Question: Why do we have an H.O.A.?

Answer:

In a nutshell, when the neighborhood was originally being proposed by the developer, Provo City placed certain conditions for placing a neighborhood of houses on the land. One of the conditions was that there must be a detention basin. Because the detention basin would need to be maintained, a homeowners’ association needed to be formed.

The HOA would need to be responsible for maintenance of the detention basin, which collects storm water that is prevented from draining into the ground because of the structures that have been placed there. Water cannot be absorbed by the ground when the ground is covered by a road, driveway, or a house and this water needs somewhere to go to prevent flooding.

The city of Provo decided that the bulk of the cost of such development needed to be borne by the property owners in the area. The city agreed to provide the hydraulic system beneath the ground in the detention basin, which they continue to maintain, while the HOA takes care of the maintenance above the ground.

We all purchased a portion of that property when we purchased the lot(s) upon which our homes sit. In addition to the detention basin, we all have part ownership of two pathways that connect different parts of the neighborhood. Property owners always pay property taxes levied on the property, as well as insurance on the property. The HOA takes on the responsibility to see that those expenses are paid by collecting dues from the members.

Below is the Provo City ordinance describing the requirement for having the detention basin.

18.03.050 Storm Water Easements

The requirements for this Section apply to all persons required to submit a plan or project that is subject to the Provo City development review process.

(1) The Developer shall provide a Storm Drainage System Maintenance Agreement for all components of the proposed private drainage system. The agreement shall include, but not be limited to, the following: storm drain piping, storm water inlet boxes, storm drain junction boxes, detention facilities, retention facilities, flow restriction devices, water quality devices, diversion structures, and screening structures.

(2) The maintenance agreement shall adequately describe the following:

(a) The party responsible for executing the maintenance agreement, i.e. homeowners associations, property owners, etc.

(4) Storm drainage system maintenance agreements shall be provided in form and substance as required by the Public Works Director, or his designee, and shall be properly recorded in the Utah County Recorder’s Office and shall constitute a covenant running with the land and shall be binding on the landowner, executors, assigns, heirs, and any other successors of interest, including any homeowners associations, as addressed in 18.03.060(2)(a).

18.03.060 Storm Drainage System Maintenance Agreements

The requirements for this Section apply to all projects proposing private storm drainage systems that are required to submit a plan that is subject to the Provo City development review process.

(1) The Developer shall provide a Storm Drainage System Maintenance Agreement for all components of the proposed private drainage system.

(2) The maintenance agreement shall adequately describe the following:

(a) The party responsible for executing the maintenance agreement, i.e. homeowners association, property owner, etc.

(b) Extent of the maintenance activities to be performed.

Special Assessment

During our recent vote and discussion on whether to increase our HOA fees, many passionate ideas were voiced, ranging from shutting the HOA down to making the most of the land by investing in it. During this meeting it confirmed to us the need to gather feedback from you and to be better at communicating your desires to each other. We want to let you know that we are listening and that your opinions are valued.  We are confident that as we gather feedback, explore your ideas, discuss the ideas with the city for approval, and share our findings, we will do something great together.

To accomplish this we are working on a few different things. First, we have been organizing volunteers from the neighborhood who have offered to act as block captains for different areas of the neighborhood. They will be contacting the homeowners in their vicinity to gather insights on what each of you expect regarding standards for our neighborhood, vision for our land, and plans for moving forward. We hope to be able to take this feedback and synthesize it into a vision for what the common consensus is for our neighborhood. We realize it will take time to determine what we all want as a community. Thank you for your continued feedback and support.

Additionally, we have been working on putting down in writing the answers to frequently asked questions. You can expect to receive those explanations in a series of emails over the next few weeks. We will also compile them into one online location for future reference.

In the meantime, unfortunately, as we discussed with those who were able to attend our recent meetings, the balance of our available funds is running dangerously low. With the expenses that we foresee for the remainder of the year, we have limited options. In the spirit of full transparency, our balance at the beginning of this year was $585. Dues payments came in during January and February. After paying expenses for the year to this point, our checking account currently has a balance of $2599. Upcoming expenses are projected to be as follows:

Watering Detention basin: $1000

Lawn treatments for Detention basin @ $120 each for 2 more treatments: $240

Mowing Detention basin @ $60 each week with 16 weeks remaining (through October):$960

Liability and HOA Insurance: $1600

Snow removal for sidewalk along detention basin and pathway @ $78 per occurrence estimated at $500

Bookkeeping fees estimated at $800

Property taxes estimated at $200

10% reserve fund as required by law: $1000

                As you can see, that leaves us with a deficiency of funds in the amount of $3701. We understand that this is not fun news. It is certainly not fun sharing it. Unfortunately, it is our current reality.

Our By-Laws include a provision for special assessments when appropriate: Subject to the restrictions set forth in the Declaration, if any, the Board of Trustees shall determine the amount of the annual assessment and special assessments of the members (Article II, Section 9). It is the opinion of the Board that it has become necessary to put in place a special assessment of $45 per lot to cover our expenses for the remainder of 2014. We cannot ignore the true costs associated with homeownership in our neighborhood. Please send your payment of $45 by August 31. You may send it to our P.O. Box, deliver it to a board member, or use the button on the right to pay via Paypal.

