2009 Meeting Minutes

      Buzzword, TRANSPARENCY.  We got it in Ballymeade.  All residents can be fully informed on all matters pertaining to this great community we call home.  Below are the 2009 meeting minutes for you to read.  Also check out the minutes from 2008 and all the way back to 2005.  These are available if you from the main Documents and Links page by scrolling down further - you'll see them. 

     Below are the minutes from Ballymeade's 2009 meetings to date (most recent minutes are on top, scroll down to read the oldor posting):

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Board Meeting Minutes (Oct 22, 2009)

Ballymeade

      Maintenance Corporation     

 

MINUTES

Ballymeade Board of Directors Meeting

Date: October 22, 2009

Present: Pete Haggerty, Jeff Peaper, Richard Wolf, John Skrodot (Our Secretary, Mike Sarkis resigned from the board just prior to the meeting due to other commitments.)

 

Assessment Issues were discussed as follows: 

1. We are awaiting the status of two residences where the court should be determining that a complaint for their unpaid 2008 annual assessment is valid and that liens can be placed on the homes for non-payment. John Skrodot will determine with BC what the status is on the lien proceedings as well as finding out the status of their 2009 assessment payments which appear to be paid in full.
2. Six homeowners will be issued final notices as a courtesy from the board regarding non-payment of the 2009 annual assessment.  If the assessments are not paid in full, or a payment schedule established, on November 1, 2009 the board will authorize legal proceedings/complaints be filed with the courts on five of these homeowners due to lack of payment of the 2009 annual assessment. One of these six has made a partial payment and they will receive the courtesy notice letter, but no complaint will be filed at this time because of the small amount due.  If paid, no legal action will occur for this one house.
3. $10 interest owed by two residences will be waived because the interest was applied just after they made their payment.

The above were voted upon by the current Board members.

1. A home on Ballymeade Drive was recently sold but was not accounted for on BCs list of payments due.  Skrodot will follow up with BC Consulting about the one-time $450 payment.

 

Possible Abandoned Townhome:

 A home on E. Boxborough Drive is vacant and possibly abandoned. This will be pursued regarding upkeep of the property on the exterior and determining the current ownership.

 

Playground / Tennis Court Inspection:

 Richard Wolf will conduct a visual inspection of the playground to note any safety issues and anything that is in need of attention.  Richard is a certified safety engineer.  Bob Gleber, a former board member, is also performing inspections regularly and repairing anything he sees that needs attention (thank you Bob!!!).  Regular inspections are considered prudent considering the safety of the children in the community using it.  The tennis court was looked at and determined to be in good shape with no repairs needed at this time.

 

2009 Budget Review:

 Review of the budget for 2009 revealed $7069 remaining for bill paying for the remainder of the fiscal year (ends Feb 29).  This money will be used some landscaping updates and the rest saved for possible winter snow/ice removal. This surplus became available due to the wet growing season and no need for paying the vendor to water the new street trees.  A total of eight homes were sold in our community so far this year resulting in the collection of $3600 towards the capital improvement assessment fund which has just now reached a proper level for the age of our community.

 

Homeowner Communications:

 Welcome packages will continue to be sent to new residents, minor updating was needed.  The board will be sending a note to all homeowners to address current concerns.  Richard will draft this letter.

 

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Minutes from Board meeting on March 26 2009

The Ballymeade Board of Directors met on March 26, 2009 at 7:00 PM at Peter Haggerty's home.  Attending the meeting: Peter Haggerty, John Skrobot, Jeff Peaper, Dick Wolf and Mike Sarkis.  Glenn Moore of BC Consulting also attended.

Board Member  Election/Officerships:

The board members were in full agreement with the followings:

Peter Haggerty for the office of President

Jeff  Peaper  for the office of Treasurer

Mike Sarkis for the office of Secretary

Dick Wolf  for the office of First VP

John Skrobot for the office of Second VP

Contact information of all Board members was provided to BC Consulting.

Deed Restriction issues and ARC:

In extreme circumstances where the HO does not comply with the deed restrictions, the Board may ask EJ (the attorney who deals will Ballymeade legal issues) to send a certified letter to that particular HO. The Board will also consult with him soon in order to determine appropriate steps to take regarding the deed restriction violations in general.  Glenn recommended forming a mini committee for ARC and deed restriction issues.  The board will try to recruit ARC volunteers from the community.

The issue of a dead tree at the property line of one of the house was discussed the HO will be asked to provide a survey on their property to determine whether the tree is on a private land or Ballymeade common property and therefore to decide who will remove it.

