 Oak Meadow Association Annual Meeting Fitchburg Dining Room November 17, 2010 7:00 PM (<--click image to download presentation)Bob Gleisner created a list of meeting attendees New Directors There were openings for 4 directors positions. Three people volunteered. All nominations were voted in by show of hands.
Welcome to our new board members: Jesse Olson - Director Matthew Kohnke - President Becky Baumbach – Vice President
Board Meetings Discussed board meetings. They are open for all to attend. Meeting dates are listed on the website. The next directors meeting will be on Tuesday, January 18 at 7:00PM at the Fitchburg Community Center in the Greenfield Room. Financials Bob Gleisner discussed financials. Annual dues are currently $50. Took an informal poll on increasing/decreasing dues. Consensus was that it was fine at $50 but we want to start seeing more activities. (Note that the board is able to raise or lower annual dues without a vote.) About 63% of lots have paid dues. About 27-32 developer-owned lots have been collected on. Other lots are on foreclosure and the bank has been contacted. Only 10-12 people haven’t paid any dues in the last 3 years. Most people who haven’t paid dues have sold house and moved on. Rain Garden Maintenance – discussed that as the neighborhood is developed we need to put in an inground infiltration system (rain garden). This will go next to lot 152. The purpose is to take rainwater and try to put it into the ground instead of into the lakes. It won’t be constructed until adjacent lots are completed. Randy Christensen from Sveum gave his update that they asked the city if they can wait until the adjacent lots are done. The question was asked if any other rain gardens were planned – specifically near Old Oak and the bike path. Randy wasn’t aware of any plans. The area in question is part of the city land. Parks department can be contacted. Estimated maintenance costs are $3000/year for 3 years as required. Randy recommends getting a company after the 3 years for any additional maintenance. (Randy said that JFNew is a highly recommended company for this - www.jfnew.com). Fencing Discussed taking a vote to see if we should even get into a
committee to review fence issues. Currently there is a restriction on fencing
unless there is an in-ground swimming pool.
John reviewed the city ordinances. Randy had reviewed plans for the
house on Oak View Ct. that got a fence.
They do have a pool but it is inside their house but it does have doors
that open in the summer so that it would be outside. There is an Architectural
committee which is Sveum and one board member. Decided to pursue a study on
fences and take a harder look on if fences are allowed. Could possibly amend bylaws but need 2/3 of
lot owners. New architectural representative
should be appointed. School Ron Slavin asked about school district assignments. Randy informed the group that school boundaries had changed since Oak Meadow started. The original school districts were based on whatever district the farmers who owned the land had attended and then adjusted from there. Lesley Steffin indicated that there were 34 children born in last 5 years in our neighborhood. Randy said that the North McGaw neighborhood plan does have a site for a school but with the economy probably a school won’t be built. Proposed to designate a committee chairperson to discuss school zoning issues and be able to be a communication liaison at any appropriate meetings. Possibly could also contact our alderman or mayor. Ideas for 2011 John Hein had suggestions for how to use our budget surplus for 2011. There were 2 slides of topics in his slideshow. Follow-up will be done on the following areas:
Other Information Randy informed us that in 2011, Oak Meadow will be in the Parade of Homes. It will be the condo area across from park. They will be individual condos on a smaller scale. Becky Baumbach asked if we had any social committees. Bob Gleisner stated that we did collect a lot of information last year and we can use that as a starting point. Amy Olson asked if there is a policy for renting properties. There isn’t a policy on that based on city ordinances. The board can be more aggressive with people who aren’t taking care of their property. Matthew Kohnke stated that it is important to have someone from our board be attending the city council meetings. Possibly could rotate through the board members for attendees. Bob Gleisner has contacted several snow removal services to see if we get a discount. Roughly we could get a 10% discount if we had 20-25 people interested. Approximately $38 for average lot. Let Bob know if anyone is interested. Just a reminder that sidewalks are the responsibility of individual homeowners. The board needs to make Terry Wanta aware that Oak Meadow covenants need to be distributed at closings. Mary Story asked what can be done about poor snow removal practices on lots that are owned by the bank. The board can call the city and they will have the sidewalk done. There was also concern about builder lots. The board can proactively send a note to builders reminding them of the snow removal policy. We also should post policy on the website. Jen Baldock will send minutes out via email to those people who have submitted their email address on the dues invoice.
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