Lake Linganore
Association, Inc.
February 20,
2006
Special Session & Regular Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 6 p.m. at the LLA Coldstream Drive office.
Board members present were: Jim Cates, Jay Decker, Jim DiMeglio, Alan Dinkelacker, Brandon Frazier, Lisa Rogers, Grant Sheehan.
Staff in attendance: GM Edwards, CRM Gurley.
Special Session— FY’07 Budget
LLA treasurer Frazier said that changes had been made to the budget since the last meeting. He said that after looking at the GNA, many of the items were under budget and were adjusted in the new budget. Director Frazier said that the present version of the budget included the figures for the Aspen North CDA in the project section of the budget, including what has been approved so far. He said the FY’07 budget included a line item that set aside $5,000 per miles for LLA CDA roads that is intended for long-term savings and replacement.
Director Frazier said that the FY’07 budget also included $10,000 for conducting planning, which included working with the University of Maryland for a municipality study and redoing the reserves study. He also noted that the FY’06 budget had a surplus that would be directed toward covering the costs for the Pinehurst farm pond and Lake Anita Louise repairs that have been mandated by the state.
Westwinds resident Jim Urchasko said that he had been told there was $1,800 left over from the budget of the Westwinds playground project and he wanted to know where it was. Director Frazier said that the figure was actually $1658 and that it was still in the bank earning interest.
Woodridge resident Stephen Hembree asked whether the line of credit being pursued was for Aspen North or could it be used by other villages. Director Dinkelacker said the money would be for Aspen North CDA only. Mr. Hembree asked whether the LLA would be pursuing a line of credit for the other CDA. Mr. Dinkelacker said no. Balmoral resident Brian Jacobs asked whether the line of credit would be publicized. Director Frazier said it would be publicized and that the LLA Finance Committee would review it.
Balmoral resident Hiliary Moore asked about the cost of the Lake Anita Louise and farm pond projects. Director Frazier said the cost is approximately $400,000 but that the surplus from the FY’06 budget would be deposited into the reserves account and used primarily for those projects. He said the goal was to do the pond and lake repairs without going to a special assessment.
MOTION: Director Frazier made a motion to adopt the final February 8, 2006 version of the FY’07. Director Decker seconded the motion. VOTE: six of the directors voted in favor of the motion; none of the directors voted against the measure.
Director Frazier said that he felt the LLA should hand out to the members attending budget meetings copies of the budget version being considered for adoption. He said it would be good to have input, though it might be limited, at the meetings before the final vote is taken. Director Decker said in order to get member input before the budget is adopted the budget would have to be finished before January in order to publish it in LakeTalk and get feedback. Director Sheehan said that the Home Owners Act says that HOAs do not have to publish drafts of a budget. Resident Brian Jacobs suggested having copies at the final public budget meeting next year. Director Cates said that the LLA Finance Committee could propose something to address the idea for next year’s budget cycle. Director Decker assured members in the audience that there was “no pork” in the budget. Director Frazier said that the increase in the property assessments this year allowed the LLA to do without special assessments for some of the needed capital improvement projects.
Director Cates made a motion to adjourn the budget meeting. Director Decker seconded the motion. The special budget session adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Regular Meeting Session
The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. at the LLA Coldstream Drive office.
Board members present were: Jim Cates, Jay Decker, Jim DiMeglio, Alan Dinkelacker, Brandon Frazier, Lisa Rogers, Grant Sheehan.
Staff in attendance: GM Edwards, CRM Gurley.
Minutes of the February 6, 2006 regular board meeting were approved with the following corrections:
• page 2, under Aspen North CDA Budget, first paragraph, line six, the word “be” should be inserted so that it reads: “would be ludicrous…”
• Page 2, under Aspen North CDA Budget, third paragraph, last sentence, should read: He said that LLA costs for the coming budget year would be the interest payments.
• Page 4, under Resident Forum, second paragraph, the name of the Woodridge member is: Dan Burke.
NEW BUSINESS
Municipality Workshop—
Director Frazier introduced Frederick County Commissioner Michael Cady to head
up the discussion. While waiting for one of the speakers for the evening to
arrive, Commissioner Cady took some time to address questions about the
Linganore CDA. He said there is light at the end of the tunnel and that it was
“not a train coming at us.” He said the county was finalizing a
pre-qualification package and that it would be one month until it was ready to
release. He said the package would be sent out to contractors who would have 30
days to respond. Mr. Cady said the
county would work with the Lake Linganore Conservation Society (LLCS) to choose
the contractors for the projects, which would be evaluated by the end of May.
He said the contracts on the projects could be broken out in several ways,
depending upon how the bids come back. He also noted that it will be a long
time to completion once the projects are underway. Mr. Cady said that there was one permit on the storm water
management side of the project that was still needed before things could
proceed.
LLCS president
Charlotte Dusold noted that the first meeting on the pre-qualification package
was to be held that Friday. She also noted that the permit Mr. Cady referred to
was not required previously when the first bid process on the projects was
conducted.
