Some communities cannot afford to open their pools

Q: We would appreciate your comment regarding the opening of swimming pools in gated communities.

We live in a Green Valley community. I have repeatedly requested to our homeowners association to open our pool, which has been closed since the beginning of the COVID-19, to no avail! Our HOA fees are high at a total of $313 per month.

This is one of the hottest summers in history! When I purchased my town house in August of 2019 we chose it because of the proximity to the pool area. Since we moved in, we hardly ever saw any people at the pool so it is not heavily used. Why can’t ours be opened? We can sign a waiver if needed!

I have recently seen many pools that are open with limited restrictions that include spa area marked off closed and signs to maintain social distances of 6 feet. Why can’t ours be opened?

I have posted my displeasure of our pool being closed on the neighborhood website and have had a lot of support to get the pool opened. What can we do to get the board to change their position on the pool opening?

A: Since the restrictions were first implemented by the governor, this column has addressed the issue of associations that have not opened their pools. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. For this particular association, the board has addressed the pool issue at every meeting, as well as informing homeowners by emails. It is not a question that the board wants the pool to be closed but this association does not have the needed funds to meet the requirements that pertains to enforcing the social distancing and the number of residents that can use the pool at the same time, as well as the continual disinfecting of the pool. The association would need to pay for the staff or janitorial company, which would cost thousands of dollars each month.

The Southern Nevada Health District has been given the authority to enforce these restrictions and if an association is violating them, they can close the pool down for the rest of the year.

In addition, with the passage of Senate Bill 4, in order for an association to be able to take advantage of the limited liability law, the association must be able to demonstrate and document the association is meeting the requirements.

As of this date, the governor has not removed the spa restriction.

As one president has stated to me: “These are difficult times for the board, a volunteer position as you know. But we have exhausted all avenues and for our particular community we cannot open until the governor relaxes many of his rules for community pools.”

Q: We are residents in an HOA community. We have noisy motorcycles that continue to disturb the peace in our community at varying hours of the day, and most especially in the late evening hours such as midnight and beyond.

Our community manager has been notified, but the problem still has not had any resolution. We are very unhappy that to date there does not appear to be any reprimand toward these individuals and/or resolution to this issue. Calling the police has not been effective, as they do not come out in a reasonable amount of time to see what is occurring and/or issue any sanctioning.

We have now demanded direct communication with the HOA board, as we are hardworking and paying residents in the community and we are being taken advantage of by these very inconsiderate neighbors. I am certain we are not alone in this regard, as many of our surrounding neighbors are also unhappy with what is occurring.

Thank you for any advice, as this has been a recurring issue throughout these past summer months.

A: In responding to you, I am assuming that your board has taken action against the homeowner. As stated in previous articles in my column, the board cannot disclose the status of individual violators and/or what the board is trying to do to obtain compliance.

Associations are limited as to what actions they can and cannot initiate when homeowners violate their governing documents. They are required by law to follow their rules and regulations and to follow their enforcement policies. The due process requires notification to the residents of their violations. Ultimately, if the residents do not comply, they can be fined.

Fining does not necessarily mean compliance by the offenders who often just ignore the fines. Associations can place a lien on their homes for noncompliance, but cannot foreclose on the homes unless the nonpayment of the violation pertains to health, welfare and safety issues.

While my response is not one you would like to see in my column, your board has limitations in enforcing the noisy motorcycles.

Q: My employee’s car was towed from his apartment complex on Sept. 10. He registered his car online (due to COVID-19) and his tags never arrived. He waited in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and they advised him that, right now, tags are taking some time and to just keep his paperwork to show that he is up to date.

He even let his complex know that he was waiting on the tags, they told him that they would make sure he was not towed.

What can he do? He is out $250 and it seems like he has no protection. Why on earth is this allowed to happen during this pandemic? If you have any ideas on how to help, please advise.

A: If you have documentation that his community would not have his car towed, the community should reimburse him. If an error was made by the towing company, the refund should come from them.

I have one question to you. Did he have any of his paperwork from the DMV to show that his vehicle was registered? This could have prevented the towing of his car.

Barbara Holland is a certified property manager and holds the supervisory community manager certificate with the state of Nevada. She is an author and educator on real estate management. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.