President’s Comments December 2016 Board Meeting

By Tom Sopko – RRA Board President

1. The Board and the Association wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, and a Happy New Year.

2. The RomeRock Association is a Homeowners Association. The members of RomeRock Association consist of the owners of real property within the Roaming Rock Shores Subdivision along with their spouses and others approved for membership in accordance with the Association’s By-Laws.

“Homeowner’s associations (HOA) are formed by planned communities with single-family homes or multiple unit or condominiums. An HOA is typically established to make and enforce rules regarding the properties within the jurisdiction. Most HOAs are incorporated and are subject to state laws. The association has a board of directors that are elected to enforce and oversee the HOA governing documents.”*

* (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hoa.asp?lgl=no-infinite)

3. At the November 2016 Joint meeting with the Council for the Village of Roaming Shores, it was questioned whether RomeRock Association has been “double dipping” on the road fees. This has upset a number of Members, which I can understand.  However, I would like to clarify that the Association is not double dipping.
   1. A majority of the roads in the Roaming Rock Shores Subdivision are private roads owned and maintained by the Association. All properties in the Subdivision and their owners are charged a road assessment as part of being an HOA. The road assessment is used to pay for all of the roads owned and maintained by the Association. .  As property owners in the Village and County, we all pay taxes for which some of it goes to the County and some the Village, and eventually some is allocated to roads.
   2. We all pay taxes to maintain County or Village roads that we do not live on or use. We all pay a proportionate share of the costs to maintain all of the Association’s properties and facilities, including the roads and the lake, regardless of the extent we use them as they are all equally available for the use and enjoyment of the members and they help to enhance the value of all properties that are part of the Association.
   3. Dues and Assessments are part of being a member of a homeowners association. The dues/assessments are paid whether a Member use facilities (such as roads, pools, volley ball court, etc.) or not.  The costs of the facilities available to all members are apportioned by lot and membership as it is simply not reasonable or realistic to apportion costs based on quantity of use. As Members, we all pay a proportionate share of the cost of all facilities and not just those we choose to use or not use.

4. The action item from the Joint Village – Association Meeting of November 10, 2016 is to form a Committee to review the monetary payment by the Village to the Association for maintaining Village Roads. The Association remains ready for that meeting.

5. The Board wants to express their sympathies to the John Ball Family for their loss.