Embedded Files
MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
May 13, 2025
The Board of Directors met on May 13, 2025 at the home of Tom Emerson. The following were present: Tom Emerson, Jim McGlade and Debbie Bakke.
1. FINANCIAL REPORT
The March 2025 financial statements were reviewed and approved. The balance in the checking account as of March 31, 2025 was $6,941.32 and the balance in the reserve account was $46,961.21. The following bills were paid in the month of March:
Waste Management $633.24
Travelers’ Insurance $1,328.46
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $4,747.50 (February & March)
New Richmond Utilities $29.75
Guinn, Vinopal & Zahradka $345.00
The April 2025 financial statements were reviewed and approved. The balance in the checking account as of April 30, 2025 was 9,466.59 and the balance in the reserve account was $47,763.16. The following bills were paid in the month of April:
Waste Management $633.24
Travelers’ Insurance $1,328.45
New Richmond Utilities $29.75
Plumber Dave LLC $1,158.28 (repair to ball valve for irrigation
system)
Everyone is current on their monthly association dues.
2. IRRIGATION SYSTEM
The irrigation system is up and running. Start up was delayed because the City of New Richmond needed to replace our water meter and we hired a plumber to replace the ball valve on the main for the irrigation system. The schedule to run the irrigation system is every other day for 25 minutes in each watering zone.
3. ATHLETIC FIELD NOISE
There have been some complaints about the noise from the PA system at the New Richmond High School athletic field. Tom Emerson surveyed the units closest to the athletic field and found most are not bothered by the noise. No action will be taken at this time.
4. SPECIAL MEETING DATE
The issue of what to do with the shingles on our roofs is still looming. The Board feels that it is best to obtain a second opinion on the status of the shingles. Tom Emerson will contact Krumm Exteriors to have them look at all roofs. When we have their report, we will schedule a meeting to determine what course of action we should take.
5. SUMMER PICNIC
The summer picnic is tentatively scheduled for July 30, 2025 in the Evan Court cul de sac. An invitation will be sent out to association members the first part of July. Pulled pork sandwiches, paper plates, napkins, utensils and bottled water will be furnished. Association members will be asked to bring a potluck item and their own beverages other than water.
6. SPIREA BUSHES
Some association members have dead bushes in the rock area planted by Derrick. Those plantings will be replaced by the association. We will ask all members to inventory their bushes in August and contract with Schommer Landscaping to replace the dead bushes.
7. REPAIR TO EDGES OF DRIVEWAYS
Some of the grassy areas near the edges of driveways were damaged by the snow plows. Fitzgerald will repair those areas.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Respecfully submitted,
Debra Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
March 18, 2025
The Board of Directors met on March 18, 2025 at the home of Tom Emerson. The following were present: Tom Emerson, Jim McGlade and Debbie Bakke.
1. FINANCIAL REPORT
The January financial statements were reviewed and approved. The balance in the checking account as of January 31, 2025 was $6,241.71and the balance in the reserve account was $45,357.47. The following bills were paid in the month of January:
Waste Management $633.24
Travelers’ Insurance $1,328.45
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,371.75
New Richmond Utilities $911.40
FNC Bank – check order $49.66
Everyone is current on their monthly association dues.
The February financial statements were reviewed and approved. The balance in the checking account as of February 28, 2025 was $8,525.27 and the balance in the reserve account was $46,159.23. The following bills were paid in the month of February:
Waste Management $633.24
Travelers’ Insurance $1,328.45
New Richmond Utilities $29.75
Everyone is current on their monthly association dues.
2. ROOFS – TAMKO SHINGLES
We discussed the problem with the roof shingles. The unit at 522 Morgan Drive sold. The buyer had a building inspector look at the roof and he determined that there was nothing wrong with the shingles. The board decided that we should get a second opinion about the condition of the shingles. Tom Emerson will contact Donahue Roofing Co. to inspect the roof on all the units. After we get their report, we will decide how to proceed.
