Minutes of Meetings
Southbrook Condominium
Board of Directors Meeting, January 19th, 2026
Location: Unit #31
Present: Brad Gilbert, Matt Traub, Nancy Stetter, Bill Jones, Karin Lee
a) Brad called the meeting to order at 6:05 PM.
b) Approval of minutes from the 12/1/25 meeting; Matt made a motion, seconded by Brad, to approve these minutes. Vote: Two board members voted to approve the minutes; the motion was passed.
Property Manager’s Report:
Building damage:
a) EG Construction crew began repair work on roof and wall
today 1-19-26. Telehandler, able to get behind the building. Shingles
are past their useful life and are brittle. Will replace the south
side. Maybe both sides. Conferring with the roofer. A heads up on
our roof condition campuswide.
b)Have contacted Evergreen Roofing for an invoice for the
“blue tarp” work sealing up the roof.
c) Mason was going to look at chimney/fireplace today to
assess repairs. Will be tented so mortar work can be done.
d) Dump trailer is parked on parking pad of 54 with their
permission.
e)Insulation firm was here last week and vacuumed out
fiberglass insulation that was damaged by moisture. New
insulation will be blown back in when repairs are completed.
They access unit through a bedroom window and into attic by
the access provided. Vacuum / blower parked on pad and large
hose used for transport. Offered owner at her cost to increase
insulation in the attic above the original amount.
Squirrels
Unit 86 has reported no activity for a month. Contacted trapper
and asked to send me an invoice. Have picked up some of his
traps. No invoice as of yet. Was quoted $1,600. We may want to
buy some traps and do our own trapping when needed. Traps
are around $50. We still need to do some facia work in this area
replacing with trex material and sealing holes.
Branches
Branches by intersection will be picked up by contractor
when he removes the trailer. My trailer is at the ranch and I would have
to get a U Haul. I appreciate residents cleaning up this area.
Painting
Building Deposit Owed at completion
81-88 4950 1650
9-18* 2496 2496
Total 7446 4146
Does not include paint or supplies
Still owes 153 on sprayer
* Includes duplex
Had two bids for 71-80 and 81-88
All labor, supplies and equipment
Bobcat Painting: $94,900
Brink’s Painting: $67,408
Garbage cans: Have noticed some garbage cans are not being placed inside garages.
Clean up: May? MSU is out on May 7th.
Parking: Available parking has improved in my area. Blue BMW still parked on our
property. Curb parking has improved.
Resident Manager’s Report:
Bank report:
Checking $86,495.85
Reserve $101.80
CD's $26,655.00
Total: $113,252.68
a) The owner of unit 25 has asked if she can keep her standing as a rental if she rents out her second bedroom for 9 months at a time while she still lives there. Brad will check the by-laws/consult the HOA lawyer to find out if her unit will be changed to owner-occupied, or if her unit will be able to remain a rental.
b) Units 53, 21 and 13 are still for sale.
c) Nancy will try to find out who is living in unit 32. She will try to get ahold of the realtor/previous owner of unit 13 to see if it has sold.
d) Ballots with regard to making amendments: a) change the $250 refundable deposit to a transfer fee when someone buys a unit, b) require that a specific type of storm door be bought c) increase the HOA fee to $300 so it covers the HOA insurance payment fee as well.
e) 58 member responses have come in so far. Matt will call people to try to get them to send in their response.
Treasurer’s Report:
We plan on using our CDs and reserves to pay for immediate costs from the tree damage to building #5 caused by the wind storm on December 19th.
See attached financials for 2025
Old business:
We spoke with an owner about a rental approval.
New business:
The annual meeting will be on March 2nd at the Gallatin County Justice Center. Brad will work on getting proxy votes ahead of time so we have a quorum of members present/proxy voters).
There is a need to do a search to find out if there are insurance companies that can offer better rates and products for our HOA.
Next meeting date: Annual meeting on March 2nd
Matt made a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Karin seconded it; three members voted to adjourn the meeting at 7:43 PM.
Southbrook Condo Association Meeting Minutes
Monday, March 2, 2026
Gallatin County Law and Justice Center
1. Call to order and establishment of quorum
25 units present + 26 proxies = 51 so we have a quorum
President Brad Gilbert called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM
Brad made a motion to approve these minutes; no opposition
The 2025 minutes are approved
Vice-President Matt Traub read this report
The Southbrook Condo Association Board would like to thank you for a great 2025. The current board will be in the second year of a two year term until March 2027. Overall, our goal is to build on the excellent work of previous boards and community members to keep Southbrook a thriving and well run community.
