UPDATES & IMPROVEMENTS 2016-17 Maintenance and improvements occurring over the last twenty-four months include:
- The new irrigation system was further fine-tuned and has proven itself to be a great improvement to new shrubs and trees planted in (9) common areas on the 25 acre Wildhorse property. In the autumn, it cleaned out easily and started right up in the spring… things we never experienced with the original system.
- We continued to plant more aspens and hired part-time resident Robbie Robinson to mulch every tree on the property and fine-tune the irrigation lines installed in 2015. Also we removed a number of other trees and spruce that were not doing well. This ‘boots on the ground’ approach has significantly improved the overall look under our ‘natural but cared for’ approach to landscaping at Wildhorse. Related to this, we finally put an end to a huge porcupine who had ruined several of our tallest spruce trees near the entrance. It is unlikely that we’ll replace these with new spruce. Instead, we are putting in more aspens as we go forward.
- There was a $22.5K investment to upgrade all the original telco equipment (ten years old) for improved reliability, ease of maintenance with remote trouble-shooting capability and greatly increased speed to all homes. This work was successfully done by Internet Colorado, our long-term system provider. We now have 100meg in the development that has significantly improved video streaming for every home.
- We continue to track changes in providing better individual choices to Owners and consider more ala-carte options that may reduce our Owner fees. We now have the great benefit of new Owner Adam Zatorski and his family living at Wildhorse full time. Adam is a co-owner of King Systems which gives us an on-site resource for trouble-shooting the infrastructure in conjunction with Internet Colorado. King Systems has a range of products and services and can install and maintain remote home controls capabilities as well as audio/TV/entertainment systems. It is great to have Adam and his family along with his expertise coupled with his first-hand knowledge of Wildhorse homes.
- Board Member Matt Boisen led the charge once again to get all of the Wildhorse homes re-stained. The work took place through the summer of 2017 and was done to an exacting standard by Kuelhorn Painters of Gunnison. The first staining had a life of six years that exceeded expectations. We will monitor this going forward and are planning to see at least another five years before another special assessment is required. The assessment this time around was about $7K per home.
- The Board of Directors took on the subject of enforcing the original declarant banning short-term rentals that are less than six months at Wildhorse. This included an informal Owner survey on preferences and several meetings to discuss the issues we have experienced from the limited STR activity we’ve had. The decision was to enforce the original declarant and to put in reasonable rules and regulations for any rentals going forward. In place for 2018 are interim reasonable rules and regulations for STR and the practice will be banned at the end of ski-season 2019. This reflects the will of the majority of Owners, both original buyers and recent. It is still fine to rent at six-month intervals or longer as long and we request those who long term rent to review the requirements that have been adopted. These can be found at www. Wildhorseatprospecthoa.com.
- Our opinion is that the while short-term rental ban will remove some buyers from the Wildhorse market, it will appeal to a different demographic of Owners who value a ‘family and friends’ community with peace and predictability assured. Further, a video (found on this website) was produced to reflect the Voice of Wildhorse Owners. It has been sent as a promotional/brand identifying piece to all Gunnison Valley realtors and property managers.
- Original Board President Terry Ewing left the Board and John Low has joined in his place. We cannot begin to thank Terry for his leadership and countless hours in the early days of Wildhorse ‘righting its ship.’ Terry, his wife Donna and their family continue to visit and fish up a storm. Terry remains an advisor to the Board on all issues related to Wildhorse insurance policies.
- Real estate saw the change of Ownership of seven properties. Two new homes in conformance with HOA guidelines have been built and sold by Wildhorse Homes. Another home is nearing completion and on the market. Wildhorse homes now owns the remaining vacant parcels upon which a total of (18) more homes may be built as allowed by our original PUD/plan.
- After seven years of a multi-layered and complex set of lawsuits, the District 1 vs District 2 litigation was settled. The settlement lifts a long-sitting cloud over the Prospect Metro district and should help clarify valuations going forward for future buyers and sellers.
- The Trust for Public Lands completed a $24.5 million dollar purchase for the 6000 acre Trampe Ranch and a number of land parcels running between the town of Gothic all the way down to Almont. This significant purchase protects the views we enjoy in the East River Valley just north of our development by placing them into a permanent conservation easement. It ensures no further building in the East River corridor and protects the current views enjoyed by all Wildhorse Owners. This is a huge benefit for Wildhorse Owners and for the entire Mt. Crested Butte community.
- Toad Property Management under Rob Harper’s leadership has continued to be a solid partner throughout all the changes and improvements mentioned. We are very grateful for and fortunate to have their professional foresight, services and rapid-response support.
- Looking back a decade since the first Owners began using their homes, Wildhorse has come a very long way. It has never looked or been better here. We continue to foster and deepen a sense of community. We sponsored our first annual barbeque right at the time of our annual meeting that was thoroughly enjoyed by over seventy resident families and friends. We see an increasing number of children and grand-children living and visiting here. We continue to get to know fellow Owners and find this place to offer some truly hard-to-replicate features that Owners deeply value and enjoy.