Newsletter

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

2017 has been a very active year as an HOA board. We added some additional activities to our calendar of events, began providing Welcome Baskets for new residents, and re-started several committees that used to exist in the HOA many years ago, including a Landscaping and Beautification Committee, a Codes and Standards Committee, and have seen a growth in volunteers for the HOA committees now bringing us up to 15 people actively serving today!

There has been a lot of discussion regarding our HOA by-laws as well as the codes, covenants, and restrictions. In fact, we decided to add another sheet to the newsletter just to cover common questions and answers. What I did want to announce here at the top is that we are looking at amending our legal documents based on feedback from you, the homeowners in Eastridge Meadows. The volunteers from the Architecture Review Committee, the Codes and Standards Committee, the Landscaping and Beautification Committee, and the Social Committee will make up a “blue ribbon” commission to gather your feedback on a variety of possible changes. These proposed changes would be brought to the next annual HOA meeting to allow homeowners to vote on the changes. See the additional sheet enclosed for more details.

Respectfully,

Erik Brokaw

HOA President

UPCOMING EVENTS

HOA Annual BBQ- Saturday Aug 19^th, Corner of Eastridge Dr. and Eastridge Ct. 5pm-9pm -BBQ Beef Sandwiches will be provided as well as drinks and tableware. If your last name begins with A-M-bring a side dish to share. If your last name begins with N-Z- bring a dessert to share. BYOB, chairs, and /or yard games. Bouncy house and kids activities will be on site. This is a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and have fun! SEE YOU SOON!

Fall Clean-up- Saturday Sept 30- 10am-noon

Halloween Parade- Saturday Oct 28- 9am-11am

Christmas Decoration Contest- Saturday Dec 16- 7pm-9pm

HOA BUDGET REPORT

The last snapshot of the budget variance report shows that we are on-track for 2017. We do expect actuals for Landscaping to be above budget as there are several trees in the common area that need to be raised/cleaned and at least one dead tree to be removed. The extra funds will come from the reserve. The Events budget should cover the neighborhood BBQ scheduled in August. The attorney fees are above budget due to a 2016 incurred bill that was paid in 2017. The website registration was not completed in 2016 and a standard 2-year registration was paid in 2017. We also haven’t received the bill for the Dumpsters last month. Finally, there were a few homeowners that overpaid on their dues and Refunds were paid in 2017.

If you have questions about the budget, please contact the board and we will be happy to answer any questions.

LANDCAPING AND MAINTENCE REPORT

We have approximately 30 trees in the main commons area along AA. One tree has already died and been removed and another tree is dead and also requiring removal. None of the trees have been raised or had dead growth removed. We are collecting bids from multiple licensed firms and will perform work on the most critical trees yet in

2017. We are looking at a possible plan to replace most or all of the trees in 2018 or 2019.

The sprinkler system is almost 20 years old. At last inspection at the beginning of this season, there were multiple leaks in the system and most of the springs on the heads do not retract properly, allowing the heads to be damaged during routine mowing. Also, at some point in the past, a drip line was added to one of the zones and there is not enough pressure to support the drip line, making that zone ineffective. We had to shut down several of the sprinkler system zones because they are basically inoperable. The entire system will need to be replaced in 2018 at an estimated cost of $4000-$5000 (based on initial bids).

The base of the entrance monument on Eastridge lacks support underneath and mason work will likely be required to repair the stone work that has been crumbling at the base. We are collecting bids at this time and will decide if this is 2017 or 2018 endeavor.

The erosion in the common area east of Scenic continues to be a concern. We are looking to bring in a professional engineer to perform a full assessment of the creek, the earthen dam, and the detention pond that are managed by the HOA. There are several professional engineering firms in the greater Kansas City area that perform this work. Initial estimates are between $1500 and $2000. We expect this to be a 2017 expense. We are also visiting with the HOA attorney, as he has extensive experience with HOAs in the area and with land and maintenance issues.

