The November 4, 2002 Lake Linganore Association board of directors meeting was called to order at the Lake Linganore Association office at 7:03 pm by association president Jim Reed.

BoD members present: Jim Reed, Todd Young, Grant Sheehan, Andrew Twillman.

BoD members absent: Alan Dinkelacker, Jerry Dorsey, Aref Khatib.

Also present: LLA general manager Stephen Hembree; ECC administrator Joe Colombo; LLA office manager Joy Gurley.

LLA president Jim Reed gave William Diloreta of Land Stewards LC the floor. Mr. Diloreta reminded everyone about the November 16 seminar on trees that will be held at the company’s sales office.

Approval of October 21, 2002 meeting minutes were approved as written but the board asked that staff check on whether the record accurately noted Mr. Dinkelacker’s attendance. The record did accurately reflect on Mr. Dinkelacker’s attendance.

Environmental Control Committee— Committee chairperson Joe Frank told the board the committee had approved a pool. He noted that Nightingale village residents were indicating a preference for establishing their own guidelines. He said that some of the current residents were upset that vinyl siding is now permitted to be used. Mr. Frank said the committee was concerned about old parked cars in the villages and that the matter would become an issue for the board to handle. The board asked staff to look into the covenants on the matter and determine enforcement possibilities. The board asked that this item be placed on the December 2 agenda.

Finance Committee— LLA treasurer Todd Young told the board that the September report showed that the association has a $500,000 in available cash and that $376,000 was in reserves. He noted that the income/expenses Year-to-Date showed that the budget was approximately $200,000 under in the expenses category because there were numerous bills that had not yet come due or that had been paid but not yet showing on the actuals of the records.

Mr. Young said that 90 percent of the LLA funds had been moved to Bank of America.

He said the staff had been asked to clean up an account initially set up by PMP and to figure out what it was or write it off.

He said that 50 percent of those accounts sent to collections have made a payment. He also noted that budget time was at hand and that everyone should start thinking about things that need to get done in the next year and begin to develop the associated cost estimates.

GM Hembree said the date for the next Finance Committee meeting had not yet been confirmed.

Social Committee— Committee chairperson Rachel Kopec said that Fallfest had approximately 200 spectators. She thanked the board, John Snow, Land Stewards, and the LLA maintenance crew for their assistance in the event. She said the committee hoped to do it again next year.

She noted Meadows resident and local developer Jack Alspaugh who is in ill health and suggested participation in sending the family a basket.

Mr. Hembree presented a report with recommendations about the holiday party (see attachment). The recommendations were: to limit the tickets to residents, staff and county commissioners; to offer two free tickets to each county commissioner. Mr. Hembree said providing two free tickets to each staffperson would be a good will gesture but he declined to make it a recommendation because he felt it would be inappropriate. He said the total ticket cost and some additional minor charges for the party to the association would be $720.

LLA director Young made a motion to approve offering two free tickets each to staff and county commissioners. Director Twillman seconded the motion. The board approved the motion 4-0.

Mrs. Kopec said the committee would sponsor a holiday party for the children where they could visit with Santa on December 14 from 9 am to 1 pm She said the activity would be held at the Land Stewards office building off of Rt. 144. Director Young said he would help with the project.

Security— Deputy Venzin reminded residents that the four-way stop at the intersection of Boyer’s Mill Road and Rt. 144 would go into effect on November 6. He said he had been doing traffic enforcement approximately twice a month and that he may try to get an additional officer out to help tackle this task. He said that calls regarding suspicious vehicles had increased during the timeframe that the region was dealing with the Beltway Sniper. DFC Venzin said that Halloween night was busy but that there were no major incidents. He reminded people that hunting season was upon us and that the LLA prohibits guns and other weapons from the PUD.

Information about the hunting season had been listed in LakeTalk, as well as information about who to call to report hunting after hours, etc.

Aspen Village— chairperson Kathy Brown reported that the village had a pleasant annual Halloween event.

Meadows Village— Joe Frank said he was reporting for the village. He criticized the association for not inviting the general public to the village committee workshops.

