CCHA May Board Meeting   May 27, 2020           7:00pm          via Zoom meeting application

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Board Members in Attendance: Rob Mazzola, Scott Whitford, Clarence Brantley,  John Ellwood,  Terry Jones, Chris Ruppel     Absent: Kyle Rajel, Jim Clincher, Hossein Salimnia, Ralph Crittenden

 

A Zoom meeting was held to address pressing issues for the Board.  

 

Recent Board meeting minutes and the most recent financial statement were approved and posted to the Cross Creek Website. 

 

New Board Member – We are pleased to welcome Jeff Letson to the Board.  Jeff will be representing Zone 2 and lives at 291 Cross Creek Blvd

 

Median Trees on Cross Creek – The trees in the median along Cross Creek have been trimmed and sprayed for fungus and disease.  General comments were that they look nice and hopeful that these actions will extend the life of the trees.  The cost of trimming up the trees was $800 and the cost for spraying/feeding the trees in the “Health Care Program” for the year will be $4,170.   The Board will review the results at the beginning of next season to determine the next steps in the treatment of these trees.

 

Review of street sign replacement –While this topic has been on our agenda for over two years, the Board has yet to see a definitive proposal or cost estimate for upgrading/replacing the street signs at the entrances and throughout the sub. Rob will prepare a synopsis of the information he has and forward it to the Board members. 

 

Prioritization - It was agreed at our February meeting that Rob would prepare a letter and list of proposed expenditure for the future with rough estimates for costs.  With this in hand, each Board member would solicit input from homeowners in their Zones in order to determine an appropriate path going forward.  Rob has committed to getting that done, sending to all Board members for approval, and then move forward with a prioritization list based on Homeowner input.   

 

Drainage concerns at 1417 Otter – Scott reported he received a call from Jim and Stephanie Zainea.   Jim Zainea said his sump pump line to the storm drain in front of his home had failed and was told by his plumber it needed to be replaced.  However, his plumber told Jim that the storm line across the front of his lot was 60-70% full and that caused the plumber to be unable to locate the tap so he could run a new sump drain line.  That storm drain is the responsibility of the HOA.  Scott contacted the City and was told by someone in their Engineering Dept. that sump pumps along the east side of Otter drain to the storm line in the front of the homes.  Ultimately, that storm drain runs out to the wetlands into the stream that runs there.  It appears that there may be blockage in the drainage line from the storm sewage line.  Scott and Terry will contact contractors from a list provided by the City to address and correct the issue. 

Flowers and mulch - Rob reported that flowers were planted, rose bushes were trimmed, and mulch was laid at the entrances. The cost for this work was $295.  Further, the rose bushes seemed to have survived the winter very well and we have high hopes of that continuing going forward.     

 

Dog owners failure to clean up - It was reported that some people walking their dogs through our subdivision have failed to clean up after their pets. A request was made to post a notification on our website and Facebook page to address this concern.  Scott said he would take care of it. 

 

Subdivision lighting – A proposal was previously sent to all Board members.  Scott sent a proposal for additional street lighting to the Board on March 21, 2020.  In that proposal, it was stated that if future street lighting were to be placed immediately adjacent to the transformer boxes in the front of various homes in the sub, the expense for future lightning would be in the neighborhood of $2500 to $3000 per lighting unit.   Board members were requested to take a drive thru Clear Creek Sub and see what their lighting looks like and the potential look for our sub with this new lighting

 

Financial Report – A number of questions were raised regarding the most recent financial report and Clarence explained:

• While the financial report reflects monthly interest payments from our new “higher interest” saving account, apparently the interest is not posted monthly.  Clarence will find out when the interest will be posted and make the correction on the financial statement accordingly. 

• Water charges paid in February were apparently due to late fees for our last payment in 2019.  Also, the budgeted water amount due for June is the amount the city charges to re-connect our meters for the season.  In years past, this amount was billed with our first water billing. 

• During our February meeting, we agreed to a New Landscaping budget amount of $4,000, but the April report reflects a budget of $6,340 for the 2020. Clarence explained that the document he prepared for February was not a “finalized” budget.  He will prepare and submit a finalized 2020 budget document to all Board members for agreement and posting to the HOA website.  

• Our Christmas lights expense in 2019 was $1,644, and we agreed to increase that budget line item to $2500  for 2020, yet the budget document reflected $5000.  Clarence misheard and will make the necessary correction. 

 

Our next schedule meeting date is TBD subject to Michigan Covid-19 restrictions.

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CCHA  April Board Meeting   May 1, 2020           5:00pm            Cross Creek and Otter

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Board Members in Attendance: Rob Mazzola, Scott Whitford, Clarence Brantley, Ralph Crittenden, John Ellwood,  Terry Jones  Absent: Kyle Rajel, Jim Clincher, Hossein Salimnia, Chris Ruppel

 

In an ad hoc meeting, the Board met at the corner of Cross Creek and Otter to discuss the state of the trees in the Cross Creek median and discuss resolutions/remediation

 

Median Trees on Cross Creek - Having talked with the Rochester Hills Arborist, along with other private tree companies, it was determined that some of the trees have a fungus, causing needles to drop and limbs to become bare.  Two methods for correction were recommended.  It has been suggested by a couple of arborists that the lower limbs be trimmed up to allow the trees to better “breathe”.  Also, we were given a couple of quotes for either spraying or injecting the trees.  It was voted on and approved that we would have the lower portion of the trees trimmed 2 ½ to 3 ½ feet to remove the dead branches.  The cost for trimming all 20 trees along Cross Creek (and removing the debris) will be $800. 

