HOA Meeting Recap

Last nights HOA meeting was a HOOT!  About 100 residents turned out and TJ was pelted from every corner of the room and spent the better part of an hour making excuses and trying to explain what he and the gang of 5 were trying to do, Director Witcher left just as the meeting got started.  Director Roger Roher of Dist.13 put the pressure on from the board itself.  Way to Go Roger!!  John Smith from Dist. 10 pushed for answers from the audience, and who could miss Larry Nunez of Dist. 23 in his “No FELONS” t-shirt,  delegate Walt Cross, from Dist. 16 was silent, as usual, and Dist. 1 delegate Beverly Cribari, Dist. 2′s Paul Gilberto, Dist. 12′s Wm. Helfrich, Dist. 14′s Lorraine Muniz, Dist. 17′s Sandra Thomas, and Dist. 26′s Jose Chavez were all AOL.  Dist. 11′s Delegate candidate Maisha was in fighting form and really putting the pressure on as well as turning in her petition for a “special meeting”.  Let’s get out and support her, she is on fire.  Dist. 24 candidate Ardith Duke was also questioning the board on a number of issues.  Of course Marleen and Joanne were doing their usual “bobble head” impressions.  We still need candidates to run for District Delegates, this may be the only way we can get rid of TJ and his cronies, and will certainly be the quickest and cheapest.  If you know of interested and motivated residents in Districts 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26 ask them to email the gvr.actioncommittee@yahoo.com we will help them with petitions, fliers, canvasing, getting signatures, etc.  Please, let’s get to it and replace these people, and fill those vacant delegates positions!  And don’t forget to give a little, if every homeowner would give just $20.00 to the legal fight I feel we could win it, but as it stands now, we are all but out of money!  If we don’t press the legal battle we won’t get a refund!  And TJ will have won again!

Sample Letter to HOA on Special Assessment

Here is a letter a homeowner wrote up and is sharing with others who want to send a letter to the HOA explaining why they are not going to pay the Special Assessment.

August 7, 2009

Green Valley Ranch Homeowners Association

P.O. Box 473038

Aurora, CO 80047

Re: Special Assessment – Certified Letter

I am providing notice that after careful thought, consideration, and research conducted; I will not pay the recent Special Assessment as outlined in the notice I received approximately July 7, 2009. It is apparent based on the July board meeting that the Board members and the HOA President are not familiar with the information contained in the Master Declaration. I am sending you the following excerpts for your review and to support my position.

1. There is not a provision within the Master Declaration for a Special Assessment of this nature rendering the invoice invalid. Please refer to section 2.73 below for additional information:

2.73 Special Assessment. “Special Assessment” shall mean a charge against an Owner and such Owner’s Privately Owned Site representing a portion of the costs to the Master Association for the purpose of funding major capital repairs, maintenance, replacements and Improvements, pursuant to the provisions of Section 8.34 hereof.

2. Section 8.30 of the Master Declaration describes the purpose and application of a Special Assessment and based on the back of the letter which as I recall references legal fees, budget shortfalls, and other unsupported expenses, there is nothing in the Master Declaration which allows for the use of a Special Assessment for the purposes outlined in the invoice. I will be requesting records via the Request for Records form. A provision that I would like to highlight is the section about a Special Assessment requiring a vote of two-thirds of the Delegates. With the number of vacant delegate seats in the HOA, it is difficult for me to understand how you arrived at this level of votes. Reference below:

