Arm yourself with information

A workshop on homeowners associations is coming up next week.

"A homeowner's association is as grassroots as you can get. A well-functioning association protects values and gives a neighborhood a sense of community," said Steve Wetzel, an attorney with Wetzel, Wetzel & Holt.

Running effective meetings, staying ahead of delinquent assessments and dues, staying insured, keeping books, enforcing covenants, and more practical information is required to keep an association running effectively and efficiently, he said.

To help address these issues, the second Homeowners' Association Conference will be held 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Hampton Inn at Riverstone.

Wetzel and Kevin Holt, attorneys with more than 20 years of experience with community associations, will discuss covenant enforcement and assessment collections.

Gayle Cagianut, representative of the Community Association Institute and co-author of "Guide to Homeowners Associations," will discuss budgeting.

State Sen. John Goedde, with more than 30 years in the insurance business, will discuss insurance for associations. Judi Messina, manager of Mountain West Bank's Kathleen Avenue branch and a nonprofit enthusiast with more than a decade of banking expertise, will discuss banking tools for community vnonprofits. Wetzel and Goedde will review current and future Idaho legislation.

"Although the program is aimed primarily at new board members that need to understand the procedure, this year we are expanding on the success of last year with more information about issues that were of particular interest last year," Wetzel said.

The program is interactive and leaves time for brainstorming by participants with the experts at the conference.

"This year, we have added more time for open discussion since many of the best ideas come from our participants," he said.

Registration is $25 per person and space limited. For more information and to register, contact Jana Long at Wetzel, Wetzel & Holt, 667-3400.