The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Jeff Gough. Board members present: Jeff Gough, Cindy Esselman, Maggie Taber, Brian Branagan, Jim McCulloch, Steve Johnston, and BJ Oneal.
PRESIDENT, Innis Arden Board –
As was sent to the community last week, Easton Craft resigned as president from the board as he recently sold his home and no longer lives in the neighborhood. The board as a whole will be handling president matters (and not be appointing a new individual to the board to fill Easton’s slot) until the Annual Meeting next week at which point we will be convene to discuss how to fill all board positions. Fortunately, we have three solid candidates running for the board this year!
BJ made a motion to hold an executive session shortly after the annual meeting to review pending legal issues, compliance matters, and acquaint the new board members with such. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
VICE PRESIDENT/COMPLIANCE, Dave Fosmire –
BJ provided the following update regarding the Hjelle compliance matter:
Board members recently reached out to Ms. Hjelle to see whether she would be amenable to meeting to discuss compliance issues. She indicated that she did not believe there was anything to discuss except for the Board to identify what trees in the maple grove it believes are in violation and she referred further communications to her attorney.
Following that, near the end of December, Club counsel wrote a follow-up letter to Ms. Hjelle’s multiple attorneys reiterating among other things that the Board previously concluded the maple grove constituted a hedge and per the Covenants has to be maintained at 6 feet in height. The letter also requested that Ms. Hjelle provide an update regarding all compliance actions taken to date and that she also indicate whether a complete application has been submitted to the City, and if so when. No response has been received to date.
BUILDING AND REMODEL, Cindy Esselman –
Peterson
17781 15th Ave NW
Solar panels/ roof replacement
The Petersons are also replacing the existing membrane roof, which is light in color, with a dark non reflective standing seem metal roof. In addition, there will be solar panels on the western facing sloping roof. The panels will be flat to the roof. Neighbors have been contacted and have responded with no objections or concerns.
The following motion was made, seconded and approved unanimously.
Approve the roof replacement and the solar panels for the Peterson residence at
17781 15th Ave NW
February Building and Remodel Agenda:
Puetz-Heng Residence
17259 13th Ave NW
Rebuild
Hope Residence
17011 12th Ave NW
Solar panels/Roof replacement
TREASURER, Jeff Gough –
Final financial report for 2020 has been posted online. I will provide a more thorough summary at the Annual Meeting.
I have received a handful of 2021 annual dues payments sent to the general Innis Arden PO Box. This is not where dues are supposed to be sent (though I can process the ones that were) nor are the dues ratified yet. After the annual meeting, an invoice / statement will be mailed to all residents with payment amount and mailing instructions.
At the close of December and the 2020 year, our Operating Checking was $6,128, Collections Savings was $37,162 and the Asset Reserve Savings was $441,131.
CLUBHOUSE, Brian Branagan –
Clubhouse Report for January 2021
There are no scheduled Clubhouse rentals in the near future now that King County has completely rolled back to Phase 1 of its re-opening plan. I checked with the King County Department of Public Health and learned that our clubhouse is considered a mixed-use facility that does not qualify for any indoor use at this time.
Recology called us on Monday to inform us that they found tires and other large items in our Recycle roll-out container at a recent pickup. I will follow up with Recology to check how we could lock the fenced area in a way that they can still access the containers on pick up day.
If you have questions about renting the clubhouse after King County enters a re-opening phase that permits rentals, please contact Cheryl Malone at 206-542-5558 or reservations@innisarden.org.
GROUNDS, Jim McCulloch –
2020 Objectives for the Grounds Committee:
• Maintain and improve the existing lawn and planting beds around the Clubhouse
• Maintain the Innis Arden Main Entrance and other Innis Arden Entrances.
• Improve lawn areas by removing moss and re-seeding.
• Investigate Capital Repairs/Replacement for Parking Lot Railing and NW Retaining Wall
Work Items Completed Last Month:
• Main Entrance:
o Weekly maintenance.
o Installation of Holiday Lights
• Grounds:
o Weekly maintenance.
o Removed ivy from NW corner fence.
