August 1, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

Local TV reporter Richard Reeves from Channel 5 St Paul has taken a keen interest in the Avonlea Townhome Association re-roofing project in Lakeville, a project that has spawned a lawsuit by homeowners who apparently take issue with the board’s decision to repair hail damage caused by a storm. You may recall that Mr. Reeves interviewed me about the lawsuit earlier this summer, and also asked me about the new Minnesota Ombudsperson program, but he decided against using my sound bites in his reporting as I took a decidedly pro-board approach.

Now Channel 5 continues to co-mingle the Avonlea lawsuit with the new HOA Ombudsperson Program that went into effect on July 1, but without a body to sit in the chair. This was first reported to be a $$348,000 office that is part of the Department of Commerce; and it’s now being reported as having $700,000 in taxpayer funding. What a surprise.

And the desperate hunt is on for Mr. or Ms. O to take the job.

According to Reeves:

The Department of Commerce says filling the Ombudsperson position could take weeks or longer. Under state rules, applicants can’t be enrolled in an HOA, be a board member, or be part of an HOA management group. State employees and people working in politics are also banned from applying for the job.

Senator Matt Klein (DFL-Mendota Heights) is quoted in the story, supporting the new program because he thinks we have all gone rogue:

Senator Klein says he’s concerned that Minnesota doesn’t have a mechanism to regulate the HOA industry. He says it’s a big problem, with more than one million Minnesotans enrolled in HOAs. “Surprised and disappointed. This is what’s happened: the HOA industry has sort of exploded,” he notes. “We don’t have sort of a body of law that protects homeowners that participate in these sorts of things or even regulates their activities. So that’s the work we’ve got in front of us, and we’ve got to get it done.”

So we don’t have a mechanism to regulate the industry? I guess their own MCIOA legislation and HOA governing docs aren’t enough to keep us all in line, so we need a mediator to straighten us out.

The position would not have any legal authority and couldn’t compel anyone to cooperate. But the person hired would be able to act as a mediator between HOAs and homeowners.

We’ve taken the position that if HOA residents want to have a mediator on speed dial, so be it. But we are dubious about how this is going to go down, given the kind of complaints that board members themselves receive on a regular basis. I certainly hope the state shares the list from this new complaint department, whenever they find someone to take the job. Until then, expect to hear, “We’re sorry, we can’t take your call right now….”

Read Channel 5’s report HERE.