GVCA Annual Meeting Notes June 2012

• PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Thomas Kemery 
  In FY 2012, major repairs and maintenance continued on the Clubhouse.
  • As was found in the previous years repairs, the building’s windows were leaking causing damage to two major support beams. The beams were rebuilt and the windows sealed.
  • Other maintenance included the following:
    • staining the north side of the clubhouse.
    • rebuilding the clubhouse sign.
    • rebuilding the outdoor pool pump motor and installing a new controller to should make it more reliable.
    • reconfiguring the pool heat exchanger so it can heat either pool, allowing us to replace the old outdoor heater with a much smaller unit.
    • repairing the asphalt by the parking lot.
    • replacing the emergency exhaust fan in the pump room.
    • replacing the street sign that was run over.
    • replacing six sets of doors in the building.

  Clubhouse maintenance will continue in FY 2013.

• Finance COMMITTEE REPORT – Doug Powers – Treasurer and Chair
  Members of the Finance Committee are Thomas Kemery, Scott Gale and Jon Klement. The committee develops and monitors the budget approved by the GVCA Board of Trustees. The committee is also responsible for putting together the 5-year plan, and integrating that with the 30-year reserve study. By law the State of Ohio requires homeowner associations like GVCA to do a reserve study, which was completed in 2011.Doug Powers reviewed the financial report, revenue sources and expenditures, a line-item budget, and a list of capital projects for FY 2013. The FY 2013 was impacted positively by the receipt of a lump sum payment from Time Warner Cable of $130,000 as settlement for missed payments in the past. These funds, which were put into our reserve fund, and with this influx of cash, GVCA can now reach our reserve-funding goal with a flat $10 increase each year in the semi-annual fee instead of the $16 originally scheduled. It also allowed us to accelerate the building’s structural repairs instead of stretching them over 3 or 4 years. The semi-annual fee will be $196 in July 2012 and in January of 2013.

  Of our $828,436 in annual revenue, 71% is from semi-annual fees, Time Warner fees provide 7.2%, party room rentals provide 5% and reserves 14%.

  Administrative expenses are 45% and include wages, office, insurance, and legal. Maintenance expenses are 8.2%, contract services are 8.8%, utilities are 7.2 %, and party room expenses are 4.5%. We expect to spend 14% on capital improvements and to put 11.8% into our reserve account, which should bring reserves to $239,928 at the end of 2013.

  Capital Projects: We expect to complete the window and beams restoration, hopefully before the end of 2012, make repairs to the Marshall Lake, new clubhouse doors and do some restoration on the Boy Scout cabin and wishing well, and have allocated funds for landscaping improvements around the clubhouse sign and adding trees to replace those we have lost.

• ACCES COMMITTEE – Jim Simler – Chair
  Members of the ACCES Committee are James Kukla, John Muccio, Carol Oudeman. ACCES meets on the first Tuesday of each month and requires applications be submitted two weeks before the meeting. This allows the committee time to actually visit each applicant’s property and assess the project in detail. The details are then reviewed and discussed at the Tuesday meeting.During the past 12 months we have reviewed over 114 ACCES applications, of which 101 were approved and 13 were denied.
  • Large siding projects:
    • Condo 2 resided two buildings and a garage,
    • Village at Greenwood is residing now, and
    • Williamsburg Townhomes will start residing soon.
  • 44 Window and Door Replacement- 39 Approved, 5 denied
  • 24 Tree Removals – 23 Approved, 1 Denied
  • 23 Misc. (a variety of projects) – 18 Approved, 4 Denied
  • 9 Satellite Dish – All Approved
  • 14 Decks, Patios, Roofs – 12 Approved, 2 Denied

  While the GVCA Board has voted to approve retractable awnings in Greenwood, the prohibition about awnings is still in place until the Board of Trustees adopts new ACCES rules. The Ad Hoc Committee on Retractable Awnings developed proposed rules, which the ACCES members will review and incorporate into the ACCES Rules. After the Board approves the new rules, then ACCES will be ready to accept retractable awning applications. The proposed rules are pretty strict, so we request that anyone interested in installing a retractable awning wait until the official rules are published in a couple months, and not purchase an awning until they ACCES approval.

• BRIDGES COMMITTEE – Susan Miller – Chair
  Members of the Bridges Committee are Jon Klement, Walt Glazer, and John Anderson. The Bridges Committee was formed because of concerns with the fate of the three bridges on the Carriage Trail in the CVNP adjacent to Greenwood Village. The bridges are very unsafe and hikers should not use them. We have met twice with the national park and initially reviewed the condition of the bridges and established that CVNP wants to maintain the Carriage Trail because it is a historical trail, and possible ways to readjust the trail to bypass the bridges, which some hikers are already doing on their own. The park just released their overall plans for readjusting all of their trails, including how they connect with neighboring MetroPark trails. The plans are online NPS website and show CVNP eliminating 11 miles of trails, but retains the Carriage Trail in the plan. Whether the trail will have bridges remains to be determined.
• CABLE COMMITTEE – Thomas Kemery – Chair
  Members are Thomas Kemery, and Doug Powers. GVCA negotiated a new contract with Time Warner three and half years ago, and received a final settlement in 2012, which was placed in the Reserves. The committee will continue to monitor Time Warner in the future to ensure compliance with the contract.
• GARDEN COMMITTEE – Jon Klement – Chair
  Members are Kathy Brusk, Dawn Dempsey, Fred Dinglebach, and Mary Neff. GVCA Community Garden was started eleven years ago, and is located on the western edge of Greenwood Village under the high-tension lines. There are 61 plots and 35 gardeners. Plots are $20 for the first one and $25 for additional plots. There is some turnover among the gardeners and for 2012 everyone on the waiting list got a plot. Everyone tills his or her own garden. We rent a rototiller for a weekend for those who want to use it. The gardeners pay for a city permit to hook up to the fire hydrant for the summer.Brush and trees are being cleared around the garden by First Energy as they are clearing the entire right-of-way under the high-tension lines. First Energy was asked to leave a site break by the ends of the garden and so far they have done so, but ultimately they may still clear them away.

