Hale Estates Owners’ Association Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
6:00 PM – Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Board of Directors Present: Pete Tracy, Tom Cosentino, Lynda Mahoney, Scott Hubley, Bruce Miller, Roberta Smith, Ian Heiselmeyer, and Mark Benedict
Board of Directors Absent: David Klibanoff
Community Members Present: Catie Hubley, John Hebb, Dave Smith, Jerry Kelly, Louise Hansen, Karen and Arthur Brunelle, Dorothy and Mike Lane, Diane Flaherty, Kimberly DiGiandomenico, Michelle Clark, Lisa Santos, Royce and Sam Bellini, Nancy and Larry Cassidy, Andrew Schuyler, Susan and Andrew Almquist, JP Mann, Courtney Harrington, Dan Gaj,
Guests Present: Melissa Carr (Forest Glen Property Management)
Meeting convened by Scott Hubley at 6:00 pm.
Executive Committee
Meeting Minutes
The board voted by a vote of 7, with 1 abstention and 1 absent, to approve the March 15, 2022 Board Meeting Minutes.
Litigation Activities
Acknowledgement of litigation activities and executive session between board members and our attorney.
Phase II Common Area Transfer
Scott and Pete provided an update on the transfer from Hastings Trust to HEOA. We are waiting for our lawyer to review the title search to ensure that Hasting has good title to transfer.
Official Board Votes Since Prior Meeting
The board voted to authorize the title search for the common area transfer, and the board voted to engage Forest Glen Property Management for bookkeeping services.
Bookkeeping Services
Ian introduced Melissa Carr from Forest Glen Property Management, who was engaged to provide bookkeeping services. Melissa will be working with Ian to assist in maintaining financial accounting records, paying bills, filing taxes, and complying with insurance requirements. Melissa works in a similar capacity with several different homeowner associations and has the relevant expertise to assist HEOA in managing our financials. Melissa introduced herself and Forest Glen briefly and will be sending an email introduction to the community about Forest Glen’s services and contact information. She will be available to answer any questions related to their services to any members. There was brief discussion of auditing of payments made by Forest Glen. Ian will audit on a monthly basis to start.
Miscellaneous – A brief discussion of the timing and suggested advance notice by Coleman regarding the Spring Street
Sweeping took place among board members; it occurred unannounced and early this year. The Annual Calendar should be updated to communicate the Spring Street Sweeping schedule with homeowners. Scott and Pete also briefly discussed the various board members’ roles in generating the Annual Report using formatted forms.
Finance and Budget
Overview – Scott walked through a slide summarizing FY (fiscal year) 21, FY22 LE (latest estimate) and FY22 PL (budgeted), including line items for the general budget: CARF General Fund, Grounds, Roads, Water, and Insurance/Miscellaneous in one table, and CARF Septic Fund and septic expenses in a second table. Actual expenses for general budget items slightly exceeded budget ($2,467); detail available on Slides (attached). The actual expenses for the septic systems also exceeded budget ($4,371). Pete provided a description of the CARF (Capital Asset Relief Fund) funds for new homeowners. Scott discussed the goal of no change in dues for next year, as well as some conservation measures, such as foregoing some crack sealing and mowing frequency, for achieving that goal.
Scott presented FY23 CARF Summary with projected capital reserve per year needed to meet estimated replacement/maintenance costs. Detailed estimates of replacement/maintenance of Roads, Septic Systems and Water Systems were summarized in slides and briefly discussed.
CARF Septic – Reserve Detail –The septic system components (e.g., pumps and leach fields), estimated useful life and estimated replacement costs for these components, were discussed with Roberta. The differences between the individual homeowner and the public septic systems were also discussed.
CARF Water – Reserve Detail – Scott and Tom discussed the finance and budget considerations regarding the community water system. Tom detailed the expenses and needed replacement of pumps. Tom also discussed an NH grant, which was approved a couple years ago, to cover 50% of costs for cleaning and inspecting the two steel buffer tanks (one upper and one lower) – the inspection may require replacement of one or both tanks. The upper buffer tank provides water pressure to homes on High Point Rd that are above the buried storage tanks; the other homes in the community receive water via gravity feed from the buried storage tanks. Consequently, a temporary pressure tank will be needed before the upper buffer tank can be taken offline for cleaning and inspection. This work is expected to be done later this year, although there is no date certain yet. Tom expects that once work begins, we may need to institute a boil water advisory. Tom’s efforts in submitting and securing another state grant ($50,000) for assessing our water system were acknowledged with thanks.
