HOMESTEAD IN THE WILLOWS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
Regular Board Meeting November 11, 2025 – Unofficial Minutes
CALL TO ORDER: Vice President, Ginny Karlberg called the meeting to order at 6:10pm. Present were Secretary, Eric Kemp; Member at Large, Stuart Siekmeier; Treasurer, Steve Bell; Business Manager, Katie Kidwell, ACC Manager, Emily Maxfield; and Swim Team Parent Rep, Nevienne Manning. President, Robb Origer attended the meeting via Zoom.
RATIFICATION OF BOARD ACTIONS: Ginny moved to ratify the board actions of October 27 and November 5, 2025, granting payment plans. Steve seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
APPEALS HEARING RESULTS: Account 148 had appealed a Covenant Taskforce citation. After discussion by the Board members Steve moved to deny the appeal. Ginny seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Account 054 had appealed a driveway citation. After discussion Robb moved to overturn the Taskforce citation, Stuart seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Account 485 appealed an ACC denial. After discussion Steve moved to deny the appeal, Stuart seconded the motion which carried.
The Minutes of the October 13, 2025, regular meeting were approved as read.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
SWIM TEAM: Parent Rep Nevienne Manning responded to the Boards questions from the October meeting about the proposed sound system upgrade for the Swim Team. The sound engineer consulted by Swim Team does not recommend a wireless system upgrade because the wireless signal can be disrupted by other electronic devices, wireless systems can have a delay between the source and the audio speaker, wireless systems have a limited range that can be weakened by physical obstacles and wireless systems tend to be more expensive. Swim Team would like to proceed with a wired system but use their existing speakers to reduce the cost. The Hurricane Board is looking into fund raising methods and will keep the HOA board updated.
SOCIAL COMMITTEE: No report.
MANAGER REPORTS:
POOL: No report.
TENNIS: Manager Jill Ellsworth reported that USTA rankings will be released in December. The Board reviewed the tennis budget line items with Jill.
LANDSCAPE: No report.
ACC/COVENANT TASKFORCE: Manager Emily Maxfield spoke about the plan to hold informational open houses for homeowners. The Board agreed late January would work and that Board members would attend as well. Emily reported that many large remodel applications require consultation with an architect. ACC volunteers have design experience but no training as architects and often have questions about the architectural drawings submitted. The Board asked Emily to solicit a volunteer from the neighborhood but agreed they would consider using application fee funds to pay for consultations if affordable. Robb asked if the Board and ACC believed the committee would benefit from more volunteers. Emily replied that the current committee meets twice monthly and they are keeping up with applications. The Board agreed that soliciting additional volunteers was unnecessary. Emily suggested the Board read through the current Residential Improvement Guidelines to determine if there were elements they would like to remove from the approval process. The Board asked Emily to email them copies to review before the January meeting.
BUSINESS: Manager Katie Kidwell reported on collections and fence payments to date. A homeowner who had been late with his fence payment asked that his late fee to be waived The Board agreed that all homeowners should be familiar with the payment schedule by now and declined to waive the fee. The property storing ten cars had not replied to the Board’s letter to register all vehicles and to please move several to off-site storage. Two of the cars are still not registered. The Board agreed that a covenant violation should be issued requiring the owner to register the cars. The Board will monitor the property to ensure the cars are moved regularly. Otherwise additional covenant violations will be cited for storing inoperable vehicles on the property. A previous Board had adopted a rule that all homes bordering greenbelts and walking paths retain the split rail fencing installed by Sanford Homes. Privacy fencing would not be allowed on those properties. Katie had updated the document with addresses and photos. Steve moved and Eric seconded a motion to adopt the updated document. The motion passed unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORT: Treasurer Steve Bell had reviewed and approved the October financial statements. Financial statements are posted on the HOA website monthly.
OLD BUSINESS: Steve led the Board through the 2026 budget he had prepared for the Association. The operating budget remains consistent with previous years. Pool expenses increased the most because the 2026 season is longer with an earlier Memorial Day and later Labor Day. The overall increase to the operating budget is 2%. The Reserve Expenses are much larger for 2026 than in previous years. This is due in part to the cost of replacing the cement decking around the North Pool and significant repair costs to repair and replace equipment at the North Pool. Another significant expense is the irrigation system, which if replaced today would cost over $1,000,000 so the Association continues to renovate section by section. Steve asked the Board to approve opening a separate reserve account to be used solely for the portion of dues collected each year as directed in the amendment to the governing documents for the repair and replacement of the Perimeter Fence. Ginny moved and Stuart seconded a motion to establish a separate bank account for the Perimeter Fence savings so that those funds are managed and invested separately from the General Reserve Fund. The motion passed unanimously. Ginny moved and Eric seconded a motion to approve the proposed 2026 budget with a 3% increase to the annual dues assessment. The motion passed unanimously.
Eric updated the Board members on the meeting held with a Web Performance Engineer to review the PayHOA platform regarding ACC applications. Goals are making the online application process easier for homeowners while still including the necessary information the volunteers need to review, faster approvals for pre-approved items, secure online recordkeeping, digital document governance and a homeowner dashboard to track the status of applications.
NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business.
ADJOURNMENT AND CALENDARING: The meeting adjourned at 8:25pm. The next regular Board Meeting will be on Monday, January 12 at 5:30pm at the Business Office.