Meadowbrook Farms/Clarkson Estates
Board of Trustee Meeting Minutes
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Chesterfield City Hall
Call to order
The meeting was called to order after the trustees introduced themselves to the room at 7:31pm. Carol Fine (President) was not in attendance. All other board members were present: Linda Walp (Treasurer), Lisa Monachella (Secretary), John Thompson, and Steve Orlich. This was the first public meeting for John and Steve since being elected. Lisa Monachella stepped in for Carol to conduct the meeting. Fifteen households were in attendance along with councilman Dan Hurt and Mike Moore. A motion to approve the October 27, 2022 meeting minutes was made. It was seconded by a board member and a homeowner. The approved minutes will be posted to the subdivision website.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Linda Walp led the discussion. Linda prepared the Income and Disbursement Statement for the month of December 2022, the Income Statement for the 2022 year, and the Cash Position for 2022. An owner asked questions about the assessment increase. Linda summarized what was presented at the July 2022 meeting on the need for the increased assessment and the increase will not cover the projected expenses for 2023.The information presented was reiterated by another homeowner as well. A question was asked regarding the capital account. Linda explained while the money is all in the same bank account at Lindell Bank, the dollar amounts are kept separate in the financial reports.
Currently we have no outstanding assessments. There are some homes on payment plans to catch up on their outstanding assessments. An owner made a recommendation to start to get people ready for an increase next year. At this time, a few homeowners voiced an opinion for an increase in communication i.e more frequent newsletters. Lisa Monachella stated the Board would like to do that but with being over budget, it is hard to justify the cost. Lisa then suggested more items including the newsletter could be sent out by email. If we can get more homeowners to provide email addresses, the board would be happy to send more information out.
H/PIA Update
Steve Orlich led this discussion. Steve explained we have had three requests for deck replacements, a fence replacement and a pool/outside living space addition. We had a situation of a home remodeler dumping construction materials in common ground. The materials are being cleaned up but it also appears the owner replaced/modified the deck without approval from the Board. Then we had a home, who again started alterations on the outside and did not follow the Indentures of getting the approval. It appears this owner has sent in the proper paperwork to be reviewed.
Social Media
Lisa Monachella announced to the room that a request for a neighborhood Facebook page was made by a homeowner. The Board agreed this would need to be researched to see how and what would be involved. Since this would be a representation of the neighborhood, the Board mentioned that rules would need to be implemented. The Board informed the room according to the indentures (#3 of Article IV), the Board has the ability to create a rulebook. It was mentioned since issues have been arising with how our common ground is being used, that a rulebook does not seem like a bad idea. No one in the room objected to the idea. It was also mentioned the Board should look into using the website more to post information.
Landscape Committee
Lisa Monachella started a discussion on our common ground and its maintenance. She asked for volunteers. It was explained that with the current financial situation, finding areas to decrease spending is helpful.
A couple of homeowners on a street with an island approached the Board asking to take care of the landscaping. Currently there is none. It is just “grass”. The Board agreed to look at plans for the island since the owners said they would take care of all the cost. The same owners asked about running electrical since at some point Chesterfield will be redoing the street. The Board said no to this since it would just increase the electrical billing. Again, this would be hard to agree to when the subdivision is struggling to breakeven. Dan Hurt did mention he has seen neighborhoods go solar. Dan stated Claymont Woods has solar. The homeowners will email plans to the Board for review. The Board did not guarantee an approval but asked the homeowners to keep maintenance in mind because if they move the next set of owners might not keep the same maintenance.
Home violations
Lisa Monachella started the discussion by discussing the vacant home situation. It was reiterated that if anyone sees anything in the neighborhood to let the Board know. The Board also mentioned they would be sending notification first to homeowners about Indenture violations or Chesterfield violations. The Board felt it was more neighborly to notify neighbors of Chesterfield violations rather than the first communication of it being Chesterfield. No one objected to this. Councilman Dan Hurt did say Trustees can report issues for their subdivision. It was reiterated that having a rulebook can help with what is expected within the subdivision and in turn help property values.
Councilman Dan Hurt and Mike Moore
We were provided with information on the Valley, Gateway Studios and Chesterfield Mall. Traffic is a big concern but it appears this is being taken into consideration with the new builds. One homeowner asked about Spirit airport. Currently, there are no plans for expansion.
Dan Hurt specifically asked for homeowner opinion on golf carts and chickens. Chesterfield residents have been approaching the city council to allow golf carts to be used on subdivision streets and to allow chicken in residential backyards. Currently, these are allowed but under certain circumstances. Local residents want the regulations to be loosened. The homeowners at the meeting all objected to any changes concerning these situations. It was heavily voiced that owners did not want golf carts on the roads or chickens in backyards.
A homeowner asked about what Chesterfield policies there were on AirB&Bs. Mike Moore stated these are allowed as long as they are not considered short-term rentals. This means a person is required to be a resident for a minimum of 30 days. Mike recommends adding this to our indentures if we are concerned about homeowners using their property in this manor.
Homeowner Forum
Due to the amount of information Dan and Mike provided, we did not get to this part of the meeting. However, Lisa Monachella stayed after to take down issues people had. The main theme of these issues is houses not being properly maintained.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:59pm.
Submitted by Lisa Monachella