MEADOW CREEK HOA

Meadow Creek Annual Meeting Minutes-2017

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 by president, Martha Koscinski

 

It was announced that a quorum was met in person and by proxy. 17 by proxy and 39 in person.

 

The Minutes from the 2016 Annual Meeting were approved.

 

The current Board of Directors was introduced: Martha Koscinski, President (has served 3 years) one year left on term

 

Bill Erickson, Vice President; (served 4 years); retiring from office

 

Mary Schlosser – (has served 2 years) Treasurer; candidate for a 2nd term Nate Card – (has served 2 years) one year left on term

 

Property Manager: Kathi Thorson – Senior HOA Manager - Luna Properties

 

Martha thanked the Landscape Committee – Sheri Hampton and Chery Popiel, Bill Erickson as well as the members of Design Review Board for all their hard work and dedication in a sometimes, thankless job.

 

Martha Koscinski thanked the membership for attending the meeting and supplied a little history of Meadow Creek.

 

In 2006 a group of developers, headed by Neil Ainsworth, formed the Meadow Creek Partners and set out to develop Meadow Creek Subdivision. Land was purchased from the Boylan Family who owned a Dairy Farm which was originally approx. 440 acres; the Kurk farm (approx. 40 acres); the Miller farm and the Fink farm. The initial project, Phase I, was going to consist of 14 Blocks and approximately 550 living units. By 2008 there was an economic downturn and most home-building stopped. Rocky Mountain Bank and another partnership, Bozeman LLC, took over the development in 2009; new Covenants were filed in 2010.

 

In 2013 Block 4 (located at Graf, Golden Sun and S. 27th) designated for 29 high density units was resubdivided into ten (10) single family lots.

 

In November 2013, a meeting was held and management of the HOA was transferred from Rocky Mountain Bank to the owners of property in Meadow Creek. The first Board consisted of three individuals.

 

In 2014 portions of Blocks 5 and 9 (running from the northeast corner of Golden Sun and south to Meah) and designated for 121 housing units was re-subdivided into 42 single family lots. These are the homes now located on S. 26th.

 

In 2015, the Board of Directors was increased from 3 to 5 owners.

 

In the summer of 2016 the Meadow Creek playground was installed on the southwest corner of Meadow Creek Park (formerly Ainsworth Park). The play equipment was paid for Meadow Creek HOA owners as part of a special assessment. Currently, additional equipment and other improvements are funded by fees paid to the design review board.

 

After the settlement of a lawsuit in September of 2017, Blocks 1, 2 and 3 (designated for high density) were removed from Meadow Creek. And so, instead of possibly 550 living units, Meadow Creek now consists of 186 lots with 188 voting units (which includes a triplex condo at S. 27th & Meah). As of today, there are 9 vacant lots remaining in Meadow Creek.

 

MEADOW CREEK UPDATE:

 

Lawsuit:

 

A lawsuit was filed in late September 2014 by Greg Allen of HighFive Bozeman, LLC against Meadow Creek HOA, charging tortuous interference with contract of sale of property due to wrongful assessments and breach of covenants by wrongfully assessing fees or dues against the property. The HOA counterclaimed asking for unpaid assessments and legal fees

 

After meeting with Greg Allen, it was decided to try to negotiate a settlement that would benefit everyone—avoiding a long, drawn-out legal battle and thousands of dollars of legal fees.

 

A proposal was put forth whereby Blocks 1, 2 and 3 – all platted for high density housing units – would be removed from Meadow Creek and therefore not subject to the Meadow Creek Covenants. In exchange, Blocks 1, 2 and 3 would form the East Side Enterprise Association (ESEA) which would contribute 50% to the Meadow Creek Storm Water budget and 20% to the Street Light Maintenance/Reserve budget, starting with 2016.

 

By January 2017, The Meadow Creek membership voted in favor of the amendment to the Covenants removing blocks 1, 2 and 3 -- by a huge majority (146 to 5). The owners of Blocks 1, 2 and 3 formed the ESEA. The Meadow Creek HOA and the ESEA agreed to terms. The Amendment to the Meadow Creek Covenants that changed the description of land describing the lots and blocks in Meadow Creek were filed with the County on September 28, 2017. An agreement was signed between the ESEA and MCHOA. And the Order to Dismiss the lawsuit was signed, and filed with the county on October 4, 2017.

