Painting proposal re: painting signs and Middlebrook pillars:  Tabled to allow further discussion with the vendor.  The proposal was not acceptable as received.

                b:  Motion regarding delinquency letters:  Don Horan explained the process to be used and described the various form letters prepared.  Don Horan then made a motion, seconded by Don Webb, that FRCA adopt the outlined policy describing the actions to be taken in cases of delinquent payment of assessments and the proposed wording of the four letters to be sent to owners who are delinquent in their assessment payments.  Approved 7-0.

                c:  Thermostats/vents in dressing rooms:  Tabled without discussion.

                d:  Status of Bylaws revisions:  Harriet Schrader, Jack Mounts and Toni Brown have reviewed the Bylaws and have identified areas where updates would be desired/useful.  Don Horan noted some problems with some of these changes.  After additional discussion, the Board will meet to discuss this topic in a special session on 29 July 2008 at 9:30am.

X:  New Business:

                a:  Motion to approve Resolution regarding Association Disclosure Packet Inspection Procedures:  Robbin Sentell, Modifications Committee Chair, provided the Board with detailed input regarding desired changes.  The Board discussed this briefly and decided to meet separately on this issue after Robbin sends them a detailed email on 24 July.

                b:  Motion approving purchase of new server for Center:  Jack Mounts made a motion, seconded by Don Horan, to approve the purchase, including software and training, of a IPK SBS small business server 2003 system, which is a basic 5 user file/mail server, to be installed in the Falls Run Community Center for a total cost of $4,000.  Approved 7-0.

                c:  Motion approving renewal of mowing by Shenandoah behind Reston Court:  Don Webb, seconded by Harriet Schrader, moved that the Board approve the renewal of mowing by Shenandoah behind the homes on Reston Court.  Approved 7-0.

                d:  Tennis court screening:  Tabled without discussion.

                e:  There will be a Joint Meeting with the Villa Board at 10:00am, 11 August 2008, to hear our attorney, Ed O’Connell, discuss issues relating to HB-516.

XI:  Waterfall Ad-Hoc Committee:  Bill Barnes reported that the Committee had met for the first time on 14 July and had begun working on developing possible alternatives to the current situation with the Middlebrook Gate waterfall.  He noted that the estimated cost of just repairing, cleaning and sealing the waterfall and returning it to service “as is” is $4,200.  The Committee has determined that the three main avenues of approach are to convert the waterfall to a planting area without water; modifications to the existing setup to attempt to solve the present problems, or converting it to a pondless waterfall.  The Committee asks that the Board delay restarting the waterfall to allow the Committee time to do further research and report back to the Board.  After a short discussion, Jake Bernard made a motion, seconded by Don Webb, to rescind the motion made on 11 June 2008 to direct the Property Manager to start the process of cleaning/repairing the waterfall to return it to operation as soon as possible and that the Board give the  Waterfall Ad-Hoc Committee time to research the proposals presented tonight.  The Committee is to present their findings/progress to the Board no later than 27 August 2008.  Approved 7-0.

XII:  Open Forum:  The following are among the topics discussed during the open forum:

                a:  Can we remove the blue ‘drylock’ waterproofing in the pond before the Committee presents its’ recommendations?

                b:  Can the RV restrictions be raised from the present 24 hours?  The Board pointed out that this would require a change to the C, C & Rs and therefore a 66 2/3 vote of the community to approve it.

                c:  There were additional comments regarding the utility audits.

                d:  Utility markings on the streets and whether the contractors will remove them or we have to wait for weathering to do so.

                e:  Residents expressed concerns about the way Shenandoah cuts the grass on the pond edges and noted that it seems to fall into the ponds causing problems with drainage.

                f:  It was noted that the walking path looks good since it was repaved.

                g:  The lack of weed control in the common areas was noted.

XIII:  Chuck Strub made a motion, seconded by Don Horan, to adjourn to Executive Session at 9:15pm. Approved 7-0.

THOMAS J. WHALEN

Recorder