VILLAGE OF WESTLAKES BOARD MEETING DRAFT MINUTES 10/23/2018 1.Executive Session (if needed) not held 2.Call to Order Meeting called to order at 7:00pm 3.Roll Call Quorum present, Vice President Clark absent 4.Pledge of Allegiance 5.Approval of Minutes Minutes of the September 25 meeting were approved as submitted 6.Treasurer's Report Treasurer Hall reported we have $82,000 in reserves and $24,000 in checking. Given we started the year with only a $4,000 balance in checking we are doing quite well. 6b.Report on action without a meeting an action without a meeting was held and the vote was unanimous to accept the new insurance policy with a lower 1% deductible for $8,000, an amount within budget and only $300 higher than last year when the deductible was 2%. 7.Old Business a. Report on negotiations with Irrigation District past water usage, possible action. Irrigation district settled outstanding issue at no charge as long as we agree to replace irrigation meter, which belongs to us. Meter is out for rebuild for approximately $700 b. Appoint additional bridge repair committee members none appointed at meeting, volunteers still welcome. c. Appoint a nomination committee for December board election Nomination committee appointed, Larry Rericha, Norma Rodriguez and Laura Coffman agreed to serve. d. Review discussion on annual budget draft, set work session on annual budget Draft budget for 2019 was introduced (provided in separate e-mail). No increase in dues anticipated. Unless there are numerous issues, final discussion/ adoption will occur at the November 13 meeting.
e. Report on insulation bid for Clubhouse, possible action In lieu of having sufficient funds for the windows this issue was postponed for consideration in next year's budget. f. Proposal to replace clubhouse windows this year, possible action transferring fertilizer contract savings to Clubhouse windows budget and approving Lowe's bid of $13,552.55 to replace 32 windows with energy saving windows. Approved unanimously with the mention that window coverings will probably need to be considered for next year. 8.New Business a. Review of annual meeting timeline, adopt schedule for election deadline, budget deadline and mailing of ballots, and any by law or covenant changes if adopted by the Board. The annual meeting is December 9 at 2:00pm. At the nominations will remain open until close of the November 13 meeting. At that meeting the 2019 final budget will be approved. Mail out of meeting notice, ballots and agenda will be no later than November 23. b. Schedule open meeting on severe weather preparation. Issue was discussed and a public meeting/ discussion/ planning session will be noticed up in the future after the December election of officers. 9.Standing Committee Reports reports listed below are for those providing information at the meeting. No listing means there was nothing to report. Grounds (see attached) Clubhouse Maintenance some vandalism reported on irrigation line in front of Clubhouse, repaired. Pool vandalism in one of the toilets, remains to be fixed, report provided on two options for pool furniture. An option for very durable furniture would be just over $6,000 for 7 lounges and 4 chairs. Pool committee is recommending a less expensive option be included in next year's budget Compliance (see attached)
Golf (see attached) 10.Other Committee Reports Clubhouse Rentals Clubhouse is rented solid through November Communications Marsha Davis was thanked for her long and conscientious work in this area. We now have a new communications address (communicationsvwl@gmail.com) information to be distributed to the residents should be addressed to this address. We are looking for a volunteer to help out in this area. Please contact Chuck Hvass if you have time to volunteer. Energy Efficiency Now that the windows are approved the recommendation is to insulate the Clubhouse next year. Ladies Lunch held at Rene's, next lunch scheduled for Masterpiece Clubhouse Social Halloween party this coming Saturday. Sign up sheet is up. Sign up before Saturday so we know how much Pizza to buy. Cost is $5.00 payable at the door. Starts at 5:30pm. 11.Announcements none 12.Open Forum A few residents raised the issue that their St.Augustine lawns were mowed too short and should be cut longer to look better. Recommended height for St. Augustine lawns is 2.5 to 3 inches according to Texas A&M university and the Hidalgo County Extension Service. Lawns will be checked for mowing height. Mowing will go to every other week on November 5, but will be mowed this week and next week. 13.Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm. Attachments Grounds report for October 23 meeting Since last month repair and revitalizing the golf greens continues. The greens have been fertilized and the first installment of Horizon recommended nutrients have been applied. Manual removal of weeds
from green continues and we are just waiting for some sun and dry weather to apply herbicide to the fairways and greens. The clubhouse fountain has a problem with the light package which is now unplugged because it keeps tripping the breaker. One of the lights is missing, maybe a turtle problem. Also have another fountain that keeps tripping the ground fault breaker, but runs after the breaker is reset. Both fountains will be addressed when we pull the fountains for semiannual cleaning. Two weeks ago the pressure tank for the irrigation system failed after at least 15 years. A new one was installed for $699.00 but with no labor costs. Low unemployment rate continues to result in turnover on the Grounds crew, with a firing last week resulting from damage to equipment and bad mowing practices. Keeping lawns mowed and trimmed remains the number one priority. The projects we need to schedule for the first week in November when we do not mow lawns are listed below. That week begins with November 5. The projects include 1. Transferring pool sod to Kinerk common area 2. Sodding behind lot 24L and adjacent VWL ground 3. Scraping soil in common area in front of lot 19L, removing roots, rebuilding soil and planting ground cover. 4. Getting caught up on trimming around the ponds Concerning 1. We need approval of pool committee, a decision on gravel (Marcus recommends crush granite compacted so kids don't throw the rocks in the pool) and agreement that Marcus does the work and is reimbursed for his labor. Concerning 2. We need agreement in writing that the homeowner agrees to pay for sod when billed. We also need to clarify ownership of citrus tree. If it is ours it should be removed before laying sod. Concerning 3. We need the go ahead to contact a backhoe operator and agreement to do that project that week. Before project start we need to
trim the tree. Marcus will coordinate delivery of compost once we have an estimated completion date from contractor. Marcus also has a source for native ground cover. He will need to deliver it upon project completion. My last understanding was the neighborhood would plant and water. Both need to be confirmed in writing before we start the project. Compliance committee report for October 23, 2018, Board Meeting. Upon return of the Compliance Committee chair to VWL, inspections have begun. We were pleased to see that letters sent over the summer have been effective, with several properties showing improvement. A reminder was sent concerning political signs to all residents, and we will continue to monitor the placement of signs. Research on political sign issues revealed we will need to amend the Covenants if we want to be able to fully enforce the limits provided by Texas laws. Improvements to the Carnation Court/Carnation Avenue area on the common areas that were discussed last spring will be going forward. The improvements were delayed by the summer weather, but sodding and the installation of ground cover, along with changes to the berm by the clubhouse, will take place in November. Golf Committee Report for October 23, 2018 Board meeting. Regular golf activities will resume on Friday, October 26, 2018 at 10 am. $5.00 registration fee for handicap and 2018-2019 golf events. The golf schedule for the year is attached separately. Inspection of the course showed after 20 years of service, the first tee welcome sign was in need of replacement, and a replacement has been
ordered. The posts holding the sign will be sanded and painted before the new sign is installed. The ball washer on the first tee needs replacing, and the replacement has been ordered. The ball washer on the eighth tee was damaged, and that replacement has been ordered. This year, we will begin carrying replacement fluid for the ball washers as part of the regular rounds, as well as cleaning supplies for the benches. Over the summer, the seams on some of the newly replaced pin flags have been damaged, and we have arranged to the seams resewn. The bench on the first tee was showing some rust, and it has been removed to be sanded and painted, and should be re-installed this weekend. We would like to thank Marsha Davis for her work over the past few years doing the handicaps. We will be using a new handicap system with Marsha s decision to retire from the position. Volunteers are welcome, and a new handicap system will be tested over the next few weeks.