PRESIDENT’S CORNER

There will be three (3) openings this year: President, Vice President, and Secretary. I will be stepping down from the President position ahead of schedule after serving one year. We greatly need to fill these positions at the annual meeting. We are looking for individuals who are retirees, or work part time, or stay-at-home parents who are concerned about our neighborhood.  Much of the work is routine and minimal amount of effort.  However, it helps if you have at least some availability during normal working hours from Monday through Friday.  We have made significant progress in 2017 to automate and streamline processes and we now have the full support of several active committees that are here to support the HOA Board.  The commitment from HOA Board members is down to less than an hour per week.  If you would be willing to serve, please send email to: board@eastridgemeadowshoa.com  stating why you would like to serve and your skills for this position, so your name can be added to the ballot. This will be a 2-year commitment, serving from 2018-2020 for 2 board positions and 1 position (President) for 2018-2019.

The HOA Annual Meeting is Tuesday, January 9, 2018, @ 7:00pm. Backup date is Wednesday, January 17th, 7pm. Please begin arriving at 6:30pm to check in.

Location: Blue Springs South High School, Hall of Fame Room

Directions- Go South on Adams Dairy Road. Turn left at the school stop light. Park toward the mid-back of school. Enter at the Attendance/Activities Door (C12 or C13). The Hall of Fame door is on the right as you enter the building.  Please watch for signs on the Door. 

NOTE:  You must be the legally registered owner of the property to vote.  There is only one vote allowed per lot in the Eastridge Meadows Subdivision. 

Important Topics for discussion & changes to bylaws to vote on are as follows:

1.  * Raising dues to $75.00/year, effective 2018, payable Feb. 15th, delinquent March 1st.

2.  * Changing by-laws.  Please see enclosed changes on which we will be voting.

3.  * Land and Beautification Committee multi-year plans and budgets.

4.   * Review of annual financial statements and plans for 2018.          

 

Respectfully,

Erik Brokaw

HOA President

 
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HOA BUDGET REPORT-

Balance as of 10/27/17

Checking: $7,271.59

Reserve: $7,720.56

Restitution collected: $720.00

The last snapshot of the budget variance report shows that we are on-track for 2017.  The annual dumpster costs and BBQ were under budget.  The extra cash in our account was allocated by the Board to begin monument repair and landscaping work in 2017.  Reserves have also been made for sprinkler system replacement in early 2018.  

Please contact the board and we will be happy to answer any questions about the budget. 

 

FUTURE EVENTS

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

*  HOA Annual Meeting – Tuesday, January 9th, 2018, 7pm -- Check-in begins at 6:30pm. Backup date is       Wednesday January 17th, 2018 7pm, Check-in begins at 6:30pm.

LANDSCAPING AND MAINTENANCE REPORT

Please plan on attending the HOA Annual meeting for a full 15-minute presentation by the Land and Beautification Committee.  Rita Burke, Tracy Branstuder, Tracy Taraski, and have done a fantastic job of mapping out a strategy for maintenance of the monument at our main entrance, replacement of the sprinkler system for the common area in 2018, and a multi-year plan for replacing the trees in the common area and adding shrubbery and perennials that will not only vastly improve and enhance the look of our neighborhood but also provide for simpler and more consistent maintenance over time.  The committee has already provided full presentations of their proposals to the HOA Board and the committee has received numerous proposals from selected vendors. 

The HOA Board granted approval for maintenance repairs to be made on the base of the main monument at the Eastridge entrance.  Those repairs will be completed sometime late October or first part of November, weather permitting, and are expected to be under $900.  The exit side of the main entrance on Eastridge will be blocked off while the work is being done on the monument. Please use the Scenic entrance until the work is completed and the barricade has been removed.

Approval has also been made for replacement of the existing sprinkler system in early Spring 2018 for about $4500.  Another $3000 was approved for 2017 to begin the multi-year “maintain and replace” plan for the 30 plus trees in the common areas.  The sprinkler system, trees, monument, and related facilities are almost 20 years old and have had very little maintenance over that period.    

DUES ASSESSMENTS AND COLLECTIONS

This is the final notice on the 2017 dues amnesty program! 

We have 19 homes still owing dues. Any unpaid balance not received by 12/31/17 will have the standard 10% interest placed on their account, as indicated in our current bylaws.

The annual assessments for 2018 will be sent 1/15/18 with a due date of 2/15/18 and a delinquent date of 3/1/18.  Any unpaid balances as of 3/1/18 will be assessed an additional 10% late charge. We will continue our regular past-due collection procedures that we instituted in 2017.  As of 6/15/18, all unpaid balances regardless of the amount, will have a lien placed on the property for collections.

If you have received an invoice in this newsletter, there is a balance still outstanding on your account. Please make check or money order out to: Eastridge Meadows HOA.  Please note that we do not accept cash.

Interest has grown to allow homeowners to pay for their dues online. We are currently looking into this and the associated costs from Central Bank or Pay pal.  We expect to also bring up the results of this discussion at the HOA Annual meeting.

The HOA Board agreed to present a proposal to the full membership at the HOA Annual meeting to increase the dues to $75 starting in 2018.  There has been no increase in annual dues since the HOA was founded almost 20 years ago.  The bylaws anticipated an annual increase of 5% each year by the board with no requirement for a vote from the HOA members on such an increase.  However, previous boards failed to make any increases.  As such, the current dues do not adequately cover annual budget costs and normal contingencies in an adequate manner.

 

BONDING FOR HOA BOARD MEMBERS

Bonding at $25,000 for all 4 elected board positions was secured from State Farm Insurance a few months ago. The premium of $161 will be paid yearly as part of our regular budget.

The by-laws require bonding for officers with financial responsibilities.  Unfortunately, that did not occur in the past.  The current HOA Board obtained the surety bond to cover all four elected positions, not just those with fiduciary responsibilities.  This is necessary protection to safeguard homeowners against financial malfeasance of the current or future HOA boards.  We are excited to get this issue resolved in 2017!


FUTURE NEWSLETTERS
 
The HOA would like to go paperless with newsletters. Last newsletter, we were able to send out over 100 newsletters electronically. That’s almost half of the homes in the neighborhood!  We hope you found this service helpful. If you would like to sign up for the electronic newsletter and have not, please visit eastridgemeadowshoa.com, and click on newsletters, and then submit your email. You’ll be prompted to confirm your email address.  Please check your spam or junk folder and respond. Once your email is confirmed, you should be receiving your newsletters by email.


HOA WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK SITE
 
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 (closed group), 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.
 
 
POTENTIAL CHANGES TO BY-LAWS-
 
There are several changes to the bylaws that have been reviewed by the HOA Board and its supporting committees over the last several months for bringing to the full HOA membership for a vote. 
 
1.      Increasing dues to $75 per year for a period of three years with no annual increases to be considered until 2021.
 
2.      Prohibiting any temporary rentals (e.g. Air BNBs) in the neighborhood.
 
3.      Prohibiting any more rentals in the neighborhood.  Any existing renters would have the opportunity to complete their lease but no lease renewals would be permitted and no future rentals would be permitted.
 
4.      The current bylaws restrict parking of campers, boats, and trailers to a maximum of 12 hours.  The proposal is to increase this to 48 hours.
 
The attorney for the HOA is drafting the language for review and vote by HOA members.  We expect to have the drafts out to all HOA members in December in a special mailing as well as copies of the documents to be available for viewing at the annual meeting in January.