Willow Lane Townhomes

Fall 2003 Newsletter

Oct 07, 2003

Property Management
Faith Property Management, Mike Adams (970) 377-1626

Note for renters of townhomes: If you have a problem with the unit you live in, you need to contact your landlord. If necessary, the homeowner can then contact property management.
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Board of Directors
President: Margaret Robinson
Vice President: Bill Geneske
Secretary/Treasurer: Kathy Beres
Members at Large: Fred Dittemore
Jeanette Fraser
Melinda Cowgill
Cindy Sandoval
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Board Member Needed
The Willow Lane Homeowners Association now has a full Board of Directors. New members can be voted onto the board by the members of the association at the annual meeting in January as terms expire. Please contact Mike at Faith if you are interested in becoming a member of the Board of Directors.
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Check out the Willow Lane website at:
www.neighborhoodlink.com/ftcollins/willowlane

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Safety
At the July meeting of the Board of Directors it was reported that there had been an attempted break-in at Y Building. Fortunately, they were not successful in entering the unit. Then, during the first week of August, at least three cars were broken into and items taken. Lets work together to make our community a safer place by having porch and carport lights on all night long and making sure our vehicles are locked. We want Willow Lane to be a safe community, and having the area better lit by our porch lights at night will help deter vandalism and theft.
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Email Addresses
The newsletter and other announcements regarding Willow Lane, such as meeting notices, etc., could be emailed to association members if we had email addresses. Benefits of using email would be the postage savings and ease of retrieval. If you are interested in this, please send an email to Kathy at willowlanefc@hotmail.com so your name and email address can be added to the address book for future notices.
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The clubhouse is available for resident or non-resident use. Call Faith Property Management for details about reserving the clubhouse.
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How is the Money Spent?
The question has been asked many times: How does the association spend all the money collected each month for homeowner fees? Here is a simplified explanation of where the money goes. Used in this example are July 2003 and March 2003 to show a comparison of expenditures in a summer and a winter-like month. These figures are not a complete itemization of expenditures but cover the main items. Of course, the costs will vary somewhat in different months but this will give a general idea of where all that money goes.

Homeowner fees collected $25,495
July 2003 Expenses
Property Management $1512
Water and sewer 9017
Trash 1446
Gas and electric (clubhouse) 980
Sprinkler repairs 2233
Landscape maintenance 3442
Pool and chemicals 537
Insurance 2193
Other repairs (roof and gutter, general) 4546
Total $25,906

Homeowner fees collected $25,015
March 2003 Expenses
Property Management $1512
Water and sewer 5582
Trash 1570
Gas and electric (clubhouse) 243
Sprinkler repairs
Landscape maintenance/snow removal 7207
Pool and chemicals
Insurance
Other repairs and maintenance (roof and gutter; general; clubhouse) 9153
Total $25,267

Removal of snow from sidewalks is done if the snowfall is two or more inches and from parking lots if the snowfall is four or more inches and averages about $1400 per snow storm (the blizzard in March 2003 cost about $8000 for snow removal and is not included in these numbers). There can be a big difference in the cost of snow removal from one month to the next depending on the amount of snow. This is work that is done on a ?“Time and Material?” basis, so if the snowfall is minimal and we sweep or shovel our own walks from the sidewalk to our doors it could reduce that cost substantially.

From just these two months it can be seen that improvements are on-going, things like gutter and roof repairs. In addition, this summer some fence repairs were completed but most of the fences are yet to be done. The clubhouse had repairs done that were considered urgent due to the growing mold caused by roof leaks combined with the damage caused by the flood. It is evident that there is so much more work that needs to be done. But, as can be seen in the example, cash flow is a major issue. This being the case, those who are delinquent in the payment of their monthly fees are just making it harder for the upkeep and improvements to get accomplished. If this situation is allowed to continue, our Willow Lane community will continue to deteriorate and the expense involved in bringing it to its desired condition will continue to increase.

