Side Streets ~ Neighborhood people and issues

Archive for the 'complaints' Tag

PIKES PEAK REGION LEADS STATE IN HOA COMPLAINTS

January 27th, 2012, 1:15 pm by

Hello, neighbor!

Time again for one of my favorite topics: homeowners associations, or HOAs.

The HOA Information Office and Resource Center just released a year-long study of Colorado’s HOAs. Results are not pretty.

The HOA office fielded 3,053 inquiries, of which 478 were complaints.

Guess what area produced the highest number of complaints.

The Pikes Peak region, of course, with 21 percent of all complaints!

Are we a bunch of whiners, or what?

Not really, says Aaron Acker, the Colorado HOA Information Officer.

“We started with the presumption we’d get a lot of ticky-tack complaints,” Acker said. “We were wrong. Most of the issues were major ones.”

Complaints like HOA boards and managers hiding financial and governing documents.

“Transparency is a big issue,” Acker said. “Homeowners trying to get information are getting significant blow-back from their management companies or HOA boards.”

Aaron Acker, Colorado HOA Information Officer, spoke to a group of Pikes Peak region property managers and HOA board members on Feb. 15, 2011.

“People want to know what’s going on with their money. And HOA boards have a legal obligation to produce records at the behest of members. But we’re seeing a lot of complaints about them not responding, producing incomplete records, fighting requests or charging very high fees for documents.”

Access to HOA board meetings came up often in Acker’s study, as did failure to listen to homeowners — whether by property managers or HOA boards.

“These are pretty major issues, in my estimation,” Acker said.

Acker and his office were created by the 2010 Colorado General Assembly.

Upon opening the office last January, Acker was told to find and register all Colorado HOAs.

 (I used that abbreviation to describe single family resident neighborhoods, condo and townhome associations, voluntary improvement associations, property owners associations.)

So far, he has registered 8,037 asssociations, representing 838,211 homes, condos and townhome units and 2 million residents.

Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region are grouped in the South Central category, which has 661 registered HOAs. That’s about 8.2 percent of all HOAs registered. In other words, that 8.2 percent accounted for 21 percent of all complaints!

 (Industry experts believe upwards of 25 percent of Colorado HOAs remain unregistered.)

Acker said he hopes HOAs will use his findings as a wakeup call to reform how they interact with homeowners.

Lawmakers are digging into the data, as well, and likely will use it to decide whether it’s time to license property managers or give Acker greater power to police HOAs. Stay tuned!

Here is a link to a column and blog I wrote recently about the issue of licensing property managers.

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MANITOU RESIDENTS TELL CHAIN SAW ARTIST TO BUZZ OFF

January 26th, 2011, 1:46 pm by

What is happening to Manitou Springs?

I know it has nice new sidewalks, curbs and gutters.

And rubber tomahawks are giving way to shops devoted to olive oil.

And beautiful lofts and townhomes are replacing creekside shacks.

But you can’t run a chain saw along Manitou Avenue anytime you want anymore?

Say it ain’t so!

Bill Fee, owner of the Nature of Things Chainsaw Art gallery, said neighbors are trying to ruin his business by making him muffle his saws.

But it is so, says Bill Fee. He says Hippy Mayberry, home to fruitcake-tossing, coffin-racing, drum-beating, live-and-let live folks is no longer welcoming his art.

He faces a Feb. 28 deadline to meet strict noise guidelines or he risks losing the business license for his Nature of Things Chainsaw Art  gallery.

The Nature of Things Chainsaw Art gallery on Manitou Avenue in Manitou Springs.

Here’s a look at Fee in his shop.

Bill Fee uses a propane torch to add color to a carving of a bison in his Nature of Things Chainsaw Art gallery as his shop cat, Taboo, wanders along.

Fee said one neighbors is responsible for the attack on his business. He said Thomas Lundgren is rallying other neighbors to complain to City Hall.

Lundgren doesn’t deny it. He’s outraged Fee has been allowed to create an “open-air manufacturing process” on the site. He notes Fee has several apprentice carvers who keep saws running daily.

