Assessment History: The
association was initally maintained by the developer, who subsidized approximently 1/2 of the expenses (approximently 250$
per unit) until he turned the HOA over to the community in June, at which time all the members' money had been spent, there
was little in the operating account and no reserves or contingency funds at all.
The community then needed to
reduce expenses drastically until an increase of revenues was accomplished through regular increases in assessments, or a
special/corrected assessment. The first two years of our HOA were complex, as many residents were not familiar with
common subsidized developer support and were surprised that the actual cost of maintaining this large community was closer
to $500/year, rather than to the $250/year they had been accustomed to paying for nearly ten years. They ere also dismayed
that there had been no reserve funds built up over those ten years.
A
revised budget for 2005 was passed on October 18, 2005. The new amount for 2005's annual assessment is $500.00, with
an added $100 to be put toward the Road Reserve (required by law) that was started in 2004. The total assessment amount was
then raised to $600.00 per year, per lot.
At the January 17, 2006 Budget Meeting, the 2006 Budget
was passed and the annual assessment remained $500 per year for operating and other scheduled reserve items (gazebos, stormwater
system, bridges, etc.) plus $100 per year for the Road Reserve to total $600 per year, per lot.
In
addition, a 2004-2005 financial review (performed by an outside financial review firm) was read to the membership
attending this budget meeting. If you wish a copy of this financial review, please contact the current association Treasurer,
Lee Tibbits or APM.
On February 16, 2007 the '05-'07 Board passed the 2007 Budget and the Annual
Financial Review was read to the members present at the Budget Meeting. If a member wishes a copy of this review,
please contact the Treasurer or APM.
Due to careful management of our finances, and responsible savings
by the '05-'07 Board of Directors, annual assessments have remained at a total of $600 per lot per year to date.
After the scheduled February 19th, 2008 annual Budget meeting, if anyone does
not receive a 2008 dues invoice from APM, they should contact Ed Tibbitts, the '07-'08 association Treasurer,
or the new association President, Chris Gerace, immediately (see the Board Contact page on this site).
The 2008 invoices are actually due in January (per our Bylaws) and letters
regarding this are usually sent out to remind members. Before this takes place, a budget meeting is required by law. It is important to make sure an accurate and realistic budget is in place to protect the interests and
the property values of the residents of Sunset Lakes HOA.
We must be sent by USPS mail the proposed 2008 Budget 30 days before
the scheduled Budget Meeting, per our By laws along with a notice of the date, time and place of the annual Budget
Meeting.
During this Special Budget meeting, the members may ask questions and participate
in the formulation of the Budget. No other association business may be discussed at a Budget meeting.
The board may vote to leave the dues as they are ($600 per year - $500 for
annual dues plus $100 for Road Reserves = $600) or increase them 10% ($550 for annual dues and $100 for Road Reserves=
$650) without a vote by the membership. Any increase over 10% from the base rate requires a vote by the membership.
The board may also vote to decrease the annual dues...which would be
a very unwise choice. With all services and materials increasing in cost in the next several years, our dues
should not be artificially reduced, so as to leave us vulnerable to deficits again.
According to our current Declaration of Covenants & Restrictions, " The
assessments shall be payable in one annual installment on January 1st of each year" (Article III, Section 3.3).
However, the association has in the past, provided options for dues payments for those who have special situations.
Evidently, this current board has deecided on a different schedule for dues remission. Anyone who wishes to discuss
these options may call APM.
(02/15/08)
______________________
Amenitiy Watch
Many of our amenities (tennis courts, basketball court, gazebos, docks, playground
equipment, piers, bridges, etc.) are used by many members on a constant basis. If you see these valuable
assets abused or damaged, please let ALL your Board members know. As our amenities diminish, so do our property values!
The board volunteers need your desires to be
expressed. They may also appreciate volunteers to help with aspects of the community. The more we do for
ourselves in terms of repairs and refurbishments, the less we all pay in assessments.
Attend HOA Meetings;
Volunteer & Make A Difference
(02.15.08)
_________________
FYI- Water hyacinth were found in our Sunset Lakes pond #5 (surrounding the main park).
Since there was no infestation in the feeder pond (#7), there is a probability that this invasive
plant was intentionally introduced to pond #5. We all find that unfortunate.
Hyacinth
are an invasive species that cover the surface of freshwater ponds, causing the fish to die and clogging stormwater drainage
systems that drain roads in systewms such as ours. This issue was called to the attention of Advanced
Property Management (APM - our current property management company).
