Jim Cline's Letter

Sent on January 14, 2025

I am writing on behalf of an organized group of HOA members who are concerned about the Board’s decision to spend funds on a community center. This funding has never been approved by the owners. As you know, this action has been widely discussed in recent HOA Board meetings and in community social media. The vote by the Board to move forward with spending money on engineering designs for a project that has not been approved or properly funded is deeply troubling to many.

After carefully reviewing documents and information supplied by the HOA and posted in the “FAQ” section, we have determined a significant lack of shared information exists that a reasonable person would need in order to know whether the proposed plans are merited or not. Significant questions also exist about the legal authority of the Board to expend money for developing engineering designs for a project not funded in the authorized budget. Therefore, we must insist as Klahanie owners that you allocate staff and board time to prioritize responding to the following information request. Unless and until this information and provided and explanations developed and communicated by the Board, no design contract should be executed. These requests are for all documents that are, or should be, in the possession of the Klahanie Homeowners Association, including the HOA staff and Board members:

1. All reports concerning the condition and potential repairs for the Mountainside Pool;
2. All documents relating to and communications between the HOA staff regarding the repair of the Mountainside pool;
3. All cost estimates concerning the repair of the Mountainside pool;
4. All Communications between the HOA and third parties concerning repairs for the Mountainside pool;
5. All records for the past five years relating to the FAQ statement that “[t]he teams that rent our pools provide more value than they receive, as the association earns more from them than the costs incurred,” including but not limited to any and all assessment of costs of pool operation, annual rental income, usage fees, and hours of usage;
6. All communications between King County and the HOA regarding repair or replacement of the current HOA office;
7. All communications between the City of Sammamish and the HOA regarding repair or replacement of the current HOA office;
8. All documents relating to zoning and/or wetland issues concerning the existing office location;
9. All documents relating to the repair or replacement of the current office building, including but not limited to feasibility and cost or repair;
10. All documents relating to the Board’s adopted reserve fund estimate of the cost of office replacement;
11. All communications between the HOA and the author of the reserve study concerning the cost of replacing the office building;
12. All communications between the HOA and third parties concerning the cost of replacing the office building;
13. All communications between the HOA and the Klahanie Center landlord or agent concerning rental of space;
14. Any documents regarding the office space/square footage needs for the HOA offices;
15. All written Communications between HOA and Urbal Architecture
16. All written communications between the HOA and Lineage Real Estate;
17. All documents regarding the cost and design of the proposed community center;
18. All documents in possession of the Building and Special Projects Committee, F&O Committee, and Sports and Recreation Committee concerning the replacement or repair of the Mountainside pool, and office;
19. All documents regarding the impact of the proposed project on insurance rates;
20. All documents regarding the impact of the proposed projects on operating and maintenance costs;
21. Any communications, documents or reports between the HOA accountant and the HOA regarding the classification of proposed expenditures for the community center project.

We are extremely concerned that the Board has authorized expenditures that are inconsistent with the adopted and member approved budget. That reserve study expressly incorporated into the budget calls for replacement of the current office at the cost of $779,710. The reserve study says nothing about any $12.5 million community center. The Board is improperly diverting nearly 40% of that budgeted and approved amount into developing plans for an entirely different project not in the owner approved budget.

It also appears that the currently published bylaws allowing Board authority to incur debt on behalf of the HOA may not be valid. There is a lack of documentation demonstrating that the previous bylaws requiring owner debt approval were legally removed. A discussion about Board authority relative to owner authority needs to be undertaken immediately so that the Board does not proceed further in an unauthorized manner by incurring unapproved loans.

This diversion stands as an important issue on its own, but the lack of information supplied by the HOA to its members also needs to be addressed ASAP. We request that you prioritize this information in recognition of the status it deserves and supply all requested records by Tuesday January 28. If these documents exist, they would have been an essential element of the Board’s decision-making and should be easily retrievable.

We are asking at its next Board meeting for the Board to schedule another special meeting to allow member input following the January 28 disclosure of these records. The agenda should also include a discussion about suspending the current diversion of funds to the unapproved community center project.