Rules of Responsibility

HOA Responsibilities

We want to clarify some of our business procedures, functions, and activities. Many of you do not attend our HOA meetings, so we want to make sure you know more about our primary office rules, objectives and expectations.

Meetings
We have HOA meetings at the New China Buffet at 7 p.m. every first Friday in March and every first Friday in October. All homeowners are welcome to come. In the meeting we provide minutes of the last meeting, our yearly expense report, and a budget proposal for the year. In addition, we provide time on the agenda for open discussions on any relevant topic that someone would like to bring forth.

Collecting Dues
The association dues are $10 monthly and are billed $60 in January and $60 in July, which totals to $120 for the year. We accept personal checks and money orders which can be mailed to our mailing address. Some prefer to setup autopay through there bank. You can view your account and pay with a debit or credit card online. To enable and register, send your email to our email located below, or on your statement and request access. You will be sent an invite link via email.

We recently added an account status box on your statement. There are now five account status classifications.

1. Credit - A negative balance means you have a credit.

2. Current – Your balance is between $60 and $120.

3. Delinquent – Your balance is greater than $120 but less than $240

4. Lien on Property – Your balance is greater than $240. (2 years behind)
   NOTE: We charge your account $50 for filing a lien on the property, and another $50 for removing a lien, and an additional $50 may be added if we must update any information on the lien.

5. Sent to Collection – A balance greater than $120 is also subject to collections. After we have exhausted all known methods to collect back dues we will send a notice to the homeowner that the account will go to collections.
   NOTE: This means if the balance is not paid by the deadline a 30% charge will be added to the account and our collection agency will collect any back dues. An additional 10% late fee or other expenses we incur during the process may be added to the amount owed by the homeowner.

Lake and Common Area Maintenance
Dues are primarily used for mowing services, tree trimming, cutting pampas grass, brush removal and to maintain sidewalks and structures on the lake and common areas. A smaller amount goes toward operating expenses such as paper, printer ink, envelopes, postage, security cameras, trash service and lights around the lake.

Homeowner Responsibilities

As a homeowner and member of the Orchard Park Lake Estates Homeowner Association, or renter of property within the neighborhood of our association, it is the responsibility of each of us to act to support and to abide by the “Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions applicable to the Properties recorded in the Office of Register of Deeds, Sedgwick County, Kansas”, that apply to our neighborhood.

We understand that financial hardships present difficulties, however, the unusual delay of basic mowing, trimming, property maintenance, and/or unusual delay of removal of trash or similar debris that may present a public health issue are not a responsibility any of us are permitted to ignore. The conditions of unsightly properties cause direct and negative financial impacts on the prospective home sales for all individuals in all parts of this association neighborhood and result in reduced property values. Each dwelling represents a considerable investment by each homeowner.

As the overseeing organization, we are obligated to take measures to mitigate any infractions before filing a complaint with the Code Enforcement office. We will use MABCD City of Wichita ordinance guidelines (City Codes) as our ruler. Our actions are in the form of letters to remind homeowners they may be in violation of any city or county ordinance. In our view, there are three levels of severity. Those levels or mitigating steps are defined as follows:

Severity Level 1 - Low

A homeowner will receive a notice from us if the yard needs mowed and edged, trees and bushed need trimmed or are dead, junk in the front or back yards, hoarding, paint is peeling, fence or roof or siding or garage door in disrepair, or disabled vehicles in the driveway or on the street. We do not have the time to customize each letter per infraction. This is a generic notice and not everything listed may apply to you. But it is your responsibility to rectify any or all infractions that do apply by the date specified in the notice.

Severity Level 2 – Medium

The address will be reported to the county code enforcement office if the infractions are not rectified by the date specified, or a suitable extension agreed upon due to unforeseeable circumstances. You may or may not be fined, but the ball is in hands of the county at this point. We will then only monitor progress as needed.

Severity Level 3 – High

In a most extreme case, we will use the court system to resolve any infractions. In our one and only case so far, the HOA won, and the homeowners had to pay our legal fees in addition to their own. It is very costly to let things go this far.

NOTE: If the infractions are not resolved after exercising all means listed above we may be forced to use additional measures for mitigation, such as fines.

Please live responsibly and don't let this get out of control. We live here too, let’s work together.

The Board of Directors
Orchard Park Lake Estates Homeowners Association, Inc.