May 2023 Towne South Monthly Meeting Minutes
TOWNE SOUTH HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
MONTHLY OPEN MEETING – MAY 16, 2023
PRINCE OF PEACE UCC
Board Members Present: Ryan Storie, Jackie Tebbe, Greg Hertlein and Hugh McWilliams, plus Administrative Assistant Mary Ann McWilliams (via Zoom)
Resident Attendees: Don Cannon, Nancy Schrumpf, Dave Carr, and Lucille Hines, plus Anna Lang via Zoom
In Mackenzie Hennekes’ absence, Vice President Ryan Storie called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. He welcomed all visitors and the Board members introduced themselves.
Agenda for tonight’s meeting:
Approval of April 18, 2023 minutes – Mary Ann was unable to get the minutes completed so they will be added to the agenda next month.
Financial Update – There are copies of the January through April financials on the tables. Revenue from assessment fees is slowing down and we have probably reached our income plateau. Expenses for the month of April exceeded revenue, most of which was spent on tree removal and insurance. We still have a net profit of $29,971.23.
Renewal of Dues Update – all the collection letters have been delivered. Homeowners have until the end of May to pay their 2023 fees.
Update on liens and releases – No liens filed and three releases ready to file within the next week.
Ameren/Lighting Update – Nothing new to report. No lights out. We have received the $132 credit from Ameren which went all the way back to last August when they severed the electric line under Mattis Road.
Zone Captains – Hugh reported that one of the captains had to pull out so we need a captain for zone 6. In the meantime, he will cover it himself. Reports that he has been getting is that the captains are out and about and are getting positive feedback on how things are being handled. Captains have been promoting voting on the amendment. They now have a full explanation of the amendment in plain English. Still asking how long we have to get the necessary votes. Still waiting to get that answered. Question was asked if a ZC gets a complaint, who should they tell the homeowner to go to? Directly to the Board or have the ZC relay the issue. Either option is fine – whichever the homeowner is most comfortable with.
Proposed Amendment Update – nothing new. Reminder that renters cannot vote – only the homeowner themselves. We still need about 175-200 votes.
Liens and Releases – there have been no liens placed this month, nor any releases. We will be releasing three liens next week or so.
Requests for approval of improvements to property – The Board approved one request for improvement the installation of solar panels to their property.
Landscaping –
Shelton mowing – Greg reported that Shelton is doing a much better job since he met with the owner. Some requests have been made that are outside the initial contract with them and if we proceed with anything over and above the contract the price is $60/hour.
Trees – we continue to have multiple issues with trees from our recent storms and high winds. These tree issues will hit our budget very heavily this year and we are going to have to find a way to prioritize them. We’ve already spent over $4000 this year and still have a long way to go. One problem is that the creek beds are washing out and there is no more soil to hold up the trees. Greg estimates that it would take in excess of $200,000 to get everything done but then that wouldn’t be the end of it. He wanted to acknowledge Dave Carr for all that he has done in cleaning up the overgrowth of brush and honeysuckle around our fence areas. There are big piles of brush that the tree service we have been using will come by and get in a few weeks. The NO DUMPING signs have been covered up by overgrowth. Dave and Greg found a whole lot of plastic bags with dog waste just piled up under the leaves. No point in putting new signs out if people can’t see them – or putting a camera out to monitor the dumping.
Creeks – our creeks continue to fill up with brush and foliage which stops up the flow of water and backs it up into some homeowner’s yards. MSD will not do anything to help. The heavy rains we had last week caused all kinds of flooding issues with sewerage coming up in people’s basements. That’s why Mackenzie is not here tonight – she’s home dealing with clean-up. MSD’s answer is don’t flush things into the sewer system that you aren’t supposed to. If there are any volunteers who want to get together and address this particular creek issue, let us know. We will do the best we can given our budget constraints. It was asked if we can spray to kill the overgrowth. We have to be careful with what we use based on many environmental issues. It was suggested to cut the honeysuckle and then paint the stumps. That would be almost impossible to do. Even if you kill it, you still have to remove all the dead branches and foliage. It was suggested that we schedule a few work days and see if we can get some help. What about groups like the Boy Scouts or other organizations where the members need service hours. At the last meeting there were a few people who expressed an interest in helping on a Beautification Committee. Let’s put that on a schedule for this fall.
Block Party – June 24th – 2 to 5 pm – Prince of Peace UCC – Invitations are going out to all homeowners via our Zone Captains within the next week or two. Also posted on FaceBook, NextDoor, and our website. The HOA will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and bottled water. Bring your own drinks and chairs and a side dish to share. Prince of Peace will allow us to use their restroom inside. We are looking for sponsorships to help offset our expenses which we estimate will be around $700. We are offering two tiers -- $50 gets you a large poster sign with your business/name on it; and $100 gets you a space where you can set up your stuff and be able to interact with the attendees. We have received a handful of inquiries and will continue to pursue businesses in the area. If anyone has a connection, pleases let us know. We are also looking for volunteers to help clean up. We will pay the church’s janitor to help clean up as well. We will need trash cans. Not sure about availability of electricity. Perhaps we will have a raffle basket or two. Attendance prizes? We will of course invite our local police. Dave will see if the fire department can attend and bring a truck the kids can see up close and personal.
Old Business – The volunteers that wanted to help on a Beautification Committee will be contacted to organize a couple of work days.
Open Floor Discussions – One of the homeowners brought up an issue of the drainage canal that runs behind her house on Brunston. Many years ago the Board had this drainage canal put in and had it filled with rocks. It has become blocked with overgrown brush and has blocked the flow of water to the sewer at the bottom and is now backing up and filling the backyards along Brunston. Used to flow nicely from the top to the sewer but not anymore. Greg will take a look at it and see what we can do.
Ryan asked if there was any other business to be brought to the Towne South Homeowners Board of Governors. There being none, the meeting was adjourned at 7:48 pm. Next meeting is Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 7 pm at Prince of Peace UCC.
Submitted by,
Mary Ann McWilliams
Administrative Assistant