Explanation about the BGHA

Posted in: Bradford Grove
  • Stock
  • philp
  • Respected Neighbor
  • Louisville, Ky
  • 5 Posts
  • Respect-O-Meter: Respected Neighbor
To all:
Hi my name is Phil Petredis, I live at 7708 Wictor Court, and many of you know me because I have held positions on the Board and was one of its first members. My family and I have lived in the neighborhood for well of 14 years now and have seen it grow from a unfinished neighborhood to a completed one. All things, at first, were taken care of by the developer to where we had a small $25 per quarter assessment. Today we are over $100 and still climbing and this trend is very disturbing to me and others that I talk to or ask me why we pay so much. There is so much to running a neighborhood like ours I thought this letter was a way to help those who really don?’t understand, and wish to.
First off we are governed by an agreed and voted upon set of regulations and by-laws. These by-laws were present when the developer was still the owner of the Association and when we moved here we were, at the time of purchasing the property of house, made aware of these and the assessment and Bylaws that comes along with it. I?’m going to try to show everyone what it takes to run this Association monetarily wise.

Here are the things that we pay for either monthly, quarterly, or on a yearly basis.
?• Taxes ?– The common area that the Association (that is all of us) owns is taxable. That includes the pool and clubhouse. The other common areas like the front entrance, the front field on Hunsinger Lane, and the area behind the houses between Nevia and Whitepost Way are usually tax free due to having no value due to the fact that nothing can ever be built on them.
?• Lighting ?– All street lights are paid for by the Association (I believe 36 in total)
?• Lawn Care for all common areas- Front entrance, Estates entrance, Clubhouse, Frontage field on Hunsinger (monthly), and the common area between Whitepost Way and Nevia (behind the houses) (bi-monthly)
?• Water (Clubhouse, Pool, and the sprinklers)
?• Water Sprinklers (Contracted out for maintenance)
?• Pool (Contracted out plus it?’s upkeep)
?• LG&E (Clubhouse/pool, front Entrance, and the Estate entrance)
?• Life Guards (Seasonal)
?• Insurance
?• Lawyer
?• Parks and Weisberg (10% of our Assessed money collected or yearly budget)
?• Phone
?• Roads
?• Garbage (for clubhouse)
?• Maintenance of any part of the neighborhood like signs, painting, etc.

Lastly let me tell you about the Roads. NO ONE will pave these streets for us but ourselves! PERIOD! These are our responsibility to maintain. A little history here: We have went to the Local and State agencies and governments to try to get our roads taken care of, but in each instance we were flatly turned down. These roads were built under different guide lines that make them ours and ours alone. Unless the State Government passes a law deeming these laws illegal, then we will never get financial help from anyone. Our only hope is to get some money from Kevin Kramer from his discretionary fund but that isn?’t very likely we have been told. If we as a group petition him then maybe one day he will help but we must keep up the pressure to get him to do so. Unless we pass this Special Assessment for road paving we will keep getting a 10% increase, once a year, because we have to generate the money somehow to pay for these roads. By not passing this now, then the ones that move away will get away scott free without ever spending a dime on the roads and that is not right because they use these roads today as we all do. Please reconsider when the next vote comes out and vote YES!!!
For really you have no choice if really think it through.
Thanks for reading this and I hope to see you at the next neighborhood meeting.
Road Paving

The neighborhood was created in 1987 and the roads have been privately owned the entire time so repaving is an issue that should have been anticipated and funds collected for that purpose since the start of the neighborhood. In fact according to Letter from the President, January 19, 2004 from Don & Shelia Reiss ''Because of the special zoning approved when the neighborhood was built, we are responsible for repairing the roads within our development. We would like to put a minimum of $10,000 aside each year for that purpose.''
The reality is people who have lived in the neighborhood for 20 years should put in more for paving since they have had use of the roads and the great news is THEY ALREADY HAVE by paying their dues. It isn't reasonable to lay a ~$300 one time fee to current home owners for paving when it will be used by ALL homeowners for the next 20 years. The money should come out of dues of homeowners using the roads during that time period. The rate of quaterly dues went up by $10.29 in 2007 earmarked only for paving & pool. In a calendar year if you use the 151 homes listed in the letter= $10.29x4x151=$6,215.16 per year just for paving if the pool is removed from this cost. Now per the statement in the letter for 2004 there should already be $30,000 for paving set aside and will increase to $40,000 in 2008. Add to it $6,215.16 also earmarked for paving and you get the cost of $54,657 within 2 years and have money left over to cover the cost of inflation and increasing oil price mentioned in the letter about increasing dues. Currently per Cash Balance Report from Parks & Weisberg ending 7/31/07 the ending balance for the Contingency Fund was $35,433.51. Now, per the same letter that was sent out after the general meeting June 18th, 2007 about paving, it stated only $10,000 was going to be removed from the contingency fund which doesn't match the letter to residents sent out in 2004 in which $10,000 per year was being set aside.
Basically what I'm saying is homeowners should not have to make a lump some payment for paving when it clear from the start of neighborhood the cost of road paving would be the responsibility of the homeowners. It should come from the dues collected over the past 20 years and in the future. No one should have to pay for 20 years of road use if they haven't even lived in the neighborhood and didn't have use of the roads. Some home owners may not live in the neighborhood for more than a year or two and should not be expected to pay for roads intented to last the next 20 years. If only $10,000 listed in 2007 letter is used and all of $10.29 increase is used only for paving then it would take about 7 years to pay for paving if no more due increases occur. If $20,000 was used from the contingency fund then it would take about 5&1/2years if no due increases occur. If due increases occur annually at 10% and the money is only for paving then if using $10,000 from the fund plus 6,215.16 from year 1 plus $12,430.32 from year 2 plus $18,645.48 from year 3 plus $24860.64 from year 4 would = $72,151.16 just for paving in a matter of 4 years paid for by residents using the streets from their quaterly dues without having to pay a one-time lump sum. Please don't make your neighbors who haven't lived in the neighborhood for the past 20 years foot the bill for those who have caused the normal wear and damage to the roads. It was a cost that should have been anticipated and money set aside for this purpose since the beginning of the neighborhood. Use the dues paid by all residents quarterly for this cost and have a portion of dues set aside in the annual budget for anticipation of the next paving after this now so in 20-25 years this issue won't be repeated.
Advertise Here!

Promote Your Business or Product for $10/mo

istockphoto_1682638-attention.jpg

For just $10/mo you can promote your business or product directly to nearby residents. Buy 12 months and save 50%!

Buynow