3. Summer picnic
We will again schedule a summer picnic for association members. This will be scheduled sometime in June.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Respecfully submitted,
Debra Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
January 22, 2025
The Board of Directors met on January 22, 2025 at the home of Tom Emerson. The following were present: Tom Emerson and Debbie Bakke.
FINANCIAL REPORT
The October financial statements were reviewed and approved. The balance in the checking account as of October 31, 2024 was $7,547.15 and the balance in the reserve account was $42,951.89. The following bills were paid in the month of October:
Waste Management $633.24
Travelers’ Insurance $1,328.45
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,321
New Richmond Utilities $70.04
Jim McGlade – fertilizer $25.00
Domino’s Pizza $118.57
Tom Emerson – tip for $20.00
pizza delivery
Heritage Center $50.00
Wisconsin Dept. of Financial
Institutions – annual report $25.00
filing fee
Everyone is current on their monthly association dues.
The November financial statements were reviewed and approved. The balance in the checking account as of November 30, 2024 was $4,758.88 and the balance in the reserve account was $43,753.67. The following bills were paid in the month of November:
Waste Management $633.24
Travelers’ Insurance $1,328.45
Lone Oak Irrigation $540.00
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $4,694.75
New Richmond Utilities $44.33
Schommer Landscaping $1,371.50
Heritage Center $50.00
Jim McGlade - $326.00
Huxtable glass replacement
Everyone is current on their monthly association dues.
The December financial statements were reviewed and approved. The balance in the checking account as of December 31, 2024 was $4,841.69 and the balance in the reserve account was $44,555.56. The following bills were paid in the month of December:
Waste Management $633.24
Travelers’ Insurance $1,328.45
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,375.75
New Richmond Utilities $29.75
Everyone is current on their monthly association dues.
NEW RICHMOND UTILITIES STATEMENT
The amount of our January 8, 2025 statement from New Richmond Utilities was $911.40. The statement showed that we used 385,000 gallons of water for the November 25, 2024 – December 23, 2024 billing period. I went to the New Richmond Utilities office to discuss the bill.
I asked how we could have used that much water for that period when our irrigation system has been turned off since September 20. They explained that our water meter was not working properly during the summer months and this was billing for usage that we were not billed for those months. The meter needs to be replaced and that will be done in the spring of 2025.
ROOFS
We briefly discussed the situation with the shingles on our roofs. We decided that we will not do anything until April when most of the members who go south for the winter return. Debbie Bakke submitted a proposed letter to be sent to all association members. We decided that such a letter is necessary because not all members attended the annual meeting and the meeting in November to discuss the problem with the shingles. Another meeting will be held in May to decide how to proceed.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
Respecfully submitted,
Debra Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes – Annual Meeting
October 2, 2024
The annual meeting of Richmond Prairie Condominium Association was held on October 2, 2024 at the New Richmond Heritage Center Pavilion building. There was a quorum and the meeting proceeded.
1. Financial Update
Debra Bakke, Secretary/Treasurer gave an update on the association’s financial position. As of the end of September the balance in the checking account was $12,113.45 and the balance in the reserve (savings) account was $36,148.73. There will be no increase of dues for 2025.
2. Insurance update
Our HOA insurance policy was through Pekin Insurance and they cancelled our policy as of July 31, 2024. Ried Tate of Ansay & Associates obtained several quotes from other insurance companies and the board made the decision to go with Traveler’s Insurance. Our premium with Pekin was $15,621 per year and the premium with Traveler’s is $16,296 per years – a $675 increase.
Our deductible remains the same - $5,000 per unit but the deductible for damage caused by wind and hail is $6,150 per unit. We encourage HOA members to speak with their insurance agent to make sure that they have adequate loss assessment coverage.