Contract with BC Consulting: The contract was discussed with Glenn, Peter H had negotiated it with BC Consulting earlier, a few sections were added and others were amended. The board discussed items and will review the contract, Pete and Jeff to sign it by April 1^st  after the board members agrees to it. The fees for BC Consulting are $13,851 per year.  The contract to be signed is a 3 year agreement.

Action Tracker (AT):

Glenn requested not to be responsible for keeping the AT up to date. After plenty of discussion,  the board agreed that in order to keep a good record of all the tasks progression, the AT needs to be kept updated. As a middle ground, the board and Glenn agreed share that responsibility, Dick will assume the board's part.

Delinquencies:  There are still 5 home owners who are delinquent in paying last year's assessment fees: three home owners are delinquent on the full amount plus interest, and two did not pay fees or interest in full and owe less than $100.  Three Demand Letters were sent to the fully delinquent HOs some time ago so the Board  agreed on moving forward with the process of placing a lien on these three homes. The other two households owe only the interest on last year's dues because of paying late, the board agreed on holding off any further actions till they pay this year's dues.

Glenn to clarify the process of sending reminder letters for dues.

Welcome Letters: a welcome letter will be sent to the new HOs by BC Consulting after the $450 assessment fees were received.  Jeff will let BC know.  The payment of the fee will be our way of learning of the new homeowner's name/address.

Landscape Volunteers: a HO wanted to be a volunteer for the landscape committee, the board welcomed that.  Peter will contact him.

Yard Sale:  an advertisement will be placed in the local newspaper and on the Ballymeade website, Dick agreed to organize the sale, the plan is to hold it on  a Saturday in May. (Sat May 16^th)

Community cleanup idea was discussed, the board agreed that it would beneficial and fun family activity that would keep our community clean.  (Sat April 18^th)

No Solicitation Sign:  the board agreed that Ballymeade should adopt a no solicitation policy and agreed to install a permanent no solicitation sign at the entrance to the development.  Glenn to order the sign and get it installed.

Website: create a blog with the list of all the contractors that are providing services in the community without endorsing them, these information could be useful for other HOs who live in community.

Treasury Report:

Jeff reviewed the current finances, things overall are looking great except for the snow removal item, because last year's snow removal bill was higher than what was budgeted: 4840 spent, 4000 budgeted.

Community security, Dick suggested to have a guest speaker from NCC Police Dept. at our next annual meeting to talk about safety issues and tips to improve the neighborhood safety. The idea of community patrol or watch was discussed. The board is not in agreement with this proposal, however, the board recommends the responsible vigilance of every HO and encourage them to call the NCC police for any suspicious activity happening around the neighborhood.

At 9:15 the meeting was adjourned.

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ANNUAL COMMUNITY MEETING:        

   Minutes from 2009 Ballymeade Community Annual Meeting

On Tuesday February 24, 2009 at 7:00 PM, the Ballymeade community held its Annual Meeting at the Brandywine Town Center Community Building.

Attendees of the meeting: Homeowners in the Ballymeade community, the Ballymeade Board of Directors, Peter Haggerty, Peter Klosiewicz, Jeff Peaper and Mike Sarkis, Richard Wolf.  Also in attendance were BC Consulting, Glenn Moore and our attorney, EJ Fornias.   

A quorum was met and the meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Peter Klosiewicz.

Guest Speaker E.J. Fornais, Attorney at Law, represents Ballymeade in legal matters, made a presentation about legal matters that Ballymeade community deals with including financial delinquencies of the yearly assessment fees, deed restrictions, ARC violations and more.  It was an excellent presentation and many questions were raised by those in attendance afterward.

Peter K, chairman of the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) presented the ARC Committee Report.  He reviewed last year's accomplishments and issues that he faced on a daily basis. Here are some of the highlights:

Purpose of this committee is to make sure that the HOs abide by the Deed Restrictions and bylaws. The ultimate goal is to maintain the neighborhood's integrity and property values; it's about what everyone else has to look at, not just from an individual's point of view.  Deed Restrictions are on Web site (www.ballymeade.org) and are provided to new homeowners at closing.