Work Items Scheduled this Month:
• Continue weekly maintenance of Grounds and Entrances.
ROW Trees
• 18008 13th Ave NW (Joseph property). City approved permit; scheduled tree removal for 01/19/21.
Other Items
• Replaced seven small windows in the Grounds Shed that were broken by young vandals last fall at a cost of $575.
• Retaining Wall, NW corner of Grounds: This wall is slowly failing. There are numerous gaps in the wall, allowing fill to escape causing the NW corner to sink, and many of the timbers have exceeded their useful life. Failure of the wall does not appear imminent, but replacement in lieu of further repairs should be considered. The wall faces 15th Ave NW to the west, and a private residence to the north. It’s approximately 2500 Sq. ft. in size with a max height of approximately 11 ft., constructed of treated timbers with timber tie-backs. Repairs to the wall were made in February, 2014, at a cost of $15,000-20,000, including engineering costs.
– Ballpark estimates for replacement with a 50-100 year wall are as follows:
– Geotech evaluation: $6,000
– Engineering: $8-$10,000, depending on type of wall
– Demolition of Existing: $25,000
– Construction: $125,000-$165,000, depending on type of wall
– Total cost: $160,000 to $200,000.
• Parking Lot Railing: The post and pipe railing on the west and north side of the pool parking lot has several deteriorated posts and the pipe railing is broken on one place. I have not been able to get an estimate for repair/replacement of the existing railing/posts.
An alternative measure is to install 4’ chain link fencing with gates around the entire Grounds area. This would secure the Grounds and play area from outside use. Estimated cost is $40,000 for the fence, five locking personal gates and two vehicle gate. It would cost an additional $16,000 for removal of the existing posts and railing.
NATURAL RESERVES, Steve Johnston –
Native Plants
Fall Native plant planting was completed in mid-December. Approximately 200 excelsa cedar, cascara and willow trees, and 30 sword fern plus packets of native pollinator wildflowers were added in several reserves. In addition, other seasonal work such brush cutting and mulching was accomplished.
Trails
The sticky Boeing Creek pedestrian gate was repaired so it now opens and closes easily.
A fallen tree was cut from a side-trail in mid-Blue Heron.
Heavy rains washed out steps at the end of the maintenance trail in far west West Blue Heron, west of the Ronald bridge. They were repaired and re-gravelled. Lots of gravel was added to other washed out areas of the trail system. A reminder: this trail is posted “Maintenance Only”, is dangerous, and should not be used only except by authorized personnel.
Eagle Bridge
Heavy rain and erosion on Dec 29 and again a few days later toppled a large cedar tree and its root ball on the south side of the middle bridge in Eagle Reserve, undermining the bridge which fell into the creek. We had already lengthed the bridge, twice, in the past couple years in an attempt to keep ahead of the ongoing erosion. As a result at this time you can no longer walk end-to-end through Eagle (unless you want to jump the creek) until we have fixed things.
To that end, yesterday (Monday Jan 11th) we had a tree crew come out, hook up some ropes in the trees, and winch the bridge out of the stream in an attempt to save it and stand it up again. While this worked it was unfortunately not quite safe enough to leave in place. And so, we had them hoist it to the ground, out of the creek, on the north side, so we can disassemble it and reuse the wood.
There is no ideal place to install a new bridge due to so much creek bank erosion. The plan at this point is to build a lower, shorter temporary bridge further west where the banks have the least amount of erosion. Unfortunately, because it will be lower we also need to build steps on either side and to cut a new trail into the north hillside to connect to the old trail on the north side of the creek.
Storm Creek Outflow
Due to the torrential rain, erosion has increased west of 17th Ave NW. The Club Attorney, City Attorney and Neighbor Attorney are working to finalize the repair project for that area.
ACTIVITIES, Maggie Taber –
Save the Dates:
Egg Scramble – TBD
Salmon BBQ – TBD July 2021
We hope all enjoyed Santa’s Sleigh Ride on Saturday, December 12th. Feedback has been positive and we hope to do it again next year.
