HOMESTEAD IN THE WILLOWS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
Regular Board Meeting April 10, 2023 – Unofficial Minutes
CALL TO ORDER: President, Chris Evans called the meeting to order at 6:34p.m. Present were Treasurer, Kelly McCormick; Member at Large, Michael Garnsey; Secretary, James Keating; and newly elected Board Member, Ginny Karlberg. Also present were Business Manager, Katie Kidwell; Tennis Manager, Jill Ellsworth; ACC Manager, Emily Maxfield; Social Committee CoChair, Olivia Phillips, Swim Team Parent Representative, Christie Gammill; and homeowner Steve Mahedy. Homeowners Kristy Panko, Jill Smith and Carina Clancy also attended a portion of the meeting.
MINUTES: The minutes of the March 13th Annual Meeting of Members were approved as read. The Board ratified their action of Friday, March 31, 2023.
SWIM TEAM: Parent Representative, Christie Gammill announced that registration begins on April 20th. The Hurricanes will use a different timing system that should help them end the home meets a little earlier. The Board and Christie discussed possible changes to the Hurricane insurance and payroll, but no decision was made.
SOCIAL COMMITTEE: Co-chair, Olivia Phillips reported that the Egg Hunt was a big success. The event was well attended, and the community enjoyed the food trucks the Social Committee had arranged. The Second Saturday coffee at the South Pool went well but the West side had to be rescheduled when the truck went to the wrong location. The Social Committee is in the planning stages of a few other activities and reported having trouble finding food trucks this year. The minimums required before the trucks will commit have escalated and the committee is working to find affordable options.
MANAGER REPORTS
- POOL: Manager Jaylene Jones told the Board that all reserve fund work had been completed and Front Range Recreation was beginning to get the pools ready for summer. The South Pool was replastered this year and Jaylene warned that plaster dust will continue to occur for another nine months. It may make the bottom of the pool look cloudy, but it is safe and to be expected.
- LANDSCAPE: Manager Nancy Bauer reported that she saved some money on the mulch installed along Easter Avenue and E. Geddes Avenue. A lot of tree work was completed over the winter, but more may occur once the honey locust trees leaf out. Nancy asked about the next steps for the perimeter fence and parking lot asphalt. No decisions were made.
- TENNIS: Manager Jill Ellsworth reported that drills and lessons began the first week of April. There was massive damage to the windscreens due to the heavy windstorm in early April. Jill is obtaining bids to patch the screens rather than replace them. Two residents had started a Friday afternoon drop-in tennis league and so far 28 people have signed up. The Board agreed if the sign-ups continue to grow the Friday afternoon league can overflow onto the South Courts. Jill had ordered two pickleball nets for the West Courts and met with the new Pickleball Manager, Jane Robbins. The recently passed moratorium by the City of Centennial that prohibits the construction of pickleball courts also applies to painting
pickleball lines on the tennis courts. Jill proposed that the pickleball players tape the West Court for pickleball on Friday afternoon and leave the tape down until Monday morning. The Pickleball nets and tape for the players to use have come out of the tennis budget. Treasurer Kelly McCormick will work with the bookkeeper to set up a line item for pickleball and revise the budget for those expenses. - PICKLEBALL: New Manager Jane Robbins was unable to attend the meeting and Kristy Pankow represented Pickleball. Kristy and the Board discussed several questions Pickleball raised, and the Board agreed to increase the dedicated court time for Pickleball at the West Court. New hours are Tue-Thurs mornings from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, Saturdays from 9:00 am – 11:00 am and 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm and Sundays from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.