West Winds Village— no committee chairperson reported but LLA director Twillman, a West Winds resident, asked the staff to take down commercial sales signs for a high-speed internet service near the village entrance.

A. Payment of LLA Annual Assessment by Credit Card- staff will present a report in November.

B. Summerfield sidewalks- GM Hembree said the sidewalk repairs had not yet started. Legal issues surrounding the ownership/responsibility of the sidewalks were discussed and Mr. Hembree said that the county ordinance on the matter supported the initial research done on the matter. The County Attorney’s Office forwarded the ordinance to the LLA. Once the information was forwarded to Summerfield residents showing they are responsible for the condition of the sidewalks, more residents contacted the office to participate in the repair project. Mr. Hembree said the project, depending upon weather, should be completed in the next few weeks.

C. Status of Grzbinsky towing reimbursement request— GM Hembree said the issue is a legal matter now. Mr. Grzbinsky has filed a lawsuit against the LLA in the small claims court. He said the LLA will defend its position and that related association papers would soon be filed. West Winds resident and former board member John Snow suggested that the LLA file a countersuit so that it can be reimbursed for expenses, should it prevail in the court. Summerfield resident and former board member Charlie Baker told the board that past directors had set up a "hardship" policy whereby residents could appeal the towing costs and instead pay a fine. GM Hembree said that process would be difficult to do particularly because the association does not collect or keep the towing fines.

Lake Anita Louise— GM Hembree reported that while the test wells on Lake Marian dam were underway, two other studies on dams also were underway. The first study will be on Lake Anita Louise- a TV camera will be used to check the condition of the corrugated pipe and the sides will be scraped in order to determine the condition. Mr. Hembree said that Lake Merle Dam was recently required by Dam Safety Division to undergo re-inspection to determine the cause of two holes at the base of the dam. Mr. Hembree said that the additional work would put the budget for this line item over budget by approximately $2,500. LLA president Reed said the dams were the largest asset of the community, should be maintained perfectly, and he directed staff to develop a program and schedule for in-house dam maintenance.

Mr. Hembree did note that the permit for the dam repair project, which was to begin in October, had been lost by the Maryland Department of the Environment during a major office move. He said the city will not allow the bids to go out until the permit is in place. The permit has been resubmitted.

Land Stewards request for Woodridge utility easement- the board had reviewed the related documents for the easement on the east side of Woodridge near Lake Marian. Mr. Hembree said that the documents were in order and were written correctly. Director Young made a motion to approve the documents; the motion was seconded by Andrew Twillman. The board approved acceptance of the documents in a 4-0 vote. Mr. Reed said the documents were in the best interest of the association and that the documents "cleaned up the easement."

Resident Rachel Kopec said that blasting material used by Land Stewards in Woodridge was laying around and that a hole had been created by the work. She suggested that the trail be marked as "closed" so that residents don’t get injured using the trail and the board directed staff to do so.

The following information was read into the record by Mr. Hembree. The first six items were included by GM Hembree to update the board. The remainder of the items under this heading are in response to a set of questions from LLA director Grant Sheehan to GM Hembree.

1. Lake Marian monitoring wells were installed on Friday, November 1st, 2002. A report on the monitoring and any recommended repairs based on the findings is due by the end of December from Hillis-Carnes Engineering.

2. There was a main water line break at the community center/office on the week of October 28th, 2002. With the assistance of Mr. Sonny Fisher, Frederick County DPW, who personally installed the water lines in this building 30 years ago, the staff was able to determine where the break was and how best to replace it without destroying the entrance sidewalk to the building.

Evidently an old repair joint, located under the sidewalk, ruptured. Staff engaged a local plumbing company to pull the entire existing line out and replace it with a new, single piece, black-poly 2 inch line. Concrete and carpet repairs were completed by staff on Friday November 1st. Cost for plumbing services are around $2,000 and will be drawn from reserves allocated for the community center facility.