3. Property Assessment
Tom Emerson spoke about the importance of looking at your Notice of Changed Assessment letter received from the City of New Richmond. Most of the units on a slab are valued higher than recent sales. A formal objection must be made to the City of New Richmond to challenge the assessment. The form is “Objection to Real Property Assessment” and can be found on the Wisconsin Department of Revenue website. The objection must be filed with the New Richmond City Clerk at least 48 hours before the Board of Review meets.
4. Care of Boulevard trees
Tom Emerson had an arborist look at boulevard trees in our association. He thought they looked healthy and urged patience while they get established. He also encouraged watering the trees and making sure they are properly fertilized.
5. Fall Shrub Trimming
We will again hire Schommer Landscaping to do the fall shrub trimming. This will be done mid-October. We will notify association members when we have a date.
6. Roof Inspection
Krumm Siding and Roof looked at our roofs several weeks ago to see if there was any damage from summer storms. He reported that all the roofs looked good with the exception of Bill Larson’s. A contact person at Derrick Construction will be out to look at his roof to determine if the damage is storm related or a problem with the shingles.
7. Election of Board of Directors
There was no interest among the members at the meeting to serve on the board. The board will continue with Tom Emerson serving as president, Jim McGlade serving as Vice President and Debra Bakke serving as secretary/treasurer.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
MINUTES
August 14, 2024
Directors’ Meeting
The board of directors met at the home of Tom Emerson on August 14, 2024. Present at the meeting were Tom Emerson, Jim McGlade and Debbie Bakke.
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for July 2024 were reviewed. The following bills were paid in July:
Waste Management $633.24
Ansay & Associates $1,749.00
New Richmond Utilities - $105.02
Schommer Landscaping $189.90
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,321.00
The balance in the checking account at the end of July was $9,126.56 and the balance in the savings account at the end of March was $34,547.24.
2. Insurance
As of August 1, 2024 the insurance for our association is through Travelers Insurance. Our annual premium is $16,296. Our annual premium with Pekin Insurance was $15,621 (an increase of $675).
This policy has a $5,000 deductible per unit. The deductible for losses due to wind or hail damage is 2% of the limits of insurance ($11,070,450 x .02 = $221,409 or $6,150 per unit). We need to encourage association members to have adequate loss assessment coverage on their HO6 policy.
3. Annual Meeting
Our annual meeting will be held in September. Debbie Bakke will check to see if the Heritage Center is available either September 25 or 26. Possible agenda items include:
Financial Update
Care of boulevard trees
Insurance update
Reassessment by City of New Richmond
Fall shrub trimming
Irrigation update
Election of board of directors
Open floor for member feedback and concerns
4. Fall Shrub Trimming
The association will again contract to do the fall shrub trimming. Tom Emerson will contact Schommer Landscaping to make arrangements.
5. McAfee Renewal
Debbie Bakke requested reimbursement for the annual renewal of the McAfee subscription for the association computer. The amount is $158.24.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
MINUTES
June 17, 2024
The board of directors met at the home of Tom Emerson on June 17, 2024. Present at the meeting were Tom Emerson, Jim McGlade and Debbie Bakke.
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for May 2024 were reviewed. The following bills were paid in May:
Waste Management $588.96
Pekin Insurance - $1,218.46
New Richmond Utilities - $69.75
Guinn, Vinopal & Zahradka $315.00
The balance in the checking account at the end of May was $8,991.67 and the balance in the savings account at the end of March was $32,944.40.
The Waste Management bill paid in June increased to $633.24 ($44.28 increase). Jim McGlade will get bids from other providers to make sure Waste Management is still comparable.
2. Picnic Preparations
The association’s annual picnic is June 19, 2024. We will meet in the Evan Court cul de sac to set up tables prior to the event.
3. Fertilizing trees
Jim McGlade has fertilized all the boulevard trees.
