September 2010 Newsletter of Edgewood Townehouse Association, Eugene, Oregon

General Membership Meeting: Tuesday, October 26, 7:00 PM
Next Regular Board Meeting: Tuesday, October 12, 6:30 PM

By-the-Brook Book Group: By-the-Brook Book Group: Wed. October 13, 2 PM
Tuesday Afternoon Teatime: October 19, 3 PM in the Clubhouse.

Message From The Board
Dryer Vent Cleaning Reminder
Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes: Tuesday September 14, 2010
Reports: Clubhouse; Grounds; Architectural; Director's; Pool; Welcome; Website
Home Owner Guidelines for Making any Changes to Your Home
Monthly Banking Activitiest [Omitted]
Dryer Vent Form

Our community is vibrant and beautiful this late summer. The cooperation of Association members secures good relations in the community. Our respect for each other and unit owners in ETA promotes meeting our obligations to each other.

Written obligations and responsibilities are detailed in our Conditions, Covenants, and Restrictions. (CC&Rs). Edgewood Townehouse Association CC&Rs may be reviewed at this site: www.edgewoodhoa.org. It is a good idea to review the CC&Rs occasionally. Below are three areas to consider and remember to ensure successful cooperation and living at ETA.

First, please remember that Home Owner Dues are due on the 1st of the month. We need to pay vendors and operational bills at the beginning of the month. If unit owners do not pay dues on or close to the first, we have to make many adjustments in accounts to cover the temporary cash flow shortage and pay bills timely. The rules provide for payment of interest on unpaid dues on the first day of the next month following the month for which dues were not paid.

Second, many homeowners have trees and large shrubs in their patio areas. Some are grown large and can deposit twigs and leafs in neighbor’s yards. Fall is a fine time to undertake to prune and/or dispose of patio plants. We have placed a vegetation and wood collection dumpster in the driveway behind 87 WW. This is for all residents to use to dispose of plant clippings, branches and other wood debris over the next 30 days. This is a fine opportunity to clean up your patio before winter comes. (Only wood/plant matter please).

Lastly, the Association rules do not permit unit owners to rent their units unless detailed Board approval is sought and obtained. Subleases by owners or renters are completely prohibited. These prohibitions are clearly detailed in ETA rules and CC&Rs statements.

It's not too late to sign up to have your dryer vent cleaned at the group rate of $60. The average amount of lint taken out of the venting systems has been a large shopping bag full. 42 homeowners have signed the form and we have cleaned about half at this point. Removal of this lint helps reduce the fire hazard for all of us. A sign up form is in the previous FYI. Dryer Vent Form For more details, contact Bruce Trafton ( ).

Call to Order at Six-Thirty (6:30) PM: Board members attending were Bruce Trafton, Jon Joseph, Toni Horodysky, Susan Klein, Russ Fryburg, Linda Johnson, Eaton Conant, Doug Cone, and Suzy Wojcik.

Approval of Minutes of the August 2010 Board of Directors Meeting: Correction -- By Laws were the only item to be taken to the county for registration. Otherwise, the minutes were approved.

Budget Report: There was some discussion about whether we should we have a penalty for homeowners who pay dues after the 10th of the month. Some homeowners do not pay their dues on the first of the month when they are due and since most of ETA’s bills are due early in the month, we occasionally have to borrow from other accounts to pay what we owe. There was a short budget committee meeting to change some of the titles and line items in the financial reports and there will be another meeting on the 22nd of September. We will print in the FYI that it is important to get these dues in on time. We need to establish a protocol to notify buyers how the monthly dues should be paid when a unit sells.

The EWEB water bill was very high so Frank Gaddini will check for possible leaks on the property.

Architectural/Building Committee -- Written report submitted.
Russ Fryburg moved to accept the suggestions of the architectural committee as presented. Toni Horodysky seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The homeowner at 136 WW requested solar tunnels to be installed. Russ Fryburg made another motion to pass the solar tunnel installation. Eaton Conant seconded the motion. Motion passed.

All other projects suggested by the architectural committee passed by consensus.

There was some discussion about the responsibility of the homeowner, architectural committee, and the board regarding revisions to specific units. The consensus of the group was to decide on an individual basis. Toni Horodysky moved to approve the outdoor lights project. Jon Joseph seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Clubhouse Committee -- Written report submitted.
Grounds Committee -- Written report submitted.
Swimming Pool Committee -- Written report submitted.
Welcome Committee -- Written report submitted.
ETA Website -- Written report submitted.

Old Business:
Reserve Study Update -- (Tabled)
Reserve Fund Investment Strategies -- (Tabled)

New Business:
Overflow parking lot. A homeowner’s letter regarding the overflow parking lot was read to the board by Bruce Trafton. The adopted original policy of July 7th was read to the board. The correction to the policy, adopted August 10th, was also read to the board. Jon Joseph made the motion, and Toni Horodysky seconded to approve the present parking rules adopted August 10th. Motion passed unanimously.

Dumpster. There is a twenty cubic yard dumpster available for wood and vegetation. This is for homeowners to prune shrubs and trees in their patio areas and put the refuse into the dumpster. Only yard debris should go into the dumpster. ETA will pay a large fine to Sanipac if the dumpster has non-wood items in it.

Loan advancement for fiscal year 2011. There was consensus from the board to look into the possibility of borrowing from the reserve funds for capitol projects in early 2011 to be paid back by 31st of December 2011.

Buyer and seller protocol. A document is needed for the buyer and the seller granting permission to release information and stating that the buyers will abide by the CC&R’s, By Laws and rules. A committee was formed to create the documents.

