Lake Linganore Association, Inc.
February 16, 2004
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. Those in attendance were: Alan
Dinkelacker, Grant Sheehan, Todd Young, Andrew Twillman, Lisa Rogers, and Brian
Kopec. Those not in attendance were: Bill DiLoreta.
Staff members in attendance were: Stephen Hembree, LLA general manager, and Joy
Gurley, community resource manager.
APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 2, 2004 MINUTES
The minutes of the February 2, 2004 meeting were reviewed and amended as
follows:
• Under Fiscal Year 2005 Budget/Improved Lot Assessment Rate — change the second
sentence of the third paragraph to read: He said he did not agree with the legal
interpretation on the matter and said he believed the intent of the LLA covenant
framers was that the assessment could not be increased without the approval of
the membership.
• Under Fiscal Year 2005 Budget/Improved Lot Assessment Rate— change the last
sentence of the fourth paragraph to read: Director Sheehan directed staff to
have the LLA attorney look at possibilities of whether the LLA can call for
special assessments that transcend the one year time limit outlined in the
covenants and define what would need to be done to create special assessments
that would permit something such as a three year assessment at $100 per year.
The minutes of the Feb. 16, 2004 minutes were approved with the above
amendments.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
FY’05 Budget Status— GM Hembree said that while the assessment rate had been
confirmed, the budget had not been ratified. President Dinkelacker said that the
board and the general manager had discussed transferring money between several
of the line items in the budget, which had been drafted to reflect the .33-cent
per $100 assessment rate. Director Sheehan explained that for example, as the
board was working on the budget the Aspen North CDA feasibility study did not
have the required votes to proceed but since then the study has achieved the
needed votes, which makes funding it important now. As a result, he noted, it
would be a good idea to consider taking $10,000 of the money to be set aside for
the Pinehurst Pool facility and putting it toward the cost of the Aspen North
feasibility study. He said the amount needed by the association for the cost of
the pool facility was so much more than what would be achieved by setting aside
the amount annually and that the money could be put to immediate use in Aspen
North, while the board determines another funding mechanism for the pool
facility.
MOTION: Director Sheehan made a motion to take $10,000 from the Pinehurst Pool
line item and put it into an account for the Aspen North CDA feasibility study
with any left over funds to be carried over into the Pinehurst pool line item in
the budget. Director Twillman seconded the motion.
President Dinkelacker said that for the next four years LLA members would be
seeing activity related to several special assessments to pay for specific
projects in the community. He said that if the LLA charged a $100 assessment per
year on every lot, including those of the developer, for a period of time, the
money generated could help pay for the things that everyone wants, such as more
trails and playgrounds. He said he owned several vacant lots and was personally
willing to pay the amount in order to achieve that goal.
Aspen resident Kathy Brown asked whether the $10,000 transfer was a one time
thing or whether it would be an ongoing requirement to meet the needs of Aspen
North CDA. Director Sheehan said the request was for this year only. Lake
Linganore Conservation Society (LLCS) president Charlotte Dusold explained that
any money that the LLA expended up front on the cost of a CDA were reimbursable
once the bond sale had taken place.
VOTE: The board voted 6-0 in favor of the motion.
GM Hembree said that he wanted to make a pitch for transferring funds that would
help him to gain the additional staff he needed, specifically the amount now
listed as a positive variance after all expenses, approximately $20,000.
Director Sheehan explained that also any money left over from the FY’04 budget
could be used to initiate the salary of at least one office worker and that
later adjustments could be used to hire two more needed employees. GM Hembree
said that the hiring of the office worker would not be able to be done until the
end of February. He said he needed to check on a few other options that might be
available to alleviate the pressure on the budget and allow for money to be
transferred to fund new staff.
MOTION: Director Sheehan made a motion to approve Mr. Hembree’s request
regarding transfer of money that will allow funding of new staffing. Director
Young seconded the motion.
VOTE: The board voted 6-0 in favor of the motion.
