Ascot Homeowners Association
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting -- Monday, November 10, 2003
Prepared by Secretary, Scott Rackham

The November meeting of the Board of Directors convened at the home of Alice and Terry Burns at 7:15 pm on the 10th of November, 2003. All five Board members were present -- Bob Naftal, Lars Okeson, Mike Lee, Alice Burns, and Scott Rackham. Terry Burns was there for part of the meeting.

Engle Homes Fence

Ascot's common grounds north of the tennis court extend along the east side of Bishopsgate Way all the way to the Route 7 right-of-way. When it became apparent, at the beginning of November, that the Engle Homes fence line along route 7 would extend right up to Bishopsgate Way members of the Board contacted Engle to make sure the fence would not encroach on Ascot property. Engle advised us that the fence, and the bike path next to it, where they approach Bishopsgate, are actually on the Route 7 right-of-way and have been approved by the County. The northern boundary of Ascot's common ground is apparently near the bottom of the embankment behind the fence. Bob Naftal will further verify this information and may suggest that removing a few sections of the fence closest to Bishopsgate would enhance safety by opening sightlines between vehicles emerging from Bishopsgate and pedestrians or bike riders using the path next to the fence. (Later in November, the County advised Bob Naftal that a portion of the fence would be removed. As of December 2, it appeared that the bike path will be angled to open onto Bishopsgate several feet farther in from Route 7.)

Ascot Web Site

Sounia Chaney has offered to host the Ascot Web site on a Chainlink Networking Solutions server in exchange for credit for the Chaneys' annual AHOA dues assessment. The Board has accepted her offer and will ask Paul Celluzzi to move the content he has created for the Ascot Web site to the new server and to have the site name www.ascotwalk.org re-directed there. Paul has said he will continue to maintain the site, once it is moved, until another Ascot homeowner volunteers to take it over. Any homeowner interested in maintaining the Web site and keeping its content current should please contact a member of the board. We expect that the new hosting setup will be accomplished by early in December. In the meantime, current minutes and other basic information from the site will be posted at www.rackham.us/ascot/ as well as at www.ascotwalk.org.

Homeowners who have community notices they believe should be posted on the Ascot Web site should contact the Secretary, Scott Rackham. Any who would be willing to have a photo of their home or landscaping displayed in a photo gallery at the Web site (without identification of the address or homeowner's name) are invited to contact Scott to have a photo taken.

Common Grounds

Replacement of trees -- Alice and Terry Burns will arrange for planting of an evergreen to replace the dead spruce that was removed near the basketball court. Terry advised the board that the remaining maples planted in a row in the common ground along Bishopsgate can be expected to double in size within the next few years. They will have more room to grow if the one felled by Isabel is not replaced, so the Board will not have it replaced now, but will look into planting shrubs or grass where the tree used to be. Another maple in that row appears to be leaning. If it, too, falls it will not be immediately replaced.

Bush hogging -- Mike Lee arranged to have the common grounds bush hogged again in the area sloping down to Piney Run to the north of the tennis courts. The Board plans to have the bush hogging repeated three times in 2004. Later this month, the Board will solicit volunteers for a weekend work crew to clean out additional undesirable brush in the northern part of the common ground. A list of proposed objectives for this community work crew follows below the end of these minutes.

Mowing -- When arranging for mowing to resume next spring the Board will have the mowing contractor agree to mow along the east side of Bishopsgate Way, next to the guard rail leading up to Route 7, and also to keep a path mowed in the bush hogged northern section of the common ground to provide walking access to the creek.

Maintenance of leyland cypresses around tennis court -- The cypresses around the outside of the tennis court continue to crowd the tennis court and one another. Bob Naftal will review Association records for quotes and recommendations for trimming the cypresses that were obtained by the Board of two or three years ago. The board will also attempt to verify whether these mature cypresses have a market value for re-sale if some of them were to be removed to thin them out.

Budget and Dues for 2004

Lars Okeson prepared a spreadsheet showing Ascot budget and spending projections for the remainder of 2003 and for 2004. Major unforeseen costs in 2003 were the unanticipated expenses for cleaning up from Isabel, and removing and replacing the dead evergreen near the tennis court. In 2004 the board expects mowing costs to rise some, and is budgeting to bush hog the northern common grounds three times. It is also possible that insurance rates will be higher in 2004. To ensure that these costs are met while still keeping reserve funds, the Board voted to set the assessment for 2004 at $110 per lot, an increase of $5 over the assessment in the past two years. A copy of the Association budget for 2004 will be distributed with these minutes.

Other Administration

Architectural Review -- The board reviewed plans submitted by Russ Shumway for replacement of an existing deck and addition of a patio and walkway to his home at 1206 Bishopsgate Way, and concluded that these are changes that do not require architectural review board approval.

Updated homeowners directory -- An updated homeowners directory is ready for printing and distribution.

Committees -- Homeowners interested in helping out the community through participation on Common Grounds, Web site, or Neighborhood Watch committees are invited to contact any Board member. The board is particularly interesting in ensuring that there is an active Neighborhood Watch effort. We have received word that a purse was stolen from a home in Great Falls this month by a person who came to the door pretending to be a utility worker. A re-activated Community Watch effort could help to pass warnings of ruses like that being used in the area around us.

Next Meeting

The Ascot Homeowners Association Board of Directors will next meet on Monday, December 8, 2003, at the home of Joanne and Scott Rackham.

Respectfully submitted,
Scott Rackham
Secretary

Appendix: Proposed objectives for volunteer work crew for northern portion of common ground

1. Clear the scrub trees and cedars from behind the guard rail at the Piney Run crossing so that the creek can be seen from the road.
2. Do enough cutting on the Piney Run subdivision side of the road to clean up the eyesore of trees fallen on the guard rail.
3. Clear the area along the creek to make it visible and accessible, leaving the largest trees (which need pruning) but removing all of the small scrub trees, cedars, briars, etc.
4. Run all of this debris through chipper and use the mulch to 'pave' a path from the street to the creek and mulch an area along the creek.
5. If time permits, clear the thicket on the side of the hill to expose the rock outcroppings there as a potential landscape feature.
6. Clear scrub trees and bushes from the bush hogged area.