 

Additionally, John and Scott had received quotes from multiple companies for fungus treatment for the trees.  As the quotes were fairly similar, we decided to hire SavATree Tree Service to perform their “Health Care Program”.  This will include early fertilization and multiple tree fungus treatments.  The cost for one year of this program is $4170.  John will contact both the tree trimmer, as well as SavATree, to being this work immediately.  The Board will review the results at the beginning of next season to determine the next steps in the treatment of these trees.

 

Subdivision lighting - Scott sent a proposal for additional street lighting to the Board on March 21, 2020.  In that proposal, it was stated that if future street lighting were to be placed immediately adjacent to the transformer boxes in the front of various homes in the sub, the expense for future lightning would be in the neighborhood of $2500 to $3000 per lighting unit.    

Attached is a subdivision map from DTE, designating the location of the transform boxes in the sub with red circles. Further, there is a yellow comment square in the approximate locations that Scott felt might be good locations for installations. This would be Phase One of a multi-phased project of providing lighting throughout the sub.   It was recommended to the Board members present that they ride around the sub to view the location of the DTE Transformer boxes to get a sense as to where the best location for new lighting might be.  Further, it was mentioned that Board members may wish to take a drive thru Clear Creek Sub and see what their lighting looks like and the potential look for our sub with this new lighting.  It’s important to note that Board member should make the review at night to get a sense as to the brightness and effectiveness of these lights. 

 

Our next meeting is scheduled for June 8, subject to Michigan Covid restrictions.

 

The meeting adjourned at 5:45pm

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CCHA February Board Meeting   February 10, 2020           7:00pm                Rochester Public Library

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Board Members in Attendance: Rob Mazzola, Scott Whitford, Clarence Brantley, Ralph Crittenden, Kyle Rajel, John Ellwood,  Jim Clincher, Hossein Salimnia  Absent: Terry Jones, Eric Swanson

 

Minutes from the Annual Homeowners meeting on November 18, 2019 meeting had been distributed via e-mail to all board members, approved as submitted, and posted on the CCHOA website. 

 

Plans for 2020 improvement:  We discussed installing new and enhanced street signs to give a more upscale look to the subdivision and the entrances.  As yet, the Board does not have any firm quotes or examples of the street signs to be installed, and the extent to which signs would be installed would be based on the final determination of the sign selected.   Based on quotes, this project may need to be done in phases over a couple of years, with the entrance signs taking priority.

 

Some of the island trees on Cross Creek Blvd appear in poor condition; however we have yet to get a quote on removal, preservation, or remediation of those trees.  While there were mixed concerns with the removal of trees or how the work would be done, it was felt that this project would be of considerable expense and would likely need to be done in phases over the next few years.  Scott has agreed to contact a couple of tree vendors and explore possible solutions.

 

The Christmas lights that we currently own are installed each year by Sherwood Forest.  The feeling was that our display should be expanded to provide better coverage and produce a better light display.  We had received a quote for new lights last year, but deemed it too expensive.   We tabled the discussion and will look for vendors or methods of improving our display later in the year.   

 

There was also discussion of providing additional street lamps throughout the sub.  The primary expense with these lighting installations is the boring from the transformers (located throughout the sub in the front yards) to the installation site.  Therefore, the prudent course of action would be to place these lamps directly in front of the transformer boxes.    We will identify the location of the transformers boxes and gauge the interest of the affected homeowners to having a street light installed at the curb near their home.

 

Given these matters have to potential of being higher expense items, it was determine that Rob will put together a list and each Board member will solicit opinions from the Homeowners in their zones as to the wishes of the homeowners.  We will review the results of this survey at our April meeting.   

 

Schedule for future Board meetings: It was determined that the 2nd Monday of each month on a bi-monthly basis is an acceptable schedule for future board meetings.  Meeting dates for 2020 will be April 13, June 8, August 10 and October 12.  The Annual Homeowners meeting will be schedules as we get closer to year end. 

 

No left turn signs at the Sub entrances: There was some discussion as to the No Left Turn signs at each entranceway to the sub.  Review and further discussion will be held at future meetings.

 

Replacement of Board members: Rob was informed by Eric Swanson that his travel schedule for work makes it difficult for him to attend Board meetings throughout the year. Eric has offered to step away from his position in order to allow for someone who may have more time to provide to serve as  representative of Zone 2.  While we are sorry to see Eric resign his position, we thank him for his service to the sub.  We will be soliciting a new Board member from Zone 2 in the immediate future.  Absent any volunteers or nominees from Zone 2, we will open the position to other homeowners in the sub. 

 

Update on new lighting pole: The light pole on Lakeview at the walkway to Hart Middle School was installed by DTE on February 7.  The consensus is that it looks very good and provides the lighting we were looking for.  The cost of the project was $6,070; however Rochester Schools shared in the installation expense and contributed $3000 to the cost of the project.  Therefore, the cost to CCHOA was $3,070. 

 

2020 Budget discussion: Clarence provided a financial update, including the year end results our receipts and expenses in 2019, a proposed 2020 budget, and an accounting of our current cash on hand.  The Subdivision currently has $31,017.98 on hand.  We reviewed the budget items and made some nominal changes. 

 

Status on new CD account:  Rob, Clarence, and John went to Bank of America and upgraded the return on funds in our certificates of deposit to a higher interest bearing account.  Clarence reported that the Sub would earn roughly $250 per year on the funds in the CD going forward, versus the $1.55 p/yr we’ve earned past years.    

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:20pm