Wednesday, April 16, 2003

In Attendance: Doug Burdett, President

Jim Rosinke, Vice President

Bill Carlton, Treasurer

Gina Sherman, Secretary

Lou West - Director

Karen Lopez, HCMS

Elizabeth Scott, Association Attorney

Dennis Sherman, Newsletter Committee

Doug Burdett called the meeting to order at approximately 7:03 PM.

The Board Meeting was held at the law offices of Daughtry and Scott, located at 17044 El Camino Real.

The revised agenda was approved.

Fence Easement:

There were several homeowners in attendance to resolve the wood and brick pillar fence easement along Brittany Bay Blvd. and Hobbs Road. Doug Burdett gave a brief history of the fence and issues that have brought the Board to clearly define the responsibilities of the fence easement. The Board had to review the easement from how it would affect all 376 homeowners, which has been a long process. The existing easements were discussed from a legal basis, regarding the wording. The Board has approved a resolution to the fence easement, which clearly defines, for the future, what all the responsibilities are. The Association will do routine maintenance of the fence, for normal wear and tear, at the association’s cost. If a homeowner is responsibly for damages, they will be expected to reimburse the association. Inspections will be done twice monthly, during the regular deed drives.

Questions asked by homeowners and Board’s response:

How will the association determine who is responsible for damages? If homeowners have not received a letter in the past for repairs and/or damages to the fence, the association will not hold the homeowner liable for replacement.
Is the fence insured? Yes, it is covered under the association’s insurance policy.
Where is the money from the past that was put aside for fence? It is in a reserve account.
Hasn’t that money already been spent for pool re-plastering, that did not last according to the reserve study? A portion of the money in the reserve account was used for the pool re-plastering in 1996 and 2001.
During the last Board meeting, it was mentioned that there is a leak in the pool that needs repairing. Was this part of the re-plastering? No, this portion of the pool was not re-plastered.
What preventive measures are being taken to avoid the chemical imbalance that was done in the past? The Association is getting a weekly log of the chemical levels in the pool from the pool company during the pool season. This information was not collected in the past.
Who owns the fence? The homeowners own the fence. An easement gives the right to come onto owners property for repairs and/or replacement. An easement is not an ownership of property. The easements did not specify responsibility. They only gave the right, not obligation to repair and/or replace.
Is the fence going to be brought up to good condition, now that resolution has been adopted. Yes.
Will homeowners be responsible for past damages? Only if they had received a letter in the past, then yes. If no letter was sent out for fence repairs in the past, then no. Only if homeowner caused the damage, which can be backed up by past deed violation letters.
Who was the easement Grantor and Grantee? Grantor was Brittany Bay Development and Grantee was Brittany Bay Homeowners Association. This is where the problem arose. Brittany Bay Development obligated the Association, without the Association’s knowledge.
Will the fence be replaced? Yes, where needed.
The Board had to learn what the homeowners already knew about the easements. Some homeowners feel the resolution is too general and would like more security on the specifics.
In the future, would the Board have knowledge of the obligation? Yes, due to the resolution being filed.
Who owns the fence? The fence is on the homeowner’s property, therefore the homeowner owns the fence. The Association is accepting the obligation and has insurance to cover the fence.
Who is the expert on the fence, that will determine who caused damage? It will be the Management Company’s job to assess obvious damages by a judgment call.
Explain the legality of the two reserve areas. The “triangle” is owned by the homeowners. The land is on their survey. The community sign is on common property and is owner by the MUD in order to post their meeting notices.
When will the website be up? We would like to have something up and running within the next two months.
When will fence inspections be done? Inspections of the fence will be done twice monthly by the Management Company.
Will homeowners get notice of repairs to be done? Yes, the Association will try to give one week notice of the date repairs are scheduled, so the homeowners can have time to take care of pets.
Who owns the fence? Homeowner does not understand how the developer can come in and build it. How can homeowner be responsibly for something they had no say on? The fence was not deeded to the Association, therefore the homeowner owns the fence. It is on their property, not Association property.

Elizabeth Scott asked if the four lots not included in the easement were present at the meeting. Two of the homeowners were present. She asked if they could please forward a copy of their fence easement to the association, if they had a copy.

The minutes of the March Board meeting were approved as amended.

Management Report:

The Financials were reviewed and discussed. A motion was made to roll over the CD from Guaranty Bank for six months and the one from Legg Mason for one year, once maturity is reached. Motion passed unanimously.

The Action Items were reviewed and discussed. 2)This meter is for the MUD’s irrigation. 8) Contact Brittany Lakes’ landscaper and Bio about the mowing of the median and side setbacks. Have Bio Landscape repair the landscape around the perimeter fence.

The Correspondence Log was reviewed and discussed.

The Inspection Report was reviewed and discussed.

Committee Reports:

Architectural Control: There was not a representative at the meeting to give a report.

Crimewatch: There was not a representative at the meeting to give a report.

Recreation: The Easter Egg Hunt was a big success. The first sign up for the pool tags went well, about 100 given out. The next days for pool tag registration will be on Saturday, April 26 and May 3, from noon to 3pm. A motion was made to have signs made for the pool tag registrations and include the times. Motion passes unanimously.

Newsletter: Dennis Sherman was in attendance to discuss the Newsletter Committee. Mr. Sherman will do in black and white, since color copies will not be made of newsletter. The newsletters are to be dropped off at Jim Rosinke’s home for distribution. The next newsletter will be in June and a draft copy will be presented at the May Board meeting.

Playground: No report was given.

Landscape: There was not a representative at the meeting to give a report.

Welcome: Gina Sherman noted that no new homeowners had been given to the Welcome Committee.

Old Business:

No old business to discuss.

New Business:

No new business to discuss.

There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made to adjourn to Executive Session at approximately 9:05 PM. Motion passes unanimously.

Landscape – HCMS mentioned that Brittany Lakes had contracted a new company for landscape services and asked if Brittany Bay would like to receive a bid from this company as well. The Board would prefer just coordinating the two services to keep the neighborhoods looking uniform.

There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made to adjourn to Executive Session at approximately 8:20 PM. Motion passes unanimously.