3. The county has received permission from Land Stewards to clear the trail located on the south side of Lake Linganore so that the main sewer interceptor line may be inspected. Land Stewards has requested that the LLA send them a letter stipulating that we have no issues with their approval as it relates to the trail use, which Land Stewards recently granted the LLA.

4. Summerfield residents affected by the sidewalk repair will be receiving ano ther letter from the LLA clarifying the legal responsibility for sidewalk repairs. Staff obtained a print copy of the Frederick County ordinance that stipulates that all sidewalks in a road right-of-way officially dedicated to the county shall be the responsibility of the adjacent land owner. The county will not maintain or repair sidewalks but has the authority to enforce compliance by the adjacent homeowner. A copy of Article I, Section 1-15-4, of the Frederick County Roads and Rights-of-Way Ordinance was enclosed.

5. Snow removal contracts are out for signature by the contractors. Staff met with the major contractors and obtained all new information on prices (same as last years) and new phone numbers. Audubon Condo’s will be plowed by LLA and West Winds new roads will be included in this year’s area of coverage. Mr. Hembree said that the only roads in West Winds that will not be plowed were those without homes.

6. The community center building addition permit is back on track with county departments. Staff met with Frederick County Department of Planning and Zoning staff to clarify some of their requirements and a local engineer has been engaged to address them. Staff also met with the county construction plan reviewer Brendan Garret and corrected a misdirection he received from a phone call by someone who identified themselves as a member of the LLA ECC. Brendan now has the correct information and will continue to process our plan review. Staff will provide a letter to the county with a list of authorized contact personnel so that this does not occur again.

Board member Grant Sheehan submitted the following list to LLA staff with a request for status update.

Q: At the 9/16 BoD mtg. discussion of the LLA web site, a Christiana Rosenauer pitched services of her company. Stephen noted that we had been in touch with those who had made similar offers and would decide on the best value means of maintaining the LLA web site. Has

that evaluation been done yet?

A: Yes. Currently we are outsourcing the web site updates and in the process providing training for Joy Gurley so that she will be able to do the updates in-house when she has gained sufficient knowledge. The outsourcing cost is declining each month and by December should be down to a reasonable $50 per month. Joy hopes to be independent by January. We also have some volunteer help in training Joy through Rich Rodgers, which of course is at no charge. Funds for this are within our budgeted range.

Q: The Coldstream Beach trail "crusher-run" test was understood to proceed a short distance and then left alone for an adequate period of time to test how it withstands various weather and use conditions. How far is the test bed to extend and how long will it be tested before deciding to proceed further or not?

A: The intention was to proceed with the rest of the installation of the lake front trail section in Coldstream, not just the 200 foot section which was installed prior to the work stoppage. The intention was to install 1,000 feet of the trail. After conferring with the board, staff was directed to utilize the trail section (bed) material as outlined in the nationally recognized trails manual from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC). A letter of notification has been sent to all affected residents for that area and staff is scheduled to resume the work within the next two weeks, weather permitting. A sample letter is attached. This rehabilitated trail would then be monitored for the next two seasons, winter and spring, for durability. The Trails Committee and staff can then decide on a recommendation for a multiyear trail rehabilitation plan, which can be presented to the Board for funding and approval.

•Director Sheehan made a motion to send another letter to residents impacted by the trail work that would clarify the "nature" of the work and materials being used for the test trail. Director Young seconded the motion, which was approved by the board in a 4-0 vote.

Q: At the 9/21 committee chairpersons meeting with Stephen, a Coldstream resident said the village had donated $1200 from a fundraiser to the "Community Center" building fund. Stephen noted that staff would have to find out where that money was placed. Has it been located and assigned to the building addition budget?

A: The LLA financial account records have carried this amount for several years and the Finance Committee could not find any information on what it was or why it was on the books. The auditors had recommended that without some back-up documentation the account entry should be written off (the entry shows $1,208 as a liability or "due to" rather than a credit).

We recently received confirmation from John Shuey, thanks to board member Grant Sheehan’s research, that this money was from a fund-raiser that Coldstream village had promoted (bowl-a-thon). John Shuey informed staff that the funds were to be used to buy equipment for the community center. The funds will be reallocated into the community center addition reserves.

