Lake Linganore
Association, Inc.
December 6,
2004
The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. at the Eaglehead Barn, located off of Rt. 144.
Board members present were: Bill DiLoreta, Alan Dinkelacker, Brandon Frazier, Lisa Rogers, Grant Sheehan, Andrew Twillman, Duane Schestag.
Staff in attendance was: GM Edwards and CRM Gurley.
The minutes of the November 15, 2004 board minutes were approved as written.
President’s Remarks- LLA president Dinkelacker introduced new board member Duane Schestag to the audience and welcomed him to the association board. Mr. Dinkelacker then announced that he had a conflict of interest disclosure statement regarding his board position and presented it to GM Edwards. Director Sheehan encouraged other board members who have business activities with the LLA or any of the developers to do the same.
DEVELOPER’S REPORT— no report was presented.
• Security- DFC Davies reported that things have been going pretty well during the last two months since he joined the LLA as community deputy. He noted that crime stats had gone down and said that the investigation into the vehicle vandalism, in which bricks were thrown through windshields on 14 vehicles, had been solved and closed. DFC Davies said that DFC Venzin had continued to assist in the case and that the LLA tip line provided valuable leads for law enforcement officers. He also noted that approximately 30 to 40 traffic tickets or warnings had been issued during the past 30 days and added that the county and LLA are working to get more speed limit signage onto the roadways to assist him. GM Edwards also noted that the new sergeant assigned to the community deputies was working very well with the program and the LLA to address the problems here. Mr. Edwards also noted that the request to the sheriff’s office regarding issuing a four-wheel drive vehicle to the deputy was being reviewed. He also informed the board that the Department of Natural Resources was stepping up their patrols within the Eaglehead PUD and that during the Thanksgiving holiday time and the most recent weekend that several violators were fined. Director DiLoreta said he wanted to make certain that everyone understood that Land Stewards does not give permission to hunt on its property within the PUD. He said that two people recently were caught hunting on the land and that they had been given permission to do so sometime back by former developer Frank Ellis. He said charges against those two were to be dropped because of the former permission that had been granted.
• Finance Committee— LLA treasurer Frazier said that he wanted to take the time to commend LLA staff for operating within the budget. He said that some specific line items might run over specific budgeted amounts but that the overall budget was being adhered to. He said that progress was being made by staff on the FY’06 budget. Director Frazier also said that he wanted staff to do some forecasting on cash flow specifically as it relates to snow removal for the period through the end of the current fiscal year.
•Communications Committee- no report.
•Trailblazers Committee- Committee co-chairperson Cathi Reed said that the December meeting would not be a work party; instead it would be a hike party and invited everyone to join in the fun. She said the committee and LLA staff were in discussion about drains on the lake trails and she noted a conversation with development projects coordinator Stephen Hembree who said that some trail work in the area of the Brosius Rock was to be done as part of the dam rehab work. GM Edwards said that when the work was to be done that the trail would be closed during that time. He said he would post signs on the trail as soon as he knew when it was to be done. Mrs. Reed also thanked LLA staff for their quick response to two problems found on the trails.
• Social Committee- CRM Gurley thanked Gina Black, Erin Betz and others who helped with the holiday party. She said that the party was a success and that the committee would be working on its overall financial report for the year, which would be presented to the board in the near future.
• Election Committee- John Snow asked that CRM Gurley contact John Shuey about constructing a ballot box for the upcoming referendum and election. LLA president Dinkelacker reminded everyone that the board election was coming up in six months.
• Archives Committee- Committee member Cathy Reed reported that Mrs. Mannix from the county library had gotten back to her regarding the LLA committee’s inquiry to loaning the library archival documents and records of the association. Mrs. Reed said the library wants the archives to be presented as a gift and not as a loan. Mrs. Reed said there were still some questions to be asked of library officials about whether the LLA could exhibit some of the items in the future, what the procedure would be to do those kinds of activities, etc. She said Mr. Brosius, the original developer, needed to be contacted about his feelings on giving the records to the library. She also asked the board if they had a problem with the minutes being sent to the Archives Committee for record keeping. LLA president Dinkelacker said to proceed with sending minutes to the committee.
• Friends of the Lake Committee— no report.
•Aspen Village- no report
•Aspen North Village- no report
•Audubon Condos- no report
•Balmoral Village- no report
•Coldstream Village- no report
•Meadows Village- no report
•Nightingale Village- no report
•Pinehurst Village- no report
•Summerfield Village- no report
•Westwinds Village- no report
• Woodridge Village- Village committee co-chairperson John Cunha noted that the work on the Parcel C in that village was now done.
