BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES  
					September 28, 2005				

PRESENT:  
Joseph Sikora - President			Deborah Giampolo - Vice President
Joseph Palladino - Treasurer		Richard Ericson - Secretary     
Warren Johnson - Director			Charles Wiberly - Director
Barry Towers - Director									

Representing Elite Management - Frank Goeckler

CALL TO ORDER 
President Sikora called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. 

Approval of the minutes:  
The reading of the minutes was waived, a copy having been emailed to the members of the Board, corrected and re-mailed.  It was moved and seconded the minutes, as they appeared in the email, be approved, and they were unimously approved.

FINANCIAL REPORT
Treasurer Palladino reported that overall, revenues met expectations, and expenses were on target with exceptions that have been previously noted, i.e., an $11,500 overrun in legal fees.  Additionally, the Conservancy budget reflects a negative variance of $2,675.  The remainder of this past month's financial activity has been otherwise unremarkable.  

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Standards Committee  - Chairman Rick Ericson 
A copy of the minutes from the last meetings of the Standards Committee are appended.

The Committee is revising the current form for requesting additions, alterations or improvements (AAI) to the exterior of dwellings.  The form needed updating to reflect the current approval process.

The Committee is recommends discontinuing use of the current Walden Woods Guidebook when conducting welcoming visits with new residents since it contains outdated information.  When the Association Rules are re-written, the Committee will incorporate information from the amended Declaration, and revised By-Laws, and Rules into a new Guidebook if the Board feels it would be beneficial.  

In an effort to better educate our residents about the functioning of the Standards Committee and the architectural restrictions under which the association operates, the Committee has initiated a monthly "flyer."  The flyer addresses topical issues, and is designed to be short, focused, get attention, and minimize reading time.  

Chairman Ericson thanked Communications Chairman, Bob Ellis for the excellent article in the last Walden Woods News that described the functioning of the Standards Committee.

The Committee selected traffic directional signage for the Village on the Knoll.  Ericson moved that the Board approve the expenditure of $429 (plus tax and freight) from the Village Council budget for the 11 signs and metal stakes.  The motion was seconded and voted affirmatively.  

Communications Committee - Chairman Bob Ellis
Chairman Ellis reported that in addition to publishing the monthly News, the committee completed the Resident Directory.  However, the committee decided to delay publication until after the new directors are elected at the end of the year.  

The committee also identified that they want to make changes to the the News format, to include space for Letters to the Editor, and personal announcements such as graduations, new borns, and arrival and departure of residents.  Ellis proposed that Councils might want space to publish Council activities.  The committee also identified budget needs.  

Ellis reported 122 visits to the Walden Woods website over the past month. 

Recreation Committee -  Chairwoman Deb Giampolo
Chairwoman Giampolo reported that the recent all-association tag sale netted about $220 for the association, and announced the committee's intention to request permission to hold a similar event next year. 

The Committee is setting the 2006 budget for pool items.  

A Ridge unit owner asked if there was any anticipated funding of playground equipment for resident children.  President Sikora addressed the question by stating that a fairly recent survey of unit owner preferences suggested little interest in erecting such equipment due to maintenance and liability considerations. He offered that the subject could be revisited when Country Walk was fully developed.  He further suggested that if there was sufficient interest on the Ridge, that perhaps that Council could pursue it with it's unit owners.

Finance Committee -  Chairman Joseph Palladino
Nothing additional to report

Document Revision Committee- Chairman Warren Johnson
The Committee did not meet during the reporting period

Environment Pond - Chairwoman Lynne Gillette
No report

Meeting House Committee -  Chairwoman Bette Harner 
Chairman Harner was not present.  The Board acknowledged that three social events have been held at the Meeting House since last reported. 

Landscape Committee - Chairman Skip Kroll
Chairman Kroll reported that the committee was winding up the 2005 season and was reviewing proposals from last year that would be submitted for the 2006 budget considerations.   

Welcoming Committee  -  Chairwoman Jan Terklesen 
Committee member Bob Ellis stated that a meeting is scheduled for October 10, at which time they will take up several issues, including revisiting a request by the Standards Committee to provide more detailed information about a resident's obligation to seek association approval prior to effecting changes to the exterior of their units.

PROPERTY MANAGER REPORT -  Frank Goeckler
1.  Rehabilitation of masonry pillar landscaping at entrances - planting bed rehabilitation around the 1st set of pillars at Marshall Phelps entrance were completed.  The next phase involves the 2nd set of pillars at that location. However, it came to Elite's attention that the new developer has tree-planting plans that may interfere with proposed planting bed plans. Dead shrubs in the beds around the Mercer Lane pillars were removed. 

