Lake Linganore
Association, Inc.
October 4,
2004
Board of
Directors Meeting Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. at the Eaglehead Barn, located off of Rt. 144. Board members present were: Bill DiLoreta, Alan Dinkelacker, Lisa Rogers, Grant Sheehan and.
Absent was: Brandon Frazier, Andrew Twillman.
Staff in attendance: GM Clay Edwards, AGM Doug Seligson, DPC Stephen Hembree, and CRM Joy Gurley.
Three spelling/typo errors were to be corrected on page 4 of 6 in the minutes:
• Under Aspen North Lot Owners — fifth sentence should read: Charlotte Dusold asked whether the easement on lots along Eaglehead Drive were 10-feet or six-feet on lots.
-second to last sentence should read: Facilities manager Kevin Oyler reminded everyone that the final phase on a SWM facility such as Lake Marian could be a year or two from now.
• Under Frederick County Legislative Packet Response— second sentence should read: He said the letter submitted a request that 100 percent of the SHUR funds for which the LLA is eligible be passed on to the LLA instead of the current 53 percent level.
Security— DFC Venzin reported that he would be leaving his post at Eaglehead to take the community deputy position in Emmitsburg. He said he had enjoyed working with everyone during his tenure with the association and he thanked the community for its warm welcome to him and for the help they provided in many cases he worked on. He introduced his supervisor Sgt. Barrick, who reported on the search for a new Eaglehead deputy. Sgt. Barrick said that interviews for the position were ongoing, that the goal was to find someone who had experience in community policing, as DFC Venzin did, and that the department was considering DFC Michael Davies as the new deputy. Sgt. Barrick said that Mr. Davies had lived in Eaglehead for a short period of time.
In his security report, DFC Venzin reported that two main signs in Eaglehead were vandalized and that he was hoping to get that case solved before he left and that he would work with the new deputy to help solve it.
Director Dinkelacker asked if the new deputy could attend the next board meeting on October 18. Sgt. Barrick said yes.
Environment Control Committee— AGM/compliance administrator Seligson said that the number of applications to the ECC had decreased considerably since the beginning of fall. He noted three properties that had been under stop work orders and said that all of them were being resolved.
Finance Committee— Mr. Hembree said the finance committee wanted to change the date of the proposed budget meeting with the board, although the committee did not give him a date as to when it wanted to meet. Director Dinkelacker said that the board had wanted to start budget meetings in September each year. Director Sheehan asked if the board had not given the committee enough time to prepare for that timeframe. Mr. Hembree said that committee chairperson Sue Young said that she would email an explanation to the board. Director Dinkelacker said that he hoped the board could begin the meetings in November. Director Sheehan asked the staff to try to set the meeting date for November 8. He also asked for the first report to be given to the board at least a week prior to that meeting date.
Trailblazers Committee— Co-chairperson Katrinka Westendorf said that she was going to be doing a walk-through with Mr. Edwards on October 5. She said the monthly work party of the committee would be working on the Pinehurst trail from the bowl to the big lake.
Social Committee— CRM Gurley reported that the committee was working on an October 30 event that would include an autumn celebration in the afternoon followed by “Haunted Cabanas” in the evening for trick-or-treating. She said that the holiday party planning had been underway and that the ticket price was $50 per person this year. The significant increase in the ticket price reflects the increase in food costs (food price per person this year is $47.54). She said that price reflected a $1,000 discount for the rental fee at Ceresville Mansion.
Election Committee— Director Dinkelacker reported that a board member had resigned and that a notice would be published in LakeTalk giving interested residents 30 days to submit a letter of intent and a resume for consideration. Following that timeframe, the board would review the applicants and decide what to do.
Archives Committee— Committee chairperson Celie Pellegrino submitted a comprehensive written report to the board about what the committee had done to date. Mrs. Pellegrino will be moving from the community sometime in November and wanted to submit a final report from her chairmanship. Director Sheehan asked about storage of back-up files, noting that the board had established that files be stored in three different places. Staff noted that the LLA has an off-site storage facility for files, an electronic back up (off-site), and the regular files in the office and on the computer system.
Aspen— Chairperson Kathy Brown noted that the general manager had read a letter from Land Stewards to the Aspen Village Committee at the past board meeting regarding the outcome of a dispute over whether the developer had to follow the Aspen village covenants on exterior construction materials. The letter from Land Stewards stated that it intended to abide by those covenants. Mrs. Brown acknowledged the positive outcome and thanked the many residents in that village who worked with her on the mater. She also thanked Land Stewards for listening to resident concerns.
