Meadowbrook Farm / Clarkson Estates Subdivision
Board of Trustees HOA Annual Meeting Minutes
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Chesterfield City Hall
Call Meeting to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm. All board members were present: Brad Barks (Treasurer), Carol Fine (President), Lisa Monachella (Secretary), and John Thompson. All board members introduced themselves. Motion to approve the July minutes was made, seconded and approved. Carol introduced Mike Moore and Dan Hurt in the audience. Carol explained how the evening was going to proceed. One paper ballot was provided listing all items to be voted on for the evening. Each item would be discussed, then a pause to mark the ballot and then on to the next topic.
Trustee open position
Carol’s term was up, and we had an open position with one year remaining due to Mark stepping down in the summer. The only candidates running were Carol Fine and Peter Clark. Due to the exact number of candidates to open positions, voting took place to determine who received the two-year position versus the three-year position. Carol provided a brief overview of herself, followed by Peter. Pause took place to mark ballots.
Amendment to Incorporate
This discussion was opened by Lisa Monachella with a brief discussion on why the board is in favor. Top three points were made. First, becoming incorporated provides governance to the board. Currently there are no state laws governing HOAs. Second, this can reduce the legal liability to individual homeowners for incidents on common ground. Third, this can provide tax exempt income status to the association. It was made clear; this vote is to have an amendment to allow current or future boards to make the decision to incorporate. We were not voting to incorporate. Some owners asked for negatives in the situation. This was difficult to answer for the Board as the Board really felt it was all pros in the decision. A homeowner brought up the cost of all this. We explained this was part of the cost the lawyer stated for ultimately updating the indentures. Brad voices his position regarding the tax change of incorporating and stated this was his idea. Pause took place to mark ballots.
Rules for the Common Ground
Carol briefly reviewed the rules created. A homeowner asked if it was all or nothing. It was clarified that the vote was for the rules as written. There was some confusion on what your vote meant. This was clarified and explained why the vote was written is due to the way the indentures describe how rules can or cannot be implemented. Pause took place to mark ballots.
2025 Budget
Brad went over the spreadsheet, summarizing the budget. A question arose on the capital budget, specifically what was done at the entrances. Another question was with regard to unpaid assessments as it appeared the number was going up. The lien process was explained and the changes the courts have made to this process. All of the proactive expenditures were reviewed as well. Homeowners were wanting to know how the Board is being proactive with maintenance issues in the subdivision. The assessment is being lowered from $280 to $255. Pause took place to mark ballots.
Voting
The Board asked for two resident volunteers to collect and tally the ballots. While the two residents tallied the votes in the back of the room, the council members for Ward 3 spoke and took questions from the audience.
Council member update
Mike Moore spoke about the islands showing up on the sides of the main roads in Chesterfield. These are being placed by MoDot and St. Louis County since they are on County roads. St. Louis County made the decision to place these after looking at the vehicle accident data from Chesterfield. The City of Chesterfield was not made aware this was taking place. Dan Hurt reviewed the mall situation. Demo is beginning and new structure is expected to start in Spring 2026.It will be multiuse. There again was a concern about traffic and the effect on the area. Dan reiterated this was also a concern of the council members. They feel it has been addressed properly. A homeowner brought up a concern about flooding on their street. Dan stated while Chesterfield cannot do anything about it, they can help in getting the right people to help out. Dan said to send a video to the HOA trustees and to the Public Works department. Public Works would reach out to the contract they have.
Election Results
The Amendment to allow incorporation passed. The Common Grounds Rules stand. The 2025 Budget passed. Carol Fine receives the three-year term.
2024 Board Accomplishments
Carol reviewed the various communication modalities implemented, all of the common ground clean-up including tree removal, the start of investing with CDs, upgrades to both the entrances of the neighborhood, the start of the indenture revision process and the professional development of the 2024 trustees. The board also reviewed 29 home improvement applications which is a great indication of homeowners wanting to improve their properties.
Homeowner forum
Many homeowners asked questions throughout the meeting. This is encouraged by the Board.
The meeting concluded at 9:00 pm.