Thanks to the Neighbors Pitching In

Thanks to Eric and Karen Davis for carrying over to the common area the nice bark they had left over. It was so needed where they put it.

Also, thanks to Justin Fullmer for filling in around the trees in one of our common areas with stone. There is a good size area that he filled in and surely that was an expense for him. He also waters half the common area and Sparks do the other half. Thanks to you too!

Thanks to Scott Hawker and the Colemans for pitching in to water a vacant home's dying grass!

Notice the nice realignment of the gates the last couple of months? Neighbor Gene Marcum lent his expertise to have the gates repaired and realigned. Metalwork is his specialty and the excellent work shows. Kudos!

Playground On Hold

The Suncrest Design Review Board has disallowed our plan as posted and has mainly based this on the requirement that we use equipment that is of a commercial grade, rather than "backyard grade" or consumer grade, as we had planned. Our assertion that our plan was viable was twofold: based on our insurance company who did not require this for coverage and the city who did not require any approvals since our lands are private property. We had hoped we would be approved based on this information however this was not the case. Stay tuned for updates as there are volunteers looking into pricing and availability for various kinds of commercial equipment, both new and used.

Postponement of July 9th Meeting

Hello,

We do not have our SunCrest decision on the Corner Lot Playground as we had hoped today, so we will postpone the meeting until we do. After all this is the main issue right now. Stay tuned for updates.

Thanks for your patience!

Snow Bill

We are still paying for Old Man Winter, who cost us quite a huge sum this year; $5210.23 is still owed to Prosecutive for snow removal. We are paying this off from general funds and reserves over time.

Assessment Arrears

Some of your neighbors have not been paying dues and it has added up to a tremendous amount. Total amount of past due collections as of June 30th is $7,837.00 We currently have 7 homeowners that have quit paying. One lien is filed and this week six more will be filed and collection letters sent warning that foreclosure and lawsuit will occur 30 days after lien is placed. This will enable the Board to report to credit bureaus through collection agencies and attach assets to collect.

If you are past due it would be wise to contact the Treasurer to make arrangements or pay your bill in full.

If you are past due you may not use the common areas and you may not vote.

IF YOU WANT TO USE A CREDIT CARD GO TO http://www.paypal.com/ AND PAY TO
coveatoakvista@gmail.com.

IMPORTANT - BOARD COMMUNICATIONS

In order for us all to keep communications open, organized, and duly recorded please use ONLY the address:


coveatoakvista@gmail.com



to communicate with Board to avoid long and arduous threads or missed e-mails. You may specify attention or other matter however all members access this e-mail.


PLEASE DO NOT USE PERSONAL EMAILS ANY LONGER.


If you are interested in supplying your e-mail address for updates please send it is to this address and we will copy you on relevant communications.


Thank you.

Budget and Information About the Playground, etc.

INSURANCE:
There is no extra insurance rider, it is a proposed addendum to the policy where a simple box is checked. The insurance company has already stated that the playground is fully covered and the rep told us that there were no specifications or restrictions. The City stated it is private property and akin to a backyard not requiring public specs. (If it were we would qualify for a 503c4 non profit and we are not. See Property Tax post.) SunCrest has also confirmed this. A certificate stating all details of this proposed insurance is supplied here, above.


BUDGET:
As several of you have asked, please note that a final budget has not yet been ascertained for the playground. The recent corner lot design has been presented for SunCrest approval. At that time we will establish a firm budget depending on whether homeowners will be donating time and fence materials, trees, etc. Nothing is hidden, the playset was $1601 including tax and from there we will see.


COSTS:
Thus far we have discussed that Darren would handle the dig for the mulch area, move the boulder, sprinkler adjustments, and pile the dirt for the berm. Volunteers can plant Aspen trees and plants that we get at WalMart for $6 each. Volunteers may also be used to dig posts with a rented auger or shovels and cement the posts in place.


MORE DONATIONS = LESS WORK:
If the donations, all of which have not yet come in, are sufficient to have Darren handle all of the work so be it. Otherwise there are folks who look forward to volunteering.


GENERAL FUNDS:
Some funds can come from the general funds for a picnic table and some of the trees if needed as these are general improvements. Please stay tuned as the budget will be shared as soon as one is fully developed. $300 a year after we saved $1000 on insurance is still a good deal and is planned as a part of the homeowners fees.


OLDER KIDS:
Signs can be posted to prevent older kids from using. Older kids in our neighborhood are not interested in playgrounds anyway -- they like World of Warcraft and X Box Live. If there is vandalism the insurance covers this. There will be picnic tables there and at the pavillion for folks of all ages -- teen and adults and children -- to congregate, and the proposed Aspen trees the play area will eventually provide dappled shade in the day.


SAFETY:
Lots of trees, raised berm with plantings, fence with corral gate, tables, and moms should deter kids from running out. Swings and slides aim to the sides where treed berm is, and there is 30 feet of distance to the curb, all blocked. A Caution sign at curve should deter speeders. We do have extremely low volume traffic. Currently the Pavillion where the children congregate is closer to the street than the proposed playset area. Furthermore the children walk on the sidewalks all the time. The waterfall is where they like to play now. The waterfall is more dangerous than a playset in every way yet we have not filled that in. A designated play area will give the children a safer and fun alternative. It would be an attractive and useful private Cove amenity.


CHANGE TO PLANS:
The concerns coming from the cutting of trees idea can be put to rest as that idea has been cancelled. The tape was merely to see the idea within the space. The vote about whether or not to cut trees is also cancelled. It was all just up for discussion and nothing was being done. The Board met with the Design Review July 7th evening to discuss the playground placement. Every possible location was considered with pros and cons weighed, the Board voted on the Corner Lot as the easiest spot. We were trying to answer the concerns about cutting trees and whether it was appropriate to even consider it. No secrets were kept and all will be presented at the meeting July 9th. Meetings of the Design Board are not required to have homeowners present but those who were coincidentally there were shown all materials openly.


PURVIEW:
The maintenance and design of common areas is under the purview of the Neighborhood Design Review Board and the Board, and no homeowner vote is required for the Board to take action on the park.


EXISTING SUNCREST AMENITIES:
The SunCrest playground is across a busy street, and is more for toddlers. A private amenity for the Cove is a plus for the neighborhood and superior to the "tot lot" at the Information Center and does not require leaving our private street, preferable to walking across Traverse Ridge Road.


NOT AN ADULTS ONLY COMMUNITY:
This is not a Retirement or Adults-Only community so those who oppose family-oriented amenities may wish to rethink their objections. Those with young families will enjoy this amenity and those who are retired may enjoy having their grandchildren play in our new playground.


PRIVATE YARDS:
No one yard is of a size or grade to accommodate a playset of this quality or magnitude in this neighborhood. Pooled resources make for a great community.


SALE OF COMMON AREA
A homeowner had an interest and approached the Board about this however no action was taken, voted on or even considered except as informal discussion. If this were ever considered it would require a homeowner vote and 67% of the owners would have to agree. Any owner in arrears loses his vote which would reduce the number of votes required. Should this ever come up formally the Board would notify all owners in writing as per the CC and Rs.

Board Meeting at the Pavillion

8:00 PM July 9th, see you there. Be sure to have your statements prepared as homeowners will be alloted from two to five minutes each andthis will be strictly adhered to. Thank you.

Property Taxes for the Cove Common Areas and Slopes

We sent a Spring newsletter out on 4/22/08 with the May bills. It talked about the amount of property tax owed. Here are more details and information for those of you who would like to know what is being done.

The Board has discovered that the previous Management Company never paid any of our property taxes. Combine that with the change to the county line from half Salt Lake County to All Utah County in 2006, incorrect addresses on file and there has been an accrual of $11,917.13 including all taxes and penalties.

At the time of the handover in December 2005 to the HOA Alpine informed the new Board of this and documents were given. Alpine Homes had been paying the taxes before. The county line was changed and Managment Companies were changed and no one followed up. Community, our last Management Company is run by a CPA however among other improprieties this was not handled. Apparently, and unbeknownst to us, property tax is quite standard for common areas.

All possible measures have been researched to avoid this: Filing a non-profit 501c3 or c4 exemption status are not options since we are neither a benvolent charitable group nor do we operate for the public good, only our own private owners. So we are indeed liable for property tax.

Amy discovered the unpaid taxes after a small bill was forwarded to us by the first Management Company to Community who sent it to us long after we had fired them. This raised a red flag so we got to work. By going parcel by parcel through our plat maps Amy finally researched all the lots and Robin worked with the County Attorney and SunCrest to find out how to handle this.

Some of the land is being taxed at an improper rate, that is, assessed as residential use when it is a steep slope, and so forth. So we have to first appeal all parcels to the Utah Tax Assessor to be rated differently and correctly at a lower rate. We must present photographic evidence and plat maps to prove our case. We also need to ask if this can be retroactively adjusted for this error.

Once the tax basis is adjusted the appeal must then be made to the Utah Property Tax Attorney's office for a waiver of fees and penalties due to the breach of fiduciary by CPA who used to represent us, the previous Management Company and/or adjusted for change to tax basis.

Once they have rendered a decision the amount remaining will need to be either set up on a long term payment plan which can come out of general operating funds or it will be specially asessed to all the homeowners as a one time assessment at the discretion of the Board.

This Board is working to handle this matter promptly and will inform the owners a soon as resolution has been reached. It is our goal to have this handled by September 2008.

Great News on the Playground!

The Board has reviewed lots of ideas and plans and have taken all the homeowners ideas seriously. Thanks for all your input!

Here is a diagram of the new playground on the corner lot with the rock, that would be installed after SunCrest approval. It is out right now for their review. The rock anchors a large berm of earth that will hold trees and keep the kids in.

We will be taking a poll walking the neighborhood to see if you all have any more valuable ideas. Or e-mail us at coveatoakvista@gmail.com.

Our GRATITUDE to all those who donated the money being used to pay for this. PLEASE REMEMBER - IT WAS ALL DONATED!

We hope to have this done in the next few weeks to give our kids a great place to play for years to come.

Playground

This terrific set was ordered from Costco. Paid for by a resident until we have donations to reimburse. The cost was $2000.00 and we had a $500 coupon we used. So the full cost including shipping and taxes was $1601.00.

The yearly additional insurance costs will be $300.00 a year for the playground. Again remember we saved us $1000.00 year by switching our insurance company. This is the ONLY thing being paid by homeowner fees. I will contact the insurance company after holidays to get the actual coverages for you.

Other costs depend on the communities input and help. We need the location prepared, what will be placed under the playground-grass, sand, bark, rubber bark. What kind of boarder to keep all that in. We will continue to do more research to see what is else would be needed.

So far we have about 12 homes that wish to donate between $250-$500.

Loaded with FUN play activities:
Huge 24 square foot covered fort with easy access ladder
Commercial grade, two-tone vinyl canopy
4’x4’ look-out tower with easy-access wood ladder and adjoining 3’ bridge providing access to main fort
Large sandbox under tower
Over-sized rock-wall with scaling rope
Large 360-degree tire swing with soft, safety-grip coated chains
TWO 10’ long wave slides
3 adjustable heavy-duty belt swings with soft, safety-grip coated chains
Jacob’s rope ladder with wood rungs
Plastic captain’s wheel
Telescope
Other Features:
Premium materials and components
Southern Yellow Pine Construction is 2x stronger than Cedar.
Safe, environmentally friendly Prowood® Micro preservative provides superior protection against termites and rot/decay.
Pre-stained with Micro ShadesTM for exceptional fade resistance and less maintenance
WoodguardTM plastic coated 4x4 wood posts provide the strength of wood with the maintenance-free durability of plastic. Woodguard™ resists splintering, twisting and cracking. The dark green color provides an attractive accent to the factory cedar tone stain
Commercial-grade hardware with premium coating for superior rust resistance