News

An Open Letter to the HOA Board

Earlier today a resident of Sunflower Gardens sent an open letter to the HOA Board which can be found here.

The letter suggests that an informal and open get-together of the neighborhood is needed to create the consensus that will be required to enact whatever changes the members of the association want to make to the Bylaws and CC&Rs.  It also makes the argument that a fully inclusive, open, and well documented process is more likely to generate the three-fourths majority required than an exclusionary, secret, and vaguely documented process is.

Board Meeting Summary, August 2, 2017

The board has published something called a summary of the August 2, 2017 meeting.  It can be found here.

It is more of an agenda than a summary.  For instance, it states that:

“Cathy Larson highlighted the Board’s current thinking on proposed changes to our governing documents, which include several items recommended in the ad‐hoc CC&R committee report.”

But there is no mention of what the Board’s thinking is or which items of the Committee’s report have been included (or excluded).  So we are made aware that the Board is thinking but we do not know what those thoughts are.  The summary continues:

“Elements related to the more informal Standing Rules were also discussed.”

Again, we are left in the dark about which rules were discussed and the nature of the discussion.  Further in the summary it says:

“The Design Committee submitted a written report on the issues it has been treating.”

But the summary says nothing about what issues were treated and the written report is not provided.

Recently the Board has posted a Newsletter where a description of some (and perhaps all?) of the Design Committee’s recently treated issues are summarized.  That Newsletter can be found here.

 

 

Board Meeting Highlights, May 9, 2017

Report of the Bylaws and CC&Rs Committee

The board has not completed their review of the report.  Their plan is to collect and compile their individual comments and get back with the Committee when that is done.  As a result there was no specific feedback on the five proposed changes.  There was, however, discussion on the process suggestions made by the Committee with the following results:

The idea of a separate information-only meeting to review and discuss the proposed changes with all members was supported.  The Board agreed that it also makes sense to have a waiting period between the time final wording is settled and the vote to approve (or not) is taken.  The Board asked for the Committee’s ideas on what should happen if the informational meeting provides input that makes significant changes to the proposed changes.  Similarly the Board asked for the Committee’s ideas on what should happen if floor amendments are made at the meeting where the vote is to take place.

The current thinking of the Board is to hold the vote on the five proposed changes at the next Annual Meeting as there is nothing in the proposed changes that requires immediate attention.  Several Board members noted that the informational meeting will need to be held sufficiently in advance of the Annual Meeting to allow for the waiting period (currently proposed to be 14 days) and any contingencies such as legal review or rework that may be necessary given the results of the informational meeting.

Design Committee

Tim Callahan reported success in getting Comcast to fix the mangled metal box that has been an eyesore on Sunflower Drive for the past many months.

Replacement of outside lamps and repairs to shutters continues to be problematic and Tim reviewed the current thinking of the Design Committee on these issues.

Tim also shared with the board a draft of a letter to be used when the Design Committee determines a member is not maintaining their property in accordance with the required standards.

Other

The Annual Picnic will be at the home of Susan and Charlie Wier, September 23, 2017, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.

Possible topics for the next Newsletter include the picnic, the Drainage Committee, outside light fixtures, power washing and the password for the HOA website.

The next board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday July 18, 2017.

What do you think about Tiny Homes?

Nik Summers wants to know!

red tiny house

Nikolas Summers of Indiana University is conducting a survey to assess Neighborhood attitudes towards Tiny Houses.  Want to voice your opinion?  You can, at:

[link to survey]

Need more information to help you decide?  Please read on.

What is a tiny home?  Definition:  Small, mostly stand-alone, structures, typically between 100 and 400 square feet, on wheels or foundations, that are intended for permanent occupancy, and that include working bathroom and kitchen amenities .  [Click here for additional background information on tiny homes]

Looking for Bloomington specific information on Tiny Homes?  Visit [Developing and Implementing an Affordable Housing Strategy for Bloomington] and scroll down to item #2 under the heading “The City Administration’s Affordable Housing Strategy Going Forward.”

Want to reach out to Nik directly, please see contact info in [email from Nik].