The Minutes
SLE HOA BOARD MEETING
Date: August 14, 2023
Location: John O’Neil’s Home
Board Members in Attendance: John O’Neil (President), Gus Ferguson (VP), Marilyn Rousher (Treasurer), Tisha Dore (Secretary), Corrie Piper (Member at Large)
Others in Attendance: Rebecca Morales, New HOA Auditor & SLE Homeowner
Quorum: YES
Call to Order: 6:35pm
Minutes from the last meeting: Accepted (Tisha Dore motioned, Marilyn Rousher seconded)
New Auditor: Welcome, Rebecca Morales, to our team of volunteers for the position of SLE HOA Auditor. Rebecca interviewed extensively with Treasurer, Marilyn Rousher, who was impressed with her experience in and knowledge of accounting, auditing and QuickBooks. Marilyn had already shared this info with the rest of the board members who are equally confident in Rebecca’s ability to fill the position. So, this meeting with her was more a chance to get to know Rebecca, and see if it’s a good fit, and it is. The day after the meeting, we made it official with a board vote, and we now have a new SLE HOA Auditor. A little background: Rebecca and her husband, Angel, live in SLE where they are both semi-retired. Rebecca continues to run a bookkeeping business, but she previously worked in accounting for a large auto company, which included managing audits. Rebecca has familiarized herself with our recent financial reports + audits and her work with us will begin with a review of the 2023 books starting in early Q1 2024.
Treasurer’s Report:
Current in checking account: $ 51,648.30
Current in savings account: $ 109,167.68
Current in petty cash account: $ 201.00
Total in bank accounts: $ 161,016.98
Delinquent Accounts: Last month, we had 29 delinquent accounts, now it’s down to 17. Liens will soon be placed on the remaining homes whose owners have been unresponsive and/or defaulted on approved payment plans. If you are behind on your HOA dues, send payment ASAP or contact SLE HOA Treasurer, Marilyn Rousher, at treasurer@spiritlakeeast.org.
Motion to accept Treasurer Report by: Corrie Piper
Motion Seconded by: Gus Ferguson
ARC Report: VP, Gus Ferguson, managed approvals on a new home build on CDA Dr. Treasurer, Marilyn Rousher, requested info for the owners to get them on the mailing list. Any new homeowners who have not yet registered with the HOA, please visit + fill-out the form at: www.spiritlakeeast.org/new-residents
Motion to accept ARC Report by: Tisha Dore
Motion Seconded by: Corrie Piper
Timber Report: There have been some questions about what the Timber Committee does and doesn’t do. Timber Chair, Gus Ferguson, says the Timber Committee is available via email (timber@spiritlakeeast.org) to answer questions regarding forest management, timber exemptions and commercial logging in SLE, which he notes is different than simply clearing dead, diseased and/or less desirable trees (like lodgepole) for firewood, which a resident may do on their own accord, as long as they are abiding Kootenai County restrictions in place during fire season, which advise on activities including when/if chainsaws can be used: https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire.../fire-restrictions-finder/. In terms of commercial logging operations, Ferguson says SLE homeowners must follow state + county laws/regulations if they are doing any commercial logging on their property, which can be accomplished by working with a professional forester through the homeowner’s selected commercial logging company. Homeowners must also contact via email the SLE HOA Timber Committee at timber@spiritlakeeast.org re: their commercial logging plans so that questions and/or approvals may be recorded in writing. To streamline this process, a new form is being proposed to the board so that the Timber Committee may more easily review the basics of a homeowner’s commercial logging plan and make some helpful suggestions to protect them as well as our community in the process. The form, which would be much like the one the Architecture Committee has for those seeking to build, would simply request homeowner contact info, commercial logging plan highlights, and a few questions that we hope newbies especially will find helpful. Please note, there is NO CLEAR CUTTING ALLOWED in SLE. It’s important to be on the same page with your logging company about this, and how thin you want to go, and to BE PRESENT during commercial logging operations on your SLE property to be sure that it’s all going according to plan including agreed-upon removal and/or mulching of all debris, which Ferguson says homeowners should confirm is in the contract with their commercial logging company to avoid creating fire hazards in SLE. In other words, don’t leave on vacation to avoid the disruption of commercial logging you’ve scheduled to take place on your property. While securing a Timber Exemption for property tax purposes is entirely separate from the above, Ferguson says that form is on the HOA site for anyone still needing to file with the county: https://www.spiritlakeeast.org/timber
Motion to accept Timber Report by: Tisha Dore
Motion Seconded By: Corrie Piper
Roads Report: There’s nothing to report this time of year. But, HOA President, John O’Neil, did say that Roads Committee Chair, Joe Sandbank,is in the process of hiring a replacement CDL driver. He’s also requested 10hrs for maintenance on the shop rigs. We need to get 100% approvals on such expenditures so John will reach out to Members at Large, Vern Peters and Lois Tarnowski, to get their votes this week.
Motion to Accept the Roads Report: Gus Ferguson
Motion Seconded By: Corrie Piper
OLD BUSINESS
- Newsletter
o Summer edition is out via email, FB/NextDoor + mailed to those without email
o We’d like to encourage homeowners to provide an email address so that we can reduce the amount of folks who need a hardcopy newsletter mailed to them. To provide your email for this (or update your email address) contact: newsletter@spiritlakeeast.org
- Website
o The new SLE HOA website has launched
o Board email migration to Zoho is now complete
o Also, we looked into adding Venmo as another payment option on the website but business accounts now need a personal Venmo account as an anchor, which would have to be changed each time someone leaves the board, so we’ve decided against Venmo
- Kelso & Liberty Street Sign
o President, John O’Neil, is checking on the street sign, and homeowner, Jon Dore, volunteered to install it upon arrival. John is ordering stop + one-way signs too.
- Additional File Storage
o Marilyn + Gus got another storage bin for additional file storage needed for compliance. They needed two, but one arrived damaged, so they’re making do. Marilyn noted that it’s time to purge older files anyway. The board agreed on keeping current year + 7yrs only.
- Search For New Grader – No updates.
- SLE Equipment Sale
o ALL ITEMS SOLD, Sale Complete!
o Raised $5,500 to put towards a newer grader for SLE (see below for the running tally)
o All of the items sold were just sitting around the HOA shop unused for many years and we’re thrilled that they’ve gone to serve a new purpose to benefit the SLE community
o Thanks, VP, Gus Ferguson, for heading this up, and investing hours of your time to meet with folks, and thanks, Treasurer, Marilyn Rousher, for supporting on-the-fly purchases!
Motion to Accept Old Business: Corrie Piper
Motion Seconded By: Tisha Dore
NEW BUSINESS
- Fundraising For Grader
$23,000 from sale of dump truck
$5,500 from unused shop equipment sale
$ 2,840 ($1,200/mo for Aug + July KEC shop rent + $440 for June partial rent when work started)
$ 335 from homeowner donations
_________
$ 31,675 Total set aside for road grader
- KEC Work
o Work continues – nothing new to report except…
o New Chain, Lock, No Trespass Sign + Posts to install at HOA Shop entrance has not yet been provided by KEC, as promised. Gus is checking with KEC on this
- Avista
o Some residents near the powerlines received notice re: work to be done soon by Avista
o We’ll share more information as we have updates concerning SLE homeowners
Motion to Accept New Business: Marilyn Rousher
Motion Seconded By: Tisha Dore
- Motion to adjourn meeting at: 7:39pm by: Tisha Dore Motion seconded by: Corrie Piper
- Meeting was adjourned at: 7:39pm
