Woodmoor Improvement Association, Jan. 27 and 29 – Annual meeting and reorganization

Annual meeting
Accomplishments, goals, and awards
Board reorganization
Administrative motions
WIA and area developments
Residents’ questions and comments

By Jackie Burhans

The Woodmoor Improvement Association (WIA) board met on Jan. 27 for its annual meeting to elect new board members, review 2024 accomplishments, state 2025 goals, and recognize good neighbors. The board met on Jan. 29 to certify the election, reorganize its positions, and approve operational procedures. The regular February meeting was held on the 26th, after the deadline for Our Community News, and will be reported in next month’s issue.

Annual meeting

President Brian Bush covered the presentation available on the WIA website at http://bit.ly/wia-2025-annual. Bush confirmed that a quorum was achieved via residents returning their ballots and noted that the board had saved over $2,100 by not providing postage-paid envelopes and $1,000 by having staff count the votes. Bush reviewed the rules of conduct for the meeting, which he summarized as “Be respectful, civil, and concise.”

Bush noted that WIA comprises 3,196 homes and nine sub-homeowners associations (HOAs). When the Northbay development comes online, it will increase that number to 10. Information about upcoming developments in Woodmoor is at https://woodmoor.org/woodmoor-developments/. Most sub-HOAs run their own affairs and have their own dues, but residents still pay WIA dues. WIA has different relationships with different HOAs; one of them is a metro district, and WIA enforces covenants on its behalf. Some sub-associations are at the bottom of the WIA home page at https://woodmoor.org/. View the WIA map and boundaries at https://woodmoor.org/wia-map-and-boundaries/.

Bush reviewed the mission of WIA to perform covenant enforcement and architectural control, maintain and improve common areas, and provide public safety. He also noted that WIA monitors issues in surrounding areas that may affect its residents. Contrary to media reports on other HOAs, Bush emphasized that WIA does not foreclose on properties, enforce ridiculous covenants, and fail to work with residents on reasonable solutions, nor does it have rigid and unchanging rules and regulations. However, he said, the board cannot change the covenants without a 66% vote of lot owners. He noted that the board had recently altered the fence rules and increased the number of cars allowed to park on the property outside of a garage.

Noting that board positions are unpaid, he introduced the 2024 board members and WIA staff, many of whom are longtime employees. He said that Cindy Thrush and Sue Leggerio were not running for re-election to the board.

The WIA dues for 2024 have increased by $8.50 to $299 annually after considering the impact of inflation on salaries and the cost of improvements. The top three sources of income were dues, new construction fees, and Barn rentals. The top expenses other than payroll were common area improvements and forestry maintenance. Bush commended the WIA and WPS staff for holding expenses under budget. Bush said the reserve fund is well-funded to pay for expected replacements of vehicles, benches, windows, and flooring. In 2025, WIA will replace office windows to save energy and replace one WPS vehicle with a Toyota RAV4 hybrid.

WPS services include immediate officer response, vacation checks, crime prevention, traffic control, 24/7 patrols, and interagency support and communication. WPS can communicate directly with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Department, and both Monument and Palmer Lake Police Departments over an 800 MHz radio system. All WPS personnel wear body cameras and record all incidents. In 2024, WPS had 13,427 on-duty hours, drove 65,800 miles, completed 13,106 vacation checks, responded to 772 calls for service, and more. WPS received $19,080 in donations for vacation checks.

Bush reminded residents that in 2023, the El Paso Board of County Commissioners had decided only to plow Priority 3 roads when snow depths reach 6 inches, which creates hazardous driving conditions; he noted that by law, WIA can’t plow county roads.

The top covenant violations are barking dogs and trailers or recreational vehicles left too long in resident parking lots. There were 744 total covenant items, which resulted in 44 violations. Bush’s pet peeve is residents leaving their trashcans out after pickup. He noted that there are mandatory hearings for open fire or fireworks violations, which carry a $5,000 fine. Bush said that residents had invested around $1.3 million collectively on fire mitigation, including fuel removal and replacing shake roofs or wood siding.

Accomplishments, goals, and awards

In 2024 WIA:

Received and fully executed a noxious weed grant from the state of Colorado.
Continued to work with D38 on the Safe Routes to School project.
Held four chipping days over two weekends that were free to residents.
Put in a small parking lot at the Meadows.
Put up a snow fence at Toboggan Hill to keep kids out of the trees.
Eradicated prairie dogs in the South Woodmoor Preserve.
For 2025 goals, WIA will:
Seek additional grant funding for fire mitigation.
Continue to develop trails in common areas.
Continuing to digitize WIA files.
Continuing Woodmoor Public Safety (WPS) patrols and assistance.

The top architectural projects were roof repairs or replacements, followed by house painting. There were 554 total projects (down from 595), of which 99.8% were approved by the Architectural Control Committee (ACC) or office staff.

