Eagle Heights Homeowner Association Board Meeting 5-10-2024 Minutes
CRC Room at the Montrose Recreation Center
Board members present: Karen Conrad, Greg Keehfuss, Ed Kozak, Ann Marie Sanders, Bob Stechert. Attendees present: George Papineau, Nick Orros, Gail Kozak, Monica Keehfuss, Joanne Monday, Dan Daneff, Kelly Crippin, Carla Crippin, Nancy StechertZoom: KnoxThe meeting was called to order at 12:59 by Bob Stechert
Bob Stechert opened the meeting by clarifying this meeting is a Board Meeting not an Executive Board meeting, clarifying that an executive meeting specific to a private meeting for the purpose of discussing something controversial. Today is just a normal board meeting. Bob further clarified that board meetings do not need to include the HOA membership. Bob’s statement follows:
We are not required to have this board meeting open to home owners either by our governing documents or by statute. But we decided last fall that it would be a good idea for all Board meetings be open to homeowners. So that’s why you got a notice of this meeting and why we put it on Zoom for folks that couldn’t make it, and we will continue to do that. In that same vein you should know that we are always open to concerns or suggestions. We don’t always get things right and we do our best to correct things when we get them wrong. If you’ve got suggestions just let us know and we’ll see what we can do about it. We just ask that if you do, that you be respectful of us and we’ll try and address things as quickly as we can. I want to say one more thing about this Board. I said last fall that we would try to have a board meeting in the early in the year. We didn’t make it for two reasons, one, we really didn’t have a lot of things for the agenda and two, we had people who where unavailable. We had people who had Covid, people who were in the hospital and people that were traveling... Future board meetings will depend on what kind of agendas we may envision; we’ll probably have at least one more, maybe two.
Agenda Item 1 Accomplishments since election
Pond cleanup, clearing of overgrowth, Russian Olives and Cattails leaving habitat for critters living there and increasing water surface. Thanks was expressed to the Conrad family for having pond refuse moved to their property for disposal which saved us money.
The electric meter by the waterfall is now solely in the Clearnetworx name. We previously ran a pump there but discontinued a while back. The meter now serves only the Clearnetworx antenna and the HOA no longer pays for electric.
Landscaping at the front entry and by the waterfall have been cleaned up.
Irrigation schedule has been set and shared with property owners who have landscaping. There is no overlap in scheduled times so water shortages should not occur. Members should let us know if concern arises about the schedule.
We are receiving 100% of available 39.7 water shares. The Conrad Subdivision is not taking any water. There has been problem with the head gate clogging with silt. The ditch rider has been contacted. Many owners have volunteered to help with keeping the head gate clear throughout the season, and a schedule will be prepared soon.
Board Treasurer, Greg Keehfuss presented the following list of accomplishments since the October 2023 Annual Meeting which illustrates streamlining of HOA operations.
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2021-2024 "Hard Copy" financial files have been organized, filed by year, and categorized in separate folders within those years.A new PO Box was acquired to eliminate having to change addresses on bills, financial institutions, and Invoicing from year to year as new board members are elected.
Most of the bills, account logins and mailings use the new PO Box and/or the HOA email address which are not specific to an individual or an individual’s address. The Reserve Account (Alpine Bank) has been switched to a "Mountain Money Market" account type (1.89% vs .25%). The percentage can increase depending on the account balance.
Opened a new Operating Account at Alpine Bank and received new checks. Online banking has been set up for both the Operating and Reserve Accounts. Access has been or will be granted to signatories on the accounts (Greg and Bob). Access can be granted to the secretary as read only (If the board agrees). Online bill pay has been set up and payees will be added as needed.A new Debit Card for the Alpine Bank Operating Account has been set up for some online, in person, and/or recurring bills that require a Credit Card.All HOA Annual Dues were invoiced on 2/12/2024.All financial information for 2023, 2024 and moving forward, has been entered into Quicken Personal and Business, including the 2024 invoices.All Invoicing will now be generated in Quicken and all incoming payments will be posted against the open invoices.The Financial Statement, Budget and Balance Sheets have been set up in Excel or are run directly from Quicken.The reports we will be providing (posted on the website) are:
Quarterly Financials: (1st of year thru the end of each Quarter) Quarterly Balance Sheet: (1st of year thru the end of each Quarter) st
Annual Budget Report: (After Jan. 1 , each year, unless it’s determined to do it prior to the end of the year)Taxes have been submitted and finished, signed, and mailed off. Closed the Bank of Colorado account (Old Operating Account). OPEN ITEMS:
Change or verify the address or payment method for:Colorado Secretary of State: Needs a new Physical Address (Waiting for a board decision) Alpine Bank: Needs a new Physical Address (Waiting for a board decision)
Review Zelle as an alternative for payment of dues. FINANCIAL REVIEW:
• All Annual Dues have been paid as of 4/3/2024. There are no delinquencies.Special Assessment Invoices are due to go out sometime in June. Those assessments will be $100 per lot as agreed at the October 2023 meeting.The financial Statement and Balance Sheet will be posted or is already posted on the website.