One of our first decisions was to increase the monthly HOA fee to $250. This was discussed and approved at the 2025 annual meeting and helped address our increased costs from maintenance due to the age of our buildings, inflation of wages, and materials. We updated our processes to digital including records, forms, and an electronic payment system for HOA fees (PayHOA). Our by-laws were updated with two new additions passed by written ballot in February of 2026. Those bylaws turned the refundable association fee deposit into a transaction fee for new buyers and reiterated that exterior changes to windows and doors require Board approval. Certain policies that were unclear or missing were also updated, mostly dealing with rentals. All are available on the website southbrookcondos.net. We hired a new Bookkeeper and changed tax accounting firms. All our financials are sent out quarterly and put on the website. The new accounting firm also completed a financial review for 2025. This is required every year by our bylaws. Lastly, a new bi-monthly newsletter is being sent out to help communicate news and updates.
The board has been taking an active role in the community, meeting lots of members in person to hear about issues and ideas. We will continue to enforce our by-laws and policies so please review those on our website or reach out for a PDF version. A few focus areas are to please be aware that the city of Bozeman and our Association both have rules about dogs being on leashes and picking up after them.We also have a policy to keep trash and recycling cans inside the garage when not set out for pickup.
In closing, please be in touch with concerns or ideas for helping to improve Southbrook. Email or call the resident manager, Nancy, and she will let us know to reach out.
4. Property Manager Report: Bill Jones
Wind storm damage Dec 19 by falling tree branches on roof of 53. The first one fell to the south and tore the rain gutter off. At 5am a branch fell to the north and partially landed on the roof of the garage of 54. Then about 6 am a larger portion fell to the east striking the chimney and roof above 53.
Resulting charges:
Evergreen Roofing removed the broken chimney section and installed blue tarp to prevent further moisture damage. $2,600
Bozeman Arbor Care removed fallen portions and removed the rest of the tree using a crane. $11,750 Ins did pay $9,000 toward the cost of removal.
Replace rain gutter $825
Ins adjuster estimate of repair cost $117,750
5% wind deduction from value of building $131,778
Estimated contractor cost to do repairs $41,634
HOA responsible for 100% of cost due to cost not meeting the deductible.
Bricks were delivered and repair work began 2-23-26 and hope to be completed by 2-27-26. Roof is shingled except around chimney area.
Interior repairs to 53 have been completed.
I want to thank the owners of 53 and 54 for their cooperation in completing these repairs. And to the owners and residents of neighboring units thank you for your patience and understanding as repairs have been made.
Tree removal and trimming cost $6,000 in 2026.
#81-82 Still have ponding problem from runoff and board is addressing.
Snow Removal. Nov 24-Feb 25 $24,100; Nov 25-Feb 26 $6,000
Gutter Covers: Building 71-80 is done (largest building) Some selected areas are done on other buildings. Hope to do more in 2026. Cleaning gutters is about 1$/ foot for 3,490’ About 3 year pay back for installing covers.
Painting: 1-8 and 71-80 were done in 2025 81-88 and 9-16 & 17-18 planned for 2026
Replaced stairway at 27-30 with metal stair. $20,000
Roofs: Roofer who is doing roof on south half of 53 said the shingles facing south are failing. Haven’t looked at north facing. Association is looking at significant cost to replace roofs.
Have been replacing wood facia in some areas with a TREX product which eliminates roting issues and painting.
Windows and doors: Owners in a couple units have replaced windows and doors which is an improvement to their units. Unfortunately they are the wrong color and will have to be painted at their cost which may result in ongoing maintenance. It is the owners responsibility to notify the HOA Board about these planned improvements so they are done in a manner that conforms to HOA rules.
Ceiling leak: We had an intermittent ceiling leak in a lower unit. After much investigation and opinions from experts, plumbers, roofers, handymen, insurance and property managers it was traced down to a cracked drain line from the dishwasher in unit above that was not run a lot.
Entry way and landings: Much work was done on several to stop leaks from the landings on the second level into the entryway ceiling below. There have been a few with substantial rot in the ceilings which is expensive to fix. Owners! Please watch for leaks in unusual places in those ceilings or a black line on a beam which signifies rotting. Let Nancy know if this is observed.
Deck railings are being replaced due to age and noncompliance with current zoning. These are being done in a worst first manner with safety being of prime importance.
Patio fences: These are being replaced on a worst first basis also. We have altered the design slightly to allow the fences to dry out from moisture events.
Cedar fence on east side of property: The fence between our property and the dentist office on the east end is scheduled to be replaced this summer.
We have had squirrel problems with the little varmints getting into attics. We try and mitigate these access points and it is a constant battle with the failing wooden facia. Another reason to replace wooden facia with TREX.
