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Update from the Board of Directors
Published: September 10, 2024
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HeritageTrails Homeowners update from your governing body
On Wednesday August 4th we attempted to hold ourannual general meeting. In accordance with our governing documents, we arerequired to have a quorum of 50 members present at this meeting. As we only had25 members present, we had to postpone this meeting till October 7th.
Reserve Study:
Last year the board engaged GlobalSolutions to map out the financial future for the community. They identified along list of future expenses we need to budget for. To cover this, we need toput away some money each year. We areprojected to be a little behind in the savings total needed by the end of 2024.Having a decent HOA reserve is important when valuing your condo or townhomehome for resale.
Finances:
2023: We ended the year with a deficitof income over expenses of $9,113. This was mainly due to the massive increasein our insurance bill.
2024: Year to date we are running at a deficit of$45,219. This number is however skewed as we have paid our annual insurancepremium $328,936 in August so will not have that expense for the rest of theyear. We expect a surplus by the end of the year. However, the surplus will beless than what is needed to be transferred to our reserve account. The reasonfor not having a bigger surplus is due to the landscaping issues detailedbelow.
2025. We have detailed our highlevel 2025 budget below. As you allknow, inflation has been a reality of our lives for as long as I can remember. Theboard has decided on a minimal $15.00 increase in HOA fees for 2025 making thefees from 1 January 2025 $315.00 per month. This is the smallest increase wecould justify while still fulfilling our fiduciary responsibilities. Thedeficit will result in smaller reserves than required.
| | Annual | Per homeowner per month |
| Income | $945,000.00 | $315.00 |
| Expenses | | |
| Administration | $27,000.00 | $9.00 |
| Insurance and taxes | $350,000.00 | $116.67 |
| Landscaping | $250,000.00 | $83.33 |
| Repairs | $22,000.00 | $7.33 |
| Pool | $30,000.00 | $10.00 |
| Utilities | $22,000.00 | $7.33 |
| Reserves required | $258,000.00 | $86.00 |
| Total expenses | $959,000. 00 | $319.67 |
| Deficit (reduced reserves) | $14, 000.00 | $4.67 |
New Board Members:
During the year our former President,Susan Baldwin, and another member, Mark Gardner moved. We thus have 2 vacancieson the board. These vacancies need to be filled at our upcoming AGM.
Landscaping:
In March this year we changedlandscapers to Landcare Management Services.I think we can all see the improved results.
2024 has been challenging in thelandscaping department. Huffines and the 2 builders did not leave us in a goodcondition. There were 2 irrigation controllers not connected to a water source,about 15 sprinkler heads on the wrong side of the fence near the railroad,leaks, the solar charges for 2 of the controllers not working, storm waterdrains buried over a foot below ground with all the irrigation plumbing builton top of drains. The list goes on. There are also problems with erosion, wetspots, and the small irrigation controllers on the Historymaker homes. Thereare dead trees around the neighborhood, which will be replaced this month.
The committee has attempted toprioritize the issues and tackle the most urgent ones first. We are alsoconducting a small experiment with the decomposed granite areas behind the Historymakerhomes to try to find the best long-term solution. By the end of this year, wewill have spent in excess of $80,000 to rectify issues and still have a longway to go.
The board also believes Huffinesand or Gehan owe us nearly $60,000 for tree replacement. Each blames the other.We have asked for attorney advice on starting a lawsuit. However, starting suchan action will require consent from 168 homeowners. We will update you when weknow more.
Land dedication to the City of Lewisville:
During the design phase of thesubdivision, a portion of the land was meant to be deeded over to the city asgreen space. This was not done before the current board took over themanagement of the community. Huffines and the City approached the board to deedover the land to the city. The board does not have the authority to do thiswithout the approval of 168 Homeowners. They originally wanted a larger sectionof land than we were prepared to give but we have agreed to a compromise.Essentially it is all the wetlands on our northern border. It makes financialsense from our perspective as we will no longer be required to maintain thisarea thus saving future costs. Additionally, the illegal dumping which hastaken place on Lamar Drive near McGee Lane will not be our issue.
Dogs:
People are still not picking upafter your dog. This seems more prevalent with owners of small dogs but is notlimited to them. Please help us to keep our community clean.
Property Management:
The board has decided that witheffect 1 November 2024 we will be changing property management companies from LegacySouthwest to Real Manage. Your cooperation with this transition process wouldbe greatly appreciated.
The board would like to thankLegacy SW for all they have done over the last 3 plus years.
Dave Hobson, President. Desiree Johnson, Secretary. Alexander St.Cyr, Treasurer.
National night outOctober 1st from 6 to 8 pm. Sliders willbe provided. BYOB
Regards, Your Board of Directors
Click here to download and read the HOA Update Sept 2024