He describes it as “heavy industry” not art. It’s loud, dirty and not compatible with the commercial zone where it exists or near homes like his, which is about 500 feet away, Lundgren said.

Visible beyond the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce, through the trees, is the home of Thomas Lundgren, who organized neighbors to demand City Hall enforce noise and nuisance laws against Bill Fee and his Nature of Things Chainsaw Art gallery. Neighbors say Fee often ran chainsaws seven days a week, well into the evenings, and made the peaceful enjoyment of their homes impossible.

Here’s a letter Lundgren wrote explaining his position.

Fee said he’s complied with every request of neighbors and the city to reduce his noise. He 0nly saws 10-5, Monday through Friday. No more weekends or holidays.

He has moved his sawing operation to the side of his building, behind a wall and huge bales of hay and underneath a tent he constructed to muffle the noise.

Bill Fee explains all the steps he's taken to muffle the noise of his chain saws to appease neighbors upset about the buzzing and whining.

Bill Fee has erected a tent beside his building, built walls, stacked bales of hay and used foam to muffle the noise of his chain saw carving.

Several neighbors I spoke to say they are happy with the changes Fee has made. La Rita Mason and Lucy Mills, among others, said they don’t want his business jeopardized. As long as he sticks with the Monday through Friday, 10-5 schedule, they are satisfied.

Other neighbors, including Ken Healey and Janice Montoya at the Briarhurst Manor, praise Fee for everything he’s done to accomodate their business. For years, Fee has shut down his saws when they are having weddings or other events. All it took was a phone call, Montoya said, to quiet the saws so guests could enjoy a romantic dinner on the patio.

Dan Folke, city planner, said he has no choice but enforce noise standards in the face of neighbor complaints.

Fee said he has to carve — put on a show — to attract customers. And he can’t do his job with small, electric-powered saws. They just don’t cut it.

Here’s a video of Fee’s gallery and here’s another video of him in action.

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SATELLITE HOTEL HOA LOSING ORBIT

January 16th, 2011, 12:01 pm by

The homeowners association that runs the Satellite Hotel is locked in an ugly battle for control of the 14-story hotel/condo hybrid.

Three officers of the board, including president Margaret Thomas, accuse board member Hayward Rigano of using threats and bullying tactics as he tries to win control of the nine-member board.

They even wrote a letter to their fellow board members in November asking them to censure Rigano, citing a list of complaints from employees, vendors and residents of the building.

Rigano denies ever threatening anyone.

He said the old guard on the board is not qualified to run the building and incapable of making proper business decisions.

The two sides don’t even agree on the issues between them. Is it the 40-year-old heating system that needs major repairs? Or the HOA dues? Or the attempt to cap the number of condos that can be rental units?

Maybe it’s the alleged after-hours sex parties in the building’s restaurant. Or is it the under-performing hotel operation?

Rigano insists he is a peaceful Christian who never threatened anyone. But he admits his year on the board has been stormy as he educates them about the proper way to run the HOA.

His main issue is the hotel operation. When the Satellite opened in 1969, it was the closest hotel to the Colorado Springs Airport. Not anymore. Today it’s 76 hotel rooms sit mostly vacant, leaving little work for the housekeeping and round-the-clock front desk staff.

He said the HOA subsidizes the hotel operation at a cost of $250,000 a year.

Rigano wants to convert those rooms into 35 new condos to be sold with the profits used by the HOA for expensive maintenance.

But Thomas is adamant Rigano is out of control in his dealings with people. She said she is afraid of him. Afraid for her life, even.

She said he berates board members, staff and vendors. She accuses him of bullying and threats.

Elections next month may resolve the issue. Rigano hopes to solidify his majority and gain greater control over the board.

Here’s are some different views of the Satellite from Google Earth and FlashEarth.com.

It sits on the eastern edge of Valley Hi Golf Course.

A closer view shows the tennis courts and swimming pool for owners and hotel guests.

Residents of the Satellite enjoy fabulous views of the mountains and the surrounding city.

Here’s a nice story former Gazette columnist Rich Tosches wrote about the Satellite Hotel in 2004.

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