HOMESTEAD IN THE WILLOWS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
Regular Board Meeting November 11, 2024 – Unofficial Minutes
THREE TAKEAWAYS:
- The Social Committee needs chairpersons. If you enjoy the community events in Homestead consider giving of your time to ensure they continue! Look for the ad in the December Homestead Herald or contact the Social Committee at socialcommitteehomestead@gmail.com
- The Board of Directors needs one new Member in 2025.Your home may be your largest asset. Be a part of the governing body who influences your home’s value!
- There is no Board of Directors meeting in December. The next regular meeting will be January 13, 2025.
CALL TO ORDER: President, James Keating called the meeting to order at 6:34pm. Present were Vice President, Michael Garnsey; Secretary, Ginny Karlberg, Treasurer, Steve Bell, Business Manager, Katie Kidwell; and Pool Manager Jennifer Thomas. Member at Large, Robb Origer; Landscape Manager, Nancy Bauer; and Social Committee Co-Chair, Olivia Phillips attended the meeting via Zoom.
RATIFICATION OF ACTIONS SUBSEQUENT TO BOARD MEETING: James moved and Ginny seconded a motion to ratify the Boards decision of October 30, 2024 to grant account 030 an extension to pay the 2nd special assessment payment due October 30, 2024. Motion passed unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
SWIM TEAM: Olivia Phillips reported for Swim Team that 2 people had applied to be coaches for the 2025 season. The Swim Team is waiting for a final bid to replace the current sound system which was installed in 2014.
SOCIAL COMMITTEE: Olivia reported that the committee has found volunteers to coordinate most events throughout the year but is still looking for volunteers to coordinate summer food truck events and for two volunteers to take over managing the committee so that she and Kelly Kane can step down.
MANAGER REPORTS:
POOL: Front Range Recreation Manager Jenn Thomas summarized the 2024 pool closing report and noted that other than purchasing AED’s for the South and West pools, FRR recommended putting all available Pool Reserve dollars toward replacing cement decking at either the West or North Pools. The Board reviewed and signed the FRR pool contract for 2025 – 2027.
LANDSCAPE: Manager Nancy Bauer answered questions from the Board about some line items in her budget and reported on cleanup from the winter storm that occurred November 6-9th. The Board reviewed and signed the irrigation contract with Water Ketch for 2025 – 2027.
TENNIS: There was no report.
ACC: The Board discussed a request for accommodation under the Fair Housing Act sent by a homeowner and agreed the Association attorney would respond to the request.
BUSINESS: Katie reported on collections, fence payments, and the receipt of the contact forms with the required information prompted by HB24-1233 & 1337. James Keating agreed to negotiate the new trash collection contract for the Association and Katie would send out a Request for Proposal to five companies on November 13. A homeowner had suggested the HOA provide a storm damage dump site at the pools for homeowners whose trees were damaged by winter storms. The HOA could arrange for a tree service to haul away the branches that homeowners bring to the pool locations. The Board agreed that it would be a helpful service but given the large capital expenses confronting the aging HOA infrastructure, providing a hard to budget service such as storm damage cleanup just wasn’t feasible at this time.
FINANCIAL REPORT: Treasurer, Steve Bell, proposed the HOA move its accounting services to a local bookkeeper. The current firm was needed to handle the complicated special assessment financing but now that payments are underway the HOA needs are more straightforward. The Board agreed to move the HOA bookkeeping to AYMiller Accounting Services. Steve then went through the 2025 proposed budget and dues increase. He noted that Reserve Fund expenditures in 2024 were higher than they had been in 2022 & 2023. James replied that was because prior to the installation of the Perimeter Fence the Boards had purposely deferred work to save more money toward the fence. The largest capital expense for 2025 will be replacing cement decking around the pools. The Board discussed the bids Katie had received and which pool deck most needed replacement. The expected increase in trash collection expenses is the largest component of the projected 2025 budget increase. James moved and Ginny seconded a motion to increase the Perimeter Fence Maintenance Reserve contribution by 10%. The motion passed unanimously. James moved and Steve seconded a motion to increase the Single-Family homeowner dues and trash by 6%. The motion passed unanimously. James moved and Ginny seconded a motion to approve the 2025 budget presented by treasurer Steve Bell. The motion passed unanimously.
HOMEOWNER COMMENTS: A homeowner had submitted a written email regarding the sound level of the music played during swim meets and practices. The Board agreed that loud music at 7:00am was too early. The Board agreed that the Swim Team should review the email and return to the Board with their suggested accommodations to create some parameters that both parties could agree too.
OLD BUSINESS: Steve moved and James seconded a motion to adopt the updated Collection Policy. The motion passed unanimously. James moved and Steve seconded a motion to adopt the revised Xeriscape Policy. The motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS: A recent incident in the neighborhood prompted some discussion about child abduction safety. Olivia suggested Homestead provide a social media site where homeowners can post about strangers, vehicles or anything that seems “off” in the neighborhood. The Board agreed that Robb Origer would get an estimate to install Flock Safety Cameras at all the entrances to Homestead to track vehicles entering and leaving. The video could be stored in the Cloud unless law enforcement needed to pull it.
James moved and Ginny seconded a motion to renew the Directors and Officers Insurance Policy which renews January 15, 2025. The motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT AND CALENDARING: The meeting adjourned at 8:20pm. The next regular Board Meeting will be on Monday, January 13 at 6:30pm at the Business Office.