OAK PARKE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of the Board of Directors
August 14, 2007
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The meeting of the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Oak Parke Homeowners Association, Inc. (the "Association") was held at 7:00 p.m. on August 14, 2007 at Bethany Lutheran Church. 

In attendance were Chris Driggs, Pam Monday, and Scott Robuck, Directors; Carl Gamble, Property Manager.  Ginger Grissom, Libby English, Zeke Salinas, Tom Lott, John Basham, Frank Holmes, and Karl Keel also attended the meeting.

1. Call to Order. After determining that a quorum was present, the meeting was called to order by Pam Monday, who acted as Chairman of the meeting.
2. Announcement of Board Member Change.
   Pam Monday announced that Marilyn Simpson has resigned as board member. Scott Robuck has agreed to take her place and also act as Webmaster for the Association. Pam Monday praised Ms. Simpson's work for the Association, especially her work to obtain refunds from the Travis Central Appraisal District for past appraisal years.
3. Approval of minutes of the July 10, 2007 meeting of the Board of Directors.  Scott Robuck moved that the minutes be approved with no corrections. The motion carried unanimously.
4. Members' Comments.
   1. Libby English and Tom Lott. These comments will be discussed under the Fence Committee report under number 6 below.
   2. Zeke Salinas.  Zeke Salinas addressed four issues; the first being the security issue dealing with the registered sex offender living in our community. Mr. Salinas proposed a more proactive approach. The Board will stand by its decision to do as advised by Susan Haney, Association attorney. Ms. Haney advised the Board to inform the neighborhood that there is a sex offender living within our community, and for further information they should consult the websites made available by the State.
      
      The second issue was procedures for changing deed restrictions. This will be discussed under old business below.
      
      The third issue addressed by Mr. Salinas was Association records. Currently, Members must go to Susan Haney's office (808 W.10th Street) to review records. Mr. Salinas stated that he did not feel that Ms. Haney had all of the records, and that the records did not appear to be organized. It is Mr. Salinas' opinion that records should be made centrally available somewhere within the Association community or at Goodwin Management's office (located at 11149 Research Blvd.). Since Mr. Salinas had previously made a written request for specific financial items, Carl Gamble reported that he could make those items available to Mr. Salinas by e-mail without disclosing any Member's confidential information.
      
      The fourth issue addressed by Mr. Salinas was a hearing before the Board. It was agreed that this hearing could wait until the September meeting.
   3. John Basham. John Basham made two requests: first, that the agenda be posted on the Association website. The Board agreed to do so. Mr. Basham also requested that the Board expand ACC membership. The Board reported that they intend to expand community involvement with regard to the ACC Committee and also in an effort to expand Board membership. In fact, the Board is interested in getting more people involved with committee work. Committee members will be posted on the Association website in the near future.
      
      Mr. Basham also expressed concern over the Association budget and raised questions about the reserve fund. Carl Gamble explained how the budget is prepared. He further reported that preparing a budget had been difficult due to high Board turnover. The Board commented that they plan to review and work on the budget soon. Carl Gamble will bring copies of the budget to the September board meeting.
5. Property Manager Reports
   1. Delinquency Report.  Carl Gamble reported that two delinquent accounts would be sent to the Association attorney to begin collection proceedings. There was concern over attorneys' fees, but Mr. Gamble reported that attorneys' fees would be the responsibility of the delinquent homeowner--not the Association.
   2. Deed Restriction Violations Report. Mr. Gamble provided this information to the Board with the property management reports. No issues were discussed.
   3. Homeowner Concerns. Mr. Gamble reported that there were a few concerns this past month, which consisted of key fob problems, minor vandalism, and mowing of retention ponds. Mr. Gamble stated that mowing the retention ponds had been almost impossible due to recent rains. The landscaping company will address this issue once the retention ponds dry out.
   4. Garage Sale Permit Requests. There has been one request made for the weekend of August 18th.
   5. Manager's Action Items Report.
      1. Roofing Bids for Amenity Center. Roofing bids have been received from Drury Roofing Inc., Redd Roofing & Renovation, Webb Roofing, and Mottco Roofing & Const., Inc.  These bids will be posted.
         Scott Robuck consulted a friend in the roofing business (not one of the 4 bidders) who gave the following recommendations: (1) 30 lb. felt should be used (currently only Webb quoted 30 lb. felt). (2) Either Tamco or Elk shingles should be used because they are very good quality, both are algae resistant without charging an additional cost for it, and both have a 30-year warranty. (3) The roofing company should give a 5-year warranty for their work. (4) The Association should ensure that the roofers have a workers' comp policy, and proof of insurance should be supplied by the company prior to beginning the work.
         
