Merifield Acres Landowners’ Association
April 12, 2016
Board of Directors’ Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM.

Attendees: BoD Members: Rick Baldwin, Butch Cheatham, Chris Crouse, Cindy Meadows, Annie Hensley, Kevin Hensley, John Stinson, FJ Hale, Scott Jeffrey, Susan Warren, Paul Starzynski, Emilie Howie, David Hammer, Kent Galvin, Alan Weyman, Dewitt Vanarsdale.

Guests: Hal Norman, Richard Wilke, Joe Doherty, Ken Catlett, Art Edsall, Coleen Edsall, Pam Evans.

Approval of Minutes from the February 9, 2016 Meeting was presented with one change noted in the minutes. Nola Adler is not doing the directory any longer. This was noted in the minutes and they were passed without dissent after a motion that was seconded.

Treasurer’s Report: – Chair Annie Hensley reported the Bank of America checking account has $127,148.79, the Merrill Edge investment account has $142,157.74, and also provided the latest P&L statement. A motion was made, seconded and passed without dissent to accept the report.

Old Business

President’s Comments – President Butch Cheatham mentioned there was one item of old business that had been tabled and needed to be discussed. The Executive Committee’s recommendation regarding the tabled issue was that it was not Board business, and that it should be removed from the Board’s agenda. A motion was made, seconded and passed without dissent to accept this recommendation.

Committee Reports

Appearance and Beautification

Chip Overton was not present. Litter continues to be a problem. Thanks to our residents who help by picking up litter around their properties.

Architectural Committee Report

Chair Kevin Hensley reported that no requests have been approved at this time. There is one request under review for a shed on Meriweather Drive. No complaints or issues are currently being investigated.

Aviation

Chair FJ Hale reported that the runway is soggy but has been cut well. No debris reported on the runway at this time.

Common Areas and Facilities

Chair Alan Weyman had nothing to report at this time.

Deer Control

Chair Scott Diamond was not present and did not provide a report.

Roads and Maintenance

Chair Mike Gupton was unable to attend due to health issues. During the meeting, Kent Galvin (540-842-8902) volunteered to stand in for Mike during his absence. Please keep Mike in your prayers.
Butch contacted Adam and Eve Tree Service to cut trees endangering our roads. They cut or limbed trees on Ridge, Lewis and Merifield Roads, as well as the dangerous trees in Oak Park. Our budget does not allow for the commercial removal of those trees, so we encourage our residents who burn firewood to take what they need from the downed trees. Mike Hite will push any downed trees, where possible, away from the road.
We requested VDOT to remove the trees endangering the road and the school bus top at the MALA front entrance, which was done.

Mike Hite’s Report was presented: Mike cleaned several road pipes, cleaned up several small trees that had fallen, and cut the grass at the main entrance, Oak Park, tennis court, the front field, and along the main roads where needed.

Security

Chair David Hammer had nothing to report.

Communication / Welcoming / Email

Chair Cindy Meadows mentioned she would be working on a “Welcome Flyer/Packet” for the new residents. There was a request to have the newsletter also available as a pdf.

Directory

Chair Susan Warren had nothing to report.

Website

Butch mentioned that we owe Hal Norman a huge thank you for his ongoing work on repairing and updating our website. Susan Warren will send the two missing meeting minutes, as well as an updated Directory to Hal to post to the website. We need a volunteer to help maintain the website once Hal has completed his work. Anyone who is interested in helping should contact Susan.

New Business

President Butch Cheatham suggested some basic rules on having more productive and professional meetings. We need everyone’s cooperation to accomplish this.

1. Our Board meetings are not an open forum, and only Board business is to be discussed.

2. Any resident issues with other residents should not be discussed at Board meetings unless there is a specific covenant or by-law violation reported that needs to be discussed. Violators of this rule may be ruled out of order.

3. Repetitious complaints that have been previously addressed by the Board may be ruled out of order.

4. Personal attacks on other residents will be ruled out of order.

5. The proper procedure is to make a motion first, then open for discussion.

6. The only time motions can be made is during old business and new business.

7. In order to maintain control in our meetings, we need to cut down the cross talk and speaking out of turn.

A motion was made, seconded and passed without dissent to accept and adhere by these rules in the future.

Butch contacted the Corps of Engineers to verify that MALA is current on all permits, and discovered that there are four permits, one for the front entrance that has expired, one that will expire this year, and a requirement for 4 new easements where our roads cross Corps property. He found nothing in the MALA files regarding any existing easements. Each easement site will incur costs for a survey and Corps fees. He has not been able to get an estimate for the Corps costs, but it is expected to be several thousand dollars. We will need approval from the Board to move forward. It was tabled until the Board can do more research on the issue and will be discussed at the next Board meeting.

Hal Norman began a discussion about liens being issued to residents that have not paid their dues. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that the Board needs time to gather more intel. It was tabled until the next Board meeting.

Cindy Meadows mentioned that we should have a “Litter Pick-Up” Day for those residents that might want to participate in picking up trash for the day and then possibly have a barbeque at Oak Park as an appreciation for their participation. Susan Warren and Cindy will plan and coordinate for some time in June.

Adjournment was at 8:10 PM.