  This spring the committee had a speaker from the Countryside Conservancy talk about an alternative to gardening, where you buy a share of the crops from a local farmer, and each week the farmer delivers a box with a variety of whatever is in season. They also sponsor the local farmers market down in the national park on Saturdays.

• Landscape COMMITTEE – Beth Dingle – Chair
  Members are Frank Boldizar, Amy Marselko, Kate Moss, Carmen & Robert Park, and Cheryl Witt. The committee works closely with our landscaper, tree service, and nurseries, as well as respond to resident requests. Some of the activities in the last year included the removal of fallen trees, planting new trees, and cleaned up several common areas. Carmen & Robert Park volunteered their time to clean out the invasive wild roses in the rhododendron bed across the lake. “Gator” bags are placed around our new trees to provide drip irrigation during this drought. A native plant garden will be installed around the clubhouse sign once the drought ends and property markers will be gradually installed to designate the borders of the GVCA common open spaces, which will be very helpful to our landscapers. We had two speakers for Greenwood residents this past year, one on “Native Plants, Shrubs & Trees”, and one on “Earth Friendly Pest Management”. The Landscape Committee will continue to enhance and maintain the common areas of Greenwood.
• Recreation COMMITTEE – Scott Gale – Chair
  Saturday, May 4, we had the annual trout derby. While those fishing caught big catfish and large-mouth bass, only 4 trout were caught. Next year we will make sure the fish get the message that this is a “trout” derby. Last year we had a summer party, clam bake, and Christmas party and also had one late night swim. This year we are having three late night swims. The first was June 9. The next is Saturday, June 30, and the third is August 11. On July 14, we will have our summer party. This year it will be a bit different. We will have swimming in the pool area like we did last year, but the band and the dancing will be outside the pool area on the walkway alongside the clubhouse. The band will be “Malt Shoppe Memories”. Bring what you want to eat and drink, but remember, no glass in the pool area. Friday, September 28, will be the clambake. The Christmas party will be Friday, December 7. Please take advantage of these fun events.
• Website COMMITTEE – Ed Balcerzak – Chair
  Members are Peter Dingle, Greg Gantzer, Miriam Lifsics, B-J Logan, and Andrew Seredick. The Greenwood website went live March 1, 2012, after revising the original design provided by two Kent State students and our very hard working webmaster, Miriam Lifsics. All the things you need to know about Greenwood, like the declarations, bylaws, ACCES rules, party room forms, and the like, are on the web site. The website is updated every month, and sometimes more often, with news and events, including the newsletter. There are FAQs (frequently asked questions), contact information for GVCA and all of the condominium associations, as well as hours for the office and pool. The newest feature we are adding to the site is a page of links to over 50 area entertainment venues (recreational, cultural, or sporting events) within 30 minutes of Greenwood.In March the website had 293 visitors, April had 390, May had 469, and June is slated to exceed that amount. Visitors to the site check the classifieds, not only for homes but also for everything, so if a GV resident has an item to sell, or a service, an ad can’t be sent to the GVCA Office. Besides classifieds, visitors look at the pool, the declarations, ACCES, and contact information.

  The committee is exploring future ways to make the website more interactive for residents, such as how to fill out forms online, how to make and pay for guest passes, checking and reserving the calendar for the party rooms, or submit an ACCES application. A greater electronic capability for Greenwood residents, will improve GVCA’s effectiveness, communication, and accessibility. Residents with questions and suggestions can send these to:GVCAwebmaster@gmail.com

• ELECTION RESULTS
  Eleven persons were elected to the Board of Trustees.
  ZElected to 2 year terms are: Alice Sloey – Condo 2; Myron Ryglewicz – Condo 3; Bob Radl – Condo 4; Susan Miller – Greenwood Highlands; Kathleen Hinding – Hemlock Ridge; Joyce Rossborough – Ironwood Trail; Caroline Wolske – Juniper Hills; Sue Shick – Portage Path E & W; Anna Capaldi – Village Club; and Doug Powers – Single Family Homes. Elected to a one-year term are: Laura Gura – Oak Knolls; and Jenny Kral – Williamsburg Apts.Elected to serve on the Nominating Committee for 2013 are: Cliff Perry, Susan Miller and Ed Balcerzak.

  The Board thanks the following trustees who completed their service in 2012 – Ralph Stadler, Diane Anello, and Adele Anthony.

  Immediately following adjournment, the GVCA trustees convened a short meeting to elect officers. They elected Thomas Kemery President, Scott Gale Vice President, Douglas Powers Treasurer, and Caroline Wolske Secretary.

• QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
  Q. What is the status of bankruptcies and foreclosures in Greenwood?
  A. We get an report every month from our manager of how many units are late on the last billing, and how many are past due more than one billing cycle. It is the latter that we are most concerned with, and that number has been falling. At the last meeting total delinquent units were 45 units (of which 28 were past due more than one billing cycle), which is a low percentage for an association of our size.Q. Could you address the enforcement assessment procedure that the Board recently passed?
  A. Over the years we have had problems with people not properly submitting projects for ACCES approval, or submitting them after the project was completed. We felt this was not fair to the residents who follow the rules, and that is one of the reasons we set up this fines procedure. The procedure was recommended by our legal counsel to ensure the fines were carefully administered and fairly enforced and provide a mechanism for appealing the fine.