Fireblight is destroying our flowering ornamental trees

Fireblight infected tree

Fire blight is a serious tree disease. It is caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. The disease can attack some 75 species of plants of the rose family.

It has attacked our aging ornamental fruit trees. These trees are 40 years old, and most ornamentals have a lifespan of 25 to 35 years. So our ornamentals are old and more susceptible to disease. Infected, dead and dying trees are being removed. Our board has not revealed how many are being removed.  The board didn't mention this during the annual meeting. Nothing at all in the quarterly newsletters, which were six times a year until I left the board.  "Nothing ever to report at BLMH" I guess.....

This year the disease has been noticeable as entire branches on trees have died, leaving misshapen, ugly trees.

The bacteria overwinters in infected bark and is spread by splashing rain, dew, wind and insects. It spreads rapidly in moist, warm weather, especially during bloom. If infected trees are not removed, the disease will continue to spread.

While treatment is possible with healthy trees, it must be done aggressively and continuously. Treatment can be labor intensive on a large property such as ours and can therefore be expensive.

Fire Blight or fireblight disease is named for the scorched appearance of infected leaves. It is a destructive bacterial disease which is found on apples, pears and other members of the rose family. The disease enters the tree at the tips of the branches and then travels down the stems causing dieback. It attacks soft new growth first, so the dieback can be noticed at the top of the plant. Most infected leaves and branch tips wilt rapidly turn brown or black; the leaves die but do not drop off. Trees will also develop reddish water soaked lesions on the bark. On warm days, these lesions ooze an orange-brown liquid. Fire blight kills blossoms, shoots, limbs and entire trees.

This is what one of these flowering ornamentals looked like in Spring: 

Healthy ornamental tree blooming in the Spring

A few more dead and dying ornamental trees which will be removed:

Fireblight infected tree

Fireblight infected tree

Copyright (c) 2019 Norman Retzke "All Rights Reserved"

Original material:  http://briarcliffelakes.blogspot.com/

New Illinois Law Requires Smoke Detector Upgrade

Photo Credit: Kidde Fire Safety

"A new Illinois law that requires residents to upgrade smoke detectors will go into effect in 2023. Margaret Vaughn, government affairs director with Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, said all dwellings in Illinois have been required to have smoke detectors since 1988, but residents are now being told to use detectors that come with built-in batteries that last up to 10 years."


https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/new-illinois-law-requires-residents-to-upgrade-smoke-alarms/article_3224e318-f419-11e9-a879-73234db0b3f0.html


Kidde Website: Disclaimer, providing this is not an endorsement or recommendation of any product.

https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/

HOA Meeting October 2019

Well, we had an "Annual Meeting" in September and the board was not elected due to a failure to achieve a quorum of owners. According to management a newly scheduled election would be in November. There are two agendas for October on the official HOA website. This is the page which one sees on going to the site. Apparently the third and fourth lines (underlined by me) are in error because the actual agenda on the "Association Board - Meeting Agendas" Tab does not have those lines.

I asked management via email what "board" would be attending as none had been elected. I asked via two different emails:
My question: "Who is on the board and signing checks?"
Management's response: "I will pass this along to the Board for next weeks meeting."

I did not attend the October meeting.  Why bother?

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING AGENDA

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION 

October 10, 2019 7:00pm Wheaton Community Center 1777 S. Blanchard

I. Approval of the September 12, 2019 Meeting Minutes

II. Treasurer's Report 

III. Work Orders

IV. Sales Report

V. Correspondence

        a. 1 architectural request

        b. 6 emails from owners 

VI. Old Business

        a. Fireplace legal lawsuit (update)

        b. Reserve study (pending)

VII. New Business (action items)

        a. Landscaping proposals (tree pruning, removals, mapping)

        b. Proposed 2020 budget

VIII. Committee Reports

        a. Rules & Regulations 

        b. Architectural & Maintenance

        c. Newsletter

        d. Landscaping 

        e. Welcome

        f. Water Main

IX. Homeowners' Comments

X. Executive Session 

XI. Adjournment

Budgets - What the previous Board did not want to tell you

(Click on "comments" above to leave a comment)

Boards are supposed to take a number of factors into consideration when constructing annual budgets and setting owner fees. At our association we have had a handful of board members who steadfastly insist that there must be annual fee increases. Period.

