November 2014 Minutes

Har-Ber Meadows POA Board Meeting

November 24, 2014

Board Members in attendance were: Judy Hammond, Nancy Brown, Rob Stark, Ralph Gresham, Hope Feiner, Jason Combs, Bobbye Kelly, Jerry Martin, and Jamey Smithson.

Board Members absent: Rob Frits,

Also in attendance were Alicia Hines, Treasurer; John Duke, Property Manager.

Resident Concerns: none

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Vice-President Judy Hammond.

Designation of Quorum: President Vice-President Judy Hammond presiding.

New Business:

There was discussion concerning the presentation last month by the Helstern Middle School EAST program proposing directional signage throughout the neighborhood. The general consensus of the board members was that it conflicted with Har-Ber Meadows signage policies. However, we felt the group made a good presentation and while the board declines the sign proposal, we could entertain ideas for an app. John Duke will talk to Todd Loftin, Helstern principal, concerning this.

Secretary’s Report: presented by Nancy Brown.

• The minutes were emailed to board members for their review prior to tonight’s meeting. Hope Feiner moved, seconded by Ralph Gresham to approve the October 2014 POA minutes. The motion passed 9-0.

 

Treasurer’s Report: presented by Alicia Hines.

• Approve October Financials – Alicia emailed copies of the income statement and balance sheet for Oct. 2014 prior to this evening’s meeting for review by board members, along with the following email.

I have attached the October financial reports.  There is nothing that is different from regularly budgeted items.

Bobbye has asked for paver and sidewalk information.  I have attached a file that contains what we have paid for the sidewalks and pavers since 2010.

As we work on the budget, please note that you always have a copy of the yearly budget on the last column of the income statement.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks

Alicia

Jerry Martin moved, seconded by Rob Stark to approve the October 2014 financials. The motion passed 9-0.

• Review the Budget: Approve if Possible. – Jerry Martin stated that the Financial Committee has not yet met and should before the budget is approved. The board decided to meet on Dec. 15, 2014 to discuss and approve the budget, and to discuss John Duke’s contract. All Around and Scotts are on a three-year contract and are not due this year. Krystal Klear is due in Feb. 2015.

 

Property Manager’s Report: presented by John Duke.

1. 412/Founder’s entry sign discussion
   • Insurance Proceeds = $5.918.50
     8. After multiple attempts to collect a new check from adjuster, I called the Arkansas Municipal League. The Municipal League has all of the documents needed to reissue checks. The new checks were received on 9/8.
   • Replace with rock sign that matches 56^th Street entrance:
     1. Bid #1 – Emerson Monument = $6,146
     2. New lighting fixtures will be installed. New and brighter fixtures will cost $500 including installation.
   • The rock had been located and shipped. Scott asked me to come by to look at the rock on 8/13 because he had some concerns.  The sign is the perfect height and width, however, there are several cracks in the rock and the rock did not hold up to sanding and stenciling the logo.  He did not recommend we use the rock.  He called the quarry and ordered a new rock the same day. The quarry has yet to locate a rock. Scott has gone to the quarry to help speed up the process. So far, he has only located rocks that are 9’ ½” wide. The damaged sign is 13’ wide and 46 1/2” high. A suitable rock has not been located. Emerson Monument is checking on a couple of things as an alternative solution that include changing the width of the sign and moving the 56^th street sign.
   • Per City Planning, the dimensions can’t exceed those of the current sign.
   • Custom Lawn Care has given a bid to repair the entry sign for $500. (Meeting Discussion) – The decision to move the 56^th Street sign and trim it to fit has been discarded. John stated that the insurance check should cover the repairs for the bid from Custom Lawn Care to put the sign back to its original condition. Jason Combs moved, seconded by Ralph Gresham for John Duke to go forward with the brick repair by Custom Lawn Care for $500. The motion passed 8-1.

 

2. Brick discoloration in common areas
   • Bridge Columns:
     1. I have made contact with the City regarding the columns that are in need of repair on the Founder’s Park and Coyote Crossing bridges. I met the City on 7/31 to assess the situation. The City is saying since it is a bridge, it falls under AHTD maintenance. The City is including these repairs on the next report to be submitted to the AHTD.   Waiting to hear back from city on expected completion date.
     2. The City of Springdale is repairing the bridge columns beginning on 11/20 per a directive from the AHTD. – John Duke added that we still have to paint the bridge rails.

