Informal Notes from 2nd Quarter Southwind Community Association Board Meeting

Date: 20 May 2015

Location: Martha Reid Elementary School, Arlington TX

Board Members Present: John Jurik, Brad Baldwin, Ron Erickson, Jon Smith, Hoyt Ferguson and Tony Bloodworth. Mike Vitale was absent. Micaela Kee from Classic Management was present.

Several different topics of interest to the community were discussed. This is a brief synopsis of what was discussed.

Pool opening – Pool opening has been delayed due to back order for required filter covers and excessive rain. Until there are three sunny, rain-free days in a row, the pool cannot be drained to install the filter covers and power wash the inside of the pool to remove residual acid build-up that can likely cause the pool to fail testing and require a shutdown. Draining the pool while ground is saturated may cause serious damage to the inside of pool structure due to uneven pressure.

Front pond fountain status – Discussed how the front pond has been unable to hold water since 2010. Contractors and City of Arlington engineers have stated this is a retaining pond, not engineered to hold water continuously. Drought may have exacerbated ability to hold water. For Southwind to fix would be very costly. Southwind Meadows developer has verbally agreed to fix problem by installing a well to keep water level up.

Easement grass cutting – Jamie Hamilton, Valley Crest site manager, says excessive rains make it difficult to cut easements without equipment getting stuck of causing deep ruts. They will cut the best they can until the weather improves.

Southwind Meadows – Planning and Zoning meeting for approving zoning from commercial to residential for property along Ragland and Hwy 360 was held at same time at Arlington City Council chambers as our Board meeting. Linda Razzano from Classic Property Management attended representing our community. The zoning change was approved.

Following the Board meeting, I called Michael Cucco, the developer for Southwind Meadows, there were three concerns we had on the development :

• We asked if a playground is still being planned for the new community (it was not shown on the plans submitted to the P&Z committee), otherwise our small existing playground would end up being shared with residents of the new community. Mr. Cucco did not have an answer but would get back with us the week of June 1st.

• We asked about their signing a maintenance/reserve fund cost sharing agreement for the electric easement and going east to the Hwy 360 entrance. He indicted their lawyer was looking it over and anticipated it being signed the week of June 1st. This could result in a significant inflow of funds annually to Southwind.

• I asked about the possibility of incorporation of Southwind Meadows into Southwind. Mr. Cucco indicated that it would be difficult at this stage to do so.

These concerns have been relayed to our Southwind lawyer, Riddle & Williams for their advice.

Changing Southwind rules - It was discussed as to how to change Southwind rules as documented in the governing documents. It was explained that it would take 67% majority of all homeowners to change any rules pertaining to covenants (usage of property). It requires 50% approval for changes to rules in Appendix C – Initial Rules of the CC&Rs. As an example, to change rules pertaining to basketball hoops, this is a covenant and requires a 67% approval. The Board also covered the process to be followed for attempting to change a rule.

• A petition will need to be circulated with signatures from residents; if a 67% majority (or 419 households) is required to change a rule, then signatures for half that amount (or 220 residents) is needed to show sufficient interest to incur thetime and cost of a vote. For a 50% majority, 156 signatures on a petition is needed.

• The petition must have the exact wording changes desired to the governing documents; they are legal documents and any changes must be filed with the State of Texas.

• Upon a successful petition, ballots will be printed and sent out to all homeowners, a meeting will be scheduled and held, and votes will be tabulated similar to election of Board members.

Addresses painted on curb – A resident at the Board meeting asked why they received a notice. It was explained that the Association was starting to enforce this rule that had previously not been enforced by the developers. After the meeting, the Board agreed to

A one month moratorium on curb painting violations to allow residents additional time to remove the addresses. Some discussions with residents after the meeting indicated that oven cleaner and a steel brush worked effectively to remove the addresses. Another resident used a power-washer with mixed results.

Irrigation on west side of Southwind – Due to the bankruptcy of the original developer, irrigation along west Ragland, along Collins, and at the Collins pond was never completed. The Board is placing a high priority on finishing this task. Previous bids we have received indicate the potential price tag for this work is about $120K. the Board is looking at scrubbing the reserve fund for excess monies, the Community Enhancement Fees (this is a pot of money that is funded by a $300 fee for every house sold in Southwind), the maintenance cost sharing agreement with Southwind Meadows, and lastly increased assessments or a special assessment as means to funds this improvement. A meeting was held a few days after the Board meeting with five irrigation/landscaping companies to rebid the project and attempt to find the lowest bid.