This has led to some battles on the board in recent years and is one of the reasons I am no longer on the board.

So what should board members consider when constructing budgets and levying fees?

1. Identified cost increases for the following year.
2. Identified Reserve increases for the following year, in accordance with the reserve study.
3. Condition of reserves.
4. Amount of projected surplus at the time the budget is constructed.
5. Financial condition of the unit owners (this in accordance with the Illinois Condominium Act).

When I was a board member I researched possible utility increases, contract changes, the condition of reserves and expenses projected 5-years into the future.  I also closely monitored the number of owners who were seriously in arrears and constructed 70 consecutive monthly spread sheets which I provided to the entire board.

In fact, the association has been funding reserves at a higher rate than that indicated by the reserve study and has been running Operations & Maintenance surpluses for a number of years. The recent annual surpluses are noted in the chart at the beginning of the post. 

Here is the exact text of the Illinois Condominium Act pertaining to the budgets and  I have highlighted the text that the board chose to ignore when constructing the budget in October 2018, and which the president at the time has chosen to ignore each and every year that she and I served on the board. Of course these issues were discussed:

(765 ILCS 605/9) (from Ch. 30, par. 309) Sec. 9(c) Budget and reserves:

"(2) All budgets adopted by a board of managers on or after July 1, 1990 shall provide for reasonable reserves for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance for repair or replacement of the common elements. To determine the amount of reserves appropriate for an association, the board of managers shall take into consideration the following: (i) the repair and replacement cost, and the estimated useful life, of the property which the association is obligated to maintain, including but not limited to structural and mechanical components, surfaces of the buildings and common elements, and energy systems and equipment; (ii) the current and anticipated return on investment of association funds; (iii) any independent professional reserve study which the association may obtain; (iv) the financial impact on unit owners, and the market value of the condominium units, of any assessment increase needed to fund reserves; and (v) the ability of the association to obtain financing or refinancing."


Here are the board members who ignored the budget surplus in 2018 and voted for a fee increase during the budget meeting of 2018.These are in descending years of service on the board. The first three have a combined 40+ years on the boards of this association:

1. President: Sheryl Bailey
2. Vice-President: John Scudder
3. Welcoming Director: Sondra Seery
4. Rules & Regulations: Mary Prendiville
5. Newsletter: Cara Calvo
6. Treasurer: Andrea Winship

What did the board of 2018 do with the projected surplus?

The October 2018 letter which the board instructed management to send to owners advised owners of about $20,000 in cost increases for 2019 and advised that because of this a 1.88% fee increase was necessary.  The letter ignored the overall budget surplus of about $124,000, although looking at the budget worksheet provided to owners, it was there. Which is how I am aware of this.

A handful of owners attended an association meeting and "testified" that a small increase in fees was okay by them. Apparently they were testifying that the fee increase was fine because they could afford it.  However, the board did not present to the owners the fact that 24 owners were seriously in arrears and delinquent by an amount totaling $19,564. The board conveniently ignored the plight of these owners. In fact, as of August  2018 a total of 41 owners were past due, some by small dollar amounts.

Choosing to ignore the seriously delinquent owners seems to be a breach of board duties, in my humble opinion.

What did the board decide to do with the surplus? We don't know because owners were not informed. The Illinois Condominium Act provides a board with options, as follows.