 

• All Other Common Areas: John Duke stated that he would like to table this a little longer as he believes the bids are somewhat high and he thinks he can get the prices down if we are patient. There are no safety concerns with this repair work, just cosmetic. Brick Masons are in high demand and the small size of our project makes it difficult to find willing labor. See items iii. and v. below.
  23. The masonry company could not locate a matching brick. ACME Brick has inspected the brick and will no longer return calls or email. I have located the original supplier which was Boral Brick. They no longer carry the Bordeaux brick but have a similar brick called Vining. The sample board was delivered on 7/23. The Vining brick is a good match. The brick was delivered to Har-Ber on 9/4.
  24. Guadalupe Masonry had agreed to honor their original bid even with excluding the bridge columns for a total of $3,234. Jerry, Ralph and I met with Manuel on
      9/11 to go over the process one more time before work begins. Manuel started the work on 9/16. Shortly after he began the work he called concerning a problem with the existing mortar. I put the project on hold until Ralph and Jerry return from trips. During the 9/22 Board Meeting, it was decided that we needed a contract for the work to be completed. After meeting with Manuel
      to discuss the problems he found, we were comfortable with his ability to move forward and fix the issues with the walls in a satisfactory manner.  After he was presented with the contract, he declined to do the work.

• Since then, we have solicited another bid from Custom Lawn Care for $9,600. (See Attached)

1. Due to the cost of the second bid, I found another brick mason that is
   interested. He was scheduled to repair a small section the week of 10/21 to see if it meets our approval. If so, he will submit a bid.  I have had numerous phone conversations with mason and he has failed to show up.
2. I solicited another bid the week of 11/10 from Handyman Connection/MP Construction for $8,915. (See Attached)

 

3. Bridge Railing Paint – John will move this to Old Business.

• I have made contact with the City regarding the bridge railings that are in need of painting on the Founder’s Park and Coyote Crossing bridges. I met the City on 7/31 to assess the situation. The railing on the bridges are beyond standard design, therefore, the city currently does not claim responsibility to maintain. A bid was received from CertaPro Painters for $17,519.
• Response from the City regarding “standard” bridge railing is posted under the Website Task Manager.
• Meeting scheduled for 10/24 with the Mayor to discuss the railing. The Mayor reiterated the railing specifications do not meet city standards therefore are not maintained by the city. He pointed out the brick pavers and the street lights as examples.

 

4. Francis Fair Stop Signs/ASN Parking Discussion – John reported that there is now some discussion with the city about installing an ‘S’ shape in the road and will know more after the next Traffic Committee meeting.
   • The City of Springdale Traffic Committee met on 6/30 to discuss 3-way stop signs on Francis Fair and parking at ASN.
   • The City is conducting studies to determine if this request is an option.

Sam,

We received them today. We have to figure out the programming and installation procedures and then we will be ready to deploy.

Dub

On Sep 16, 2014, at 8:57 PM, Sam Goade <sgoade@springdalear.gov> wrote:

Dub,

 

Do you know the status of the two speed radar signs we ordered? Per the email below from John we need to deploy them to Har-Ber Meadows after we work through our initial list of predefined locations.

 

Thanks, Sam

• I have discussed the ASN parking situation with Keith Vire.
  1. Discussed the no parking issue again with Keith. He has worked on alleviating the parking issues on Isaac’s Orchard by renting additional space outside of Har-Ber. (Meeting Discussion) – John Duke stated that he was told that ASN has leased some buildings with parking on Hwy 412 to help ease the traffic congestion on Isaac’s Orchard.
• Attending the November 5 Traffic Committee Meeting to discuss radar data from Francis Fair. (See attached minutes/traffic calming policy)

 

5. Christmas Lights
   • Lights are installed.
   • 18 additional light poles east of the JTL Lake: $990 first year, $450 thereafter.
     1. WACO Title – Not interested in contributing to the cost this year. They will revisit next year.
     2. Duckworth Dentistry – Dr. Duckworth has agreed to contribute $200 this year.

• The Manning Clinic – Waiting on a decision.– nothing yet.

1. Building owner is now involved and soliciting a bid for the building and the 18 poles. (Meeting Discussion) – HBM may get some reimbursement for the poles.

 

6. Resident Street Tree Trimming 2015
   • Dale has agreed to trim the trees again in 2015 for the same $4,500 price as 2014. Dale will need to renew his insurance before year end. (Board Discussion) –Dale wants to know if we are going to hire him again before he pays for his insurance. Jason Combs moved, seconded by Rob Stark to hire Dale for 2015 for $4500 and pay him quarterly. The motion passed 9-0.

 

7. Crumpacker Park Irrigation (See Attached) – there is no power source close to the flower bed. This needs to be established before committing to any bid for an irrigation system.
   • All Around – $3,200.00
   • Custom Lawn Care – $2,469.38
8. Helen Tyson Middle School –John Duke will contact them to inquire if they will attend the Jan. 2015 meeting to give us a presentation.

