July 2011 Newsletter of Edgewood Townehouse Association, Eugene, Oregon

Next Regular Board Meeting: Tuesday, August 9, 6:30 PM

Quarterly General Meeting: Tuesday, July 26, 7:00 PM

By-the-Brook Book Group: By-the-Brook Book Group: Wed. August 10, 2 PM

Tuesday Afternoon Teatime: August 16, 3 PM in the Clubhouse.

Message From The Board
Announcements!
Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes: Tuesday July 12, 2011
Reports: Grounds; Clubhouse; , Website; Treasurer's; Facilities
Monthly Banking Activities [Omitted]

June was a great month at Edgewood, although a bit cooler and more rainy than expected. The month, though, was very busy with work activity on the grounds and at the pool. June is also a benchmark month, in that it marks the half-way point of our fiscal year.

The Board has been monitoring the flow of work and expenses over the past six months, and we have financially managed very well. Two costly unexpected and unplanned repairs were required, and those projects were paid by re-assessing and shrinking the scope of other planned Capital Restoration Projects. Keeping up with maintenance and repair, both the planned projects and the unexpected emergencies, is a balancing act between thoughtful planning and a little guesswork to predict the future.

As we plan for our next year’s fiscal budget, we recognize that a very small increase in our monthly assessments will be needed to meet the maintenance and operations costs for next year. Maintaining our property and ensuring safety on the grounds are the most important fiduciary responsibilities of the Board.

The Board also encourages homeowners to attend the quarterly meeting on July 26, 2011 starting at 7 PM. The quarterly meeting is a townhall-style meeting and will host an ice-cream social during the meeting. See you there…

MEMBERS PRESENT:
Doug Cone, Linda Johnson, Russ Fryburg, Bruce Trafton, Susan Klein, and Toni Horodysky

APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES:
A call to Approve and Accept the Minutes of the June 14, 2011 Meeting as published in the FYI Newsletter was made by Russ. The Board Approved the Minutes as stated.

1. STATE OF FACILITY REPORT:
A written State of Facility Report is published below. In the discussion that ensued, the Board inquired about the upcoming Second Annual Phase, of Four Annual Phases of Asphalt resurfacing. Frank reported that this year’s Phase will start on Monday, August 8, 2011. Asphalt resurfacing, at nearly $20,000 is the single most expensive project this year. Our two most complex driveways, starting at 118 Brae Burn and continuing westward to 198 Brae Burn, will be repaved this year.

2. BUDGET COMMITTEE:
Toni reported on the processing of official documents this month in preparation of the sale of two townhomes, 50 Brae Burn and 75 Westbrook Way, and pending sale of 140 Westbrook Way. In other business, our FY Budget is keeping pace with our plan and two budgeted items, Contracted Grounds Labor and Roof Repairs, are reaching and have reached, respectively, their budgeted limits. This is accounted for by the extensive pressure washing projects, and the unexpected major roof repair performed last month. Our plan is to shrink the scope of other projects this year, and stay with in Approved 2011 Budget Plan.

4. ARCHITECTURE COMMITTEE:
The Architecture Committee has no report this month. Cindy Conley, Simone, D'Aubigne, and Michael Landis have resigned, and Board extends its appreciation for the volunteer work performed by these homeowners. Mike Metzler and Doug Cone continue to volunteer service on the Committee.

7. WELCOME COMMITTEE:
Chuck Adams has purchased 50 Brae Burn. The Welcome Committee will be meeting with Chuck during July. Welcome, Chuck, to our association!

8. WEBSITE:
Toni reported that there has been increased traffic looking at the website

2. Reserve Fund Investment Strategies
Bruce announced that several local credit unions have been reviewed for their interest rates for Certified Deposits (CD). It was suggested to review the interest rates at local and regional banks to see the comparison between banks and credit unions for the better rates. Discussion also ensued about looking into Treasury Bonds as safe investments for the Reserves. The Board agreed that more review must be performed before identifying which institution to invest with, and that review will be ongoing for the next month. Russ suggested that we should only look at short-term notes, no longer than one year as the rates would certainly change as the economy improves. Different strategies were discussed and the one that drew most interest for safety, practicality, and the highest interest was an idea to invest $100K in one 12 month note. The Reserve Fund has a total of $129K. The purpose of the Reserve Fund is to save monies over the years to fund major renovation projects like roof replacement. Russ made a motion to set a limit on Reserve Fund investment to no more than $100K for 12 months. Toni seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

3. Bruce asked if anyone has any updates, heard, or seen any problems or concerns with the overflow parkinglot policy. No complaints or concerns were noted.

1. A Parking Waiver Request was submitted by the owner of #79 WW. The timeframe of the request was from July through September 30. The Board approved the request through September 30, 2011.

2. A Parking Waiver Request was submitted by the owner of #8 WW. The timeframe of the request was through September 12. The Board approved the request through September 12, 2011.

