Leewood Homeowners Association

Annual Meeting Minutes

March 10, 2009

Board Members Present:
Janet Rourke – President
Bob Chilakamarri – Vice President
Rose Weber - Secretary
Maggie Pitotti – Treasurer
Mohammed Umar – Member-at-Large

Convening: The meeting was called to order at 8:03pm at the Phillips School, 7010 Braddock Road, Annandale, VA 22003. The meeting was preceded by a short period of socializing and light refreshments (7:30-8:00pm).

The meeting was attended by 35 “vote-eligible” homeowners, which allowed for a total of 39 ballots (two owners present own multiple lots and are entitled to one vote per property). In addition, 46 proxies, seven of which were invalid, (three had owners in attendance and were therefore not applicable, three did not indicate a purpose, and one indicated both purposes), were received for a total of 39 valid proxies. Accordingly, there were a total of 78 possible ballots to be cast. There were also residents and co-owners in attendance. Quorum was established. There were two guest speakers in attendance, Sandra Farkas from Fairfax County Forest Pest Management and Mike Horner from Main Street Mailboxes.

After a brief welcome to those in attendance, Sandra Farkas gave a presentation on the Gypsy moth spray program. She spoke to the Association about how to spot infestation, the life cycle of the Gypsy Moth, and the County spray program. Leewood will be very near the spray zone this year and Sandra answered questions from homeowners regarding concerns about the spray program. She advised that if any of our properties were to appear on the spray list, those homeowners would receive a letter outlining exact details of the spray program with specifics regarding scheduled spraying of their property.

Next up was Mike Horner. Mike is the owner of Main Street mailboxes and the USPS authorized contractor for locking mailboxes in this area. Mike discussed the mailboxes themselves, their construction, features, installation and safety features. He also discussed the processes for installation, key disbursement, key management, and package delivery. He also answered numerous questions on various aspects of the boxes. Homeowners asked for a location nearby where the community had these boxes installed so they could go look and see the boxes "in person."

Officer Reports:

President: The President welcomed those in attendance and thanked those who have volunteered in various capacities throughout 2007. The President also thanked the volunteers who worked on the planning and execution of the annual meeting. Al Sanford was recognized for his many years of work on the G&M committee and was presented with a gift certificate on behalf of the Association.

Vice President: Discussed the recent flyer/survey that was recently distributed regarding the possibility of a Leewood Neighborhood Watch program. He reported that there was not enough interest expressed or volunteers that came forward to allow for a Neighborhood Watch in Leewood at this time.

Secretary: Shared information that the Resubdivision project that many homeowners had received letters about from Hish and Company, had been withdrawn because the bank was no longer funding the project.

At-Large: Nothing to report.

Treasurer: An update on homeowner accounts was provided, although the exact number of accounts in arrears and the total amount of monies due the Association was not available. A homeowner asked if these two items could be included in meeting minutes. As of March 23, 2009 the number of accounts in arrears is as follows:

Summaries from Committee Chairs:

Architectural Review Committee: Janet Rourke reminded residents that the ARC spring walk-through was just around the corner and encouraged everyone to do a self-inspection soon and correct what they could before the ARC committee did the walk-through and had to start issuing violation notices. She also thanked everyone for working with the ARC to correct problems in 2008, which helped keep our community looking great.

Grounds & Maintenance: Melinda Ford, the new G&M chair introduced herself, and briefly discussed her plans for G&M in 2009, to include the need for volunteers to do some of the basic grounds maintenance such as fence repair and tree pruning.

Report on State of Finances: Leona Taylor, the volunteer Financial Secretary, gave the following financial report: Assessments are charged to each homeowner and are used to pay both regular operating expenses as well as contributions into the repair and replacement reserve. The repair and replacement reserve is used to maintain the common property of the association (curbs, roads, signs, gutters, etc.). Over time, the assessments collected have exceeded the amount used for operating expenses and the reserve contribution.

Under the federal tax rules, LHOA has elected to only pay tax on its investment income. An IRS ruling, Revenue Ruling 70-604, allows homeowner associations to rollover excess assessment income from one year to the following year. The IRS ruling holds that the assessment income that is rolled over is not taxable income to the association. A separate election (resolution) must be made by the owners/members to do this rollover. Our accountants have advised us that by adopting a resolution that permits this rollover we are then assured that we can choose the tax filing method that results in the lowest taxes. The board adopted a standing resolution in February 1996 to make the assessment rollover possible. This resolution was ratified at our 1996 Annual Meeting. To be conservative, the membership has ratified the resolution each year. Balance sheets were provided, reviewed and discussed when questions arose.

Election of Board Members and vote on tax resolution and by-law changes: There were three board positions open for election this year. The candidates were Bob Chilakamarri, Rose Weber, Tom Harvat, Mohammed Umar and Tony McSorley. After a short break for those in attendance to vote and cast ballots, the following results were announced:

Board elections: The tax resolution was passed (75 “yes” votes/1 “no” vote/2 abstentions). Rose Weber was reelected and Mohammed Umar and Tom Harvat were elected to the Board of Directors.

Open Forum: In addition to the earlier discussions of mailboxes and Gypsy Moths, there was concern expressed over trees that pose a threat the Leewood Property behind Bradgen court. Certain residents of Bradgen Court asked if the Board could assist with getting the Granberry Estates Association and/or individual property owners to prune/remove those trees that posed the most threat. There was also a discussion of the sealcoat on upper Leestone in the circle and on street maintenance in general.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:28pm.

Certified for the record:

___________________ _____________
Rose Weber, Secretary Date
LHOA