Q: At an 8/24/02 meeting between BoD and the Lake Linganore Conservation Society (LLCS), we were advised that WRA was asking for payment of a $6200 past debt. Stephen Hembree advised that we were to see if the debt could be repaid gradually over time. Have we resolved the method of repayment issue and budgeted for same?

A: The BOD approved an expenditure of $9,075.42 to Whitman, Requardt and Associates (WRA) at the August 24th joint meeting. I have spoken to Wes Daub about the idea of a payment plan, which was well received. Wes suggested that I send a letter to Jim Avirett, partner at WRA, suggesting said payment plan with all invoices attached. I am still waiting for a copy of the last invoice from Wes (the survey invoice was missing from the invoices provided) and will send the letter upon receipt of same. The question still remains as to where we draw these funds from because it is not in our current budget. However, since we will be making at least some of the payments in FY03, assuming WRA accepts our payment plan, we can allocate some of the payments in the FY03 budget. I will report to the board further when we have heard back from Mr. Avirett.

Q: At the 8/24 meeting, we discussed whether or not road funds calculated by village road miles could be spent anywhere a road needed repair or had to be spent village specific – i.e., only up to the amount allocated for a particular village on that village’s roads. The issue was to be researched to see if a past BoD decision had been made. Has it been resolved?

A: Joy Gurley researched this and sent an e-mail to Alan Dinkelacker with a summary of the results. The rest of the board was not copied but the full information is attached to this update for your review. The summary is that the funds are to be reserved per village and expended per village. This is recorded in a 1998 board resolution and subsequently included in the final CDA bond issuance documents as well. Copies of the documents are attached.

•Director Young expressed a desire to undo the "by village" requirement for non-CDA roads of the 1998 resolution and made a motion to that effect but later tabled the motion until further research was concluded. Mr. Young and Mr. Twillman said they believed the funds should be "collectively for all village roads."

Q: In late 8/02, Tom Poss of Millennium wrote to Mr. Hembree acknowledging intent to convey certain open space parcels to the LLA. Tom said he was sending same message to Kristi Holland of Carroll Creek Title to begin preparation of the deeds. What is the status of the transfer?

A: Not completed. I spoke with Kristi Holland on Thursday October 31st and she has not even begun the process so I prompted her to get moving. She did acknowledge receipt of the September e-mail from Tom Poss instructing her to provide the deeds. I have also e-mailed Tom again and left him a voice mail regarding the time critical nature of the issue. Neither Tom Poss nor Ms. Holland have answered the question yet as to how they will verify that the properties are free and clear of any liens or deeds of trust. This matter will continue to be pursued.

Q: At the 10/19 building addition workshop, the near 7 percent interest rate on a pre-approved loan was questioned as appearing rather high at a time of depressed rates. The staff response suggested it was not a done deal and any better rate possibilities would be researched. Is this being done before we lock ourselves into the loan?

A: Yes. However, staff’s initial research showed that the rate is not at all high and matches what is available in the market place. Staff will monitor current rates but it should be noted that when the time comes to settle on the loan we will, as is usually the case, have to deal with the prevailing market rate at time of closing. There is another extenuating factor in the cost of this loan and where we choose to place it: Because of our new relationship with Bank America and the knowledge they now have of our financial health, they have offered a much less expensive loan structure, which will be hard for other lenders to compete with. Staff recommends utilizing our new banking relationship as long as their interest rates are reasonably close to current market rates.

Q: LLA staff is in the process of cleaning out the two "Ellis Barns" and transporting contents elsewhere as an exchange deal with DiLoreta for use of those barns. What is the intended use – maintenance storage and repair? When do we initiate use of the barns and for how long can we occupy them?

