May 2009 Monthly Meeting on May 12, 2009 @ 7pm

Edgehill Farm Master Association 

Monthly Meeting

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 @ 7pm

Location:  Edgehill Farm Clubhouse Community Room

Call to Order – 7pm

Establish Quorum

Approval of April 2009 Meeting Minutes

President's Report

  - Monthly Debt to Asset Update

   -  Landscaping Service Update

  - Thanks to Marc White & Jeremy Mills for pool deck work

  - Thanks to the Calloway Family for the poolside landscaping volunteer work

  - Pool Key Replacement Policy Change

Treasurer's Report

Grounds Report

Lake Report

Pool Report

Communications Report

  Clubhouse Report

  

      Clubhouse Indoor Bathroom Repairs Report

             - Clubhouse Door Repair Report

   

  Consideration of Old/Unfinished Business

  New Business

________________________________________________________________________________

THANKS go to Marc White and Jeremy Mills for grabbing a hammer and hammering down all the little nails and staples that tend to pop up from the pool deck lumber between seasons.

MUCH APPRECIATION  for the 4 years of volunteer service by the Calloway family.  They oversee the landscaping of the yearly flower plantings around the pool area every summer.  Thank you, Scott & Diane (or Diane & Scott)!

Hello Folks,

The June meeting is Tuesday May 12, 2009 @ 7pm and I like to post the agenda online for those who keep an eye on what's happening with the property management side of Edgehill Farm.

The Edgehill Farm Master Board has not presented any new business for this month's meeting.  Usually new business means we're considering a new project of some type, scope and size.

I'll size up our board's 2009 progress and work as being one where we are, in step-by-step fashion, restoring our existing amenities through a more active maintenance plan.  These are "small" things yet they cost a few hundred dollars per project and should offer us a couple of decades of reliable service.  Toilets that won't flush, doors that need replacing and pool safety upgrades come to mind.  We'll discuss all of these at Tuesday's meeting.  

From a budgetary standpoint in regards to maintenance, the board sets aside maintenance money with every yearly budget.  Money collected outside or in excess that budget is collected in the Reserve Fund.  The Reserve Fund exists for one reason - if you know you need a roof or a pool pump (or any other "big ticket" item) within a certain number of years, then you save money in that Reserve Fund for the future "day of reckoning" or "day of paying" in our case.  For example, if you know or reasonably expect, on Jan. 1, that you'll buy a new, $1,200 pool pump on December 31st, you have twelve months to save that amount in the Reserve Fund.  Usually it's viewed as setting aside $100 per month.  That $100 per month looks like extra, spendable cash and "feels" like it from January to December, but it's already accounted for - AHEAD of time.  By the way, the pool is in great shape and I offered only a hypothetical example.

Saving money in a Reserve Fund requires almost a philosophical view and, I admit, it took me a few months to realize that if an HOA has, for example, $5,000 in the bank in cash BUT holds a Reserve Fund that shows $10,000 in future "big ticket" maintenance needs, then the cash "ain't" enough despite appearing to be a healthy bank account.

When a board or a neighborhood's residents consider the Reserve Fund adequately funded to handle the most expensive (and expected) maintenance repairs and replacements, then you can begin considering the addition of new amenities.  At least, that's how I see it and how the Reserve Funds have been explained to me.  It makes sense, to me.

In Edgehill Farm terms, the board must be vigilant about saving money in case the pool (still new from upgrades a few years ago) experiences a problem.  The paved walkway is probably our most cherished amenity and it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to replace it, BUT that day will eventually come and we'll be ready.  The upstairs portion of the clubhouse needs new carpet, paint and some upgrading BUT we're paying for 2008's work to restore the community room downstairs, dehumidify the house and other needed repairs.  The tennis courts - if we're EVER to restore them - would require tens of thousands of dollars.  Those are all, technically, Reserve Fund items.

So, we've got a lot of long-term maintenance and upgrade needs on our existing properties before looking at anything else.  If you're not on the board yet wonder "why we haven't done this or that" in terms of new projects or refreshing existing amenities, feel free to email me.