NOTTINGHAM FOREST ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES

OCTOBER 17, 2005

OAK HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GYM

 

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by Board President, Nancy Hass, at approximately 7:05 P.M.  All Board Members were present and quorum requirements were met with those in attendance and proxies obtained by Board Members.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion was made to approve Annual Meeting minutes from 2004. A second was made, all were in favor and minutes were approved.

 

REPORTS FROM THE BOARD

Mailboxes/Deffenbaugh Trash Collections-Roger Moffett

Roger discussed the installation of the mailboxes along with the various problems, etc.  Feedback has been very positive, but there continues to be some problems with the latches.  Parts for repairs have been free of charge and Roger feels the problem is somewhat behind us.  The mailbox company has also provided us with 100 free mailboxes, and they have been working with us all along.  Roger also reiterated that people should call the maintenance phone number which is listed in our monthly newsletter if they should experience any problems.  The broken/vandalized flags on some of the mailboxes should be repaired soon.  The new flags are on order and the new maintenance person has repairs scheduled.

As far as trash pick-up goes, there was a general consensus that Deffenbaugh’s level of service is up and down.  This is mainly attributed to a great deal of turnover in the company.  Roger did have a few other companies bid and they were more expensive for the same service.  Deffenbaugh is not doing a bad job and they want and are trying to do a better job.  Roger urges everyone to call Deffenbaugh directly if having problems—the more calls the better. Homeowners were advised that it is OK to leave the garbage cans either near the garage or curbside.  Nancy stated that she has received a few complaints during the course of the year.  She explained how the recyclable pick-up works and that this service is not through the Association.  She also stated that the recyclables will sometimes go uncollected if there are items in the bin that shouldn’t be there; the collectors don’t have the time to sit and separate what should and shouldn’t be there.

 

 

Social Committee-Stephanie Lawson

Stephanie discussed the various parties that have occurred and that are coming up.  She stated that fortunately, she has a lot of people working with her, but is still taking volunteers if anyone wishes to help.  Some of the events she will be working on: the Halloween Parade/Party (Haunted House), Christmas, Easter Egg Hunt, Friday Nights at the pool/the pool opening party, etc.  Stephanie also mentioned purchasing some new signs to publicize upcoming events.

 

Pool-Sylvia Warner

Sylvia feels that the new Management Company is working out well-they saved us quite a bit of money this year.  There have been a lot of improvements made to the pool such as, resurfacing both the baby pool and the large pool,  new epoxy coated flooring in the pool house, new partitions in the bathroom, a new water heater, new shelving and lighting, pool furniture repaired by Renee Senter and new lighting was installed in the parking lot as well.  Sylvia stated that there are still many things that need attention such as bridge supports that are deteriorating, the stone wall around creek is beginning to erode, possible windscreens around the fencing and a lot of general maintenance.  Everyone seems to agree that Sylvia has done a fantastic job with the pool this year.  However there was a lot of discussion on how the lifeguards could have been better, as well as the fact that we didn’t seem to have two lifeguards on duty at one time even though we were paying for same.  Some Residents brought up that the lifeguards did not seem to enforce the rules and did nothing to supervise the teenagers.  Sylvia stated that she agrees with the majority of the concerns and these are being addressed with the Management Company.  Clint (the owner) is even considering hiring retired people, since a lot of the younger teenagers seem to be having a rough time taking a more mature disciplinary role.  The question of why we even have lifeguards was brought up which lead to more discussion on safety, etc.  It appeared that most people agreed that lifeguards are a necessity at the pool.  Another issue brought up was the possibility of a $17k-$20k slide being installed at the pool.  This lead to a great deal of discussion; most people were not exactly opposed to water attractions, but the Board explained their position is that this type of expense is not in our budget at the moment.  The issue of the pool possibly opening at 10:00 AM instead of 11:00AM was brought up—discussion of the probability of paying additional money to the Management Company, etc. was discussed.  Sylvia said she would consider this and would also discuss with Clint.  Sylvia mentioned the possibility of a Nottingham Forest Swim Team or swim club (Kelly was unable to attend the meeting).  Sylvia advised that the Board already agreed that it is not in the budget to fund this program, but we didn’t see a problem in letting them use our facilities.  They would practice in the morning prior to the pool opening, and there would only be 2-3 “home meets” in the course of the six week period, where the pool would have to be closed on two Wednesday evenings.  One resident did express concern over the problems with parking and crowds on those few evenings.  Sylvia advised if any further questions regarding the swim team, residents should call either Kelly or herself.