4. Insurance
We discussed the insurance proposal from Crex Insurance Agency. The quote was from Travelers Insurance and the yearly premium was $13,966. We will meet with Ried Tate on July 2, 2024 to review the insurance proposals from him and make a decision.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
MINUTES
May 14, 2024
The board of directors met at the home of Tom Emerson on May 14, 2024. Present at the meeting were Tom Emerson, Jim McGlade and Debbie Bakke.
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for March and April 2024 were reviewed. The following bills were paid in March:
Waste Management $588.96
Pekin Insurance - $2,436.91 (February and March)
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $4,400.00 (February and March)
New Richmond Utilities - $29.75
Yegor Hambaryan $250 (website maintenance)
The balance in the checking account at the end of March was $8,864.93 and the balance in the savings account at the end of March was $26,342.14.
The following bills were paid in April:
Waste Management $588.96
Pekin Insurance $1,218.46
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,200.00
New Richmond Utilities $29.75
The balance in the checking account at the end of April was $10,502.76 and the balance in the savings account at the end of April was $27,143.22.
2. Summer Picnic
The summer picnic will be held either the third or fourth Wednesday in June with the following Thursdays being rain dates. The picnic will be held in the Evan Court cul de sac. We will ask Glen Kurtz if he would be willing to provide musical entertainment.
3. Welcoming committee for new home owners
The board members will serve as a welcoming committee for new home owners. We will go as a group and bring them a small gift.
4. Rain gutters.
Rain gutters will be sealed this summer. Jim McGlade will experiment on his gutters to see how to accomplish the task. Tom Emerson will reach out to Ryan Davison to see if he would be able to take on this task for the association.
5. Fertilize boulevard trees.
Jim McGlade will purchase some 10-10-10 granular fertilizer for the trees. Jim and Tom will apply the fertilizer.
6. Waste Management.
Tom has spoken to Waste Management and asked them to contact him directly about any changes to our garbage collection.
7. Driveways.
Tom spoke to Fitzgerald Lawn Care about the scrapes on the driveways left by their snow plows. He also spoke to the company that resealed our driveways. The end result of both discussions was that this is something that will happen each winter and we will not to anything to correct it. Our driveways will be resealed every 4 – 5 years.
8. Insurance.
Pekin Insurance notified us that our insurance will be cancelled as of August 1, 2024. Our agent Ried Tate is obtaining quotes from other insurance companies and will schedule a meeting in July to discuss them.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes
March 20, 2024
The Board of Directors met on March 20, 2024 at the home of Tom Emerson. Debbie Bakke, Jim McGlade and Tom Emerson were present.
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for February 2024 were reviewed. The following bills were paid in February:
Waste Management - $588.96
New Richmond Utilities $29.75
(Our insurance premium for February was deducted from our checking account on March 1 so the March accounting will show the February and March premium payments. We did not receive a bill from Fitzgerald Lawn Care in February but received a bill in March for February and March.)
The balance in the checking account at the end of February was $10,570.55 and the balance in the reserve (savings) account was $26,291.02. All members are current paying their dues.
2. Natural Gas Line
There was a question at last month’s meeting about responsibility for the natural gas line. It states on our statement from Xcel Energy as follows:
Xcel Energy owns and maintains the natural gas piping from the street to our customer’s gas meters, but as the property owner, you are responsible for maintaining any natural gas lines from the meter outlet to gas appliances and equipment. In some cases, the meter may be located at your property line or a distance away from your home or business.
The customer owned piping may be above or below ground, and buried gas lines may run from the meter to a detached garage, pool heater or other locations. Because buried gas pipes can leak and metal pipes may corrode with age, you should have your buried gas pipes inspected periodically and repair them as needed.
3. Cleaning of Dryer and Heating Vents and Insect Spraying
Tom Emerson will call to schedule cleaning of dryer and heating vents and insect spraying sometime in April. Association members participating in those events will be notified of the date and time.