Letter to Officials Re: East County High School— Director Rogers presented the
board with background information that she said further supported her request to
the LLA board to write a letter to state/county officials about the importance
of funding East County High School (ECHS). The background information included
an email from Frederick County Commissioner Michael Cady on the matter, two
stories from the Frederick News-Post, and a chart outlining the enrollment and
capacities of the Linganore High School feeder area and the number of homes to
be built in Eaglehead and surrounding development during the next few years
(attached to minutes). She discussed the fact that the state recently changed
its formula for calculating school capacity and that as a result higher numbers
of students in schools have translated into lower capacity percentages for the
areas schools. She said she wanted the board to see the facts of the situation
and noted that she would now compose the letter to officials on behalf of the
LLA. The board suggested that she do a letter that could be loaded onto the LLA
web site that residents could use to send to officials on the matter. In
addition, it was suggested that she do something that can be published in
LakeTalk to help promote the letter writing campaign.
Alspaugh/Aspen Tree Thinning— President Dinkelacker explained that LLA member
Joanne Alspaugh, wife of former Aspen developer Jack Alspaugh, had been given
verbal permission to take down trees on her lots in Aspen and was doing so at
this time. Since the time Mrs. Alspaugh was granted that permission, a recent
legal opinion on the matter by LLA attorney Shelah Lynn had been received by the
directors that indicated the earlier approval for the thinning had not been done
according to the covenants. Director Dinkelacker said until a recent request by
residents for the legal opinion, LLA boards of directors had assumed that
developers could do whatever they wanted to the trees on their land. He said the
board needed to clear up the matter at this meeting.
Director Rogers asked whether Mrs. Alspaugh requested permission to do thinning
or harvesting of trees on her Aspen lots. GM Hembree said he wasn’t clear about
that at this time and noted that he was the one who gave Alspaugh the approval.
Director Dinkelacker said the legal opinion noted that only the board could
grant the approval in writing.
Aspen resident Kathy Brown said that while the thinning that is going on within
the upper Aspen parcel is important to consider, she said the impact of similar
activity on the lower Aspen parcel was more critical because of the potential
environmental impact on Lake Linganore. Director Dinkelacker suggested the board
allow Mrs. Alspaugh to complete the thinning on the upper parcel but send a
notice to cease operations on the lower parcel until environmental impact
information can be obtained about the effect on the lake. Director Young said
the LLA needed to be careful about setting precedents and that it was in the
best interest of the association to define and specify what trees could be
removed by any entity. He said the LLA should send a cease work order to Mrs.
Alspaugh as it has done with others recently. GM Hembree said that the LLA could
make a request to the Maryland Forestry Service to evaluate the trees and the
potential environmental impact on the lake from such activity.
MOTION: Director Young made a motion to send a notice to Mrs. Alspaugh to cease
the work and explain that more information is needed before the board can make a
decision. Director Kopec seconded the motion.
VOTE: The board voted 1-5 against the motion.
MOTION: Director Sheehan made a motion to instruct Mrs. Alspaugh to continue
with operations on the upper Aspen parcel, to cease such operations on the lower
parcel, and to attend the next board meeting to present her argument to proceed
with the lower parcel. Amendment: Director Twillman amended the motion to add
that the LLA request the Maryland Forestry Service evaluate the parcel and
identify what could or could not be done in order to protect the lake.
Director Rogers seconded the motion.
Coldstream Village Committee chairperson Robert Cochran said he wanted to let
the board know that at the most recent meeting, villagers were concerned about
the plight of Aspen’s loss of trees.
Director Young said the approval should have a written format. Director Rogers
said that the association needed to pay attention to the needs of the developer
but that all needs to be balanced with the needs/expectations of the existing
residents. Resident Dusold said there is a way to develop the community that
would also protect the environment.
VOTE: The board voted 6-0 in favor of the motion.
Covenant Revision Committee Status— Committee chairperson Carol Thames had to be
out of town so she asked LLA director Twillman to provide the board with some
information. He said she had 12 committee members representing most of the
villages and was to have a first meeting on Feb. 19.
NEW BUSINESS
Westwinds Landscaping Bid Disclosure— GM Hembree reported that all the bids were
in on the project and that one had been received from A Neater Nature, which is
owned by LLA director Brian Kopec. He noted that the board would be voting on
this contract soon and would have to determine at what point and time Mr. Kopec
would have to recuse himself from the vote, etc. in order to meet the legal
requirements of such a situation. GM Hembree said that Westwinds’ Homeowner
Association had been given the bid packets to review and make recommendations to
the board. GM Hembree said that the LLA has the sole authority to handle and let
the contract. He said he hoped to have the bid packets copied and ready for the
board’s review by the next meeting.