 

Landscaping projects this past year:

 

The Meadow Creek sign area is actually a “City Park” and we’ve taken over the maintenance of the area around the sign. Since the irrigation in the sign area was connected to the irrigation system located in the park on Enterprise, we had to negotiate with the City to allow us to remove it from the well and place it directly into the city water system. We needed to get permission to expand the irrigation heads slightly to allow for the watering of new trees and shrubs. This fall, we were able to have most of the new landscaping installed—additional plantings will be done in the spring. In addition, we planted two more trees on the boulevard on Enterprise.

 

Concrete Sidewalks:

 

There were a few areas within Meadow Creek where the common area sidewalks were never completed. One area is where the walking trail connects to Golden Sun and the other area was on the southeast end of S. 27th . This past year the HOA had concrete sidewalks installed in those areas. The boulevards and adjacent areas needed to be re-graded. As there is no irrigation on the Golden Sun area, that area was seeded. Sod was installed on S. 27th boulevard as there is irrigation in that area.

 

Work on the Walking Trails:

 

This past year the HOA spent $15,500 to repair and restore one portion of the Meadow Creek trail system. In some areas there were erosion issues and in other areas, the trails were nothing but dirt. We asked the contractor to regrade the trail, add additional fine gravel and crown the trail so water would naturally drain off. We implore all owners to respect the trails—they are a wonderful asset and amenity in our community. No motorized vehicles of any kind are allowed on the trails. Please discourage your contractors from driving on the trails. If there is damage on a trail caused by a homeowner or their contractor, the cost of repairs will be billed to the homeowner. If there is no other way to get work done on a home except by using the trails, please contact Kathi at Luna Properties to see if something can be arranged.

 

Proposed 2018 Budget -

 

Mary Schlosser, Treasurer Mary reviewed the current balances in the accounts: $13,830-Operating Account, $28,000-Reserve, $4,500-Playground Account, $14,776 Storm Water Maintenance/Reserve Account, $7,000 Street Light Maintenance/Reserve account.

 

There was a proposed increase of dues to $340 annually from $310 the prior year. To determine the budget the actual expenses for 2017 were reviewed.

 

Increases were noted in the following areas: Fertilizing and weed control, mowing costs, snow removal and sprinkler maintenance. There are still a few common area projects that need to be completed. One area is a small “storm water ditch” on the alley on Block 4; another is in the common area along S. 27th and Graf.

 

It was decided that some unspent carryover funds can be used from 2016 to keep the increase to $340 and not $360. All or half the fee will be due by the end of January, with the second half due by the end of July.

 

There was a question regarding the attorney fees. It was noted that legal consultations may be needed with existing covenant enforcement, covenant amendments or as other issues arise.

 

A brief discussion was held regarding who is responsible for street snow removal. The City of Bozeman removes snow from the streets; the HOA removes snow from the alleys.

 

Street and storm water ESEA fees are also on the budget. The (-) amounts are for what the ESEA pays into the funds.

 

The 2018 budget passed with 53 yes votes, 1 no vote, and 1 abstention.

 

Board Election-

 

The candidates for the 3 open positions on the Board were: Mary Schlosser, Gerry Lang, and Reid McKinley.

 

There was a unanimous vote to elect all 3 into the vacant positions.

 

Open Floor:

 

The owners at 3297 Parkway shared their concerns with the current covenant regulations about long term, consistent parking in the streets. According to the covenants the HOA may tow vehicles, but the City will not allow HOA’s to tow off city streets. It was agreed the parking covenant is very difficult to monitor fairly. Someone would have to patrol nightly to catch violators. Some campers and RV’s do not fit in driveways so they cross the sidewalks which are against city ordinances and HOA covenants, but according to HOA covenants, these types of vehicles are not allowed to park in the streets—ever.

 

Martha pointed out that the current Board did not write the covenants; they have been in place since 2010. She would be happy to see a committee form to tackle covenant revisions and will approach this matter with the new Board early in the new year.

 

The Board and others asked that residents slow down on the streets in Meadow Creek. Posted speed limit is 25 mph throughout the subdivision.

 

If there is a street light out, please report it to Kathi at Luna Properties.

 

Several owners stated they were grateful for the covenants, bought property in Meadow Creek because of the covenants and was glad that the Board cared and enforced the rules.

 

A big Thank You to the Board! An owner brought up the issue of light pollution. The Board pointed out that the City has certain street light regulations that need to be followed. The LED lights are more efficient but can seem brighter.

 

A brief discussion was held concerning the proposed development of Block 3 as it is no longer in the Meadow Creek HOA. We have been advised that a plan has been submitted to the City that includes 19 buildings with 60 townhomes. There appears to be a substantial amount of green space in the development and the prices of the townhomes are substantial.

 

Meeting adjourned: 8:05