Summary
Regular (budget) Board meeting held October 1, 2026, 7:00–7:50 PM (Aurelio’s Pizza, Winfield, IL, per the meeting packet). Present: Mike Coker (MC), Mike Halko (MH), Mark Hanley (MKH), Ed Bryson (EB), Neel Sharma (NS), and Marjorie Comber (API) — all five Directors attended. The Board approved the prior minutes, approved the collections-policy questionnaire as shown in the board packet (the policy will go to homeowners for 30 days’ notice and be adopted at a November Zoom meeting, before 2027), approved the $1,980 Peerless Fence repair of the Rt. 59 fence, and approved a $6,390 Classic Fence contract to replace the split-rail fence. On the 2027 budget the Board voted 3–1–1 to keep the annual assessment the same as 2026, even though the updated reserve study lowers the reserve need. All five hearing requests on violation notices were no-shows; one fine was dropped because the homeowner had fixed the issues. No executive session was held.
Neel Sharma’s presence and votes: the July 16, 2026 minutes record the Board’s vote to remove him. Per the user (October 2026), a later legal review concluded that the Board cannot remove a Director without a homeowner vote, so the removal was not binding and Sharma remains a seated Director. He moved and voted at this meeting accordingly.
Key Provisions
- Attendance: All five Directors present (Coker, Halko, Hanley, Bryson, Sharma) plus Marjorie Comber (API). Sharma’s first attendance since January 14, 2026.
- Call to order / minutes: 7:00 PM, MKH motion, MH second, approved. Prior minutes (July 16) approved — MKH motion, EB second.
- Treasurer’s report (MH): confirmed the $50K CD was opened as authorized at the prior meeting; about $320K in reserves and about $84K in operating cash (matches the August 2026 balance sheet — see financial-report-2026-08). No motion to approve the August financials is recorded.
- Social committee: the Hawthorne’s social was successful; 30+ people attended.
- Landscaping (EB): spruce trees on the island at the White Oak Lane cul-de-sac were damaged and their lower branches removed — possibly by a homeowner. API to get spring mulch estimates and find out whether the HOA can buy mulch itself, through the existing arrangement with the mulch manufacturer on Atlantic, and have the landscaper apply it. EB moved to budget $500 for more plantings in the spring (MC second) — approved.
- Collections questionnaire (Old Business): minutes say “see comments from Costello.” NS moved to approve the survey as shown in the board packet (MH second) — approved. The policy as documented will be sent to homeowners with 30 days’ notice before adoption; it must be adopted before 2027, so a November meeting is needed. It can be held by Zoom. API will send the policy to homeowners and a Zoom meeting will be scheduled after the 30 days. See assessment-collection-policy.
- Rt. 59 fence repair: EB moved to approve $1,980 for Peerless to repair the Rt. 59 fence damage (MH second) — approved. Per the user, this is the Board’s official approval motion; the contract had already been signed by the President on 9/18/2026 and delivered by API on 9/21/2026. EB will salvage undamaged pickets from the damaged area to replace missing pickets elsewhere on the fence (as noted in the reserve study). See peerless-fence.
- Split-rail fence: MC moved to approve $6,390 for Classic Fence to replace the split-rail fence (MKH second) — approved. Classic is to remove the old fence and its concrete footings, and the new fence is to have no concrete footings. See classic-fence.
- Box truck (New Business): a home in the community has a box truck parked in its driveway; the Board asked whether a violation can be sent. MC cautioned that the truck may be legal and the Commercial Truck restriction may not be enforceable; if the truck is parked over the sidewalk, that is a City ordinance violation. No action taken. See vehicle-parking-rules.
- Citations / hearings: five homeowners had requested hearings on their violations; none showed up. One homeowner, whom the Board spoke to at the social and chatted with via Facebook, had their fine dropped because they had addressed the issues. No ruling is recorded for the other four. See violations-and-fines.
- 2027 budget and assessment: discussion of raising the yearly assessment “as usual.” The updated Reserve Study removed several areas the HOA is not responsible for maintaining (retaining walls along the Menards frontage road and the Menards fences), which should reduce the amount to set aside. MKH suggested reducing the assessment accordingly. NS moved to keep the assessment the same as 2026 (EB second). Vote: aye — NS, EB, MKH; opposed — MC; abstained — MH. Motion approved (3–1–1). The reserve contribution and the full 2027 budget are not addressed; the budget is to be adopted at the November meeting. See hoa-annual-finances and reserve-study-findings.
- 2027 meeting schedule: 1/21, 4/15, 7/15, 10/21.
- Executive session: none. Homeowner forum: none present.
- Adjourned: 7:50 PM (EB motion, MC second, approved).
Topics Covered
board-of-directors, board-elections-and-terms, hoa-annual-finances, reserve-study-findings, assessment-collection-policy, fence-regulations, vendor-contracts, violations-and-fines, vehicle-parking-rules, meeting-procedures
Notable Details
- Assessment: flat versus the draft budget. “Same as 2026” means the per-unit assessment stays at $352.65 (total about $76,173 including the reserve contribution). The draft 2027 budget in board-packet-2026-10-01 proposed assessments of $77,357 plus an $8,000 reserve contribution (about $395/unit), so that draft will have to be revised before the November adoption. Whether the reserve contribution stays at $7,799, moves to $8,000, or follows the study’s $2,000 recommendation is not stated.
- Revised reserve study: the minutes discuss its effect on the assessment but record no motion to accept it.
- Split-rail scope questions not addressed: Classic’s bid shows 260 LF (with a stray “340’” in the job description), sets posts dry, and does not mention footing removal; the Board’s added instructions (remove old concrete footings; none on the new fence) may change scope or price. Funding is not specified — the draft 2027 budget carries no fence expense, although the reserve study schedules the split-rail replacement for 2027 ($7,748). See fence-regulations.
- Agenda items with no recorded action: approval of the August financials, the Homeowner ACC List (three approvals), the management report, and the revised reserve study. The minutes may be summary-level.
- Hearings: the packet’s five hearing requests (see board-packet-2026-10-01) were not heard in executive session, and the minutes say none of the requesters attended. The earlier question about requests submitted after the 10-day window is not addressed.
- Questionnaire approval: the approval is of the answers as shown in the packet. Open conflicts with existing policy (flat $25 vs. 18% interest; 90-day vs. 60-day attorney turnover) are not discussed in the minutes.
- Peerless vote: the Rt. 59 repair was already contracted before the meeting; the motion is recorded as an approval of the $1,980 expenditure.
- Sharma removal: see Summary. The legal review that found the removal non-binding is not in the wiki; its date, author and exact conclusion are user-reported only.
- Source is a formally typed secretary note in the same abbreviated format as other recent minutes. No homeowner names or addresses appear; none recorded.