(765 ILCS 605/9) (from Ch. 30, par. 309) Sec. 9(c) Budget and reserves:

"5) At the end of an association's fiscal year and after the association has approved any end-of-year fiscal audit, if applicable, if the fiscal year ended with a surplus of funds over actual expenses, including budgeted reserve fund contributions, then, to the extent that there are not any contrary provisions in the association's declaration and bylaws, the board of managers has the authority, in its discretion, to dispose of the surplus in one or more of the following ways: (i) contribute the surplus to the association's reserve fund; (ii) return the surplus to the unit owners as a credit against the remaining monthly assessments for the current fiscal year; (iii) return the surplus to the unit owners in the form of a direct payment to the unit owners; or (iv) maintain the funds in the operating account, in which case the funds shall be applied as a credit when calculating the following year's annual budget. If the fiscal year ends in a deficit, then, to the extent that there are not any contrary provisions in the association's declaration and bylaws, the board of managers has the authority, in its discretion, to address the deficit by incorporating it into the following year's annual budget. If 20% of the unit owners of the association deliver a petition objecting to the action under this paragraph (5) within 30 days after notice to the unit owners of the action, the board of managers shall call a meeting of the unit owners within 30 days of the date of delivery of the petition. At the meeting, the unit owners may vote to select a different option than the option selected by the board of managers. Unless a majority of the total votes of the unit owners are cast at the meeting to reject the board's selection and select a different option, the board's decision is ratified."

Why do fees increase even when budget surpluses exist?

For a period of years three entrenched board members voted as a group for fee increases. However, during the budget meeting in October  2015 one of this group swung over to the other side, and so there was a majority vote for a fee decrease.  However, the ringleader of the "fee increase" contingent complained at the next meeting and stated the dissenting board member had changed his mind.   That ringleader also accused the finance committee of "malfeasance" in an attempt to discredit the vote of three board members.

This went to the Association attorney and in a 3-page letter to the board the attorney stated "At this point in time, based upon the information conveyed to me, it appears to be that the 2016 budget is properly in place."

I always broached delinquent owners during the budget discussions I led or was a part of.  During one memorable budget battle one board member stated "We don't cater to the lowest common denominator."

However, permanent damage had been done. I no longer trusted the ringleader in any situation and I decided I would complete the tasks I set out to do and would then depart the board. In September 2018 I did just that.

Recently one of the board who voted for the 2019 fee increase and should have known better asked me why I was being “an asshole”. Now you know one of my reasons. ===========================

(c) N. Retzke 2019 "all rights reserved"

Failure to Elect a board

Official Proxy Ballot

A Quorum was not reached during the Association election September 26, 2019
The failure to reach a quorum was announced by the Judges of the election (management and one owner as ballot count witness). This occurred because insufficient owners voted to make the election a valid one. According to the by-laws of the association 20% of the owners constitute a quorum. It would require 68 votes to achieve a quorum from 336 units (0.2 x 336 = 67.2 units).

Prior to the election, these were the 2018 board members, whose term  expired on September 26, 2019; This is per Management letter to owners prior to the election. Mr. Scudder was not present during the election proceedings.  At least one of the following was not elected and was an appointee by the board:

1. Sheryl Bailey (former President and Maintenance)
2. John Scudder (former Vice President and Landscaping)
3. Andrea Winship (former Treasurer)
4. Cara Calvo (former Newsletter)
5. Mary Prendiville (former Rules & Regulations)
6. Sondra Seery (former Secretary and Welcoming)
7. Nancy Walters (former Recording Secretary)

Does the association have a legal board?   This raises some questions. During the meeting the "President" stated there will be another election attempt in November. Here are a few questions for the interim:

1. Who is signing checks?
2. Who is conducting critical business and making decisions. Management is authorized for up the $500. All other decisions require board input. Of course, many things are on "automatic" but will critical business functions overseen by the board cease?

Furthermore the official governing documents (Declarations recorded on 10/27/2014) state that Three board members are to be elected in even years and three board members in even years. 2019 being an odd year, that means that three board members will be elected:

Article III, Board of Directors Section 1 (a):

"At each annual meeting of the Unit Owners thereafter, the Unit Owners shall elect a large the Entire Board for the forthcoming year. In all elections for members of the Board or each Unit Owner shall be entitled to vote on a cumulative basis, and the candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected. Members of the Board shall serve without compensation for a term of two (2) years, or until their successors are elected, three directors to be elected on even numbered years, and  four directors on odd numbered years. The Board shall meet at least four times annually. Board members and officers may succeed themselves." 