CARF Road – Reserve Detail – Scott discussed the finance and budget considerations regarding the community roads. The discussion included crack sealing and possible town takeover of the roads in three to five years.
Roads – It was determined that Pete and Scott should reconvene with David to assess what road repairs are really needed and provide additional feedback on materials used plus costs. Ian raised the issue of builders’ efforts needed to keep the roads clean, to facilitate identification of cracks and assessment of road damage. Discussion followed regarding the crack sealing materials, costs, and methods of application. Because the sealing material is an oil-based product, we expect costs for crack sealing to increase this year.
Landscaping – Scott and Bruce discussed the bid from Carl Drew renewing his contract for landscaping. Costs from Carl Drew are projected to increase by about 21%. Scott and Bruce will regroup with Carl to discuss the budget. Scott mentioned that Dave Smith volunteered to take care of the pit area, which would save some money. Scott discussed the marking of common areas with orange spray paint as a visual guide to Carl in beginning landscape maintenance. There was some discussion regarding the woods encroaching on the green space and possible clean up – leading to a brief mention of a Community Work Day. Scott and Bruce need to ratify the landscape proposals from Carl Drew and Dave Smith.
Septic – Roberta will create a worksheet on homeowners’ compliance with septic pumping. Scott summarized communications with FX Lyons regarding a proposal for services including annual pump evaluation and preventative maintenance program. Carl Drew will continue to evaluate the septic tanks, as FX Lyons is not licensed to perform tank evaluation. Roberta, Scott and Pete will follow-up on Septic System E (lots 54 and 58) and status of Hasting contractual obligation to bring system online. Follow-up is also needed regarding the status and functionality of Septic System J (lots 76-80), which has no electric usage to date.
Water – Tom reported on the status of the community water system study (NH grant funded). Horizons Engineering was selected to do the water system study. Tom also mentioned that a second grant covering the upper and lower buffer tank cleaning and evaluation (discussed above) was approved. All our water testing has come back clean again, which would allow us to petition the state to perform testing only once every three years (as opposed to annually). Lastly, Tom reiterated that the board advises all homeowners with existing irrigation systems to conserve water, particularly from May to October, by watering only on Mon, Wed and Fri (for odd numbered houses) and Tue, Thu and Sat (for even numbered houses). All watering should be conducted before 7 am or after 8 pm to minimize evaporation loss.
Design Committee – Pete outlined the status of lots in Phase II. 45 out of 54 lots have sold, 2 lots are expected to close by mid-June, and 7 lots remain on the market. Seven lots are currently under some form of construction – which we continue to monitor. The board voted by a vote of 7, with 1 abstention and 1 absent, to approve the revised construction checklist.
Community Outreach – Scott welcomed new homeowners and reminded the community about the upcoming General Annual Meeting and the BBQ to follow on June 4th, with a request for all attendees to RSVP. Scott also briefly introduced the community’s fundraiser, “End 68 Hours of Hunger” for children who don’t have predictable food sources. Those wishing to contribute can bring cash or food to the annual meeting/picnic.
Old Business
• The ad hoc sign committee provided a map for proposed stop signs a few months ago. One was voted on and approved and has been installed (Grandview and Grandview), two others (Grandview and Holly Ridge) and (Heather Hill and High Point) remain to be approved. There was some discussion about whether stop signs and speed limit signs should be voted on by the board or deferred for further input from the association. It was decided to take a straw vote of the HEOA membership at the General Annual Meeting.
• Ian will solicit bids for community propane gas service (our Amerigas contract will expire on June 30th)
• Close action to communicate with Hastings Trust related to landscape services in phase II – HEOA is now responsible for those services.
New Business
Scott reported that we consolidated insurance providers with Infinger for general liability as well as director and officer liability.
Website
Nancy introduced the Member Area, with a brief tutorial on how members can opt to register and set up a personal password. Pete provided some background and assurance that individual members’ contact information would remain confidential unless they choose to share some of their contact information with the association through the Member Area.
