Minutes of the Deer Creek Homeowners Association of Livonia Board of Director
Held at Diane Tsaprazis’ house August 20, 2009
Approved 9-20-09
Present: Denny Behrendsen, Bob Moore, Dave Wood, Walt Gerstner, Brian Gulick, Sylvia Leski, Roy Field, and Diane Tsaprazis (8).
Minutes: Diane read the minutes from 6-28-09, which were approved with one change.
Treasurer’s Report: Dave reviewed his 8-20-09 report showing 160 homeowners paid dues thus meeting our budget goal. The water bills from the City have not yet been received. Our interior island maintenance budget of $800 has been spent. All actual figures are on track with budgeted figures. Our checkbook balance is now $3,763.40. Denny needs to be paid for light bulbs and irrigation parts. Homeowner Rich Obad agreed to review our financial records again later this year.
Filing Fee: Denny received the annual form and $20 invoice. Denny will update the list of Officers. Our info is on a state website.
Landscaping: Walt reported:
- All 2009 project work is complete.
- Bicentennial entrance was pruned by the two adjoining neighbors. Perhaps in the future, we could put in new fences and pavers; Uncle Froggy’s Landscaping (UF) gave us an $800 estimate. Dave thinks the bushes are high, but the edging looks okay. We will not do this work in 2009, and maybe not in 2010.
- For Island 7, we are withholding reimbursement to homeowners for an $86 tree until we verify our finances after the water bills are received.
- The UF contract for the 8 Mile island did not include weeding and trimming the rose bushes. We need to specify these items and Preen if we contract this work out again.
- On Island 1, UF replaced one boxwood and a vibernum at no charge.
- Walt and Ginny weeded the 8 Mile and the Gill Road entrances. They found poison ivy at the 8 Mile island, which Walt sprayed several times.
- Island 1 has a 10 foot patch that is not being watered. UF gave us a $100 estimate for another sprinkler head. UF designed the original plan. Brian recommends we get another estimate; Dave will call his contact. Walt will ask UF if they will fix it for less.
- On Island 5 which was landscaped in 2007, a 10’ white pine tree turned brown last year; UF replaced it in 2008, but it is yellow again and UF will not replace it again. We had water valve problems on this island during this time, although the homeowners did water this particular tree with a hose. The homeowners want a deciduous tree instead, like a Crimson King Maple. Denny expressed concern about maple trees. We decided to cut down the pine tree and re-assess any purchase at our next meeting. Dave recommends the homeowners not do the work themselves.
- Walt got 3 estimates on weekly maintenance of the 8 internal islands for 2010. The work will include mowing for 28 weeks, fertilizing 4 times, and spring mulching of 7 islands. The quotes are as follows: Jonboy Landscaping $4,980; Metro Grounds $4,030; Owens $3,384; and UF not received yet. Additional charges for weeding, trimming and irrigation repair would apply, with various cost estimates at about $75 per hour. Metro Grounds does an excellent job on Walt’s property and his neighbor’s. Bob noted Island 6 already needs maintenance and the 8 Mile island is getting overgrown. We should also consider including the 8 Mile island maintenance and trimming around the signs in our contract. Walt wants to bring the contractor we select to one of our meetings. By the end of October, we will notify 1 contractor they have the 2010 job for 1 year. We will ask for a price for the 8 Mile entrance island and all 4 sign areas. We will explain to the contractor that our budget is approved at our annual homeowner meeting.
- Walt sent an email to the island homeowners requesting that they adjust the island watering schedules to 11p.m. to 5 a.m. to comply with a request from the City. Five islands responded positively, with Island 1 and 2 not replying along with Island 6 that does not have a representative.
- 8 Mile Entrance has 3 dead pine trees on the west side. Dave wants the homeowner’s permission to cut them down. Walt thinks they were only re-planted about 2 to 3 years ago. We will offer to cut down the trees, but not to replace them.
City Meeting: Denny, Bob, Dave and Walt met with the new Livonia Department of Public Works Director, Kevin Maillard, and two department heads on 7-16-09. Mr. Maillard has been personally inspecting all roads to prepare a new repair plan. We gave them our pictures of road problems. The Water Dept. said a recent problem of a stuck and broken valve at 8 Mile & Newburgh would be repaired by the end of July. Denny observed the Dept. of Public Works personnel working on the valve from the end of July to about August 3rd. Following the repair, Denny recorded low psi of 35 and high of over 100 psi. Board members reported improved pressure at their homes. Detroit Water Dept. has had snags in their let contract to do 8 Mile work. Livonia cannot get within 20’ of Detroit’s 6-7’ diameter main. Brian noted he called the City about poor cleanup on Gary Lane following 2 water main breaks recently.
Maintenance/Complaints:
- Brian noted there is a house on Morlock with especially poor maintenance. Denny reported 3 homes on Wayne are neglected. Walt noted another house near Pembroke & Bretton. Our Deed Restrictions require homeowners to keep homes in good repair. The City requires that weeds be less than 9 inches.
- Denny received another email about the boat on Bretton. We do not believe the boat owners has parked the boat for more than 12 hours as allowed in our deed restrictions. The prop on the sidewalk could be dangerous.
- The car we have noted in the past is now legally licensed according to Ordinance Enforcement records. We don’t know if it is operable.
Street Signs: We did not discuss the upgraded signs east of Gill at our City meeting. Denny will call sometime to ask how they obtained the nice signs.
Telephone Directory: Diane asked if we want to publish the directory ourselves. It would cost us about $200 per Dave. We cannot afford this, so we will not ask Cathedral Directories if they want to opt out this year. Also, we all received another mailing from a homeowner using our Directory for advertising purposes, which is not allowed. We will give this name to our publisher so he can purchase an ad. If he doesn’t, we will drop him from our distribution list.
Next Meeting: Sunday, September 20th at 4 p.m.