09-24-2018 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCILMEETING Monday, September 10, 2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 11. ORONO OAKS PRIVATE ROAD MAINTENANCE — Continued The process, as outlined in the homeowners' association's covenants, allows the City to hold a public hearing to discuss the issue and to define the procedures to get the deficiency corrected. If the deficiency is not corrected by the HOA within 30 days, the City can correct the deficiencies and bill the HOA. If the HOA does not pay the bill, the City may assess the residents. Staff recommends the HOA and Council agree upon a procedure to repair the culvert and hole in the pavement as soon as possible. Walsh stated Option A is pretty clear. Walsh asked what managing the vegetation in the right-of-way would entail. Edwards stated the main issue is the partially excavated roadway where the culvert is, which is addressed in Option A. The other issues raised are not necessarily a safety concern but a maintenance issue. There is vegetation that is in the right-of-way and encroaching upon the paved traveled portion of the roadway. Approximately one-third of the way down the roadway there is potholing and there appears there were temporary repairs taken by someone as there was Class 5 gravel placed in several of the potholes. Mayor Walsh opened the public hearing at 7:12 p.m. Ronald Esau, 1230 Orono Oaks Drive, stated he is here tonight representing the homeowners' association. Esau indicated they have contracted with a contractor to complete the project and the contractor guarantees the culvert work will be accomplished by October 15. Esau noted the homeowners' association originated in 1978 when the development went in and included 13 lots but is now down to 12 following the Highway 12 project. Most of the newer homeowners were not aware of the existence of the homeowners' association since it has been dormant since 2003, but recently some of the residents began to examine ways to move forward and were able to locate documents relating to the HOA. Esau stated they then went back to the State of Minnesota and got the corporation reinstated in 2017 as well as elected a new board in November of 2017. Esau stated the HOA's declaration and bylaws are kind of archaic, are pretty cumbersome, and really protect individual interests. The process as defined by the declaration and bylaws is that the residents have to have an assessment during November of each year, and then if there is an assessment later on, it is considered a special assessment. A special assessment requires a unanimous vote by all lot owners, which therein lies the difficulty. Esau stated the project initially got started without funding and had to be stopped because the funds were not available. Since that time the residents have organized themselves in such a fashion so that they are holding board meetings on a regular basis. Esau stated they have not been able to get 100 percent agreement on the special assessment but that eight of the nine lot owners have contributed funds voluntarily to get the project done. In addition to the culvert repair, the HOA is seeking bids on the pothole repair, which will be followed by the vegetation issue being addressed hopefully this winter. Esau commented it has been a long, tough process to regenerate the homeowners' association and that one of their goals is to update the bylaws. Currently everything must be done by mail, which also needs to be modernized. Page 3 of 9