4. Summer Picnic
The summer picnic will be scheduled in June and will be held at the Evan Court cul de sac. Association members will be notified of the date and time.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes
February 20, 2024
Board of Directors’ Meeting
The Board of Directors met on February 20, 2024 at the home of Jim McGlade. Debbie Bakke and Jim McGlade were present. Tom Emerson participated by telephone.
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for January 2024 were provided to the directors but not reviewed. A copy was delivered to Tom Emerson following the meeting and will be reviewed at our next meeting. The following bills were paid in January:
Waste Management - $1,177.92 (Dec. and Jan.)
Pekin Insurance - $2,441.90 (Dec. and Jan.)
New Richmond Utilities - $29.75
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,200.00
Debbie Bakke $91.00 ($66 for stamps and $25 to file
annual report with Department of
Financial Institutions
The balance in the checking account at the end of January was $5,664.26 and the balance in the reserve (savings) account was $25,439.99. All members are current paying their dues.
2. We discussed fertilizing the boulevard trees. Tom Emerson has contacted Heinz Nursery (the landscaper that Derrick hired) to get their recommendation. We are considering using fertilizer spikes. Tom has talked with Heinz Nursery since our meeting and they are suggesting a granular fertilizer (14x14x0).
Because of our warmer and dryer than normal winter, we are going to monitor the trees and may recommend watering them this spring.
3. A question arose as to who is responsible for the gas line going into our units. Jim McGlade will contact Xcel Energy to determine who is responsible.
4. This spring we will flex seal the gutters at the corner where the porch and garage meet and at the end of the garage. This is to prevent the build-up of water/ice by the entry to the front doors.
5. We will meet with Yegor in March to make updates to our website. There is obsolete information on the website that we would like to remove and information we would like to add. (I am only able to add and delete the minutes I post to the website and cannot update other information on the website.)
The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
January 17, 2022
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held on January 17, 2024 at Tom Emerson’s home (525 Morgan Drive, New Richmond, WI). Tom Emerson, Jim McGlade and Debbie Bakke attended the meeting.
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for November 2023 were reviewed by the Board of Directors. The following bills were paid in November:
Waste Management - $588.96
Pekin Insurance - $1,223.45
New Richmond Utilities - $29.75
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $4,521.00
The balance in the checking account at the end of November was $4,010.56 and the balance in the reserve (savings) account was $23,187.93. All members are current paying their dues.
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for December 2023 were reviewed by the Board of Directors. The following bills were paid in December:
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,200
New Richmond Utilities $29.75
Schoomer Landscaping $640.25
First Nat’l Com. Bank $30.25 (checks)
We did not receive a statement this month from Waste Management because of a coding error on their part. They will include the December statement on our January billing.
We also did not receive a statement from Pekin Insurance. I requested a statement from our insurance agent and it was paid January 2, 2024. Beginning January 29, 2024, our payment will be automatically withdrawn from our checking account to eliminate any late payments.
We were under budget on our expenses for the year. We budgeted $12,233.04 and ended the year with total expenses of $11,354.33. It should be noted that we did not pay the December bill to Waste Management of $588.96 and the premium to Pekin Insurance in the amount of $1,223.45. If those would have been paid in December, our year-to-date total expenses would have been $13,166.74 and we would have been $933.70 over budget.
2. Budget
We reviewed the budget we prepared in November of 2023 and decided to change the yearly budget amount for garbage from $7,500 to $7,000 and increase the Utilities – water to $4,000 (from $3,500).
3. Tree Trimming
We discussed trimming the tree between Bob Groth’s and Marlene Olson’s home. Gary Bakke and Jim McGlade will schedule a time when the weather warms to do that. We also discussed fertilizing the boulevard trees with fertilizer spikes. We plan to do that this summer and will try to recruit able bodied members to help.
4. Gutters
Some association members have trouble with the gutters leaking at the corner where the garage roof meets the porch roof. We discussed the possibility of using flex seal to seal that corner to prevent leaking.
