June 22, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

The microscope on HOAs in Minnesota continues, especially on local ABC affiliate KSTP-TV, which has filed no fewer than 4 HOA related stories in the last week or so. Their reporting started with a story from Lakeville, where the Avonlea HOA repaired hail damaged roofs and assessed its homeowners with a $17K bill, and a report on the Minnesota ombudsman watchdog office that was passed by the legislature.

Now comes the story from Bloomington of Summerhill Association, which was required to repair balconies due to a safety hazard.  The bill? $19K.

From channel 5 reporter Richard Reeves:

[Jared] Sundin, of Bloomington, says he’s among dozens of Summerhill Association members who received a letter in April 2024, saying their balconies would have to be replaced. He notes the replacement work continued right through the end of December.   “It was presented to us as a safety issue,” Sundin says. “Because if your balcony is not structurally sound and not safe to use, then it needs to be communicated to everyone.”

Apparently an engineering firm determined that the balconies were not structurally sound in 2024, and the association considers the balconies as a limited common element, noting that the assessment would be the same for each balcony owner.

Mr. Sudin told the reporter he didn’t believe the board did anything wrong, but felt that communications from the board was not adequate.

“With this one, it wasn’t just the $20,000,” he notes. “It was that in order to start the project, the company doing the project needs the money up front, and you have to pay it in full.”

“Just wanting to be part of the evaluation process where if we get three bids, here’s the best one,” he explains. “By the time it gets to (homeowners), it seems like it’s already in motion, where it’s tough to stop.”

And, then of course, this:

Sundin says typically, only two to three homeowners attend Summerhill Association board meetings.

For those who don’t know, the state of Minnesota is now setting up an ombudsman role that will be funded by taxpayers and linked to the Dept. of Commerce. We wrote out it here.

We’d love to hear from the board their side of the story. If someone from the board could reach out to HOALN, we’d like to hear it.

Watch the full story here.