UNIVERSITY HILLS ASSOCIATION OF HOMEOWNERS
PROVISIONAL POSTING, PRIOR TO EDITING FOR
MONTHLY BOARDMEETING
FINALIZED VERSION
APRIL 3, 2007
The meeting was called to order by president, Arnold Martin at 11: 31 A.M. at
the Las Colinas Country Club.
Board members present were: Arnold Martin, Don Jensen, Esther Nachimson,Don
McGee, Jim Wells, Charles Schmidt, Barbara Hull and John DeMarco. Alsopresent
were committee chairs Linda Oliver and Pat Andres. Chandra Muenster was also
present. Board members not present were: Kass Prince, Martin Kahn, Nell Anne
Hunt,and Bob Kitzman. Spring Fling Chairperson Jennifer Davis was not able to
attend.
The minutes of the last meeting in March were passed out and read. John DeMarco
motioned to accept the minutes as corrected. Pat Andres seconded the motion. The
motion passed. They are posted on the UHAOH website.
In the absence of Kass Prince, Assistant Treasurer Don Jensen passed out the
treasurer's report. Don announced that our net income is ahead of the same time
last year. Total assets are $29,616. The treasurer's report was approved as
submitted.
Our hardworking WebMaster, Jim Wells, reported on the progress of the new
auto-dialer. Since this service started the manufacturer has made six
modifications to the software at our request. Jim is mostly pleased with the
results. Our homeowners association is the first one in Irving to institute this
type of communication.
Jim is also working on a monthly newsletter for UH entitled The Beacon. It will
be sent electronically to all University Hills homeowners by e-mail. Included
will be points of interest from the monthly board meeting. If there is any
neighborhood news that would be of interest to our readers, please feel free to
send it to Jim via e-mail at wellsj@universityhills.net. The first issue will be
sent out later this week.
Chairperson Linda Oliver sent reminders to 166 residents about payment of their
homeowners dues. To date, we have 249 paid members and our goal is to achieve at
least 300 for 2007. Linda mentioned the possibility of a
contest next year with the block captains to see which area of UH, A, B or C,
can attain the greatest percentage of paid UHOAH members. This will be discussed
at a later date.
A question was raised by John as to the exact number of homes in UH to which
dues notices were sent. At first glance it would appear that the number of paid
(249) and the number of second notices (166) did not agree with the total number
of residential properties in UH (ca. 485). In other words did the number of
addresses reflect the number of lots with and without homes, or just the homes?
Jim said the directory, which is in the
process of being finalized, recognizes both empty lots and all homes. A motion
to send notices to empty lot owners was made by Don McGee and seconded by
Esther. The motion passed. Another motion was made by Don McGee to count the
addresses. Esther seconded the motion. The motion passed. Charles Scmidt offered
to report back to the meeting on the number of addresses in UH as he has access
to TLCA plot plan for purposes of the curb numeral painting project.
Charles reminded everyone there will be no garbage pick up by the city this
coming Good Friday (April 6th). As per stadndard practice Charles will post our
UHAOH signs to this effect as well.
Charles advised the house-numbering project, partially funded by a grant from
the City of Irving, is scheduled to take place during the week of the 28th of
April, weather permitting. There will be 40 scouts each accompanied by 40 adult
leaders. The numbers are to be painted on the curb in the center of the lot. The
colors are University Hills Green on a white background. Don Jensen asked about
procedures in case a homeowner had any
concern about the painting. Pat Andres assured him that questions on this day
will be directed by the scouts to Charles &/or Pat for the clarification of any
issues.
Charles also reported on the Green House Program he was developing in
conjunction with TLCA. The board is very enthusiastic about this. Charles
circulated a draft of the Green Neighbor Check List with suggestions as to how
each homeowner can help preserve the environment. Charles suggested there be a
contest with two categories, e.g. Green Neighbor and Very Green Neighbor,
depending upon the number of check list items fulfilled. This will be discussed
at a later date.
