Northlake Neighborhood Association


Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors

Monday, January 18, 2005
Middleton Public Library

Board Members Present: Dave Kalshoven, Paul Leone, Chuck Nahn, Mandla Tshabalala, Annette Plante-Hogoboom

Board Members Absent: Dave Halberslaben, Ken Player

Other Association Members Present: Tanya Buchanan, Jamie Buchanan

Plante-Hogoboom called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

Plante-Hogoboom moved to approve the December minutes. The December minutes were deferred until new ACC members could be contacted.

Committee Reports

Finance Committee:
Kalshoven presented an overview of the Association’s finances for 2004 with a view toward establishing the 2005 budget. The general overview provided that the Association spent less than it collected by a modest amount resulting in a small operating committee surplus. Two Association members whose dues remained unpaid have been contacted and will pay. Kalshoven will attempt to contact another two members whose dues remain in arrears. These arrearages are accruing interest. The only outstanding bill/obligation is $1500 due for Teal Ct.. remediaiton. Kalshoven indicated that an accurate reserve fund requires that the replacement value and usable life of all association assets be established.

Kalshoven then reviewed the 2005 budget proposal. Leone, Kalshoven and others agreed that it is difficult to estimate the lawn care costs because of the unusual weather of the last couple of seasons, and the rising cost of fuels which is a significant cost of mowing. The best “guestimate”, subject to actual bids to be obtained by Leone, resulted in an incremental increase of the cost of lawn care and maintenance for 2005. The balanced of the 2005 budget was reviewed and discussed. On motion of Leone, seconded by Nahn the 2005 budget proposal was approved unanimously.


Safety Committee:
Nahn has contacted the fire department about the safety backyard fireplaces and the regulations applicable to them. Nahn informed the board that technically the backyard fireplaces are not legal but in practice the prohibition on their use is not heavily enforced. The City of Middleton is currently rewriting the statute. Nahn will report at a future meeting on the result of rule making by the City with respect to outdoor/backyard fireplaces.


Communications Committee:
Tanya Buchanan provided an update on the website. Ms. Buchanan has updated the look of the website to a “neutral” theme so as to minimize the upkeep required while continuing to maintain the site’s professional look and feel. Ms. Buchanan and the communications committee were considering the removal of some service pages. A Realtor section will likely be added to website. Ms. Buchanan reported that there was “not much new” otherwise with respect to the website or specific communications items (e.g. hard delivery broadcasts). The board thanked Ms. Buchanan for here work in the communications area and indicated that “there was not much new” because much had been taken care of by Ms. Buchanan.


Social Committee:
There was no formal report from the Social Committee but anecdotal reports indicated that the NNA membership continued to be sociable.


Neighborhood Maintenance:
Leone indicated that bids for landscaping would go out shortly. The issue of snow removal, and the Association’s responsibility therefore, was again discussed. The general consensus was that voluntary efforts fairly well resulted in adequate snow removal but on the other hand the board did not conduct an exhaustive review of the entire neighborhood. As a practical matter, snow removal is not something that has historically been budgeted for. Snow removal from common areas only presents some real logistical problems concerning cost, access to Association property from private property, and damage to property resulting from snow removal. The issue of snow removal was tabled for further discussion and evaluation through the balance of the winter.


Architectural Control:
The specific documentation concerning the extension of a driveway is pending the transition to the new ACC but the project was approved. Several volunteers came forward at the Annual Meeting but those applicants need to be contacted, vetted, and confirmed. The board discussed the transition of functions and records to the new Architectural Control Committee.

A rather heated discussion concerning fencing ensued. Kalshoven, seconded by Plante-Hogoboom, opined that the current covenants were reviewed and approved by the membership in 2003 and that those covenants expressly permitted fencing, subject to ACC approval. J. Buchanan assisted the board in reviewing the results of a covenant survey conducted in 2003 by producing the returns from that survey. Leone, seconded by Nahn, suggested that respondents likely concluded that the covenant with respect to fencing was effectively a ban on substantial fences and substantial fences were not likely to be permitted by the ACC. Nonetheless, Leone and Nahn conceded that plain language of the covenants permit fences subject to approval by the ACC but were concerned that the membership was unaware that certain fence requests were on the verge of being approved. The board agreed that guidelines for the approval fences should be compiled and voted upon by the Board, in March if possible.

New Business

Teal Court Drainage and Middleton Remediation Update

Nahn discussed the continued remediation below Teal Court and the Middleton trail adjacent thereto. The heavy rains of 2004 washed away a fairly new Middleton trail in the Pheasant Branch Preserve and are therefore a concerning for both the Association and the City. The matter is before various City committees and the board restated its willingness to work with the City to achieve a permanent remedy for fast moving water draining from the Neighborhood into Pheasant Branch Conservancy.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 p.m.


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