Ascot Homeowners Association
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting -- Monday, July 12, 2004
Prepared by Secretary, Scott Rackham

The Ascot Homeowners Association Board of Directors met at the home of Debra and Bob Naftal on the 12th of July, 2004, beginning at 7:15 pm. All current Board members -- Bob Naftal, Mike Lee, Lars Okeson, Alice Burns, and Scott Rackham -- attended the meeting. Homeowner Tony Bansal from the Engle subdivision met with the Board at the beginning of the meeting.

Common Grounds

Tony Bansal, the owner of the Engle (Falls Park Estates) home nearest the stop sign where Bishopsgate Way exits to Route 7, spoke with the Board about his interest in having evergreens planted, at his own expense, on the slope between his property and the guard rail along Bishopsgate Way. Mike Lee and Bob Naftal are drafting an agreement to allow evergreens to be planted at Mr. Bansal's expense on Ascot property along the roadway. The agreement will stipulate that Ascot property rights are not affected, and will require that any plantings end far enough before the stop sign as to not create any obstruction of lines of sight that would be a safety concern. Any plantings on the Ascot property would belong to Ascot, although Mr. Bansal would be permitted to care for them.

Lars Okeson reported that he had contacted Sports Systems, the company that did repairs on the tennis court last year, to request an estimate for repairs needed this year. As of the 12th of July, he had not yet received their quotation.

The guidelines that Mike Lee drafted to document mowing and general common grounds maintenance guidelines were incorporated into the two-year grounds maintenance contract negotiated with Sunrise this year. This document and other guidelines the Board believes of lasting value to future Boards and to Ascot homeowners will be posted to the Ascot Web site at http://www.ascotwalk.org.

Piney Run Fallen Trees

Mike Lee has obtained a quotation from Sunrise for cleaning up the unsightly fallen trees near Bishopsgate Way on Piney Run common ground along the creek. Lars Okeson, who has spoken before with Andy Robinson, President of the Piney Run homeowners association, will contact him again to pass on the quote information and suggest that Ascot would be willing to share the cost of having the mess cleaned up.

Budget

Lars Okeson reviewed current year-to-date and forecast expense projections with the Board. Due to higher than anticipated grounds care costs, it appears that total expenditures for the current year will be several hundred dollars higher than budgeted. On the other hand, depending on how much turnover of homes occurs this summer, there may be income from fees for homeowner information packets and savings on other budget items sufficient to cover the excess. There are ample general reserve funds on hand. Lars is preparing an updated current-year budget forecast that will be posted prior to the next Board meeting to the Ascot Web site at http://www.ascotwalk.org.

Scheduling for General Meeting and Election of new Board

The Board agreed to plan the general meeting of the Association, at which the principal scheduled agenda item will be election of Board members for the 2004-2005 term, for after Labor Day, when Ascot homeowners can be expected to have returned from summer vacations. The meeting has been scheduled for Monday, the 13th of September, at the Grange in Great Falls.

Not all current Board members have decided whether to offer their services again for the coming year, but at least two members of the Board prefer not to run for re-election. The Board asks that any Ascot homeowner willing to serve on the Ascot Homeowners Association Board of Directors for the coming year please contact a current Board member to have your name put on the ballot for the September election of Board members. Although candidates may also be nominated at the general meeting, the Board would like to distribute a list of candidates along with minutes from the August Board meeting.

Homeowners may also propose additional agenda items for discussion at the general meeting, and should feel free to contact any Board member to nominate a neighbor as a candidate for next year's Board.

Board members may be contacted by email to the Ascot Board address, as posted at the Web site, or at their individual addresses and telephone numbers as printed in the Ascot community directory.

Fall Picnic

The Board was advised that an ad hoc committee of Ascot homeowners was putting together plans for a picnic on the common grounds for sometime in September. In the interest of bringing the community together, the Board voted to contribute up to $200 toward costs of a community-wide picnic gathering.

Minutes Approved

The minutes for the May meeting of the Board were approved as published.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Ascot Board will be held at the home of Alice and Terry Burns, beginning at 7:15 pm on Monday, August 9th.

Respectfully submitted,
Scott Rackham
Secretary