Bear Meeting Recommendations for Garbage

An information meeting on the bear problem at Mt. Si Cottages was held for the residents on December 7th at Snoqualmie City Hall. Mayor Matt Larson, Mike Roy of the Public Works Department, Officer Nigel Draveling of the Snoqualmie Police Department and Julie Hopkins Biologist and bear expert presented information.

The bears have become humanized and now feel comfortable within 25 yards or so of humans. Some residents have reported that the bears have become more aggressive. One resident was charged by a bear while walking her dog; bears are frequently seen on the patios. Please be very aware of the bears and be cautious when out after dark. Because of a lack of natural food the bears had a difficult time bulking up for hibernation and may continue to look at our garbage cans as a food source throughout the winter. Even though the bears are in partial hibernation during the winter they still come out to feed every few weeks.

All speakers on the panel stressed that food must be completely removed from the garbage cans or the bears will continue to invade our community for years. They stressed there must be 100% compliance by all residents for this to work. Allied Waste is experimenting with bear-resistant cans and will let us know when they are available to residents.

Easy and inexpensive suggestions for eliminating the food from your garbage:

1. Mt. Si Cottage residents are not allowed to put garbage cans out on the street until the day of collection. Allied Waste garbage trucks come between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. on Tuesdays.
2. Put as many food scraps as possible down the garbage disposal. (Avoid putting anything with gristle or bones, or large bits of garbage down the disposal as you might break it.)
3. What you can't put down the disposal, put in a plastic bag and keep inside until garbage day. Do not put any food scraps outside. Bears can smell food from miles away. Use a sealed 5-gallon paint can for the garbage, available at Lowes or put food scraps in the freezer or refrigerator

4. Bears loove poop--both dog and human. No dog feces is allowed on the common elements. This is attracting the bears. All dog feces must be picked up, bagged and removed immediately. Poopy diapers must be rinsed out in the toilet before being put in the garbage.

5. If you have an Allied Waste clamshell garbage cart, you have Allied's permission to drill two holes in the lid and to use bolts to secure the can. This has proved successful against bear attacks on diaper-filled cans. However, you must unbolt the can the day of garbage collection. The driver will not unbolt the can or pick up garbage from bolted cans.

Thanks for your help and cooperation on this difficult problem. The harder we make it for the bears to get to the food in our cans the less we will see of them.

Finance and Budget Committee established to review expenses and evaluate reserve fund

A Finance and Budget Committee was established at September's HOA Board meeting. The purpose of the committee will be to review association expenses and evaluate the accuracy of future reserve fund expenses (as estimated in the 2009 Reserve Study) -- to ensure we're not under-funding (or over-funding) our reserve fund.

The recommendations of this committee will be relied upon to plan future budgets and assessments.

If you would like to participate in this effort, please contact a member of the board and receive committee meeting details. Or, call Sandy Cobb at CWD Group at 206-706-8000.

City Alert: "Operation House ID" Service is Not Authorized by the City of Snoqualmie

An Alert by the City of Snoqualmie, August 19, 2010:

Alert to Residents: "Operation House ID" service is not authorized by the City of Snoqualmie. The Snoqualmie Police Department has received reports that a company calling itself Aerus Painting has been circulating flyers in Snoqualmie Ridge neighborhoods to notify residents they will be painting house numbers on curbs for emergency purposes. The company suggests that residents enclose $25 in an envelope and tape it to their door in order to have their house number included in the service.

This service has not been made known to or approved by any City of Snoqualmie department. There is no record of a business license for Aerus Painting and they are not authorized to paint house numbers on city street curbs.

If residents have any issues or concerns regarding Aerus Painting or the flyers they have distributed, they may call the Police Department at 425-888-3333.

4th of July Fireworks

If you plan to celebrate the 4th of July with Fireworks here at home, please limit your fireworks to the cul-de-sac on Hancock Ave. Snoqualmie city laws allow legal fireworks to be discharged between 6 and 11 p.m. on July 4 only.

Remember, fireworks are not allowed on HOA property (parking lots, patios, lawns, porches, etc).

Landscape Committee Back at Work!!

