BEAR HOLLOW VILLAGE
HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATION
PARK CITY, UTAH
NEWSLETTER
SPRING 2008
This is the 21st edition of the Bear Hollow Village Homeowner’s Association Newsletter brought to you by your Board of Trustees. This Newsletter will provide you with an update on things happening in our community and other information.
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REQUEST FOR SPECIAL ASSESSMENT – we have experienced a very heavy winter snowfall season that is now coming to an end. Just about every community in the Park City area, including ours, has had to deal with huge expenses for extra snow removal services. Many of these communities / Associations had to request Special Assessments from their owners to fund these extra snow removal operations on an emergency basis. Our Association has accrued considerable reserves that enabled us to contract these services quickly and maintain the safety and accessibility of the roads and
other areas of Bear Hollow Village. However, to maintain our financial strength and to replace funds used from our reserves, your Trustees believe the best course of action for us is to now request a Special Assessment, equal to one (1) months additional dues per owner, to replenish reserves and allow for continued Association provided services to not be negatively impacted in any way.
Our snow removal costs for the community are mostly fixed at contracted prices for plowing, labor, and salting. Out of contract expenses were budgeted at $8,000.00 for the winter season. Due to the need to bring in heavy equipment and dump trucks to keep roads open and to remove huge snow buildups that were creating safety issues, we are considerably over budget in that category. The below chart will illustrate expenses incurred per month this winter…..
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2007-2008 SEASON SNOW REMOVAL COSTS |
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NOV. |
DEC. |
JAN. |
FEB. |
MARCH* |
TOTAL |
BUDGET - DIFFERENCE |
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SALT |
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$1,125.00 |
$12,687.50 |
$13,093.75 |
$9,343.75 |
$5,200.00* |
$41,450.00 |
$40,000.00 ($1,450.00) |
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CONTRACT |
$23,800.00 |
$31,960.00 |
$31,960.00 |
$31,960.00 |
$31,960.00 |
$151,640.00 |
$151,640.00 0 |
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OUT OF |
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$2,205.00 |
$2,750.00 |
$16,777.00 |
$8,458.00 |
$2,500.00* |
$45,030.00 |
$8,000.00 ($37,030.00) |
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CONTRACT |
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$12,340.00 |
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* thru 3/27/08
COMPARISON
THIS SEASON LAST SEASON
SALT $41,450.00 $35,687.50
CONTRACT $ 151,640.00 $145,318.00
OUT OF
CONTRACT $45,030.00 $2,900.00
Contract costs include plow trucks and operators to clear roads and driveways and parking areas, an operator for our Kubota tractor, laborers for hand shoveling and sidewalk clearing, bags of ice melt for sidewalks as needed and on-site employees for other services. If we did not have fixed costs for these expenditures we would have incurred much larger bills for these services this winter season.
Out of Contract costs were for heavy equipment machines and their operators and dump truck services for this season; these services ranged from $90.00 to $150.00 per hour, depending on the specific piece of equipment being used; or for snow removal in October 2007 and April 2008 last season.
In summary, we recognize that no one likes to receive an extra bill, but when unanticipated expenses are necessary we must pay them in a timely manner. We have spent about $39,000.00 in additional snow removal expenses this season.
Please be reminded that our Association dues rate is the lowest of any Association in the area and your Trustees work very diligently and hard to maintain that distinction.
Please refer to the enclosed Notice of Special Meeting, Proxy and Voting Instructions form accompanying this Newsletter and return your Proxy / Vote with a YES vote of approval as requested. Your continued cooperation and support is appreciated.
ASSOCIATION FINANCES / LIENS – there are currently three (3) owners who are in Delinquent status with their dues obligations to the Association. Regrettably, we have placed liens against their properties and referred these cases to our Attorney for collection actions. There are an additional four (4) owners who are in Late Payment status with their dues accounts; they have all received proper notice of their dues responsibilities. All other Owners are paying their dues regularly and on time. The Trustees closely monitor all dues accounts; thank you to all Owners who are maintaining their accounts in current standing.