In a townhome community the homeowners association is responsible for most upkeep issues, but we can assist our association in making our surroundings more pleasant and help cut some costs by joining together to accomplish some of the tasks needing to be done. A goal of the Environmental Enhancement Committee is to work on many of the items identified in their last walk-through of the grounds and the involvement of homeowners and tenants would be welcomed.
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Grass Roots Information
In the fall Grass Roots will do cleanup of leaves and irrigation blow-out. Irrigation blow-out will take place in October. The leaf cleanup usually follows the last normal mowing by about two or three weeks when the last leaves have fallen from the trees and bushes. During the winter months, Grass Roots will do snow removal for Willow Lane. If there is two or more inches of snowfall the sidewalks will be cleared, and if there is four or more inches of snowfall the parking lots will be cleared. Some north-facing areas are checked more frequently for ice build-up and may have snow removed at one inch. There is not a firm schedule for snow removal, but the crews get started at about 2-4 am and Willow Lane is the first HOA for the crew assigned to our account. So they will generally get to Willow Lane around 6 am. In Act-of-God situations, like the blizzard last March, the schedule will be somewhat different but the snow removal will be done as timely as possible.
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Pets
You can help us improve our common areas by cleaning up after your pet. Unfortunately, we have many in our community who do not comply with the city pet code pertaining to waste pick-up and property damage. Not only is dog and cat waste a major complaint of the homeowners in our community, but it also creates problems for grounds maintenance. It is the responsibility of pet owners to pick up after their dogs and cats. Violations of city codes pertaining to pets and pet waste should be referred to the Humane Society (226-3647) for enforcement.
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The swimming pool is closed for the season. The pool was enjoyed by many this summer and thanks to all who showed respect for others by keeping the pool area clean and obeying the rules of pool use.
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Volunteering for Committees
Volunteers for committees do not have to be homeowners. We welcome any resident interested in making Willow Lane a better place to live. Please get involved by being a committee member.
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Social Events Committee
The National Neighborhood Night Out potluck did not have quite the turnout we had hoped for but those who participated enjoyed a good meal and met a few more of their neighbors. We will look forward to next year?’s event and more participation from our neighbors. If you have a suggestion for the committee to consider for next years National Night Out, please contact Kathy (willowlanefc@hotmail.com).

We had our first annual neighborhood garage/yard sale on August 9 and the response was good. Plans are in the works for the second annual sale. We are looking at earlier dates for next year.
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Architectural Review Committee
The architectural review committee helps the board with architectural compliance of the community. If you are considering any exterior modifications to your unit, please submit to property management drawings, diagrams, photographs, along with your name as homeowner, the unit number, and both daytime and evening phone numbers. The committee has a two-week turn around time for making their recommendation to the board.
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Do you have a talented young person in your household who would be interested in submitting some of his/her writings or drawings for publication in our newsletters? The next newsletter is scheduled for December. Please contact Kathy (willowlanefc@hotmail.com) with any submissions for future newsletters. Please include name and age of the author or artist. All originals will be returned to their owner.
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Signs, Vandalism and Dumpster Areas
Signs
Due to complaints from the city and Grassroots, For Sale and For Rent signs are only to be placed in front of the unit they are for.

Vandalism
We want to address all vandalism as quickly as possible. Call the Fort Collins Police Department at 221-6540 to report any vandalism and call Faith Property Management at 377-1626.

Dumpster Areas
Thanks to all homeowners and tenants for not put large items out at the dumpsters in the past three months. The association was not assessed any additional charges during the months of June, July and August.
?•Recycle bins - Only glass should be placed in the bins. Remove bottles from cardboard cartons when placing into the bins.
?•Dumpster - Do not put large items (furniture, appliances) near the dumpsters - the HOA is assessed extra fees for the removal of these items. You can call property management to make arrangements for removal, but if the item is in good, clean condition, some agencies that can be contacted to remove these items are:
Habitat Home Supply Store ?– 223-9909
ARC Thrift Store (1-800-283-2721)
CP of Colorado Donation Pick-up (686-1000) (Savers)
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If you are interested in serving on any of the committees, please contact Mike at Faith Property Management. We need your help. The existing committees are Architectural Review, Social Events, Environmental Enhancement, Newsletter, and Pool Committee.