NOTE: There have been several inquiries as to how we select our vendors. The HOA Board instituted a policy several months ago to go out for competitive bids for any new vendors and to select only those vendors who are commercially licensed for the work, properly insured/bonded, and vendors who can provide references from other HOA’s. All existing vendors from 2016 that were retained for 2017 will be required to re-bid for continued business in 2018 and beyond. These bids are essentially a “request for quote” (RFQ); i.e. we are looking for basic rate-card comparisons for standard services.

DUES ASSESSMENTS AND COLLECTIONS

As of 07/01/2017, there were 23 homes with past-due balances. Liens were filed on all accounts with $150 or more past due. $4,226.00 owed and past due on these accounts. If you have questions regarding HOA collection practices or your account balance, please write or e-mail the board. We’ll be happy to go over your balance with you.

Remember that there is an amnesty on late charges until 12/31/2017. All unpaid accounts on Dec 31st will be charged 10% interest on unpaid amount.

We will return to the regular schedule and late charge assessments in the by-laws for 2018. Annual billing will go out Jan 15th, 2018. Annual assessments are due by Feb 15th, 2018. All unpaid balances will be assessed a 10% late charge on unpaid balances if not paid by March 1st, 2018. Please start by planning now to pay on time in 2018 to avoid late fees and collection activities.

The HOA would like to go paperless with newsletters. Please send your email address to the HOA email: board@eastridgemeadowshoa.com. Be sure to include your name and address!

Check out the HOA website at eastridgemeadowshoa.com! It’s a good resource for HOA information including the official HOA calendar, general news about the HOA, with copies of the by-laws, covenants and restrictions, Architecture Review Board request forms, and much more. Also, make sure to visit the HOA Facebook site, where you can exchange information with your fellow homeowners about vendors and services in the area, information on neighborhood activities, and other news of the neighborhood.

The by-laws require bonding for officers with financial responsibilities. Unfortunately, that did not occur in the past. The current HOA Board is obtaining a surety bond that will cover all four elected positions, not just those with a financial responsibility. This is necessary protection to safeguard homeowners against financial malfeasance of the current or future HOA boards.

As was mentioned earlier in this newsletter, the HOA Board has charged a “blue ribbon” commission to review possible changes to the Eastridge Meadows HOA by-laws and the HOA codes, covenants, and restrictions (CCRs). The commission will be comprised of the volunteer members of the four (4) committees that support the board built not the elected board members. The purpose for this decision was to provide the commission the greatest possible latitude in gathering homeowner feedback and in formulating recommendations.

The concept for the commission was recommended by the HOA attorney, who has helped other HOA’s update their by-laws and CCRs. Here are just a few of the many possible areas the commission is expected to explore:

· Dues have been steady at $50 for almost 20 years, although the original by-laws recommended a 5% increase year over year. Should we raise the dues in 2017? If so, to what level?

· Should we change the restrictions on boats and campers parked in driveways? (Limited by the current CCRs to only 12 hours.)

· The existing by-laws contemplated an HOA that would provide trash service (which could provide discounts). Is that something of interest? If not, should we remove this language from the by-laws?

· Should we add CCR language about lawn maintenance, paint and siding maintenance, fence maintenance, etc? Or, are the CCRs fine the way they are?

· Do we want to have a gated community? (This was a suggestion from homeowners not on the board nor one of the committees.)

FINES FOR VIOLATIONS: One of the most important discussions by the HOA Board has been the assessment of fines for architecture and CCR violations. Our attorney noted that the other HOA’s with whom he has dealt all have “graduated” fine schedules. That is, there are specific fines associated with specific violations with larger violations requiring larger fines. This is understandably a complex matter and is one of the key discussion areas the commission has been tasked to take up.

