Call to order
The annual meeting of the Stilwater POA was called to order at 10:36 AM.
Establish quorum
Representatives of 16 lots were present, 9 proxies were held by the board, and 9 proxies were held by others, for a total of 34. A quorum was established.
Introduction of officers and committee chairs
Present and introduced were Sandy Hill, President; George Leasure, Vice President; Bill Henry, Treasurer; Linda Ettinger, Secretary; Marty Hill, Chair of the Architectural Review Committee; Mike Rehmert, member-at-large.
Review and Approval of minutes of October 7, 2017 Meeting
The POA approved the minutes of the Stilwater POA annual meeting as they stand.
President’s report - Sandy Hill
The lake level is a foot above October targets.
- Shoreline Erosion Control update The revetment project complete.
- Tripco is adding another canoe rack section at the middle docks..
- Despite placement of large logs adjacent to Waterfront Greens, we continue to have problems with ATVs coming into Stilwater. More logs will be added.
- Stilwater now has more rental properties and more properties are using online rentals. Owners who rent must comply with the Stilwater rental policy and provide emergency 24 hour representative contact information to Tripco.
- The area real estate market is healthy. Real estate agents refer to Stilwater as a premier community because of the terrain and also in large part due to our active POA. No one is in arrears in dues.
Questions/comments from members: None
Architectural Review Committee Report - Marty Hill
The Stilwater ARC has been busy. There are lots of small projects, improvements and new construction projects.
- Sewer extension background: In 2017 work was done on private Stilwater property by a local developer, Balsamo/Norino, for a house that is not in the Stilwater development. Balsamo/Norino only had a permit to drill under Glendale Rd. This work was done without permission from the Stilwater POA and without an easement on POA private property. The county paid for an upgrade of sewer extension from 2” to 4”. Road repair work and sewer installation was not done to county standards. Foundation of road and affected driveways needed to be restored and were repaired by Stilwater with POA funds. A valve was installed so we could turn off the sewer extension. Stilwater has concerns about how many houses could be connected in future.
- Sewer extension update: Garrett County knows there is no easement in place for the sewer extension. Likely, no future permits would be issued by county. The cost to Stilwater POA to litigate the sewer extension is estimated to be $15,000. The same amount, $15K, is the amount that would be recovered from Balsamo/Norino to reimburse the POA for repair and pay a road impact fee. Stilwater POA has previously offered to negotiate an easement to limit connection to 1 house in exchange for leaving the sewer valve open. We are reluctant to be bad ‘neighbors’ by turning off the sewer to the family renting the house. The proposed course of action is to do nothing right now. Stilwater needs to keep alert to new county permits.
- Swimming Pools: Three homes in Stilwater have pools. The pools are a factor in adjacent home turnover due to pool noise. The most recently installed pool was approved by ARC, but with a restricted covenant: the pool can only be used by owners, not renters. There was a recent home sale offer in Stilwater contingent on Stilwater ARC approval of installation of a new pool. The offer from the ARC/POA was to approve with the same restrictive covenant.
- Exterior changes require ARC approval: Any exterior alteration, landscaping, outdoor structure, hot tub, tree removal, brush clearing, … etc. must be approved by the Stilwater ARC. New exterior lighting must be IDA compliant.
- Trash dumpster: If it can’t go in the dumpster, it can’t go into dumpster compound either. No trash bags outside of dumpster.
- Questions/comments from members: Who monitors whether any new county permits are issued?
Treasurer’s Report - Bill Henry
Bill presented balance sheets, financial status and 2019 proposed budget. Dock reserve is in 5 year CDs. Two major expenditures since last year’s POA meeting were $43,335 for shoreline erosion and $5110 for sewer extension road repairs. The Stilwater POA collects more money than we spend. This allows us to fund needed repairs without special assessments. The budget for 2019 includes new projects for tree removal and road repair which will be funded by savings and road reserves. Dock repair costs come out of the dock fund.The budget was adopted as presented.
