Regular Board Meeting January 13, 2025 – Unofficial Minutes
THREE TAKEAWAYS:
- Please do not include your fence payment in your dues payment check. Each payment goes to a different bank. The Business Office needs two checks.
- If you have not yet returned the Homeowner Contact Form, please do so ASAP. The form can be found on page 9 of the February Homestead Herald or on the website under the Stay Connected tab, as well as at the office.
- The Annual Meeting for Members, March 10, 2025, 7:00 pm Homestead Elementary School.
CALL TO ORDER: Vice President, Michael Garnsey called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Present were Secretary, Ginny Karlberg; Treasurer, Steve Bell; Member at Large, Robb Origer; Business Manager, Katie Kidwell; Landscape Manager, Nancy Bauer; Tennis Manager, Jill Ellsworth; and ACC Manager, Emily Maxfield. Homeowner Don Filarowicz attended a portion of the meeting.
The Minutes of November 11, 2024, regular meeting were approved as read.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
SWIM TEAM: There was no report from Swim Team.
SOCIAL COMMITTEE: Co-Chair, Kelly Kane, submitted a written report. The 2024 Holiday Carriage Rides were very popular as was the Winter Warmer at the North Pool. The 50-anniversary celebration Save the Date was published in the January Homestead Herald and on social media. The committee has connected with one of the original developers of Homestead in the Willows who will fill the committee in on the early history of the neighborhood.
MANAGER REPORTS:
POOL: There was no pool report. The Board had budgeted new concrete decking for the pools in 2025 and 2026. Work would begin at the South and West Pools during the week of January 13.
LANDSCAPE: Manager Nancy Bauer reported that all the Christmas decorations had been removed and stored. Several downed branches from the last storm had been picked up. The dumpster enclosures were cleaned up because despite there being no dumpsters, people continue to throw large items and trash into the enclosures. Colorado Designscapes completed an extra fall clean-up to take care of late dropping leaves.
TENNIS: Manager Jill Ellsworth reported that the USTA Facility Coordinator meeting would be held in the week of January 20. SSPRD had opened registration for returning teams and Jill had re-registered Homestead’s overflow team. Registration for new Tennis teams at South Suburban starts on January 17. There is enough interest in tennis at Homestead that Jill hopes to be able to register two additional overflow teams. Homestead currently has enough players to fill five 3.0 women’s teams, a new men’s 3.5 team, four 2.5 women’s teams, and one 3.0 men’s team.
ACC: The Board discussed attorney recommendations for the ACC appeal process. Going forward two Board members will hear the appeal and bring their conclusions to the rest of the Board at the regular meeting. The Board will vote on the appeal at the board meeting. Manager Emily Maxfield and the Board discussed changes in siding and window trim and the progress of the Fair Housing Act request for accommodation.
BUSINESS: Katie reported that the 2025 Dues Assessment letters had been mailed January 3 and homeowners should have received both an email and a hard copy by January 15. Owners who have not received their letter should telephone the Business Office for a duplicate copy. Over 100 homeowners had already paid their 2025 dues. Katie then reported on the progress of two collection accounts, presented the HOA Umbrella Insurance policy renewal to the Board and discussed several other items of business. Steve moved and Michael seconded a motion to approve the Umbrella Policy renewal at a cost of $4,108. The motion passed unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORT: Treasurer, Steve Bell, reported the 2023 Audit had been completed and he would review the draft presented. Overall, the HOA is in good financial condition. The fence loan was paid off in late Summer and the line of credit was officially closed in December. The HOA had hired a small business bookkeeper to take over the HOA bookkeeping from the accounting firm used during 2024. This will reduce accounting expenses. Steve moved and Ginny seconded a motion to transfer the 2024 surplus of $420,721 from the operating account to the Reserve account. The motion passed unanimously.
HOMEOWNER COMMENTS: Homeowner Don Filarowicz attended the Board meeting to urge the Board to renew the trash contract with Waste Connections. He said WC is great during inclement weather, they are timely, and have polite, personable drivers. Don reported reading on Nextdoor that other neighborhoods with different carriers experience problems such as their trash not being taken if the lid isn’t all the way down, or having no option for yard waste if it won’t fit in the toter. He has also read that in some neighborhoods without a collective trash service, individual owners pay as much as $300 per year for trash pickup. He said he hoped the HOA would consider staying with WC even if a competitor offered a slightly lower rate because we know Waste Connection’s people and service.
OLD BUSINESS: Renewal of the Trash Contract: President James Keating has been reviewing the proposals submitted by Waste Connections, HBS and Republic Services. No decision had been made.
Flock Safety Cameras: Member at Large Robb Origer met with a representative from Flock Group to learn about Flock Safety surveillance cameras. Flock provides automated license plate recognition that integrates with law enforcement to reduce crime. Flock would install cameras at the entrances of the neighborhood that would read the license plates of all vehicles entering or leaving the neighborhood. The cameras read the license plates in real time and can communicate directly with law enforcement. The system specifically looks for stolen vehicles, active criminal warrants, or missing persons cases and if such a car enters the neighborhood, the camera alerts law enforcement within four seconds. The Preserve and Green Oaks have installed the Flock Safety System and reported a reduction in vandalism and crime. The cost to install the Flock Safety System in Homestead would be approximately $20 per household annually. After discussion Michael moved, and Steve seconded a motion to engage in a 2-year trial period to be paid for from the Reserve account. The motion passed unanimously. Between permitting and ordering equipment the cameras will likely be installed in late March.
NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business.
ADJOURNMENT AND CALENDARING: The meeting adjourned at 8:25 pm. The next regular Board Meeting will be on Monday, February 10th at 6:30 pm. at the Business Office.