This is of course only a temporary fix. We will need your input in order to find a better long term solution that is appropriate for our neighborhood. We appreciate your help as we work through these issues as neighbors. Again, we feel strongly that as we reach out to each of you via our block captains and come up with a shared vision for our land, whatever it may be, we will all be proud of what we decide together.

Voting Results

In attendance at today's meeting (in person or by paper ballot) were 33 HOA members. The required number of "yes" votes to increase the annual dues to $200 was 22 votes, or 67% of members present. The "yes" votes came in at 17. The motion, therefore, did not pass.

Thanks to all who took the time to participate.

Motion to be voted on

As you know, our annual meeting was held on Saturday, May 17th. The main item of business was tabled due to the lack of a quorum required to vote on the motion, in this case to change the annual assessment amount to $200. 

The procedure outlined in our current By-Laws requires that when a quorum is not present, the members may call a follow-up meeting for the purpose of voting on the motion. Homeowners must be given 30 days written notice regarding this follow-up meeting. We have scheduled this second meeting for the afternoon of Saturday, June 28th at 3:00 p.m.

In our neighborhood there are 83 lots, making our current maximum income $8300 per year. This amount was set more than a decade ago when our neighborhood was being developed, and the cost of insuring and maintaining the properties has steadily increased and will continue to do so. Our expenses for the year 2013 came to $8042.24. Our liability insurance is billed each January, and in January of this year we nearly had our insurance cancelled because we had insufficient funds to cover the amount of the bill. Board members had to quickly round up checks from nearby neighbors, and some even paid dues in advance in order to make the payment.

The maintenance of our retention basin on 300 North uses up the largest portion of our budget. Our current landscapers have done a great job, and our weeds are much less prominent while the grass is more green and pleasant. As a result, many have noticed an increase in “visitors” from other areas frequenting the field to run their dogs, sunbathe, etc. We need to address the fact that it is private property by posting signs and possibly enclosing the area in some way. Ideally, we would like to be able to install a walking path around the perimeter where homeowners can exercise. These actions will all require additional funds.

With the current funds, we have no budget money available to address snow removal on our sidewalks, which the city expects us to do. Every property owner is responsible for clearing the snow on sidewalks adjacent to their property. With the new church building being added to the south of our neighborhood, traffic on our sidewalks and pathway will only increase, and we cannot continue to neglect this area. The land around the pathway needs to be re-graded, landscaped and maintained. Our lowest bid for this project comes just under $6000, but only to lay down weed barriers and rocks or mulch.

Running our HOA with virtually no reserve funds and scarcely covering the bare minimum of operating expenses does not contribute to maintaining the standard of our neighborhood. Additionally, this gives us zero budget for much needed improvements which were left undone by the developer. For these reasons, we are proposing to increase the annual assessment. 

The motion to be voted on is as follows: To increase the amount of the annual assessment to two hundred dollars ($200), effective immediately.

In accordance with the By-Laws, the quorum for this subsequent meeting is 25 members. An increase in dues requires an affirmative vote of 67% of those present at the meeting.

Those who are not able to attend the meeting in person may vote by proxy.

Members expecting to cast their vote must also have all dues paid prior to voting.

Annual Meeting

Our annual meeting is scheduled for Saturday, May 17^th at 3:00 p.m. Among other items of business, we will need to discuss the amount of our annual dues and/or a special assessment to finance our current expenses. Those who would like to have their vote counted on the matter will need to have all dues paid and be in attendance at the meeting or send a representative. If you have questions, please contact a board member.

The current procedure as outlined in our By-Laws is as follows:

The presence, in person or by proxy, of members who are entitled to cast sixty percent (60%) of the votes of each class of membership shall constitute a quorum at any meeting called to increase the maximum annual assessments or to make certain special assessments as required by the Declaration; provided, however, if a quorum for such a meeting is not present and if another meeting is called, on at least thirty (30) days advance written notice and is held within sixty (60) days of the first meeting, then the required quorum at such subsequent meeting shall be one-half the required quorum at the preceding meeting.

If a quorum is present… It shall require the affirmative vote of sixty-seven percent (67%) of the votes of each class of Members present at any meeting to increase the maximum annual assessment or to increase certain assessments required by the Declaration.

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

All of the kids in the neighborhood are invited to an Easter Egg Hunt in the retention basin on 300 North. Meet on the sidewalk to the south of the grass at the following times.

For the older kids {age 8 and older} we will have a moonlight hunt on Friday April 18 at 8:00 p.m.

For the younger kids we will have a morning hunt on Saturday April 19 at 9:00 a.m. The younger group will be split into two smaller groups for up to age 4, and 4-7 year olds.

Parents who plan to bring their kids to the egg hunt, please contribute candy, eggs, etc. or even just money and we will purchase the supplies. Please bring items by Wednesday, April 16th.

If you plan to participate please let us know as soon as possible, and indicate how many kids you will be bringing for each age group so we can plan accordingly.