Dear Mr.Duke,

We are students from Helen Tyson Middle School E.A.S.T, we would like to ask for your permission to build a Little Free Library. It will benefit the neighborhood community by having a Little Free Library near. They will be able to have access to a book in there community.

The little free library is a little library that is usually made of wood it is basically a wooden box that is being supported by a wooden pole that is implanted in the ground to hold it steady. The Little Free Library would be water proof and wind proof.  You can see examples of Little Free Libraries here: http://littlefreelibrary.org/

We selected this project because we would like to encourage the community to read and to expand their imagination and their reading skills.

We are in the early planning stages and are hoping to locate areas of Springdale where people will grant us permission to install these.  Once we have built these partnerships, we will proceed with finding the money to make our LFL.

— From Helen Tyson Little Free Library team- Maddie, Brianna, Valery

9. Miscellaneous
   • Replaced pool house front column lights.
   • Wrapped trees for winter.
   • Secured power to pool lake fountains.
10. Covenant Violations
    • See attached

Old Business:

1. Pool
   • Wading pool tile repair from Krystal Klear – $2,414.50 including tax. Will solicit another bid and have repaired in the spring before the pool opens.
   • Soliciting annual service bids.
2. Broken light pole
   • 56^th Street/Francis Fair – On hold for 56^th street lane additions.

 

Committee Reports:

ARC- presented by Judy Hammond.

• One fence approved on Pippin Apple.
• One pool denied on Ireland as it was too big.

 

Security and Neighborhood Watch- presented by Jamey Smithson.

• There were 63 minors in the area charged with drug paraphernalia. Most were from HBM.
• Police are patrolling more due to increased hours of darkness.
• Packages delivered and left on porches are being taken in the holiday season. Residents should try to get them off the porches as soon as possible.
• Many speeding tickets were issued last month.
• Neighborhood basically did well on Halloween.

 

Lakes Committee: presented by Ralph Gresham.

• The circuit will be turned off this weekend and the valves will be shut down for the season.

 

Landscape and Facilities Committee: presented by Bobbye Kelly.

APPLE SHED/JUNE DR. GREEN SPACE

This area is 213’ long and 91’ wide. A sidewalk surrounds and another one crosses the middle and intersects with a 36’ x 17’ concrete pad with about a 3 x 3’ planting bed in the middle with one day lily. Benches are at both ends of the pad. The pad is surrounded by six oak trees. There is a fairly large pear tree in the SW corner and a dog waste station in the NW corner. Mail boxes are on the south (June Dr.) side, close to the middle. A picnic table with benches was moved to the area and set close to the pear tree in October.

At the October 27 meeting, the L&F committee chair proposed adding an arbor (sometimes called a pergola) with a swing on the east end (cost less than $1,000); a fast-growing tree such as seedless green ash or saw tooth oak ($150-200) diagonal to the existing pear tree; and 6-8 (est. $200) ornamental grass plants (Big Bluestem or Maiden Grass) within new planting bed(s). Something short needs to be planted around the lily in the center bed. Total cost should be less than $1500. Doubt was expressed that we could get a pergola with swing for less than $1,000. The Board approved planting a tree, but asked for more definitive information on the remaining items.

 

PENDING: A saw tooth oak is to be planted in the NE corner at the location where a flag was placed by the committee. Also one of the oaks previously planted that leaned badly was propped up with a board; John was to have it done properly. Landscaping postponed ‘til Spring.

UPDATE:   L&F committee member Judy Gresham located some very nice pergolas in Siloam Springs (see top photo), one with a roof and one without, priced at $350-$450 each. They were about 6’ wide x 4’ deep, made of cedar and stained. The one with the roof sold shortly thereafter. The other was still available Saturday afternoon for $450. I have communicated with the builder of the pergolas about building more for us. Future large ones like these will cost some more because of a change in his source for material. He routinely builds a smaller pergola with swing for $350. (See attached photo).

The pergola with swing in front is the one we want to buy at this time.

The one in back left with roof has sold.

The small one in the back middle is sold, too, but should be available in the future for $350.

 

The pergola with swing in front is the one we want to buy at this time.

The one in back left with roof has sold.

The small one in the back middle is sold, too, but should be available in the future for $350.

 

REQUEST: Approval to purchase the remaining pergola/swing for $450. Ralph Gresham moved, seconded by Rob Stark to purchase the pergola not to exceed $500. for Apple Shed Park. The motion passed 8-1.

DANCING RABBIT PARK

This park varies in length from 160-390’ wide x 65’ deep, with no perimeter sidewalk, but a north-south sidewalk across the middle, with two benches and six trees bunched closely in the middle. There is a dog waste station.