The landscape committee has kicked off our Spring landscape improvements! Today they began by planting around more of the utility boxes in our common spaces:

This area is planted around the utility boxes
back in the NE green...

...and this is another view.

This box is also in the NE green, along the street.
(The scraggly plants, which were pruned back for the
winter and for transplanting, will fill in fully with time.)

This is what these areas looked like BEFORE the plantings.
(Lots of ugly utility boxes, which have now been beautified!)

This box -- which is back in the NW green -- was planted last Fall...

...as was this area also, visible along Hancock Ave.

Additionally, some flowering carpet roses were planted
at the end of the cul-de-sac (on Hancock) last Wednesday.

Thanks to all of the homeowners who participated in this fun planting party! As with all plantings so far, no HOA funds were used. All plants were donated (or purchased with money specifically donated for this effort). We are all GRATEFUL for these willing, generous donations.

If you would like to donate plants (or money for plants) for plantings around your home, please contact Sue Swanson at (425) 441-8162. With donations, additional plantings can easily be arranged.

Thanks also to everyone who enjoyed participating in Sunday's Window Box workshop, and thanks to Sue Swanson & the Landscape Committee for putting this on!

What do Board members do?

Are you considering serving on the Board, but wondering what that responsibility entails?

In formal terms, board members are responsible for "fulfilling their fiduciary duties". But what the heck does that mean???

Well, here are some things Board members are responsible for. (These come from CAI's "Rights & Responsiblities for Better Communities".)

• participate in Board meetings & decision-making communication in a prompt manner
• meet their responsibilities as a homeowner, and as a community leader
• contribute to a responsive & competent association
• manage the association in an organized manner, and exercise sound business judgment
• be honest, fair & respectful
• maintain the community according to established, agreed-upon standards
• help manage funds responsibly
• demonstrate a willingness to listen to others
• keep an open mind
• support their colleagues
• encourage input from residents
• conduct business in a transparent manner
• become educated in the association's governing documents

Board members' responsibilities do require a commitment of time and effort, but when willing participants serve, it doesn't take much -- and it's time well-spent!

Should I attend the Annual meeting even if I don't want to run for a Board position?

Yes!

This is an important meeting -- even if you don't want to run for a Board position.

Most importantly, please come & vote for the
people you want representing you! This is a representative government, so you'll want good representatives (even if you can't participate directly yourself).

Also, at least 25% of homes must be represented at this meeting (that's at least 11 homes). Otherwise no election can be held.

If you cannot attend, please send someone with your proxy (which was mailed to you) so that your vote can be heard.

So, you want to make a difference?

Do you want to make a difference in your community?

Looking for a way to serve your neighbors?

Want to see some changes made?

Do you want to do something productive to help your Association?

Do you want input on how we spend money?

Do you want input on decision-making that affects you, and your community?

You can! Come serve as an HOA Board member!

Elections will be held March 15. There are two open positions. All applicants are welcome!

Do you have executive experience? Or do you simply have a willingness to volunteer a little time to make our community better?

If yes, we hope you will consider this worthwhile opportunity. You can make a real difference.

(Check back over the next two weeks to learn more about this important meeting, and about the responsibilities of a Board member. Good stuff to come!)

A message from your Landscaping Committee

Looks as if Spring is just around the corner! The daffodils we planted last fall around the trees on the street are starting to peek through the ground. (We planted 5 per tree and they won't bloom for a month or so, but you can see what they will look like in a couple of years at the top of Hancock Ave. Hopefully, the ones we planted last fall will do the same as the years go by.)

Our new landscaping company, Altera Landscaping, will start work in March. After meeting their owner, Rick, we're confident they'll do great work. We're looking forward to working with Altera.

Now is a great time to pick up some colorful primroses to brighten up your doorway. (You can buy 10 of them in a pack at Costco for $7.99.) You don't need to do anything except maybe put a saucer under them and water them once in a while. But they'll give you lots of pleasure and remind you that Spring is coming. If you want to, you can buy a larger pot, some potting soil, and replant the primroses in it. Later in the season, you can replace the primroses with something else in your pot. It gives you something nice to come home to.

