Last Tuesday, October 15, in a hastily scheduled open meeting the HOA Board discussed and made significant changes to the HOA reserves in anticipation of the required annual filing. To our knowledge this is the first time in a long time the reserves have been reviewed in detail and modified to suit present conditions. Kudos to the Board for being proactive. Some items were reduced. Others were added. Highlights of the changes are:
- Greeter Cottages: Improvements will be made to the cottages to bring them up to date. Some changes anticipated are:
- Moving the entry keypad at Vineyard from the right lane to the left to allow greeters to better assist guests. Other improvements will make it more comfortable and weather resistant.
- Upgrading the Walerga cottage, including a restroom, to make it suitable for an onsite office.
- Updating the Pinehurst cottage to replace the damaged air conditioner unit taken out by a wayward motorist and make it more weather resistant.
- Road Crack Repair: The board reauthorized this action which is needed regularly to maintain our roads. This time a special fiberglass treatment is anticipated to reduce the frequency of repair required. Timing will be announced and will be weather dependent.
- Lake Dredging: We have been carrying a reserve for this since inception. Expert evaluation indicated this will never be needed. The reserve for this was extended to 99 years.
- Villas Greens Replacement: Experts were consulted and based on the light level of usage it was determined that the reserve for replacement (not maintenance) can be extended out beyond 30 years. The reserve was extended accordingly.
- Dues: As a result of the changes to the reserves there will be a slight downward adjustment in dues for all but one owner who had been improperly assessed. In addition, the Board simplified the large number of dues categories down to five.
In other business, the Board after discussions with our property manager, Associa, has arranged to have the Walerga cottage serve as an office. Our representative, Angie Vinyard, and her assistant will reside there permanently when the improvements are finished. This should make Associa much more responsive to our needs.
As a reminder, applications have gone out for volunteers interested in serving on the Board. There will be two vacancies next year. If you like the changes happening, or if you don’t, don’t just complain, get involved. Above all, VOTE.
I find the description of the basis of action regarding the reserve for replacement of the greens at the Villa’s interesting. The action was predicated on the low usage of the greens. In fact, the low usage can be attributed to the fact that the greens are unusable and need to be replaced in order to become usable.
“Hastily scheduled meeting” Where was the posting on this meeting? I for one, did not see any notification to homeowners. Bulletin Boards, Town Square, Emails, etc. Where was the opportunity for residents to comment?? Once again, this does not provide the appropriate time for homeowners of Morgan Creek to be involved in the process!! Why was it “hastily scheduled” anyway?
Many of the statements made are egregious and self serving. There should be acknowledgement and respect for the work by the many people who volunteered their time to serve the homeowners of Morgan Creek on the Board of Directors throughout the years. The Reserve Study is required by law and has been conducted by past Boards each year and is a not a special item for the current BOD. It NEVER should be “hastily scheduled”.
Cottages – These items were discussed and in process prior to the 2019 BOD.
Sheila Tonini, the previous and long time Community Manager had placed bids for repairs and upgrades for the Vineyard cottage prior to her departure. The subject of moving the entry keypad at Vineyard was a previously discussed budget item in 2018 but not approved because it would result in logjams, create long lines and restrict expedient entry for golfers, FedEx, UPS, USPS, Amazon, etc. It is also important to note that the current keypad placement was approved by Placer County and the Fire Department. Have they approved the change? With the reduction of staff, how will the inevitable development of long lines be prevented while still maintaining the integrity of our entry screening?
Under the previous Board, the Pinehurst Gate was scheduled to be cleaned and updated for a NEW Community Manager from a NEW Management Company. The Pinehurst Gate was chosen as the office site for the manager to address the many concerns of the Cypress and Pinehurst homeowners. Numerous interviews had taken place and members of the community were advised at the November 2018 HOA Meeting that a management change was forthcoming. A February 2019 tentative date was scheduled for the transition. Following extensive review of top management companies qualified to handle the growing number of homeowners and significant issues in Morgan Creek, a new company had been selected pending formal approval in a Open Public Meeting. The decision followed repeated homeowner requests for replacement of the management company and included significant cost savings to our community.
Then a new Board was selected and plans abruptly changed? Who decided on the continuance of Associa as our Management Company? How many Management Companies were interviewed prior to this decision? Did Associa provide a decrease in their fees? Is the new Assistant to the Community Manager a full time employee? What is the cost for this addition? Has Associa corrected the errors in fees charged that was previously requested by the 2018 BOD? What is our budget savings under Associa’s new contract?
Also, a new contract was approved for Stonegate? What is the cost savings for this renewal? What Security companies were interviewed for this selection? What is the term of the contract? Along with our management company, our security contract is one of our community’s top 3 expenses and deserved a full selection process.
Improvement of all three cottages in 2020? What is the projected expense? Is this within the 5% of the total budget allowed for capital improvements in any one fiscal year?
Lake dredging and Villa Greens EXPERTS? Who are the experts?
Where can homeowners review these reports and why could we not review them in advance of approval? Assessment reduction? What are the changes to each area of Morgan Creek?
Proactive? What about the Compliance Issues. What about the Speeding and no Radar Detective devices at least operational?
Golf Course, why are they still not mowing the areas that they are responsible to mow? What about not requiring ALL homeowners and residents display their window stickers per our approved rules? And on and on……………………….
Board Election – Why did the Community Manager or the Board President not advise those in attendance of the number of positions available on the Board for 2020 at the HOA Meeting in September? There was no comment from the existing Board Members on their intentions to run at the September meeting? Is anyone else on the Board not continuing due to job changes, moves, etc.?? The timeline previously followed in years past appears to have changed? How can interested homeowners obtain information from the Board about applying prior to ballots being mailed?
Does anyone remember the Secret Society accusation made in reference to the previous Board that prompted the start of this blog??? Does anyone else feel that this accusation definitely applies to the current Board??
Can you further explain why you resigned from the board and chose to not share any history? Then, since your resignation you have criticized every move! What’s even more comical is most of the actions the board has done were to correct actions you were involved in. How about volunteering to help rather than the continual insults?
I am glad to hear the BOD has finally reviewed the HOA reserves. I do not know the requirements for HOA reserves, but I assume it means there is a schedule for the replacement / refurbishment of infrastructure in MC. I have inquired about the refurbishment of the bocce court in the Villas, but was advised there are no funds to cover this. Is this part of the “scheduled maintenance”? If so, when is it due? I have recommended we replace the present court having a surface of crushed oyster shells with a low-maintenance option, eliminating the annual oyster shells replacement. The court is used frequently during the season, especially on weekends. The MC men’s bocce group play on it every Wednesday. The court is currently uneven, filled with both weeds and cat poop and is in dire need of repair. The side boards are cracked and warped and the surface needs to be replaced. What is the plan to fix this and when?
fedup……………….. What has this board “Corrected”???
Can we please get rid of associa they do nothing. This is urgent
OK fedup, still waiting for examples of what has been “Corrected”? We all would like to know?
Yeny……………AGREED! And Stonegate Security – they are worthless. Both were in the process of being replaced until the new Board was elected. These questions need to be answered. Who decided to retain Associa? What other companies were considered? How much did our Community’s budget increase and/or decrease by retaining Associa? Why was Stonegate Security given a new contract? What other companies were considered? Again, how much was our budget reduced or increased by this decision? From my observations, both were retained as a matter of convenience and lack of willingness to set up an RFP process. The cost of our Management Company and Security Company are 2 of our Community”s largest expenses. Opportunities for major budget savings and improved service lost………………..what a shame!