Residents in that area have requested trees around the edges, which will give shade and ambience but still leave enough open space for neighborhood children to continue using the park for a playground. About 6 trees on each end of two different species would be sufficient. A pergola/swing would be a nice addition as well.-Jerry Martin moved, seconded by Bobbye Kelly to purchase and plant 12 trees at $200. each for the park, species and locations determined by the committee. The motion passed 9-0. The wood will require periodic re-staining. It was also agreed that purchasing future pergola/swings would depend on the residents’ reaction to the one at Apple Shed.

POOL HOUSE

The L&F committee inspected the area before this meeting and will try to get something together soon, so that any work can be accomplished during the off season.

 

BRICK PAVERS

PENDING: At the September meeting, our property manager was asked to walk the brick paver sidewalks to determine the extent of repairs needed. Our treasurer was asked to compile the costs for repairing the pavers over the past 2-3 years. John Duke stated he will walk the paver sidewalks to determine their status and areas requiring repair. Alicia Hines emailed a report along with the other financial reports to board members prior to the month’s meeting showing cost for the sidewalk repairs from 2010 to present.

TREE TRIMMING AND REMOVAL

RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that any contract for future right-of-way tree trimming require limbing up to at least 7 feet above the sidewalk and the tree shaped up all the way around. That might let us do this only every other year. If so much of the tree has to be removed because of dead limbs that it becomes unsightly or merely a stump left with very few limbs, that tree should be removed as close to the ground as possible, as well as already dead trees. Start and end dates should be established and progress reported and monitored. (Months after John said Dale was done in July, there were still low and dead limbs.) The board agreed to start trimming the trees to 7′ above street level.

 

Long Range Planning Committee: presented by Jerry Martin

56^thStreet – update on expansion.

• The Pilot parking lot exit is being moved to the north.
• Some trees and some of the shrubbery barrier between Pilot and HBM has been    reduced.
• Jerry Martin will verify with the city that Pilot is not adding to their parking lot.
• The water line is being laid on the Pilot side of the property.

 

Clubhouse Renovations – on hold.

 

 

Public Relations Committee: presented by Rob Stark. It was decided to rename the ‘Website Development Committee’ as the ‘Public Relations Committee’ due to the fact that it has to do with communicating with the residents.

Website Rollout:

We discussed the rollout/transition of the new website. We agreed that it would be easier and cleaner to point users to the new website for re-registration. There is a lot of old data that needs to be updated and it would be more difficult to transfer the information then just to have people register. I will be setting up the registration form on the website. Our plan is to send everyone the information about registering on the printed newsletter for December 2014, on the email blast once the site is about to go live, on Facebook, and on the new website once it goes live.

 

Online Payments:

 

We discussed a few different online payment methods. The committee decided that we would use “Paypal Payments Standard”. We also decided to add in the additional merchant fee to the payer to cover our expenses. We need permission from the board to commit to this payment method and so I will be proposing a motion for this at the board meeting.

Rob added that he also located a system called ‘Stripe’. Jamey Smithson moved, seconded by Jason Combs to use either Paypal or Stripe for the rollout as long as the transaction fee does not come through HBM–all we get is the net and no other information or amount. Our contract with At Home (AT&T) runs to the end of June 2015. The motion passed 9-0.

 

Communications Committee

 

Since forming this website committee, it has become apparent that this will probably involve a long term commitment as well as a broader scope. I will also propose a motion to develop a Communications Committee to replace the Website Committee. The purpose will be to actively maintain and update the website, plan for and execute new content for the emails and website (Email Newsletters, Residence Covenant Tips, etc), and to maintain and update commercial advertising.

 

Directory

 

We decided that only Har-Ber Meadows Businesses would be listed in the directory. The listing would be free.

 

Advertising

 

Analytics and systems are in place to measure advertisements. Our initial thoughts on this are that anyone could advertise through email and website to Har-Ber Meadows residents. We have not come up with fees or any additional rules. We would like any input from the board for this as we develop this area. There aren’t any hard stats at this point to justify cost to potential advertisers. So we will need to start somewhere and possibly adjust as time goes on. Our goals for this is to have the website paid for and possibly generating revenue. I am currently developing a advertisement guide which will outline what we need from them (image sizes, costs, rules).

 

Rob Stark added that he and Hope Feiner wrote a newsletter to enclose with the Dec. 2014 newsletter.

 

Old Business Follow-up:

1. website development- was renamed and moved to ‘committee reports’.

Voting and Board Authorizations via email: 10-28-14 to 11-24-14 – none

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:36p.m..

Respectfully submitted this 25^th day of January, 2015.

 

 

 

____________________________                                        ____________________________

 

Rob Frits, President                                                                Nancy Brown, Secretary