Minutes of the May 10, 2007 Meeting
Board of Trustees of the Beacon Meadows Special Dependent Tax District
13550 S. Village Dr., Tampa, Florida
Trustees Present: Carol Coon (President), Barbara Appel (Vice President), Penny Phillips (Recording Secretary), Chris Eddy (Trustee), Al Adler (Trustee)
Trustees Absent: Caroleen Tillery (Treasurer), Cheryl Bonk (Corresponding Secretary)
The meeting was called to order by Carol at 7:07 p.m.
Secretary's Report – The minutes of the April 2007 meeting were read by Trustees in advance. Al made a motion, seconded by Chris, to approve the minutes. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0.
Treasurer's Report –The Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for April 2007 was reviewed.
Cash in bank: $19,154.75
Available to spend: $10,355.00
Carol reported that over $10,000 still remains in the account after the $3,627.00 deposit for the painting project was paid (see below).
Old Business
Painting of Gunn Hwy. Wall – Sand Dollar is the color of the Sherwin Williams 100% acrylic exterior premium Duration paint to be used for the wall. This color was selected by homeowners who voted. Mulligan Painting, Inc. will begin the project on May 14, 2007. Jay’s Property Maintenance (the Tax District’s lawn maintenance service) will perform the trimming work along the wall prior to commencement of the project. Penny mailed an announcement to 22 homeowners with property adjacent to the wall to give them about two weeks’ notice of the pressure washing and painting work to be done. Carol made a motion, seconded by Barbara, that Penny be reimbursed $9.91 (budget category 41.00) for postage and envelopes. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0.
Public Budget Hearing – Carol reported that the advertisement for the hearing must be published in the newspaper at least 21 days in advance (i.e., by May 24, 2007). It was agreed that the advertisement should be published on May 23, 2007. The hearing will be held after the monthly Board meeting on June 14, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. Al agreed to submit the advertisement to The St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Edition. The appropriate language for the advertisement was found in the instruction booklet provided by the County. Carol informed Trustees that she will be preparing two budget proposals; one with a $75.00 assessment rate and the other with a $100.00 assessment rate. Adoption of the second budget would allow for all three perimeter walls to be painted within two fiscal years. The assessment could then be lowered the next fiscal year.
New Business
Beacon Meadows Website – Trustees expressed their appreciation to Barbara for her continual updating of the website. They offered ideas for promoting the website so more homeowners will visit it on a regular basis. The following three recommendations were made: 1) submit a proposal to the County for a mini-grant so that a newsletter can be distributed to homeowners, which would include information about the website, 2) affix permanent signs to the monuments at the entrances to publicize the website, and 3) mail a flyer or postcard to all homeowners providing information about the Tax District and publicizing the website. It was agreed that mailing a postcard to all homeowners would be least time-consuming, least expensive, and most effective. Penny volunteered to prepare a draft of the information to be included on the postcard (e.g., purpose of the Board of Trustees, website address, announcement of Board meetings, notice of Trustee vacancies, and clarification that deed restrictions enforcement is not the responsibility of the Board). Barbara agreed to prepare the postcards for mailing. A sample postcard will be ready for presentation to Trustees at the June Board meeting.
Beacon Meadows Garage Sale – Barbara reported that she had received an e-mail from a homeowner inquiring if there would be a community garage sale this spring. Discussion ensured and it was decided that the Board would sponsor only one garage sale per year. It will continue to be held in the fall (e.g., October) when it is cooler.
County Publication – Barbara showed Trustees “The Neighborhood Connection,” a periodic publication from the County Office of Neighborhood Relations. This publication contains a wealth of information, and Barbara uses excerpts from it for the Beacon Meadows website.
There being no further business, Carol made a motion, seconded by Penny, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0. The meeting was adjourned by Carol at 7:55 p.m.
Penny Phillips, Recording Secretary
Carol Coon, President