Member Open Forum
• Jerry Kelley raised a concern regarding payment responsibility of the insurance deductible ($2500) for defending a lawsuit brought by a community member against the HEOA board and certain named individuals. It was discussed and decided that this topic should be deferred until the end of the lawsuit, when responsibility for legal fees and costs would be determined – which could be 12-18 months. Discussion also followed regarding whether the board would provide the publicly available complaint to interested homeowners. It was decided that the board would provide a copy of the requested complaint.
• Tom discussed the positives of the annual Community Work Day and suggested that this year’s Work Day should be later in the year (e.g., September) when it is cooler.
• Karen Brunelle raised the issue of the astronomy reports disappearing from the mailbox bulletin board, and suggested that a lockable bulletin board for such community notices might address the problem. After discussion of the pros and cons (and website alternative), it was decided that Scott and Lynda would evaluate the possibility of a lockable, weather-resistant bulletin board.
• Karen also shared a tip for detecting leaking toilets (add food color to the tank and observe if it leaks out into the bowl) – thereby enabling water conservation.
• Dave Smith (the pit master) mentioned that there are three trailers in the pit that are not known. A discussion ensued regarding these trailers, and more generally about the pit availability for homeowners to store RV’s, trailers, etc. (which are not allowed to be stored in driveways).
Meeting Adjourned
The meeting was adjourned at about 8:05 pm.
Hale Estates Owners’ Association Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
6:00 PM – Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Board of Directors Present: Pete Tracy, Tom Cosentino, Meg Richard, Mark Richard, Lynda Mahoney, Scott Hubley, Bruce Miller
Board of Directors Absent: David Klibanoff, Roberta Smith
Community Members Present: Catherine Miskelly, Mark Benedict, Dorothy and Mike Lane, Glenn Davis, Catie Hubley, Eric Hansen, Rick Ekstrand, Karen Moore, Arthur Brunelle, Larry and Nancy Cassidy, Ian Heiselmeyer, Royce Bellini, Andrew Schuyler
Meeting convened by President Pete Tracy at 6:00 pm.
Meeting Minutes
The board voted by a vote of 6, with 3 absent, to approve the January 18, 2022 Board Meeting Minutes.
Vote to Fill Vacancies on Board of Directors – Pete Tracy
Pete reported that Mark Richard (Treasurer – term ends 2024) and Meg Richard (Secretary – term ends 2022) are leaving the community for personal reasons.
The board voted by a vote of 6, with 3 absent, to approve the board’s nomination of Ian Heiselmeyer for Treasurer.
The board voted by a vote of 7, with 2 absent, to approve the board’s nomination of Mark Benedict for Secretary.
Finance – Scott Hubley
Budget Recommendations – Scott walked attendees through the budget recommendations, including the plan
for fiscal year 2023 (FY23 PL), the latest expectation for fiscal year 2022 (FY22 LE), and the planned budget for fiscal year
2022 (FY22 PL). In summary, the budget committee recommends that association dues should remain unchanged. FY23
expenses are expected to increase for electric, bookkeeping, insurance, legal, and septic maintenance. HEOA revenue is
expected to increase driven by increased lot sales. There was some discussion regarding a possible fuel surcharge in our
maintenance budget due to high gasoline prices.Actual vs Budgeted FY22 (YTD) – Scott reported that revenue was projected to be about $3,000 more than
budgeted. Expenses were projected to be slightly greater than budgeted for road crack sealing, water system
maintenance and monitoring, as well as a few miscellaneous categories (subscriptions, accounting fees, tax filing fees).In summary, Scott reported that the expense overrun of $1,930 was more than covered by a planned $2,400 contingency
line, plus the increased revenue from lot sales. Scott reported that we had a $1,441 overrun in septic expenses that will
have to be deducted from CARF.HEOA FY Calendar – to be posted on the HEOA website.
Roads – Pete Tracy
Pete reported for David that we have had 24 weather events so far in FY22 that required plowing, salting and/or
sanding. Pete reminded us that Coleman plows the streets first to allow for passage, and then comes back and plows the
fire hydrants, mailboxes, and pump house access. There was some discussion regarding responsibility for minimizing the
amount of mud carried onto Grandview by construction vehicles, e.g., putting down sufficient stone.
