Summary
The October 30, 2025 board packet covers the regular fall meeting held at Aurelio’s Pizza in Winfield, IL. The packet includes three months of financial statements (July, August, and September 2025), an August 2025 and October 2025 CS&R status letter, a management report, the proposed 2026 operating budget, three Hey & Associates proposals for 2026–2028 natural areas management, three competing Pizzo & Associates proposals for the same scope, one A&A approval, and a violation report covering the period July 10–October 23, 2025.
Financial highlights show the HOA tracking well ahead of budget on net income through September 2025 (YTD combined net income $41,318.57). The proposed 2026 budget holds assessments flat at $68,374 ($352.65/lot, same as 2025), explicitly adds cost-share income as a budget line ($5,801.17), increases the landscape contract line to $18,784 to reflect the Fisher Burton 2026 rate, and nearly doubles the Lake/Pond line to $15,900 to accommodate the planned prescribed burn and Hey & Associates renewal. State Farm insurance was confirmed renewed on August 15, 2025 at $3,766.
The CS&R letters document a significant collection development: D’Antoni (247 Heritage Woods Drive) paid in full and the case was dismissed in July 2025. Ghatalah (264 Heritage Woods Drive) had an eviction order entered July 10 for $3,866.32, with the order of possession expiring October 10. Pietanza (252 Laurel Lane) had a Motion to Reinstate scheduled for October 23, suggesting possible payment plan default. Five new collection accounts were opened in August–September 2025: Annoreno (385 Post Oak Circle), Bugay (241 Post Oak Circle), Canizal (218 Heritage Woods Drive), Little (353 Hemlock Lane), and Patel G/N (367 Hemlock Lane).
The major new business item is the prescribed burn and natural areas management for 2026–2028. Hey & Associates submitted three proposals totaling $37,800 for all three basin areas. Pizzo & Associates submitted competing proposals totaling approximately $140,327 — significantly more expensive but with substantially broader scope (especially for the North basin, which includes tree/brush clearing, native seeding, and erosion control). No vendor selection was recorded in this packet.
Key Provisions
- 2026 assessment confirmed flat: Budget line $68,374 = same as 2025 → $352.65/lot unchanged
- 2026 reserve contribution: $7,799 (unchanged; reserve study-recommended increase of $11,100 deferred to 2027 budget cycle)
- Cost-share income budgeted for first time: $5,801.17 explicit line item in 2026 income
- Lake/Pond budget: $15,900 (up from $9,000; reflects prescribed burn + Hey renewal)
- Electric budget: $400 (down from $1,100; confirms North basin aeration no longer drawing power)
- Management contract: API self-renewing; 2026 rate budgeted at $15,872 (up from $15,262)
- State Farm insurance: Renewed 8/15/2025 at $3,766
- D’Antoni collection: Closed July 2025 — paid in full, case dismissed
- Ghatalah eviction order: $3,866.32 entered 7/10/2025; possession order expires 10/10/2025
- Pietanza: Payment plan $300/month through 6/29/26; Motion to Reinstate filed for 10/23/25
- Kazmi: No movement since settlement agreement sent 4/17/2025
- Five new collection accounts: Annoreno, Bugay, Canizal, Little, Patel G/N (Aug–Sep 2025)
- Hey & Associates 2026–2028 proposals: Three areas — HOA basin $15,500 + North cost-share $8,300 + South cost-share $14,000 = $37,800 total
- Pizzo & Associates proposals: Competing firm — HOA basin $37,980 + South $38,320 + North $64,026.75 ≈ $140,327 total; much broader scope
- A&A approval: 328 Post Oak Circle (solar panels) — 9/18/2025
- Violation report: 14 first-warning violations (7/11/2025); maintenance and trash types; one fence height complaint
Topics Covered
hoa-annual-finances, assessment-structure, assessment-collection-policy, vendor-contracts, alterations-and-additions-process, violations-and-fines, cost-share-arrangement
Notable Details
- The CD 3330-2 (maturity 11/2/2024) shows the same balance ($55,904.62) across August and September 2025 balance sheets, suggesting it was reinvested but the balance grew minimally — consistent with it being a CD that accumulates interest. Worth monitoring when the November 2024 CD maturity and reinvestment are confirmed.
- The 2026 budget includes $1,500 for “Repair & Maintenance Chargeback” income and $3,832 for “Other Income” — both are projected recoveries, not guaranteed.
- Pizzo Proposal #9957 (South basin) shows “Included Accepted” notations next to stewardship and site preparation line items — it is unclear from the document whether these items were already contracted or if this is template formatting. No formal acceptance was recorded in any ingested meeting minutes.
- The violation report includes a fence height complaint at [Address redacted] (345 Heritage Woods Drive — note: this is a violation/compliance context; address redacted per policy) — the first recorded fence height enforcement action in ingested sources.
- Jennifer Nissen (API) issued all 14 violations in this report, consistent with her role as community association manager per the newsletter/communications history.
- Resale activity: 3 home sales recorded in this packet period at $623,500, $535,000, and $595,000 — suggesting strong property values in the subdivision.