5. Electric Meter Reimbursement from Phase II
We have been reimbursed from Phase II for their portion of the charges to our electric meter. (We received a check in the amount of $144.52. Phase III’s share was $219.07.) It is interesting to note that last year Phase II used 849,000 gallons of water to irrigate lawns. Phase III used 1,287,000.
6. Upcoming Meeting
Our next meeting will be February 20, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. at the home of Jim McGlade.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes of Annual Meeting
September 27, 2023
The annual meeting began at 6:00 p.m. at the Heritage Center in New Richmond, Wisconsin. There was a quorum and the meeting proceeded.
1. Guest Speaker – Ried Tate, Dowd Reliance
Ried Tate of Dowd Reliance was at the meeting to discuss changes to our HOA insurance policy. The policy the HOA provides covers about 70% of build cost (basically the exterior structure). Everything you can see inside the house is covered by the HO6 policy that the association members have. The biggest change to our policy is the amount of the deductible. Our previous policy had a deductible $5,000 per occurrence. We now have a deductible of 1% of the building value or $7,300 per building. Ried explained that this is an industry shift.
There was a discussion about the value of the buildings being too high ($730,987 per building). Ried will talk with Derrick Construction about what it costs to build the units that are on a slab to determine if we can lower the value of the buildings.
2. Guest Speaker – Joe Sempf, Fitzgerald Lawn Care.
Joe Sempf was not present for our annual meeting. The board made the decision prior to the annual meeting to aerate the lawns at a cost of $1,032. Fitzgerald Lawn Care recommended overseeding our lawns which would have been an additional cost of approximately $3,500. The Board decided It was not necessary to do that at this time.
3. Financial report
The treasurer gave a financial report of our association. We presently have $3,264.01 in our checking account and $20,935.19 in our reserve account. $750 is deposited into the reserve account each month. An Income Statement was provided to association members present at the meeting. A copy is attached to these minutes. All members are current on their dues. We are over budget on our expenses – actual is $45,451.69 and the budget amount through August is $42,244.61. This is due to the additional $4,025 paid to Fitzgerald for additional snow removal. Our water bill should be below budget this year due to careful monitoring of the system by Jim McGlade.
4. Fitzgerald Lawn Care
There will be no increase to our lawn and snow removal contract for November 2023 – October 31, 2024.
5. 2024 Budget
The Board of Directors will meet the first part of November to prepare the budget for 2024. There are no anticipated maintenance projects in 2024 and no anticipated increase in dues.
6. Spring/summer picnic
There was a suggestion to hold our annual picnic in May or June instead of the end of summer.
7. Upcoming events – shrub trimming (mid-October)
Shrub trimming will be mid-October (front and back of units). We will send an email to all association members when this is scheduled.
8. Dryer vents and furnace duct cleaning
There was a sign-up sheet for all those interested in having their dryer vents and/or furnace ducts cleaned in the spring. This will be scheduled if we have enough people.
9. Election of Board of Directors
Tom Emerson, Jim McGlade and Debbie Bakke were reelected to the Board of Directors.
10. Other business
Volume of speakers at the high school was discussed. Tom Emerson reported that the volume level had been tampered with and has been adjusted. The speaker facing our condo units has been disabled.
An association member asked about when roofs should be replaced. Tom Emerson will contact Derrick Construction see what kind of shingles were put on the roofs and how long they will last so we can anticipate this expense.
A suggestion was made to have a group of association members in charge of organizing a welcome basket for new association members.
There was a concern about the whether or not we should irrigate the lawns during a drought.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes
Board of Director’s Meeting
August 30, 2023
The board of directors met on August 30, 2023 at the home of Tom Emerson. Present at the meeting were Debbie Bakke, Tom Emerson and Jim McGlade.
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for July 2023 were reviewed by the Board of Directors. The following bills were paid in July:
Waste Management - $588.96
Pekin Insurance - $1,473.34
New Richmond Utilities - $1,054.94
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,321
Lone Oak Irrigation $95.00
Quality Sealcoating $3,704
The balance in the checking account at the end of July was $3,823.89 and the balance in the reserve (savings) account was $20,184.32. All members are current paying their dues.