Agenda Item 2 Budget ReviewBob clarified that this item will be a Financial Statement rather than Budget Review.
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Greg Keehfuss, treasurer, presenting.Financial Statement will be posted on the website. In summary, current Income is $11,700. Expenditures to date are $8,820. from all accounts with $5k going to pond clean-up. Going forward, known long-term expenses will be added to the budget in order to limit large surprise expenses. Given the current special assessment and rollover from operating fund, Greg forecasts that we should have the targeted $15k in reserves within 36 months.All annual dues were received by 4/3/24; invoices will be sent out for this years’ $100. per lot reserve billing in June.
Joanne Monday asked about the duration of the special assessment. It is applied to this year and next year and at that point it will be reevaluated. It is $100 per lot per year.
Agenda Item 3 Annual Meeting & Board Meeting Plan for 2024
Bob Stechert, President, presenting: Historically the HOA annual meeting has been in October. January would be better timing as a complete year’s financial report can be offered at that time. Statute requires that we have a 2024 annual meeting and so we will do so in the fall followed by the 2025 meeting being held in January. Going forward annual meetings would be in January. We will likely move forward with this schedule.
Agenda Item 4 ARB review & suggestions for landscaping changes of guidelines
Bob Stechert, President, presenting: There has been concern/discussion about what happens when an owner wants to add onto their approved landscape plan. What items need to be submitted to the ARB for approval and when is approval not necessary? The ARB has been asked for their suggestions. After we hear from ARB we will take it under advisement and ask lot owners for input back to ARB with regard to any revisions to the standards. At a future meeting with ARB we would establish any additional guidelines.
Ed Kozak motioned “That the HOA Board of Directors meet with the ARB at least two times each year.” Motion second by Karen Conrad. All in favor.ARB board members are Kelly Crippin, Dan Daneff and Paul Marcinek.
Kelly Crippin explained that lots are too large for an 18-month end date for landscaping. The ARB suggests that a 50 or 75 yard perimeter around a home be set for completion within the 18 month period. A second 12-month stage would address remaining acreage.
The ARB’s view is that the responsibility is to protect each property’s view of the San Juans.
Dan Daneff added that once a plan has been approved, the ARB is interested in owners sticking to the approved concept. While ARB does not need to approve every addition to the plan over time, they are interested in assuring that the theme originally presented and approved is kept.
Bob asked that ARB members draft language to be added to the ARB Standards.
Bob added that this year it was learned that irrigation will not be released until someone calls the ditch rider and makes a request. We’re learning.
Bob motioned for the meeting to be adjourned at 1:36. All in favor. A short break was called.
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Agenda Item 5: Nick Orros hearing per Governance Policy #8.1:44 PMEd Kozak read an email that Mr. Orros sent to the three newest Board Members, himself, Greg Keehfuss and Ann Marie Sanders.
Ed clarified the term ‘fiduciary’ as it applies to board members:Nick has used the word "fiduciary" several times in his emails & statements. I looked up "Fiduciary Definition" on the computer and here is what I found. This is the straight forward definition of fiduciary, "A fiduciary is someone who is legally and ethically bound to make decisions in their client's best interest." To me the word ‘clients’ to this Board of Directors is all of you folks, everybody who owns land in Eagle Heights Subdivision and not just one person. The decisions of this board are focused on the entirety of our membership.
Ed pointed out that Karen is our board secretary. She has no power to preside at any meeting and she does not control the agenda. Bob is the president, one of Bob’s responsibilities is to preside at board meetings which he does. Another responsibility is to create the meeting agenda which he does in consultation with everyone sitting at this table. It is the Board’s agenda not Bob’s agenda.