Resident Charlotte Dusold asked whether the board was more concerned with
meeting the obligation of the bid disclosure than the conflict of interested
generated by such a set of circumstances. Director Sheehan explained that the
corporate laws allow directors to bid on contracts as long as the disclosure is
made, in fact, he noted, the law allows the director to vote on the contract
though most organizations do not permit it.
Mrs. Dusold asked if the board has insight to the budget and one of the
directors intends to bid would not that affect the bid of the director? Director
Sheehan said the budget was published on the web site and was public knowledge
and so would not affect the director’s bid.
Director Young said the reason for pursuing multiple bids helped to protect the
LLA against any advantages to one person.
GM Hembree asked the board whether it accepted the process and disclosure as it
was currently being handled. Board members unanimously acknowledged that they
were aware of the disclosure.
Director Twillman asked whether the LLA board wanted the recommendation from
Westwinds HOA to be in writing. The answer was yes.
Director Young asked about the progress of the Westwinds quitclaim deeds.
Director Twillman said that Westwinds developer Tom Poss says he will satisfy
the paperwork within 60 days. He said that LLA attorney Shelah Lynn was writing
a letter to Mr. Poss asking for permission to build a tot lot on Pond Fountain
Court land currently owned by the developer but will be transferred to LLA
ownership once the deeds are completed.
Woodridge Request Re: Grant for Tot Lot Funding— Village committee
co-chairperson John Cunha asked the board about the process for pursuing a grant
for a tot lot for the village and what the responsibility was of the developer
to provide this amenity. Director Young explained that Land Stewards was not
required to provide the amenities directly and that according to the LLA’s
memorandum of understanding with the developer the money to build such
facilities would be acquired through the builders as they sold homes. Of the
money collected 50 percent of that would be used to build amenities for that
village; of the remainder of the funds the LLA would determine how the money was
to be spent, either in the specific village or for communal property
improvements.
MATTERS FOR BOARD INFORMATION
CDA Workshop— GM Hembree reminded the board about the CDA/CIP workshop at Deer
Crossing Elementary School on Feb. 21.
Frederick News-Post Article— GM Hembree distributed a copy of a story from the
local newspaper about the tree clearing issue in Aspen/Woodridge.
General Manager’s Report— GM Hembree said a new format of the report was in
progress and would be presented at the board’s second March meeting.
LLA/Land Stewards February 28 Workshop— GM Hembree reminded board members about
the date and time of the workshop, which is to be held at the Eaglehead Barn.
RESIDENT FORUM
• Resident Kathy Brown told the board that village residents had formed a
committee and she submitted to the board a copy of a letter from the committee
to Land Stewards manager Robert Wilcox (attached to minutes) that had already
been mailed. She said she had recently met with Mr. Wilcox and discussed future
options and is hoping that those will be discussed before the Feb. 28 workshop.
She said the letter explains to Mr. Wilcox that the covenants allow the
residents to seek legal recourse to protect adherence to the covenants but that
the committee/residents are hoping that things can be worked out. President
Dinkelacker said he believed things could be worked out. Director Kopec noted
that there is an existing policy prohibiting committee members of LLA standing
committees, from sending correspondence without approval first from the board.
• Director Rogers said that the LLA needed to get a petition going to counteract
one that some residents of Quinn and Meadows roads are circulating to try to
persuade the county not to allow Eaglehead Drive to connect to either road. Mrs.
Rogers said the connection would be needed at least temporarily in order to
provide an alternative route into Eaglehead should the county ever undertake the
reconstruction of Boyer’s Mill Road. GM Hembree said the LLA board could submit
a letter to the county planning department and commission to support the
connection.
• Aspen resident Michael Huggins asked the board whether it was fair to allow
Land Stewards to vote on the vacant lot assessment rate question, particularly
when the developer does not have to pay the assessment. He said he wanted to
pose the question so that the board could think about the related issue on
special assessments. Director Sheehan replied that Land Stewards has roughly
only 15 percent of the total votes and they have a right just as everyone else
to cast a vote. He also clarified that Land Steward would have to pay any vacant
lot assessment imposed by the special assessment method.
ADJOURNMENT
Director Young made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Director Twillman seconded
the motion. The meeting adjourned at 9:18 p.m.