Landscaping – Bruce Miller
Bruce reported that invitations to bid will be mailed out to two contractors by the end of next week, and
responses are due by April 10. The two contractors selected to bid for community landscaping (Phase I) are Carl Drew &
Sons and Drew McDonald.Scott mentioned that Yard Guard organic tick and mosquito control, and Bartlett gypsy moth
caterpillar control have offered volume discounts to the community. Any homeowners interested in these services
should email the HEOA to take advantage of and bolster our volume discounts.Pete mentioned that Hastings Trust remains responsible for landscape maintenance of Phase II, but that the community will probably need to take over this responsibility next year.
Septic – Pete Tracy
Pete reported that we recently experienced failures in septic field D (upper side of Heather Hill) and septic field G (Grandview across from Somerville’s old house). We had failure of check valves in field D and failure of pump(s) in field G. Pete recommended that the community retain FX Lyons in order to become a priority customer and facilitate rapid emergency service. Pete is exploring the terms of such a retainer, but the owner of FX Lyons is out of town until May.
Water – Tom Cosentino
Tom reported that the community water was tested and came back clean – i.e., negative for coliform, nitrates, and volatile and synthetic organic chemicals. Water testing results will be posted on the HEOA website.
Tom explained that the water pressure for all homeowners, except for those at the top of High Point (located above the reservoir tanks), is based on the difference in altitude between the reservoir tanks on High Point Road and the individual homesites. The system was designed to provide 40 psi minimum water pressure to every home.
Tom was recently awarded a state grant on behalf of HEOA for up to $50K to assess our water system. Tom is in the process of selecting a water contractor to perform the assessment. Until the assessment is completed, the board advises all homeowners with existing irrigation systems to conserve water, particularly during Spring, Summer and Fall months, by watering only on Mon, Wed and Fri (for odd numbered addresses) and Tue, Thu and Sat (for even numbered addresses). All watering should be conducted before 7 am or after 8 pm to minimize evaporation loss. Further, the board advises those homeowners considering installation of an irrigation system, to wait until the assessment is completed – expected to take a few months.
To emphasize the effectiveness of water conservation, Tom presented data showing the total water consumption in 2020
and 2021 compared to our theoretical maximum water production capacity (50,000 gallons per day). The data suggests
that the above-advised water conservation measures, which were instituted in 2021 (61 homes) reduced consumption
during the peak summer months by about 70-80% compared to consumption in 2020 (54 homes).
Design Committee – Pete
Pete outlined the status of lots in phase II. 43 out of 54 lots have been sold. 11 lots remain unsold.
Building continues in Phase II.
Community Outreach – Scott
Scott reported that the new homeowner welcome letter has been updated to include information on septic, water conservation and dark sky initiative. Also, community pricing on pest control and propane (Amerigas) are included. There was some discussion of seeking competitive bids among area propane suppliers. Ian volunteered to follow-up.
Old Business - ALL
Open ACTION Items from the meeting on 1/18/22
Statement of work for Phase I bidding on landscaping will be sent to Hastings Trust to let them know the standard we expect for Phase II.
“Sign Committee” – Mike Lane reported that we are waiting for Spring thaw to add STOP signs. Map for proposed signs will be included with the meeting minutes. Discussion and voting on signage will be conducted during the May meeting.
New Business
Pete disclosed that three board positions will open in June; Bruce Miller (landscaping) and Roberta Smith (septic) will not seek reelection, having served admirably for a long time. The term of Meg Richard (Secretary), (which is temporarily filled by Mark Benedict) ends in June. All interested members of the community are encouraged to submit a notice of interest and a brief bio to the association email as soon as possible – the candidates’ names/bios will be included on a ballot that needs to be sent out before the end of April.
Pete raised the question of whether to have the annual meeting in person (rather than via zoom), and if so, where. After discussion and concerns expressed over black flies and rain, it was decided that we should hold the annual meeting in person on a site in the community, rent a large tent, pre-treating the area for pests, and holding the member picnic at the same site following the annual meeting.
Website
Nancy walked us through the updated website design, including drop-down menus and helpful links.
There was some discussion of whether to archive information on the website or other storage options, such as a Google drive.
