Hawk's Nest Homeowners Association

April 20^th, 2015

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association Board Meeting

7:15-9:20

6157 Avocet Ct. Dublin, Ohio

Attendees:

• Steve McElroy, President
• Greg Waina, Treasurer
• Tanya Ash, Landscape Chairperson
• Nancy Waina, Welcome Committee
• Geeta Viddam, Secretary

1. Steve McElroy called the meeting to order.
2. All acts of the board occurring prior to the meeting were discussed, approved and ratified. The board further voted to defend and indemnify the members of the board for all prior acts.
3. The minutes from the January 26^th meeting was approved and passed.
4. Landscape committee report

The Irrigation controller replacement – cost $296; this amount was already accounted for in the budget.

Capital improvements on Jacana Dr. – Todd Garwick is still waiting on bids

Water backflow testing – Tanya has scheduled with suburban irrigation

Tree fertilization – Deep root tree fertilization was done last fall by Davey Tree, who will be treating the crabapple trees at the Brand and Muirfield entrances for apple scab three times this spring.

Spring cleanup – All Task has already begun the spring cleanup at the entrances; edging, spreading compost and mulching. They are also removing the Russian Sage plants along Avery road to keep them from flopping on the sidewalk.

2015 Mailbox staining – the mailboxes will be stained in mid-May depending on the weather. We are waiting for proof of insurance before signing the contract.

Holiday lights – Tanya presented several bids she had received for holiday lighting. It was decided to hire a professional holiday lighting crew this November to string lights at the entrances. The lights will be LED saving us electricity as well as lessening the need for electrical improvements at the entrances.

5. Social committee report –

Walking Club – every Sat. at 8:30am; more people are joining every week

Beer tasting – will be held May 2^nd at 7pm at the Daily Growler in Upper Arlington

Bowling for adults- TBA

Picnic in the park – June 3^rd at 7pm

Ice cream social – Oct. 29^th at 4:45-6pm

Wine tasting and tennis club to be organized by Suzanna Farver

6. Welcome committee – Nancy, Suzanna and Linda have collected and put together a very nice recycle bag containing generous donations contributed by several organizations in Dublin for all our new residents.
7. Old business
   1. Avery Rd. lawn cutting; HOA will mail out letters to all the 13 homeowners to receive permission to cut the grass along Avery Rd. The board believes this area being city property, the city conveyed this responsibility to the homeowners via their deed. 100% of the homeowners need to sign these letters so All Task can begin to mow. Steve will request Bruce Curry prepare the letters and HOA will mail the letters out. Steve will send out certified letters to the rental homeowners.
   2. Sunny 95 neighborhood party – Steve will inquire if they are willing to do this again. They had done it a few years ago.
   3. 2015 Neighborhood Directory – Board is planning on using NP2 again to provide this free directory to the neighborhood. Tanya will contact each homeowner via e-mail to verify their families’ directory information. The information is kept confidential and not shared with outside parties. We are hoping for 100% neighbor participation.
   4. Nextdoor website and app – Tanya mentioned that 75% of our homeowners have already signed up for the website. It allows neighbors to communicate with each other whether it be announcing social events, board information, contractor referrals, crime reports, neighbor classified ads, etc. Tanya mentioned that she has received positive feedback from the neighbors who have signed up. Neighbors can adjust their settings to just see information from Hawk’s Nest neighbors or from surrounding neighborhoods.
8. Treasurer’s report: The 1^st page of the treasurer’s report is part of the minutes below. The Board will like to remind all homeowners that all HOA meetings are open to the public and everyone interested can attend. A 3 page treasurer’s report is available from the treasurer by request.
9. March 31, 2015 Balance Sheet and YTD Profit & Loss Budget vs Actual
10. Commentary as of March 31, 2015
11. Cash balance of $66,500. (Checking $35,300 + Savings $31,200)
12. Dues Outstanding of $3,650
13. 2015 Dues outstanding $2,100 ($175 x 12 residences)
14. 2014/2013 Dues outstanding $1,550 (2 residences including late and lien fees)
15. Annual dues assessment of $36,400 ($175 x 208 residences)
16. Collected $2,100 from a bank foreclosure event (released lien)
17. Expenses to date of $6,100
18. Reaffirmation of $490 budget amendment for the Welcome Committee approved on 03/05/15
19. There are 11 homeowners with outstanding dues. Steve met with all of them. A few homeowners have requested a meeting with the board.

10. Meeting adjourned.

Next meeting – July 20^th, 2015

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association

Board Meeting

January 26, 2015

7:18 pm – 8:45 pm

6157 Avocet

Dublin, Ohio

Attendees:

Steve McElroy, 2014/15 President

Todd Garwick, 2014/15 Vice President

Greg Waina, 2014/15 Treasurer

Tanya Ash, Acting Secretary & 2014/2015 Landscape Chairperson

Suzanna Farver, Homeowner

Christen and Rodger Shuback, Homeowner

Kathy Tagliaferri, Homeowner

Nancy Waina, Homeowner

1. Steve McElroy called the meeting to order.

2. All acts of the board occurring prior to the meeting were discussed, approved and ratified. The board further voted to defend and indemnify

the members of the board for all prior acts.

3. The minutes from the October meeting were presented. Steve asked if anyone had any changes to make. There were none. Steve asked for a vote to approve the minutes. All those present said “aye”. There was a discussion about how the minutes get posted to the website. It was suggested that going forward the minutes from the meetings would go out to board members within a week of the meetings and that the board members would make timely changes so that the minutes can be posted on the website within a week of the meeting. The Secretary would be responsible for getting those posted to the website. Tanya will make sure that Geeta knows how to do this.