The elected Board can appoint other members, per the Illinois Condominium Act:

"(765 ILCS 605/18) (from Ch. 30, par. 318) Sec. 18. Contents of bylaws. The bylaws shall provide for at least the following: (a)(1) The election from among the unit owners of a board of managers, the number of persons constituting such board, and that the terms of at least one-third of the members of the board shall expire annually and that all members of the board shall be elected at large; if there are multiple owners of a single unit, only one of the multiple owners shall be eligible to serve as a member of the board at any one time;........"

Filling Vacancies per the Illinois Condominium Act:
"(13) the method of filling vacancies on the board which shall include authority for the remaining members of the board to fill the vacancy by two-thirds vote until the next annual meeting of unit owners or for a period terminating no later than 30 days following the filing of a petition signed by unit owners holding 20% of the votes of the association requesting a meeting of the unit owners to fill the vacancy for the balance of the term, and that a meeting of the unit owners shall be called for purposes of filling a vacancy on the board no later than 30 days following the filing of a petition signed by unit owners holding 20% of the votes of the association requesting such a meeting, and the method of filling vacancies among the officers that shall include the authority for the members of the board to fill the vacancy for the unexpired portion of the term;"


Notification of owners per the Illinois Condominium Act:
"(6) that written notice of any membership meeting shall be mailed or delivered giving members no less than 10 and no more than 30 days notice of the time, place and purpose of such meeting except that notice may be sent, to the extent the condominium instruments or rules adopted thereunder expressly so provide, by electronic transmission consented to by the unit owner to whom the notice is given, provided the director and officer or his agent certifies in writing to the delivery by electronic transmission;"

The following is the published agenda for the meeting, from the official association website. There was no formal time allotted  for owners to address the board or candidates.  Several owners attempted to do so, but the President declared the meeting over. Thereafter several informal discussions occurred between some owners and one or two board members. One board member stated that I was "an asshole".  But I'm not the one who misled owners and raised fees even though the budget indicated a $124,000 surplus was projected for 2018. Nor am I the one who stonewalled and delayed the water main project since 2018 ultimately at great cost to owners ($500,000 spent to date by management and stated so to the owners during the September 5 meeting). Nor am I the one who failed to preserve Lakecliffe in 2019, or replace several failing driveways, or seriously deteriorated garage floors,  etc. This per survey with management in 2018. In my opinion those people are the "assholes".

Official agenda of the annual meeting:

Welcome to Briarcliffe Lakes Manor Homes!

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES ASSOCIATION

Wheaton, Illinois  60189

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING AGENDA

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION 

September 26, 2019 7:00pm

Illinois Institute of Technology, 201 East Loop Road, Room 203

I. Call to Order & Verification of Quorum

II. Introduction of Board and Management

III. Approval of Annual Meeting Minutes from September 27, 2018

IV. Condition of the Association Reports

 A. President

 B. Maintenance 

 C. Treasurer

 D. Landscape

 E. Rules

 F. Water Mains

V. Election Procedure

        A. Nominations from the Floor

        B. Introduction of Candidates
        C. Balloting

        D. Appointment of Judges

        E. Tally of Votes/Announcement of Results

VI. Committee Reports

        A. Welcome 

        B. Newsletter

VII. Old/New Business

VIII. Adjournment

===========================

(c) N. Retzke 2019 "all rights reserved"

Special Meeting about water mains

Unsigned posted notice of the meeting - no indication if it is "official" or not

Updated  August 31
There is a special meeting with the City of Wheaton about the water mains in our association. That meeting is scheduled for September 5 at 7:00 pm in the Rathje room of the Wheaton Park District.

