Newsletter May 2016

 

Happy Spring to our neighbors in Stonebrook!  My name is Richard Beem and I am serving as HOA president for Stonebrook.  We want to encourage all of you to join our legendary garage sale extravaganza.  We will have new signage for our entrances, newspaper ads and our website announcement for Saturday, May 21st  sale.  Let’s hope for a little better weather than we had last year.  We compliment residents of Stonebrook for the beauty of your homes and gardens.  Some examples of your talents are breathtaking.

Along with the beauty, there are some issues we unfortunately must revisit again.  Homeowners report that trailers can still be seen in front of fences in violation of our covenants and by-laws.  Even owners who rent their homes to others are responsible to comply with our by-laws.  We understand that trailers can be out temporarily while preparing for trips, but driveways or the street in front of your home is not a permanent daily place for your trailers.  Also, poultry of any kind has never been permitted in our by-laws.  We talked about this item at our last annual meeting, but until the by-laws are changed (which I hope they won’t) they are not permitted.  Please make any necessary changes as soon as possible if you are in violation of either of these covenants.

We are subject to city requirements when keeping tees trimmed to the proper height.  There are streets where the city cannot drive their vehicles and others cannot drive their pickups with trailers without risking damage to their paint or equipment.  Trees must be trimmed 15’ above any public street and 8’ above the curb or sidewalk.  They cannot obstruct a stop sign.  If you have any questions, you can call Genene Eddins at the City of Idaho Falls at 612-8479.    Those who do not comply with this requirement risk having the city do the trimming and sending a bill to the homeowner.  Again, the majority of our HOA follows the covenants they made when they chose to live in Stonebrook.  Your homes and yards are in impeccable shape.  Friends and family who have stayed with us complimented our neighborhood as a great place to live.  I agree wholeheartedly, but if you find yourself or your tenants living outside of these simple guidelines, take action as soon as possible.  Also, help keep our neighborhood safe and advise your neighbors and/or police of any strange or unusual occurrences.  I love living here and I think you do also.

Due to term limits, our entire board cannot serve past October 2016.  All of us are busy, but if you have a little time and love our neighborhood, we hope you will run for HOA office or convince other friends to do so.  We will have another newsletter before election time at our August meeting.  Like last year, we will have door hangers to remind you of the meeting.  Last year I enjoyed going around the subdivision to place door hangers.  This provided an opportunity to meet some of you and, as I suspected, you are amazing neighbors.  We are more than an association, we are friends and neighbors, and I have been happy to serve you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Newsletter April 2014

President—Russ Thompson                                        Vice President—Ted Heckathorne

Treasurer—Cindy Garrity                                            Secretary—Carrie Madden

Member—Qun Shi, Sheri Lewis

 **CORRECTION ON CITY OF IDAHO FALLS TREE TRIMMING STATUTE**

TREES AND SHRUBS OVERHANGING PUBLIC PROPERTY: All owners, or persons in control of private real property upon which a street tree or shrub is growing, shall remove or trim, at his or her expense, all limbs or foliage which overhang or project into any public street, sidewalk, alley or easement and which interfere with public travel or use of such public way or easement or which do not satisfy the clear view requirements of Section 4.7 of the City Zoning Ordinance entitled "Clear View of Intersecting Streets and Ways." Street trees and shrubs shall be trimmed from the ground level to at least fifteen feet (15') above any public street, public easement or alley, or to at least eight feet (8') above the curb and sidewalk. (Ord. 2207, 8-8-96); (Ord. 2486, 3-27-03; Ord. 2738, 2-14-08; Ord. 2877, 8-11-11

Newsletter December 2013

The Winter season is upon us and with that, the busy Christmas holiday. Stonebrook is a great place to call home and it is because of you, our neighbors and the care you show to your homes and properties. Thank you for making Stonebrook warm and inviting. I know my children will always remember how our neighborhood looks when the snow is fresh and the Christmas lights are shining bright. On behalf of the Stonebrook homeowner’s board, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

President—Russ Thompson                                       

Vice President—Ted Heckathorne

Treasurer—Cindy Garrity

Secretary—Carrie Madden

Member—Qun Shi, Sheri Lewis

 Tree trimming regulations mandated by the City of Idaho Falls have changed.  Street trees and shrubs shall be trimmed from the ground level to at least 15’ above any public street, public easement or ally, or at least 12’ above the curb and sidewalk.  Homes that are not in compliance will be reported to the City of Idaho Falls.