4. Steve asked for a count of the Ballots for the 2015 Board. The Board was approved by 9 votes.

5. Greg Waina presented the financials for the period ending December 31, 2014. At that time, there were $36,550.60 in operating funds between the association’s four bank accounts; two at Fifth Third Bank and two at Union Bank. The total expenses for the year were $22,785.16 vs. $25,484 budgeted. Greg explained that several invoices for 2014 were not paid until 2015, so the actual expenses were more in line with those budgeted when taking that into consideration.

Greg reported that 205 of 208 homeowners paid their 2014 dues totaling $35,875. Liens were filed against three homeowners. HNHA collected $380 in late payment charges related to 2014 fees and another $3,425 was collected on outstanding liens. The Association received a generous gift of $825 during 2014. The Landscape Committee spent $14,070 of a $14,800 budget for 2014 including upgrading the entrance lighting to LED, paying utilities as well as maintaining the three entrances. The Social Committee spent a board approved $905 for its three events. Administrative costs of $11,010 exceeded the budget by $1,125 as a result of engaging the services of a professional HOA management company. The Board anticipates a $3,000 reduction in 2015 as a result of engaging an accounting firm instead.

The Association began the year with a cash balance of $18,656 and ended with a balance of $36,551. Greg mentioned that some of this money was still in a Union Bank account but would be transferred to the Fifth Third Bank savings account next month.

Greg called for a motion to approve the 2014 Financial Report. All those present said “aye”.

Greg presented the 2015 Budget. Landscape and utilities expenses were expected to remain the same except for an additional $2,000 to hire Davey Tree company to treat all of the entrance crabapples for disease and deep-root fertilization of same. Tanya mentioned that she had received a quote of $300 for replacing the irrigation controller at the Muirfield entrance and that the Sprinkler Upgrades and maintenance should be budgeted at $1,000 for 2015. Mailbox staining was budgeted for $4,300 and holiday lights were budgeted for $1,800. Social Committee’s budget is $1,500 and $7,200 was budgeted for Professional and Administrative expenses. Total expenses are expected to be $32,100, leaving an overage of $4,300 of income vs. expenses for the year. As of this meeting, no capital improvement projects were budgeted for 2015.

Greg called for a motion to approve the 2015 budget. It passed by a vote of 3 to 1.

6. Tanya Ash discussed the neighborhood landscaping. The capital improvement costs of adding water to the Jacana entrance were discussed. Todd estimated the costs to be close to $4,500. Tanya asked that this amount be added to the 2015 budget. It was decided that Tanya and Todd Garwick would get formal bids on the project and the allocation of funds for 2015 capital improvements would be discussed again at the April meeting.

Christen Schuback asked about the mailboxes and who was responsible for them. A brief explanation was given that roughly $10 of each person’s yearly dues goes towards staining the mailboxes and replacing the numbers in order to keep them all looking nice and uniform.

Kathy Tagliaferri asked why we didn’t have holiday lighting in 2014. Tanya explained that in past years she had personally hung the lights and wasn’t willing to do it anymore. We attempted to get five bids for professional lighting and they all exceeded our budget of $1,000 for both entrances. One of the problems is that we only have one outlet for lighting at each entrance and it frequently overloads the circuit. Also, incandescent lighting doesn’t hold up from year to year. The storage requirements for storing the 100+ pounds of lights and electrical cords were also overwhelming. If we used a professional lighting company – they provide LED lights and are responsible for repair and storage. Tanya mentioned that she felt the holiday lighting was good advertising for the neighborhood and was in favor of hiring a professional company to install it in early November. Suzanna Farver mentioned that she and her husband would be happy to hang the lights. Steve asked Tanya to send out an e-mail to ask for interest in forming a holiday lighting committee.

7. Steve McElroy asked if we could approach Sunny 105 to do another neighborhood party this year. Several of the homeowners present mentioned that they wished there were more social events for adults. Tanya brought up the difficulty the Association was having in obtaining new board volunteers. Steve offered to chair a Nominating Committee in which he would personally approach prospective volunteers to ask them to serve on the Board. Steve mentioned that he felt there would be more interest if the board members’ dues were waived. Tanya mentioned she was pretty sure this wasn’t allowed by our Bylaws and state law. Greg offered to check with our neighborhood attorney. The homeowners present asked about a Welcoming Committee. Suzanna Farver and Nancy Waina volunteered to co-chair the committee. They will put together a budget request and present it to the Board. Steve mentioned that we would begin working on the next neighborhood directory in early Spring.

8. The Board set the dates for the regular Board meetings for 2015:

April 20^th, July 20^th, October 19^th and December 7^th were selected.

9. There was a discussion regarding annual homeowner packages and when they should be sent. Greg mentioned that dues notices shouldn’t be sent out until after the annual meeting since Section 6.1 of the Code of Regulations call for a discussion of annual assessments and dues at the annual meeting. Traditionally the packages have gone out in mid-January to allow neighbors time to return ballots and give them notice of the annual meeting and a synopsis of the prior year’s financials and board activities. Steve asked the homeowners present when they would like to receive their dues notices. All those present said mid-January. It was decided that going forward, dues notices would go out with the annual packages in mid-January and would be sent out by the accountant. If dues were expected to be increased or decreased for the year, the proxies to change the dues would be sent out at the same time as the Board Ballots, and the dues notices would be sent separately after the annual meeting and proxies were counted.

10. The meeting was adjourned.

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association

Board Meeting

October 7, 2014

7:05 pm – 8:45 pm

6157 Avocet

Dublin, Ohio

Attendees:

Steve McElroy, 2014 President

Todd Garwick, 2014 Vice President

Greg Waina, 2014 Treasurer

Tanya Ash, Acting Secretary & Landscape Chairperson

Elaine Borgerding, Social Chairperson

Brennan Cavanaugh, Homeowner

Nancy Waina, Homeowner

1. Steve McElroy called the meeting to order.

All acts of the board occurring prior to the meeting were discussed

and approved and ratified. The board further voted to defend and indemnify

the members of the board for all prior acts.

