The first half of the year was uneventful, and all homeowners paid their dues by March 15th to fund our budgeted items. Thank you for your support.
Towards the end of summer, the board received a few maintenance complaints and it was discovered that there had not been a Spring Walkthrough for over three years. At the annual meeting, the new board decided to hold a Walkthrough even though it was late in the year. The Walkthrough was held by members of the board and the architectural committee and homeowners were notified concerning items that needed attention. As of today, there are only five items that need to be completed. The board was extremely impressed by the cooperation of the homeowners involved. This year the board also sent out "orchid" letters to homeowners who had met the standards set out in the CCR's. We also received many comments from homeowners thanking us for re-establishing the Walkthrough again. The next Walkthrough will be on Saturday after the spring garage sale. The Walkthrough committee noted that next year, special emphasis should be placed on; 1) fences along Seattle-Hill road and common walkways and; 2) expansion boards in driveways. They are starting to rot away after 20 years.
The new board also adopted some new revised R&R's to assist in clarifying language that was confusing and vague. They were distributed with the minutes of the annual meeting. There were only two warning letters sent out this year and no fines were assessed.
As homeowners, we are sure you know that the street and backyard drains that carry off the surface water are connected to a drainage system constructed by the developer. All these drains empty into two oil/water separators and then drain into the settlement pond located behind lots 52, 53 and 54 or an underground storage area behind lot 9.
Over the past 20 years, previous boards have been diligent in monitoring the impact that the settlement pond has had on Heron Park by consulting with the City of Mill Creek as outlined in Appendix B of the CCR's. However, there is another item in Appendix B that requires us to monitor the buildup of sediment in the pond and keep it under 10% of the designed levels. We were unable to find any evidence that this item has been addressed. (The culvert that empties from the oil/water separator into the settlement pond is over 3/4 full of sediment.)
With these facts in mind, the board authorized and received an assessment report conducted by Triad Associates, consultants who originally designed the drainage system. They highly recommended that the settlement pond and draining facilities be cleaned and restored to the original design and a plan be adopted to maintain the drainage system consistent with the CCR's. Estimates for addressing their recommendations range between $35,000 and $50,000.
According to the CCR's, Article XI, Management by the Board, item (i) Improvement of Common Areas, 66%,or 52 of the 79 homeowners need to vote YES on the enclosed Ballot issue to allow us to spend over $5000 of the current reserves. This is exactly the type of expense that the reserves were set up to cover; not one that happens frequently during the year and is budgeted but one that is a once-in-multiple-year event or one that is unanticipated and more than the $5000 that is allowed by the CCR's. Please vote YES on the ballot issue.
The board wishes to thank Jordy and Barbara Kostelyk for the decoration of holiday lights at the entrance to our development.
We'll keep you informed on all open issues. As always, if you have any questions, please call any of the board members.
Respectfully submitted.
Parkside Homeowners Association Board of Directors
William Schatz, President
Art Sandell, Vice President
Peggy Ross, Secretary
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