Call to Order
Ray, as outgoing president, called the meeting to order at 7:18 pm
Roll Call
All board members present (quorum met)
In person: Jean, Lynne, Jim, Chrislyn, Pat, and George
Online: Kristin, Kayla, and Mike
Election of New Officers
Lynne brought up a point of order on how the board conducts business when it comes to voting. Lynne then made a motion to allow only one vote per household in instances where two members of the same household are on the board. It was noted that this is specific to board matters and is separate from votes that are for the entire neighborhood (e.g., board member elections), where one vote per household is in the bylaws.
Seconded by George.
Discussion:
Kayla noted that there was not a policy like this when the Pahls both served on the board two years ago.
Jean and Chrislyn questioned the reasoning behind this point of order.
Jim noted that there was a problem in the past with a similar situation, a married couple serving on the board.
Lynne stated it was to prevent two members of the board from swaying a vote.
Pat noted that any two members could do this, married or not, and have the same impact - if there is any impact at all.
Kayla added that the Pahls often did not vote the same way.
Pat noted that there is nothing in the bylaws that prevents two members of the same household from being voting members of the board - and that very early on, three married couples made up most of the board.
Vote:
Yes – Kristen, Lynne, George, and Jim.
No – Chrislyn, Jean, Mike, Kayla, and Pat.
Motion did not carry.
Election of President
Jean made a motion to nominate Pat, seconded by Chrislyn. Pat accepted the nomination.
Jim made a motion to nominate Lynne, seconded by George. Lynne declined the nomination.
Lynne made a motion to nominate Mike. Mike declined the nomination prior to a second.
Mike nominated Jim, seconded by George. Jim accepted the nomination.
Vote:
For Pat – Jean, Kristin, Kayla, Jim, Chrislyn.
For Jim – Lynne, Pat, Mike, George.
Pat elected President.
Election of Vice President
Mike nominated Jim, seconded by Pat. Jim accepted the nomination.
There were no other nominations and Jim was unanimously elected Vice President.
Election of Treasurer
Jim nominated Lynne, seconded by Chrislyn. Lynne accepted the nomination.
There were no other nominations and Lynne was unanimously elected Treasurer.
Election of Secretary
Pat nominated Chrislyn, seconded by Jean. Chrislyn accepted the nomination.
There were no other nominations and Chrislyn was unanimously elected Secretary.
Election of Committee Chairs
Jean made a motion to assign committee chairs, seconded by Lynne.
The vote was unanimous and the motion carries.
Communications Committee
In the past, the secretary was the chair. The committee develops the newsletter, sometimes presentation, helps to monitor emails that are generated from the website. Chrislyn expressed concern related to time constraints.
Kristin volunteered to be the chair and was seconded by Chrislyn.
The vote for Kristin to be the chair was unanimous and the motion carried.
Chrislyn and Pat are the other board members on the committee and there was discussion of asking Elizabeth Pahl to help with the committee, as one does not have to be a board member to serve on the committee.
There was discussion of using a platform like MailChimp.
Events Committee
Jean nominated Kayla to be the chair, seconded by Chrislyn.
The vote for Kayla to be the chair was unanimous and the motion carried.
Pat, Jim, and Jean will also be also on the committee.
Welcoming Committee
Chrislyn nominated Jean to be the chair and Kayla seconded.
The vote for Jean to be the chair was unanimous and the motion carried.
Lynne, Chrislyn, and Kristin will also be on the committee.
Maintenance Committee
Kayla nominated Mike to be the chair and Jim seconded.
The vote for Mike to be the chair was unanimous and the motion carried.
Pat, Kayla, and Chrislyn will also be on the committee.
ACCE Committee
Lynne nominated Jim to be the chair, Chrislyn seconded.
The vote for Jim to be the chair was unanimous and the motion carried.
Lynne and George will also be on the committee.
Nominations and Elections Committee
Lynne nominated Jim to be the chair, Jean seconded.
The vote for Jim to be the chair was unanimous and the motion carried.
Pat and Jean will also be on the committee.
Audit Committee
Jean nominated Lynne to be the chair, Pat seconded.
The vote for Lynne to be the chair was unanimous and the motion carried.
There was discussion about adding a garden committee, but the board decided to not have one as the garden is not limited to Briarwood residents.. Jean will remain BHOA's primary point of contact.