3. The minutes from the August meeting were presented. Since the Board had only just received these minutes from the Property Manager it was decided to allow everyone extra time to read them and make corrections before voting on them and entering them into the Secretary’s notebook.

4. Greg Waina presented the financials for the period ending June 30, 2014. At that time there were $46,868 in operating funds between the association’s two bank accounts. The total expenses for the year through June are $9,765 vs. $12,542 budgeted.

Greg mentioned that there are three delinquent homeowners as of July 31^st. He will be sending out lien letters and filing liens in the next few weeks. Greg also mentioned that we have been named as a secondary on a foreclosure in the neighborhood. The homeowners are paid up through 2014.

Tanya Ash discussed her frustrations with dealing with the property management company. It took three months to receive the minutes from the last HOA meeting. Alternatives to using RPM for financial management were discussed. It was decided that Greg and Tanya would visit Fifth Third Bank to discuss alternatives that might be available for collecting and accounting for funds. The board would then meet again prior to the end of August in order to vote on how to proceed with the Associations finances in the future. Homeowner, Brennan Cavanaugh mentioned that he recently served on his Board at Amberleigh North and that they received full service property management (not just Financial) for less than we are paying.

Greg called for a vote on page 4 of the financial report and they were unanimously approved.

5. Tanya Ash discussed the neighborhood landscaping. We lost four trees at the entrances due to the harsh winter – one at the Brand entrance and three at the Muirfield entrance. The plan for the Brand entrance is to replace that area with grass in the Fall. One spruce was replaced at the Muirfield entrance. Two other dead trees that were located on the outer semi-circle of that entrance were removed and Tanya mentioned that this provided a better view of the landscaping at that entrance. She mentioned that there were two ideas for those trees – remove the third tree on that semi-circle and replace them all with a more columnar tree that wouldn’t block the view of the entrance (these trees would continue to be lit at night). The other idea would be to remove the third tree and relocate the landscape lighting to other areas. The board took a vote and unanimously decided to do the latter.

Tanya reported that the treatment that was applied to the crabapple trees at the Brand road entrances that were diseased was successful in saving them. Unfortunately, the crabapple trees at the Muirfield entrance are now suffering from the same disease and Tanya will look into having Davey Tree treat all of them next Spring.

Tanya reported that the LED lighting project has resulted in lowering our electric bills by 2/3. The project was more than was estimated due to some additional lights that needed to be replaced, but should pay for itself within a year. There is a broken floodlight still located at the Brand road entrance which will need to be removed by an electrician since this is beyond the capabilities of the landscape lighting contractor.

Tanya mentioned that the new landscape contractor has been doing an excellent job. Homeowner, Nancy Waina, mentioned that the landscape contractor does not wear a uniform or have any signage on his truck and that this had concerned some residents. Tanya will look into possibly providing uniforms for Roger and his crew to eliminate concern.

Several homeowners present mentioned that some homeowners were not trimming their trees and they were encroaching on the sidewalks and causing people to duck to get past them. Tanya asked them to e-mail her addresses and she will get letters out to them.

6. Steve McElroy mentioned that he had received calls from people living along Avery Road concerned for their safety when mowing to the ditch line. Steve asked Todd Garwick if we could ask the city to mow this area. Todd said that the city would not be responsible. This area is owned by the city but just like our tree lawns – the individual homeowners are responsible for mowing. Steve mentioned that he had seen workers on commercial mowers mowing just a few of these properties. Greg Waina mentioned that these workers were actually part of a landscape crew hired by a few of these homeowners. Steve will look into asking how much a landscape company would charge to mow this ditch area on a weekly basis and report back to the Board.

7. Tanya Ash mentioned that some homeowners whose property backs up to Brand Road have made several complaints about how loud the fountain is and had spoken to someone at the city about possibly replacing the mechanism with something quieter. Todd said he would check into this and see what we could do.

8. Tanya Ash mentioned that it was time to start looking for new Board members for 2015. We will need a Secretary, Social Chair(s) and someone to work on a new directory. Steve is going to ask if the same company (NP2) would be willing to provide the directory again.

9. Elaine Borgerding announced that the date for the neighborhood Block Party would be September 21^st. She will reserve the Block Party Package from the city.

10. Several homeowners expressed concern regarding the push button crosswalk sign at Avery road. They have witnessed several cars not stopping for children in the crosswalk who have pushed the button. Todd Garwick will look into next steps for improving safety at this crosswalk.

11. The meeting was adjourned.

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association

Board Meeting

August 5, 2014

7:05 pm – 8:45 pm

6157 Avocet

Dublin, Ohio

Attendees:

Steve McElroy, 2014 President

Todd Garwick, 2014 Vice President

Greg Waina, 2014 Treasurer

Tanya Ash, Acting Secretary & Landscape Chairperson

Elaine Borgerding, Social Chairperson

Brennan Cavanaugh, Homeowner

Nancy Waina, Homeowner

1.       Steve McElroy called the meeting to order.

2.    All acts of the board occurring prior to the meeting were discussed

and approved and ratified. The board further voted to defend and indemnify

the members of the board for all prior acts.

3.         The minutes from the April 28^th meeting were presented. Since the Board had only just received these minutes from the Property Manager it was decided to allow everyone extra time to read them and make corrections before voting on them and entering them into the Secretary’s notebook.

4.         Greg Waina presented the financials for the period ending June 30, 2014. At that time there were $46,868 in operating funds between the association’s two bank accounts. The total expenses for the year through June are $9,765 vs. $12,542 budgeted.

5.         Greg mentioned that there are three delinquent homeowners as of July 31^st. He will be sending out lien letters and filing liens in the next few weeks. Greg also mentioned that we have been named as a secondary on a foreclosure in the neighborhood. The homeowners are paid up through 2014.

