Board meeting minutes - October 10, 2005 

The Secret Woods October 10, 2005 Board Meeting was called to order by Board President Sallie Wnuk at 6:32 p.m. at the YMCA on Belfort Road. 

The following members attended: Bill Bortzfield, Wayne Williams, Linda Evans, Mary Loving and Sallie Wnuk. Residents Byron Delong, Mark Lemmenes, Nancy Whooten and John Loving also attended. 

Sallie opened the meeting by asking Bill to read the September minutes. The minutes were approved as read. 

Valerie then gave the treasurer's report. As of September 30, 2005 the neighborhood had a balance of $35,000.30. 

Mary reported she had spoken to several residents to gage their interest in joining the board to replace former board member Jim Thompson.  None were interested at this time.

Bonnie said there are now 11 block captains in place.  The group held an organizational meeting on September 12.  Bonnie said one of the block captains will take on the task of  updating the neighborhood directory and also hand out copies of the covenants and bylaws.  

Bonnie suggested giving copies of the covenants and bylaws to homeowners selling their properties so the neighborhood would be able to document that it did everything possible to ensure incoming residents would be aware of the covenants and bylaws before buying a property in Secret Woods. Sallie agreed to have copies of the covenants and bylaws made along with copies of a welcome letter to new residents.

The block captains would also like to see the community sponsor some parties. Bonnie reported that Bill Champion said he would be willing to set up a Chili cook off. Sallie noted the parties were a good idea, citing last year's Halloween parade as a prime example.  She encouraged the block captains and residents to organize the events. Sallie said the key is getting someone willing to take it on and then following through.

Sallie then updated the board on proposed changes to the covenants and by-laws. 

Thanks for taking the time to read the monthly minutes

94 ballots have been returned so far. The vote totals to date are as follows: 

Proposal to waive annual dues for board president, secretary and treasurer: 81 yes, 14 no. 

Proposal to increase the new homeowners initiation fee to $500: 84 yes, 11 no. 

Mary noted an incoming resident's realtor is asking about putting in a fence. Mary told the realtor that the new homeowner would need to go through the normal procedure. 

She also reported that the architectural review committee has approved a sunroom and patio request submitted by a homeowner on Bent Creek Lane.  A letter was also sent to lot 78 alerting them that they had jumped the gun on installing a fence, which was undergoing the review process.  Since the fence adhered to the neighborhood's design standards it was allowed to remain.

Sallie reported that North Florida Irrigation repaired the front fountain free of charge.  The company recently installed a new pump motor at the pond.

The  men's bathroom at the pool is undergoing repairs by resident Mark Wnuk.   He's putting in a new kit, washers and bolts after the toilet started leaking.

Bonnie reported that the city has awarded Secret Woods the $5,000 grant it applied for to help defray the cost of putting in new fencing around the front pond and entrances to the neighborhood.  Bonnie signed paperwork on behalf of Secret Woods. It will take anywhere from three weeks to three months for the city to set up the grant account.  Bonnie explained that the neighborhood must obtain a right-away permit, which is good for 60 days. We will have to have 125 hours of volunteer work toward this project. More details are at the mailbox.

Since a large part of tonight's board meeting is being devoted to grant discussions and planning, a volunteer hour log was started to track time for the grant.  

Sallie has already secured three bids for the grant project. Silverman Fence Company had the leading proposal.

There will also be some in kind donations from Domino's Pizza for a volunteer  workday that will be scheduled soon. A waste management company will also be providing a $75 discount for a dumpster. Sallie will get with Silverman Fence and walk the property line to get a estimate on repairing or removing the leaning brick posts, since that wasn't included in the original bids. 

Mark Lemmenes offered to plant Winter Annuals at the front entrance to the neighborhood. Board accepted his offer.

The meeting adjourned at 7:45pm.

The next meeting will be November 14 at 6:30pm.

Submitted by Bill Bortzfield on October 16, 2005.