Waterford Lakes Homeowners Association

Waterford Lakes HOA Minutes

Friday, August 24, 2018

August 2018 Board Minutes

Waterford Lakes Homeowners Association Minutes & News
August 16, 2018
Attendance:  27 residents, 5 Board Members, PSG (Susan Keene & Larry Edwards)
Call To Order:              6:40pm
Pledge of Allegiance
Approval of July Minutes
Treasurer’s Report (thru July 31, 2018): Checking:                                           $24,553
                                                                        Roofing Reserve:                              $109,952
                                                                        CD (reserve funds):                          $51,357
                                                                        % of Budget (after 7 months)           53%
                                                                        Profit/Loss to date:                          $7705
Don Ulrey, Treasurer, reported that our CD was renewed in July for 13 months, which was the shortest term offered.  Our rate went from .25% to 2.25%.  He anticipates rates to be even better when the CD renews once again.
Committee Reports:
Social Committee:  
Ladies we are scheduling a visit to the Ayres Tea Room at the Indiana State Museum for lunch in early December. We are trying to reserve the first Friday in December. Reservations must be in by August 31st to Geri Conway (317-268-4353).
Monthly Men’s Breakfast at Emmy’s: Come join us Saturday, September 8th at 9:30am.
Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast rescheduled to Saturday, October 13th   8am-10am.
Cards were sent to Dee Brewer and Sharon Simmons who recently had surgery. We hope you are all recovering nicely.  Dave Miller passed away August 23rd.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Janell.
Community Phone Directory Committee:
You are receiving the updated 2018 directory with your minutes. I want to personally thank Peggy Burke (426 Waterford Lane) for maintaining the database and laying out the directory again this year.  When Peggy moved in 3 years ago, she asked how she could help. And of course, we had some ideas!  Thanks to Nancy Fitzgerald for binding the directories.

Landscaping & Architecture Committee
We would like to remind you that Mr. Sandavol has the Board’s permission to trim low hanging branches that interfere with his mowing.  We do not want anyone hurt.
We recommend aerating your lawn in September. It is one of the best things you can do for your lawn.  If you are willing to water daily, you may wish to consider over seeding with the aeration service.  Aerating is the process of punching small holes all over your lawn.  The most effective type of aerating is with a gas-powered machine called a core aerator that pulls out small cores of grass and soil.  Air is critical to healthy root growth.  Aerating your lawn breaks through the thatch layer (providing a better habitat for microorganisms), enables the roots to breathe, and improves water and nutrient penetration.  Signs your lawn needs aerating: water puddles after rain or irrigation; water runs off lawn after only a few minutes of watering; worn areas where people walk; parts of lawn just can’t seem to stay moist.  The heavy commercial lawn mowers compact the soil forcing air out.   Eventually, the grass declines and starts turning brown due to the lack of air and water to the roots. The ground in Waterford Lakes is very hard and compact anyway. The topsoil was hauled off by the builder and compacted clay soil (from dredging the retention ponds) was spread around the buildings during construction.
If your lawn is looking bare and worn, it may be time to over seed with aeration. Aeration allows the seed to go 2-3 inches deep in the ground where deep roots can form. The deeply rooted grass takes longer to come up and you will see the benefits in the spring. After over seeding, water thoroughly, but be careful not to wash the seed away.  Keep the grass seed lightly watered for the first two weeks so the seed does not dry out.  The best way to control weeds is to grow a thick lawn. 
Most lawn fertilization companies offer aeration services.  When aerating, be sure to mark your sprinkler heads with flags if you have an irrigation system.
Overwatering your lawn can create problems.  What determines if your grass needs water is how dry the soil. Soil moisture is determined by air temperature, humidity, wind speed, rainfall frequency and amount, soil-type and overall condition of the grass.  The proper way to water a lawn is very simple: thoroughly but infrequently (wet the soil five inches deep). A lawn can be watered any time of day but it is best to avoid watering in late afternoon or evening.  Early morning is a good time.  Watering every day or even every other day is overwatering. Daily watering keeps the porous spaces in the ground filled with water instead of oxygen, which is vital to the growth of grass.  Without oxygen the root system will be shallow and possibly suffocate and die.  Shallowly rooted grass plants are easily stressed. This in turn makes them more susceptible to disease and insect damage. Roots are not easily visible but they determine the health and beauty of your lawn.  Overwatered lawns often have the weeds that are more difficult to control.  Fertilizer that is applied to an overwatered lawn is washed past the roots before it can be absorbed by the grass plant.  Consequently the lawn will lose color faster.  Setting your sprinkler system once in the spring will ultimately not work.  It needs to be more hands on.  Mother Nature has the final word!
Brown spots in your yard can come from a list of possibilities:  insects, grubs, fungus, heat & humidity, and oxygen deprivation. With the slow release fertilizer that is used, it should not be from the application.
Old Business:
1.     The question was raised about the status of the roofing project. Larry Edwards explained that the 4th unit is scheduled for this month.  Hopefully, Edwards Roofing will be able to complete the 3 other units between September - December.
New Business:
1.      John Shew suggested that the Board consider aerating the yards since this has not been done in about 6 years.  He also raised concern over the quality of the fertilization service we are receiving from Growing Image.  The feeling among the residents is that the weeds are worse than they have ever been.