Charles also advised that UHAOH's proposal to enter the Keep Irving Beautiful
contest for the Ben Carpenter Vision Award was heartily endorsed by TLCA. In
fact, TLCA has taken over responsiblity for the entry and all 17 villages in
TLCA have been included. Charles has been working with Susan High of TLCA and
other village reps on the submission. He passed around a notebook containing the
entry documents. The board was very
impressed with its scope and quality. Our UHAOH is fast becoming one the premier
homeowners association in the metroplex and possibly the state. The Irving
winners will be announced shortly, then followed by state and national contests
with the final winner to be announced in November.
Charles and Arnold mentioned that ICTN have taken interest in the 40 Year Homes
of Distinction Program. They are planning to do a feature on this project as an
example for other areas in Irving. The three residences on Coronado (out of the
nine homes awarded) are the ones most likely to be high-lighted on this TV show.
On behalf of Jennifer Davis, Arnold advised that a postal card is being mailed
to all UH announcing the time and date of our upcoming Spring Fling on Saturday
May 12th and to remind our residents to save the date. Jim Wells provided an
up-to-date listing for this mailing. Also, Jennifer Davis will be hosting a
planning meeting for the Spring Fling on April 4th date at 6:00 PM at her home.
Charles noted that KIB are willing to provide
a Blue Bag promotion at the Spring Fling with blue bag tattoos for the kids, if
we so desire. Barbara Hull offered to bring the application form to Jennifer for
her consideration at the Spring Fling planning meeting.
In the absence of Bob Kitzman Arnold was happy to announce that all of the block
captain slots are filled to date. John reported that the directory is almost
ready for publication pending some editorial decisions to be made. It will be
bigger and better as new pages for important telephone numbers, information
about trash pickup, watering schedules, our 40 Year Home Recognition Award, and
a table of contents are being added.
Advertizing is still being accepted.
Pat Andres has contacted Calloways Nursery and they have agreed to give each
winner of the Yard of the Month a $50 gift certificate. A picture will be taken
with a Calloways sign in the yard along with the YOM sign This photo will be
forwarded to their headquarters. The Gift certificate will be forwarded to
winner in 5-10 days.
Pat noted the YOM has been on-going for 3 years. Pat and Charles feel that past
winners should be eligible to win again. This was the consensus of opinion by
the board. No YOM winner for April was available as yet because they had been
unable to contact the homeowners who were picked. The winner will be announced
later this month after they have permission from the winner to placea sign in
their yard. This is reminder that in order to win the YOM, the resident must be
a member of the association. No photo op today.
Pat and Charles said that the winners of the Deck the Hills contest should be
presented with a certificate for winning in their category.
Barbara Hull mentioned that although it may be early she already has been giving
thought to some enhancements for the annual Deck The Hills event, such as having
instrumentalists playing some musical pieces in addition to the Farine Childrens
Choir. Also, some sort of a sing-along might be done with the proper equipment.
She and will be developing these into more definitive proposals for our
consideration.
Arnold commented that the wire stakes currently being used for our event signs
were too flimsy. Stonger supports are needed as the signs almost flap in the
wind. Arnold and John will get together on this.
Don Jensen asked to bring a member of the Rotary Club to explain about their
flag program they sponsor in conjunction with the Boy Scout troops in Irving.
This will be put on the agenda for next month.
John stated there have been leash law violations recently in UH and asked for
comment. Arnold suggested that a comprehensive copy of the City of Irving leash
laws be included in our first newsletter so there will be no misunderstanding of
the liability of the pet owner in case a pet hurts someone.
Arnold Martin motioned to adjourn the meeting. Don Jensen seconded the motion.
The motion passed.
The next meeting will be Tuesday,May 1, 2007 at 11:30 at the LCCC in the
President's Lounge.
Respectfully submitted, EstherNachimson, Secretary.