The pond vendor (Aquatic Systems) sprayed adequately
and the invasive is now under control. This item will require continued monitoring as it is a difficult invasive to
permanently remove, once introduced.
If residents note this invasive aquatic has been
introduced into any of our other 9 detention ponds, they may immediately contact APM and request spraying.
Also, note the invasive Brazilian Peppers have been removed from
the littoral areas around the main park. These invasives crowd out native plants, cause more erosion
of the water's edge, as well as diminish healthy wildlife. Our pond maintainance vendor also removed these as part of
their contract with us and will continue to monitor for renewed infestation.
(10.13.07)
Editorial Review
A Review of 2004 Accomplishments
With an Historical Perspective
A Fantastic Four Months
2004 in Sunset Lakes started with a sputter, so to speak, but ended with
a flourish of excitement, pride and positive action.
In the begining of 2004, an Audit Committee appointed by the 2003 Board of
Directors, was still in the process of sorting through the tangled financial birth of our community and documenting
every penny of our income and expenses for 2002 & 2003.
For the first nearly six months of the 2004 Board term, it seemed
Sunset Lakes was in limbo - not growing in a postive direction and in some areas appearing to regress.
The management company and attorney at that time were no longer interested
in associating with the Sunset Lakes Homeowners Association. During this time communication was not optimal and this good community held its collective breath...
On August 4, 2004, the Board President was removed from office
by unanimous vote of the Board members, subsequently resigned from the Board and left the community. For over a month
no forward action could be taken, as important Board votes were continually tied 2:2.
Finally in October 2004, David Diamond, a new resident of Island
Estates, volunteered to serve the remainder of a Director's term and
was unanimously appointed to the Board Directors. Now we were back up to five Board members! With
a Board majority vote, Bob Gower was elected President and meetings immediately began to be organized and productive.
With a majority of the Board of Directors now able to coordinate
and collaborate in a positive direction, property management firms were screened and a new full service management company
was hired (at a reduced price from the previous).
Attorneys who specialized in HOAs were interviewed and a new attorney with
a reputation as an excellent litigator was hired (which is what all HOAs need to protect member's interests),
and Sunset Lakes finally began to stabilize and grow again.
The Covenants & Restrictions of our deed-restricted community began
to be enforced, a bike rack was installed for the children in the western area of the community, and landscaping issues started
to be addressed with the overall improvement in the appearance of Sunset Lakes clearly evident from extensive cleaning,
trimming, mulching and replanting.
The gates of our "private, gated community" were repaired, flood lights that
had been in disrepair for months were shining brightly again, light boxes repaired and repainted, as well as the entrance
curbs. Island Estates' entrance was finally given attention with lighting
and landscaping and clean, white sand was ordered for the main park play area.
Meanwhile, our Bylaws Committee was working at full speed to conservatively
clean and correct our governing documents (Bylaws and Covenants & Restrictions). For instance, did you know that
there is an amendment that states that three (a majority) of the five member Board of Directors may essentially give
away our common property (like the main park, etc.) to themselves, their friends or whomever? Of course, this would
most certainly be overturned in court, but it is a needless legal expense. These are conveniences the developer included
for himself during buildout and should never have been left in our HOA documents. Our Bylaws
Committee worked to remove all those "developer conveniences" to protect our property investments.
At the same time, the new management firm, Advanced Property Management,
and our new attorney, David Larkin, Esq., were assisting the 2004 Board to shore up the financial and legal
disarray that our Association had suffered during the previous eight months.
After three months of door-to-door education, the SL membership unfortunately
failed (by just ~6 votes) in passing an amendment that would have balanced our finances for the future. The desperately needed remainder of scheduled funding for the 2004 year ($175) was subsequently voted
for as a needed assessment to replenish reserve funds by a Board majority, on January 6, 2005.
With this $175 scheduled funding for 2004, and a partial annual assessment for 2005 also coming in, we were financially stable again.
As soon as the scheduled $175 began to be paid by the members, the
Road Reserve started to be replaced. With the 2005 annual assessment being paid, regular repairs and maintenance
could be done, and this good community could finally "exhale" for the first time in many months.
Education of the membership was (and still is), the main focus. Slowly, many
of the newcomers and long time residents have come to understand the realistic cost of living in a big, beautiful, gated, private community.