Ed asked Nick to tell the Board what he meant by the word ‘trial’ as he asked to have Bob and Karen removed from the Board.
Nick: ‘Trial’ was used loosely. But what I am asking for is the opportunity to present the evidence without having the evidence censored or stricken from from the record. I’ve never had the opportunity to present...the totality of my concerns or the evidence of why they are concerns because they’ve been denied placement on the agenda. I want to be able to present the
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evidence without anybody telling me that I’m not allowed to bring relative evidence to the attention of the Board.Ed: So this is a trial to you?Nick: Metaphorically speaking.
Bob Stechert stated that Nick is correct that the by-laws provide that the Board and only the Board can remove any member for cause or without cause.Question: “Is there a motion from anybody on the Board to remove anybody from the Board for cause or without cause?" Unanimous response No.
Hearing none the Board remains as it was established.
Bob: Nick is incorrect. He has had a dispute hearing before in December 2022 at which he was able to present a lot of information and points and the Board acted with respect to those matters. Furthermore, the Board has acted with respect to a number of other things that he has raised and I want to go through those items.
We had a hearing in December 2022 at which time Nick’s lawyer was present and our HOA lawyer was present. The general focus was whether or not the Conrad Parcel, now called The Conrad Subdivision, is a part of the HOA or not. Nick had raised this question earlier and we asked our HOA lawyer to review that question. In March 2021 our HOA lawyer provided us with the opinion that the Conrad parcel is not and has never been part of the HOA. At the hearing in December 2022 this issue came up again. Our lawyer maintained the same position that he had provided us in March 2021, that the parcel is not and has never been part of of our Common Community and Nick’s lawyer argued to the contrary that it is part of the Common Community and should be treated as such and be subject to the same restrictions and provisions that apply to all of the other lots. We took that question under advisement and subsequently decided that we would follow the advice of our HOA lawyer... We informed Nick and his mother of that fact in January of 2023.
The other principal question that arose at that dispute hearing had to do with wether or not Karen Conrad had a conflict of interest and should be removed from the Board. Again, our lawyer found that there was no conflict of interest and she should not be removed from the Board.Karen has recused herself from any decisions involving this question about the Conrad Parcel that have been taken up by the Board. You will see in the memo that we sent to Nick and his Mother the fact that only Kelly, Carla, Ed and myself made that decision. So as far as I’m concerned those matters have been addressed and we shouldn’t revisit them unless somebody on the Board thinks we should.
Nick asked: Has the Board had the opportunity to look at the evidence that I sent them? Unanimous response, yes.
Bob: The next thing that I believe that we have addressed a number of times has to do with the shipping container that is on the Conrad’s property and the diesel fuel tank that’s up there. Both of those items were not prohibited by our covenants when they were put in place. With respect to the shipping container, the Conrad’s asked for and received an approval from the ARB to maintain that shipping container where it is currently placed behind their garage where nobody can see it. The diesel fuel tank again was not prohibited by our rules and because of that the Board took no action with respect to that diesel fuel tank and decided to allow a decision about whether or not something should be done about it to be handled by appropriate regulatory authorities. Montrose Code Enforcement and the Health Department have visited the Conrad’s property, they’ve looked at the diesel fuel tank and they found that it is completely in compliance
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with the regulations of the State and the County. So, as far as I’m concerned those matters are closed and should not be revisited.
Nick: Thank you sir. You’ve mentioned that the matters have been addressed and you have a position statement and the maters are closed. Ok, with respect to the Conrad parcel, how many acres are in the Common Interest Community per your legal council?Bob: I don’t know. I’d have to go back and look at the plats. You know as well as I do that the decision was made that
Nick: You’ve given me this answer for three years. It’s not an acceptable answer. I think the question of how many acres are in our Common Interest Community is germane because no board can regulate a community unless they know where the boundaries begin and end. Bob: Ok, I will look it up
Nick: I’m speaking sirBob: I will look it up. I will look at the plats, count it up the number of acres and let you know. Nick: You’ll let me know privately in email.Bob: No, I’ll send it to everyone.Nick: Because here’s the thing. We can die with a lie. We can say the Conrad parcel is not a part of our Common Interest Community. Let’s pretend that that’s the case. Your attorney says it’s Bob: A lie is harsh, Nick. You assume that it is a lie.Nick: Let’s pretend or assume that it’s not a part of the Common Interest Community as a byproduct of that filing, which is deliberate, when you apply for a subdivision with the County it is a deliberate action, our plat maps are now inaccurate. So a board member has taken action for a personal gain that renders our plat maps inaccurate, if we want to assume your position is accurate.