If you have ferns outside your house, you can help them look better by cutting off the old, brown fronds with a pair of scissors. The new fiddleheads will come out of the center of the plant. In just 5 minutes you can keep your ferns looking great this year!

The Landscape Committee will start work in a month or so to continue adding shrubs around the utility boxes. We're looking for free shrubs to do the job. And we'll be raising money for plants at the Snoqualmie Ridge garage sale in May, so save your stuff if you'd like to help us out with donations.

Lowes has their new shrubs out, so if you want to change what is in front of your house look for something new and then give me a call. All changes in landscaping require Board approval, but it's easy and I'll be glad to help you out. We have a list of approved plants you can choose from that is very large and if you choose something from the list it's virtually a done deal.

Please give me a call anytime if you have any questions: (425) 441-8162. And...dont' step on the daffodils as you get out of your car on the east side of Hancock. :)

Sue Swanson, Chair

Mt. Si Cottages Landscape Committee

Budget Q&A, continued...

Thank you to the homeowners who attended the Budget Q&A last Wednesday. Here is a Q&A summary of the topics discussed:

(Q) Cost savings are great. But should we expect the quality of life to go down? Will we hurt our property values?
(A) No. We are committed to protecting home values, and maintaining our community’s established standard of living. We were careful not to cut spending in a way that diminishes our quality of life or risks our property values. For example, we will save money on landscaping, but will do so without reducing our service levels. (We went through a competitive bid process, with seven vendors, and selected a landscaper with comparable service levels at a reduced cost.) Another example: we will save money on insurance, but will do so without sacrificing any coverage. (We simply pushed to negotiate lower rates on our existing policies.) That said, the Board has decided to eliminate funding for non-essentials until our Reserve Fund is more fully-funded. For example, we will not spend the money for bee removal as we did in 2009.

(Q) Why is there $0 in the landscaping improvements budget?
(A) Simply put, we are eliminating funding for non-essentials (like additional landscaping) until our Reserve Fund is more fully-funded. It's worth noting that all the great landscaping improvements in 2009 were completed without any HOA funds. We hope this will continue in 2010.

(Q) What exactly are the risks of a low reserve fund?
(A) Basically, inadequate reserve funding threatens: [A] high risk of special assessments (i.e. hitting each of us with a bill for more money, to meet the association's costs), [B] damaged ability to sell our homes (because mortgage lenders don't want to lend on homes with poor reserve funding), and [C] lower property values because of these two things.

(Q) How funded is our reserve fund now? Are we at risk now?
(A) We are currently more than 40% funded, and improving monthly. (This represents a major improvement from one year ago, when we were less than 27% funded). We have reached 40% funding by managing 2009 expenses carefully. 40% funding is classified as "fair". While we will continue to improve, we are NOT currently at risk for special assessments.

All homeowners are encouraged to be familiar with the Reserve Study, available on our Association's web site.

Our five-year plan projects that we will reach 70% funding by 2015 (70% is classified as "good", and we believe 70% to be a responsible & realistic target.) Faster funding would be possible, but it would require increases to our monthly assessments. We believe this current funding plan balances our community's need for adequate reserves with our desire for low assessments.

(Q) Should we expect assessments to go up again next year?
(A) Here's what we know for sure: we do need to increase our reserve contribution again next year. (Next year, our plan calls for increasing reserve contribution $6/month/home). But this does not necessarily require an increase to assessments. If we can further reduce expenses enough to offset this increased reserve contribution, an assessments increase will not be required. If we cannot further reduce expenses enough to offset this increased reserve contribution, an assessment increase is likely. To avoid future increases, your participation & input is required. We cannot succeed without informed participation.

(Q) Why do we spend so much on a management company? Do we need them?
(A) Yes, we need a management company. Running any business requires a lot of time, resources and expertise -- including our HOA, which is a $12-million corporation. Having the help of a management company is essential to our success. Unless & until our association has [A] very high homeowner participation, and [B] a Board with strong executive experience & more available time, a management company is important. The CWD Group has agreed to hold their contracted rate for 2010 (i.e. no increase), and the Board plans to carefully monitor any extra management costs.