Westwinds— Committee chairperson Carol Thames said that Mike Diehmes told her that the front entrance lighting was suppose to have gravel instead of mulch. Mr. Edwards said that the lighting was installed according to Mr. Diehmes’ specifications. She asked whether developer Tom Poss ever forwarded a check for $1500 for rear entrance lighting. Mr. Hembree said that the LLA was to order the work to be done and that Mr. Poss would then forward a check to the LLA. Mrs. Thames and village resident Doris Teti asked about the date of a workshop that LLA directors said it would have on the Westwinds covenants. Director Sheehan said that no action was taken on that point and that in the previous meeting the board had only recommended that a workshop be scheduled when the legal review was completed. Mr. Hembree said that LLA attorney Shelah Lynn wrote a letter to Mr. Poss about the covenants matter and that it would soon be mailed. Both residents pushed for the board to schedule a workshop on the matter because very soon Mr. Poss would not be the majority landowner in the village. Mr. Hembree recommended that the board schedule a workshop and invite Ms. Lynn to speak. Mr. Hembree said that Mr. Poss could take care of this issue with a signature on papers that had been presented some time ago to the developer but he has not responded. Director Sheehan said if there is no satisfactory response by October 18, a workshop would be scheduled and all WW property owners would be notified. Discuss as to who was eligible to vote on the matter in a referendum was clarified that only WW residents would vote on this referendum matter.
Woodridge— Co-chairperson John Cunha thanked LLA staff for installation of doggi pot stations in the village. He asked for an update on the weir wall/village entrance sign to the village. Project manager Joe Dimeglio said that a preliminary plan would be presented within 30 days; he said he wanted to send it to the Maryland Department of the Environment to review again. Mr. Cunha asked for a sweeper to be sent to the circle area of the village to clean up the soil so that the dust from traffic could be reduced. Mr. Dimeglio said that the dust problem would get better soon because of some of the drainage work that Land Stewards was doing at this time. Mr. Cunha also asked about the timetable for installing the inlet, to which Mr. Dimeglio responded that it would be installed within the next 30 days.
Woodridge Tree Proposal— Staff had recommended to the board that it approve the document; Mr. Dimeglio asked the LLA directors to sign off on the MoU. Director Sheehan asked if the village committee had reviewed the final draft of the proposal. Mr. Cunha said he had not seen it.
MOTION: Director Sheehan made a motion to approve the document with the condition that if the village committee had any problems with it that the document would return to the board for needed adjustments. Director Rogers seconded the motion.
VOTE: three directors (Rogers, Sheehan, Dinkelacker) voted for the motion, none of the directors voted against the motion, one director (DiLoreta) abstained from the vote.
Woodridge Amenities Fee— Woodridge Village Committee co-chairperson John Cunha read a letter into the record regarding the residents’ wishes on the matter of how the fees are split between the village and the LLA. Director DiLoreta said that the board should take no action until it gets the cost figures for the items listed in the village letter. Mr. Hembree said that the proof of claim outlines the costs of the various projects. He said that all the village was trying to do was get the board to commit all of the money collected through village lot sales for amenities in that village. Directors Sheehan and Rogers said that other funds come into play, some projects come under the LLA budget, while others could be funded through grants. Director Rogers said that with an engineered site plan the LLA could apply for a grant for the playground. Mr. Hembree said that the current site plan that the LLA has for this parcel includes more than just a playground.
MOTION: Director Sheehan made a motion to defer a decision on the commitment of the second half of the funds until the directors get a plan on what the first half of the funds are being spent on, and that the board retain an option on the second half of the funds. Director Rogers seconded the motion. In discussion, it was noted that street signage was on order and would be installed by the end of October. Director DiLoreta asked if the second half of the funds in question were plugged into last year’s budget. Mr. Hembree said no.
VOTE: All four directors (Rogers, Dinkelacker, Sheehan, DiLoreta) voted for the motion. There were no votes against the motion.
Position Descriptions— AGM Edwards said that the position descriptions needed to be rewritten and would be presented to the board at the next meeting.
Proposal re: Conflict of Interest— at least three motions were made regarding the issue but none of them received a second. During the discussion on the matter former board member John Snow said that the issue had come up before with the board and that because the association did not have a good policy on the matter, the board could not deal with it effectively. Meadows resident Larry Dusold said that the association needed to have a good written policy as to what constitutes conflict of interest and that each board member should be required to sign a document that he/she agrees to abide by the policy. AGM Edwards asked whether setting such a policy about whether a board member can contract with the LLA would interfere with staff ability to recommend contract awards based on merit. Westwinds resident Carol Thames said she felt that board members should not be allowed to compete for contracts because of the budget information they are privy to. Director Dinkelacker asked whether a board member could be a subcontractor on a contract. Director Sheehan said he felt the association should develop such a policy but that he wanted it to be done properly. Mr. Snow suggested that the board pass by LLA attorney Shelah Lynn any policy it develops on the matter and that it should include committee chairpersons, too. Director DiLoreta thought that a policy was going too far because the association has lots of good people working for its interests. Mr. Dusold said that one of the reasons that people do not get involved is because they believe that those who run for the board are doing so only because it is in their own private financial interests. He said a policy would eliminate that impression and restore member confidence.
