South Cove Homeowners Association Board Meeting Minutes – 5/15/2002

At Home of David Bangs

 

Board Members Present:  Susie Carney, David Bangs, Susi Tom, Kendra Mills, Doug McDaniel, Mark Southern, and Shelly Birkwood

 

Board Members Absent:  Mike Quaranta, Cynthia Murphy

 

Meeting called to order at 7:15pm by Susie Carney

 

Minutes: David read the minutes for April 2002, and they were approved as read.

 

Treasurer’s Report:  Mark reports we have $70,348 in the bank. 36 outstanding dues or assessment payments now total $7,200 – down from $13,850 a month ago.  We’ve made great progress on collecting dues, but also made large payments for insurance and playground equipment since the last board meeting.

 

Landscaping: 

Drainage:  The drainage work performed in 1991 was focused on the lower section of the park.  At the time, a second phase for the upper level of the park was planned, but was never completed.  The drainage in the lower part of the park is still working well, so Olympic will create separately implementable plans for two upper areas: the area from the path intersection up to the playground, and the area from the path intersection North to the S.E. 44th Way entrance. The design fee will be $1500, as approved in April.

 

Playground:  Kendra will order more gravel, which will be spread by a neighborhood work party.  Mark is willing to let the gravel be dumped in his driveway the day before spreading.

 

Curbing: In addition to the two bids we received last month, we received a new bid from Abel Curbing, for $8423.56.  This price includes replacement of current curbing with stronger 10” curbing on all planting islands, any necessary asphalt repair, any work to reduce the size of certain islands to allow more passing room for trucks, and taxes.  This is the lowest of the three currently valid bids, and the least susceptible to additional unexpected costs.

 

Able curbing is recommended by homeowner Jeff Henderson, who is a contractor.  This company does its own installation rather than relying on subcontractors, and Susie reports that they have been far more flexible and accommodating than the other bidders. David moved, and Doug seconded, that we accept the Able Curbing bid.  The cost of the project will be approximately $1500 over budget, which balances the $1500 saved by having volunteers remove the old playground equipment.

 

We will not reduce the size of any planting island without the approval of surrounding homeowners.  Susie Carney will determine which islands should be reduced, and consult with homeowners.

 

Entrance Island Plantings: Kendra worked with Squak Mountain Nursery and had plans drawn up for redoing the plantings on the entrance island at S.E. 44th way.  Most of the plantings from two years ago did not survive.  The new design retains most of the existing plants and trees, but involves some artistic rearrangement and addition of additional draught tolerant plants and two trees.

 

In addition, the designer recommended removing the dying junipers and plum trees from the strip along 188th Ave, and installing mulch. It was her opinion that plants would not have a chance of surviving there, under the canopy of large trees protruding over the fence.

 

Kendra will put the work out to bid.  The right time of year to do the work would be October or November.

 

Trees at Park Entrance:  Two large trees at the S.E. 44th Way park entrance extend into a homeowner’s yard and over their roof.  The homeowner has requested that the trees be removed, as they are much too large for the space.  Surrounding homeowners have all agreed they should be removed.  Cascade Tree Experts has provided a $925 bid to remove the trees, stumps and all.  Kendra would like to consider the issue further and discuss the request at next month’s board meeting.

 

Tennis Courts:  Doug McDaniel hired an individual who also cleans courts at the Seattle Tennis Club to power-wash our courts. The total price of the power-washing job is $200 for labor and $220 for equipment rental.  Doug reports that the original green color and bright lines of the courts are clearly visible for the first time in years.  There are several small holes which Doug will patch.  The recently purchased net has been installed.

 

Doug obtained two bids for repair of the gates and locks.  “The Fence Connection” bid $842 to make repairs to gates and lockboxes.  They would raise the gates to prevent them from scraping, and replace rusty lock boxes and other parts so that the gates cannot be opened by prodding from any direction.  The other company (which does the Seattle Tennis Club locks) declined to give a specific bid, because the work they would perform would cost more than we have available. Kendra moved that we accept the Fence Connection bid and Susi seconded.  Passed unanimously.

 

Doug reported that he will separately take our existing lock for the south side, and door handle for the north side to a locksmith for inspection and repair.  The Fence Connection bid does not include reinstalling the lock and door handles, but this is work Doug can probably do himself.

 

Architecture:

The architecture committee has been considering whether it is necessary for homeowners to apply for approval before removing trees.  There are various opinions on this, but the architecture form does list “Landscape Modifications” as an example of a change needing approval.  Though it seems that virtually all requests to remove nuisance trees would be approved, addition or removal of large trees is a common cause of disputes between neighbors.  A major purpose of the architectural approval process is to make sure all affected homeowners are consulted before a significant change takes place.  There seemed to be a consensus that we should leave “Landscape Modifications” on the list.  There were no motions to remove it from the list or to conduct a survey to determine current neighborhood opinion on the issue.

 

Fourth of July:  The clowns and bouncer toy are reserved from Clowns Unlimited.  We will have the same complement of clowns this year as last, except that the face painter will be replaced by an airbrush artist.  Susi is making good progress, and working on recruiting volunteers.

 

June Newsletter: The submission deadline for the June newsletter is June 21st, which is two days after the next board meeting.  Since it is so late in the month, Fourth of July posters should be put up early.  The newsletter will give final Fourth of July details, an update on special assessment work, the date of the garage sale, annexation issue news, and an article from the architecture committee.

 

New Business: Gary Thede (of Sammamish Beach Club) is working with King County on road repair.  Susie Carney and Shelley Birkwood volunteered to work with him to assess the condition of roads in South Cove.

 

Meeting Adjourned at 9:25pm.

Next Meeting:

 

Wednesday, June 19, 7pm
Home of Shelly Birkwood
4549 194th Ave. S.E.