Do you ever think, “One person’s vote doesn’t matter?” Tonight it did! We were just one house short of a quorum at our membership meeting! Fortunately, we didn’t have any major issues to vote on, and we will continue functioning with the existing budget although it hasn’t been officially approved by the membership.
We have a general membership meeting on Monday, January 23rd at 7:00 PM at 7966 Cabrini (the Keene home).
The board of directors met this evening and prepared an agenda for the meeting. Last meeting, we voted to include a fourth board member and to check on the approval process with our legal counsel. That vote was held in compliance with our by-laws, and so Duel Brown is officially a fourth board member through July 2023 when we renew all positions. Duel was included in our board meeting this month.
2023 budget (first half only) – updated since your dues mailing so check this link for the most recent version
Community litter walk
Community news
Reminders from the Architectural Control Committee
Summer annual meeting date
Budget notes:
When we updated our by-laws, we changed our fiscal year to match our summer annual meeting. This summer, we will vote on a new annual budget. Since our budget from last year only went through the calendar year, our treasurer has prepared a budget for 2023 now. We’ll vote on this budget now, and then on a new fiscal year budget in July. Thank you, Mary, for doing double the work this year as we adjust. Dues payments will not change and are still paid in January each year.
The 2023 proposed budget includes two maintenance items that are not annual payments. This puts our budget over our expected income by $250. Last year’s expenses were under our budget by almost $2000, and we have a large reserve account, so the board feels comfortable with this amount. The two maintenance items are pressure washing the tennis courts (currently every three years) and removing the scotch broom from the park (one time project).
Based on feedback from homeowners at the last meeting, the officers undertook ordering and installing new signage at the neighborhood park. We used a local small business, Ace Signs in Bremerton, and Jim Cole volunteered to install the new signs. They are aluminum and should last a very long time looking great!
New welcome sign at the main entrance to the park
New rules sign near the parking spots
We also installed one additional welcome sign at the “back entrance” to the park – the path that ends above the tennis courts. This means that both entrances have posted welcome signs letting visitors know they are on private property. A big thank you to Sawyer Drew and Jim Cole for installing the new post in concrete for us!
The “back entrance” to the park has a chain between two posts that is used to keep vehicles from entering the park. The lock has not been used in years, is rusted, and had a key. We replaced the lock with a new combination lock (same combo as all other HOA locks, see Facebook page for that information or email the officers). Anyone can still walk or ride a bicycle around the posts.
Finally, thank you to Kristin Drew for posting “No trespassing” signs on the park fence to face SE Bielmeier Road. It should now be abundantly clear to any visitors that this is not a public park. If you happen to see visitors in the park who are not following our posted guidelines or acting suspiciously, you can be an assertive neighbor and either 1) inquire whether they are guests of a homeowner, if you feel safe to do so, in which case the homeowner should be present, or 2) report trespassers to law enforcement. Remember, our park is owned by you and is private property. You can treat it as you would treat your own backyard!
The 2023 dues notices were mailed out on December 14, 2022. If you did not receive yours, make sure to let the officers know. Email us at officers@strawberryhillhoa.org.
Make check payable to SHHOA, and mail to: PO Box 456, Port Orchard, WA 98366.
Do not send cash! Payment must be by personal check, money order or cashier’s check. Please indicate on your check your name and the address that the dues apply to.
In accordance with Article 4 Section 8, of the Strawberry Hill Homeowners Association CC&R, the 2023 homeowners dues are due starting January 1, 2023. Dues are past due after February 1, 2023, and interest on late dues will begin to accrue at 12% per annum, compounded monthly at a rate of 1% per month. Homeowners may contact our treasurer to schedule in person delivery of their dues if needed.
Under the terms of our SHHOA CC&R, Article 4 Section 3 Paragraph (a), the board has the authority to increase dues by a maximum of 5% each year. The board voted unanimously not to raise the dues but rather to maintain the 2022 dues amount of $150.00 again for 2023.
We are happy to report that of the 93 homes in our Strawberry Hill subdivision 92 homes remain current and up to date with their dues. Only one homeowner has not paid and may become subject to an SHHOA lein on their property if their home remains outstanding.
On the back of this page is a copy of the preliminary 2023 Annual Budget for review. As we have voted to change our fiscal year to coincide with our annual summer bbqmembership meeting, please note that while the attached budget is the 2023 calendar year a revised budget will be issued in advance of the summer membership meeting for the following fiscal year. The final budget will be discussed and voted on during the January SHHOA meeting; method and location to be determined.
A note from Mary: I thank you for your patience and understanding as I have taken on this tremendous role of HOA treasurer over the past year and hope to continue to improve in my fulfillment of duties such as the sending of these notices with time.
Anyone is welcome to join our annual Thanksgiving day activities!
9:00 AM • Turkey Trot • Meet at the main park entrance near Providence Ct to walk or jog the loop with neighbors. Pets, wagons, and strollers welcome.
9:45 AM • Touch Football • Continue the fun by joining a friendly game of football. All who can carry a football are welcome to participate! Last year some dog walkers and play structure explorers came as observers too.
Last night at the membership meeting, we approved pursuing removal of the invasive, noxious plant scotch broom from the park common area.
Neighbors new to the plant may not be aware of its potential to become a nuisance. Don’t be fooled by the seasonal yellow flowers! If you see this plant on your property, your neighborhood appreciated you removing it! Here’s some information on that.
