Hi HOA,
Hey Neighbors, we wanted to share a year end summary ahead of the meeting as it contains some good information about our accomplishments, roads and financials. Looking forward to seeing everyone Thursday, December 7th, 6pm CST via Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84638384952?pwd=4AieHyiuVpHURWJ3JfGPaLaVrQ9JDi.1
Dec 4, 2023
End of Year Summary
Saratoga Hills Board
Notable Events
1. Annual Meeting (Jan) and election
2. Community Gate Hours - Adjusted gate schedule based on community feedback
3. Freeze and Brush Pickup
4. Final builder home sold
5. New Website Launched
6. ACC Guidelines Published
7. Advisory Committee
8. July Special Meeting: CC&R Updates, Special Assessment
9. Road Maintenance
10. Summary of ACC Requests
11. Summary of Violations
The Annual Meeting was held in January 2023. Two seats were up for election, which were voted on and filled by Mark Kritzer (new volunteer) and Justin Jackson (rerun). Rounding out the Board was Steve Frampton. Prior to the January meeting the neighborhood was surveyed regarding the community gate hours. With a vote of 70%, the gate is now open for a two-hour window in the morning and afternoon (on weekdays) to avoid traffic backup during the rush hour. The remainder of each weekday the gate is closed, as well as on weekends.
In February we experienced a record cold with an ice storm. As we all know, there was damage to countless trees on every street and in our park. Volunteers from the community rallied together to drag branches, cut wood, and transport debris to the park, as well as creating large piles throughout the neighborhood. After the Board and neighbors wrestled with a few sub-optimal options for cleanup, Waste Connections (with one of their senior leaders as a neighbor) jumped in to help with the removal of all brush at the park and along each street. Challenging and changing conditions unfortunately resulted in this effort being executed at a loss. The community is extremely grateful for the service provided by Waste Connections – and at last (unofficial) count ~120 homes rely on Waste Connections for their weekly trash service. The tireless work of volunteers with chainsaws, trucks and trailers was certainly a bright spot in our year. The Board would like to give a special SHOUT OUT to Steve Frampton for taking the lead in organizing this tremendous effort. Thank you, Steve!
Springtime saw a new upgraded website that was created and launched which provides clear information available for all – including an archive of all emails sent by the Board. ACC Guidelines have been included on the new website that answer the most frequently asked questions in relation to projects. These guidelines will be updated as necessary. We also had the completion and sale of the last builder-owned house in Saratoga Hills.
In response to community input regarding Board transparency and the request to involve more neighbors in decision making and oversight, the Advisory Committee was formed to assist with these tasks. The role of this new committee is to provide guidance as an extension of the Board. The current members are Maria Mahany, Cindy Minton, Carrie Gregory, Aleks Szymanski and John Newman. The Board would like to say “Thank You” for volunteering.
In July we met to consider a vote on clarifying our CC&R’s, which includes restrictions on commercial activity in the neighborhood, and clarifying that working from home is not considered a violation. A full report on that vote can be viewed HERE, and the details of the changes which were shared in the lead up to the special July meeting can be found in the emails archived HERE. We surveyed the neighborhood prior to the meeting and a full discussion of those findings is HERE. Also, at the meeting we voted, as a Board, on 2024 dues in the amount of $840 per property. Prior to the July meeting, our newest Board member (Mark Kritzer) resigned for personal reasons, which he explained at the opening of the July meeting. To fill the seat, Steve and Justin requested volunteers. We received a couple of communications varying from “if needed I’ll help” to true desired interest. Considering Lorna Brem vs one other candidate that volunteered with interest, we formally voted in Lorna during the meeting. Lorna had recently joined the newly created Advisory Committee but was willing to further commit and serve on the Board. We are very thankful for Lorna’s willingness to step in and have received very positive responses to her joining.
We have one major item to attend to as a community and that is our Roads. We will lay out the background and future here. Our roads are “owned” by the HOA – all of us, collectively – and are the most costly and important asset we have. We have the option to seek handover whereby we transfer our roads to the County, and the County is then “on the hook” for ongoing maintenance - once they are brought to a certain standard. While we have not received an exact analysis from the County (just yet) in our exploratory phase, we do have it on good authority that it would be an estimated $25K to bring the roads to County standards. Our roads, and the increasing cracking, have been a popular topic over the last 18 months, and certainly no Board member is an expert.