Meeting Adjourned
A motion to adjourn was made by Bruce Miller, seconded by Scott Hubley, and approved unanimously at about 7:35 pm.
Hale Estates Owners’ Association Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
6:00 PM – Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Board of Directors Present: Pete Tracy, Tom Cosentino, Meg Richard, Mark Richard, Lynda Mahoney, David Klibanoff, Scott Hubley, Roberta Smith
Board of Directors Absent: Bruce Miller
Community Members Present: Catherine Miskelly, Dorothy and Mike Lane, Glenn Davis, Scott and Catie Hubley, Kate and Wayne Mora, Eric and Louise Hansen, Jerry Kelley, Rick Ekstrand, Mark Benedict
Meeting convened by President Pete Tracy at 6:00 pm.
Meeting Minutes
The board voted by a vote of 8 accept, 1 absent to approve the November 2021 Board Meeting Minutes.
Finance – Mark Richard
Mark reported that we made two contributions to CARF and that is reflected on the balance sheet in the checking
account. Mark presented the Actuals vs. Budget update. Nothing is of concern at this point.
Since our last meeting, the finance committee has met with all of the board members to put together the FY2023
Budget. Per our discussion in a previous board meeting, we have broken out the dues as Hastings dues, Lower
Grandview, and Homeowner dues to more accurately reflect the current categories. The budget is very similar to how
it’s looked in the past. We did not receive a tax bill from the town of Conway. Bruce and Mark met with the town
assessor and since we took the pit out of common use, our common areas will no longer be taxed. So, we will not be
getting tax bills from the town going forward.
We incurred an ~$800 expense for Septic D. We have since had another pump failure in Septic G, which will cost about
$1,000 to repair.
Mark presented our Master Vendor Contact list, which Scott has pulled together. This information will be stored in the
Google file repository so that it’s easily accessible by the board. Scott is in the process of ensuring that all vendors we do
business with have insurance. Scott presented the Hale Estates Fiscal Year Calendar, which includes reminders for things
we need to do each year.
Roads – David Klibanoff
Snow plowing and sanding is going well. Coleman generally plows the streets first to allow for passage, and then comes
back and plows the fire hydrants, mailboxes, and pump house access.
Reclaiming Grandview Road – meeting with the Town of Conway (Pete, Tom, Scott)
Pete presented a letter from the town of Conway regarding the meeting with the town of Conway regarding the
reclaiming of Grandview Road. They are interested in taking over the roads within Hale Estates, which are all over 25
years old and have had minimal maintenance. The timeline for this takeover of our roads is 3 to 5 years. A rough
estimate for the cost to repair and replace all roads in Hale Estates is estimated to be about $1.5 million. In order to pay
for the repairs, the town would add a betterment assessment to each lot owner’s tax bill for ten years. There would also
need to be a study done to initiate this project, at a cost to Hale Estates of ~$15K.. Once there are 90 lots with buildings
(85% of lots) on them we would put the matter to a vote by Hale Estates lot owners. See the attached slide that outlines
the HEOA Public Roads Scenario. If the town takes over the roads our HEOA dues will be reduced somewhere between
$500 to $700 a year per lot because we will no longer be responsible for expenses related to road maintenance. The
concern was raised as to whether making the roads public would open up the neighborhood to more traffic. The roads
will become public but the association and the community will still be private. The question was raised as to why the
town would want to take over the roads. Hale Estates residents have been paying the taxes for the plowing of the roads
in Conway and once we have 90 homes in the development it becomes the right thing for the town to do. This project
came about because Pete went to the town to inquire about Stop signs and the town initiated this requested acquisition
of the road and then followed up with the letter that Pete presented.
If anyone has any questions about this process, please send them to haleestates01@gmail.com.
Landscaping - Scott Hubley for Bruce Miller
Scott reported that Bruce is working on putting out bids for the landscaping contract. Scott and Bruce are working on
the past action item: Scott/Pete to work together on additional options to respond to homeowners’ concerns over the
maintenance services provided by the Hastings Trust.
Septic - Roberta Smith
Status – Home-owner pumping: We have just one homeowner who has not responded to two notices. Roberta will send
out a certified letter as spring approaches.