The big update is that we have new by-laws. You can read, download, and print them here. If you need a paper copy delivered to you, request one from officers@strawberryhillhoa.org.
The board of directors scheduled our next membership meeting for Monday, January 23rd at 7 PM at the Keene home unless otherwise determined. We will remind everyone at least 14 days prior to the meeting as usual. At that meeting we will vote on a new budget for the first half of our next fiscal year.
The officers are seeking input on the Christmas light display contest. Feel free to email us your thoughts at officers@officersstrawberryhillhoa.org.
The officers are also seeking volunteers to serve on a special committee to research new playground equipment. This committee would research options, receive quotes, and present their findings at the January membership meeting. We prefer at least two people on this committee. If you are interested in filling this request, let us know by November 1st at officers@strawberryhillhoa.org.
Becky Keene, President Josh Thomsen, Secretary Mary Mingels, Treasurer
Location: 7966 Cabrini Dr SE (The Keene home). Feel free to park in the circle driveway or in the HOA-owned field adjacent to this lot. Coffee, tea, and water provided.
Notes:
The officers and meeting chairperson will strive to follow Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) as required by our by-laws. While we certainly aim to keep our meetings congenial and neighborly, we recognize that following these guidelines is respectful of the purpose of efficient, productive, fairly conducted organizational meetings. Here is a helpful website about RONR as it applies to HOAs. Keep in mind that we have specific rules to follow in our by-laws that may contradict RONR in some cases. It’s complicated and we welcome your patience as we navigate all the procedures with diligence.
A quorum in our current by-laws is 10 members, which is representation from 10 homes. If we do not reach a quorum at this meeting, we adjourn until the following scheduled quarterly meeting in January 2023. By-laws can only be voted upon in general meetings.
A quorum in the proposed restated and amended by-laws is 12 members. If the proposed by-laws are adopted and we do not reach the new quorum at this meeting, we adjourn and can reschedule for anytime within 3-30 days.
Several members voiced concerns over the length of the previous meeting. A member can move to limit the debate on any motion to a set period of time or limit the number of times each member can speak. As this action suspends the right to deliberative assembly, this motion requires a 2/3 vote of the members present. Following RONR, each speaker can have the floor twice for no more than 10 uninterrupted minutes each (unless extended through a similar vote), and speakers should alternate viewpoints if possible. Read more here.
Agenda:
I. Approval of the minutes (from last meeting, written according to RONR 48:1-8)
II. President’s Report
III. Treasurer’s Report
IV. Unfinished Business
A. Motion to ratify Josh Thomsen as secretary as we did not have a quorum at the April 18th meeting when he volunteered to serve.
C. If passes, nomination of board of directors (3) as required by amended by-laws.
D. If fails, nomination of 2 members for the finance committee as required by current by-laws; nomination of 4 officers for 2023 as required by the current by-laws.
E. Either way, motion to continue with a board-appointed architectural control committee (which requires 3-7 members) OR motion to have the officers serve as the committee, both of which are allowed in CCRs div1/div2 Article V, Section 2.
No other new business has been submitted to the officers at this time.
*This is important because if the motion to adopt the restated and amended second by-laws passes, there will be no board of directors until they are elected in the following motion, so there will be no chairperson to lead the meeting! We must elect one for the duration of this meeting as the first item of business.
Congrats to our neighborhood for already submitting 17 paper ballots and 16 digital ballots to the by-laws update process. That’s 1/3 of our homes already represented! This is the most involvement we’ve had in a vote in a very long time. We’d love to have 100% of the homes represented.
Reminder that we need at least 10 homes represented at the meeting on October 17th for a quorum.
If you plan to attend the meeting, you do not need to submit a proxy ballot!
Today you are receiving a letter. The letter is an overview of the HOA process to approve the by-laws at the October 17th membership meeting. The officers group will be visiting homes who do not respond in person to ensure that every home is represented. You can avoid this personal visit (and save your officers a lot of time and energy) by responding with one of the options below before the end of September or by letting us know you plan to be at the meeting.
If you’ve been following our updates here, you know that we are in the process of updating our by-laws to keep our organization legal under Washington state laws, and to streamline the way our neighborhood officers handle business on behalf of the community. (This does not change the CCRs, which are our agreed-upon community guidelines.) We have been working with Mr. Isaac Anderson to advise us in this process.
According to the Covenant, Conditions, and Restrictions Merger dated May 1990, the adoption, amendment, or repeal of by-laws requires the consent of 2/3 of the members. (That’s you!)
At our August membership meeting, we had 23 homes represented. The members present voted unanimously to vote to approve the new by-laws at the next meeting on October 17, 2022. We answered questions and discussed the differences between the old and new by-laws.
Normally our membership meetings have just 10-15 homes represented, and we know that not everyone can or wishes to attend a meeting. We can’t adopt these new by-laws and keep our HOA functioning properly without your vote.
Fortunately, our current by-laws allow for proxy voting! A proxy vote means that you give permission to someone else to cast your vote at the meeting.
If you do not plan to attend the meeting on October 17, please voice your opinion with one of the following options:
Complete and return the paper form you receive in your envelope to the ballot box at 7966 Cabrini Dr SE.
If you have any questions about this process, the new by-laws, or anything else in our neighborhood, you can also contact us at officers@strawberryhillhoa.org or through the contact form on the website. We’re here to serve the good of our community!
Thank you,
Becky Keene Dean Fidecaro Josh Thomsen Mary Mingels President Vice President Secretary Treasurer
Strawberry Hill HOA 