- ACC/TASK FORCE: Manager Emily Maxfield reported that the committee is now meeting monthly at the Business Office which has improved the effectiveness and decision-making. Applications are increasing monthly. The ACC would like to eliminate artificial plants and flowers on the exterior or properties. Seasonal decorations would still be permitted, however artificial flowers in window boxes and planters year-round would become a covenant violation. The Board agreed with the ACC and effective immediately artificial plants and flowers will only be permissible as seasonal décor. Emily and
the Board discussed several accounts who had ongoing violations or unfinished work. Chris moved and Kelly seconded a motion to consult the HOA attorney with the intention of filing a lawsuit against Account 576. Motion passed unanimously. James moved and Michael seconded a motion to have the HOA attorney send a demand letter to account 377. Motion passed unanimously. James moved and Chris seconded a motion to revoke privileges to the pool and tennis courts for account 806 until the work is complete. Motion passed unanimously. - BUSINESS: Manager Katie Kidwell reported that approximately 50 second notices for unpaid dues were mailed to owners on April 1st. All caregivers and lap swimmers in 2022 have been deleted from the Openpath system. Lap swimmers will be added as they submit signed waivers. Families will need to add caregivers to their accounts annually. The Board asked Katie to email account 648 to see if she will meet with board members directly rather than continuing with a small claims suit. The restrooms at the South Pool are being remodeled. James moved and Chris seconded a motion to approve two requests to use the South Pool lawn for graduation parties. Ting will provide internet service at the North and South Pool for no charge to the HOA. An additional outdoor router will be purchased for the North Pool. The Board discussed questions raised at the Annual Meeting:
A. Can the West Pool be kept open through Labor Day? Jaylene from FRR answered that she would probably be unable to provide lifeguards. She will send the HOA an estimate of the chemical and cleaning costs.
B. The HOA needs to instill more pride in the neighborhood through activities and articles in the Herald. The Board believes the activities sponsored by the Social Committee do promote community. Katie doesn’t have time to write articles for the Herald but will happily read, edit and consider publishing such articles should homeowners want to submit them.
C. What are the next steps for the Perimeter Fence: Please see below in “Old Business”.
FINANCIAL REPORT: Kelly will reallocate some funds to Pickleball. Because the Perimeter Fence Ballot failed to pass Kelly moved and Ginny seconded a motion to increase the 2023 HOA dues by 10%. The motion passed unanimously. The HOA will send out invoices to all owners. The 10% increase in 2023 dues is permissible under the HOA governing documents because the Board did not increase the dues from the 2022 rate in hopes that homeowners would vote to approve the special assessment ballot. The $132 per homeowner is now necessary as the HOA will have to begin repairing sections of the Perimeter Fence
which they had hoped would be replaced by a new Trex fence.
OLD BUSINESS:
ADA Ramp North Pool: Jill Smith and Carina Clancy presented a proposal for an ADA ramp from the North Pool parking lot down to the pool. After interviewing several contractors, Jill and Carina recommended ASAP Concrete as the most affordable at approximately $40,000. Jill and Carina reminded the Board that there have been two instances recently when a ramp to the pool was needed to transport a wheelchair bound visitor and when a homeowner fainted in the pool area. Although there is a flat walkway from S. Niagara Ct., the address of the North Pool is on Easter Ave. and emergency personnel continue to show up at
the parking lot. Kelly stated that the budget does not currently have enough money to say yes to a ramp that evening. The Board agreed to meet with ASAP to walk the site and to consult the HOA attorney to be certain all ADA compliance issues were known.
Perimeter Fence: The Board discussed whether to try to obtain a loan to replace the perimeter fence or to have another information session and present the special assessment again. From the comments at the Annual Meeting, it was clear that many homeowners were not informed and perhaps the special assessment ballot would pass if presented again. No decision was made.
Pickleball: The moratorium passed by the City of Centennial will not allow the HOA to paint the pickleball lines on the West courts. The owner of account 55 asked the Board several questions about the moratorium, noise complaints, damage to the tennis courts by painters’ tape and the Boards options should the moratorium remain in effect.
NEW BUSINESS:
The Board set the neighborhood Dumpster Day for May 20th from 8:00 – 9:00 am. The Homestead Elementary Day Care program asked the Board if they could bring their children to swim at the South Pool once a week. The Board agreed unanimously to host the group on Mondays from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm.
ADJOURNMENT AND CALENDARING: The meeting adjourned at 9:58 pm. The next regular Board Meeting will be on Monday, May 8th at 6:30 p.m. at the Business Office and via Zoom.
BOARD ACTION SUBSEQUENT TO MEETING: On April 19th the Board voted unanimously to refer Account 576 to the HOA attorney for a collection demand letter. On May 1st the Board voted to freeze finance charges on Account 518 until the house is sold.