Next Board Meetings Time and Place: October 12, 2010, starting at 6:30 PM at Clubhouse

The clubhouse has had a lot of use over the summer. Many families have held gatherings and everyone has been very good about cleaning up after their activities. The Clubhouse Committee very much appreciates your help in keeping the place looking nice. Thanks also to the ETA meetings and group and those who just drop in and play pool. You are all doing a great job cleaning up after yourselves.

Now that the swimming pool is closed and usage of the clubhouse will drop off a bit, we may need to do some maintenance. The showers in both bathrooms need repairs. Soon, Sara and I will be doing a check to see what else might need attention.

Lastly, a big thanks to all the volunteers who help open and close the clubhouse every day. We could use one or two more volunteers to act as back-up when our regularly scheduled folks need to be away.

Now that summer is almost over, the work emphasis to maintain our grounds shifts from primarily lawn care to other concerns. The contract for lawn and bed maintenance with the Marion and Son Co. ended on August 31. Grass cuffing will be done as needed by our hourly contracted employees.

Marlon and Son, however, was on site later to deliver and spread river rock for proper drainage to complete the two sidewalk replacement projects done earlier this summer, one south of the creek leading to Brookside Dr., and the other in front of #160, #150, and #140 WW. He also delivered bark, which will be used for future maintenance.

About a half-dozen hazardous and diseased trees throughout the grounds have been marked for removal. They will be replaced by appropriate trees and/or other plants.

Several faulty valves were replaced in the irrigation system along Brae Burn. The wall in the Brookside entry parking area was pressure washed to remove a heavy accumulation of moss.

The Grounds Committee met on Sept. 14, and, after a brief walk around the grounds, agreed on three proposals to be presented to the ETA Board for consideration.

The Committee also decided to change its meeting date to the first Tuesday of the month rather than the second.

The Architectural Committee met Tuesday evening, September 7th. Our first item of discussion was ductless heat pumps. Since requests for ductless heat pumps are increasing, Jeff Casley from Marshell's was invited to answer our questions about the systems. At the end of the meeting we visited with Sara Mitchell ( ) to listen to hers so we would have a frame of reference in comparing the number of decibels of sound made by individual units to the actual sound. We all determined that the unit at Sara's is surprisingly quiet.

Therefore, we suggest that the unit that Lee Benton Williams ( ) proposes to put in here townhouse be approved.

The Walshes ( ) also submitted a request for a unit to be put in. At this time we don't have the specifications for the proposed unit and so our recommendation was postponed until the September 21st meeting.

Jolene and Robert Baron ( ) requested permission to install 2 solar tunnels in the home. After reviewing their proposal we recommend that they be allowed to do this after acquiring the license and bond numbers of the contractor and with the requirement that Frank Gaddini monitor the installation and sign off on the job when it is completed.

Next on the agenda was a proposal by Susan Klein ( ) to repair her front step and paint a faux finish on it. We decided that we are delighted that she is taking on this task but before the faux finish can be instituted we need to see her color palette.

The issue of light fixture choice became moot because one of the two choices is not available.
We will meet again September 21 to discuss the Waishes proposal (if we have received their specifications), Susan Klein's proposal (if we have received her color palette), Suzy Wojeik's suggestion for replacement/improvement of the pathway at the Berkhold's ( ), and the railing replacement along Brae Burn path.

With temperature reaching into the nineties, work on water projects helped to keep worker cool under the hot sun. This was our second consecutive month working on irrigation. We replaced our fouth (4th) irrigation valve of the season, adjusted another fifty (50) sprinklers, and installed new rectangular irrigation valve control boxes for easy accessibility. Other water projects included repairing one (1) main water supply line to a townhome, identifying and marking many of our townhomes main underground outside water valves with blue paint, and pressure washing curbs and sidewalks.

Throughout the month, we also painted twelve (12) garage doors, handrails along the creek trail and the BraeBurn corridor, and the interior patios walls of three (3) townhomes.

We have completed most of our Capital Improvement Projects, and for the remainder of the year, we will focus on facility/building maintenance activities, roof cleaning, and leaf management. Our grounds and facilities are looking good.

Frank L Gaddini, Facilities and Operations Director for Edgewood Townehouse Association ( )

It is normal ETA practice to close the pool after Labor Day weekend. However, last year it was quite hot and suitable swimming weather well after Labor Day, so we kept it open longer. The weather forecast for the next few weeks indicates most temperatures are predicted to be lower than 80 degrees. Records indicate that when the temperatures are lower than the mid 80's, few people swim. Therefore, it seems financially prudent to close it after Labor Day weekend, given the cost of heating the pool for just a few people who will swim in the cooler temperatures. Frequent pool users and members of the Board provided their opinions on this decision.

As of Friday, September 10th, there will be no more heat on the pool, nor will there be the same level of chemicals added for your safety.

It will take a few weeks of treatment and certain conditions, before the top is replaced on the pool. That does not mean it is okay to swim.

Thank you again to Ryan Lemire for his work in the daily maintenance our pool.
I am sorry you did not get a report in your newsletter last month. It was an error on our part.

A reminder: When you schedule a party at the clubhouse, you are responsible that your partygoers follow all pool rules during your party. That means no eating food at the pool, signing in to swim, showering before swimming, using the bathrooms from the pool side and not entering the clubhouse in wet suits. Your cooperation in keeping ETA in top shape for all is appreciated.

We have three new owners residing in ( ) Westbrook Way, ( ) BraeBurn, and ( ) Westbrook Way. I am still collecting details for these new owners. Over the course of the next two weeks, I will be scheduling and presenting these new owners an ETA Welcome Basket.

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