We contracted with FX Lyons to run tests on the pumps in Phase I. We have an estimate for repairs to Septic D for
$1,760. We need to vote as to whether we take the funds for this expense out of CARF. We have since had another
failure in Septic G. We have an estimate to repair this for $980. The pumps are aging and will likely be costing us money
to repair going forward. FX Lyons recommended that we have the pumps inspected every other year going forward.
Roberta recommended that we vote to take the funds for these two expenses out of Septic CARF. A proposal to repair
Septic Pump G and to withdraw a total of $2,740 from Septic CARF to fund these repairs and the repairs to Pump D was
made by Roberta Smith, seconded by David Klibanoff, and passed by 8 votes of the board, with one board member
absent.
Roberta presented a Community Septic System repair and replacement summary. See attached slides for more details.
Water - Tom Cosentino
Water testing results - We tested for coliform and it has all come back clean.
New cell phones were installed in December of 2021 for the security system. We went with G4 because the G5 signal is
not reliable throughout the town of Conway.
There were some inquiries regarding the water pressure in Phase II homes. The current water pressure in Phase II is
about 40 PSI. There is no inexpensive way to increase water pressure in the development. Tom has submitted a request
for a grant to study whether we can do anything to update the system. The plan for the development was approved by
the town for water pressure in the range of 40 PSI.
Tom presented a graph of water usage over the past year. The conservation efforts we have put into place are working
and we will continue to ask members to conserve water in the future. There was a question as to whether we could
amend the covenants to allow homeowners to drill their own wells. Tom had a discussion with the state as to whether
this would be possible. Homeowners would be allowed under state requirements to drill their own wells for irrigation
system use only, not for potable water. If we were to go this route we would have to change the covenants. If anyone is
interested in this option, contact Tom and he will get you the contact information.
Design Committee – Pete Tracy
37 out of the 54 lots in Phase II have been sold. Three are under agreement. Building continues in Phase II.
Community Outreach - Scott Hubley
The new homeowner welcome letter is being updated to include graphics and bring it up to date. We are considering
also making an updated packet available at the annual meeting for all residents. A homeowner inquired as to whether
we can load all homeowner contact information on the website. Pete will reach out to Nancy to see if we can set up an
opt in directory on the website. Scott is looking into whether it makes sense to hold an in-person annual meeting and
barbeque in June, and if so where. We might look into getting a tent and having it outside. It was noted that the
meeting takes place during black fly season so perhaps it makes sense to have a Zoom meeting and an in-person
barbeque. If anyone would like to help Scott with the planning of the annual meeting please reach out to him.
Old Business - ALL
Open ACTION Items from the meeting on 11/16/21
● “Sign Committee” - Signage within HEOA: Proposed STOP sign at the intersection of Grandview and Grandview – Mike Lane met with several people in the neighborhood to get input on the sign locations. Thebcommittee proposes three stop signs and three speed limit signs as laid out in the diagram on the attachedbslides. Mike will reach out to the town before we order the signs.
● UPDATE: “END 68 Hours of Hunger” – We have been able to make some fantastic donations after the last two board meetings. We will again put out a collection box after this meeting for donations. Thank you for your support of this initiative.
● Committee to review/edit/define Declaration & Covenants:
SECTION 7. LAND USE, 7(n): Landscaping, “…A minimum of seventy-five percent (75%) of all disturbed service shall be re-seeded with grass and at least five (5) shrubs. - The design committee met and we discovered that it would cost about $1,000 to update the covenants to make these changes and decided it wasn’t worth the cost. We will continue to make new homeowners aware of the need to conserve water.
New Business – ALL
Discussion with legal counsel regarding irrigation systems within Hale Estates Counsel recommends that we do not mandate that people remove irrigation systems or ban them, but rather ask people to be good neighbors. Scott suggested we do an executive session with the full board and legal counsel to continue to discuss this issue.
Website - Nancy Cassidy
Nancy was not present at the board meeting. Pete thanked Nancy for her work on updating the website. Pete thanked
Lisa Moore for helping to maintain the septic tank spreadsheet. She has recently received a promotion at work and will no longer have time to maintain the spreadsheet for us.
Meeting Adjourned
A motion to adjourn was made by David Klibanoff, seconded by Mike Lane, and approved unanimously.