The 2004 Treasurer, Bill Hillberg, along with the Chairman of the Audit Committee,
Charles Kilgore and the 2004 Board President, Bob Gower, developed an excellent budget for 2005(including operating costs plus
the established Road Reserve and initiating a Captial Asset Reserve), that presented a net increase of only $12.05 in
total assessment from the 2004 year ($477.50) to total $489.55. The Capital Asset Reserve is for things like
gazebos, bridges, docks, recreation equipment, etc., that we heretofore, had not addressed at all. This proposed 2005 budget was sent by mail to the entire membership as is required by our Bylaws. A
date (albeit late) was set for the Budget Meeting - February 10, 2005.
Although the 2004 Board of Directors was still constrained with the
conflicting language of the Bylaws and Covenants & Restrictions currently in effect to only raise the Annual Assessment
due in January by 10% without a 2/3 majority vote of the entire membership (as was the case in 2003), they knew this amount
was
not sufficient to cover the projected year's expenses (This type of restriction on increases in annual assessments is a common Developer's method to interest
buyers - with artifically low assessments set and deficit funding paid as a business expense by the Developer).
As was the case in 2003, the Board of Directors responsibly voted for a
10% increase in the Annual Assessment to partially fund 2005 at that Budget Meeting. Once again, a mid-year assessment from the membership to cover the deficit would obviously be needed for
2005.
Hopefully, we will correct our documents this year, so that our total
Annual Assessment (including
operating and Reserve amounts), is an adequate amount to support our
community, due in two equal payments in January & June. This
will correct our Bylaws to properly support our community, make financial planning easier for our members and avoid further
confusion.
In addition, when all our reserves are fully funded, we may even be able
to reduce or eliminate annual increases in some years. For the time being, however, since the developer left us in mid
2002 with a 10 year old community and zero in reserves, we must continue to add to them and make sure we have adequate
reserves to properly maintain our private, gated community, as Florida Statutes require.
Near the last hour of the 2004 Board, a curious legal complaint
(pre-lawsuit stage) by an owner of a property rented in our community was filed in small claims court against our Association
(suing yourself is an interesting concept), demanding essentially, that our HOA may have no right to assess
its members for operating/reserve costs. A previous similar lawsuit
by this same individual was unfortunately "settled" somehow involving HOA permission to allow the individual
to fill in a lake and construct a seawall on common property. That was one of the last actions of that original
2004 Board President - before he was removed from office.
Fortunately, our current attorney has ample experience and is confident
that we are well within our rights to maintain our community through adequate assessments from the members, as are all HOAs.
Each member has received a letter (in early 2005) from our current management company with our attorney's rebuttle
to this odd complaint enclosed. It was finally positively resolved and the association has moved on.
So that is a flash story of the last fantastic four months of
our Sunset Lakes 2004 Board of Directors! Imagine what could be accomplished with a whole year of this kind
of positive leadership?
The progress that the 2004 Board of Directors made from October 2004 to February
2005 is nothing short of outstanding. They certainly will be a "hard act to follow" in terms of overcoming
obstacles while consistently and professionally serving the best interests of the community with dignity and civility.
Spending their own personal money to send out financial information to the
members, hours of explanations over the phone...and more, were part of the 2004 Board's work. Every step was difficult,
but the end result is certainly easy to see right now...and we are all appreciative of their hard work. Without the Board majority who consistently voted for the health and welfare of our
Sunset Lakes community in late 2004...we may not exist as an Association today!
The Bylaws Committee awaits the newly elected 2005 Board to formally approve
the revisions that they have carefully collaborated to produce. On
March 31st, the Bylaws Chairman and four of the committee members presented a detailed review of each revision for the Board
of Directors and the membership present at that meeting. Everyone had an opportunity to express their views concerning these
important documents. Some good suggestions were taken.
After a legal review, these revisions should be passed by our 2005 Board.
They may thereafter be provided to the membership for a vote. Once the proper corrections are made in our
documents, our community should financially and otherwise stabilize for many years.
Today, with money in the bank, our entrances and common areas attended,
our reserves being slowly replaced, a new management company and and attorney, we seem to be moving in the
right direction for the 2005 year start.
We wish
the 2005 Board all the best in their efforts to continue this positive, constructive and appropriate direction
for our community.
The Vision of Sunset Lakes Homeowners Association is "A collaborative community that supports the values of integrity and diversity where neighbors live in
a safe, beautiful and value-increased environment".
Our property values certainly indicate we are going in the right direction!
~~~
March 31, 2005