Bob: I don’t think that that is the case and we have an opinion from our HOA lawyer and we have relied on it in good faith.Nick: Yes, but now we have to live with the consequencesBob: That’s right and that’s the end of it.
Nick: That’s not the end of it sir. We can assume that you’ve purchased Solomon’s legal opinion and you wish to hide behind it.Bob: I did not purchase anybody’sNick: Our plat maps are now inaccurate. So when will our plat maps get corrected?
Greg: Did you purchase your lawyer’s decisions?Nick: Yes of course, everyoneBob: Let’s not argue about this, ok?Nick: Our plat maps are inaccurate. I’m asking a question, when will our plat maps be corrected and who pays for that?
Bob: They are correct and they are not going to be changed. So that’s the end of that discussion. If you want to pursue it in some other way, you are free to do that.
George Papineau asks for clarification about was there a phase 3.
Bob answers: There was a planned Phase 3 and the developer decided not to pursue that Phase 3. He sold the property that was going to be Phase 3 to the Conrads. So the question that Nick raised long ago that we have addressed many times is whether or not that property, that was supposed to be Phase 3 that the Conrads now own, that was replatted by the County as the Conrad Subdivision, is a part of the Common Interest Community or not. And our position is that it is not. We’ve relied on our HOA lawyer’s opinion in that regard and as far as I’m concerned that matter is closed. If you want to continue to pursue it Nick you are free to do it. But if you do it, you’re certainly going to antagonize everybody in the community.
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Nick: I’m well aware that this is going to court. I’m well aware based on the attitudes that I’m encountering today that it is probably going to be 29 people vs 2, but that’s fine. A plat map is very simple. There’s nothing to dispute. There’s 67 acres in Phase 2. The Conrad Subdivision while it’s now called The Conrad Subdivision remains part of Phase 2. And, if you refuse to enforce it you are selectively enforcing the acreage in Phase 2.
Bob: I am not doing that. You know what our position is and I don’t want to go over this again. Nick: As long as we get this on the record.Bob: That’s fine. It’s on the record.Nick: Let the minutes reflect that you are not going to correct the incorrect plat maps that have been rendered incorrect by maneuvering of the Conrad Subdivision.
Bob: According to your view, let the minutes reflect that.Dan Daneff: What’s incorrect with them?Nick: How many acres are in Phase 2. Our plat map says 67. You are saying that they are not a part of our subdivision. Which one is it? It can’t be both.Bob: I’m saying that we got the opinion of our HOA lawyer that those acres that are in the Conrad Subdivision are not part of Phase 2 are not part of the Common Interest Community.I understand your position and we are not going to talk about it further. There’s no point.Nick: This is an example of me being stonewalled once again.Bob: You are not being stonewalled. We are just telling you what our position is.
Nick: Let’s discuss the DORA Registration.
Bob: Let’s not get there yet because we’ve still got some other things to talk about that you’ve already been informed about. You’ve asked to have the Common Interest Community lots pay for your legal fees.Nick: Correct
Bob: We’ve told you that we are not going to do that. We are not going to burden the lot owners in Eagle Heights with the costs of legal fees that you voluntarily incurred without ever consulting with the Board or the Common Interest Community.Nick: Am I going to be allowed an opportunity to present my case today or should we just go home?