More than a year ago, the City of Wheaton sent a communication to our HOA to discuss taking over the water mains.  This was a result of 5 years of effort by me. The current board has done nothing about this, to my knowledge.

A failure to act by the board will spend $millions of owners fees needlessly.

But the board seems oblivious. I sent and email to the management demanding that all current board members attend the meeting.

Added August 31, 2019:
There was no mention of this in the most recent newsletter (July) and the notice does not indicate if this is an official, sanctioned HOA event. This February HOA meeting notes mentions the water mains, but no mention of the formation of a special committee or who is on that committee. Note: the HOA never posted the January meeting notes, but it is mentioned in the February report.

This led me to contact Management and ask about the notice.

1. Did the Board ever send a letter to the City indicating it wanted to discuss the Water Mains, in response to the City Manager’s letter? Answer: Yes the Board asked members to form a committee and the committee reached out to the City discussing the water mains. This was the committee members idea to have an “informational meeting” concerning the water mains so owners can understand what this process will entail. 
2. The attached notice was posted at [my address] and I assume elsewhere. A meeting is to be held on September 5 regarding the Water Mains. According to the notice the Wheaton Water Superintendent will be there. I assume the HOA did not schedule this. Will the board be there? Who else for the HOA? Answer: The Committee did set up this meeting with the City and superintendent, again to inform owners of what this whole process is about. The Board will be in attendance, but this IS NOT A BOARD MEETING, no discussion with owners and the Board will take place, nor will the Board make any decisions at this meeting. This is informational only. I will also be attending, but I might be later I have a meeting before this meeting on the same evening.
3. In a later email Management stated this: The board does want owners to attend and they will have a drop box for owners questions for the supervisors at the meeting.

About those dying shrubs - communication to owners

The previous post was about the most recent association newsletter and the board generated Landscaping Report. That report included the statement that "The bushes along most of our buildings are infected with an Asian beetle. Every hedge must be removed. This will occur in late spring."

The Spring 2019 newsletter article about these shrubs is not the most recent. In fact, the first article about this was written in 2017.  As as the case with many other newsletter articles, I was the "ghost writer" for the August 2017 article.

Here's a link to the previous post:

http://briarcliffelakes.blogspot.com/2019/05/about-those-dying-shrubs.html

Here are the newsletter articles or comments contained in the newsletters from 2017 and 2018. I frequently "ghost wrote" articles with the respective board members permission because had I not done so, there would not have been an article.  Click on the images to enlarge:

From newsletter published in August 2017

From Newsletter published in April 2018

From Newsletter published September 2018 - my final newsletter

Here's a couple of photos I took about this problem in 2017 which were formally submitted to the entire board with the monthly "board packet":

About those dying shrubs......

Dead Viburnums while other shrubs flourish.....

The most recent association newsletter included a Landscaping Report and a statement that "The bushes along most of our buildings are infected with an Asian beetle. Every hedge must be removed. This will occur in late spring."

That's inaccurate. Our association has a variety of shrubbery and many of the shrubs on the property are healthy. It is the Viburnums that are dying because of a beetle.  The photo above was added June 15, 2019 which is typical.  It shows healthy shrubs and dying viburnums. I encircled the viburnums in the photo above.

The issue was first observed in 2017
This was observed in 2017 and reported to the board. Only certain viburnums are under attack, and some as well as many other shrubs are healthy. I noticed this problem in summer 2017 and discussed with professionals, took photos in July and August of 2017 and submitted them to the board with the professional assessment. This was discussed during the August 10, 2017 association meeting and in 2018. In fact management and I walked the association with a contractor and a proposal was obtained in 2018.  The Landscaping Director was scheduled to make that meeting but did not show up.  Proposals were submitted to the board.......

The August 2017 email I sent to management and to the board member who was/is the landscaping director included two photos. These were printed for distribution to the entire board during the August 10, 2017 meeting. The email said:"Dave; Can we get some printouts of this email and the attached photos to discuss tonight? I’ve added a second photo at another location."

