| Minutes Spring Meadows II Condominium Association January 11, 2011 Board Meeting 2:00 pm Morgan Collins 908 S. George St York PA Ben Glezer presided and called the meeting to order at 2:00 pm. In attendance were Glezer, Hamberger, Kimball and Kozak Minutes of the 11/12/2010 Board Meeting posted on the SM2 website were approved. President's Report Ben Glezer thanked Phil Kozak for the quality and volume of his efforts in making the transition from the old board to the new board, setting up a website for the association, handling the accounting change from Morgan-Collins to Citizens Bank and a sundry of other efforts. Ben stated that our 2011 budget was "put together on a shoestring" and our challenge for 2011 was to finish out the year at or under budget. Declarant's Report Keith Hamberger met with Keith Ahrens on January 10, 2011 to review the status of repair items. Approximately one half of the items on the repair list have been completed. All reported loose stonework has been repaired; if any more loose stonework is noticed it should be reported to Keith Ahrens. Keith Hamberger stated that all roofs have been installed per building standards; leakage has occurred only during the unusually severe snow storms of this past winter; assuming normal snowfalls this winter, no additional problems are expected; snow roof rakes should serve to help mitigate any problems during major snowfalls. Landscaping/Trees Report Postponed until next meeting since Judy was unable to attend. Reserve Study Report A survey of existing reserve study laws in 50 states & DC was completed; the findings are: · 13 States have enacted reserve study laws to some degree; PA has not enacted such a law. · Elements having a remaining useful life of 30 yrs or less should be included. · The reserve study itself should be reviewed every 3-5 years. · Annual budgets should fully fund reserve study results. · Any costs that can be estimated should be included in the reserve study. A motion to incorporate the above findings into our reserve study was approved. . A construction history of each of our eleven buildings has been compiled and posted on our website; the dates therein define the “placed into service” dates for use in computing the remaining useful life of the elements; initial occupancy of the very last building currently under construction may be as early as April 2011. . The complete inventory of the elements that are to be included in the reserve study is contained in a table which was included in the November 1, 2010 Annual Budget letter to all unit owners. Two public domain references have been located which list element life expectancies for elements. The task in front of us is to estimate the maintenance/replacement costs of the individual elements and consolidate that information into a reserve study summary. The Board welcomed Keith Hamberger's offer to share warranty information and replacement construction costs of the common and limited common elements; a list of elements will be forward to him. Secretary/Treasurer Report Accounting 1. All monies were moved from Morgan-Collins to Citizens Bank December 30, 2010 2. A Quickbooks backup file of our financial transaction history at M/C was provided to us. 3. A meeting with our accountant was held January 6th for a cursory review of the books as supplied to us from Morgan-Collins and to complete a high level review of our 2011budget: · Interest is taxable to us; all income tax filings to date are in error because interest was never reported; since 2009 interest was over $100, our 2009 IRS tax return will need to be amended. · 2011 capital reserves will be $10 per month and not $35 per month as previously reported to accurately reflect our use of funds during 2011. · 2010 monthly capital reserves will also be reviewed before tax filing to accurately reflect our use of funds during 2010. · Initial Capital Contributions are correct to the penny. · Monthly condo fees are still being reviewed; many small errors were observed in 2006 when splitting the fees between capital and operations making review of the following years advisable. · We have been accumulating a retained earning surplus over the years instead of distributing the surpluses to the unit owner’s capital accounts. This will be corrected before 2010 taxes are filed. · A few payment omissions (in our favor) were observed in 2010. · There is NO paper trail for expenses; the declarant is obligated to provide all such records upon relinquishing control. · Reserve capital monies should be laddered into CD’s to improve our interest yield. 4. The Treasurer recommends NO AUDIT of the books until the Declarant relinquishes control, delivers copies of all expense bills through 2010 and pays for one half the cost of the audit. The books after a cursory review by our accountant appear to be in order; deposits were as expected; expenses, after subtracting fairly well known W&S, gas and electricity fees, do not present much volume for embezzlement and certainly do not warrant a $6000 audit at this time. The Board approved the Treasurer's recommendation not to conduct an audit at this time. 5. We have enrolled into MetEd’s automatic (ACH) payment plan and e-billing. 6. We have enrolled into York Water’s automatic (ACH) payment plan and e-billing. 7. We have subscribed to Quickbooks Online to do our accounting and will receive e-billing. 8. Plan is to use Bill Pay for almost all payments to avoid writing paper checks. Snow Removal W&S will be placing equipment on site prior to major storms; building 2906-08-10 owners have agreed to W&S plugging into their outdoor electrical outlets to keep diesel glow plugs warmed. Snow roof rakes have been purchased and given to W&S to avoid last winter’s roof leaks and air pipe blockage during major storms. Shared Cost of Mowing the Retention Pond Spring Meadows I has been asked to pay $562.50 which is one half the cost to mow & string trim the retention pond area during 2010. They referred us to Keith Hamberger for clarification; Keith affirmed our position in writing and we await a further response from Spring Meadows I . Emergency Contact Numbers We have received and recorded 9 responses to date; Ben Glezer is compiling the master list. Mailing Address Good News: We received approval and a mailing address from the Post Office to mount an additional mail box on site to have our association mail delivered on site. Bad News: The township was agreeable until they checked with the Fire Department who ruled “No building, no mail box”. With the automation of the electricity, water bill and Quickbooks accounts, paper mail is estimated to be only 6 to 10 pieces of mail per year. The decision has therefore been made not to get a PO BOX, not to get a mail box and instead to have mail sent directly to the address of the Secretary/Treasurer. Income Tax Preparation The PA Department of Revenue was contacted and they confirmed to us in writing that we need only to file Federal Income Tax Returns; Phil Kozak (former H&R Block tax preparer) maintains an S-Corp tax business and has a tax preparers IRS PTIN number and will file future tax returns gratis. Changing By-laws And/or Declaration The list continues to grow: · Limit where reserve funds may be invested – needs to be added to protect principal · Board Member Size – needs to be amended to provide flexibility · Annual Audit – needs to be amended to provide association controlled flexibility · Initial Capital Contribution – needs to be added (maybe) · Resale Contribution – needs to be added (maybe) · Resale Certificate Fee – needs to be added (maybe) · Annual Meeting Date – should be included if we make any other changes Cost To Change By-laws And/or Declaration A discussion was held with the attorney who created our documents late last year; he has offered to review our potential needs after the Board meeting. It is possible that Resale Certificates eliminate the need for the "maybe" items listed above. A review to determine if an attorney is required to begin with is underway. New Business A letter to Unit Owners is due on 3/29/2011 to summarize 2010 Fiscal results. Keep this in mind as this mailing presents an opportunity to communicate other matters to unit owners; deadline for inclusions to this letter is 3/25 to permit duplication and preparation. To be included in this letter:
Next Meeting Thursday April 7, 2011 2:00 pm Morgan-Collins 908 S George St York PA Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 pm |