Above: Intermittently, for a time, boards informed owners of association finances Newsletter 2008 excerpt is an example of earlier board willingness to communicate with owners. The boards of 2019-2021 prefer not to do so. https://tinyurl.com/BLMH2021
Life and observations in a HOA in the Briarcliffe Subdivision of Wheaton Illinois
Best if viewed on a PC
"Briarcliffe Lakes Manor Homes" and "Briarcliffe Lakes Homeowners Association"
Updated Surplus Numbers
Updated Surplus Numbers: Actual surplus 2018 per audit was $85,163. Boards 2011-2018 implemented policies and procedures with specific goals: stabilize owner fees, achieve maintenance objectives and achieve annual budget surpluses. Any surplus was retained by the association. The board elected in fall 2018 decided to increase owner fees, even in view of a large potential surplus
Average fees prior to 2019
Average fees per owner prior to 2019: RED indicates the consequences had boards continued the fee policies prior to 2010, BLUE indicates actual fees. These moderated when better policies and financial controls were put in place by boards
Better budgeting could have resulted in lower fees
Better budgeting could have resulted in lower fees: RED line = actual fees enacted by boards, BLUE line = alternate, fees, ultimately lower with same association income lower had boards used better financial controls and focused on long term fee stability
It is fall and the NOAA has released the temperature and moisture predictions for winter. The Midwest has a change of more moisture than usual.
"October 19, 2017 Forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released the U.S. Winter Outlook today, with La Nina potentially emerging for the second year in a row as the biggest wildcard in how this year’s winter will shape up. La Nina has a 55- to 65-percent chance of developing before winter sets in." -- NOAA
Our association is sending owners the "Winter Tips" as part of the newsletter, which will be issued to residents and offsite owners in a week or so. The updated version will also be posted on the official BLMH website.
Our HOA election was, well, in a word, a "disaster".
What do I mean? Fewer than 20 percent of the owners voted, and about 10% attended the annual meeting. So we now have only four duly elected board members in a HOA of 336 owners. That's a 1.2% participation rate.
Even more indicative was the annual budget meeting. That's the meeting during which the board, with management assistance, arrives at a budget for the next 12 months. This requires balancing Operations & Maintenance, and reserve requirements with fees. The result is the determination of fees for the next year.
So how many owners attended this really critical meeting? We had four board members to do the work, because the owners couldn't be bothered with the mundane chore of voting. Then we had three former board members in the audience. Yes, you did read that correctly. Seven people attended this critical meeting and all were either current or former board members.
Wow, it must be wonderful to live in La-La Land.
When this HOA is like Cook County, then the owners will come out of the woodwork and complain. "You reap what you sow" is the biblical expression.
During the budget meeting one owner raised the potential issues of electric cars on the property and the recommendation for the HOA to invest in electric metering stations. Recently a long term owner complained about the problems facing ducks on the property.
Yep, we do have to have our priorities. As long as there are schleppers like me to do the bidding of these spoiled brats, nothing will change. Our longest serving board member used to state "we walked the grounds [32 acres] and picked up trash". Yep that's what is wanted and needed. Servants.
When the proverbial "shit hits the fan" then the owners will show up and complain and state "How could this happen?" How indeed.
Monday morning October 16: The level of Lake 4 is falling and is now about 4 inches below yesterday's high water point. At 9:41pm on the 14th I received a broadcast email from a neighbor to the south about the situation. I responded at 11:55am Sunday morning with an update and a link to this blog post. "Here’s current conditions including Wheaton lakes 3& 4 and COD pond 9". On Sunday the rain had stopped, but the lake level was increasing. It does take some time for these chained ponds to stabilize after the rain ceases. Water flows throughout the watershed downhill from pond A to 1, then 2, then 3 and finally to 4. As this occurs the level of lake 4 continues to increase, even if the downours are over. Lake 4 is at the bottom of this chain and is also fed by Glen Ellyn/COD's Hoddinott marsh, Pond 9 and GE's storm sewers. I'm not sure everyone understands that. I did not get a reply from Crystal. Not really surprised. 5:00PM Situation Update, October 15: The level of Lake 4 has risen about 1-1/2 inches in the last six hours. Lake 4 has not overtopped. Water continues to flow from Lake 3 to Lake 4 above ground and also via the underground storm pipe. The level of Lake 3 has fallen about 2 inches. Lake 4 levels won't decrease until the flow from Lake 3 and COD decrease. Observation: We usually have at least one board member monitoring extreme events in the neighborhood such as this one. I saw several dog owners walking their pet and a jogger while doing my tasks. None are on the board, of course and some don't live at BLMH. I beat my 60 minute exercise goal for the day by 21 minutes. Simply by walking a good portion of 32 acres several times today. I'm sure there are those who would say "I'm fortunate". But then I had people telling me in my 52nd year in the work force that "I was fortunate I could work".
11:30am COD Pond & Wheaton Lake conditions, October 15: Currently there is water flowing from Glen Ellyn's College of Dupage Pond 9 into Wheaton's Lake 4. The water level upstream in Lake 3 is such that there is water flowing above ground from Lake 3 to Lake 4. The water level in Lake 4 seems to be slowly rising with less than a half-inch increase in the past hour and a half. If this continues and the rate of rise remains constant, it could be expected for the lake level to rise about 2 inches by 5pm today. That's not a prediction as rain or upstream events can impact this. The level of Lake 4 cannot decrease until the inflows from Glen Ellyn, COD and Wheaton's Lake 3 decrease below Lake 4's outflow. It is a race. Original post 11:50 am October 15:
Flood Warning October 14:
We got flood warning messages on our Verizon cellphones last night at about 10:00pm. Really liked the pop-up message. We knew it was a gusher as there was crazy downpour.
Rain Gage:
A nearby electronic rain gauge registered 6.375 inches as of about 9:30am. The good news is the sun has come out and it appears this storm is over. Here's a NWS estimate for the area:
NWS 24-hour estimated rainfall Oct 14, 2017
Lake and COD Pond conditions, 9:30am:
G and I walked the lakes this morning. COD's pond 9 has overtopped and is flowing into the Hoddinott marsh, and also into Wheaton's Lake 4. Wheaton's Lake 3 level has exceeded the height of the discharge basin, and water is currently exiting the basin and is flowing downstream above ground and into Lake 4. This is in addition to the underground storm sewer which connects Lake 3 to Lake 4.
The positive is Lake 4 has a ways to go before it overtops, but the lake levels is now above the overflow. It is going to be a race. Will the outflow of Lake 4 be sufficient before the Hoddinott water level reaches the lowest point of the berm, in Glen Ellyn and then flows into Wheaton? A decrease in the flow of water from COD's Pond 9 and Wheaton's Lake 3 will be necessary to avoid overtopping Lake 4. I'll be monitoring conditions throughout the day and will provide a blog update. Current Weather Conditions:
NWS Today: A chance of showers before 11am, then patchy drizzle between 11am and noon. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 54 by 4pm. Breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