Here are the photos:

The pest is the Viburnum Leaf Beetle. It only attacks one species of shrub (viburnums). There are some viburnums that are very resistant to the beetle. 

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/vlb/

This was discussed by the board over, and over and over. LOL!

I advocated replacement of infected plants on a rotational basis. A meeting with a landscaping contractor was scheduled for June, but by summer 2018 the board had made no progress.

Here are some viburnums that have been observed to be very resistant to the beetle, per the Cornell website:

Viburnum most resistant to the viburnum leaf beetle:

• V. bodnantense, dawn viburnum
• V. carlesii, Koreanspice viburnum
• V. davidii*, David viburnum
• V. x juddii, Judd viburnum
• V. plicatum, doublefile viburnum
• V. plicatum var. tomentosum, doublefile viburnum
• V. rhytidophyllum, leatherleaf viburnum
• V. setigerum, tea viburnum
• V. sieboldii, Siebold viburnum

My email about the June 6 2018 meeting to replace dead viburnums.  Our landscaping director agreed to attend, but did not. This was my email and part of my report to the board after that meeting:

"John, and Landscaping Committee;

Dave Grill [Our manager] and I met with [Our Landscaping Contractor] today to discuss issues with the dying virburnum shrubs.  This is in accordance with the site survey conducted a week ago with ...... our landscaping director.

Here is what was discussed:

1. We need a plan to deal with dying viburnum shrubs on Plymouth Court and Harrow Court. This is the first step in a multi-year program. These seem to be the worst impacted by the leaf beetle. Thereafter, other areas will be dealt with in a multi-year program.
2. We want shrubs that are 3-4 feet maximum height to replace the viburnums. We want low maintenance and hardy. We want the “cut back” to be reduced to reduce the amount of bare soil. Length of the shrubs at each building to be about 15-20 feet.
3. Our landscaping director has proposed a tree nursery on the property. The board is aligned with this and we need to know how to proceed.
4. The board has a long term commitment to the property, but we do need to balance this with financial realities.  Street entries off of Briarcliffe Blvd, while beautiful, are not as important to our owners as the internal beautification  and landscaping maintenance issues.  Ergo, recent discussions on the committee about adding ground cover for these area.
5. Shrubs will be replaced early fall (August and thereafter). This is optimum for the foliage.
6. We request the numbers so we can discuss these during the July 12 meeting.
7. We do want to address the landscaping issues at the Plymouth pond, but any work in that area must be delayed until after the concrete work on the stream.
8. There are other internal property issues, but these will require specific requests.

I think this covers the recent discussions and immediate landscaping concerns. "

We did receive a proposal, but it included plants which would require additional watering. In other words, it added maintenance and water costs.  This languished for several months and I refused to approve it unless the board member who was the Landscaping Director would provide specific guidance. He did not. 

So that approach died when there was no action as of September, 2018...LOL...

And some wonder why I am no longer on the board.  Give me a break....if I wanted a hobby, I'd get a hobbly!  Like doing more painted rocks...LOL.   The butterfly in the center is a work in progress.......

Another 1 to 2 inches of Rainfall today

We are in a severe thunderstorm with one to two inches of rainfall predicted........It has been a wet spring......From NWS "One Hour Precipitation" radar image:

Failing trees - the board decides to let the "firs and pines" die.

Our board stated in the most recent newsletter "All of our firs and pines are dying.....and must come down."

That's a sad position to take and an excuse to stop spraying and caring for the many conifers and related species on the property. In fact, back in 2008 I was told the same thing about our trees by the Landscaping Director at the time.  Boards may change, but doing as little as possible is not an excuse.

I'll remind the reader that the current board raised fees and is now reducing landscaping care.  I was angry in November when the  board decided to raise fees, even though there was a projected, substantial budget surplus for 2018.

Now, that same board wants to cut expenditures for tree maintenance.  When people ask my why I am no longer is on the board, this is one example.