2.  The pool hasn't been closed yet.  While trying to find a contractor that would repair minor spalling of the plaster skim coat on the pool bottom, it was determined that that type of repair is no longer done.  Contractors claim that skim coat repairs don't last, and the preferable solution is to re-surface the entire pool.  The Board and management agreed that the cost of resurfacing the entire pool cannot be justified, and therefore management will defer repairs while additional research is conducted.  
 
OLD BUSINESS

Developer Liaison  - Warren Johnson
Chairman Johnson reported that the association presented the developer with a bill for the cost of repairs to the damaged planting beds at the Marshall Phelps entrance.  The damage was presumed to be caused by developer delivery trucks.

Johnson also reported that he observed a developer employee parking on the grass of the west Walden Meadows traffic circle, and asked that the operator refrain from parking there.  

New Developer News - Warren Johnson
None reported.

NEW BUSINESS

A motion was offered to authorized expenditure of between $7,200 and $7,400 from the Conservancy budget to finish the remaining plantings around the masonry pillars at Walden Meadows, Mercer Lane and Pierce Boulevard. 

HOME OWNERS FORUM

1. Joyce Armstrong, 102 Knollwood So. asked about the association's policy for replacing shrubs, in common areas around the dwellings, that have died and have been removed. She noted that she has been replacing some in her "yard" at her own expense. Frank Goeckler responded by pointing out that removal of dead/dying plantings is usually done quickly upon unit owner request, as an aesthetic consideration.  However, in the interest of cost-efficiency, replacement may not occur until there is an accumulation of replacements to be done at once.  

2.  Jen Deemer, 139 Pierce Blvd., inquired about the purpose of the trenching around her unit.  The landscaper was tasked with pulling mulch away from wood siding to prevent termite access. 

3.  Paul Bobbit145 Morning Glory, asked who was responsible for pruning small trees and large trees in the common areas.  President Sikora explained that there are two different services for that.  Russo, the landscaper, "shears" shrubbery twice a year.  Evergreen has been contracted in the past to prune/shape trees.

4.  Richard (Dick) Armstrong, 102 Knollwood So., asked about replacement of two trees that died. He also pointed out that the crab apple trees in his area are overgrown, and asked if they could be replaced with something else.  President Sikora suggested that he apply to the Standards Committee if a change is desired.  He explained that the association won't pay for changes, but he might be approved to do replacments at his own expense. 

5.  Bob Ellis, Communications Committee Chairman, suggested that he could publish guidelines in the Walden Woods News regarding shrub and tree replacement.

6.  Jen Deemer noted that a tall person who walks on the sidewalks along Hawthorne, has been observed breaking or cutting off tree branches that hang below head height (and apparently hit him).  President Sikora suggested to Mr. Goeckler that he obtain a price to elevate the trees along all of the sidewalks.  Mr. Goeckler stated that such quotations were just obtained from Russo, broken down by various village sections, with dollar values for each, and totalling $13,800.  President Sikora asked Mr. Goeckler to evaluate the proposal.

7.  Polly Ellis, 144 Morning Glory Court, stated that her front yard was in poor condition, noting that it had been thatched, but stating that she was unsure of what that accomplished.  Mr. Goeckler explained that climatic conditions this summer were arrid and sprinkler operation eradict.  As a consequence, a lot of grass was lost to crab grass.  Russo tried to rectify some of the damage by applying limited overseeding and fertilizing in the hope that some of the grass will be restore and establish a root system that will give us a leg up next spring.  He did this at no charge to the association.  

8.  Bob Ellis asked if the Developer's marketing signs along Walden Meadow were a violation of association rules against advertisement of that sort.  Director Johnson explained that the association can't control the developer in that respect, except, perhaps to ask him to display more aesthetic signage.  

NEXT:  Meeting to be held at the Meeting House at 7:00 p.m., October 26.  It is noted that the meeting is starting a half-hour earlier to accommodate a presentation by the Long Range Planning consultant to attending home owners.    

ADJOURNED:  There being no addtional old or new business, it was moved and seconded that the meeting be adjorned, and unanimously approved at  8:45  p.m. 

Respectfully submitted, 

_______________________
Richard G. Ericson, Secretary

Approved:

____________________			_______________
Joseph Sikora, President 			Date: