At and leading up to the original special assessment meeting of October 14, 2004, all the information regarding the assessment was made available to all owners.  This serves as a repeat of that information to bring everyone back up to speed.

Who, What and Why

In 2003, after having received numerous complaints from various parts of the Mews regarding both trees and drainage problems, it became apparent to the board that they were going to have to get some help figuring out how to address the growing number of problems.

This led them ultimately to consult with Valley Crest, the Mews current landscaping contractor, after finding out they had the requisite experts on staff to determine the scope of the issues.  The entire common area of the Mews was walked and every tree and drainage area was examined.

In the meanwhile it was also discovered that long term maintenance of the trees and the potential development of drainage problems in the common grounds were never addressed in the Association long term budget and consequently, no reserve money was ever set aside to address either of these issues.

Putting a Proposal together

Now it was becoming clear to the board that they were dealing with a sizable issue and going to have to make a proposal to the community in order to be able to resolve it.   At the annual meeting in May of 2004 they announced what they were working on and that a special meeting would be announced once they finished getting all pertinent information together.

Over the ensuing months, the proposal from Valley Crest was completed and also expanded to roll in some extras at a reduced rate for having all the work done at once.  Information was gathered regarding the possibility of getting a loan to allow owners the option of paying the assessment over a three year period instead of one lump.  A proxy was drafted to be used as a voting mechanism and finally the special meeting was called for October 14.

In the weeks leading up to the special meeting, the proposal from Valley Crest was made available for review by anyone who was interested (minus the prices, since the bid has not yet been awarded).

October 14, 2004 Special Meeting

On October 14 the entire plan was presented and discussed at the special meeting.  Valley Crest was represented to address specific questions any owners might have regarding any element of the proposal and the nature of the work to be done.  It was made clear that the bid from Valley Crest was necessary in order to be able to determine a ballpark cost to present to the owners, but that once the assessment was approved the bidding process would begin and they might or might not win the bid.  It was also stated that Valley Crest did not charge the Mews for all the work put into the proposal, and would not charge them unless they were not awarded the bid. 

The plan proposed to the community on October 14 was broken down into three tiers to give owners several levels of commitment to choose between.

The proxies collected at and leading up to the October 14^th meeting were not sufficient to reach the quorum requirement of 90 (60% of 150) as stated in the covenants and bylaws.  Since quorum was only narrowly missed, however, the board was able to use the proxies to determine which of the three tiers was most popular with the community.

April 26, 2005 Special Meeting

Legal Council was retained to ensure that the process going forward would be completely in line with the Covenants and By-laws.  A new meeting was convened on April 26^th, 2005 for the purposes of voting on the Special Assessment and an increase in the Annual Assessment. 

New, simplified proxies were drawn up which included only the highest level of Special Assessment from the previous meeting and the Annual Assessment increase.

Through attendance and advance proxies, quorum requirements were met for this meeting.

More than two-thirds of the voters approved the increase in the Annual Assessment.  The Special Assessment fell short of the required two-thirds of voters by 8 votes.

What now?

The challenge facing the new Board of Directors will be to find a way to “Cause the Common Area to be maintained”, one it’s duties as stated in the by-laws, in a way that will be agreeable to as many owners in the Mews as possible.