Frequently Asked
Questions of Your
Mission Bay Homeowners Association
WHY DOESN'T THE CITY MAINTAIN THE PARK AREA IN BACK OF THE CRESCENT LANDING TOWNHOMES?
The city park was a requirement by the city at the time of platting of Phase I. The city initially did the maintenance, but because it was so far out for the city personnel to come and mow, there were sometimes two weeks between mowing and the area was left in a mess. They would not clean up the old grass and it continually look unkempt. Because it was affecting the appearance of our Community, and the homeowners were very upset, Mission Bay agreed to do the mowing if the city would supply the water.
WE PAY CITY TAXES. WHY CAN’T THE CITY MAINTAIN OUR STREETS?
When the Phases of Mission Bay were developed away from Eagle and Hawk Drives, the City of Polson did not want to be responsible for the maintenance of our side streets. It was the decision of the developer and the city to make the side streets narrower and with some curves to reduce the speed of cars within the subdivision. The only way the city might take back these streets is if they were widened to meet city standards( at our expense) and petitioned for them to take them over. The City is responsible for maintaining Eagle and Hawk Drives.
WHY DO WE NEED THE SPECIAL ASSESSMENT THIS YEAR WHEN ACCORDING TO THE BANK MBHOA HAS $ 130,000 IN ITS RESERVE ACCOUNT IN THE BANK?
As of the year-end of 2010, MBHOA had over $132,000 shown in the Reserve Accounts. However,over $84,000 of that belongs to the homeowners of the sub-associations of which there are seven. The Preserve has it own Reserve Account. The homeowners of each of those associations pay additional dues each quarter to build their Reserve Accounts to meet current and future needs. Each sub-association operates differently. Each of the associations decide as a group who will perform their maintenance work such as: grass mowing and maintenance, plant maintenance, snow removal, and painting and maintenance of the outside of their units. Each sub-association pays their watering and irrigation bills.
As shown on the year- end statements, the Master Association had a Reserve Account of $18.436 and the Community Center Reserve Account had a balance of $29,495.
We need to build up our Community Center and Master Reserve Accounts. Our Center is a little over 9 years old and we will be facing some major expenses in the next five to twenty years. Replacing the roof, painting the building, painting and repairing fences, etc. will not be cheap. No homeowner wants to receive a bill for several hundreds or thousands of dollars to replace a roof or the many other items that will have to be repaired or replaced. It should also be kept in mind that potential buyers will be very interested in our Reserve accounts. They will not want to pay for something we did not plan for yet have continued to have available for our use.
Another reason for special assessments of $60 last year and $46 this year, is that not only Northwest Holdings but several private homeowners have not been able to paid their dues due to the economic conditions. This lack of income was allowed for in the budgeting process in 2010 and for 2011. During both of these years it was projected that we would not be receiving any payments from Northwest Holdings and none from approximately 12 private homeowners. ( There are liens on all these properties)
In 2010 Northwest Holdings sold some property enabling them to pay us $7,274 in back dues for Mission Bay Master Association and Community Center, $2,568 in back dues for the Preserve Master Association and Community Center.. In addition they paid $ 5,000 on their back rent. By re-negotiating their rental agreement at the end of 2010 we also received an additional $1,000 in rent for 2010 and for the 2011 fiscal year they have already paid their re-negotiated rent of $6,000. ( more concerning the re-negotiated rent later)
IS NORTHWEST HOLDINGS (DENNIS DUTY AND TIM HINERMAN) LISTED AS THE GUARANTORS ON OUR COMMUNITY CENTER LOAN?
The loan on the our Community was originally done in 2002 with the Mission Bay Homeowner’s Association as the borrower. First Interstate Bank requested that the developer, Northwest Holdings, L.LC .be an additional guarantor until the association was stable and the developer had sold the majority of the property. Northwest Holdings, L.L.C. agreed to those terms in 2002. When the interest rates declined in 2007, the Steering Committee explored refinancing trying to secure a lower interest rate. First Interstate Bank again had the best terms and a new loan was put into place. First Interstate Bank agreed that when the developer owned less than 10% of the lots, they would no longer be an additional guarantor. Northwest Holdings, l. L.C. now owns less than 10% of the lots and has been released of that obligation by the bank.
