Emerson HOA Board Meeting 7/28/14

(Full official minutes are posted to the Emerson Residents-Only section of the Emerson web site with login required. This is just a summary of some of the public highlights.)

Highlights of the Emerson Board Meeting on 7/28/14:

1. Parking issues to be reviewed by Howard County on August 8th
2. Architectural review of covenant violations completed
3. Other maintenance
4. Activities
5. Committees
6. Miscellaneous

Details:

1. Parking
1. Emerson is working with Howard County to address parking issues within community
2. Cars park on both sides of street in some areas and block traffic including emergency vehicles
3. Management team will walk entire neighborhood with Howard County on August 8th to review every County-owned street
4. Howard County will then decide what actions it will take
1. Only Howard County has authority in these cases
2. Examples might be posting signs only permitting parking on one side of street
5. Residents can send pictures to Emerson to show specific issues to the County that may not be obvious during the walkthrough (for example, situation may be different at night)
2. Current year's Architectural Review of covenant violations was completed over a 3-month period
1. Notices sent to homeowners, most homeowners are addressing quickly
2. HOA can grant one-month extension without Board approval
3. Longer extensions must be requested in writing and discussed by Board
3. Other maintenance
1. If residents see issues with Emerson-maintained areas (e.g., sidewalks, trails, landscaping, parks, tennis courts, etc.) please notify Emerson, ideally with pictures
2. Sterling Park renovation very successful, seeing very high usage
1. Next is Bradwell Park
2. Haddon Hall doesn't need it yet but may soon
3. Renovation was 5 years ahead of schedule, original material did not hold up well
3. Beginning to gather information from vendors for new primary landscaping contract
4. Removal of pathway near schools for safety reasons will be completed in August
5. Residents are requesting that rules for use of tennis courts be posted
6. Pet Station with bags for waste approved on Palace Hall near Skylark
1. Board will consider other locations throughout community
4. Activities
1. National Night Out will be on August 5th
1. Board approved funds to purchase ice cream
2. Pool Party was very successful, exceeded budget because more residents RSVPed than expected
3. Movie Night at the Pool was very successful, 157 attendees
1. Next Movie Night is August 15th
5. Committees
1. Financial
1. Met with financial advisor who recommended finishing plan to build out required Reserves
1. Laddered CDs over next 3-4 years
2. Then if anything else is left over, consider whether to pre-pay loan or invest in improvements
3. Committee has made FY15 budget recommendations to Board
4. Next meeting is in August
2. Communications
1. Members of new Communications Committee formally approved at this meeting
2. Have begun considering policies for what can be posted and through what media
3. Meeting dates will be posted to calendar
6. Miscellaneous
1. To find the official minutes:
1. Log in to Emerson web site
2. Click "Resources"
3. Click "Documents"
4. On the right side, click on the drop-down menu to access the full range of documents
2. Format of Board Meetings was changed to let residents hear some issues before the open questions session
1. Meetings now begin with Committee Reports

Related Posts:

• Emerson HOA Assessment Rates Unchanged in FY15 (8/7/14)