Dear EH Residents,
As you are aware, it’s tax time, and Emerald Heights has to file a tax return just like everyone else. Historically, our CPA has always filed a one pager return called an 1120-H, that is used by HOAs. This is easy for the CPA to file, but can cost us more in taxes. Towards the end of last year the board decided to switch CPAs and we asked our new CPA to consider filing an 1120 instead of an 1120-H. The result of this change was that we saved the community $11 kin taxes. This is because the 1120-H has a 30% flat tax on all income, whereas the 1120 has a graduated tax rate that starts at 15%, so with our income this resulted in a big savings.
Our last board meeting was pretty jam packed. Here are a few things that are going on:
- We are looking at making some changes to the tot lot, by updating the ground cover around the play equipment, and replacing the spring rider and seesaw. The board will be meeting with a playground contractor in the coming weeks to figure out the project details and make some final decisions.
- We decided to add two more cameras to our security system to cover some areas of concern where we currently have gaps in our camera coverage.
- We have been discussing, off and on, for the last few years if it would make sense to convert our cell tower leases to long term easements for a lump sum payment (aka sell our leases), given the fact that we have lost two of our leases over the last 3 years. At the last board meeting, we agreed that we would solicit bids for the leases and then see if it would make financial sense after we see the bids.
- The board accepted a proposal for a new street sweeper service. They will be coming up here on a quarterly basis and cost less money than our previous service.
- There is a deck drain near the spa that has tree roots growing in it. The board authorized the proposal for the repairs, which is going to include cutting out a section of the concrete and then patching things up afterwards.
In my last message I talked about parking enforcement. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to read it. The board agreed to make one change to our enforcement procedures. The change that we made is that going forward guards will be instructed not to call for tows on Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday where the EH office is closed. The rationale behind that, is that if you get a ticket on those days and it was because you couldn’t get a parking pass, or some other issue, then you should have an opportunity to resolve it with the office, before your car gets towed. Keep in mind, cars will still get ticketed, but if the ticket results in a 4th violation, and it’s on a day the office is closed, you won’t get towed. This does not apply to violations that are immediate tows such as parking in a red zone or blocking an ingress/egress to a home or common area (this includes your own driveway). We have had a lot of tows because people have parked in front of a driveway, and that will still continue to be enforced, even when the office is closed.
We found out that Geoff, our daytime security guard and lead is moving to a different position within Securitas and will be leaving us. Going forward Alexis will be taking over as the lead, and Securitas will be finding us a replacement guard
That’s all for now.
Steve Palmer,
EH President