Bob: I don’t know. It’s up to you. I’m just telling you I don’t want to go over stuff thatNick: Can I have 2 minutes without Interruption?Bob: SureNick: I understand that mistakes happen and I was raised to forgive people that make mistakes. Lord know I’ve made plenty in my time. That being said, mistakes do need to get fixed and mistakes cannot get fixed until they are understood. And they can not be understood until they are deliberated and discussed. Time and time again I have tried to bring my concerns to this board’s attention wether it be the Conrad Subdivision, the DORA registration the selective enforcement of covenants, whatever the case may be, but if people don’t like the evidence that I am bringing to the table they don’t allow me to discuss it. They sweep the problem under the rug they brand me as a hell raiser none of my concerns are put on the annual meetings. Now the very first board was appointed in September of 2020 I brought a list of concerns to to Board. You actually read it. Ed wasn’t in the neighborhood yet. I believe Kelly had the decency to read but everyone else wanted to get drunk and use the list of concerns as a wine coaster. I then provided an opportunity for the Board to speak with one of the State’s foremost HOA specialists. A free meeting where they were willing to fix all of the developer’s mistakes, educate the Board and do a ground-up rewrite of the covenants for less then $5000. For whatever reason, work schedules yada, yada, yada nobody attended that meeting. Then we never had a board meeting in 2020. So in 2021 I paid to have some legal prescriptions provided to the Board because from the get-go I had been stonewalled, my concerns had been trivialized and nobody wanted to hear
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it from me. That’s why legal counsel was engaged. Everything that you’ve gotten, all of the accomplishments that the Board has gone over these past 3 or 4 years which has been some measurable progress, thank you, thank you and thank you, has been a byproduct of those prescriptions. From registering with DORA, and we’ll get to that, and the insurance, governance policies, all the council that I have provided to you that you did not want to hear from me has proven time and time again to be accurate and things that you have acted on. So, I don’t see why it’s me voluntarily you know assuming this legal council. You stonewalled me so I provided the legal counsel for you to educate you so that you would fix things. And only, only after you guys get legal council do any of the problems get corrected, until recent times. That’s why the attorneys were involved. It wasn’t so I could run up a bill and collect reimbursement. I’ve always put this neighborhood’s best interest ahead of mine. I’ve always wanted to enhance the neighborhood. I was instrumental in defeating Matt Miles. I’ve always tried to take care of this neighborhood including paying for those legal prescriptions because you didn’t want to hear it from me.
Bob: As far as I’m concerned we didn’t need that advice. We hired an HOA lawyer to advise us about what to do about getting things straightened out after Jim handed the Common Community over to Board. And we got advice from them which was followed and those things were put in place. As I said, there have been mistakes made and we’ve tried to correct them. And we’re going to continue to try to correct them and I don’t see why we should pay for lawyers that you hired. You didn’t ask us, ‘Hey can I hire these guys and will you pay for it?’
Nick: They were hired because of the demonstrated ineptitude. When you don’t know how to do your job action needs to be taken. And I come to you and you stonewall me I have no choice. I had no choice but to hire these people to educate you.Bob: Nobody is stonewalling, you do have a choice and you never talked to the Board or anyone else about hiring lawyers. I don’t see why the Common Interest Community should pay you for lawyers that you hired for your purposes.
Ed thanked Nick for his participation in ‘the Matt Miles thing’ and pointed out that Nick was not the only one, that several people in the room contributed.
Nick: There are still no less than two dozen critical defects in our governing documents and registration inaccuracies. Now, what I’ve heard from Mr. Keehfuss today, I think we are well on the road to rectifying items. But, there are a large amount of issues that you have not acknowledged verbally and that I’m quite sure you are not aware of. How do I bring those matters to your attention?
Bob: If you’ve got things that are wrong in our governing documents and so on we’d be happy to look at it. But Nick if you are going to do it don’t send a nasty note that says kick Karen and Bob off the Board and we’re going to have a trial over that.
Multiple people speaking over each other - inaudible
Nick: You failed to do your job sir.Bob: If you’ve got or anyone else has matters that we need to pay attention to let us know what they are.Nick: And that requires communication sir.
Multiple people speaking over each other - inaudible
Bob: If there are problems with the governing documents, let us know what they areNick: These are the unanswered emails that predate your time in office, the newest board members. 50 emails that have gone unanswered requests not placed on the agenda issues that
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are still wrong and you have the audacity to sit here and talk about your accomplishments. It’s very simple. Regardless of whether or not the land is or is not a part of the Common Interest Community, Board member Conrad has maneuvered against the membership for personal gain and you have failed to hold her in check.
Bob: Let’s not go down that road. I’ve told you that if you’ve got things that are wrong with the governing documents let us know what they are, we’ll look at them and we’ll letNick: ok and so these things that I’m told I can bring to your attention were identified by my legal council. Kind of like all of the other issues that have actually been on the list.
