The Pierce County Homeowners Association has proposed a one-time fee of more than $8,000 for its residents in addition to taxes that could force some to move if approved.
Members of the Tapps Island Association in Lake Tapps can vote to approve this proposal; however, in an agreement with state law and HOA guidelines, the measure will only be implemented unless a majority of the members object. The fee was announced at a Tapps Island Board meeting this fall.
“My husband went to a meeting and came home and said, ‘We have to pack up and go,'” said Renate Lyman, who has lived on the island for 46 years.
Lyman said he always thought he would spend his future on the island, but now he’s not sure.
“My husband said the meeting was over, many people said it was time to leave,” he said.
The committee recommended a one-time inspection fee of $8,035 if homeowners pay before March 1. There are payment plans for residents who cannot afford to pay the fee in one go, but the fees add up. For residents who are looking for an additional payment period, the fee increases to $998.
KIRO 7 asked Lyman what he would do if the money was passed.
“You’d have to go without too many scares,” he said. “Because you know, taxes are increasing, and everything else. You can’t do it anymore. That’s what it does. Is true.”
One neighbor said he would have to sell his house and leave the island because of the payment.
This money is intended to build the island’s Reserve Fund, which is “a pile of money set aside for the repair and replacement of major community assets.”⎼such as roofs, roads, ponds and water pipes in the evening,” according to an information packet given to residents.
“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ these items will need to be repaired or replaced … it’s a matter of ‘when,'” the packet read.
Islanders already pay monthly fees to the Reserve Fund, but a review of the fund recommended that more money be allocated to it, according to the information packet.
Special audit fees are only granted unless a majority of members legally vote “no,” according to state law.
Residents said they are worried that not everyone in the community will vote.
“You raise three young children (and) think, ‘Oh, I want to raise my family here,'” Lyman said. “Then you get hit with it. It doesn’t make sense.”
KIRO 7 reached out to HOA members about this issue and did not hear back.