Common area improvements included mitigating 350 cubic yards of dead trees and scrub oak, mowing, and removing noxious weeds. WIA performed weekly maintenance of pet waste stations, trails, and drainage in the common areas. In 2025, it intends to install the remaining benches and four pet waste stations in The Preserve.

The Good Neighbor award went to Matt Allner, Ryan Thomas, and David Steinberg for helping neighbors clear snow from driveways and streets after large storms. Winners received a $50 Home Depot gift card.

Board reorganization

At the Jan. 29 meeting, Bush reviewed the certified election results, in which he was re-elected and board members Jason Hann and Jennifer Davis were elected. The board directors were elected to the following roles:

Brian Bush, president, re-elected
Peter Bille, vice president
Pete Giusti, treasurer
Steve Cutler, Common Areas
Rick DePaiva, secretary and Community Outreach
Brad Gleason, Public Safety
Ed Miller, Architectural Control
Jennifer Davis, Covenant Control, newly elected
Jason Hann, Forestry, newly elected

Administrative motions

The board appointed Bush, Bille, Giusti, and DePaiva as authorized signers on its financial accounts.
The board voted unanimously to meet on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7 p/m. The November and December meetings will be moved earlier due to the holidays. All meetings are held at The Barn.
The board set its covenant hearing dates for the second Thursday of each month at 6:15 p.m. when needed.
The board set its ACC meetings for the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. except for December, when there is only one meeting. The board appointed the 2025 ACC committee members.
The board authorized the ACC administrator to approve certain miscellaneous projects, handle compliance fee refunds up to $500, and handle routine change orders for all projects without prior ACC approval.
The board authorized the director of Forestry to review and approve tree removal requests and Firewise lot evaluations. The board appointed Forestry committee members for 2024.

WIA and area developments

WIA is a member of the Northern El Paso County Coalition of Community Organizations (NEPCO) which tracks new developments. WIA:

Continues to monitor the proposed development called Monument Ridge East.
Sent a letter to Palmer Lake leaders opposing the Buc-ee’s annexation request.
Approved governing documents for the 44-unit Waterside development north of The Barn which included an easement restricting construction on land between The Barn and Lake Woodmoor.
Amended covenants of the development just north of the YMCA where the new Monument Fire station will be located.

Bush noted that Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District agreed to buy three lots on the east side of the lake from the Waterside developer to ensure that they would not be developed.

For more information on NEPCO, see http://www.nepco.org;; for more information on development projects in Woodmoor, see https://woodmoor.org/woodmoor-developments/.

Residents’ questions and comments

Following the annual and reorganization meetings, residents had questions about changing covenants, their interest in keeping chicks, plans for adding more trails in The Preserve, the availability of water for Buc-ee’s and Monument Ridge West, and the need for fire mitigation.

Bush noted that covenants require a vote of two-thirds of property owners and were intentionally made difficult to change. He said the request to allow chickens comes up from time to time, but for everyone who wants them, many more do not. To call a vote on covenants would cost $6,000 to $10,000.

Regarding trails in The Preserve, Bush said that any promises not documented in the deed could not be guaranteed. WIA has done most of what was required by the deed, but the board had to look at what is in all WIA property owners’ best interests. That said, Bush invited the residents to bring their requests to the board and staff for consideration.

Regarding water availability for Monument Ridge East, Bush noted that its provider will be WWSD. It must pay supplemental water and tap fees and put in all of the infrastructure, which will then be conveyed to WWSD. Bush said Buc-ee’s situation is different, noting that Monument Sanitation District would provide wastewater service. Both the Town of Monument and WWSD declined water service, so Buc-ee’s is now looking to annex Palmer Lake. Bush suggested that concerned residents get involved with local groups opposing the annexation.

A resident raised an issue about a neighbor shooting squirrels with a BB gun on the resident’s property. They were told that the WPS chief and the covenant control administrator would investigate it again as a possible nuisance violation and bring their findings to the board.

At the Jan. 29 meeting, a resident expressed concern about the community’s lack of effort in fire mitigation. He suggested that the board and the people of Woodmoor get behind a major league program such as Firewise to prepare for a major fire. Bush said as long as he had been on the board, fire has been seen as the biggest threat to the community, which was the reason for restrictive rules and regulations and large fines.

He reminded the resident of WIA’s spending and accomplishments on chipping and mitigation. The board provides resources, encouragement, and support but cannot force people to use them. With the costs of mitigation increasing, the board has to find a balance, said newly elected Forestry Director Jason Hann, who volunteered to discuss offline what could be done to engage residents in the effort. The board made available a document on Wildfire safety online at https://woodmoor.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Wildfire-Safety-Home-Hardening-Guide.pdf.

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The WIA Board of Directors usually meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month in The Barn at 1691 Woodmoor Drive, Monument. The next meeting will be on March 26. The WIA calendar can be found at www.woodmoor.org/wia-calendar/. Once approved and posted, the WIA board meeting minutes can be found at www.woodmoor.org/meeting-minutes/.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.