6.         Tanya Ash discussed her frustrations with dealing with the property management company. It took three months to receive the minutes from the last HOA meeting and they are incomplete and inaccurate. Also, it was discovered that we are being charged $25 for the first overdue notice and $7 for each notice thereafter. This $25 item was not listed as an allowable charge in Exhibit A of the management agreement. The Board will look into this further. Tanya also mentioned that after finding out at the April 28^th Board Meeting that delinquency notices had not been sent out by the property management company, the property manager still didn’t send out delinquency letters until July 15^th. Considering that collections was the main reason that we hired a Property Management company, this is a large concern. It was decided that Greg and Tanya would visit Fifth Third Bank to discuss alternatives that might be available for collecting and accounting for funds. The board would then meet again prior to the end of August in order to vote on how to proceed with the Associations finances in the future. Homeowner, Brennan Cavanaugh mentioned that he recently served on his Board at Amberleigh North and that they received full service property management (not just Financial) for less than we are paying. Greg called for a vote on page 4 of the financial report and they were unanimously approved.

7.         Tanya Ash discussed the neighborhood landscaping. We lost four trees at the entrances due to the harsh winter – one at the Brand entrance and three at the Muirfield entrance. The plan for the Brand entrance is to replace that area with grass in the Fall. One spruce was replaced at the Muirfield entrance. Two other dead trees that were located on the outer semi-circle of that entrance were removed and Tanya mentioned that this provided a better view of the landscaping at that entrance. She mentioned that there were two ideas for those trees – remove the third tree on that semi-circle and replace them all with a more columnar tree that wouldn’t block the view of the entrance (these trees would continue to be lit at night). The other idea would be to remove the third tree and relocate the landscape lighting to other areas. The board took a vote and unanimously decided to do the latter.

Tanya reported that the treatment that was applied to the crabapple trees at the Brand road entrances that were diseased was successful in saving them. Unfortunately, the crabapple trees at the Muirfield entrance are now suffering from the same disease and Tanya will look into having Davey Tree treat all of them next Spring.

Tanya reported that the LED lighting project has resulted in lowering our electric bills by 2/3. The project was more than was estimated due to some additional lights that needed to be replaced, but should pay for itself within a year. There is a broken floodlight still located at the Brand road entrance which will need to be removed by an electrician since this is beyond the capabilities of the landscape lighting contractor.

Tanya mentioned that the new landscape contractor has been doing an excellent job. Homeowner, Linda Waina, mentioned that the landscape contractor does not wear a uniform or have any signage on his truck and that this had concerned some residents. Tanya will look into possibly providing uniforms for Roger and his crew to eliminate concern.

Several homeowners present mentioned that some homeowners were not trimming their trees and they were encroaching on the sidewalks and causing people to duck to get past them. Tanya asked them to e-mail her addresses and she will get letters out to them.

8.         Steve McElroy mentioned that he had received calls from people living along Avery Road concerned for their safety when mowing to the ditch line. Steve asked Todd Garwick if we could ask the city to mow this area. Todd said that the city would not be responsible. This area is owned by the city but just like our tree lawns – the individual homeowners are responsible for mowing. Steve mentioned that he had seen workers on commercial mowers mowing just a few of these properties. Greg Waina mentioned that these workers were actually part of a landscape crew hired by a few of these homeowners. Steve will look into asking how much a landscape company would charge to mow this ditch area on a weekly basis and report back to the Board.

9.         Tanya Ash mentioned that some homeowners whose property backs up to Brand road have made several complaints about how loud the fountain is and had spoken to someone at the city about possibly replacing the mechanism with something quieter. Todd said he would check into this and see what we could do.

10.      Tanya Ash mentioned that it was time to start looking for new Board members for 2015. We will need a Secretary, Social Chair(s) and someone to work on a new directory. Steve is going to ask if the same company (NP2) would be willing to provide the directory again.

11.      Elaine Borgerding announced that the date for the neighborhood Block Party would be September 21^st. She will reserve the Block Party Package from the city.

12.      Several homeowners expressed concern regarding the push button crosswalk sign at Avery road. They have witnessed several cars not stopping for children in the crosswalk who have pushed the button. Todd Garwick will look into next steps for improving safety at this crosswalk.

13.      The meeting was adjourned.

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association

Board Meeting

January 13, 2014

7:05 pm – 8:45 pm

7684 Quetzal Drive

Dublin, Ohio

Attendees:

Jim Ash, 2013 President

Steve McElroy, 2014 President

Todd Garwick, 2014 Vice President

Tanya Ash, Acting Secretary & Landscape Chairperson, 2013 Treasurer

Nicole Lietz, homeowner

Mike and Paula Hamm, homeowners

1. Jim Ash called the meeting to order.

2.     All acts of the board occurring prior to the meeting were discussed and approved and ratified. The board further voted to defend and indemnify the members of the board for all prior acts.

3. Tanya Ash presented the ballot counts. 2014 Officers were voted in:

Steve McElroy, President

Todd Garwick,  Vice President

Greg Waina, Treasurer

Geeta Viddam, Secretary

Tanya Ash, Landscape Chairperson

Kristin Shoup/Elaine Borgerding, Social Chairpersons

4. Tanya Ash presented the proxy count for the proposed increase of dues to $175.  Final count was 78 “yes” votes and 11 “no” votes.  Tanya Ash mentioned that the responses from residents were overwhelmingly positive with many  people including checks for $175 with their proxies.