COMMUNITY OVERVIEW / UNITS FOR SALE – At this time there are 23 units listed for sale (excluding the Lodge units) in the community, about 9% of the total units in Bear Hollow Village. We are all cognizant of the status of the housing markets across the country and the fact that many of our Units are second homes for the Owners. Home values in Bear Hollow Village/Park City are staying strong, compared to other areas of the country. You might be interested in knowing that Utah is currently #1 in the nation for housing appreciation, according to the Office of Federal Housing Oversight.
CLUBHOUSE – the roof of the Clubhouse incurred huge snow and ice deposits from the heavy snowfalls this season (as did all properties in the community). A company was contracted for snow / ice removal from the roof. During these operations the workers damaged many areas of the roof. The Trustees contacted the company owner and had him inspect the damages; he agreed that he was responsible for most of the damages that were caused by the snow / ice removal actions of his employees and he will be responsible for repair costs accordingly. Two areas inside the Clubhouse experienced some leaking related damages (in the front entry area and in the mechanical room). The HOA will schedule these repairs for later this Spring.
The heat tape and lighting on the Clubhouse roof was also damaged by the severe weather conditions. We are researching better solutions to make these systems work better under severe weather (new heat shields vs. heat tape and more permanent lighting installations). It would be a good idea for all Owners to evaluate their property roof’s and explore upgrades to heat systems for their roof areas and gutters / downspouts.
Our exercise equipment is approaching 5 years in service. The treadmills will need belt and deck replacements and the universal machine will need a shaft replacement to keep these machines in proper working condition. All necessary parts have been ordered and the installations scheduled. We do not anticipate significant costs for these services and they will prolong the overall life of the equipment considerably.
The newly finished reception area as you enter the Clubhouse has been well received by the owners and guests and it has enhanced overall Clubhouse security.
The Pool is scheduled to open for the season on Saturday May 17, 2008.
RT. 224 PEDESTRIAN UNDERPASS - at the 2007 Annual Meeting an Owner raised the question of the status of the County project to build a pedestrian underpass under Rt. 224 to connect Bear Hollow to the communities and commercial amenities on the other side of the roadway. Howie wrote a letter to the Summit County Commissioners asking for the status of the project on 2/19/2008. A reply letter was received from Mr. Kevin Callahan, Summit County Public Works Administrator on 3/18/2008. Both letters are attached for your review, they are self-explanatory.
COMMON AREA 16 PROJECT – UPDATE – the Summit County Planning Department has reviewed the HOA preliminary request for the improvements to Common Area 16. They advise that the Development Agreement designates this area as “open space” and that “trails and eating areas are permitted”. For the HOA to request to build a sports court in that area would require changes to the Development Agreement. That process would entail considerable time and efforts. Therefore, we believe we should proceed with just the general clean up of the entire area and the patio / eating areas of the project at this time. We will need a Low Impact Permit from Summit County to proceed with that portion of the plan and we will move forward with obtaining that approval. We will evaluate exactly what is needed for further amenities as suggested in that area and report to the membership as needed.
HOLIDAY PARTY – the HOA hosted a Holiday party in the Clubhouse on Friday night 12/27/07. About 100 owners/guests/friends were in attendance during the evening and enjoyed a nice evening of meeting their neighbors and making new friends. The Trustees purchased all food ingredients and prepared most of the dishes to keep our expenditures to a minimum.
PETS POLICY – REMINDER – please be reminded of the following information:
Nightly renters are prohibited from having pets in any unit.
LODGES – BEAR CLAW CONDO BUILDING – CONSTRUCTION UPDATE –
The 8 unit Bear Claw Condominium building is scheduled to begin construction this Spring and should be completed by the end of 2008. Four of the units have already been sold. All 8 units in the building are designated as affordable housing units.
Lodge Building B is scheduled to begin construction in the Spring of 2009 at this time.
IRRIGATION SYSTEM TURN ON – PRELIMINARY NOTICE – as winter season comes to a close it is again time to start thinking Spring / grass / flowers / tree’s. Single family homeowners, and some townhouse owners will be contacted shortly and reminded to please turn on the irrigation water valves and timers that control their portions of the sprinkler system. All owners that have an irrigation water valve that needs to be turned on will receive a Notice in the mail shortly from the HOA to instruct them when to turn on the irrigation water valve.
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Best wishes for a healthy and happy Springtime. Get your bathing suits ready !
Your HOA Board of Trustees !
GREG JON NICK JODY HOWIE