         It was agreed that Scott Robuck would contact the four companies to ensure compliance with the above requirements, and request that new bids be submitted to take these 4 items into account.
         Scott Robuck checked these companies on the Better Business Bureau website and learned that Webb Roofing was the only one that had complaints filed against it. However, he did note that complaints against Webb Roofing appear to have been resolved. The Board unanimously agreed that the roofing should not take place until pool season was over.
      2. Replacement Glass for Gas Lanterns. Carl Gamble reported that Binswinger Glass would be responsible for this.
      3. Management Reports.  The Board agreed that they would receive future property management reports electronically. This will save the Association money in that reports will not have to be printed.
      4. Retention of Paper Records.  See discussion under Old Business in #7.
   6. Board Q&A.
                  There was discussion about why Goodwin Management paid the electrical bill late for three consecutive months. Carl Gamble will discuss this issue with the Goodwin Management accountant, and the Association will be reimbursed for any late fees. Chris Driggs will be responsible for making a written request for this reimbursement. Scott Robuck will obtain past history for Association gas and electric bills.
6. Committee Reports. 
   1. Activities Committee
      Chris Driggs reported that the National Night Out had been cancelled due to lack of people to organize it. The next event will be the Fall Festival and that budget has previously been approved.
   2. Pool Committee
      Chris Driggs reported that lifeguard services will end on August 18th. She praised the Graves' family for their service in providing lifeguard services this year.
      The door lock system will be upgraded by Scott Robuck. The current plan is for the pool to close at 10:30 p.m., and for the locks to shut off at 10:45 p.m. There is interest in keeping the pool open after September. No additional cost will be incurred for this because the pool service cleans the pool year-round, and no lifeguard service will be provided.
   3. Landscape Committee-Contracts; bids.
      Chris Driggs reported that work is still being done to improve the area where the sand volleyball court was removed.
      
      The Association has received a new contract from the current landscapers, Circle C Landscape LLC (Susan Hoover), for the period September 1, 2007 through September 1, 2008. Susan Hoover reported that an increase in price (approximately 4.2%) was necessitated by a 15% increase in fuel costs. Carl Gamble commented that Circle C Landscape was doing a better job than a lot of other landscaping companies used in other communities that he manages. This new proposal will be posted on the Association website.
      
      Scott Robuck asked if there were ways to cut costs for landscaping needs, since landscaping is such a big budget item (the new proposal calls for the base maintenance fee to be $1,825/month). One question raised was why the Association should pay when mowings were missed due to inclement weather. There was also discussion on why the Association should pay for mowing of drainage channels when the drainage channels were actually owned by the individual homeowners--not the Association. Carl Gamble reported that drainage channels have been mowed by the Association for consistency of mowing. Zeke Salinas reported that this was the way it was established from the beginning of the Association. Under the new landscaping contract, the cost to mow the drainage channels is $160/mowing. Another item brought up was to look into "call out costs." Carl Gamble will ask Susan Hoover about this, and report at the September meeting. There was also discussion of using Circle C Landscaping for maintenance, and taking bids for other projects as they arise.
      
      Karl Keel stated that the retention ponds should be mowed more often. The City is responsible for mowing the retention ponds, but will only mow four times per year. It is the Association's responsibility for any additional mowings.
      
