Today was the annual HOA members meeting where the board listens to what the community has to say before going into a closed executive session. Here is a summary of the issues brought up by the members after the general manager's annual report. Zelma Hall, the general manager of Lake Park, thanked everyone for working with her on all the difficult issues that have faced Lake Park this year and said that they expect a new general manager to be in place by the new year. (She had planned to retire last year but due to her surgery and the fire, she was not able to) The board still has to interview the applicants.
In response to the 3% increase in your monthly HOA dues, one member commented that it was a "missed opportunity" that the deliberations regarding the increase and alternatives discussed, "were not presented in an open meeting. People could have learned from that." She said that in the many years she has lived here, this is the first time this meeting was not open.
In response to learning about the increase in HOA dues, there was some discussion as to why the increase was needed. Zelma said that it had to do with the "replacement coverage" fund... basically the money you have to have on hand for anticipated expenses. "Our fund is at 46% and 65% is a healthy goal." Houston Burnside, the board chairman, said that the committee determined that an incremental increase would be better than a lump sum assessment especially if there are unanticipated expenses. The replacement coverage fund does not account for unforseen unanticipated expeneses. Zelma gave the example that an anticipated replacement need would be lining the cast iron waste water lines with epoxy because they are old and some have broken and caused water damage.
Another person asked if the fire impacted the HOA dues and Zelma said, "No, not at all." she said that it was completely covered by Allstate with the exception of the $10,000 deductible which was already in a fund within the budget allocated for that purpose.
In response to learning that our owner-occupancy to renter ratio is at just 58%, one resident asked what the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) needs to see to approve FHA loans. Zelma said they like to see a 60% ownership ratio but that because Lake Park has a high credit rating and a good capital improvement budget that FHA can score us a little higher.
A resident asked what happened to the person who was burned in the fire. Zelma said that he has been released from care but is still recovering. He apologized for the fire which originated in his unit but he has no memory of what happened. He had other health problems that impacted his recovery after the fire but is doing better now.
And I stood up and plugged the blog. By the way if you are reading this you have already figured out that the address is http://www.lakeparkcondo.blogspot.com/ . (I mistakenly said there was a slash between condo and blogspot, but there isn't, it's just a dot.) I said that I'm interested in developing more community participation and a resource for committees to use. I said that I'd made a request previously to have the address published in the newsletter and that initially it was received by Zelma favorably but that later, she said she'd get back to me probably because of issues related to the fire. So I announced that I am "Re-requesting that the address for the blog be published in the newsletter." Houston Burnside received the request favorably and encourages community participation and acknowledged the "cutting edge" technology... "The 'edge' moves slowly around here." he said. So it will be taken to the board for approval and we may get it publicized.
In response to the 3% increase in your monthly HOA dues, one member commented that it was a "missed opportunity" that the deliberations regarding the increase and alternatives discussed, "were not presented in an open meeting. People could have learned from that." She said that in the many years she has lived here, this is the first time this meeting was not open.
In response to learning about the increase in HOA dues, there was some discussion as to why the increase was needed. Zelma said that it had to do with the "replacement coverage" fund... basically the money you have to have on hand for anticipated expenses. "Our fund is at 46% and 65% is a healthy goal." Houston Burnside, the board chairman, said that the committee determined that an incremental increase would be better than a lump sum assessment especially if there are unanticipated expenses. The replacement coverage fund does not account for unforseen unanticipated expeneses. Zelma gave the example that an anticipated replacement need would be lining the cast iron waste water lines with epoxy because they are old and some have broken and caused water damage.
Another person asked if the fire impacted the HOA dues and Zelma said, "No, not at all." she said that it was completely covered by Allstate with the exception of the $10,000 deductible which was already in a fund within the budget allocated for that purpose.
In response to learning that our owner-occupancy to renter ratio is at just 58%, one resident asked what the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) needs to see to approve FHA loans. Zelma said they like to see a 60% ownership ratio but that because Lake Park has a high credit rating and a good capital improvement budget that FHA can score us a little higher.
A resident asked what happened to the person who was burned in the fire. Zelma said that he has been released from care but is still recovering. He apologized for the fire which originated in his unit but he has no memory of what happened. He had other health problems that impacted his recovery after the fire but is doing better now.
And I stood up and plugged the blog. By the way if you are reading this you have already figured out that the address is http://www.lakeparkcondo.blogspot.com/ . (I mistakenly said there was a slash between condo and blogspot, but there isn't, it's just a dot.) I said that I'm interested in developing more community participation and a resource for committees to use. I said that I'd made a request previously to have the address published in the newsletter and that initially it was received by Zelma favorably but that later, she said she'd get back to me probably because of issues related to the fire. So I announced that I am "Re-requesting that the address for the blog be published in the newsletter." Houston Burnside received the request favorably and encourages community participation and acknowledged the "cutting edge" technology... "The 'edge' moves slowly around here." he said. So it will be taken to the board for approval and we may get it publicized.
Thanks for the update! I didn't know the fee was going up again. I think my fee has just about doubled over 10 years; much more than the CPI index, and we have had special assessments too. Not a sign that our money is being protected.
ReplyDeleteI am on two HOA boards and I am fairly sure the board must vote in public on a fee increase. There are very limited topics to discuss in executive session, but most boards have no one to enforce and there are attempts to violate it often, in my experience.
I don't know Zelma but her staff has shown really poor customer service, in my limited experience. Maybe a change at the top will improve their training and orientation.
I hope your blog gets some publicity and has wider viewership. There is a lot that goes on that affects our lives and dollars in an HOA!
Kevin n
I agree with Kevin, I do hope the customer service will improve. Too bad they can’t just leave with her. We technically pay for their annual income too! They need to be reprimanded or something. I’m sure there have been several complaints regarding their entire staff! When I first moved in the both ladies were absolutely rude! I was beyond irritated with their attitude.
ReplyDeleteI posted about this in the 3 guest limit blog too but I want to reiterate based on your comments. We owner occupants need to regain access to our democratic process. We signed up to be on the recreation committee and no meeting was ever called. The chair of the social committee apologized to us for that because things fell apart and it was a crazy year.. while I always appreciate a sincere apology, that doesn't make it okay.
ReplyDelete