August 8, 2024

August 2024 Hickory Farms HOA Meeting Minutes 

Location:  Microsoft Teams video 

Board Members in Attendance: 

Telah Jackson-Vice President 

Tad Weed- Associate Treasurer  

Ben Noviello- Secretary 

Melissa Stark- Common Areas 

Judy Deng- Treasurer 

Charles Chu– Member at Large 

Pam Barrett-Member at Large 

Others in Attendance: 

Steve Kubrak 

Bob Cosgriff 

Jill Horner 

Jim Bever 

John Kitzmiller 

Justin Mensen 

A quorum having been reached; the meeting was brought to order at 7:05 PM 

Approval of minutes was conditionally approved pending review by all board members 

Old Business  

Treasurer Report 

Judy confirmed that all relevant bank statements were in Teams and reported that the short-term CD devoted to the strategic investment fund had been renewed and re-invested.  

Commons Area Report 

Melissa reported on the ongoing expense of removing dead trees and the continued cost of mowing.   

ACC Report 

Justin Mensen described ongoing efforts to inspect the exterior of homes and report on compliance with community standards.  There was a discussion of the special case of a house that had been damaged by fire, and the effect that status had on the approach to be taken. This resulted in three motions: 

The first motion made by Ben and seconded by acclamation was to continue the ongoing process of inspection and reporting.  This motion passed. 

The second motion made by Ben and seconded by acclamation was to engage with legal counsel for advice regarding what effect, if any, the involuntary nature of fire damage, and the constraints imposed by alleged delays in insurance payments might have on ACC enforcement. The motion passed. 

The third motion made by Telah and seconded by acclamation was to continue ongoing ACC enforcement regarding a specific homeowner.  The motion passed. 

New Business   

Upcoming October 15 Annual Meeting 

Melissa reported about the availability of Green Acres space to hold the annual meeting.  A few board members were concerned about the COVID numbers rising and suggested continuing to hold the meeting virtually.  

A motion was made by Melissa to continue conducting this meeting virtually; Telah seconded; the motion passed.  

The motion was made by Tad to use the same agenda a last year; Ben seconded; the motion passed. 

Melissa agreed to provide Ben with proper distribution lists for the various presenters. 

Ben agreed to share the templates with the presenters and incorporate these into an over-all presentation.   

A discussion of the need to balance an efficient meeting that was respectful to people’s time with the desire to allow full discussion of relevant issues occurred.  Ben agreed to mention this trade-off when sharing the template, with a nominal expected time of 10 minutes for each. 

A discussion occurred on the importance of personal relationships and a sense of common value to recruiting new members of the board. The importance of using committees to increase involvement was stressed. 

Melissa stated that this would be discussed with homeowners during the community-engagement “walk around” scheduled for 24 August. 

All the existing board members expressed their intent to continue serving.   

Ben stressed the importance of consistent attendance to maintaining the ability to achieve a Quorum and ensuring that everyone was familiar with key issues.  

The proposed budget was presented and explained to all participants. No opposition was expressed.  [Secretary note: A formal board member vote was made via MicroSoft Teams.  The budget was approved.]  

Tela moved to adjourn; Melissa seconded.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 PM.