NEPCO General Membership Meeting Minutes – July 12, 2025
Meeting: Convened at 10:00am by President Mike Aspenson, who then led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a review of the agenda. He thanked the Woodmoor Improvement Association for allowing NEPCO use of the Barn and Board meeting space. Future General Membership meetings for 2025 are as follows:
- September 13: Transportation Priorities
- November 15: County Commissioners
Attendees:
NEPCO Board:
President: Mike Aspenson, Vice President: Bob Swedenburg, Director Membership: Larry Oliver, Member at
Large: Harold Larson, Director Community Outreach: Dave Betzler, Board Observer: Bill Crimmel and Chair, Wildfire Preparedness Committee: Beth Lonnquist
HOAs: 22 HOAs were represented.
Business Meeting:
Mike Aspenson discussed the purpose of NEPCO, its Board members, and the need for additional help. He also presented the status of IT improvements which have fielded a new website and e-mail host server. These improvements have been done at no cost to NEPCO by Greg Knierim, Mountain Top Technology. Mike also gave an overview of strategy and planning activities to review and enhance NEPCO’s overall processes, and finished by providing and update on membership status: 49 HOA members, 1 Business Associate, and 6 Honorary Members.
Treasurer’s Report: As of July 10, NEPCO has $2,096.08 in its ENT FCU Checking and Savings accounts. All major annual expenses have been paid.
Monument Ridge East Development: Harold Larson, provided an update to the proposed layout for development of the property on the southeast corner of the I-25 and County Line Road intersection. He stated that he had worked with the developer and had an agreement to go from 480 to 340 home sites. The developer is awaiting final approval from El Paso County before starting construction.
HOA Open Forum: Dave Betzler provided a summary of results from the last NEPCO general membership meeting on five areas of interest for improvement in our operation: Quality of Life, Development and Growth, Communications, Volunteers, and Covenants. An attending member stated the need for the Board to be more active in building relationships with county and state representatives. Mike Aspenson stated the need for volunteers to step up to help. Mitch LaKind, Monument Mayor, invited all to a meeting with our local state representative next week.
Invited Speaker: David Fermin from Altitude Community Law provided an informative and entertaining overview of laws affecting HOAs from the latest state government legislative session. He provided copies of his briefing slides to the attending members and they will be on the NEPCO website. He began with an explanation of CCIOA and pointed the audience to the Altitude Community Law website (altitude.law) for more information on this and the status of legislative actions. His briefing then addressed laws approved for the coming year that have an impact on HOAs.
- Sunset Laws: Two laws will continue after a sunset review (SB25-184 Continuation of HOA Information and Resources Center was extended to 2030 and SB25-175 Continuation of Towing Task Force was extended to 2037).
- Insurance: Three insurance laws that impact HOAs were passed and signed into law: HB25-1182, Tools to Assess Risk for Purpose of Underwriting, HB25-1205 Implementation of Fair Access to Insurance Requirements, and HB25-1322 Provide Copy of Insurance Policy.
- Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU): This 2024 law made it unlawful for associations in ADU supportive or subject jurisdictions to prohibit owners of single family detached homes to build ADUs on their lots. David provided a map from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs which showed applicable jurisdictions in El Paso county. Palmer Lake and Monument are the only applicable jurisdictions in the NEPCO area of interest. The remainder of the NEPCO area is exempt but may opt in.
- Collections and Foreclosures: This remains a daunting task for HOAs dealing with members who are in arrears with the association. The position of the state government is to keep homeowners in their homes. HB25-1043 Owner Equity Protection in Homeowners' Association Foreclosure Sales provides the process.
- Backflow Prevention Devices: HB25-1077 allows inspection, testing, and repairing devices by a nonlicensed technician. Installation and removal still requires a licensed technician. This should save HOA funds.
Closing: President Aspenson thanked David for his presentation and the HOA members for their active participation.
Meeting Adjourned: 11:55am
Next General Membership Meeting: September 13, 2025 at 10am
Submitted by: Bill Crimmel (Board Observer and Acting Secretary)
Approved by: Mike Aspenson, President