Meanwhile, other trees are nearing end of life, really!  Back in 2008 when I expressed concern to the board I was addressing our many ornamental trees, which have a normal lifespan of 25-35 years. This association is now 50 years of age. While some trees are doing well with annual care, others are obviously in trouble.

More nature.....Ducklings on parade

Temperatures are slowly becoming more spring like.. The streams are running and that means geese, ducks and ducklings.

Many of the adult ducks are tame, probably because some of the humans feed them. However, the hens are wary when tending the ducklings. Feeding birds and other animals is against the rules in the HOA. Doing so attracts all kinds of wildlife. Occasionally the tame wildlife gets into difficulty. Then maintenance has to intervene.

We've also had fox on the property attacking the ducks and ducklings......"the circle of life"....

Meeting Agenda - May 9, 2019

I did receive a response from management pertaining to my emailed request to have the May 9 meeting agenda posted on the official HOA website. The agenda was posted a few minutes ago. Here's a copy:

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING AGENDA

May 9, 2019

Wheaton Community Center, 1777 S. Blanchard

7:00 pm

I. Approval of the April 11, 2019 Meeting Minutes

II. Treasurer's Report 

III. Work Orders

IV. Sales Report

V. Correspondence

        a. 4 items, from owners concerning landscaping

VI. Old Business

        a. Fireplace legal lawsuit (email from Former President to HO)

        b. Comcast inspection (in packet)

        c. Truss updates (pending)

VII. New Business (action items)

        a. 2019 carpet cleaning proposals

        b. Tenant (renter resolution) 

VIII. Committee Reports

        a. Rules & Regulations 

        b. Architectural & Maintenance

        c. Newsletter

        d. Landscaping 

        e. Welcome

IX. Homeowners' Comments

X. Executive Session

XI. Adjournment

We need a Meeting Agenda

The association has not provided the owners with a meeting agenda for Thursday's open meeting.  Currently the April, 2019 meeting agenda is posted on the association website.

Owners are to be notified of the meeting in accordance with the Illinois Condominium Act.  Such notice must be posted at least 48 hours prior to the meeting as follows. Note that the Association has decided to post the notice of the meeting via the monthly assessment bill to each owner. However, that doesn't provide owners with an agenda, and it has been the method of the association to post the agenda at the association website.

http://www.blmh.org/

Here is the pertinent text of the (765 ILCS 605/) Condominium Property Act:

(765 ILCS 605/18) (from Ch. 30, par. 318) 
    Sec. 18 (a)(9)(B)

"(E) that notice of every meeting of the board of

managers shall be posted in entranceways, elevators, or other conspicuous places in the condominium at least 48 hours prior to the meeting of the board of managers except where there is no common entranceway for 7 or more units, the board of managers may designate one or more locations in the proximity of these units where the notices of meetings shall be posted; that notice of every meeting of the board of managers shall also be given at least 48 hours prior to the meeting, or such longer notice as this Act may separately require, to: (i) each unit owner who has provided the association with written authorization to conduct business by acceptable technological means, and (ii) to the extent that the condominium instruments of an association require, to each other unit owner, as required by subsection (f) of Section 18.8, by mail or delivery, and that no other notice of a meeting of the board of managers need be given to any unit owner......"

I've alerted management to this via email.  Apparently no one on the current board is monitoring this situation.....

Here's the image of the beginning of the currently posted agenda on the official association website. The agenda is for April 11:

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING AGENDA

April 11, 2019

Wheaton Community Center 1777 S. Blanchard

7:00 pm

Animals advance as cold weather recedes

Now that cold weather has been replaced by cool spring weather we have the animals re-organizing.  Some of this occurs because a few residents treat them as pets, feeding them and so on.

Here's an example of a newly created "nest":

I've emailed management.......

March 14 2019 Published Agenda

There are no meeting minutes published for 2019 at the official HOA website. I asked management about this was was informed that the board had not approved the minutes.

Nor has the newsletter been published since January 2019. Readers may recall that the new board decided to reduce newsletters to a quarterly "seasonal" schedule.   LOL!

