I urge all Elkhorn owners to become informed of these proposals and make their opinions known to the board.
Larry Gullickson is a property owner in Elkhorn.
By LARRY GULLICKSON
Many Elkhorn property owners were surprised last week at the annual Elkhorn Association meeting when the Sun Valley Elkhorn Association board unveiled a multimillion-dollar plan to rebuild and improve the Harker Center. The project would be financed by both depleting the capital reserves and levying a special assessment to all property owners of approximately $2,000, according to the board.
Some owners believe improvements to Elkhorn amenities will enhance their property values. Others, including those adjacent to the Harker Center, could be negatively impacted by increased traffic, noise and litter. An architect has been hired and a builder chosen without a competitive bidding process, an area of con-cern by some meeting attendees.
This plan left homeowners with additional con-cerns. First, the assessment would be paid equally by all owners. This means a person who bought a small condo for $75,000 years ago, and who may be on a fixed income, would pay the same assessment as a neighbor who owns a $10 million home. It's a fact that some meeting attendees found unsettling. Second, depleting the capital reserves means that a catastrophic event such as a roof failure of a building could not be paid for without additional assessments and dues increases. Third, the actual total cost of the project is unknown.
The Elkhorn Association board has also solicited proxies and approvals for a number of bylaw changes that meeting attendees questioned. While many of the changes are reasonable and necessary, a few are inter-esting.
In the past, most bylaws could only be amended with a two-thirds vote of all owners, and that assumes the original founders wanted much power to remain in the hands of the property owners. The board just passed by proxy an amendment stating that bylaws can be amended with a two-thirds vote of the board with no input by the owners. This is not uncommon in some organizations, but it is certainly not customary. Elk-horn owners are urged to become informed before simply giving an open proxy to the board in the future.
As points of information, there are currently 1,600 property owners in Elkhorn. The association has a budget of about $1 million per year, according to the treasurer. Of that, about $450,000 is paid for staff sala-ries and benefits. The board recently increased annual dues by more than 20 percent to $630 per property.
I urge all Elkhorn owners to become informed of these proposals and make their opinions known to the board. Whether you believe that Elkhorn amenities add value to you, or that the Elkhorn Association is redundant and that its functions could be handled by the city of Sun Valley, now is the time to become in-volved.