Bob: I don’t know what they are.Nick: Let's say I bring a problem to you and you fix it, but it was my legal council that found the problem.Bob: No, we’re not going down that road.Nick: Exactly you don’t want any accountability... for years you keep talking about learning curve, learning curve, learning curve. When are you going to get it right? You just spent $15,000. Of this neighborhood’s money on outside council and we still don’t have it right.Bob: Nick, I don’t know what to tell you. We are not going to pay for your lawyers. If you’ve got things that you think are wrong with the governing documents let us know. If anybody else does we’d be happy to look at them and see what we can do to fix them.
Greg Keehfuss suggested to Nick that he submit a copy of the by-laws with markups for corrections using the most recent ARB revision process as an example of how that process worked well recently noting that approach makes a difference. Nick reiterated frustration that prior suggestions in 2020-2021 were ignored, 50 emails unanswered.
Nick: Thank you for calming the mood. And I agree that sugar gets more than vinegar. I’ve had a collaborative relationship with Ed and at one point I did have a collaborative effort with Bob. And I provided Bob with things like this (holds up document) exhibits that I hoped to put up on the screen today documents highlighted with notes hey take a look at this, take a look at that. But he didn’t fix it and he allowed the Conrad Subdivision to move forward. I think timeline in all of this is very critical because all of my concerns were brought to this Board’s attention in 2020 and 2021 and actions counter to my requests were then done in vain thereafter. I came hat in hand and said, ‘Hey here’s a problem.’ And they did what they wanted to do and then they said, ‘Well tough luck kid.’
Bob: You did point out that you thought that the Conrad piece of land was part of the Common Interest Community and in March of 2021 we went to our HOA Lawyer and asked him for an opinion about that without taking a position; we didn’t know what the answer was. He came back and said that it is not and never has been part of the Common Interest Community.
Nick: But if you take a look at page 1 of our covenants, it clearly says that it is. Now, I’m not making this up.Bob: I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve explained this over and over.Nick: I understand what you are saying. You’re hiding behind Solomon’s opinion.
Bob: I’m not hiding behind anything. I’m telling you that the decision that we made was to rely on the decision of our HOA lawyer. We could have decided otherwise but we didn’t.Nick: Right here, it’s in ourBob: I know your argument. I understand it perfectly.
Nick: I’m never going to let it go.Bob: Fine. I don’t know what to tell you.Nick: I don’t want things to be combative with my neighbors. I have empathy for human beings that may have been manipulated by a developers misrepresentations. I don’t want bad things for
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anyone on this board. I want good things for the neighborhood. I wish you all the best. But, I have to defend myself and I have to use the leverage that I have accumulated in my best interest. And if we can’t have a reasonable solutions and compromise and settlements then it’s a war. It’s very simple. I don’t want that. I never wanted the collateral damage to extend to the other Board Members which is the only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger. But I’ve got the nuclear launch codes and with what I’m hearing today, you are daring me to drop one.Bob: I’m not daring you to do anything. I’m pleading that you not do anything because in my opinion, if you pursue this in court you are going to lose.Paul: Let me ask you a question. Why don’t you pursue it legally through the court system? Nick: And that’s what I’d like to do. I’d like to pursuePaul: you don’t have to tell us you are doing it. You can just hire an attorneyNick: I want to pursue the Board members not as Board members. I want the other Board members to remove them for breaching their fiduciary obligations. So that I can target them individually for the damages. Otherwise the damages that I will pursue would then extend to the Board... (inaudible)Ed: No one is going to do that to Bob and Karen. We’re happy with their work.Nick: We love the supper club. I got it. I understand that.
Paul: ...Your situation has been dragged out for four years now. And you need to hire an attorney and sue us.Nick: I have and I will.
Voices talking over one another (inaudible)
Paul: We are not going to pay for your attorney fees. Nobody is going to do thatNick: We’ll let the court decide who pays for what and how much.Paul: You need to do that and not waste our time as a a community for hashing over thisNick: Have you read this sir?Paul: Yes I Have.Nick: So how many acres are in the Common Interest Community? Can anybody answer the most fundamental questionPaul: Your situation needs to go in front of a judge and not in front of us because we’ve put up with enough of this. I’ve had enough of it. Listen, you own a lot. You came to us ARB members to clarify your drawings. You have never presented us with a finished product.Nick: And, I never will. I started my building and I’m going to do whatever I want because if you are not going to hold her accountable, you are not going to hold me accountable.Paul: So what needs to be done from here on in is none of this going back and forth, wasting our time and aggravating me and everybody else here. I’ve got things to do right now.
