UNIVERSITY HILL ASSOCIATION OF HOMEOWNERS

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

 

     

In accordance with the Bylaws of UHAOH the Annual General Meeting of the Membership was held in the Ballroom of the Las Colinas Country Club. About 70 residents and guests were in attendance. Board members present were; Arnold Martin, Charles Schmidt, Don McGee, Martin Kahn, Don Jensen, Barbara Hull, James Wells, and John De Marco.

 

President Arnold Martin called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM and extended a warm welcome to all.

 

The first order of business was the appointment of an Acting Secretary for the meeting inasmuch as Esther Nachimson was unable to attend. John De Marco was duly appointed.

 

The next order of business was to ascertain if there was a quorum. The Acting Secretary took count and a quorum was declared which declaration was re-affirmed by Martin Kahn.

 

Arnold took a moment to point out some of many accomplishments made by the association over the past year and in prior years. Arnold also acknowledged the presence of Mr. Rick Bidne, President of The Las Colinas Association (TLCA), and remarked how grateful we are for all the good works done by TLCA and the support given to us by TLCA.

 

Later in the meeting Rick Bidne returned the compliment and expressed appreciation for all the good work done by UHAOH under the leadership of Arnold Martin.

 

Arnold called upon Don McGee and Martin Kahn to bring forth the proposal for a new set of bylaws for the association.

 

Martin Kahn related how a Bylaws Committee had been established several years ago. Don McGee is the committee chairman and its other members are Felix Fenter, Jesse Orsini, John Hogue, and Martin Kahn. Its charge was to develop a new set of bylaws with a need to bring them up-to-date with current organizational practices. At the October meeting of the UHAOH Board of Directors these new bylaws were endorsed for submission to the membership.  They are on display at http://www/universityhills.net/bylaws and were included with the annual meeting notice.

 

Discussion ensued about the bylaws and about the role of the Immediate Past President as this office was absent from the proposed new bylaws. Kathy Wilkins proposed that the Immediate Past President be included as an advisor to the Board of Directors in a voting capacity. Charles Mott seconded and the motion passed.

 

Martin then motioned that the proposed new bylaws as so amended be approved. Charles seconded and the new bylaws were approved by acclamation.

In the absence of the Treasurer, Arnold reported a balance of $9,902.56 in the UHAOH checking account maintained at BOTW. In addition, Arnold has 5 member’s checks in hand for $250. Arnold also commented that the association has a reserve fund presently invested in a CD at Bank of the West.

 

Arnold added that the association’s healthy financial position is mainly due to the members who contribute to the association through the payment of dues each year and thanked everyone who had done so.

 

Arnold called attention to several individuals who were “retiring” from their positions with the association this year, viz. Kass Prince, Bob Kitzman, and Lind Korkmas. Arnold expressed sincere gratitude to them for their years of service to our association and to our UH community and proposed this appreciation be made formal.

 

Don Jensen moved to so adopt a Resolution of Appreciation to Linda, Bob, and Kass which motion was seconded and approved by acclamation.

 

Don McGee gave heed to it being Veteran’s Day and asked for a round of applause to honor all our veterans who have served our country so bravely and with such sacrifice over the years.

 

Don then reported on behalf of the Nominating Committee.  A slate of eleven (11) candidates for election to the Board of Directors had been circulated prior to the meeting. Arnold Martin, Charles Schmidt, Esther Nachimson, James Wells, Martin Kahn, Barbara Hull, Nell Anne Hunt, Linda Oliver, Anna Walther, Felix Fenter, and John De Marco were the nominees on this slate.

 

Don explained that under the new bylaws the directors are elected for a 3-year term. Also, the Board will be staggered with one-third of the directorships coming up for election each year. This being the first year the directors serving 1, 2, or 3 years will be determined by count of votes.

 

Don asked if there were any nominations from the floor. There were none. A motion from the floor was made that the full slate of candidates as nominated be elected. Gil Andres seconded the motion and it was passed.

 

Later in the evening Don announced that the terms for each Director had been decided by a random drawing with results as follows:

 1 Year: Nell Anne, Barbara, and Felix

2 Years: Arnold, Charles, Linda, and John

3 Years: Esther, Anna, Martin, and Jim

 

Arnold called upon the Committee Chairs to report:

 

Barbara Hull invited everyone to the opening of the Deck the Hills event which will be held on Monday, December 1st, at 6 PM. There will be lots to see and do for the whole family with caroling, the light display, hot cocoa, Santa Claus, a color guard, the live manger scene, and much, much more. Barbara also asked for volunteers to help with the arrangements, especially some Wise Men for the manger scene.

 

Pat Andres explained some of the criteria she and her committee use to select Yard of the Month. Pat also reminded everyone about the up-coming Holiday Lighting Contest. Judging will be done on the second Wednesday of December.

 

Charles Schmidt reported on the progress being made with the Farine School Program. Three other HOA’s in the area are involved with UHAOH in effort to assist the faculty and staff to make the school even better.

 

Charles announced two more residents who qualified as Green Neighbors and will be given the coveted Green Neighbor Medallion. Now there are 56 households in UH who are certified practitioners of ecological awareness. Charles encouraged other residents to become Green Neighbors; application forms are available on the table at the back of the room.

 

Charles announced the nine winners of the prestigious 40 Year Home of Distinction Award for this year. At this time there are 89 homes in UH aged 40 years or older and 26 have met the high standards of maintenance and upkeep inherent in the judging criteria. All these winners were presented with the 40 Year Home of Distinction Marker on an aluminum stake for display in their front yards.

 

Arnold called upon Rick Bidne who made some comments in preparation for the featured attraction for the meeting. Rick related how interest in the Barnett Shale gas formation had moved eastward from Fort Worth over the past several years. In anticipation of possible gas exploration activity in the Las Colinas area and in effort to protect the mineral rights of property owners in Las Colinas, the North East Irving Area Coalition (NEIAC) was formed earlier this year. Their website http://www.neaic.org went live two days ago. You can find a wealth of information about gas leasing and your rights as a property owner there. You can also learn about the benefits of working as a group when it comes time to engage with the gas leasing companies.

 

Rick then introduced Chris Payne, an attorney with Riddle & Williams, who is well experienced in mineral rights and HOA laws. Chris has been retained to assist in pursuing the NEIAC objectives.

 

Chris Payne made a Power Point presentation on gas leasing that was very informative and thought- provoking. Chris took time as well to respond to questions from the membership in attendance. All acknowledged the benefit of Chris Payne’s presentation on this important matter.

 

Prior to a motion for adjournment of the meeting, Arnold recognized Don Jensen who made a pitch for the Rotary/Boy Scouts of America flag display program. Participation in this program is an individual homeowner responsibility.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 PM.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

John De Marco on behalf of Esther Nachimson