      Karl Keel also brought up the possibility of having only one retention pond so that the other areas could be used for soccer fields. Pam Monday stated that the retention ponds are a City of Austin engineering decision. Karl Keel will discuss the matter with the City of Austin Parks & Recreation Dept. to determine if Parks & Recreation can get it approved through the City Engineering Dept.
   4. Fence Committee
      Libby English and Tom Lott gave an update on the fence committee. Tom Lott has mailed requests for bids to Capitol Fence (aka Southside Fence), Allied Fence, AAA Fence Company, and Austex Fence. Deadline to submit bids to Goodwin Management is September 7th. It was agreed that Carl Gamble would e-mail the bids to the Board and the fence committee members as he receives them, so that the fence committee could make a recommendation at the next Board meeting.
   5. Parking Committee.
       No report.
   6. Security Committee.
      No report.
7. Old Business
   1. Appraisal Review.
      Pam Monday reported that we would need someone to review the appraisals next year since Marilyn Simpson has resigned. Because of the way that the Travis Central Appraisal District prepares appraisals, the Association will have to protest the appraisals each year.
   2. Deed Restriction Update.
      An attorney opinion has been obtained from Susan Haney outlining two methods by which the deed restrictions can be amended. This information will be posted.
   3. Webmaster Appointment & Priorities.
      Scott Robuck has been appointed Association Webmaster and will be working to improve the Association website. Minutes will be posted as will the agendas. There was discussion on a possible change of providers, but it was decided to stay with the current provider. There was also discussion about passwords to protect Association minutes, but it was agreed that this would be too cumbersome and not necessary.
      There was also discussion on the best method to provide e-mails to Members. It was decided that all e-mails would be sent by Scott Robuck.
   4. Pool Issues.
      The meteor shower had passed, so it was too late to discuss keeping the pool open for it. They will work on this for next year.
      Pam Monday discussed problems with a citation being issued by the City's pool inspector for failure to have a pay telephone placed outside the pool area. The pool inspector has agreed that no further action will be taken against the Association for this infraction.
   5. Record Retention & Storage.
      Susan Haney has agreed to maintain the Association records at her office. Zeke Salinas stated that Goodwin Management has a contractual obligation to receive and store records. Carl Gamble reported that Goodwin Management has been keeping electronic records for the Association. Goodwin Management does not keep originals. The prior Board believed it necessary to keep originals. Mr. Gamble reported that he had never had a problem proving up records in court with electronic copies. Ginger Grissom will try to obtain additional information about this issue and report at the next Board meeting. Susan Haney's opinion on this issue will be posted.
      This issue of who should maintain the records was discussed in number 4 above. No decision was made.
      There was also discussion of the amount of time and money spent by Susan Haney's office to organize the records and redact them for viewing for Member requests. The following background information was brought up: (1) the previous Board faced a dilemma when they received the records from the prior management company because they were in horrible disarray; (2) the previous Board members had full-time jobs and could not spend the time to personally organize and redact the records; (3) privacy laws necessitates review and redaction of Association records before allowing Members to view them; since a request had been made to review the records, it was necessary that the Association make them available in a form that would not invade any Member's privacy; and (4) Susan Haney gave the Association a good price break by only charging $30/hour for organizing and redacting the records.
   6. CPA Letter.
      Pam Monday has signed the management representation letter from Rupert & Associates (CPAs) with a handwritten disclaimer since she was not on the Board in 2005 and 2006. Rupert & Associates will take care of filing the 2005 and 2006 taxes.
   7. Clarification re: nominating committee information.
      No report.
8. New Business.
   1. Lawyer Fees and Contract.
      Pam Monday discussed the fees charged in 2007 by Susan Haney. It was felt that too much of the Association's budget had been spent on obtaining attorney's opinion letters and organizing Association documents. It was agreed that the Association would not seek additional attorney opinion letters unless it was absolutely necessary.
      Susan Haney has presented an engagement letter to the Association for an hourly rate of $225/hour for attorney's fees and $50/hour for paralegal fees. It was agreed that both of these rates were reasonable. However, it was also discussed that no engagement letter was necessary at this time as the Association could use an attorney on an "as needed" basis. It was also discussed that the Association should obtain quotes up front for attorney's services for specific matters to keep the budget on track. It was also discussed that the Association may want to use other attorneys.
   2. Change in meeting dates.
      Do to a conflict, meeting dates for September and October will not be on the first Tuesday. It was decided that the September meeting would take place on September 13th at Bowie High School. The October date will be decided at the September meeting.
9. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 pm.

_______________________________
Chris Driggs, President

Attachments (Linked PDF documents) :
(1)        Sign Up Sheet
(2)        Roofing bids
(3)        Landscape Contract
(4)        Deed Restriction Attorney Opinion
(5)        Attorney Opinion on Record Retention
(6)        Management Representation Letter
(7)        Engagement Letter from Attorney