December 13, 2006 Minutes

Meeting was called to order by Larry Velte at 7:35 pm.  Present:  Velte, Meyer, Hovland, Messinger, and Fredericks.  Absent: Gorrell and Shinal.

The November minutes were presented by Mary Hovland.  Joe Meyer moved to accept those minutes as edited during this meeting.  Larry Velte seconded and the motion passed 5-0.  Joe Meyer then made a motion to accept the October minutes, as approval had been postponed from the November meeting.  Fred Fredericks seconded and the motion passed 5-0. 

The Treasurer’s report had been sent in by Bernie Shinal and was presented by Larry Velte.  Total Balance: $49,361.23.  Of that, $45,150.70 is in the checking account and the remaining $4,210.53 is in the reserve account.

Larry Velte presented a summary of the lawsuit against the Association, brought in Fairfax County Small Claims Court by Mr. Van Pelt, a resident and homeowner of 10440 Collingham Dr., for filing an invalid lien against his property for failure to pay the 2005 assessment.  The lawsuit alleged that because the Association had been defunct for over 20 years and provided no services in that time, it  had lost the legal authority to assess dues. The Association was sued for $143, including a refund of the 2004 membership dues that the homeowner had previously paid, the lien release fee, and the filing fee for the lawsuit.  The plaintiff also asked the court to force the Association to remove the current lien.  The judge in the case ruled in the Association’s favor, agreeing that the Association had been lawfully reconstituted, the home was tied to the Association through the deeds, and that the lien was valid.  In addition, we received a bill for $130 in fees to our attorney for advice and counsel to prepare for the suit.

Larry Velte and Joe Meyer updated the rest of the board of the contents of a seminar they attended recently.  The seminar, produced by our attorney, covered issues facing homeowners and condominium associations today.  These issues included liens, political signs and flags, contracts, minutes and sunshine regulations, and other topics. 

Larry Velte reminded the board that at the 2006 annual meeting, we agreed to research Fairfax County signage regulations with respect to the Tapestry Dr. Sign.  Fred Fredericks agreed to research these regulations to report to the general membership at the 2007 annual meeting.

In wake of the tragic fire on Pumphrey Dr. last week, Larry sent an email to Bob Segan, our attorney, to follow-up on previous conversations as to the enforcement powers of the Association with respect to covenants.  It is assumed that a new house will be built on the lot, and we need to determine what actions the Board or Association members could take to enforce our covenants regarding architectural harmony.  Once we know what is legally allowed, we would be in better position to discuss what actions we should take.  Joe Meyer suggested the board contact the homeowners and offer assistance to ensure that the reconstruction is in compliance with the covenants, as the rebuilding plans are developed.  After some discussion Joe agreed to draft a letter, and Mary Hovland offered to try to follow-up with the homeowners to see how they are doing, and determine whether they are themselves going to try to rebuild on the lot or if they are going to sell the lot as-is.

Larry reported on the status of   the 2006 dues payments and noted that there were 34 homeowners in arrears.  Of those, 10 homeowners only owed late fees, less than $1.00 in each case.  Jim Messinger moved to waive the late fees for these 10 homeowners, Mary Hovland seconded, and this motion passed 5-0.  It was noted that some of these homeowners may have already had their late fees waived by action of the board during the November meeting, and that this had not been reflected in the aged receivables report we received from our management company (RCS).  Larry agreed to let RCS know about the waiving of the late fees.  Larry also reported that RCS sent certified final notice letters out to homeowners who had still not paid their 2006 dues.  Larry agreed to follow-up with Rod at RCS to see whether or not a certified letter was inadvertently sent to any homeowner whose outstanding debt only included late fees that had been waived by the Board at the November meeting.

At 8:48 Fred Fredericks made a motion to adjourn, Mary Hovland seconded, and the motion passed 5-0.