2. Fitzgerald proposal for aeration of lawns
Fitzgerald Lawn Care recommends aeration of our lawns. The cost is $1,032.85. (Core aeration is the process of creating openings or holes in the law to allow air, water and nutrients to move into the soil to the grass roots. It also alleviates soil compaction and helps reduce thatch.)
Fitzgerald also recommended over seeding which is done after the aeration. The grass seed falls into the holes created by the aeration. The cost to over seed is $3,692.50.
If we do this, we would have to contact Lone Oak Irrigation to flag all sprinkler heads so they are not damaged during the aeration process. This would be an additional expense.
We do not have money in our budget this year to do both the aeration and over seeding. We discussed whether or not we postpone this until next fall or decide to do this and do a special assessment to pay for this. (The cost would be $131.25 per unit.) This topic will be discussed with association members at our annual meeting in September.
3. Fitzgerald Lawn Care Contract
There will no change in the amount of our contract with Fitzgerald for the upcoming year. (November 1, 2023 – October 31, 2024.) The contract amount will be $2,200 each month. (We pay sales tax on that amount for the months of April – October.)
4. Annual Meeting
Our annual meeting will be held September 27, 2023 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Heritage Center in New Richmond. Debbie Bakke will make arrangement to rent the pavilion building. We discussed having Reid Tate discuss the changes to our insurance policy and Joe Sempf at Fitzgerald Lawn Care discuss the benefits of aeration and over seeding.
5. Upcoming Meetings
The directors will meet on September 11, 2023 at 9:30 at the home of Tom Emerson to prepare the agenda and plan for the annual meeting. The directors will meet on November 8, 2023 at 9:30 to prepare the budget for 2024.
6. Association Rules
There was a brief discussion about putting together a document that would list association rules.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
Respecfully submitted,
Debbie Bakke
Minutes
Board of Director’s Meeting
July 12, 2023
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for June 2023 were reviewed by the Board of Directors. The following bills were paid in June:
Waste Management - $588.96
Pekin Insurance - $1,281.66
New Richmond Utilities - $31.06
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,321
Lone Oak Irrigation $662.37
The balance in the checking account at the end of June was $7,161.13 and the balance in the reserve (savings) account was $19,433.47. All members are current paying their dues.
2. Lawn Care
We discussed various issues regarding lawn care. We will stay on our current irrigation schedule of watering on odd numbered days for 35 minutes in each zone while our lawns recover from the drought. No watering will occur the day before the lawns are mowed.
3. An association member’s concerns about lawn care
An association member emailed the Board about several concerns regarding the lawn care done by Fitzgerald Lawn Care. Specific concerns were about the length that they cut the grass and the ruts left in the grass by the mower tires. Tom will talk to Fitzgerald about whether to cut the grass 3 inches or 3.5 inches and if they could do cross hatch mowing where feasible. Tom will also respond directly to the member’s email.
4. Picnic
We discussed whether or not to have a picnic this summer. Because of schedules of some of the Board members, this hasn’t been scheduled. We will discuss at the annual meeting whether or not members would like a picnic in October.
5. Gophers
There have been sightings of gophers. We discussed options to deal with the problem. No decision was made but Tom will get input from Fitzgerald about the problem.
6. Irrigation – sprinkler head adjustments
We will contact Lone Oak to do a walk through of our irrigation system to make sure that all sprinkler heads are properly adjusted. This is scheduled for Friday, July 21, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.
7. Other Business
We will again hire Schommer Landscaping to do trimming of shrubs this fall.