• # Standard requests - approx 8
• # of ARC Violations - 21 unduplicated: Most comply once HO understands the violation...... & they are usually minimal
• # of actions - over 50 letters, calls, drive-bys. Duplicates because  many are 3 and 4 notifications for the same violation
• # of violations for legal action - 2

Mike Sarkis presented the Secretary Report:

• Board generally meets every 4 to 6 weeks
• Meetings are not held in July or August
• All board meeting minutes are written and sent to the board for approval
• Once minutes are approved, they are posted on our web site, Ballymeade .org 
• Most of the time is spent on contracts, financials, ARC, and follow up
• BC Consulting representative attends 4 board meetings annually

President's Report was presented by Peter Haggerty.  He presented all the accomplishments and the issues that were dealt with in 2008, here are some of the highlights:

• It was an exciting & very productive year for Ballymeade
• Storm water basin maintenance & successful inspection at lower cost than expected.
• Capital Improvement Fund - Assessment for new home buyers
• Ballymeade Web Site (864 +/- hits per month)
• Fiscally sound & well managed treasury
• Ballymeade is still highly desirable community with sustained and still increasing property values in this bad real estate market
• No increase in neighborhood dues for residents for 2008 and 2009, still at the 2007 rate of $234.00.

 Peter H also presented the Landscape Committee Report, here are the highlights:

•  Maintenance - All trees were fertilized and pruned in spring, watered as needed, sprayed for Japanese beetles, staked as needed after wind storms (lots of work to keep them alive!!)
• Maintenance - 10 dead trees replaced - replaced this past fall - $2,100 after NCCD reimbursement of $2,000 (older large trees replaced)
• Enhancement at entrance - center island and to the right as exiting
• Enhancement of water basins - took advantage of the Delaware Center for Horticulture's "Bare Root Tree" program.  Installed 30 small bare root trees around both large water basins - $2,035 ($67 each).  In theory the small trees will root faster and grow better (we'll see).
• 2009 - no enhancements (no budget - all landscape funds applied to maintenance of what we have to keep costs down)

Glenn Moore presented a report of the services that BC Consulting offers to the Ballymeade Community; here are the highlights:

• Attend meetings with the board of directors, as requested, as well as the annual meeting; Schedule the maintenance corporation annual meeting; Send notice to all homeowners of the meeting
• Prepare voting ballots, proxy ballots, and notification of the homeowners as directed by the bylaws for the annual meeting, once initiated by the board of directors
• Collect all fees due to the Maintenance Corporation according to the Declaration
• Maintain individual homeowner accounts and computerized files to record payments, correspondence, requests, and complaints
• Assist in legal action against members for delinquent accounts and against contractors hired to perform services when necessary
• Collect Capital Assessment fees when homes are sold
• Ensure the filing of the annual tax returns required by the IRS
• Research and acquire bids for liability, property, and D&O insurance when appropriate
• Review and process requests submitted to the Architectural Review Committee, send written correspondence of Committee's decision, and retain records of all decisions AND Enforce deed restrictions based on board of directors decisions
• Register the community annually for DelDot Snow Removal Reimbursement and New Castle County Stormwater Management Assistance when applicable
• Research and obtain bids for all services required in accordance with the Maintenance Declaration
• Give recommendations to the board of directors and help to establish annual operating budget
• Responds to inquires from homeowners regarding their association
• Educate homeowners on maintenance corporation's roles and responsibilities

Treasurer's Report was presented by Jeff Peaper:

Here is our financial situation in summary: Fiscally we are a very sound community, HO yearly Assessment Fees not to increase and Capital Reserve's are growing as projected.  (Note: The 2009 budget is on the website under Community Pages.) 

• Year on year fiscal mgt has been tight, but within budget
• Neighborhood approval last year for one tine capital contribution at time of settlement has proven to be a great boost to our reserve
• Almost 100% dues from all homeowners, just a few delinquents
• Best news is not proposed increases in neighborhood dues, the same for the past 3 years

After a detailed presentation of the next year's budget items, the community voted unanimously to pass the budget. 

Nominations and Board Elections:

Incumbents - 2 year term, only one year completed:

-Secretary                Richard Wolf (replaced Holly Koll)

-Treasurer              Jeff Peaper

Current Vacancies - end of 2 year term

-President                Peter Haggerty

-Vice President       Peter Klosiewicz

-Secretary                Michael Sarkis

Current Nominations for 3 vacancies

Peter Haggerty, Mike Sarkis  re-nominated themselves to serve another 2 years term,  John Skrobot  nominated himself to serve on the Board as new member. The community voted unanimously for the 3 nominees and elected them to serve on the Ballymeade Board of Directors for a 2 years term.

New Business/Questions and Comments from the Attendees:

- One HO raised the property dispute issue along the western border of Ballymeade  with and adjacent property (the border of the houses on the left side of West Boxborough Drive and the private home behind them).  After some discussion, the issue was deemed not applicable for all in attendance so the homeowners were advised to consult with our attorney privately (EJ Fornais) to pursue the appropriate legal action.   