5. Jim Ash discussed the need for a property management company to take over the financial duties of the Treasurer position.  The former Treasurer for Hawk’s Nest moved from the neighborhood in 2013 and we were not able to get a neighbor to volunteer for this role.  It is a time consuming position and a very important position so we looked into outsourcing most of the duties.  We contacted local CPA firms and three Property Management firms.  Associa Real Property Management agreed to “financial only” management at a cost of $500/month + expenses.   Greg Waina, a neighbor, has agreed to act as Treasurer in order to oversee the financial reporting done by the Property Manager.  Associa’s contract will run for 12 months and can be renewed with 90 days notice if we have a resident step up to take over Treasurer duties in the future.  Jim asked for a vote on using Associa Real Property Management as our financial manager, all those in attendance said “Aye”.

6. Tanya Ash gave the 2013 landscaping recap.:

1. Mailbox Staining Project – Final total of $3,200 was spent, we saved $2,000 by using teen labor.  Replaced many numbers and flags at no cost to residents.  We will not stain the mailboxes in 2014 but will provide the stain or replacement numbers to any neighbor who requests it.  We hope to stain them again in 2015 but will need to revisit the hourly rate paid to the teens at that time.  Nicole Lietz mentioned that she moved from Westbury where her dues were much higher but there was no social or services such as mailbox staining offered.  She complimented the board on what a difference the uniformity of the mailboxes made for a well – kept neighborhood appearance.
2. Mulch Project – Spent $1,950 to mulch all 16 beds including  material and teen labor wages.  Typically we pay a landscape company between $3,500 and $5,000 for mulching.  Unfortunately, the project was very time consuming for the Landscape Chairperson, so we will contract this out in 2014.
3. Holiday entrance lighting – This year, we used neighborhood teen labor to hang the lights at the entrances saving $600 compared to what we would have had to pay a landscape lighting company for this service.  In the future, the plan is to simplify the holiday lighting even further, by just hanging wreaths on the large rock at each entrance and changing the uplighting on the trees to red or green bulbs.  This will save on labor as well as materials since the lights only seem to last two years.
4. Tanya mentioned that the Muirfield entrance is very time consuming to keep looking its best due to the many different kinds of perennials needing weekly care.  She spent an average of three hours each week from late spring to fall, maintaining this entrance and has made sure that the landscapers bidding on our 2014 contract have built this care in to their price quotes.
5. Using neighborhood teens for so much of our labor this year kept much of our dues money within our neighborhood.

7. Tanya Ash presented the 2014 Landscape Budget.  We received three bids ranging from $10,000 to $15,100.  Jim Ash called for a vote on using “All Task Landscaping” as our 2014 landscape contractor.  All those present said “Aye”.  All Task does not do sprinkler start-up, winterization, or maintenance so we will contract with Suburban Irrigation to perform this at a rate of $320/year + repairs at an hourly rate as needed.

Tanya Ash discussed the LED lighting project.  This should pay for itself within a year to a year-and-a-half in electric bill savings as well as less frequent light bulb replacement needs.  Chris Ward ,who was recommended by “All Task”,  and has done many of the landscape lighting on homes in Hawk’s Nest, bid to replace both our large entrance lights lighting the big rocks, as well as convert twelve uplights on the trees to LED for $1,000.  We discussed the cost of the fixtures and everyone present agreed that this was a reasonable bid.  Jim Ash called for a vote on using Chris Ward as our lighting contractor for the LED project, and all those present said “Aye”.

Tanya Ash discussed the crabapple trees at the Brand road entrance are suffering from “apple scab” disease.  This is affecting the trees to the right of the large sign at the entrance.  Tanya Ash brought an arborist from Davey Tree out to look at the trees as well as a representative from the City of Dublin horticulture department.  Both parties agree that the trees are suffering from apple scab.  The trees outside of the mulched area are maintained by the City and the city will remove them since they are completely dead.  The three trees within our mulched area we are responsible for and we have contracted with Davey Tree to remove one of the crabapples in the far back which has grown into the spruce, as well as treat the remaining three crabapples three times to control the disease.  This must be done in the Spring prior to the trees leafing out.  If the treatment doesn’t work and we end up losing the two trees, we will replace them with a more disease resistant variety of crabapple.

8. Tanya Ash presented the 2014 Budget.  Jim Ash called for a vote and all those present said “Aye”.

9. Jim Ash reported that the City has been treating the Ash trees along Quetzal Drive to hopefully prevent the ash-borer.  They did this last in 2013.  This is a two-year treatment.

10. Tanya Ash spoke about the HNHA Directory project.  Using NP2 to produce it at no cost to the neighborhood, resulted in a professional-looking directory.  NP2 only produces this every year and a half so we won’t get new directories in 2014.  We will instead e-mail out a list of new residents information as well as changes for people to include in their existing directories.

11. Tanya Ash mentioned that there are 17 residents who refuse to share their email addresses with the Association even though the Association keeps these private for those who ask.  This makes it difficult and costly to communicate with these residents.  We will look into adding an acknowledgement clause that if you won’t share your e-mail address, you as a resident, must check the website to make sure your dues are current.

12. Tanya Ash mentioned that our neighborhood’s Articles of Incorporation need to be renewed in 2014.  They were last renewed in 2009 and it’s a five year window.

13. Tanya Ash mentioned that we had a homeowner give us a check for $1,000 as a donation.  The homeowner was very pleased with our efforts and appreciated what the association was doing.  This has never happened before and  Tanya asked for ideas on what should be done with the donation.  Jim Ash mentioned the Brand Road Entrance Enhancement Project that we were hoping to apply for a “Neighborhood Beautification Grant” from the city for.  We received a design for this a few years back but with limited funds in the budget, we couldn’t prove to the city that we could maintain it.  Our hope is to revisit this enhancement project and spruce up our Brand entrance to be as nice as our Muirfield entrance.  Designs for this entrance can be found on our website.  It was decided that Tanya Ash will work with the city as well as get bids to see if we can make this enhancement to our entrance.  We will then check with the homeowner who donated the funds to see if he would like for his donation to go towards this enhancement.  We would then add a bench or a plaque to the design acknowledging his contribution.