The annual meeting will be held September 20, 2023.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes
Board of Director’s Meeting
June 7, 2023
1. Financial Report
The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and check reconciliation report for April and May were reviewed by the Board of Directors. The following bills were paid in April:
Waste Management - $561.33
Pekin Insurance - $1,281.66
New Richmond Utilities - $29.75
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $6,346.00
Guinn, Vinopal & Zahradka,
LLP – tax return preparation $300.00
The following bills were paid in May:
Waste Management - $588.96
Pekin Insurance - $1,281.66
New Richmond Utilities - $29.75
Fitzgerald Lawn Care $2,231
Yegor Hambaryan $200.00
(training for website maintenance)
Heritage Center $50.00
(rental of pavilion for meeting)
The balance in the checking account at the end of May was $7,021.18 and the balance in the reserve (savings) account was $18,682.70. All members are current paying their dues.
2. Addendums to HOA Insurance Policy
We received three addendums to our insurance policy.
a. Mandatory windstorm or hail deductible added.
b. No coverage for access or disclosure of confidential or personal information.
c. Exclusion of loss due to by-products of production or processing operations (rental properties).
We will contact our agent Reid Tate, at Down Reliance Agency to make sure that we understand these addendums.
3. Lawn Mowing
There have been some concerns about lawn mowing. Tom Emerson has talked with Fitzgerald and they advise that during the months of June, July and August, they cut the lawn 3.5 inches. They do this because of the hot, dry conditions during those months.
4. Irrigation Frequencey
Currently the lawns are watered on odd days, beginning at 11:00 p.m. for 25 minutes. We have decided because of the extreme dry conditions to increase watering time to 35 minutes for each zone.
5. New Richmond High School PA System
There have been complaints about the volume of the public address system that the high school uses during events at the football stadium. This is especially a problem for members that live along Richmond Way. Tom Emerson is working with Jon Thompson, the supervisor of buildings and grounds, to ameliorate the situation. We would like the volume turned down and possibly disable the fourth speaker that faces our condominiums.
6. Rental of our condominium units
There is nothing in our Declaration of Condominiums or Bylaws that addresses the issue of renting our condominium units. This will be an item on the agenda of our annual meeting.
7. Rules and Regulations
We discussed whether or not we should put together rules and regulations for our association. No consensus was reached. This also would be a topic to discuss at our annual meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Bakke
Richmond Prairie Condominium Association – Phase III
Minutes of Special Meeting
May 23, 2023
A special meeting of association members was held on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at the Pavilion Building at the New Richmond Heritage Center. A quorum was present and the meeting proceeded. (The attendance sheet and proxies are attached to these minutes but will not be available on the website.)
Tom Emerson opened the meeting and requested that any members not receiving emails should make sure we have their correct contact information. He then introduced the Bylaws Committee of Gary Bakke, Pete Haag and Scott Mealey.
Gary Bakke had a few introductory comments.
1. Driveway re-sealing is scheduled for the week of June 5. We have no specific date yet. We will not be able to use our driveways for 48 hours after the driveways have been sealed.
2. Our contract with Fitzgerald Lawn Care is $26,400 per year. The contract covers lawn mowing, dethatching, fertilizing and snow plowing. We are allowed 11 snow plows per year. Any over that is billed at $575 for each event. We had 7 extra plowing events for total of $4,025 additional cost to our yearly contract.
3. The balance in our checking account as of May 23 is $6,671.18 and the balance in the reserve account is $18,681.21. We continue to put $750 into our reserve account each month.
4. Lone Oak was the company that originally installed our irrigation equipment. Before we had a Board of Directors, Border Town switched our company to Evergreen Irrigation. The Board recently made the decision to return to having Lone Oak service our equipment.
The Bylaws committee then discussed the proposed changes to amend our Bylaws and answered questions that association members had. Following the discussion, the members voted (by paper ballot) on whether or not to accept the proposed amendments to our Bylaws. The results of the vote were 30 – yes; 6 – did not vote. The new Bylaws are effective as of May 23, 2023.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Bakke
Secretary/Treasurer
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