- Safety issue: Karen Pollack raised the issue of the incidents that occurred recently in the community, including thefts, cars broken into and a HO attacked and her belongings stolen on Boxborough Drive.   There was a consensual agreement that everyone in Ballymeade needs to be vigilant about suspicious activity or suspicious persons "lurking" around.  Please do not hesitate to call the police.  The more there is police presence in our community the better off we are in terms of security.

- Herb Bowersock,  raised the issue of trucks from next doors project's that  are getting into the neighborhood in order to make a U Turn in order to get back on Naamans Rd, this issue will be followed and the managers of the project will be contacted to stop this unnecessary traffic.

AT 8:45 PM the meeting was adjourned.

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Board of Directors Meeting - February 3, 2009

Minutes

Minutes from Board meeting on Feb 3^rd  2009 at 7:00 PM at Pete Haggerty's home.

Attended the meeting: Glenn Moore, Dick Wolf, Jeff Peaper, Peter Haggerty, Peter Klosiewicz and Mike Sarkis.

Dick Wolf, a long time Ballymeade home owner, attended the meeting to express his interest in running for the Ballymeade Board of Directors in the upcoming election in the next town hall meeting. The Board welcomed his decision and his willingness to serve our community.  

BC Consulting:

Contract - The contract needs some corrections which Glenn will make and he will send it back to the Board to be signed. The cost was discussed, Glenn stated that the contract with Ballymeade has not been raised for many years, and now is being raised approximately 10%.  The new contract will be signed for 3 years.

Annual Meeting - The Annual meeting notice flyer was presented by Glenn, discussed and approved by the board, Glenn will correct the mistakes and will mail it to the HOs tomorrow.

Glenn was asked to discuss at the annual meeting what BC Consulting does for the community and present it in about 5 minutes or so to highlight the major services that BC Consulting provides to the community

Delinquency Report:  The list was presented by Glenn and discussed by the board, there are still 3 homeowners (HOs) who have not paid their 2008 annual assessment of $234.00 and there are three other HOs who owe interest or attorney letter fees between 60 and 90 dollars each.   There is also one HO who did not pay the Capital improvement assessment so Glenn will be sent a reminder letter.   The 3 HOs who have not paid last year's assessment fees yet were sent a 2^nd Demand Letter on Jan 05^th  2009. The Board voted that if there is no response by Feb 15, we will start the process of asking for a lien on the house.  The 3 other HOs who still have partial balances from last year's assessment will be sent a "demand letter" by the lawyer.

Landscape:  Presented by Peter H reiterated the fact that next year's plan will only consist in maintaining the landscape; no new projects will be undertaken.

Annual Meeting and Election of Board members:

Mike Sarkis, Pete H and Pete K are up for re-election,   Pete K and Pete H expressed their desire to rerun for the Board. Mike Sarkis expressed desire to run for a secretary only if no other HO step forward and run for the Board. Jeff Peeper and Holly K have another year to serve.

Peter K agreed to conduct the election during the town hall meeting.

The Board agreed that a copy of the community approved budget will be sent out to all HOs with the assessment invoice after the meeting and that the proposed budget would not be sent with the meeting announcement. 

Budget:

Next year's budget was presented by Jeff P; overall the expenses are comparable in most items except of 2:  There will be an increase in Landscape Maintenance and in BC Consulting fees.  The only risky item where we may spend more money than budgeted is snow removal; a few options were discussed to try to allocate money from other items, including Landscape maintenance and any surplus from the previous year's budget. 

Miscellaneous:

1. An incident happened on E Boxborough Drive - a HO was getting out of her car in her driveway (townhouse) and suddenly was pushed to the ground by a burglar who also stole her bag. The Board encourages the HOs to keep a vigilant eye and call the police when they suspect any abnormal activities.  This will be discussed at the annual meeting  

2. Jeff, our treasurer, will send a "Welcome Letter" to every new HO moving into our community.  The letter will welcome the new HO, provide a lot of information about Ballymeade including a link to our website and a hardcopy of our Deed Restriction summary and a list of tips for being a good neighbor (garbage pails out of site, etc.).  Safeway will not be able to provide gift cards it turns out. 

Respectfully submitted by: Michael Sarkis, February 11, 2009.  Modified for website input by: Peter Haggerty, February 11, 2009.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Board of Directors Meeting January 13, 2009 - Minutes

The Ballymeade Boards of Directors met at Peter Haggerty’s home at 7: PM

Attendees: Peter Haggerty, Peter Klosiewicz, Jeff Peaper , Mikhael Sarkis. Holly Kollosch, Board Member, and Glenn Moore with B.C. Communities, were not able to attend.