Property Manager’s Report - Debbie Feaster
Debbie Feaster presented the management report. A new directory with was distributed to POA members. We have 3 new families in Stilwater. Boats should be removed immediately after Autumn Glory. No serious problems to report. Goose droppings on the docks were a problem this past summer. Noise and too many cars:Noise and too many cars are a continuing problem. Tripco does drive-throughs on weekends to monitor this. Owners need to contact Tripco to report incidents as soon as they occur. Please call Tripco at any hour for concerns. Tripco can contact the rental property manager via emergency numbers to address problems.Questions/comments from members:None
Nomination and election of directors - Three positions open
Nominated:
Sandy Hill
George Leisure
Linda Ettinger
No nominations from floor. Nominated directors elected unanimously.
Unfinished Business
New Business
- Board updated covenants to allow boat trailer for up to seven days. The POA Board changed the enforcement of the Stilwater covenants to allow a boat trailer to be parked in a driveway for up to seven days. This will save trailer owners, Tripco, and rental property managers from having to coordinate moving the trailers elsewhere.
- Glen Acres Road resurfacing - Funding request. Glen Acres road is in need of repaving. The most reasonable bid received was from Mountain Top Paving for $37,850. This will be the first time the road is topped. The topping will be 1.75 inches thick. There will be a keyway transition at the intersection of Glen Acres and Stilwater Drive. One lane will be done at a time so the road will remain open. The dumpster area will be done at a later time as a separate project with concrete, not asphalt. Mountain Top Paving may not be able to start before spring. Waiting until spring would have the advantage of this winter snow plowing wearing on the old pavement instead of new. Question for Mountain Top Paving: Would price remain the same for spring?
- Motion to approve road project as presented, possibly up to 10% more for spring. Seconded. None opposed. Motion carried.
- Tree cutting and pruning in the common areas - Funding request. DNR approved removal of dead trees in Stilwater. Preston Tree Service bid the tree removal job at $10,000 (vs ~$60K from another contractor.) Large sections of the downed trees will be placed along the border between Waterfront Greens and Stilwater to discourage ATV’s coming into Stilwater. Stumps will be left for habitat and to decay naturally.
- Motion to approve tree removal as presented. Seconded. None opposed. Motion carried.
- Tree replacement in the common areas - Funding request. New trees will be planted to replace some of the removed trees. The cost for the plantings will be about $5000. Land Design, the same company that installed the erosion control, will be asked for a bid.
- Motion to approve tree replacement as presented. Seconded. None opposed. Motion carried.
- Accounting firm request for electronic billing. The accounting firm wants to set up billing POA dues by email. This would save labor and money. Members would be able to pay their bill electronically. Individual owners can opt out.
- Motion to approve electronic billing as presented. Seconded. None opposed. Motion carried.
Member Concerns
- The bridge is mossy and slippery and needs to be power washed. Consider adding sandpaper-type strips for safety.
- All of the chairs need to be power washed or replaced. There was a recommendation to wash them, cover them and place them near or under some dock sections over the winter to protect them.
- Requests were made for another canoe rack section at the western docks. Adding on to the existing rack is fine.
- A suggestion was made to request that Sunrise empty the trash container BEFORE a long weekend even if only partly full to prevent bags from being piled up outside the dumpster. Tripco to monitor that and try that strategy at Thanksgiving if the container is half full or more.
- The road sign at Wilson Cr. and Glen Acres Rd. is turned 90 degrees so both signs are incorrect. For safety purposes this needs to be corrected ASAP.
- A member mentioned that the pole to the street sign at Glen Acres Rd. and Glendale Rd. is rusty and corroded. Tripco to call the county and see if they will replace it. If not we can ask Jessie Smith if he can change it out.
- A member advised that there is a class offered on 10/19/18 2-3pm and 11/9/18 6-7pm on what owners can do to their property to help mitigate water run-off and to preserve our watershed.
Next Annual Meeting October 5, 2019
Adjourn
Motion to adjourn.
Motion seconded.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:26 PM.