UNIVERSITY HILLS ASSOCIATION OF HOMEOWNERS
MONTHLY BOARD MEETING     SEPTEMBER 11, 2007
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The UHAOH monthly board meeting was called to order by president Arnold Martin at 11:33 A.M. in the Presidents' Lounge at the Las Colinas Country Club.
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Board members present were: Arnold Martin, Esther Nachimson, Jim Wells, Charles Schmidt, Martin Kahn, Bob Kitzman, Barbara Hull, and John De Marco. Committee chairpersons present were: Linda Oliver, Pat Andres and Anna Walther.  Susan High, TLCA representative, was present for a short time.  
Board members not present were: Kass Prince, Don Jensen, Don McGee and Nell Anne Hunt. Committee Chair Jennifer Davis was not present.
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Esther Nachimson motioned that the minutes of the last meeting, as posted on the UH website, be accepted as posted.  John De Marco seconded the motion.  The motion carried.
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In the absence of our Treasurer, John presented the UHAOH financial reports dated September 10, 2007 as prepared by Kass Prince. Arnold passed around copies of these reports.  John noted a net income of  $1580 after consideration of the grant from the City of Irving, membership dues collections, and sponsorship donations less all year to date expenses.  John expressed concern that the costs of upcoming Annual Meeting and Deck the Hills events along with anticipated mailings and other incidental expenses may require tapping of the reserve fund prior to year end.  Arnold was of the opinion that this probably would not be necessary as payment for some of these items would not be due until after the New Year.
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Bob Kitzman remarked on several aspects of the P&L report format. He felt that expenses for the Directory should be a separate line item.  Also, it was understood that regular expenses incurred throughout the year should be line items.  Items that are not in themselves regularly incurring expenses should be shown in the P&L statement as other
income, e.g. donations from individuals and advertisement monies from the directory.  
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John De Marco moved to accept the Treasurer's report as submitted.  Barbara Hull seconded the motion.  The motion passed.
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Jim Wells, our Web Master reported on communications with our residents. In this connection, John informed the meeting that The Beacon, our new monthly newsletter compiled and edited by Jim Wells, will be distributed by our faithful Block Captains starting with the September issue. (This is a test being conducted in Area C for delivery to those without an email address. If successful, the other areas of UH will be covered later.) Presently The Beacon is being sent electronically to the approximately sixty five percent of UH residents with E-mail. In order for all of our residents to benefit from this informative publication, hand delivery of the remainder is necessary.  The association does not have the funds for postage and handling. (It would cost an extra $1780 to print and mail them.)  To alleviate the load on our Block Captains all efforts will be made in the delivery process to persuade more residents to register their email addresses with UHAOH.     
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Esther Nachimson expressed the need for more residents to feel comfortable receiving information by electronic methods.  E-mail addresses are closely guarded by our web-master.  E-mails are sent from our website with only the name of the recipient.  They will receive only mail to them and not be bombarded by others' addresses (which could be used by some to compile unwanted mailing lists.)
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Jim Wells advised that he has diligently reworked our  UHAOH home page. Color reproductions of these new pages were passed around to the board and Jim outlined the various enhancements that had been made.  All agreed this was a very commendable effort as the changes were a marked improvement and a most timely update of the previous format with increased content.
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It was noted that the YOM criteria can be seen on the new UH website as well as recent copies of THE BEACON.
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Bob Kitzman questioned why the counter (recorded hits to the site) was missing.  A discussion followed about the kind of information that could be gleaned from evaluation of the data each year. Jim said in the 4 years the website had been up, more than 20,000 hits were collected.  With a clean slate starting each year, over time, this cumulative data could prove useful in the management of our own UHAOH and the marketing of UH property. Such data might also be useful to TLCA, too.  
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Bob Kitzman continued the discussion by reminding us that TLCA encompasses 18 residential villages, all of which would benefit from outstanding marketing practices.  Las Colinas has the advantage of location, location, location; it's one of the most desirable places to live in the metroplex. We should prompt TLCA to produce brochures, both for Los Colinas as a whole and for individual villages, to highlight the advantages of the residential areas.
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Jim stated that it is important to demonstrate that we in University Hills are a mixed, yet cohesive community.   
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In response to a question from John, Jim advised that our Auto-Dialer system is ready and able to provide telephone notice to all the residents in UH for the Annual Meeting in November and the Deck the Hills event in December.
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Charles Schmidt reported on the status of several liaison activities in which he is involved. The extension of the sidewalk in Old Rochelle Park by TLCA is to be implemented soon. Also, Susan High will be seeking approval of the Green Neighbor Program for TLCA at the next meeting of Village Presidents. October will be designated Green Neighbor Month by TLCA with residents encouraged to submit their entries for judging with the awards in November.  The use of the name Green Neighbor, which was originated by Microsoft, is in the process of receiving clearance.
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Arnold requested Charles to substitute for him at the TLCA Presidents' meeting that will be held at the Las Colinas Association offices in the ING building on the last Tuesday of September.  The time is 11:30 am.
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Charles advised that letters will be going out shortly to 60 homes in UH that will become
40 years or older this year, making them eligible for our "Home of Distinction" award.  Nine out of forty six homes qualified for our first HOD award in 2006. We are hoping for enthusiastic participation this year.  There was general agreement the HOD designation would be a great asset in marketing of these special homes.
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Charles Schmidt distributed a list to everyone at the meeting entitled "Possible Actions for Enhancing University Hills Values". This listing comprised 21 recommendations divided into three sections that would require governmental actions, TLCA actions, and UHAOH actions.  Martin Kahn applauded the concept. Pat Andres, our Yard of the Month chair, was excited about the action item relating to the possibility of having a UH garden tour.  She commented that many times the backyards of our homes are lovelier than the front yards. (These areas are not considered in judging YOTM.)
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It was decided to table further discussion until the next board meeting. In this connection Charles asked each and everyone to provide him with their comments beforehand so that a UHAOH consensus might be obtained. Accordingly each board member is requested to review the suggestions, write a critique, and assign an order of importance to the items in the list.  
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Jim Wells offered to compile the comments for Charles and asked everyone send their comments to him by email and to do so ASAP.
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Bob Kitzman had nothing to report on the Neighborhood Network.
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Barbara Hull advised that the electrician has started to review the condition of our lighting displays in preparation for our annual Deck The Hills event. This year the first Monday falls on 3rd December. An assessment will be made of the electrical needs as well and these will be conveyed to TLCA when Barbara and Arnold meet with them.
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Linda Oliver reported 7 more dues-paying members of the association since last month.  Arnold Martin said he is so optimistic about the coming year for an anticipated increase in membership under Linda's leadership. Achieving 100 % participation is difficult if not impossible because some of the homes are leased. But all residents are encouraged to join with us.
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Pat Andres announced the winner of the YOTM for September. Immediately following the meeting there will be a photo op at our September Yard of the Month winner, Douglas and Kathy Hotchkiss of 3901 Cabeza de Vaca.  
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Arnold noted that preparations for compiling and publishing the 2008 UH Directory ought to be commenced. This publication is an important element in fostering a community spirit and sustaining the cohesion of our UH neighborhood. Volunteers to assist in the directory effort are encouraged to come forward so that the next edition can be better than ever.
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Arnold proposed that the next meeting of UHAOH board be on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at the Las Colinas Country Club in the Presidents' Lounge. The time will be 11:30 A.M.  All are welcome. However, if anyone is planning to eat, she/he are kindly requested to at 11:00 A.M to avoid interruption by food service during the meeting.
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There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:58 pm.

Respectfully submitted,  

Esther Nachimson, Secretary