The Board thanked Peter K for putting up the Christmas decorations at the Ballymeade entrance again this year. It really brings a lot of good cheer and warmth to the community. (Peter puts the decorations up himself and does not charge the community for the cost of the materials.) Thank you Peter K!!!

Annual Meeting – February 24, 2009:
The next Annual Community meeting is planned for Tuesday, February 24th. BC will send all homeowers a notice at the beginning of February. The next Board meeting is planned for Tuesday, Feb. 3rd.

“Action Tracker”
Peter H and Glenn Moore of BC have worked on creating a way to track much of the things the board is concerned about. Pete H gave an over view of the hardcopy tracker. The tracker will greatly enhance documentation of events and greatly enhance following up for completion. Glenn will record everything agreed to in an Excel workbook and he has committed to distribute the Action Tracker on the 1st day of each month to all board members. The Action Tracker will track the following, each on a separate worksheet: Calls (from homeowners to BC), ARC Requests, ARC Violations, and Assessment Delinquencies. The workbook is for use by the board of directors only and is strictly confidential.

ARC:
Pete K presented a detailed update and the Action Tracker sheet was updated. The plan is to call
Glenn and remind him of all the tasks that need to be completed: there are 7 ARC actions to follow
upon.

Peter K proposed adding a section to the Bylaws to give the Board the authority to fine homeowners who are in violation of the community’s deed restrictions. We currently have many homeowners who have not responded to REPEATED communications regarding changes to their home’s exterior that are out of compliance with our deed restrictions. Other communities levy fines we have learned recently. Peter K will email a draft of that proposal it will be discussed and finalized in the next Board meeting so it can be presented in the next town hall meeting in February. Peter H will ask BC to run this past the BC attorney to get his input.

Landscape committee:
Update presented by Pete H: 10 dead trees were placed in late fall, the new maintenance company, Davey Tree Company was commended for their good work on maintaining our now large inventory of trees. The New Castle Conservation District contributed $2000 toward the cost of replacing the 10 dead street trees (THANK YOU!!!). It was agreed by all board members that the plan for the upcoming fiscal year/growing season will be to maintain the current inventory of trees and to not add any more trees this coming year. This is because our landscape maintenance budget has gotten higher due to higher costs and the fact that we have a higher number of healthy trees to maintain.

Contracts:
The snow plowing, landscaping and storm water basin management contract with Forever Green Landscaping were signed for 3 years full years on each of the three contracts. The prices offered were very good and to have them hold for three years on all three was considered a good thing. We are waiting on Davey to give us a proposal for next year's contract with them but a good estimate is known.
Budget:
We still have not collected all the assessment fees, and there have been a delays in sending the demand letters to delinquent home owners.

Jeff presented a detailed report on this year's budget: right now we only have $240.00 left in this
year’s budget. The only possible expense in the foreseen future is snow removal, in that case we
will use the $1400 surplus money from last year's budget. We also are expecting the $2000 reimbursment from New Castle Conservation District as their grant to Ballymeade for the fall tree planting.

The Board voted that any surplus money left in the end of the year will not go in the reserve fund but
it will go into separate surplus line item.

BC Consulting is increasing next year’s contract’s fees by at least $1,500. The board will negotiate
that price down otherwise this increase may reflect in next year’s budget and yearly assessment fees.

The Reserve fund has grown to around $95,000 mainly as the result of the Capital Assessment fees
collection: in the year 2008 a total of 14 homes have paid the $450 fee.

In line with the economic situation, the board agreed on making every effort to not increase the
yearly assessment fees next year despite the increase in the overall expenses. Few options were
discussed to cut down the expenses, possible areas include Landscape enhancement budget and
negotiating with BC Consulting on next year’s contract. Jeff will present in the next board’s meeting a
complete draft of next year’s Budget.

Miscellaneous:

The car that was abandoned on W Boxborough was removed.

Curb Cuts - job completed by Deldot at the intersection of Rockmeade and Boxborough Drives
There was a major issue of standing water after the curb cut went in on that corner. The FIOS box also had to be moved. Thanks to Deldot for getting this fixed.

Welcome Package - Jeff to see if Safeway (where we bank) will offer gift cards to new home owners. Jeff has also volunteered to send the Welcome letter and gift card if any out to HOs who pay the $450.00 Capital Improvement Assessment – this is how he will know there is a new homeowner in the development.


Respectfully submitted by: Michael Sarkis, January 21, 2009.  Modified for website input by: Peter Haggery, January 26, 2009.