Mr. Cady said that
the CDA legislation for Frederick County only pertained to Eaglehead and Urbana
areas of the county and that the county has asked the county’s state delegates
for legislation to allow CDAs to be used elsewhere in the county. He said he
was pleased that the county commissioners had approved the Aspen North CDA.
Aspen resident Kathy
Brown said that the Linganore CDA has been a long time waiting to become a
reality, with lots of engineering done and no shovels in the ground.
Commissioner Cady said that those involved had to figure out how to do it and
then determine cost before the projects could get underway.
Commissioner Cady
noted that all speakers for the municipality workshop were accounted for. He said there are 12 municipalities in the
county and that the last was incorporated in 1953 (Rosemont, near Brunswick).
He introduced Rosemont Burgess Jackie Ebersole and Linda Burrell, member
relations director for the Maryland Municipal League, who spoke to the board
about municipal incorporation.
Burgess Ebersole
said that a municipal charter can be designed any way a group wants it to be,
as long as it complies with state requirements. Ms. Burrell said that incorporation does two things; it defines
the legal status of the area into a unit of government and defines the
boundaries. She said an area that is considering incorporation needs to know
“where you are and where you want to be.” She emphasized that a research committee
for Eaglehead needs to thoroughly investigate options to determine the best
governmental process for the community and that there needs to be a common
agreement on what that is. She noted
that North Chevy Chase was the last municipal incorporation in Maryland (1996)
and that other areas of Montgomery County that were considering municipal
incorporation instead became special taxing districts so as to have a revenue
stream
Mrs. Burrell said
the explorative process to investigate municipal options takes anywhere from
nine months to a year. She said an organizing committee does the groundwork for
the process. She said that once the
community determined what kind of services and infrastructure it wanted to
provide as a municipality that would determine the costs to the residents. She
said a municipality does have a local income tax revenue stream. Mrs. Burrell
said a municipality does not have to provide every service that another
municipality does.
A resident asked about
the difference between a special taxing district and the CDA that Eaglehead
currently has. Commissioner Cady said the CDA is a special tax but that he did
not believe that operating as a special taxing district would get Eaglehead
what it wanted.
Mrs. Burrell said
the important thing to remember is that in discussions with state and county
officials, municipalities usually get a seat at the table over home owner
associations. She said municipalities and counties usually get equal footing,
and are entitled to certain revenue streams.
Director Sheehan
asked about what changes would need to be made to the LLA assessment formula
because while the association bases its assessment on the same kind of formula
as the state’s the LLA also averages each village and then uses the “per $100”
formula. Mrs. Burrell said that the
formula would have to become more uniform. She said the new assessment formula
would have to be based on the individual assessment of each property. She also
noted that many municipalities do not have a commercial tax base.
Mrs. Burrell said
that annexation into New Market would be an easier, faster, less expensive way
to become a municipality and that this course of action was something to
consider, too. She added that the county commissioners have the final say as to
whether Eaglehead incorporation goes forward to the state. A resident asked
whether the county had to provide a reason for denial of the request to
incorporate. Mrs. Burrell said the county does have to provide a reason but
that may not change the outcome. Burgess Ebersole said that during the
investigation aspect of the process the county’s negotiations will provide some
idea as what its objections are. Mrs. Burrell said that Eaglehead would be
blazing a trail because no one has ever done this from “scratch.”
Mrs. Burrell said
that she had previously visited the LLA four times since 1994 to talk about
incorporation and asked the directors why the association was looking into the
subject at this time. Director Frazier said that the LLA is always looking at
road maintenance and that it needs a continuing source of income to achieve
this and that the association is just wondering about the possibilities such an
action could bring. She also noted that once an area becomes incorporated or
becomes annexed into another town, the existing zoning must remain in place for
five years before it can be changed.
Burgess Ebersole
said that two towns in Frederick County that were once incorporated eventually
became unincorporated— Jefferson was dis-incorporated by the state for not
complying with state requirements and Point of Rocks dis-incorporated itself.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Approval of ECC Enforcement Procedures— this matter had been tabled for some
editing purposes.
MOTION:
Director Decker made a motion to approve the document, including the fee
schedule for fines related to violations. Director Cates seconded the motion. Discussion: Director Frazier asked that
revisions of documents be numbered in the footer of the documents so that
directors could keep better track of the revision process and which was the
final version. Director Sheehan said
that the final version of the document, which was provided via email just prior
to the meeting, and the version included in the board information packet,
provided several days prior to the meeting, had some minor editing changes and
two substantive changes. VOTE: five
of the directors voted in favor of the motion; none of the directors voted
against the motion. (Director Rogers left the meeting following the
municipality workshop)
• Events Committee— Community Resource Manager Joy Gurley said that the committee had determined a new calendar of events for 2006. She said the committee is working with Friends of the Lake and Trailblazers, as well as some others, to produce an April 29 event that focuses on the nature of Eaglehead, brings in Arbor Day activities, an egg hunt, boat tours, a feature on Indian Cave and other activities. On May 6, “Clean Sweep”, a community garage/yard sale was set to take place. The bulk of the events were scheduled for the summer months: June 10- That 70s Pool Party, end of the school year pool party; July 22- A Night on the Lake, featuring live music and more; August 26- Endless Summer Hop, 60s music end-of-the-season pool party; October 28- Haunted Cabanas, trick-or-treating event. She said the committee decided not to produce the Autumn Celebration but to keep the cabana trick or treat event, as well as to drop the holiday events, all due to lack of attendance. She said the LLA lost a minimum of $2,000 on this year’s holiday party at Ceresville, and has heavily subsidized the event, despite sponsor support, for a few years.
