Judge rules in favor of POA in Meadowlakes storage facility lease

Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

The city of Meadowlakes must uphold the terms of a 99-year contract with the community's Property Owners Association after a judge ruled in favor of the POA's continued lease of city property for an RV and boat storage facility.

The Meadowlakes City Council requested that city staff pursue breaking the lease of the 90-unit facility on nearly two-acres within the city limits.

“We had done nothing wrong,” POA President Joe Summers said. “Any fees we charge are charged to POA members, who are the people who have the lease.

“They understood that we were going to use it to store our members vehicles in it,” he added.

A storage unit customer pays $450 per year for a covered unit and about 10 percent of that cost to store an RV or watercraft on the fenced-in lot.

“The POA members are quite happy,” he said. “We charge considerably less than what it would cost them at a commercial facility.”

Meadowlakes Mayor Mary Ann Raesener said the council, on which she only votes in a tie breaker, pursued the issue which originated prior to incorporation due to funding.

The original contract in 1985 between the then-MUD and the POA was brokered for $1 per year ($99) paid up front by the POA.

“(City officials) were seeking to evict them and operate the facility ourselves,” Raesener said. “The expectations (back then) were different on each side,” she said. “The population has evolved.”

The maintenance cost of the storage area is estimated at $2,500 per year.

“The idea was that they wouldn't be making a profit they would run it at cost,” Raesener said. “The amount they charge is five times as needed to cover the cost.”

Summers says the POA uses the excess money to help fund other community activities.

“We do need the money for up-keep but we also use it for other situations that benefit the community,” he said.

Special events sponsored by the POA include Memorial Day picnics with meals, Fourth of July parade activities and Fall festivals.
“For 33 years it had lasted that way without any problems,” Summer said. “We provide that as a service to our memberships.

“The fact that they were trying to break the lease, didn't make sense to me,” he added.
Meadowlakes city ordinance bars residents from parking RVs or boats at their residences for periods beyond 72 hours.