HOMESTEAD IN THE WILLOWS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
Regular Board Meeting May 13, 2024 – Unofficial Minutes
CALL TO ORDER: President, James Keating called the meeting to order at 5:37pm. Present were Vice President, Michael Garnsey; Secretary, Ginny Karlberg; Treasurer, Steve Bell; Member at Large, Robb Origer; Tennis Manager, Jill Ellsworth; Business Manager, Katie Kidwell; Pool Manager, Jaylene Jones: ACC Manager, Emily Maxfield; Social Committee Co-chair, Kelly Kane; and Swim Team Parent Rep, Kristen Kraus. Homeowner Barbie Barker attended a portion of the meeting.
MINUTES: The minutes of the April 8 regular meeting were approved as read.
RATIFICATION OF BOARD ACTIONS: There were no Board Actions to ratify.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
SOCIAL COMMITTEE: Social Committee co-chair Kelly Kane announced that the social committee had applied for and been awarded a $500 community grant from the City of Centennial that they would use to help finance the July 4 celebration. A blood drive is being planned for August. The Social Committee is also considering planning a 50 year anniversary celebration for next summer when Homestead turns 50.
SWIM TEAM: Parent Rep Kristen Kraus thanked the Board for the HOA’s financial donation to the Swim Team. Tryouts had begun May 13 and after school practices would commence on May 15. There would be five home meets this summer and residents should check the schedule in the Homestead Herald to avoid using Easter Avenue on those Saturdays. Member at Large, Robb Origer explained that he had tested a mesh network booster at the North Pool in an attempt to enhance the Wi-Fi connection at the far west end of the pool where the Swim Team needs a connection for scoring. The network performed well and the equipment cost roughly $250. Kristen will check with the Swim Team Board about covering the cost of the booster.
MANAGER REPORTS:
POOL: Pool Manager Jaylene Jones reported that all major repairs on the pools had been completed and new furniture had been delivered to the South Pool. Front Range Recreation would have to implement a new vacuum system to stay current with County Health Code and Insurance regulations. Front Range had built several deskside vacuums that are now required to be used. The purchase of which would save the HOA $2500 per pool. The expense will come out of the Pool maintenance budget. The 5th grade is hosting their continuation party at the North Pool on May 23 and Front Range will again provide complimentary lifeguards. In keeping with tradition, the South Pool will open one day early on the last day of school, May 24, at 12:00pm. Jaylene will post signs at all Homestead pools with the information.
LANDSCAPE: Manager Nancy Bauer provided a written report. The cost to repair the landscape and irrigation damage caused by the installation of the ADA ramp at the North Pool was $4,000 more than expected due to various factors. The timber wall at the base of Tract C was replaced with boulders and cobblestone, new sod had been installed in two places along Homestead Parkway and eight replacement trees were planted at various locations throughout the property. All entry beds have been pruned and tidied, all roses throughout the property had been pruned and landscape repair due to the Perimeter Fence installation is complete.
TENNIS: Manager Jill Ellsworth reported that USTA league play had started and would continue through October. Because Homestead has so many players, Jill had to register one team to play from South Suburban each session which is highly unpopular. A team was chosen at random to play from South Suburban for the summer league. The Ladies 3.0 team led by Barb Superka and Julie Hancock have volunteered to play the fall session from South Suburban. Tennis Professionals Advantage You have been instructing since April and the summer sessions would begin soon. The Windscreens and court divider net roll down were delayed due to continued rain and snow in May. Jill expects to complete the roll down in May. New tennis rules will be posted at each court. The West courts are due to be resurfaced on June 10 with a backup of June 17 if delayed due to weather.
ACC: Manager Emily Maxfield announced that the number of applications more than doubled in April. Emily is working with the PayHOA platform to finalize online application submission, but paper applications will still be necessary for large remodels and landscape projects where architectural drawings are required. The meetings are being moved to the fourth Tuesday of each month. The Board agreed the volume of work is such that Emily should purchase a separate computer for ACC use.
BUSINESS: Katie reported on dues and fence assessment collection. The Board directed Katie to send out second notice letters immediately to those owners who had not yet paid the Perimeter Fence special assessment. The Board agreed the same late fees that apply to dues assessments would apply to the fence assessments. Now that most owners have submitted fence payments the PayHOA platform is creating payment plans for the 600 owners who chose to make payments. If owners choose to pay through the PayHOA platform the invoices that show on each homeowner’s account will be $516.67 and owners can easily select the next payment due and pay it. Fence invoices will be emailed to all owners with payment plans 30 days before the payment is due and reminder emails will be sent 7 days before the payment is due. Katie reported that the railing had been installed on the ADA ramp at the North Pool and a new railing installed at the South Pool where storm damage had occurred. The remodel of the North and South lifeguard shacks was complete and Ting internet had been installed at each pool. The HOA hopes the Ting connection will be stronger which will avoid shutdowns with the Alta Open secure access software.
FINANCIAL REPORT: Treasurer, Steve Bell presented the April financial report to the Board. He noted that the expense of the new accounting firm Vertex CFO is over-budget primarily because the HOA completely changed their finances by adding the Perimeter Fence special assessment and payment plan option. The HOA also switched from cash to accrual accounting. Thanks to many owners who paid the entire fence assessment at once, Steve is hopeful that the HOA can pay off the Line of Credit earlier than originally planned, thus saving interest expense for the neighborhood. The Board agreed that they want to continue to collect the annual fence maintenance reserve authorized in the HOA Governing Documents so that a special assessment will not be necessary when the fence needs to be replaced again. As of May 1, the HOA is under budget in most expense categories.
OLD BUSINESS: ACES Coach Barbie Barker reviewed the provisions of the agreement for the ACES swim team to rent the North Pool post season. A contact will be provided with the details. Michael and Robb reported that Dumpster Day was again quite popular. The dumpsters were delivered at 7:00am and were filled by 8:30am. They noted that the dumpster day was for ordinary items that are too big to put out with your trash, not construction debris from your bathroom remodel. They also suggested a limit of one carload per person.
NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business.
ADJOURNMENT AND CALENDARING: The meeting adjourned at 7:35pm. The next regular Board Meeting will be on Monday, June 10, at 6:30pm at the Business Office.
BOARD ACTIONS OUTSIDE OF MEETING: On May 20, 2024 the Board voted unanimously to grant a payment plan to account 562.