Feb. 11, 2026 - Meeting Minutes
Board Member Attendance: Terry H, Steve D, Victoria F (meeting minutes), Terese M, Sue G| Neighborhood Attendance: Barb P, Brenda F, Cathy E, Elaina B, Frank B, Heidi K, Rick K, Tom E | Stephanie S, Binny and Dave H - online
To mark Terry’s last day as President, we had a toast to celebrate his great work over the past couple of DECADES!
ITEM 1 - Approved Jan. Annual Business Meeting minutes
ITEM 2 - Board Member nominations
Quick Overview of Responsibilities/Tasks
President: Oversees all meetings of the Board of Directors and HOA Meetings | Projects: Lead in the Fall and Spring Clean-ups
Vice President: Acts in the place and stead of the president in the event of his/her absence | Project: Major stream clean-up
Secretary/Communications Liaison: Meeting Minutes; Website; Signs; Flyers; Logistics lead for the Annual Picnic
Treasurer: Oversees finances and accounts, collects and tracks HOA dues, gives regular budget updates
Board Members at Large: Special projects including website contact forms, dog container maintenance as well as providing additional help with the above-mentioned projects such as the entrances and the picnic.
Nominations
The following group of people were nominated then approved for the positions noted below. NOTE: A quorum can consist of both board members and the HOA members in attendance.
President: Steve D.
Vice President: Sue G.
Secretary/Communications Liaison: Victoria F.
Treasurer: Cindi P.
Board Members at Large – Barb P., Elaina B., John C., Terese M., Terry H.
Item 3: HOA Meeting Locations
Thank you to those neighbors who agreed to host an HOA meeting! It’s greatly appreciated! Dates and locations are listed on the website under Meetings. We still need a meeting location for the Aug, Sept, Nov, and Dec meetings.
ITEM 4 - HOA Covenants and Bylaws Project
The Trails HOA Covenants are out of compliance with the State of Colorado and Jefferson County. EG, the current HOA documents are missing language that the State added in 2022. Note that the HOA can choose to be more restrictive.
Working Group: Barb P., Brenda F., Frank B., Steph S., Terese M.
Goal: Create a vision and mission statement about neighborhood values. The HOA does not want to police the area, but we do need a method of enforcement when neighbors are out of compliance. Create a bylaws/covenants document that is simple and clear. Present it to the HOA. Hire an attorney to finalize a document. This document may be ready for approval by this fall.
Document analysis: Frank used an AI model to put together a legal analysis of the State and County regulations along with the current HOA documents. This document is a great starting point, but more work needs to be done before an attorney is hired.
Nine governance pieces are missing, and one includes a lack of enforcement policies. The State of CO doesn’t define what type of enforcement should be used, so the HOA will define it in order to build a process so we can move forward if there are issues.
Neighborhood Approval: The state of CO requires that 67% of households need to approve a new Bylaws and Covenants document. (The current HOA covenants note that we need 90% of households to approve this document, but the state supersedes the HOA.)
Action Item: Check that Cindi has a budget line item for hiring an attorney. There are two HOA firms that exclusively work on HOA documents, and they cost from $6 to $10K.
Neighborhood Awareness: Put together a website page that notes the process, timeline, and high level notes.
Additional Notes:
The HOA will seek advice from the HOA attorney on the best way to manage current violations now and moving forward. Two examples include:
There are two rentals that are technically not allowed.
Running an official business out of your home is prohibited.
The HOA owns the property on the other side of the ditch and a lot of people don’t realize the HOA owns that land. The covenants need to be clear about the use of this space. The County does not have any rights to this space.
ITEM 5: 2026 Event Dates
These dates follow the same date pattern used in 2025.
Spring Clean-up – Sat, May 2 (alternate date, after Mother’s Day, Sat, May 16)
Flyer 1 – Sat, April 25: Save the dates and Bylaws/Covenants project updates - tentative
Mailer – July 2025: A mailer was sent out with HOA covenant highlights/reminders; if we do this again, print it sooner so it can be included with outstanding dues letters.
Annual Picnic Date - Sat, Aug. 22
Flyer 2 - Sat, Aug. 15: Picnic details
Fall Clean-up (after leaves fall): Sat, Oct. 3
Flyer 3 - Jan. 2027: Annual Business Meeting reminder and agenda
ITEM 4 - Additional Items
Update from Cindi and Steve: Is the HOA solely in charge of the creek clean-up? There’s a request for a volunteer task force for a regular creek cleanup.
Cindi, Jan. 15: The Church Ditch does not go through our neighborhood; it does not go West of Easley. Ramstetter Creek and Van Bibber Creek are the ones that run through our neighborhood.
Steve, Jan. 15: From the engineer’s report: “Although THA (The Homeowners Association) is required to maintain the 100 year flood plain channel…” (page 7 paragraph 4) “It is the recommendation that the THA should better maintain the sections that are overgrown with brush, high grass, and weeds.” (page 8, paragraph 6) There is more in the report but these statements cover the HOA’s responsibility.
Bottom line: There is an obligation to keep the stream clear. The HOA may be liable if a home is flooded.
General Note: There’s a state-owned home in this neighborhood that has been empty since Covid. There’s a question if the state can bring it up to meet the standards needed to house people in it. If there are issues while it’s not in use, they should be documented and photos should be taken.
Update from Victoria: A Google site has been created in order to track board and neighbor approved projects from 2026 forward (nothing was submitted in 2025). This site is for board access only and only acts as a repository of information.
Request for solar panels at 17521 W 59th Ave were approved and neighbor signatures were collected. This doc has been added to the google site.