8.30 Special Assessments for Capital Expenditures. In addition to Common Assessments, the Board of Directors may, subject to the provisions of this Section, levy one (1) or more additional Assessments for the purpose of raising funds, not otherwise provided under the Budget from Common Assessments, to: (a) construct or reconstruct, repair, remodel or replace capital Improvements upon Master Association Properties, including necessary personal property related thereto; (b) add to the Master Association Properties; (c) provide for necessary facilities and equipment to offer the services authorized in this Declaration; or (d) repay any loan made to the Master Association to enable it to perform the duties and functions authorized in this Declaration. Such Assessment shall be known as a “Special Assessment”. The Board of Directors shall not levy Special Assessments without the vote of Delegates representing at least two-thirds (2/3rds) of the voting power residing in the Owners of Privately Owned Sites subject to the Special Assessment. During the Appointment Period, Special Assessments may not be used for the construction of capital improvements without the vote of Delegates representing at least three-fourths (3/4ths) of the voting power residing in the Owners (excluding any voting power of Declarant) of the Privately Owned Sites subject to the Special Assessment. Special Assessments for capital improvements which may be used by all Owners shall be levied solely on the basis of, and in proportion to, the AFCA Units attributable to the Privately Owned Sites of the Owners. Special Assessments for capital improvements relating to a Recreation Cost Center which may not be used by all Owners shall be levied solely against the Owner or group of Owners who own Privately Owned Sites entitled to use such Recreation Cost Center and such Special Assessments shall be levied solely on the basis of, and in proportion to, the RFCA Units attributable to such Sites. The Master Association shall notify Owners in writing of the amount of any special Assessment and of the manner in which, and the dates on which, any such Special Assessment is payable and the Owners shall pay any such Special Assessment in the manner so specified. In the event that the Board shall levy a Special Assessment, the Board shall specify whether the Special Assessment is to provide Public Functions, Recreation Functions or Administrative Functions and the Special Assessment shall be apportioned accordingly.

3. I would like to understand the steps taken by the Board to reduce the existing, unreasonable budget before inappropriately creating a “Special Assessment”. Suggestions below:

* Did you reforecast expenses based on actual from January through June?
o Reduce telephone costs from $13,500 to $3,500 annually
o Office Supplies reforecast based on actual
* Reduce or remove community activities
o Budget $25,000 annually – there is no need to sponsor GVR days, Holiday Festival, or other activities until you can manage within a reasonable budget
* Reduce or discontinue full color newsletter. Publish online newsletter to save expenses. Current budget approximately $50,000
* Remove attorney that does not specialize in HOA and secure the services of an attorney that specializes in HOA laws.
* Remove employment expenses e.g. $9,000 for employee development for 2009
* Discontinue practice of paying to maintain lawns for foreclosed homes. This is the responsibility of the bank and should not be shared by the neighborhood. Result $50,000 savings.

Thank you for your time and review of my concerns. I am enclosing a signed Right to Records Inspection form and appreciate your contacting me at your earliest convenience to schedule time to review and copy all HOA records from September 2008 to current, including the voting records for the Board and delegates beginning with September 2008 so that I can understand how you arrived at a 2/3s vote for this invalid assessment, as well as review of other documents that have been incorporated, during monthly Board meetings.

Respectfully Submitted,

Questions About HOA’s Accounting Practices and Meeting Notes

Trenton J. Stone and Joanne True,

I am inquiring to find out and obtain confirmation from you whether or not the audit feature of the QuickBooks program/s you are using to maintain the records of the Master Homeowners Association for Green Valley Ranch is/are, indeed, on/activated – for any and all computers on which HOA records are being maintained – whether at the HOA office or any private homes.

The possibility that the audit feature is off for QuickBooks programs being used by the HOA is a genuine concern. As both of you must already know, testimony presented during your trial, TJ, was that the audit feature was not on/turned off for the QuickBooks programs used by your firm, Stone Corp, as well as the QuickBooks program that you concurrently used while providing bookkeeping and accounting services at/for John Robert Powers International. Testimony further claimed that because the audit feature was not on/turned off, changes to records could be made but those changes could not be tracked.

Special Assessment FAQ

Q: What is the Special Assessment?

A: If you are a homeowner you should have received a letter in the mail informing you that you must pay a special assessment to the Home Owner’s Association for $174.

Q: Why are we paying another assessment?

A: The HOA was continually denied their budget by the Metro District Board because it was running twice as high as the last year’s budget.  After four mediations, the HOA refused to reduce their budget request.  So, it is now looking to homeowners to foot the bill.

Q: Why is the assessment so high?

A: We wonder the same thing.  Based on past budgets, it should cost approximately $54 a homeowner to fund covenant enforcement.  This assessment fee would give the HOA a budget of $800,000.  It should be noted that this is only for the remaining five months of the year.

Q: Why are people refusing to pay the assessment?

A:  For several reasons: it’s much too high, it was not approved by HOA delegates, and the HOA has severe issues with budget disclosure and dishonest practices.  The president was recently convicted on four counts of felony theft, the Board has refused to release its expenditures from last year and there have been numerous allegations of voter fraud in the recent elections.