People talking over each other, inaudible.
Paul: Your situation has gone farther than us conversing. You need to get an attorney, sue us and then we’ll take it to court and then we’ll have this put to rest.Nick: And now I don’t have any problem allowing the collateral damage to extend ....I told you, I didn’t want the collateral damage to effect everybody else in the neighborhood. I wanted the perpetrators to solely be held accountable.
Paul: You are effecting every one of us in the neighborhood. Nick: You’ve made your position known now as well.
Bob: Enough. Kelly had something to say.
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Kelly Crippin: Nick, didn’t at one time you tried to purchase that land as well?Nick: I did. In 2020 we looked at acquiring the lot at the top of the hill. And that’s when we uncovered this myriad of issues that was linked to the property. We wanted to turn it into equestrian estates but horses prohibited in the by-laws. So we had inquired about how could we remove this land from the Common Interest Community. And at that point in time it Whitticom explained to us that it would require the neighborhood as a whole to vote to remove that acreage from the community. So we declined.Kelly: It ended up going to the Conrads and they now have it. What main damage are you having by not being in the HOA? What’s the big deal?Nick: Why am I angry?Kelly: What’s the big deal about the property not being part of the HOA?Nick: I don’t want to be held to a double standard. If they’re no longer a part of the community as ordered, they’re claiming it was never part of the community, if they don’t have to follow the rules and they are a part of Phase 2, which is a fact, why would anybody else in Phase 2 have to follow the rules. I will never be held to a double standard. That’s a principle that I have and I’ll fight it to the death.
Kelly: I’m making a big assumption here. Are you trying to find an end-around way to develop a house in Phase 2 the way you want to do it without the ARB oversight?Nick: At this point I have delayed my project long enough that I’ve now decided that I’m moving forward. I’ve started my build and I will not be seeking the approval of the ARB.
My position is if you are not going to hold the Conrads accountable, you are not going to hold me to a double standard. And so I’m going to do what I want just as the Conrads do on their land I will do what I want.Kelly: So you are going to come around, I’m going to be facetious for just a minute. You are going to build a 3-story
Nick: I’m going to build what I desire.Kelly: That’s what it’s coming down to, Right?Nick: Yes, I had even proposed in the past a more simplistic settlement of ‘If you are not going to hold them accountable then release all of Phase 2 from the Covenants to make it equal. To equalize the deal.Kelly: So you would subject the other homeowners down there to a house that wouldn’t be- Nick: Yes, I would subject the other homeowners to a multi-million dollar house that’s 3 to 4 feet taller than it should be.
Kelly: When we met in February of last year with ARB, we rejected that house you proposed over 28’ maximum. and then you came back with another house idea, and I thought we left that meeting with ‘that’s a pretty good looking house why don’t we pursue that, and I thought you seemed pretty happy about that, I thought.
Nick: Yes, I’ve had good collaboration conversations with many people in here.Kelly: But now you are going to take the position of ‘that’s now gone’ and you are going to turn around and build the house that you want because the ConradsNick: It’s just the principle of ‘If I’m going to build my dream house, I’m going to build my dream house.’ And if the rules don’t apply to select members of the Board, then the rules don’t apply to the other people in Phase 2.
Nick: There’s other matters here because, I know it’s convoluted and once people take a position it’s hard to sway someone who has a preconceived notion. As we get to the water issue and the DORA issue it’s imperative that we resolve this matter because otherwise the consequences are astronomical for the rest of the neighborhood. Had you pursued a lot 32 in Phase 2 of our community, they would have had to pave Lone Eagle Rd. They would have had to pave 5950 Rd.
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They would have had to bring 3phase power into the neighborhood because DMEA had changed their position. So, our neighborhood has been deprived of over a quarter million dollars of infrastructure by this maneuvering.Greg: But that’s again you are going against the judgement of our lawyer. We stand with the position of the lawyer this association had before I got on the Board. So you are basically combatting the legal council that we have and we are saying that we are going to stay with our legal council’s opinion. So, why would we reverse that? If you’ve got your legal council and we have ours why would we reverse our opinion?Nick: You had it, not you personally, the Board had legal opinion not Nick’s opinion, but the Board had a legal opinion prior to pursuing this withdrawal from the Common Interest Community. You had the opinions of Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis & Payne and you did not like that legal opinion so you just found a different opinion.