 

Tennis Courts/Entrance Monuments-Jack Zimmerman

Jack did a power point presentation highlighting an overview of improvements that have been made to the tennis courts over the past year.  Cracks to the courts have been repaired, new benches were installed on the courts as well as the playground, lighting was repaired and a motion detector was put in, new windscreens and nets were installed.  The courts are used on a regular basis and the improvements have put them in decent shape.  Jack stated that there was consideration given to resurfacing the courts, however none of the homeowners whom back up to the courts would permit access.  Brad Pearson, another homeowner, stated that he was quite sure that there was some miscommunication as there are residents by the name of Margaret and Steve Meier whom he is sure will allow access to the courts.  Brad will get additional information and will contact Jack.  Jack anticipates that it will cost roughly $60k for the resurfacing project which will probably need to be done within the next 3-5 years.  Regarding the ten monuments at our various entrances, Jack advised that they are in pretty rough shape and he estimates reconstruction costing approximately $80k—if we decide to go with bigger and better monuments, it will probably cost closer to $120,000.  Much discussion ensued relative to there being no exact estimates, etc.  Jack stated that he had neither the time nor the inclination to go out and get bids when he didn’t even know if we were going to have the money or approval to move forward with this project.  He will most definitely get estimates when the time comes—he is in the construction business and feels confident that he will be able to handle the whole project in a proper and economical manner.

 

 

 

Landscaping-Susan Aistrup

Susan did a power point presentation relative to major improvements made over the past year to the neighborhood’s landscaping.  There are several components to landscaping including irrigation, lighting, flowers, Christmas decorations, etc.  The most major improvement was hiring Rosehill—they come highly recommended and do landscaping for other upscale neighborhoods.  They have done a fantastic job thus far and just recently completed a major project to the island at Nieman and 121st Street right across from Nottingham Estates).  This involved removing all of the trees/plantings, stones, etc. from that area, and replacing them with new more appropriate trees, bushes and flowers, new signage, up-lighting, new soil, and installing irrigation and electricity.  Susan has $15k budgeted for the entire project, but feels confident that it will come in under budget when all is said and done.  Susan solicited volunteers to help with putting up Christmas decorations on November 26; it’s a huge job and she can’t do it alone.

 

Trees-Jim Lewis

Jim discussed trees along the streets; the Association will replace these trees if warranted using Northern Red Oaks, Red Maples,  or Sugar Maples, but not Bradford Pears.  Overland Park only does stump grinding and will not replace trees or do any trimming.  Jim advised that the tree trimming in the neighborhood proved to be too big of a job for our previous company, so he has just recently settled on a new company by the name of Johnson County Tree.  This company is going to be much better with communication on progress so that we know what trees they are trimming and when, etc.  They are very soon going to be doing a “test trimming” along Nieman between 119th and 123rd Streets.  This will enable us to view their work and ask it be adjusted if need be prior to their trimming the rest of the neighborhood.  Nancy Hass also mentioned that Residents should contact the City of Overland Park if there are any concerns regarding hazardous low hanging tree limbs.

 

Website/Directory-Lisa Harpold

Lisa stated that she will no longer hold a Board position, but will continue doing our Website as well as our Neighborhood Directory.

 

Financial-Ken Menendez

Ken provided copies of a financial packet for all in attendance to review.  We briefly went over the figures, etc. as it was pretty self-explanatory.  Ken advised that we have been able to collect additional interest by collecting the Association Dues earlier than they were collected previously.  We then moved onto the proposed dues increase of $55/year to each Homeowner.  There was much discussion and the Board made it clear to those in attendance that this additional money would be used for capital projects, the first being the deteriorating monuments.  Bill Barnow made a motion to approve the $55/year increase which was seconded by Roger Denesia and all were in favor.   Another resident by the name of Jill Bail again discussed at length at this point the need of a slide at the pool which will cost approximately $17k-$20k.  The Board again stated their position which is that there are too many other problems in the neighborhood that need attention and there simply is no money in the budget to put in a slide at the pool.  Ken advised Jill how she can go about getting a special meeting together to debate and vote on a special assessment. She would need to obtain at least 57 signatures, 10% of NF Homeowners whom are current on their Association dues.  Jill could then do a special mailing to each home at the Board’s expense.  Jill would also have to define in her mailing as to why we are requesting the special meeting (full definition of the project) as well the cost and how it will paid, etc.  It was discussed that if such a meeting were to take place, the special assessment wouldn’t necessarily be just for the slide but for other more urgent projects in the neighborhood.  The special meeting can only be set after all signatures are in and certified by the Board. The date of the meeting can then be set no sooner than 30 days from the mailing of the NFHA letters.   

 

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

A resident brought up the issue of sidewalk repair—Overland Park has done some “quick fixes” that really haven’t been too great.  They are supposed to come back at some point to do a more permanent, attractive repair.  Nancy advised that per Kansas Law, it is up to each individual Homeowner to repair the sidewalk in front of his or her home.  However, Overland Park does have a $100k budget (not very much) to repair areas that present a tripping hazard.  Another Resident mentioned how people cut through the east side of 121st street off of Switzer to avoid the traffic light, and he was wondering if there was anything that the Board could do about it.  Nancy advised that we could do very little but that the Traffic Office at Overland Park should be called with these types of concerns.

 

 

NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION OF NEW BOARD POSITIONS

A motion was made to approve new Board Positions, Darrell Werner, Fencing, Jon Newcomb, Assistant for the Pool, and Jack Zimmerman, Tennis Courts/Entrance Monuments.  The motion was seconded and all were in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately at 9:45 P.M.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Lisa A. Moynihan

Nottingham Forest Board Secretary