Committee Reports
Maintenance Committee
Mike reported that there are two current common area care contracts in play. Both expire at the end of March. They are lawn pesticide and fertilizer applications with R&D Landscape and mowing and snow removal with Sisu Seasonal Services.
R&D
Chrislyn provided a brief summary of her thoughts about the pesticide and fertilizer application contract with R&D. When she reviewed documentation provided by R&D, she found mistakes related to EPA registration numbers for pesticides they planned to use. She also believed that R&D was recommending more fertilizer and pesticide applications than necessary, based on information in MSU Extension publications.
Pat made a motion to discontinue the contract with R&D and to have Chrislyn work to identify a new company to provide fertilizer and pesticide applications, Jean seconded.
The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
Sisu
Mike will request clean copies of the contract from Sisu and noted that prices have not increased a lot.
Update: In the weeks following the meeting, Mike received both one- and three-year contracts from Sisu. Via email, Pat made a motion to sign the three year contract with Sisu, Jim seconded.
The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
Mike reported on the safety light at the old playground, that he believed it was burnt out. He also noted that there is no meter so the HOA is paying a fee of $1 a day.
A resident at the meeting noted that he lives near the old playground and has seen the light on after dark.
Lynne noted that she has also noticed that it is on. The board determined that some members will go and look at the light, and the issue was tabled until the next meeting.
Communications Committee
No report.
Events Committee
Garage Sale
The board discussed that the Garage Sale could be on Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8. Trash to Treasure will be on Sunday, June 9 and the special trash pickup by Granger will be on either Monday, June 10 or Tuesday, June 11.
Kalya made a motion to set the dates as discussed and Jim seconded.
The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
National Night Out
Last year, there were two food truck, ice cream provided by the HOA, as well as Meridian Township Police and Fire Departments and other activities. Jean confirmed that National Night Out this year is on August 6, 2024.
Kayla made a motion to add the event to the HOA calendar (August 6, 5-7 pm) and Jim seconded.
The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
Food Trucks
Pat made a motion to schedule food trucks to be in the neighborhood roughly every other week in June, July, and August (no more than twice a month) similar to last year. Jean seconded.
The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
Due to time constraints, discussing other events was tabled until the next meeting.
Welcoming Committee
No report.
ACCE Committee
Jean will forward current ACCE requests to the new committee.
Lynne stated that she was curious to see if new projects she has noticed at some homes in the neighborhood were approved or not.
Other Business
Letter from resident
Pat picked up a letter from a resident requesting printed copies of board business be sent to her due to her limited vision.
Matter deferred to Communications Committee. Letter to be disseminated.
Playground Proposal from February meeting
A resident that was an in-person guest at the meeting expressed concern about the playscape proposal that was presented at the February meeting. Specifically, he was concerned about the proposed location, the cost, the issue of dogs currently running loose in the area. He also noted that the previous playscape was often used inappropriately.
Pat made a motion to set aside the plans to replace the playscape and start over with fresh ideas for how to spend HOA funds on neighborhood improvements. Jim seconded.
Jean abstained and all other board members voted yes, and the motion carried.
There was additional discussion about the communications committee sending a survey to the HOA to gather input about other ideas for neighborhood improvements.
A resident that was an online guest stated that she had attended the February meeting. She was very excited at the new playground proposal and was taken aback by some of the negative comments. She wished that at the meeting, she had expressed thanks to those that had developed the proposal. She also stated that her children used the old structure and thought that the proposal for the new playground was very good and would add value to the neighborhood as a community. She urged the board to consider using the money that had previously been approved on a different playground project.
Pat extended an invitation to the resident to join the communications committee, but she declined as she does not have time to attend regular meetings. She stated that she will send her contact information to Kayla so that she can help as time permits.
Increased liability insurance
Lynne stated that she had discussions with the insurance broker about liability insurance. The broker stated that board members themselves are not protected by the HOA policy as it pertains to bodily/personal injury suits. The HOA has general liability insurance that would cover the HOA as a corporation in the event that someone sues due to injury, but board members as individuals are not covered. The insurance broker is checking to see if any coverage to protect individual board members is available.
Adjournment
Jim moved to adjourn the meeting, Pat seconded.
The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:08 pm.
Next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00 PM. (Online only.)