Several neighbors stepped forward and formed the Roads Committee, which includes 2 licensed civil engineers. It was determined that these cracks needed attention to help prevent possible further damage caused by “water intrusion” that may freeze again this winter and expand in these cracks – causing further cracking and damaging the road surface and base material. We’ve now completed the first phase of asphalt maintenance, which consisted of crack seal at a cost of ~$15K and was done in October of this year. A full solution – and one recommended widely by experts – will be to “sealcoat” the roads. This is a process that should be done approximately every 5 years to ensure a long life for our roadways. The sealant is more expensive, estimated at approximately $108K. The Board’s recommended approach, however, can accomplish this without any new special assessments. We will discuss more at the meeting and look forward to answering questions, but the summary is that we can take out a capital improvement loan for five years at ~6.5% and seal all roads in the Spring of 2024. The monthly payments for 2024 and beyond will be handled by our reserve funds – already in hand – as well as the planned reserves from our annual dues vs expenses in the years to come. We will present a budget for 2024 as well as a pro-forma lookahead covering the next 10 years. If you are curious as to what sealant looks like, one of our neighbors (who owns one of the four private roads) completed the research and went ahead with sealant recently. See Painted Horse off Riva Ridge.
One of the biggest causes of road damage and failures is heavy commercial traffic. For us, that is having two trash days and two separate trash services meaning twice the heavy traffic each week on almost all roads. As Craig Alford shared earlier this year, the impact of this traffic is substantial. There is little question that moving to one service would be a big benefit to us. We receive a special rate from Waste Connections if you call 512-282-3508 and let them know you live in Saratoga Hills. You pay less, you get great service, and our roads suffer less. We have approximately 30 homes not using Waste Connections by last visual count. To best protect our roads, the Board is interested in a path that gets us to one provider. In addition to trash, we have cement trucks for pool and addition construction, but that is minimal comparatively speaking.
Know that the roads are our single biggest liability as an HOA and are also a topic that many look at and say “what’s wrong with them? They seem ok to me?” – making this one of the least rewarding responsibilities we have. If you have expertise to share, or a better path to getting that expertise, please feel free to reach out.
For more on Roads and the importance of the recommended maintenance:
There’s even an “Asphalt Magazine” (Who knew?) that has an article on the most common distress signs in Asphalt. You can find that article HERE
Financials:
We will end 2023 adding an estimated $29K to our reserves, bringing our total reserves to $51K. Our 2024 budget, anticipating the Roads project payments of $22K (new for 2024) is projected at $163.7K on dues of $134K - meaning we will use the $29K we added in 2023, leaving us with $21K at the end of 2024. We will run through the long-term planning but based on the current prevailing opinion around keeping our roads private (vs handing to the County) we must prepare for these added road expenses – both the periodic seal coats (5-year basis) and the inevitable more expensive road repairs beginning around 2034 at the 20-year mark of our roads. This means raising dues over the next several years – at a minimum the next two years. The longer-term dues needed for roads are certainly debatable, but all roads need work at the 20-30 year mark.
Summary of ACC Request in 2023:
The ACC has processed 37 requests to date in 2023, of which 32 were Approved. For the 5 remaining, 1 was abandoned, 1 was resubmitted with changes, and the remaining 3 were denied without subsequent response.
● The average time from Request to Completion was 10.5 days.
● The max time was 45 days including all back and forth communication.
● 20 of the 37 were completed in under 7 days
Violations:
The Board has sent CC&R violations to two homes in 2023. In addition, 10 homes received a Courtesy Notice for issues ranging from barking dog complaints, to trash cans out and overnight street parking.
The Board would like to acknowledge that Saratoga Hills is a young and continually developing community. We would like to thank each of our neighbors for your trust in us (as a Board) and your continued patience as we navigate through the ever-changing requests and requirements of the community. Constructive input is always welcome and encouraged. You may reach the Board at Board@saratogahillsaustin.com
SH HOA Board
Lorna and Justin