•Finance Committee— Director Frazier said that the interest on savings was substantial in the past fiscal year and that GNA expenses were under budget including in the areas of the CDA and snow removal. He said the reserves total was $972,058. He noted there were no major variances in the budget. He said the letter of credit search for the Aspen North CDA was active.
•Trailblazers Committee— The committee offered the following written report: On February 11, Trailblazers members spent the first part of the work session meeting with two members of the Indian Cave Committee. We looked over revised maps of the planned development above the Indian Cave, detailing lot delineations and location of existing and relocated trails. We discussed the kind of trails we would like to see in the developed area and the need and requirement for buffers between the trails and the new properties and homes.
The group then headed to the Pinehurst Lake Trail (#6), our work site for the month. We started at the Nightingale Beach trailhead and moved eastward, pruning vegetation and picking up trash. As usual, most of the trash was concentrated in the area under the Boyer’s Mill Road Bridge. Much of the vegetation along the trail had died back for the winter and required little pruning. We did a small amount of brush and vine removal along the esplanade near the eastern end of the trail. The trail section below Lakepoint Overlook is currently quite muddy (due to construction on the homes adjacent to it) and is difficult to traverse. We advise caution moving through the area. This maintenance concern has been reported to the LLA staff.
•Aspen Village— village chairperson Kathy Brown said there was not much to report. She did not that large trucks are starting to come into the village due to the construction and she asked Mr. DiMeglio to contact contractors’ truck drivers to ask them to be aware of people on the streets. She said that resident complaints will be directed to the LLA office or to Mr. DiMeglio. GM Edwards said that requests were made for road repairs on three courts the village and that the courts would need to be topped this year or they will be lost.
•Balmoral Village — Brian Jacobs introduced himself as the new village committee chairperson. He said there were no major concerns at this time. He said many of the village residents are still involved in the work of the Indian Cave Committee.
•Pinehurst Village
— Although the village committee
chairperson was not in attendance a group of Pinehurst residents, waterfront
property owners, said they had come to the meeting with Commissioner Cady to see
what was up regarding the de-silting of the lake. They were interested to know
whether the county could be of help in getting the project done and they wanted
to know what the LLA was doing because they had been hearing about a dredging
project but nothing was happening. They
said what was once waterfront property can no longer be described as such
because the silting of the “skinny” end of the lake has left little to no water
in the lakebed. LLA board members reviewed the efforts that are ongoing regarding
the project. The biggest obstacle is
determining where to put the silt once it is removed, board members said.
Engineering is being done and talks are ongoing with Land Stewards about a
location in Isles of Balmoral to deposit the silt. The residents were
encouraged to attend an upcoming watershed protection meeting hosted by county
staff and to find ways to get involved from that direction to get support for
the lake. Director Frazier told the residents that there were lots of technical
questions and that the LLA was paying for the engineering to answer those
questions.
RESIDENT FORUM
• Aspen resident Kathy Brown asked about the letter of credit being pursued for the Aspen North CDA and how the money would work. Director Frazier said that the credit line would be used to pay the upfront cost and them be reimbursed to the LLA. He said it was the reasonable thing to do, pay the interest on a line of credit rather than take a lot of cash from the association budget. Mrs. Brown asked about the status of the Linganore CDA and whether putting the Aspen North CDA on the block was a big risk for the association. Director Frazier said there was some risk but that Aspen North owner’s dues could be used to pay the debt if that CDA does not move forward to bond sale. Charlotte Dusold asked why the association was budgeting funds for the engineering studies prior to bond sale. GM Edwards said the full engineering for the project does not have to be completed before the bond sale, only a letter from the engineer reiterating the statistics on the feasibility study. Balmoral resident Brian Jacobs asked whether the LLA had borrowed before. He was told the LLA has not borrowed money on this scale before. Director Frazier asked what the LLA needed to do differently to accommodate the CDA. Mrs. Brown said she believed the individual home owners should have provided the money. She added that the actions of the association made her nervous. Director Frazier said that the board had only approved $30,000 to date and that it was still an unknown as to whether the LLA could borrow the money. Mrs. Dusold said that the CDA is a good tool for addressing these infrastructure needs and that it is used all over the country.
ADJOURNMENT
Director Cates made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Director Decker seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:32 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Clay Edwards Jay Decker
LLA General Manager LLA
Secretary