(Q) Aren't our dues unreasonably high already?
(A) Frankly, no. It's a fair question (and one that each Board member has asked as well), but here is a look at Snoqualmie/North Bend comparables. You will see that Mt. Si Cottages compares very favorably. The Falls, $352/month (69 units); The Cottages, $227/month (50 units); three others in the Snoqualmie area, $256, $227, $267. We remain committed to maintaining Mt. Si Cottages as an affordable community.

2010 Budget Questions & Answers

By now you'll have received the Board-approved 2010 budget in your mailbox.

If you have questions or concerns, please join us for a Budget Question & Answer discussion, Wednesday, February 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Snoqualmie Library.

If you have questions beforehand -- or if you can't make it to meeting -- please leave a comment to this blog post and we will write a reply to you.

2010 Budget

The Board has approved the 2010 Budget, and now it is everyone's turn to review and ratify this budget.

Please be on the lookout for this in your mail (it was mailed today, and should arrive within a day or two).

Two important budget-related meetings are scheduled for this month:

• The budget ratification meeting is scheduled for February 24, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. at the Snoqualmie Library. As the Declarations require, the budget and assessments shall be ratified unless disapproved by at least 51% of the total ownership at this meeting. All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

• You are also invited to a budget question & answer discussion on February 17, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. at the Snoqualmie Library. If you have questions or concerns, we hope you will make time to join us for this informative discussion.

Questions about 2010 Budget & Assessments

There has recently been discussion among homeowners about the upcoming budget for 2010.

The Board has not yet approved a 2010 budget, nor have 2010 assessments been decided upon. We have been discussing it for months, and studying funding options. The board is taking this responsibility seriously, and is committed to honoring our budget philosophy.

We plan to hold a budget ratification meeting within the next month, for homeowners to vote on the proposed budget. This is our community's budget, and we are glad for the interest this topic has received.

We plan to hold a question & answer meeting at least one week before the ratification meeting, specifically to inform homeowners of the proposal and answer questions or concerns. (The date & time will be published on this web site.)

However, if you have a question that you would like to have answered more quickly, please leave a comment to this post so that a Board member can respond to you.

Staying Alert

***UPDATED 3/10*** Reports are that the criminals responsible for these break-ins have been apprehended, near Lynnwood, WA. More details to come, if available.***

***UPDATED 2/1*** We live in a very safe neighborhood. But crime can (and does) happen everywhere -- so please stay alert. As neighbors, let's look out for each other -- and if you see suspicious activity, please call 911.

Two Officers from the Snoqualmie Police Department joined us at our January Board meeting to brief us this situation. We appreciate the time they spent with us, talking about what happened and about forming a community block watch.

Here is a summary of their findings: The car break-ins occurred overnight, Jan 25. While ten car break-ins occured, parked along Jacobia & Hancock Streets, eight of these cars were found unlocked (seemingly left unlocked by the owner). Only two cars had broken windows. Seemingly, in each case the stolen valuables were left IN PLAIN SIGHT in the car, visible to the thieves. Most stolen items were electronics (GPS, iPods, etc). One credit card was stolen, which was used hours later in Lynnwood and has provided the Police their best leads. NO HOMES WERE VIOLATED.

The key to reducing crime is through prevention: Lock your car doors. Don't leave valuables in the car (especially in plain sight). Consider leaving your patio & porch lights on. Consider leaving your blinds open so any would-be crook wonders who's watching. Be aware of what's going on. Please call police right away if you see something suspicious.

Both Officers reminded us that Snoqualmie (including our neighborhood) has a very, very low crime rate and that we live in a very safe community despite these recent concerns.***

***Original post*** Some cars were reportedly broken into last night.

They were parked along Jacobia & Hancock streets. Few details are known currently, but we will share information when it becomes available.

Homeowners are encouraged to leave their porch and patio lights on at night (for extra security) and report any suspicious activity. As with anywhere, it is unwise to leave valuables inside your car.

We all enjoy having a very safe community. And with reasonable precautions, we can keep it that way.***