WHAT AUTHORITY DID THE STEERING COMMITTEE HAVE IN APPROVING THE REPAIR OF OUR SIGN AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE AND RE-NEGOTATING THE NEW RENTAL AGREEMENT WITH MISSION BAY REALTY WITHOUT THE VOTE OF ALL MEMBERS?
The Steering Committee Members are elected by the property owners of Mission Bay. The MBHOA Steering Committee has the financial responsibility for maintaining this community in the highest quality possible taking into consideration the financial conditions of the Association..
A decision was made in a timely manner to restore the entrance sign to our community. It had been blown down by wind and needed some major repairs as a result. The sign belongs to the Mission Bay and Preserve Associations. It is the “signature” of our communities and is important not only to attract potential buyers but to give members and guests an attractive entrance. Two bids were submitted and the lower bid was accepted. The sign was not covered under our insurance policy, but since has been added to our property policy.
The rent for the space occupied by Mission Bay Realty was negotiated when Dennis informed the Steering Committee that it would be necessary for them to move out of our building as they no longer wanted to build up the monies they owed our Association. They had been offered space downtown for free. Since our Community Center has not been approved as Commercial Property, as well as being stated in our by-laws, only the Developer can rent the space in our building. Thus, the Steering Committee decided it would be in the best interest of the Association to negotiate a lower rent. An agreement of $500 per month was reached beginning with Nov. 2010, and, in addition space would be provided for the manager. The rent has been paid in full for the last 2 months of 2010 and for the 12 months of 2011. The Steering Committee also felt it was in the best interest of our community, in addition of receiving $7,000, to keep Mission Bay Realty in our building so they are available to sell property when the market opens up providing them with the opportunity to pay the monies owed us in dues and rent. A simple rental agreement has been signed and is on file in the office. The Steering Committee is exploring a more comprehensive agreement.
The Steering Committee has created an ad hoc committee chaired by Wayne Finney to explore potential uses of the facility once NWH no longer rents the space.
(It should be noted here that the Association had nothing to do with the of rent NHW had been paying in the past. That $2,400 per month was set by NWH and was well above the going rate in this area at the time. They choose to pay this amount to assist our Association in meeting financial obligations until more homeowners belonged to the Association and the Association had the monies to assume full responsibility for its expenses.)
In anticipation of reducing our dependency on Northwest Holdings, the Steering Committee in 2008 started taking action by transferring $12,000 rental income from our Operating Expense Account to our Reserve Account.
The new negotiated rent is fair to both parties and is well within what is being paid for the same square footage in this area.
WHY DO WE NEED A RESERVE STUDY AND WHAT IS INCLUDED IN A RESERVE STUDY?
The need to a Reserve Study came out of our 2009 Steering Committee planning session. Not only is an updated Reserve Study required by a Homeowners Associations in many states, many lenders require one in order to obtain a loan on a property. We do anticipate that Montana will enact this requirement in the very near future. In a facility of our size, and with all our assets, it could cost from $10,000 to $25,000 to have this type of study completed by an outside firm. The Steering Committee assigned this task to our manager to work on during the winter months. It also requires input from our accountant Kari, Dennis and involvement by all members of the Steering Committee. It is a big undertaking and critical so that we as homeowners know just how much money we need in our Reserve Accounts to cover future needs.
The Reserve Study when completed, will include every single asset of our Association. It will list all major clubhouse items ( roof, siding, bathroom fixtures, kitchen appliances, heating/air-conditioning units, furniture, carpeting, wall hangings to name a few. In addition we have the pool, hot tub, coverings, tennis court, fences, signs, gazebos, docks, roads, irrigation and well systems, etc. A lifetime expectancy will be attached to each asset with an approximate replacement cost along with an estimated inflation rate build in. Then the MBHOA reserves will be designated ( by year needed) towards each of the various areas in preparation for future repairs and replacements. Since we have to rely on getting some information from contractors and suppliers for cost data, we are not in absolute control of the timing of getting this data. It is our goal however to have a draft report presented at the June General Meeting and the completed Study available for review at the December General Meeting.
WHAT ACTION WILL BE TAKEN IF A HOMEOWNER DECIDES NOT TO PAY THE $46 SPECIAL ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDED BY THE STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND THEN APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRCTORS AN THE JUNE GENERAL MEETING?
The policy is the same as for past due accounts. After two quarters of nonpayment of dues (regular or special) club house privileges are withheld and the lien process is implemented.
This page was last updated: February 22, 2012
