The Promontory at Soda Creek
Meeting minutes
Board members present: Angie Mays, Gretchen Stubenvoll, Shelly Sunderhuse, Chris Jenkins, Cindy Middleton
Other homeowners present: Holly Richardson, Beth Hilquist, Ed Hilquist, Bob Cappaert, John Morrill, Amanda Small
Ten of 53 (18.8%) of the lots were represented in person at the meeting constituting the requisite 10% quorum per Section 4.5 of the Amended Bylaws. After introductions of all attendees, the meeting was called to order at 6:40pm at the Stubenvoll residence in Evergreen, Colorado. The agenda for this meeting was approved by voice acknowledgement without discussion or objection.
Minutes from prior meeting: The minutes from the prior board meeting (May 18, 2021) were reviewed by the Secretary (Chris Jenkins). Meeting minutes were approved by voice vote without objection.
Treasurer Report: Treasurer (Gretchen Stubenvoll) gave a detailed update on the many negative issues the HOA is having with the current accounting company SBACPA. In May, our long-time bookkeeper with this firm went on permanent medical leave and we were assigned to another senior accountant. Soon after that, invoices were getting lost, vendors were not getting paid, the dues increase invoice roll out was completely botched, transfer fee documentation was not getting completed, monthly reports were not being delivered and emails were going unanswered. That said, Gretchen has online access to all three HOA bank accounts and is able to see bank activity, which all appears to be in line with expectations and the 2021 budget as approved in May.
Accounting Firm Change: Based on the continued and increasing bookkeeping issues, Gretchen strongly recommended changing firms. Prior to the meeting, she reached out to John Seevers of Valentine & Associates in Evergreen, CO, to inquire whether his firm would be interested in taking us on as a new client. Gretchen has worked with this firm before and John was willing to take us on with the understanding that once the transition was complete, we would work together to keep monthly fees as close to $300/month as possible, as provided for in the 2021 budget. Our new bookkeeper with this firm is Felisa Bilello. A motion was made to leave SBACPA and move to Valentine Seevers as presented by Gretchen. The motion was unanimously approved.
Road Maintenance: Bob Cappaert and John Morrill offered ideas for road repair and replacement. A motion was made and unanimously approved to form a road committee to assist Dan Fesenmeyer, the board member in charge of our roads. This committee hopes to report back at our next meeting on estimate cost and time frame for replacing the roads, other than Windom, which is the responsibility of Jefferson County.
Garbage/recycling discussion: Concerns about Waste Management were discussed. It was agreed that switching providers will not solve the problem. Based on anecdotal feedback from various residents, Mountain View Waste and Liberty are also problematic. The board believes that staffing issues are part of the problem, and the impact of staffing issues is a problem for all waste/recycling companies at this juncture. Beth Hilquist asked if we could request another date beside Friday. The board suggested that residents should all sign up for Waste Management notifications instead of relying exclusively on the board for notification. Amanda Small agreed to be the Waste Management contact, track down the current contract, and provide an update at the next meeting.
Dumpsters: The 2021 total cost for four dumpsters was approximately $2000. Holly Richardson discussed dumpster history and a suggestion for just supervising a day to remove slash. The original purpose of the dumpsters is to encourage homeowners to do yearly fire mitigation on their property. Recently, the dumpsters are being filled with more random junk than slash. Chris Jenkins stated that several residents had indicated to him they would prefer to do away with dumpster day. He added that doing away with dumpsters and putting that money toward the road and reserve fund would accumulate $10,000 in just five years. There was a discussion of the slash pickup process. We are considering other options for dumpsters. Some residents feel like the dumpsters are continually abused and only used for junk. The board agreed to distribute a survey to all residents regarding the future of dumpster day and opinions about slash.
Communication and community announcements: Holly Richardson volunteered to welcome new neighbors. The board discussed how this is currently being done and if we need a formal process.
Angie Mays asked if we need to develop a board email address and a discussion occurred regarding making a Promontory HOA gmail address. Angie and Chris will look into that. The administration of the website and Facebook was discussed. What are appropriate announcements? Who can be website administrator?
Socials: Gretchen Stubenvoll discussed encouraging celebration of Halloween and socializing. There was discussion of a possible Christmas ornament party.
New Business: The board discussed a complaint about street and driveway parking, and whether homeowners are permitted under our covenants to rent out a portion of their home while they live there as well. The board agreed to investigate the parking complaint. A motion was made and unanimously approved to seek legal counsel on the interpretation of our convenants as to the renting issue. The board will report back on these issues at the next meeting.
John Morrill volunteered to be on the ARC with Dan Fesenmeyer.
Next meeting: The board set the date for the next meeting – November 9th, 6:30pm, at Tuscany Tavern.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm.
Submitted by: Chris Jenkins, Board Secretary
Approved November 9, 2021