Bob: No, not whether we liked it or not. We wanted to get an independent view about whether that property was in the Common Interest Community or not. And that’s why we asked Solomon for an opinion. You know as well as I do, once the Board makes a decision in its business judgement interest that’s not going to be reversed, Nick. Even if a court would have decided it differently, the court will not change what the board decided.Nick: So she just gets away with murder; rules for me but not for thee.Bob: Nobody’s getting away with murder.
Bob: Let’s move on. Do you want to talk about DORA?Nick: Let’s talk about DORA because DORA truly was the very first issue that I brought to the Board’s attention. And I brought it to their attention the day they were appointed in September of 2020. At this point I think we all recognize there is a considerable difference between registering an LLC with the Secretary of State and keeping our DORA registration registered with DORA. The DORA registration is a prerequisite for our Board to have the authority to pretty much do anything.Bob: That’s not correct.Nick: To enforce liens, to collect assessments.Bob: No, two things: to file a lawsuit to enforce Covenants. If you would read CCIOA you would find 38 33.3 316 provides that if you are not registered with DORA, during the time that you are not registered you cannot enforce a lien, that’s what that says. 38 33.3 123 says if you are not registered with DORA, during the time that you are not registered you cannot bring a lawsuit to enforce finesNick: The long and short of it is if DORA is not registered you have sacrificed your authority - Bob: to do two things, only during the period that it’s not registered.Greg: And if there was a lien filed prior to DORA expiring you can’t enforce it until DORA is reregistered. So there was a misunderstanding and a correction made. When I got in I realized that something needed to be done. I took care of it. I corrected the record.Nick: Thank you. That was the very first issue. That’s where I was stonewalled from the get-go because everybody wanted to get drunk. Everybody wanted to side with Whitticom.
Cross conversation
Greg shares his experience trying to get up to speed with all of the Board documents and historical documents; the time it takes to become fluent.
George Papineau introduces himself and wife Julie, lot 1. He has prior experience with HOA at Dakota Vista where there was a similar situation with two phases, related challenges and the need to
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avoid legal issues/expenses. He extended offer to facilitate informal conversation to try to find some common ground...The thought of spending our money trying to do legal stuff frightens me.
Paul and Nick continue heated discussion.
Nancy Stechert recognized Paul’s comment that we’ve gone over this a lot and she reiterated George’s comments that we need to find a way to work this out in a way that it reasonable and helpful to the whole community. She suggests we start from there.
Joanne suggested that if Nick is agreeable maybe George, Greg and Nick sit down together and try to come to some understanding it might be worth a try. Bob supported such a meeting but reiterated that the Board will not go back on decisions already made. Greg concurred that he does not want to cross borders with decisions previous Boards made. That his focus would be to get governing documents straightened out.
Bob recognized that in March 2023 we failed to reregister with DORA, that it was an oversight and it was fixed. Greg caught it.
Dan Daneff pointed out that when Jim turned the HOA over to the owners there was a mess to sort out and they started working on corrections, learning what had and had not been done.Bob added that attorney Solomon was brought on board fall 2020. He laid out what needed to be done, attended the 2020 annual meeting and Nick thanked him at that time.
Bob shared the current water status. We are receiving 39.7 shares. When that changes we will let everyone know. Nick stated we have a problem; Conrad deed gives them claim to 29% of that water. Bob reiterated that we now enjoy all 39.7 shares and if it becomes a problem and we end up without 39.7 shares, we will address that if and when that arises. The board will look at this issue.
Ed brought up Nancy’s recommendation for Greg, Nick and George to get together and talk in a calm environment, and he asks for Nick’s response: "I'll speak with these gentlemen, of course". Greg reiterates he cannot make board decisions solely, all things will be reported to the whole board and discussed.
Nick summarized:We are not talking about the Conrad Subdivision ever again.The shipping container is going nowhere.The fuel cell (Bob corrected label - diesel tank) is going nowhere.
Bob stated that the regulatory authorities have looked at it and found that it is in compliance.Nick insisted that it violates the covenants and Bob clarified that it was not a violation of covenants when it was placed.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:56
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