Congrats to the winners of the Holiday Decorating contest. Thanks to all who participated.
17001 14th Ave NW, Ashley, Cory, Henry, and Charles Wilcox
1437 NW 186th, Mike and Brandi Konopinski
16741 10th Ave NW, Rich and Mara Boykin
Egg Scramble – We want to do something, but unsure what will be allowed. We’re putting our thinking caps on.
We are looking to update and expand the Activities area on the IA website so the community can track events. We welcome ideas for new activities.
Re the 2021 Rummage Sale – Under current guidelines, the event isn’t possible. In addition, we do not have the pool building available to store items, so there will be no collections for now. If things open up, Maggie Taber has agreed to be Rummage Chair.
There are no firm Activities on the schedule at this time. Please join us for our next meeting via Zoom, Monday, February 1st at 7pm.
Other Important Information:
The Annual meeting is on Wednesday 1/20/21 at 7PM and the Zoom link for the meeting has been sent out and posted to the website. We still need about 150 votes so PLEASE make sure to vote.
Shoreline Council of Neighborhoods:
Please see http://www.shorelinewa.gov/our-city/neighborhoods/council-of-neighborhoods/con-minutes for the meeting minutes from the Shoreline Council of Neighborhoods.
Meeting was adjourned approximately 7:40PM.
In Memoriam:
Donald Arthur Mallett
In the early morning hours of November 17th Donald Arthur Mallett, loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 77. Don was born in Iowa City, Iowa on May 30th, 1943 and was raised in West Lafayette, Indiana by his loving parents, Catherine and Donald. Don graduated from Northwestern University in 1965 and from UW Law School in 1968. While at NU he joined Phi Delta Theta making life-long friends, and it was there he met Brenda McClure on a blind date, married her four years later in 1966 and theyenjoyed 54 wonderful years together. Don joined the US Navy as a JAGC officer in 1968 and served overseas at U. S. Naval Base, Subic Bay, Philippines during Viet Nam; returning stateside he served at Sandpoint Naval Air Station. He retired from the Naval Reserves in 1997 attaining the rank of Captain, JAGC, USNR. The Navy provided a lifetime of memories and friendships, experiences beyond imagination, and a deep, abiding belief in the importance of protecting our democracy.
Don’s legal practice focused on family law and he was respected for his integrity, unimpeachable ethics, quick wit and a wonderful sense of humor. Don loved his family, his church, Husky football, the Navy, Mutiny Bay on Whidbey Island, and yard work roughly in that order. In his lifetime he climbed Mt. Rainier, ran 5 marathons, loved history and enjoyed world travel. He ran with a running group out of the downtown YMCA for over 30 years and they continued to meet long after they stopped running. Reunions with the Subic Bay naval group were an annual highlight and testament to the bonds formed while overseas. Don also loved giving back: as a member of University Congregational United Church of Christ he sang in the choir for 47 years and served on numerous boards and committees, through his loyal work on the Dale Turner Family YMCA Board for 35 years, and to a new found interest supporting Camp Pilgrim Firs in Port Orchard. Don’s commitment to helping others will always be remembered.
Don is survived by his wife Brenda, sons Marc (Lenore) and Ross (Meika), his brother Craig, his grandchildren Anika, Eloise, Quinn and Langley and several cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and his sister Janice. A memorial service will be planned for next Spring when we can joyously celebrate a life well lived. In lieu of flowers the family suggests gifts in memory of Don to University Congregational UCC where they will be used for enhancing music opportunities and launching new initiatives, https://www.universityucc.org ; the Dale Turner Family YMCA “Food Resources in honor of Don Mallett”, https://www.seattleymca.org/donate/dale-turner-ymca; the Lustgarten Foundation, Pancreatic Cancer Research at https://lustgarten.org The family would like to thank Dr. Phillip J Gold at Swedish Cancer Care for his excellent care of Don and Evergreen Hospice for their exceptional compassion and service.
https://obituaries.seattletimes.com/obituary/donald-mallett-1081020709