Welcome to Briarcliffe Lakes Manor Homes!

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES ASSOCIATION

Wheaton, Illinois  60189

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING AGENDA

March 14, 2019

Wheaton Community Center 1777 S. Blanchard

7:00 pm

I. Approval of the January 10, & February 14, 2019 Meeting Minutes
II. Treasurer's Report 

III. Management Report        a. Correspondence (4 items)

IV. Old Business        a. Fireplace legal lawsuit (update)        b. Thames Light (options)        c. Comcast inspection (pending)        d. Truss updates (Raths, Raths & Johnson)

V. New Business (action items)        a. 2019 tree care proposal (Sava Tree)        b. 2019 janitorial proposal        c. 2019 carpet cleaning proposal (not part of janitorial contract)

VI. Committee Reports        a. Rules & Regulations         b. Architectural & Maintenance
        c. Newsletter        d. Landscaping (tree map, handout)        e. Welcome

VII. Homeowners' Comments

VIII. Executive Session 

IX. Adjournment

February 14, 2019 HOA Meeting Agenda

BRIARCLIFFE LAKES MANOR HOMES CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING AGENDA

February 14, 2019
Wheaton Community Center 1777 S. Blanchard7:00 pm

I. Approval of the January 10, 2019 Meeting Minutes

II. Treasurer's ReportIII. Management Report 
       a. Correspondence (3 items)

IV. Old Business

        a. Fireplace legal lawsuit (update attorney rate) 
       b. Thames Light (pending) 
       c. Flooring Rule (pending)

V. New Business (action items) 
       a. Truss updates (Raths, Raths & Johnson) 
       b. 2019 Tree Care Proposal (Sava Tree)
        c. 2019 Janitorial Proposal
        d. Comcast Legal Discussion

VI. Committee Reports
        a. Rules & Regulations
        b. Architectural & Maintenance
        c. Newsletter
        d. Landscaping 
        e. Welcome

VII. Homeowners' Comments

VIII. Executive Session 

IX. Adjournment

Weather Roller Coaster

Quite a range of temperature extremes in Wheaton.  Over a 7-day period the outdoor temperature on my patio went from a low of  18.7F below zero to a high of 49.8F. 

These temperatures were recorded with my ïndustrial grade technology. LOL.

Is it legal for the board to levy "automatic" fines?

At the direction of the board, Management issued a "Proposed Fining Schedule" on January 14, 2019.

The schedule includes an "Automatic Fine", which means the owner is not provided with the opportunity to a hearing before the levying of the fine. This would seem to be in violation of Illinois Law. Specifically, the Illinois Condominium Act stipulates that the board may impose charges "after notice and an opportunity to be heard , to levy reasonable fines for the violation of declaration, by-laws and rules and regulations of the association."

The proposed fining schedule states (emphasis is the association's):

"All variances to the Rules and Regulations begin with a Courtesy Notice - which carries no fine. Fines are assessed every 14 days thereafter for non-compliance. The exception to this is the yearly census collection. Failure to submit any of the requested census documents by the established due date will receive an automatic $50 fine. Failure to return the requested documents within 14 days of this fine will result in the matter being sent to the Association attorney for collection.  Lastly, any Owner who is sent to the Attorney will be responsible for the associated legal costs."

According to the Illinois Condominium Act:

(765 ILCS 605/18.4) (from Ch. 30, par. 318.4) 
    Sec. 18.4. Powers and duties of board of managers. The board of managers shall exercise for the association all powers, duties and authority vested in the association by law or the condominium instruments except for such powers, duties and authority reserved by law to the members of the association. The powers and duties of the board of managers shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following: 

(l) To impose charges for late payment of a unit

owner's proportionate share of the common expenses, or any other expenses lawfully agreed upon, and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, to levy reasonable fines for violation of the declaration, by-laws, and rules and regulations of the association.

I've sent an email to management about this and asked for a clarification. I also asked if the attorney had been consulted before the board made this decision. If so, I asked for a copy of the attorney's determination.