Hello Stonehurst Neighbors!
Thanks so much to all of those who attended our 5-02-18 SHOA meeting. A few quick alerts before the minutes:
• The board is in search of an ATTORNEY, hopefully a Stonehurst neighbor, who would be willing to do some consulting on a PRO BONO basis.
• SHOA is introducing PAYPAL as a convenient new option to pay your enclosed ANNUAL DUES.
• The Stonehurst GARAGE SALE is scheduled for June 1st and 2nd, Friday and Saturday.
Minutes from the 5-02-18 meeting:
Updates:
• The budget was passed out for fiscal year 6-01-18\5-31-19. Also all checkbook transaction from 2016,2017 & 2018 were available, in following the new board’s commitment to transparency.
• Past due notices have been hand delivered to homeowners delinquent on dues. This resulted in payments from 8 of 14 homeowners and over $3000. For those who did not respond, property liens will be filed shortly. Some prior liens have just resulted in some ‘unclaimed property’ checks received from the state of Kansas.
• The city has begun repairs on the damaged lighting wiring, sprinkler systems & will begin sodding.
• Three bids were obtained on the mailboxes. A decision has been made on a contractor, and this time there will be a written contract. Repairs will begin within weeks on the posts that are in dire need. The preliminary plan is to reset wood posts and replace the mailboxes with galvanized steel boxes, but also to reuse parts where possible. At this point, we do not foresee any need for an increase in dues for this project. A contact at the post office has advised that the locations can mostly stay the same though some adjustments need to be made (i.e. some posts have too many boxes to be sturdy).
New Business:
• The topic of rental homes in Stonehurst and the upkeep of them was raised. We discussed whether rental homes are something that we want to allow/restrict/limit in our community and the legalities of adding this to the bylaws.
• The idea of creating a Group 529 College Savings Plan with SHOA as the sponsor was presented, as utilizing a group set up could add some additional financial benefits for participants. Of course participation would be completely voluntary.

Stonehurst Home Owners Association

Minutes from the March 7, 2018 meeting

• New Board Members:

Co-President – Chris Opdyke

Co-President – Alex Menez

Treasurer – Lindsey Opdyke

Secretary – Annette Mangrum

 

The theme of this board will be action and transparency, with the goal being to address issues efficiently, openly & consistently, in order to maintain and improve the aesthetics of the community.

 

• The budget was distributed – June 1,2017 to May, 31,2018,

which shows a current surplus of $8359.71 and unpaid dues from 2017 only, of $2740.

 

• Common Grounds/Landscape

The city damaged some landscape, wiring and irrigation. They have been contacted and will address these issues.

Our new lawn care company is Hermes.

Any planting at the signed entrances will be very minimal until a sprinkler system is considered and while the urgent need is mailboxes.

 

• Uncollected Dues

There are several homeowners who have not paid their dues, and even a few who have not paid for up to five years. A consistent schedule and procedure for past due notices and then, ultimately, if necessary, placing liens on people’s homes will be implemented and written into the by-laws as soon as possible.

 

• Mailboxes

A few mailboxes have been identified as needing emergency repairs. Bids will be obtained and repairs done ASAP.

The long term options remain either the large ‘post office style’ metal boxes holding up to 10-16 individual boxes each, or a better version of the current 2-3 boxes per post. Of the homeowners in attendance, the preference seemed to be the latter.

Repair/replace options will be researched and then presented at the May meeting. The board will be reaching out to an established contact with the post office for guidance on placement of boxes.

 

• Thanks so much to all of those who attended the March 7, 2018 meeting. We hope to see even more of you at the Annual SHOA Meeting in May.

Meeting was called to order at 7:00.

Attendees were requested to sign in and take a copy of the budget.

Items of discussion included: Dues – Only 16 homes have not yet paid dues.  These residences are currently accruing late fees.

Mailboxes – A new crew has been hired to repair/replace the mailboxes.  The existing new mailbox problems should be fixed within two weeks.  The replacements for the old mailboxes will be ordered shortly to be installed this fall 2014.

Wild animals – Joe Kahler has looked into the removal of skunks, etc. in the neighborhood.  Although no economical plan fits our situation, thoughts and efforts are ongoing to come up with a resolution.

Violations of code – Numerous complaints against homes in violation of our homeowners codes have been lodged.  Letters have been sent in response to the violations.

Parking on Streets – Parking on streets was discussed as a concern particularly on through streets.  No immediate solution was presented although homeowners are urged to park in their driveways whenever possible.

Settling of land – Some driveways are settling and some even have a sinking appearance.  Unfortunately, this responsibility falls to the homeowner – or the City if in the streets or sidewalks.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:00.

The mailboxes are in progress and we are excited with the improved look of our neighborhood.

If you have a partially completed mailbox, we will be returning to repair or finish your mailbox soon.

For those in the second installment of mailboxes – to be put in Fall 2014 – we will be repairing your mailbox until replacement can occur.

Note of interest: the sooner the assessments are paid this year, the sooner the mailboxes can be put in!

Thank you for your patience!