July 2024 Towne South Homeowners Assoc. Meeting Minutes
TOWNE SOUTH HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
Open Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2024
Ryan Storie, Chair, opened the meeting at 7:00 pm and asked Board members to introduce themselves.
Board Present – Ryan Storie, Hugh McWilliams, Jackie Tebbe, Greg Hertlein, Dave Carr and Mary Ann McWilliams, Administrative Assistant. In addition to the Board members, attendees in person included lot owners: Lucille Hines, Dotty Buechele, Cindy Sample, Gail Meyers, and Evelyn Bevans. Attendees via Zoom included: Aaron & Anna Lang and Katie Mizera.
1. Approval of Minutes from June 18, 2024. The Board approved the minutes of the June meeting as presented. They will be posted on our website soon.
2. Financial Update -
a. June – Our total income was $57.92 and expenses for the month came to $4,044.30 leaving us a net loss of $3,986.38. This was not unexpected. Lawn expenses alone were $3,600.
b. YTD – This paints a brighter picture in that total revenue Jan 1 to July 13 comes to $43,091.26 and expenses of $29,737.83, leaving us a net profit of $13,353.43. If we don’t have any more serious tree issues, we may be able to skirt by without dipping into reserves. Jackie prepared a comparison spreadsheet showing YTD 2023 over 2024. Expenses are way up over this time last year with tree removal leading the way at $12,950.00 spent thus far. It is what it is. The next three months are going to be expensive as we are still going to have mowing expenses, but then October, November and December should be much better.
c. The Board approved reimbursing Mary Ann for out-of-pocket expenses in the amount of $138.43. A breakout of these expenses is included with her bill.
3. Liens & Releases – Mary Ann reported there were no liens filed since our last meeting and there has been one lien released.
4. Requests for approval – There have been no improvement requests since our last meeting.
5. Landscaping - Homeowners may not mow grass, trim trees, plant, provide maintenance, etc., on common property without the written consent of the majority of the Board of Governors on an annual basis. The Board of Governors reserves the right to revoke such consent.
a. Mowing – Greg reported that things are going along well. With all the rain we’ve had the grass is growing like crazy and keeping up with it has been a strain on our budget. If nothing else, the grass is nice and green.
b. Trees – Greg reported on the large tree that is down at Towne South and Towne Centre. We have received bids and are just waiting for our tree service to have time to get to it. Since it is not in the way and not hazardous, we are not a priority at this time. Evelyn asked if it would be removed or just cut up and pushed into the creek. Greg responded that in this incidence the tree will be cut up and removed. There is no place to push it. Evelyn requested that we have someone from MSD and St. Louis County come to our annual meeting in February to address how we decide what to do with downed trees. And she wants this topic on that meeting’s agenda for open discussion.
c. Creeks – Gratefully there is nothing to report.
6. Complaints – Ryan noted that the HOA is continuing to monitor several properties for violations and complaints. We seem to make a little progress and then something else comes up. Cindy expressed her gratitude for all the effort the Board puts into monitoring these complaints and the amount of follow up it takes.
7. Zone Captains – Hugh reported that we still need a captain for Zone 1. The Handbooks have been revised and approved. He will distribute these to the captains as soon as possible.
New Business
a) Fees – The Board has approved a list of violation fines for non-compliance of a request to correct an issue on their premises and will go into effect on August 1, 2024. Prior whenever we sent out a violation letter, there were no repercussions if the matter was not corrected. We could turn the matter over to St. Louis County, but unless it was a vagrant or hazardous violation, they do not have the time or personnel to act. They are too busy to take care of anything but the very worst cases. If a homeowner continues to ignore our request, fines will be put in place on a regular basis and liens will be filed for non-payment. This list of fines will be posted on our website.
Old Business
a) Fall Party – Jackie reported that the date of October 19th has been approved by Prince of Peace church. Please send your ideas or suggestions to us. We have someone who has stepped up and volunteered to do the planning. There will be a meeting to discuss all our options soon.
b) Beautification Group – Jackie reported that an email went out recently to all who originally showed an interest in helping this group. It contained a link to SignUp Genius where people could select which site within our subdivision they wanted to work on. Within the next week or two, the same email will go to everyone we have an email address for requesting the same help. We are asking that when you sign up for a specific location, you add it to your list of yard responsibilities, and take ownership like it was part of your own yard. If you need to purchase anything, please contact the HOA prior to spending any money. The Board must approve any expenditures in this regard. Please communicate with us and keep us posted as you clean up your area.
c) There are currently 47 rental homes within our HOA. In an effort to keep everyone updated, we will report on the number of rentals at each monthly meeting. Max at 60. As long as we’re under 60 they can turn property into rental.
Open for Floor Discussions –
Evelyn noted that two meetings ago she asked about the expenses incurred for last year’s subdivision party. She commented on the $443 spent last year and expressed concern about spending so much on this event. Jackie pointed out that if she looks at the income line for this event (shown as Donations), she will see that the income exceeded the expenses by about $30. Sponsorships were solicited last year which amounted to around $350 and the rest was made up by the raffle we conducted. Evelyn asked if we had sponsors for this year and Jackie indicated not yet as we just finalized the date. A committee will be working on these sponsorships and there is no reason to think that we can’t exceed last year since we have a lot more lead time than we did last year. Jackie told Evelyn that if she had any further questions, she could stay after the meeting to ask them.
Ryan asked if anyone had anything more to bring to the Board at this time. There being none, the Towne South Homeowners Association Open Monthly Meeting was adjourned at 7:23 pm. Ryan reminded all that there is no August Open Meeting as our Indentures require us to have only ten meetings a year. The Board decided not to meet in August and December. Therefore, the next TSHA Monthly Open Meeting is Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 7:00 pm at Prince of Peace UCC.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Ann McWilliams
Administrative Assistant
A homeowner stayed after this meeting to discuss options for installing one or more sheds in his backyard. The Board viewed the tentative plans/sketch he provided and offered some suggestions. He is undecided about the exact location(s) but once he decides he will submit his official request.