Before proceeding with the agenda, LLA president Dinkelacker announced that the board had decided at an executive session meeting earlier that evening to appoint acting general manager Clay Edwards as the LLA general manager. The start date for the position was to be December 6, 2004.
Aspen Water & Sewer Easements for Land Stewards— GM Edwards said that staff met with Harris Smariga & Associates about the easements and that everything was good to go, including the signature approval of a lot owner involved in one of the easements.
MOTION: Director Frazier made a motion to accept the easements as submitted. Director Rogers seconded the motion. VOTE: five of the directors voted for the motion (Frazier, Sheehan, Twillman, Schestag, Rogers) and none of the directors voted against the motion. Director DiLoreta recused himself from the vote.
Amended Memorandum of Understanding re: Aspen Tree Removal- GM Edwards explained that some wording needed to be included in the MoU to ensure that the $50,000 bond was replenished for each successive phase of the development. Land Stewards representative John Clarke said that at least three different documents had been produced to cover all the points required in the matter and that the developer agreed to have it all presented in the amended MoU.
MOTION: Director Frazier made a motion to approve the amended MoU for Aspen Tree Removal. Director Rogers seconded the motion. VOTE: five of the directors (Frazier, Schestag, Sheehan, Twillman, Rogers) voted in favor of the motion; none of the directors voted against the motion. Director DiLoreta recused himself from the vote.
Westwinds Lots 397 & 398 Tree Replanting Schedule— GM Edwards said that a stop work order was placed on these lots a while ago and that requests for information took some time to be received. Mr. Edwards said that staff was recommending approval of the replanting schedule because the new goal was to focus staff attention on the upcoming 77 townhomes to be built in this village. He said the replanting plan left the lot with the same appearance as the other lots in the neighborhood. He said the builder has explained that it does not intend to abide by the stop work orders. He also noted that LLA attorney Shelah Lynn recommended approving this particular plan and then focusing on the townhome project to ensure that it abides by the rules.
DISCUSSION: Director Frazier said that he did not think the board could hold the replanting plan on these two lots to the same standard that it had developed earlier for Land Stewards. Director DiLoreta said the board was operating with two different standards on this matter if it did not hold the Westwinds builder to the same standard to which it held Land Stewards. Director Frazier expressed concern that holding this village to the standard set for Aspen would go against the character of the existing neighborhood in the village. He asked whether staff had documentation that six trees actually existed previously on the lot and said the LLA should take action only to preserve the original appearance. Director Schestag said that the LLA should develop a policy with teeth and uniformity, and a mechanism to notify all residents of the requirements. He also asked whether this particular case was one that the board felt it had to fight.
GM Edwards said that if the replanting plan were presented to the LLA ECC it would most likely be approved. Director Sheehan said the LLA board is only required to review plans for the removal of trees and that he believed that if the board granted approval to this plan that any future endeavors to stop the builder for not following the rules would lose credibility in the courts.
MOTION: Director Frazier made a motion to not approve the plan and to request a copy of the tree removal plan and notify the lot owner that the tree removal plan was not submitted in a timely manner. Director Rogers seconded the motion. VOTE: five directors (Frazier, Schestag, Sheehan, Rogers, DiLoreta) voted in favor of the motion; one director (Twillman) voted against the motion.
Correspondence between Woodridge Lot Owner and Cavalier Development Consultants- copies of correspondence provided to directors for background.
Letter to builders on Nightingale Court re: Road Condition- a letter was sent to the builders asking them to consolidate their efforts and bring the road into a condition that will help it survive construction traffic during winter weather conditions.
Woodridge Lot 146 Tree Removal— The board asked for information about this case based on a request from a resident at the November 15 meeting. GM Edwards said the lot owner had been given 30 days to submit a plan and that a stop work order had been placed on the project. Director Frazier suggested posting the stop work order as soon as the letter was sent. GM Edwards said that all Aspen and Woodridge lot owners recently were sent information on tree clearing requirements.
• Larry Dusold announced that the Lake Linganore Conservation Society had its 2005 calendar ready for sale. The cost is $12 per calendar.
• Director DiLoreta commended staff for the work it was doing to address violations and specifically noted Doug Seligson as having done a good job.
• Director Frazier said that he would like to have more narrative involved in the general manager’s report. Director Sheehan asked that information about some of the major projects being worked on by the development projects coordinator Stephen Hembree be included in that narrative of the general manager’s report.
ADJOURNMENT
Director Frazier made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Director Rogers seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 8:39 p.m.