A: Land Stewards signed a letter of agreement with the LLA committing to an 18-month term for the LLA to use the barns beginning in October of this year, which will see us through 2 winter cycles. One barn will store our winter supply of salt and cinders (we currently use this barn for that purpose). The other barn will be used as a storage building and electricity is to be reconnected. We hope to provide heat to the building, which will allow the maintenance staff to work inside during inclement weather on projects such as building new bulletin boards and repairing small equipment. Funding of repairs to the barn to enhance our use will be drawn from the maintenance building budget. It should be noted that our lease payment in this arrangement is a non-cash outlay. We agreed to maintain the grounds with a better mowing schedule in lieu of rent, which currently our maintenance staff is providing.

•Mr. Hembree also noted that the agreement includes allowing the LLA to use the Land Stewards office building off of Rt. 144 as a place to hold board meetings during the construction of the LLA building addition. Resident Brian Kopec questioned Mr. Hembree about use of the staff to remove Mr. Ellis’ belongings from the barns before the structures could be used and criticized the board for using staff for this purpose. Director Sheehan said that he did not believe this was a big sacrifice for the association considering what was to be gained. LLA president Reed commended staff for constructing the scenario that would help the association for the interim. Director Young said he thought the board should consider approaching Land Stewards about a land swap in order for the association to gain possession of the "twin barns" site.

Q: Following a history of requests for the LLA to establish a boat and trailer park for members, Bill DiLoreta agreed verbally to lease for @ 3 years a Parcel C located in the northwest section of Aspen North to LLA for such purpose. Mr. Hembree and Mr. Colombo wanted to press for a longer lease. Joe has been looking at the location and trying to estimate costs of transforming to the intended use. The issue of notifying Aspen North lot holders of the proposed Parcel C usage and consideration of any serious objections in response should be done before we agree to any lease.

A: Staffs plans are to complete the cost estimate, which Mr. Colombo is still working on and to continue discussions with Land Stewards. The term of the lease is at least partially predicated on the cost so that we can maximize a return of our cost through rental of the space to members. Without qualifying that we can afford to do the lease first it would be premature to raise the issue with the lot owners. Should we be able to confirm that our financial return will be favorable then staff would propose to send a letter to the lot owners for their input. Should we receive favorable support from the lot owners then the staff would present the BOD with a recommendation to move forward and ask the board to approve the initial expenditure. No lease would be signed without first having these steps taken and approved.

West Winds resident John Snow spoke about election literature, noting that election day was the following day, and suggested that a pumpkin carving contest be included in next year’s FallFest event.

•Meadows resident Joe Frank complained that a representative of the LLA’s Turn Out The Vote (TOTV) Committee was passing out campaign literature and told him who to vote for. Mr. Snow said he did not believe that was the case and told the board that the committee had completed its voter education activities and that TOTV members had the freedom to pass out literature if they wanted to do so individually.

•Summerfield resident Charlie Baker told the board she had difficulty with the language of the bylaw amendment recently approved by the board regarding the aggregate expenditure cap. She complained that the wording used in the recent LakeTalk article about the project referred to it as community center and that it was misrepresenting the project. She said she thought the addition was "nothing more than a glorified office building" and that the community needed a community center with space for Boy Scouts and other groups to meet more than it needed offices. She challenged whether the board could change the language in the bylaws. LLA president Jim Reed said the association had its attorney review the matter, that the attorney had written the new bylaw and that he felt confident that everything was proper. LLA director Young said that "for the record the project has always been billed as a meeting room addition" and that the board had not misrepresented the project. Ms. Baker complained that the LLA had already applied for the permit before the public workshop on the addition was held in October and that they were making decisions about the project in a vaccum. It was noted that several public workshops had been held specifically on the addition in the past year and a half and that in at least four visioning workshops with residents during the past four years the one item that was always in the top five of the "wish list" items generated by participanting resident was having a community meeting place. Coldstream resident Bill Russell told the board that the current project was "the closest we’ve ever gotten to getting something done on this matter" and that he applauded the effort.

•Sisters Pierce and Watkins, members of the Church of Latter Day Sain ts, inquired about whether they would be granted a solicitation permit for them to visit door-to-door in the community. Mr. Hembree had the permit ready for them and gave it to them at that time.

LLA director Young made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by LLA director Twillman.