Landscape: Along with tree and shrub maintenance we also bring in our mowing crew to clean up the campus in the fall. We also use a firm to clean the flower beds for winter. The sprinkler system is fed by two wells on the property and our board president Brad, who has some knowledge of this system has been maintaining it. There are a few areas with clutter and encroachment into common areas and the board is addressing those.
CLEAN UP DAY IS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY MAY 9. NO TIRES, BATTERIES, PAINT, AEROSOLS OR ELECTRONICS ALLOWED.
Owners would like us to look into placing owl decoys around to deter squirrels and birds from damaging buildings. It was also mentioned to clean up cones under trees during spring clean up.
Account Balances as of 2/26/2026
Checking $90,978.50
Savings $101.84
CD’s $26,655.03
Total $117,735.37
We did not renew one of our CD’s in order to have enough cash to cover potential costs resulting from tree damage to unit 53’s building. Overall, we have no accounts that are behind on payment. Our grace period for not charging late fees in 2025 due to updating our contact records and bookkeeping has ended. Going forward units will receive one warning and then a $25 late fee will apply to any payments not received before the 15th. We will be collecting insurance payments in May and August this year. Details will be communicated once we hear from our insurer about the 2026 rates.
There were six units sold in 2025. Two more units have been sold so far in 2026. Currently, two units are for sale. One of the units sold was a rental, which meant we offered a unit from the rental waiting list the option to be a rental. In 2025 two units converted to rentals, and one unit so far in 2026. We have 27 rental units with one pending. That would put us at 28 rentals with our maximum amount allowed according to the bylaws at 30. 17 units are currently on the rental waitlist.
During the past year we did not issue any fines for bylaw violations. We did issue several notices which is the first step before fines. The main issues we see are parking too many vehicles in the common lots, dogs not on leashes/cleaning up after them, trash cans, and exterior alterations. One vehicle per unit is allowed to park in the common lots. Clean up after your dog and Bozeman does require leashes. Trash cans get blown over by the wind and animals get in them so please keep them in your garages when not out for pick up. Any alteration to the exterior of units needs to be approved by the Board, i.e. windows, doors, utilities, decks.
See attachments below for financials (PDF Version). We discussed the hiring of a new bookkeeper and accounting firm. We had a successful accounting review affirming our financial statements. Our plan is to meet our goal of saving 10% of income for the reserve fund with our 2026 budget. Owners wondered if PayHOA will be an option for the insurance payment this year, the board will look into that. We discussed moving the fee for using PayHOA from the unit owner to the association so owners will pay just $250 with no fee for ACH payments. Owners were favorable to that and asked if Credit Card fees could be lowered as well and the association will look into that.
A motion was made by Jeff Stone 46 and seconded by Bob Davis 52 nominated
Austin White of unit 31 to be treasurer, which she accepted.
Noise complaint standards: According to our HOA attorney, if there are noise issues between units, contact Nancy. A board member will check if the noise is above the city’s allowed level; if yes, a fine will be issued by the Board.
Written ballot amendments passed see below for full amendments:
When a unit sells the new owner will pay a non-refundable transfer fee of $250 to the HOA.
Doors and windows need to comply with a uniform standard and need to be approved by the Board.
Should monthly dues be raised in 2027 to an amount that will include each unit’s insurance payment. 37 units voted yes and 28 voted no. The board will look further into this and no decision has been made.
PayHOA: To date, 22 units have signed up for this service. Please sign up for this service because it saves a lot of work for Brad/Nancy/our bookkeeper.
A potluck get-together was proposed; one of the green areas can be used for this purpose.
President Brad Gilbert adjourned the meeting at 7:35.
BY-LAW AMENDMENTS
The following amendment to the covenants of the Southbrook Condo Association are submitted to the Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder for inclusion in covenants previously recorded in: FlLM 85, PAGES 1788-1836, FILM 103, PAGE 1573 and Document #2479086.
Association fees are at the monthly rate last set by the Board of Directors, pursuant to the Declaration for Southbrook Condominium (filed as Film 85 Page1809, records of the Clerk & Recorder of Gallatin County), plus the same rate per unit for month of entrance into the Association (which fee is non-refundable when the unit is sold). Fees are due the 1st of each month and are considered delinquent after the 15th of the month. Delinquent fees shall be assessed a penalty of $25 for each month of delinquency. Upon 90 days of delinquency of these monthly fees, a lien shall be filed against that unit. Hardship cases may apply to the Board of Directors for consideration of leniency on an individual basis.
The following amendment to the covenants of the Southbrook Condo Association are
submitted to the Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder for inclusion in covenants previously
recorded in: FILM 103, PAGE 1573
All doors and windows installed on the property shall adhere to a uniform standard and must be approved by the Southbrook Condo Association Board.
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