The Board met with Bridgette at Growing Image following the meeting.  She said “spurge” has been a real problem this year with the weather. Spurge is an aggressive weed with widespread seed dispersal, drought tolerance, and an extensive taproot system.  The pre-emergent, used in the 1st & 2nd application do not touch this type weed.  To tackle this problem, we will be receiving a special application Tuesday, August 28th (30-30-6 slow release nitrogen + iron to help green) with a spurge & mulberry control.  They will follow up with a 4th application the beginning of October (30-0-5 quick release nitrogen).  They like to apply weed killer with a liquid application to adhere better to the grass plant with a granulated fertilizer.  Keep in mind this can be a slow reaction as the weed killer goes down to the roots. It will continue to work all winter and you should notice a big difference in the spring.  Ideally, you should wait 24 hours, allowing the treatment to dry before doing a light watering.

Keep in mind when we kill the spurge there will be more bare spots potentially in your yard.  This is another good reason to aerate and over seed.
 
2.     Linda Osborn suggested that we work on getting a group rate for aeration/ or aeration with over seeding.

The Board has arranged a group rate for aeration services through Growing Image.  If you are interested, contact Brandon at PSG (317-837-9860) by September 10th.  You have 2 options:  aeration only or aeration with over seeding.  Growing Image will use a grass seed mix of tall fescue & blue grass.  They will invoice you by mail upon completion.

                                    Aeration Only                                     Aeration + Over Seeding
Most Yards                $45                                                      $90
Large Yards (corners)          $60                                                      $120


3.     Rita Emge raised the question: What has been planned for the willow trees that are dying around the retention ponds bordering Waterford Lane.  The Board has received quotes to remove the willows.  The estimate is $500 each to cut down and remove the stump.  These are on the list to be put in the budget.  We are currently over budget for trees this year with 4 months to go.  We have to prepare for additional Bradford Pears to split before the year is out.  We may have to spread out the removal of these willows over time. The one on the eastside of Waterford Lane would ultimately be first on the list.
6.   The Board has asked PSG to put an RFP together for snow removal services.  We will begin the bid process to find a company that will provide better quality work/service without tearing up driveways, yards and landscaping.  Considerations will include: the type of equipment, method of plowing, availability, and reasonable rates.  Snow removal is to include driveways, front sidewalks and stoops.

7.     Anne Inman led a discussion on the pros and cons of having a rental restriction policy. Randy Simmons, who has gone through this process in Florida, cautioned us on the challenges of enforcing rental policies and potential costs for legal services.  Overwhelmingly, the residents in attendance were in favor of amending the Covenants to include: a rental ban, grandfathering provisions, hardship exceptions, short term rental ban (AIRB&B), and lease provisions.  The Board has created a special committee, chaired by Anne, to work through policy specifics, tracking, enforcement, challenges, resident/owner education, roll out and voting.  Recommendations will be made to the Board and PSG.  You will be kept informed throughout the process.  Ultimately our attorney will draft the Amendment.  Current rental units will be grandfathered so don’t panic!

8.     The Biology Dept. at Franklin University has obtained a federal permit to do research on the migration of mallard ducks in urban areas.  Since we have a lot of ducks in residence, they have chosen Waterford Lakes as one of their sites. They have set up a trap along the Dan Jones retention pond to trap and band ducks for about 2 weeks with Board permission.  The trap is set daily for an hour and the ducks are immediately released after being tagged.  This is being done in the counties surrounding Marion County.  Too bad it isn’t the geese being trapped!
Door Prize Awarded:  Martha Bosma Winner!            Meeting Adjourned:          7:30pm


Next HOA Meeting Thursday, September 21st at 6:30pm





A Message from the Board
An essential element of HOA lifestyle is that individuals must sometimes subordinate their wishes to what is in the community’s best interest.  In HOA’s, owners give up certain rights for the HOA’s benefit at time of purchase.  You might call our HOA a “common interest community”.
The Board made a commitment to residents, when the HOA assessment was increased from $125 to $150/month in January, 2017, that fees would not be increased again for some time. We took on the roofing project with the understanding there would not need to be a special assessment.  The Board is very cognizant of the fact that many residents are on fixed and limited budgets.
The Board is juggling many priorities and challenges with an aging community that demands more maintenance, more repairs, and more upkeep.  At the same time, we committed $6000/month of our budget for the roofing project through 2025/2026.  We have a long “wish list” needless-to-say. As our community ages, healthy reserve funds take on more importance.  A strong volunteer effort saves resources.  
The Waterford Lakes HOA Declaration of Covenants is very specific as to the responsibilities of both homeowners and the Association.  We are a planned unit development (PUD) not a condo community.  In a PUD, you own your lot not the Association.  The Covenants state, “each Owner shall be responsible for maintaining and keeping his or her Lot and all improvements thereon in a good, clean and sanitary condition, and shall do all work, thereon, which is not required hereunder to be performed by the Association including the interiors of patio areas and patio fences.”
The general duty of the Association is “maintenance, repairs, replacements and upkeep of the Common Area”.  “In addition to the maintenance of the Common Area, the Association shall provide exterior maintenance upon each Lot hereunder as follows: paint, repair, replacement and care of roofs, gutters, downspouts, and exterior building surfaces.  Such exterior maintenance shall not include glass surfaces, screens and screen doors and window fixtures and hardware, patios, and such other items the Board of Directors may designate as long as such items of exception shall apply to all units equally.”  The Covenants also says the Association is responsible for lawn maintenance including mowing, fertilization and trimming. It shall not include the care and maintenance of shrubs or trees that were not originally planted by the Declarant or flowers or other plants on any Lot.
A Checklist is in the 2018 Community Phone Directory that lists the responsibilities of the Owner and Association.
We are a Community that cares about each other and everyday someone extends a helpful hand to help another neighbor.  We see the value of our homes increasing and Waterford Lakes has become a much sought-after Community. 
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