When the board receives the recommendations, we will have the HOA attorney draft language for the changes to the by-laws and CCRs. Homeowners will be allowed to ask questions in the annual HOA Homeowner’s meeting in January and to cast their votes for individual recommendations. The commission will also utilize our HOA Facebook site, HOA events, mail and e-mail feedback to the HOA Board site, and one-on-one visits with you, the homeowners, to gather information for these recommendations.

So, if we are looking at possible modifications to the by-laws and CCRs, then what will be enforced in 2017? Answer: The HOA Board and the volunteer committees supporting the Board will enforce the current HOA by-laws and CCRs until such time as the by-laws and CCRs may be changed.

Starting August 1, 2017, the Architecture Review Committee members and the Codes and Standards Committee members will begin a routine weekly patrol of the neighborhood to review potential Architecture and CCR violations. Here is how the process will work:

· The members of the committees will focus on individuals with multiple violations and start with those homeowners who have the most obvious violations.

· Multiple volunteers on each committee will review and verify the homeowner violations.

· The homeowner and their violations will be brought to the attention of the HOA Board.

· A letter will be sent to the homeowner notifying them of the violations, the steps needed to remedy the situation, and the date the committees will follow-up for review.

· If a city, county, state, or federal violation is discovered, such violations will be reported to the proper authorities immediately without going through a notification process. When government regulations are stricter than HOA by-laws and CCRs, the government regulations will apply. When existing HOA by-laws and CCRs are more restrictive, the HOA by-laws and CCRs will apply.

A: Yes, the HOA Board does have the right to determine and assess a fine for architecture and codes violations.

A: The process of enforcing the by-laws and CCRs is to ensure property values are maintained in the neighborhood. This is the primary purpose and function of an HOA. The HOA Board is interested in homeowners paying their dues on time and on complying with the minimal set of by-laws and CCRs contained in our documents.

Q: How do Eastridge Meadows by-laws and CCRs stack up to other HOAs in the area?

A: Our HOA by-laws and CCRs are much less restrictive than many other neighborhoods in the immediate area.

Q: What if the homeowner doesn’t pay the fine? Will a lien be placed on the home?

A: No. Unlike HOA dues where the by-laws specify the filing of liens, our same by-laws and CCRs specify legal action should a homeowner fail to remedy their violations. This would be the last resort. However such legalaction would be costly for the homeowner as local judges typically require the homeowner to pay for HOA attorney fees, the homeowner’s attorney fees, court costs, assessed fines, and to comply with a court order to remedy the violations within a proscribed period of time.

A: We expect to file none. Again, our goal is compliance and not fines nor court cases. Court cases are time-consuming and costly. The homeowners in Eastridge Meadows are typically conscientious, interested in improving the value of their home investments, and routinely look out for their neighbors. We expect the vast majority of those few homeowners that do receive violations letters from the Board and take the letters as what they are: reminders to comply with the by-laws and CCRs.

A: We will always focus on areas that are clear city violations, such as un-mowed grass or illegal dumping, etc. As to the HOA architecture restrictions, major items would include but not be limited to: failure to submit an Architecture Review for work on decks, fences, roofs, paint or siding, pools, solar panels, and out-buildings. Major codes and standards violations would include but not be limited to: above ground pools designed to hold more than 24” of water, boats/campers/trailers parked for extended periods of time in driveways, commercial activities, trucks over ¾ ton parked in the neighborhood, television/radio antennas and satellite dishes larger than 36”, clotheslines, and similar violations. Most of these are just common sense and should not be a surprise to current homeowners.

Q: How can I know in advance what types of architecture and CCR issues I might run into?

A: The official HOA website at eastridgemeadowshoa.com has the full by-laws and CCRs posted and available for you to read, print, or download. The HOA website also has quick-reference materials such as the top 10 City of Blue Springs violations as well as a quick list of key architecture and CCR items to consider for Eastridge Meadows HOA. If you have any questions, please contact the HOA Board by e-mail at board@eastridgemeadowshoa.com