Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway 2010 Events

Annual Meeting

DATE: Wednesday, January 27, 2010

TIME: 7:30 pm - 9 pm

LOCATION: Relay Town Hall, 1710 Arlington Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21227

GUEST SPEAKER: Ed Williams will give a short presentation on the history of the B&O Railroad from 1830-1868.

DIRECTIONS: Go to Google Maps and type in these GPS coordinates to find the town hall: 39° 13' 37.50", -76° 42' 20.77" at http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl. Parking is available along Arlington Avenue or overflow parking is available in the parking lot just on the uphill side of the Korean Church and at the Relay Children's Center. Look for posted signs.

SNOW DATE: Wednesday, February 3 - same time and location.


2010 Events Calendar

A few announcements from the Board

1) The board is looking for volunteers to serve on the Architectural Review Committee. Please contact community manager Alan Mangen if you are interested in serving a 3 month term. Terms are renewable. Members who have unresolved or outstanding ARC requests or issues will be considered for the ARC after all issues are resolved.

2) The board is seeking at least one community volunteer to serve on the 2010 nominating committee. Please contact Alan if you are interested.

3) At least one resident has recently expressed interest in serving on the board. The board can consist of up to 9 members, according to our CC&Rs. If anyone else is interested in an appointment, please contact Alan.

4) Several HOA members attended the January board meeting after receiving an anonymous hand-delivered letter regarding a petition and a request to attend the January 18 regular board meeting. Not all residents have received this letter, including board members. It was apparently selectively distributed. THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL HOA DOCUMENT AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFICIAL VOTE IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. The anonymous authors of the document failed to attend the meeting and present any signed petition forms or proxies to the board. Nor was a place or person to which the proxies were to be sent designated in the letter. Apologies to the residents who were mislead into thinking the regular board meeting was a special meeting, but the board thanks them for staying for the whole meeting and offering their comments and input.

Information on new Baltimore County single stream recycling

Single stream recycling begins Feb 1.

Recycling in Baltimore County is going to be easier than ever with the start of an exciting new single stream recycling program on February 1. Single stream recycling means that paper, bottles and cans (all combined in the same container) will be collected each week. New four-year recycling schedules are being mailed the end of January. Residents who do not receive their schedule by February 1 should visit the Bureau of Solid Waste Management web site or call 410-887-2000 to obtain a new schedule. Recyclables set out for recycling collection in plastic bags of any type or color will not be collected.

Find more information on what items will be collected and how to set out the materials.

Oella HOA Meeting Agenda – January 18, 2009



Call to Order – 7:00pm


Election of Officers


December Meeting Minutes – Discuss/Revise/Approve


Treasurer’s Report – Scott


ARC Update –


HOA Landscaping & Common Areas –
Update on master plan development


Parking Committee –
Ordering and distribution of 2010 parking stickers – update on status


Board Action Items from Management Report


Old Business
Resident Appeal hearing – Board vote
Recordation of Millrace Trail easement. Pending due to budget constraints.
Grading / Storm water run-off issue behind Short Brick Row below Pleasant Hill
Preventative maintenance of asphalt, such as some sealing up on Pleasant Hill.


New Business
Open Board position
2010 Nominating Committee
Communications
i. ACM annual letter



Questions, comments and/or accolades from residents.


Move to Adjourn

Be aware: Restricted hunting allowed in local areas of Patapsco Valley State Park

Please wear clearly visible colors and take care when using the park grounds. View a map of permitted hunting areas here.

Report Street Light Outages to BGE

At least one of the Long Brick Row parking lot lights is out. This has been reported to BGE, who maintains the lights. If you spot a light that is out, you can report it at:

http://www.bge.com/portal/site/bge/menuitem.3080ba6f2d4561a8142eb573025166a0/

This link will also be placed in the Info/Links section of the website for future reference.

Christmas tree collection begins Jan 11

The county will collect Christmas trees for recycling for two weeks, beginning Jan. 11.

Residents should set out bare trees (no decorations or tree stands) at the curb for collection.

County collectors will pick up trees in standard recycling trucks and take them to facilities to be chipped as mulch.

Residents may also drop off trees at recycling facilities beginning Dec. 26 at:

• Western Acceptance Facility, off of the 4500 block of Hollins Ferry Road, Halethorpe, Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, call 410-887-2000 or go to http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/recycling.

Happy Holidays!

Snow removal and parking expenses - questions and answers

To the Oella HOA:

There have recently been questions raised by many residents regarding the expenses for snow removal in the community. At the most recent HOA meeting, there were also specific inquiries regarding the allocation of parking assessments towards operating and capital expenses.

Currently, the parking assessment is levied on those residents who park in spaces or use right of way areas owned by the HOA in order to gain access to a public road. Recently, the HOA conducted a reserve study that was requested (and required) in order to determine the HOA's future liabilities for property and assets that it owns. The study determined our total replacement costs for all structures at $366,613, with paving and curbing being a significant portion (approximately 40%) of the total expense. There are also other expenses (such as concrete curbing) that are tied to these common areas.

We have recently contacted our HOA's attorneys to help us answer the following questions:
1) How does the HOA properly allocate the current parking assessment between operating (i.e. snow removal) and capital (reserve allocation) expenses? IS there a legal requirement? (Currently, the IRS does not allow capital allocations to pay for operating expenses.)
2) Should common assessment funds be used to pay for area-specific expenses when a separate assessment is made?
3) What percentage should the parking assessment be of the total assessment?

For all of these questions, we have asked for guidance by looking at both legal requirements and similar communities in our area.

Unfortunately, for a long time the community did not allocate enough funds to cover the future expenses that are associated with the property that the HOA owns and maintains. Recently, dues were raised 10% (including parking assessments) in order to help defray these future expenses. Hopefully, with guidance from our attorneys, appropriate and fair steps will be taken in the near future to protect our property from falling into disrepair while appropriately allocating the expenses associated with such maintenance.

We will update the community on this issue as we have more information.

Scott Hall
Treasurer, Oella HOA

Recycling Cancelled Dec 21-26

Baltimore County has canceled recycling collection from Dec. 21 to Dec. 26.

Residents are asked to hold their recyclables until the next scheduled collection.

Trash will be collected when conditions permit. Residents should place trash out the night before scheduled pickup, and leave it there until collection occurs.

For more information, go to www.baltimorecountymd.gov/recycling and click on “Inclement Weather Policy” or call 410-887-2000.