Street Lights – All street light upgrades have been completed, including some rework needed on lights that had to have their photo cells replaced to prevent them from staying on all the time. At this point, there is no additional planned street light work for the remainder of 2020; the HOA Board will determine if the poles will need to be repainted at some point in 2021.

Note: The use of the term Special Assessment to describe the costs associated with the street light project was used incorrectly. Per the law firm representing the HOA, these costs should have been conveyed to residents as a one time dues increase to cover needed maintenance on an existing asset. Thereby, they are not subject to a ballot and voting procedures as described in Section 9.4 of the Restrictions & Bylaws.

Mailboxes – Based on feedback from residents and the law firm representing the HOA, it has been determined that a proxy ballot will need to be issued and voting completed prior to this work starting. Per the Restrictions & Bylaws, we will require 2/3 of residents to approve the proposal before the mailbox replacement project can move forward.

Dues Collections – Thank you to all residents who have submitted their dues for 2020; it enabled the HOA Board to complete the street light project, start our landscaping/pond services and build a reserve for unforeseen expenses that could arise in the future. As a result of the dues collection and start of planned 2020 expenses, a new version of our 2020 budget has been prepared and adopted by the HOA Board. Residents can view the new version here.

Fountains – 2 of the 3 fountains in the retention pond along Boettler Road are not currently on and are being worked on by Water X Scapes. At this time, we do not have an ETA on when the repairs will be completed due to parts needing to be ordered.

Resident Meetings – The resident meeting scheduled for June 16th will be postponed or held virtually. More information on this will be provided to residents once a final decision is made.

The street light upgrades have been completed on Kenway Blvd, Larabee Circle, Dalby Circle, Montford Circle and Somerby Circle. The next phase will complete the development with Springbury Drive, Brigantine Ave and Mornington Circle. There’s no timeline on the remaining work, but it should be completed before the end of April.

The mailbox replacement project will require a ballot/voting procedure from all residents. In order for this project to move forward, the HOA Board will require a vote of 2/3 of all residents (lot owners). An outline of the project and associated costs, along with a ballot/proxy voting form, will be distributed to all residents over the next several weeks. This project wasn’t planned to start until the spring/summer time frame, so if passed, it will continue along the original timeline.

The HOA Board voted to increase annual dues to $200/lot owned, effective January 1, 2020, at the last public meeting held in November 2019. This represents the first increase in dues since the incorporation of Spring Hill in 2005. Operating costs, primarily driven by landscaping of the common areas, maintaining the retention pond and street light maintenance were the main drivers in this decision.

As a means to further reduce costs, the HOA Board also solicited quotes/proposals for landscaping services – deciding to NOT renew our contract with Brothers Grimm Landscaping for the 2020 season and move on to another provider. Any resident who was using Brothers Grimm for mowing, or other landscaping services, will no longer be eligible for the 10% HOA discount.

A financial summary from 2017-2019, including proposed Q1 2020 expenses is located here.

The HOA’s Projected 2020 Operating Budget is located here.

In addition to the dues increase, the HOA Board also voted to move forward with two capital projects in 2020 – upgrading of all street lights and replacement of all mailboxes. As a means to offset a portion of the costs associated with these two projects, two one-time special assessments will be added to each lot owner’s 2020 Dues Invoice totaling $230.00. This, combined with the annual dues increase, will total $460/lot owned and will be due across two equal payments by March 31 and May 31 respectively.

All street lights throughout Spring Hill will be upgraded to an LED lamp with a new clear glass shade and photo-eye. The combination of these three upgrades will ensure all street lights have a consistent brightness, appearance and on/off time. In addition, the move to LED lamps will lower the overall cost to operate the lights, which is paid for by the City of Green and reclaimed from all residents via an assessment on property taxes. If interested, all street lights on Larabee Circle have already been upgraded to the new setup.

All mailboxes throughout Spring Hill will be replaced with an all vinyl, maintenance free model which includes the post and box. Per restrictions, we will be keeping the same all white look that is in place today. In addition to the new posts and boxes, all dual mailboxes will be split and moved closer to residents’ driveways per USPS guidelines for distance and height. The cost to replace all mailboxes includes the new post/box, installation with concrete base and removal/disposal of the old posts and boxes. Note: If you chose to put any landscaping around your mailbox, this will NOT be replaced by the contractor completing the project. All residents will be responsible for any additional work and costs associated with replacing or removing landscaping in these areas.