I. Meeting called to order at 7:50 pm

Board members present: Wanda Harich, Dave Morton, Geovanny Fallas, and Jan Erickson.

III. Community Comments

• Robert Fireovid (31 Goodport Lane) would like to thank the Board for getting the new trees delivered to the island on Goodport Court. Wanda said that the trees would be planted when the ground is softer. Robert also asked about replacing the community tree behind his house that was removed after Hurricane Isabel. Wanda said it would be replaced with a crepe myrtle. Robert commented that the owner of 42 Goodport Lane was asking about the chips that are where the tree had been. Wanda said that it is sawdust and will be leveled out when the new tree is put in.
• Tony DeLisi wanted to know if we could put up a 6-foot board on board fence in between Dorsey Estates and Bennington. He commented that this might solve some of the parking problems we have in that area. Dorsey Estates is continuously leaving their bulk trash, recycling bins, Christmas trees, and other items just inside our property line. Wanda suggested that we find out where our exact property line is and then Tony should put together an estimate to have the work done. Wanda suggested that Bennington buy the materials and then community volunteers do the labor.

• Motion made to approve minutes from December 10, 2003. Motion seconded. Motion passed.

• The arrears are $45,000 as of the middle of January.
• Jill informed the Board that 7 people have paid their dues for the entire year. Since the beginning of January we have deposited almost $27,000.00.

• Urban Growth -- Linda Gore announced that the Railroad Depot has been taken off the Master Plan. She said that she would send out an email with more information.
• Welcoming Committee -- Lynn Zainfeld came to talk about the New Resident Tea. She said that the last couple of teas have had almost no participation and thought maybe they should stop having them. Dave Morton and Kitty Costello suggested doing something involving the whole community and maybe call it a "come meet your neighbor day". Wanda suggested that the welcoming committee meet and start to talk about different ideas for a community event.

• Zip drive -- The zip drive in the office is not working. Jill asked if she could take it home and see if it works on her computer so we are sure that the problem is actually with the zip drive. Jan Erickson made a motion to purchase a new zip drive if it is necessary to do so. Dave Morton seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

• Parking Ballots -- Joan Falcao asked what is the status of the parking ballot. A lot of residents have asked her what is going on. Carla said that she talked to Phil Ochs and he said the signatures on the ballots needed to be verified before the next step can occur. (Verify that the owners of record had signed the ballot). Wanda asked if we had a current listing of homeowners. Carla thought that between her and Jill that they would. Tony DeLisi said that he had talked to Phil Ochs and asked him if on the ballot there could have been a 3rd choice (do absolutely nothing). Tony said that Phil told him yes, there could have been but he recommended the two choices given. Carla asked that if Phil records the reserve parking change at the courthouse, does that just allow Bennington the ability to have reserve parking and not necessarily mean that we need to enforce it. Joan Falcao stated that the way she reads our documents is that we do not have to make the assignments even if the ballot has passed. For example, the Board has always had the ability to have permit parking; it just has never been enforced. Wanda, Carla and Joan will meet at the clubhouse on Monday, January 19th at 6:00pm to count/verify the ballots. Joan asked what is the process for disposing of abandoned cars. Wanda said if a car has been there for more than five days we can sticker it. We then have to wait 48 hours to fax in the abandoned vehicle form to Montgomery County to have it towed. Joan also wanted to talk about the letter she had written regarding commercial vehicles in the neighborhood. She said that when she was going around the community to talk about the reserved parking, residents asked her about the commercial vehicles in the neighborhood, particularly the large tow truck owned by a Board member. Joan wanted to know if the Board was going to enforce the covenants the way they are or are they going to try and change them? After a lot of discussion about the tow truck and other commercial vehicles, Dave Morton resigned from the Board.