Decision: the board decided to table the issue and have director Rogers write a motion to be presented at the next meeting.
Woodcliff Court Correction Plat Action— The general manager said that a letter was sent to the only lot owner affected by the plat correction. He said two phone calls were made to that person but no response has been received to date. Director Dinkelacker said that the matter should move forward because the notification obligation had been fulfilled.
Sheriff’s Contract— Staff recommended that the directors wait to approve the new contract, which had an increase of up to eight percent more than last year’s contract. He said a new contract might be presented now that a new, less experienced deputy is being hired.
Westwinds Covenants Amendment— attorney Shelah Lynn had prepared letters on behalf of the LLA to be sent to developer Tom Poss about changes for the village’s covenants. Director Sheehan wanted to know what the association should do if Mr. Poss did not respond to the letter. The board decided a deadline for his response should be included in the text of the letter and a clear statement that if Mr. Poss did not respond by that time that the association would be free to take action Director Dinkelacker asked about the status of trees that were cut down on two lots in Section 4 of Westwinds without the approval of the LLA and noted that a stop work order could be issued to deal with this matter. Mr. Hembree said that the letters would be sent to Mr. Poss very soon.
LLA Management Shift— Director Dinkelacker announced that as of October 4, Mr. Hembree was stepping back from his full time position as general manager and that the board was in negotiations with him to become the project development coordinator. He said that AGM Edwards was named interim GM. Mr. Edwards thanked the board for their consideration in the position and was grateful that Mr. Hembree would still be a part of the process. Mr. Hembree said that the results of work during the last four months with Mr. Edwards had been very good.
Sign Vandalism and Reward Announcement— the board announced a $750 reward to be posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Westwinds ECC Complaint— a letter was attached to the board packet of a resident complaining about covenant/ECC violations in that village. Doris Teti said that was why the village/HOA committee wanted resolution to the matter. Compliance administrator Doug Seligson said that the property in question in the letter had been sent two letters but the letters were ignored. Mr. Hembree agreed that the covenants in the village needed to be changed.
Oct. 26 Budget Meeting—the matter was discussed under Finance Committee report.
Aspen Parcel C— Director DiLoreta said that two plans had been presented and that letters should have been sent regarding the 14lot subdivision in Aspen south and another section of nine large lots between North Shore Drive and Accipiter. Mr. Hembree said the letters had not yet been received but that staff had been promised color plans in the future. He said the current one was a rough draft but that Land Stewards was sharing information as it goes in the county planning department. Door.
A question was asked of Mr. DiLoreta about the status of the Eaglehead Drive Bridge. He said that final comments were due soon on the plans from the county and that he hoped to have a target date for construction by the time of the next board meeting.
Audubon Trails Plan— GM Hembree said the plans had been finalized.
Letter to Land Stewards re: Drainage— LLA staff had sent the developer a letter about the drainage problems in Woodridge around the circle. Mr. Dimeglio said that he and Mr. Hembree were to walk the village problem areas on October 6 and would take a look at the problem. Director Rogers asked Land Stewards to look at the proper near Mr. Cunha and asked them to clear out the culvert due to silt that had filled in the area and was causing the drainage back-up in that area.
Mr. Dimeglio thanked Mr. Hembree for his assistance in getting oriented to the project. He said that in sections 1, 2 and 3 that utilities and paving would be completed before the end of the year. He said that a “punch” list would be developed with Mr. Hembree, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Seligson. In Aspen and Audubon, plans are continuing and that the hope was to break ground this year.
Land Stewards Tree in Woodridge— Mr. Dimeglio and Mr. Hembree were going to look at the tree in question. Mr. Hembree said the problem was more of a grading issue than a tree removal issue. Director Dinkelacker asked that a final answer be made available at the next board meeting.
Director Rogers asked whether a response had been formulated to the county’s request for LLA input on the watershed protection report. Mr. Hembree said it was forthcoming.
John Snow asked about the status of the Pinehurst Pool. Director Rogers said that she would need to reestablish contact with Paddock Pool Company and that she was waiting for a topo map from LLA staff of the proposed pool site.
Director Rogers made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Director DiLoreta seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 9:18 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stephen Hembree Andrew Twillman
LLA General Manager LLA Secretary