The city will then hire a contractor to trim the trees according to the regulations and bill the homeowner for the expense.  Please make sure your trees are trimmed for the safety of those walking or riding bikes and so that snow plows, garbage trucks and street sweepers can access our streets and keep them maintained.

 

 As temperatures drop and the weather changes, a reminder to make sure your pets have a warm, dry area to stay if you keep them outside.  Your pets should have an ample amount of food and water as well.  If they are left outside for a length of time,  you can get a heated water bowl to keep their water from freezing up.  

Please be considerate of both your dog and neighbors and don’t leave dogs unattended for long periods of time outside as they sometimes become barkers.  If you have any concerns over an animal’s safety, please call 529-1200 and they will send and Animal Control Officer to check on it.

 

 

 

Stonebrook HOA Annual Meeting 2013

Stonebrook Homeowners Annual Meeting

7:00 – 8:00 PM Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Taylorview Middle School Auditorium 

Agenda:

·       Projects: entry way sprinkler systems, website

·       Financial report

·       Housing Market

·       City Council report

·       Board Member Nominations

·       Open discussion

 

 

Visit our website: http://stonebrookowners.com

President Letter February 20, 2013

February 20, 2013

To Members of the Board of the Stonebrook HOA:

My name is Lisa Moss.  I have lived in Stonebrook for over a decade and have a Bachelors Degree in Accounting.  I passed the CPA exam and have 18 years experience working with various businesses to help them run better and more efficiently. 

Vic & Sue Jacobsen asked me to meet with them briefly about the HOA and write my recommendations to them in an email.  I recommend the following:

First and foremost, I want the HOA to be treated as a business.  I think Board Member’s time should be spent on important decisions and issues.  I want predictable, routine tasks to be handled by others that we all, collectively, pay.  I think the accounting information should be input into Quickbooks and not kept on an Excel spreadsheet.  The accounting records should be kept in a consistent and accurate way.

Second, I recommend we hire an accountant to handle the following duties:

  • Produce and send annual bills to HOA members

  • Track payments and follow established collection procedures if no payment is received (including filing liens if necessary)

  • Annually update addresses from county records

  • Pay bills and give to President/Treasurer for signature

  • Send annual newsletter

  • Send standard covenant violation letters if board deems necessary

  • Present quarterly financial reports at Board Meeting

  • Check mail weekly

  • Answer calls/respond to requests from homeowners or title companies as needed

  • File an annual tax return

Third, I recommend we only allow the President and Treasurer to sign checks.  The person we hire should not have any access to our cash/savings accounts.  I recommend the bank send a copy of each monthly statement to the President and the accounting hire.

Cost info:  I asked Kendra Moncur who is an accountant at a small accounting firm downtown (JF Bell) to give us a basic bid of cost.  Her firm handles a number of water districts which she assumes would be similar.  She would guess it would be $200/250 month.  I also talked to Brandi Newton who has roughly my same experience and educational level.  She estimated an individual would be willing to do the work for around $50 - $75 hour.  (If we estimate an hour a week, I think it would cost about the same).  I estimate it will take about 10 hours to sort out the records and set up the HOA in Quickbooks.  I think it would take about an hour a week onging.  (However, it is difficult to estimate until you dive into the process)

 I appreciate the time you, as a Board Member, give to our Homeowners Association.  I want to keep you all from burning out in your service and being overwhelmed by small things that others could handle.  I think other homeowners are willing to pay their fair share of costs incurred to run this HOA.  We all benefit from a happy board and a beautiful sub division.       

I’m planning to come to the next board meeting on March 6 to discuss this letter.  If you have any questions, you can email me.

Thanks!

Lisa Moss