Friday July 31- GVR Community Meeting

GVR Community Meeting
Friday, July 31 6pm-8pm
Omar D. Blair Charter School
4905 Cathay St, Denver, CO‎

Update on HOA practices:
-breaking bylaws with assessment fines
-HOA President’s sentencing for felony theft
-questionably inaccurate minutes of past meetings on HOA website
-no independent audit of HOA budget for 1-2 years
-update on legal action against HOA

for more information email
gvr.actioncommittee@yahoo.com

Email List for Concerned GVR Residents

People can stay connected to what is happening to take back community control over Green Valley Ranch by signing up for the GVR Homeowners list.

Simply go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gvrHomeOwners

The list also has archives of important conversations that have taken place between key players as well helpful documents to figure out the straight story with everything that is going on.

Green Valley Ranch residents confront Corrupt HOA Board

Green Valley Ranch Citizens Confront Corrupt HOA Board

On July 22, 2009 approximately 300 members of the Green Valley Ranch community showed up in force to oppose a special assessment being levied against them by their HOA Board. They also took that time to demand the resignation of long-time president T.J. Stone and all his cronies.

The HOA Board banned everyone, including members of the community and journalists, from covering the meeting. One community member however refused and took this footage clandestinely.

Stone has recently been convicted of four counts of felony theft and has also controlled neighborhood politics for far too long, using HOA funds indiscriminately on frivolous lawsuits and community programs that garner little public support.

HOA fees have more than tripled in the past couple years, each raise being met with public outrage. The new “Special Assessment” of $174 ended up being the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. There is now a massive grassroots effort for homeowners to simply refuse to pay the assessment and any future assessments until the Board resigns and new elections are held.

Getting Things Straight- HOA vs. Metro District

Dear All

There still seems to be a lot of confusion between the Metro District and the
HOA. The two organizations do not have anything to do with each other.

Metro District has the function of maintaining all of the common areas in Green
Valley Ranch, constructing new roads and sewers in the developing areas. They
also help fund some of the youth programs, GVR days, and other events around
Green Valley Ranch. All of the money that they spend is taxed dollars and is
collected through the annual property taxes on our houses. They can only collect
taxes they cannot refund taxes.

Home Owners Association (HOA) is a nonprofit organization that was started by
the original home builder in Green Valley Ranch when this community was first
laid out. The money that the HOA collects is normally through assessments that
the Delegates and Board Members deem is necessary to perform the duties and
projects that the board has approved.

AGAIN HOA and METRO DISTRICT have no connection.

5A was passed in 2007 by the voters in GVR and at that time T.J. Stone and two
other board members both set on the Metro District board and the HOA board. T.J.
Stone was the president of both boards and Westwind management group was
performing the covenants enforcement for the HOA and they gave the HOA a 30 day
notice on October 26, 2005 (see letter westwind in files) because of a
$35,000.00 expenditure. In order for the Metro District to convey any tax money
to the HOA an agreement between the HOA and the Metro District must exist by
law. The agreement must define what the Metro District can and cannot do for the
HOA. T.J. Stone also wrote this agreement between the HOA and the Metro District
and remembers at this time he was the president of both boards. Then in early
2008 T.J. Stone and one other board member lost there seats on the Metro
District board. Now remember also that the budget for 2008 had already been
approved by the state so T.J. Stone had his budget in force for all of 2008.
When the budget for 2009 was being developed is when all of the problems
started. The Metro District wanted to keep the tax level if not lower for 2009
because of the comments that had been received from the home owners, but the HOA
budget was 2 times larger than just the year before and they did not want to
compromise on it. That is why the HOA got and injunction to prevent the Metro
District from submitting the budget. This is what started the downhill path we
are on. Please go to http://www.gvrmetrodistrict.com/legal_documents/ and read
all of the legal documents between the HOA and the Metro District.

The Metro District settled the court case over the agreement and all other
matters because the agreement was going to end in December of this year and the
legal cost from this point forward was going to be very large so in order to
save tax money they agreed to a settlement. Please read all of the documents on
the Metro web site and if you like read what the HOA put on their web site
http://www.gvrhoa.com/ .

I hope this helps explain how we got into this mess and I also hope we
understand the differences between the HOA and Metro District.

Welcome to Green Valley Action!

Welcome to Green Valley Action.  This is a blog posting the latest developments on the struggle for community control over Green Valley Ranch.