13.  Jim Ash asked if anyone had questions or concerns.  Neighbor, Nicole Lietz, brought up the safety issue of crossing Avery road to get to and from Avery Park.  She wondered if there couldn’t be some kind of pushbutton crosswalk installed with something that lit up on the side of the road.  Tanya Ash shared a traffic study that was done last spring showing speeds as high as 60 miles per hour in that area.  Tanya mentioned that she had contacted the City multiple times over the years asking for something safer.  Currently, most people won’t even stop or slow down for the crosswalk.  Todd Garwick will look into this issue for us.  Neighbor, Paula Hamm, mentioned she had contacted the city to find out if there was a quieter fountain mechanism for our ponds along Brand road.  The city told her that they were unable to turn off the fountains and that they would be too expensive to replace with quieter mechanisms.   Nicole asked if it was possible to get a light in our park to discourage vandals.  Recent vandalism was discussed ranging from broken beer bottles on the playground to spray paint on a car.  Residents are encouraged to call the police if they see anything suspicious.  Tanya Ash mentioned the new proposed Riviera development and asked what the impact might be to our neighborhood.  Todd Garwick replied that it should have minimal impact on Avery road.

14. The meeting was adjourned.

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association

Board Meeting

April 21, 2013

7:30pm – 8:14pm

7684 Quetzal Drive

Dublin, Ohio

Attendees:

Jim Ash, President

Julie Battles, Treasurer

Tanya Ash, Acting Secretary & Landscape Chairperson

1. Jim Ash called the meeting to order.
2. All acts of the board occurring prior to the meeting were discussed and approved and ratified. The board further voted to defend and indemnify the members of the board for all prior acts.
3. Julie Battles presented the Treasurer’s report for 2013 thus far.  Thirteen homeowners still have outstanding dues.  Julie will be sending out letters this week to those homeowners offering them a chance to appear before the board if they have circumstances where they cannot pay at this time.  Julie was able to find an accountant who filed our Association’s taxes for $200.
4. Tanya Ash presented the landscape proposal from Brickman for improving the Jacana entrance and the four beds along Avery road.  Jim Ash asked if the homeowner at the Jacana entrance was agreeable to the improvements.  Tanya Ash stated that she had sent the plans in an e-mail and had received approval from the homeowner via same.  Jim Ash called for a vote on using Brickman’s proposal.  All those present said “Aye”
5. Julie Battles presented the 2013 Budget for approval.  The only way to accomplish the landscaping improvements within budget is for the landscaping committee to take on much of the work themselves.  We will be performing our own repairs to the landscape lighting, purchasing and installing mulch ourselves, as well as dividing, transplanting, and replacing plants and shrubs as needed, and planting our fall floral display ourselves.  The landscape committee will also hang and remove the Christmas lights.  Even by doing most of the work ourselves this year, we will still have to dip into our cash reserves by $2,000 in order to be able to make the improvements and stain all the mailboxes.  Jim Ash called for a vote on the 2013 Budget.  All those present said “Aye”.
6. Tanya Ash reported that the City has agreed to treat the Ash trees along Quetzal Drive this Spring.  This is a two-year treatment.  She reported that the City also agreed to replace the two dead Serviceberry trees to the left of our Brand road entrance.  This work should be performed by mid-summer.  Tanya stated that there were many repairs needed to the lighting at the Brand Road entrance due to children sledding through our entrance beds last winter.  There are also many lights out at the Muirfield entrance and she stated that she would change the bulbs and see if that corrected the problem.
7. Jim Ash asked if we would be applying for a “Neighborhood Beautification Grant” to make improvements at the Brand road entrance this year.  Tanya Ash said she needed to get more bids and fine-tune the design in order to see if the project was feasible given our budget limitations.  We will revisit this later in the year.
8. The meeting was adjourned.

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association

Board Meeting

January 28, 2013

7:00pm – 8:15pm

7684 Quetzal Drive

Dublin, Ohio

Attendees:

