Bavington Court is a condo complex in the west valley I introduced to you a week ago.
Residents at the complex are currently paying a $275 monthly HOA fee, but were faced with a potential $215 increase during Wednesday night's board meeting
That meeting was a chance for residents to share their concerns and vote against the over $200 monthly increase on their HOA fees.
I asked several residents if they'd be able to pay an increase like that.
"No, it would be pretty tough," said Bavington Court resident Michelle Dembinski.
“I don’t agree with this big jump," said 65-year-old resident John Youngberg.
These are the same feelings of the nearly 200 of the 272 condo owners at the complex who showed up to Wednesday's meeting.
“This is the difference between them eating and starving to death because that’s what they use for their grocery money," said local hospital trauma nurse Nicole Lagrave.
Lagrave's 85-year-old mom lives in the complex. The majority of residents are similar to her mom: seniors.
“Now, can you imagine your grandmother, your father, your mother, these people are on fixed income," Lagrave said.
The increase would bump the monthly HOA fee to $490 per month.
WATCH| I previously spoke with locals and heard their concerns as they fight back against the increase
However, during Wednesday's meeting, enough residents showed up to show their disapproval of the increase, striking it down.
A resident caught a member of the board or representative of the management company saying, "The budget has been rejected, we do have enough signatures.”
That refers to the 51%, or roughly 139 signatures, that were needed to formally reject the fee bump.
However, questions still linger as to what residents will have to pay.
According to budget documents, the $490 monthly fee was broken into two payments. $240 to the monthly assessment and $250 for the special reserve assessment.
The documents show that it would bring in a yearly revenue of $1,599,360, with $596,870 going toward total expenses. That includes management fees, sewer, insurance, pool maintenance and much more.
The rest would go toward the reserve fund, which is at $11,026. Once the money is added, the HOA only estimates it would be 13% fully funded.
While this budget was voted down, a local attorney specializing in HOA law told me that no matter how many signatures the residents obtained, they cannot stop the special assessment.
That means the $250 monthly fee, which could also be paid as one $3,000 payment, would stand.
So, I tried to ask several members on the HOA board or the management company how much these people would have to pay.
They said no comment, and one person even said she couldn't tell me how much the residents will have to pay.
However, one resident captured a member of the board or management company saying, "It'll be what you're paying now, the $275."
But what about the special reserve assessment the lawyer told me cannot be stopped by the signatures? Is it still happening? Well, they won't say.
Channel 13 has reached out to the management company several times via phone and email, but has yet to hear back.
The only message back was from the help email line that sent an automatic message confirming they received it.
If the special reserve assessment still happens, as the attorney says, the monthly payment would be around $467.50.
Many residents left this meeting with so many questions, not knowing what the future would be like.
“I’m very confused," said Youngberg.
Channel 13 will continue to sort through all the confusion as we push for answers. We will make sure to update you with all the latest once we find out.
