Scottsdale ready for Restaurant Week. / P. 31
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
NEIGHBORS .........20 Owner Darlene Richert dishes on Avery Lane.
BUSINESS ............... 24 New hope for small businesses' health insurance.
Scottsdale venues open on Museum Day. / P. 28
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF SCOTTSDALE) | scottsdale.org
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Co-op �irm’s billing practices under �ire BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor
I
ssues with management continue to plague residents at the Scottsdale East Homes co-op community in southern Scottsdale, with members alleging they are assessed phantom late fees. Resident Betty Story said she has four late fees on her account even though she pays her member dues on time each month. In one instance, Story checked her account and found late fees for September dues on Aug. 30 – two days before her payment was due. Story said HOAMCO, the management com-
Price break on land emerges in Museum Square negotiations
pany hired by the coop’s board, does not regularly notify members about outstanding fees. The only way someone like her could �ind out about fees is by checking accounts online – something not all residents, many of whom are elderly, do with regularity. She is not alone. A Scottsdale East Homes community Facebook page includes accounts from other residents with similar experiences. Resident Kyle Solomon wrote, “I was on my account 2 days ago and everything was �ine and I just checked this morning and I suddenly have 6 late fees?!” When asked how many residents have discovered erroneous late fees, Story said,
Big helpers
“Nearly everyone who checks their account.” HOAMCO did not respond to multiple requests for comment submitted to the Scottsdale East community manager about the errors and how the company is going to �ix the problem. The problem of poor notice and little to no documentation for late fees is not new. Resident Bryan Williamson said HOAMCO sent him a letter on April 2018, notifying him he had outstanding dues predated the management of the community. HOAMCO took over the community around April 2017 – meaning the company did not
��� COOP ���� 6
BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor
FOOD ........................... 33 Jan D'Atri reveals French macaroon secrets.
NEIGHBORS .........................18 BUSINESS .............................24 OPINION .............................. 25 SPORTS ................................ 27 ARTS .....................................28 FOOD & DRINK....................31 CLASSIFIEDS .......................34
T
he City of Scottsdale is willing to reduce the land sale price for Museum Square by $1 million to remove height limits and other deed restrictions standing in the way of the proposed development. In August, the Progress reported much of the city land at the center of the deal is subject to a 60-foot height restriction imposed by a deed restriction held by the neighboring Gateway at Main Street Plaza condominium community. The proposed Museum Square development would include a 150-foot ��� MUSEUM ���� 10
Andrew Bloom REALTOR®, Senior Partner Andrew@BVOLuxury.com VOTED #1 SCOTTSDALE REAL ESTATE TEAM FOR 2018
Michael Favia, left, learns bicycle repair from Juan Leon in Scottsdale's Handlebar Helpers program, which has evolved into a unique opportunity for the developmentally disabled to gain economic independence. Details: page 18. (Kimberly Carrillo/Progress Staff Photographer)
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