Jim Ash, President

Steve McElroy, Vice President

Julie Battles, Treasurer

Tanya Ash, Landscape Committee

Greg Waina, Homeowner

Nancy Waina, Homeowner

1. Jim Ash called the meeting to order.
2. All acts of the board occurring prior to the meeting were discussed and approved and ratified. The board further voted to defend and indemnify the members of the board for all prior acts.
3. Julie Battles presented the Treasurer’s report for 2012.  We had several unexpected expenses in 2012.  Utilities (water and power) ended up being $550 higher in 2012 than was budgeted.  Some of this may be due to sprinkler heads that were broken by city trucks at the Brand road entrance during their sewer project.  Additional monies will be budgeted in 2013 to replace broken sprinkler heads at that entrance.  We also had to spend $933 to repair our entrance lighting, much of that due to a fire in the junction box due to a mouse that made a nest in it.  Julie also mentioned that we are looking for an accountant who can file our Association’s taxes this year.
4. Tanya Ash presented the landscape bids for maintaining the three entrances, five traffic circles, and the four beds along Avery road.  Brickman Group was the lowest bidder.  Jim Ash called for a vote on using Brickman as our landscape contractor this year.  All those present said “Aye”.  Tanya then explained that we are going with a separate contractor for weeding this year.  This will allow us to have our landscaping weeded more often and for less.  Jim Ash called for a vote to use “I Pull Weeds” as our weeding contractor and all those present said “Aye.  Tanya mentioned that she would ask the weeding contractor if he could come up with a weeding package that could be offered to our homeowners at a low cost.
5. Tanya Ash mentioned that the city last treated our Ash trees along Quetzal Drive in 2011.  It was a two-year treatment.  Tanya said that she would ask the city to treat the trees again in 2013.  If the city refuses, it was agreed to not treat the trees since the city is replacing Ash trees neighborhood by neighborhood.  Tanya said that she would also ask the city to replace the two dead Serviceberry trees to the left of the Brand road entrance.  These are city trees that died several years ago.  The city removed the stumps but never replaced them.  If the city refuses to replace them again this year, we will ask permission to replace them ourselves.
6. Jim Ash called on a vote on extending our Directors and Officers Liability Insurance coverage with CAU for another three year term.  All those present said “Aye”.
7. Landscape issues were discussed.  The fall planting was done by Tanya and we should enjoy daffodils and pansies this Spring.  Tanya mentioned that she would like to improve the Jacana entrance and the four beds along Avery road.  Many of the shrubs and trees have died in those beds and Tanya would like to get bids to have them improved.  We will be working alongside the homeowner at the Jacana entrance to come up with a plan which is mutually agreeable.  Tanya would like to remove two of the trees at that entrance and return some of the bed to grass.  This would please the homeowner whose house is almost entirely hidden by spruce trees at the moment.  It was agreed that the 2013 budget discussion would be tabled until such time as Tanya was able to obtain bids and an idea of what the projected improvements would cost.
8. Tanya Ash mentioned that all of the neighborhood mailboxes would be stained in May/June this year.  Neighborhood teens would be offered a chance to earn money for staining them again.  The mulch for the neighborhood will also be done by teens this year as well.
9. Steve McElroy mentioned that he would like to see if we could send the city a letter regarding the crosswalk to Avery Park.  As Avery Road traffic has increased, the speeds have also increased, and he is concerned with the safety of our many residents who cross the street there.  Jim Ash said that this has been an ongoing concern and although the city has improved it slightly by painting the crosswalk and adding a sign, he agreed that something should be done to improve that crossing.  Jim offered to send the City a letter and bring it up in the next Neighborhood Leaders meeting.
10. The meeting was adjourned.

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association

Board of Directors Meeting

September 25, 2012

8:15pm – 8:30pm

7715 Wryneck Drive

Dublin, Ohio

 

Board of Directors

Jim Ash, President

Julie Battles, Treasurer

Tanya Ash and Kathleen Tagliaferri , Landscape Committee

Elaine Borgerding and Kristin Shoup, Social Committee

Rochelle Rupp, Secretary

Attendees:

Mike Strange

Lorie Strange

Rob Kelly

1. Tanya Ash called the meeting to order.

2. All acts of the board occurring prior to the meeting were discussed and approved and ratified. The board further voted to defend and indemnify the members of the board for all prior acts.

3. Julie Battles gave the Treasurer’s report. She shared that three homeowners were late in paying dues. Jim noted that the state gives authority to homeowners associations to charge late fee and liens.

4. Elaine Borgerding presented the social committee report. Labor Day celebration was fun, though the weather was rainy. A Halloween pizza party is being planned. The welcome committee is keeping busy with new neighbors into the neighborhood.  Neighborhood directories are old. Mike Strange has not heard anything from the vendor who is considering printing our new directories.

5. Tanya and Kathleen described the landscape committee needs. The landscaping crew doesn’t take the initiative to do work that needs to be done.  New bids will be solicited. Jim explained that we will keep the landscaping budget at the current rate. Three entrances require more landscaping. Jim and Tanya attended to some landscaping issues.

6. Jim explained that an Email will go out asking for neighborhood volunteers to run for the HNHA Board of Directors. Jim Ash has volunteered to run for President; Julie Battles will volunteer to run as Treasurer. Tanya Ash and Kathleen Tagliaferri volunteer to remain on the Landscape Committee. Elain Borgerding and Kristin Shoup have volunteered to be on the Social Committee. Elections for a secretary are open for a new volunteer. Rochelle Rupp has asked to step down after 2 years.

7. Jim Ash adjourned the meeting.

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association

Special Board Meeting  –  2012 Budget Approval

April 6, 2012

7684 Quetzal Drive

Attendees:

Jim Ash, President

Julie Battles, Treasurer

Tanya Ash, Landscape Chairperson and Acting Secretary

Absent:

Steve McElroy, Vice President – on vacation

Rochelle Rupp, Secretary – on vacation

1. Jim Ash called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.

2. Julie Battles presented the 2012 Budget. For those board members that weren’t present – Julie had e-mailed them a copy in advance of the meeting.  Jim Ash made a motion to approve, Tanya Ash seconded, Julie Battles, third.  The 2012 Budget was approved and signed by the attendees and attached to these minutes in the corporate record book.

3. Tanya Ash discussed the upcoming landscaping project.  Peabody Landscape will be performing the work on the Brand Road entrance as well as the landscaped islands as soon as the danger from frost is behind us.  The work most probably will happen in mid-May.  There was a discussion regarding the unseasonably warm weather this year and that we may have to add additional weeding performances this year.

4. Tanya Ash told the board that the Kristin Shoup, Social Committee Chairperson, had suggested resurrecting the Welcome Committee this year.  They would like to drop off a small gift (baked goods or jam, etc.) to new homeowners along with a copy of the neighborhood directory.  Tanya then discussed the expense of the printed directories and that they could only be budgeted for printing every other year.  Tanya brought up the idea that has been discussed in prior meetings – of moving away from printed directories and instead adopting a directory that could be e-mailed to residents bi-annually.  Tanya would like to provide each homeowner with a thin binder that would serve as their directory as well as keep important neighborhood documents handy such as the HNHA social calendar and deed restrictions.  There was a discussion on how to make the Deed Restriction document easier to read and follow by residents.  Tanya suggested it be simplified and put more into a handbook format.  Tanya Ash will look into finding the best price on the binders before we move ahead on this idea.