3. A request to install a Heat Pump was submitted by the owner of 24 WW. After review of the request and documentation submitted by the contractor, Toni motioned to approve the heat pump installation, and Susan seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

4. A request to install a Heat Pump was submitted by the owner of 181 WW. After review of the request and documentation submitted by the contractor, Russ motioned to approve the heat pump installation, and Toni All seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

5. A homeowner submitted an email with a concern over sound believed to be generated by a recently installed heat pump. Discussion ensued regarding a resident’s concern over noise. Site visits, at different times during the day by the staff and some Board members were conducted to ascertain the source of the sound. No unusual or obtrusive sound was generated by new heat pump. The source of the sound is yet to be discovered. The Board discussed the matter and directed the president to prepare and dispatch a response to the homeowner on the Board’s behalf.

6. Bruce announced that Jon Joseph has decided to resign his Board of Director seat midterm. Jennifer Smith, of 113 WW, expressed interest in completing Jon Joseph’s term. Toni nominated Jennifer and Russ seconded the nomination. The motion carried unanimously.

NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING TIME AND PLACE:
The next Quarterly Meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 7 PM in the Clubhouse.

NEXT BOARD MEETING TIME AND PLACE:
The next Board Meeting will be on August 9, 2011 at 6:30 PM in the Clubhouse.

The EWEB rebates for ductless heat pumps for buildings containing 5 or more units end soon. Projects must be started by September 1 and completed by September 30. Federal tax credits expire December 31, 2011.

July ETA Grounds Committee Report
Several sites consisting of an unsightly mish-mash of plants (ivy, blackberry, poison oak, and, in one case, mint) have been cleared, including areas adjoining #54 WW and #110 BB, and the area around the culverts east of Brookside. Weeds along the Brae Burn and Brookside curbs have been removed.

The irrigation system has been turned on.Pressure washing of the grounds sidewalks has been largely done and will continue.

Marlon and Son, our lawn and plant bed maintenance contractor, is on the site on Thursdays. Sperry Tree Care, our ornamental and evergreen shrub pruner, will be on site on July 21.

Residents interested in joining the Grounds Committee can reach me at ( ). We meet briefly once a month in the evening.

The clubhouse use has been very light so far this summer. Only a few homeowners have reserved the space for gatherings. That makes it easy to maintain but it’s really there to be enjoyed so don’t forget about it the next time you are having a family reunion or a birthday party.

Keeping the clubhouse open every day requires volunteers to unlock and then lock back up again in the evening. Thanks to all the folks who have helped out for the last year or so that I’ve been Clubhouse Chair. You are very much appreciated!

More volunteers are needed, though. If you can spare ten minutes a week you can take on this volunteer job. Or, maybe being vacation relief would fit your schedule better. Please call Bev Day at ( ) if you can help.

Edgewood Townehouse Association Website, July 2011
Toni Horodysky, Webmistress ( )

Edgewood Townehouse Association website, www.edgewoodhoa.org had 74 visitors who looked at 149 pages during the period June 10 to July 7.

ETA’s s expenditures for day-to-day expenses and capital improvements are on budget, with minor exceptions noted previously, as we pass the half-way mark in the year.

This past month I had the opportunity to provide information needed for the sale of two units at ETA. June 2011 Facilities and

June 2011 has been the most productive month for facility and grounds maintenance on record at Edgewood Townehouses. We tracked and completed one hundred discreet jobs during the month. Much of the work was performed by our contracted labor force which includes five new upper division college students. Pool and Clubhouse maintenance activities are being coordinated by Konrad Wojick a recent graduate from the University of Oregon (UO). Camden Allison-Hall and Brain Ward, both current UO students, have returned for their second year on Facility and Grounds maintenance; and Brad Gissel and Alex Perez, a junior and senior respectively at the UO, recently joined our team of workers.

Pressure washing sidewalks and curbs along the roadways and parking lots have been the primary focus of our pressure washing. Our goal for this summer is to clean all walkways and curbs throughout our eleven-acre site. We also performed extensive blackberry, weed, and vegetation abatement especially along the Brae Burn corridor. In addition to abating weeds and overly mature plants, we replanted several Douglas Fir, Sequoia, and Cedar saplings. We also planted several ferns and arbor vitae plants in various locations.

The Pool and Clubhouse received a generous amount of our attention as well during the month of June. Many new signs and fixtures have been updated with current and new equipment. One of our swimming pool sump pumps failed during the month, and a new pump and new plumbing control fixtures were installed to ensure safety and sanitation of the swimming pool equipment room.

Our Irrigation system was pressurized during the month and the extensive updates, improvements, and repairs we performed along the Westbrook Way corridor last year have paid-off this season. Only a few minor repairs and adjustments were needed this year. During the summer, though, we will be performing extensive updates to the irrigation system along the Brae Burn and Brookside corridors.

The Association’s property insurance carrier also visited our site to conduct their thirty-six month risk assessment review. A few minor, but important, safety deficiencies were identified, and we have already repaired and made plans to address these insurance risk issues that were brought to our attention.

We are now entering the second half our Fiscal Year (FY). In some cases, we have exhausted the dollars allocated to particular projects like gutter replacement and chimney cleaning. Therefore, there may be some planned projects for FY 2011 that may be postponed due to lack of funding until next year. A very slight bumping up our homeowners’ dues next year may be necessary to meet the relentless maintenance demands of our facility.