5. Tanya Ash mentioned that we still don’t have e-mail addresses for twenty of our residents.  It was decided that if neighbors refuse to provide their e-mail addresses they would be responsible for checking the neighborhood website for pertinent information.

6. Jim Ash relayed information that was received in the latest Dublin Civic Association meeting.  He spoke of the importance of each board member always adding their office after their signature for all documents signed for the Association.  He also mentioned that an attorney specializing in representing homeowners associations spoke at the meeting and suggested that neighborhoods ban Tier 3 Sexual Predators in their deed restrictions.  He cited that property values decline 17% if a Tier 3 Sexual Predator moves into a neighborhood.  Jim relayed that many of the other Dublin homeowner associations in attendance were going to add this to their deed restrictions.  Jim is going to research this and see if there are other types of felons that we can ban from moving into our neighborhood.  It was decided that we would revisit the issue after having more information.  It was also suggested by the attorney that we every homeowner’s association should have an indemnification clause in their Bylaws.  Jim will look into having that added to our Bylaws.

7. Tanya Ash mentioned that the City announced that they would begin construction of the Brand Road bike path (east of Muirfield Dr.) in 2013 with completion slated for 2014.

8. Tanya Ash mentioned that with the early warm temperatures – weeds are a real problem for our residents this year.  The Landscape committee reached out to our landscape maintenance company, Buckeye Landscaping, and had them come up with a fertilization/weed control package that could be offered to our residents.  This will be e-mailed to our residents shortly.  The landscape committee has posted the proposed enhancement to the Brand Road entrance (north of the bike path) to the website and plans to meet with the City in the near future to proceed with the Neighborhood Beautification Grant.  If granted, we would move forward with that project in the Spring of 2013.

9. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

Hawk’s Nest Homeowners Association
Board Meeting
February 27, 2012

Attendees:
Jim Ash, President
Julie Battles, Treasurer
Tanya Ash, Acting Secretary and Landscape Co-Chair
Kathleen Tagliaferri, Landscape Co-Chair
Alex Dorko – new resident
Rick & Theresa Jeric – residents
Cydney Philbin – resident
Elaine Borcherding – new resident

1. Jim Ash called the meeting to order.

2. Julie Battles presented the tallies from the ballots. There was a discussion regarding open board positions (secretary and social chairperson) Without anyone to step in as Secretary – Rochelle Rupp had agreed to continue in that role again this year. Jim Ash called for the approval of the 2012 board members, Tanya Ash seconded.
2012 Hawk’s Nest Association Board:
– Jim Ash, President
– Steve McElroy, Vice President
– Julie Battles, Treasurer
– Tanya Ash and Kathy Tagliaferri – Landscape Co-Chairs
– Rochelle Rupp, Secretary

3. Treasurer’s Report:
Julie Battles reported that to date 44% of dues have been collected and 58 proxies have been collected. So far there have been 56 votes approving the change to the Bylaws and 2 “no” votes. $8,900 in dues have been collected and so far the only expenditures for the year have been for water and electric, postage, copies and removal of x-mas lights.

4. Landscape Committee’s Report:
Tanya Ash reported that we had two bids for the neighborhood landscaping contract (Buckeye and Peabody Landscape). The bids were within $170 of each other but incidental expenses (cost of light bulb replacement and sprinkler repair) made Buckeye Landscape a more preferred contract. Jim Ash called for a vote to approve Buckeye Landscape as our neighborhood Landscaper and the board approved.
Tanya Ash presented the landscape committee’s agenda for 2012. The plan is to improve the four islands (Avocet, Touraco, Wigeon and Enke) since the spruce trees have grown through the shrubs. The landscape committee will meet with landscapers as well as those homeowner’s living on the courts to develop a plan of how they would like their islands to look and will get bids on improving same. The committee also plans to improve the Brand road entrance by planting perennials and reducing the amount of annuals needed each year. They would also like to replace two serviceberry trees to the left of the entrance that were chopped down by the city years ago with the stumps left in. The committee also plans to get bids on power washing the entrance signs (rocks).
Tanya explained Dublin’s Neighborhood Beautification Grant program and suggested improvements that would fit into the city’s goal of improving areas of Dublin visible from the main roads. If we can come up with a plan and can show Dublin that we can maintain the improvements and that we have homeowner support and volunteers to help make the improvements we can apply for a grant where they will match the funds we put into it. Tanya asked for feedback from those in attendance and everyone thought it was a good idea. The board will move forward with getting designs and cost estimates and plans to apply for the grant in 2013. The board will post the proposed plans to the website for community feedback.
There was a discussion regarding vandalism of the holiday lights at the entrances and a discussion regarding the costs of decorating for the holidays vs. the benefits. All those in attendance agreed that the benefits outweighed the costs and that we should continue to decorate the entrances for the holidays. The Ash’s will continue to store the lights in order to save costs.
Kathy Tagliaferri reported that she was able to get the City of Dublin to treat the Ash trees on Quetzal Drive (street trees) at no cost to HNHA last year. She will look into contacting the city to see if they will agree to treat the trees again this year.

5. Jim Ash asked for a discussion on what to do about the Social committee portion of the budget since we do not have a Social Committee chairperson this year. There was a discussion about whether to have neighborhood social events or not. Elaine Borcherding stated that one of the things that attracted her to our neighborhood was the mention of social events especially those involving children’s activities on our website. Tanya agreed that having these types of events were a positive element of our neighborhood. It was suggested that we handle the events on an individual basis asking for volunteers to help out on each event individually. It was suggested that we send out an e-mail asking for interest in:
Garage Sale
Happy Hours
Easter Egg Hunt
Sunny 95 neighborhood party – see if they will agree to host it again
Holiday caroling party
The board decided that in the future there would be a charge associated with each event in order to maintain social events.

6. The meeting was adjourned.

7. The next meeting will be held the last Monday in April at 7:00 at the Ash’s house.