Just days after Colorado’s most destructive wildfire left Sandy Quiller with nothing but a suitcase full of clothes, $362 in homeowners association dues was removed, like clockwork, from her bank account.

“I saw it online and thought it was a mistake!” said Quiller, 70, who is currently living in Annapolis, Md., with one of her sons.

In a post-Marshall fire world where little is certain, her monthly assessment fee from Ridge at Superior has become the one thing she can count on.

“Every fourth of the month, I pay for trash collection, snow removal and lawn mowing … for a hole in the ground.”

The deduction was no accident.

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Of 72 units which dot the side of a hill overlooking a vast landscape of fields and open space, only three of them were destroyed by the Marshall fire. Several more were damaged. The fire was selective, missing her friend Phyllis Schwartz’ home by 100 feet.

“I don’t fault the HOA for making her pay dues,” Schwartz said. “They have bills to pay.”

She added, however, “It’s a conundrum for sure, but I think Sandy deserves a break.”

Despite pleading their case to the volunteer HOA board, Quiller and her handful of unfortunate fire-impacted neighbors will not get a break on the hefty monthly dues. In a Feb. 23 email to members, the board explained that it had reviewed the association’s policy for homeowners who had been affected by the fire, and though their hearts were with the victims, “The monthly dues are essential to the financial health of our community as well as the Association’s ability to continue to operate and perform necessary maintenance and repairs.”

In the email, the board advised Quiller and the other fire victims to take advantage of government aid. The board did make one concession: It agreed to waive any late fees that might accrue.  

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No escaping liability

For Quiller, the refusal to help her in a time of unfathomable need was an insult.

Overwhelmed by sudden homelessness, she is staying with her son, Rory, who is a pole-vault coach at the U.S. Naval Academy.

“A night or two after the fire, I said good night and proceeded to wash up before bed. As I picked up my towel, it occurred to me that I no longer owned a towel, a blanket or anything,” said Quiller.

On Jan. 1, two days after the fire, Quiller appealed to one HOA director who was sympathetic. “We will work through this together,” promised Reece Lloyd. But when Quiller read the community covenants Lloyd attached to the email, she froze.

Section 9, article 5 reads, “No owner may waive or otherwise escape liability for the Common Expenses Assessment provided for herein by the non-use of the Common Properties or the abandonment of his or her Townhome Unit.”

Having lost everything to the Marshall fire, it felt as if they were suggesting she had left, as in abandoned, her home on purpose.

Colorado does not have laws to regulate homeowners associations, according to Gary Kujawslo, education, communication and policy manager for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. He said the Division of Real Estate does not have a apparatus to undertake investigations or enforcement actions regarding HOA complaints.

Both the Boulder County district attorney and the state Attorney General’s Office, who responded to inquiries by The Denver Gazette, say they have little or no authority over HOAs when it comes to complaints over dues.

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In an email, Kujawslo said Quiller could decide to put a stop on her monthly $362 automatic payment, but, “If a homeowner in an HOA does not pay their required HOA dues, an HOA can take civil legal action to collect the amount, including turning the matter over to a collection agency, bringing a lawsuit, obtaining a money judgment, or even initiating a foreclosure action.”

He said that when complaints come he refers complainants to the Colorado Bar Association.

‘Show must go on’

Elina Gilbert, an attorney representing the Ridge at Superior, wrote in an email: “The Association remains responsible for paying fees associated with management, accounting, and legal services for the community. Additionally, the Association must continue to provide common area maintenance, road maintenance and repairs, landscaping, trash pickup, and pay all water and sewer costs.”

Furthermore, the association remains responsible for paying the insurance premium and is now responsible for the insurance deductible associated with repairs and reconstruction. The only source of income the association has is assessments paid by owners, and the declaration requires all owners to pay equal assessments without abatement. Therefore, continuing to collect assessments from all owners is not only necessary for the continued viability of the community, but also legally required.

“Although the Association understands and feels great empathy for all the owners whose units were damaged by the fire,” Gilbert wrote, “it cannot legally abate their assessment obligations.”

Because many HOAs are run by volunteers and the laws are complex, there is an advocacy group which educates board members called the Community Associations Institute. The group’s senior vice president of government, Dawn Bawman, confirmed that Quiller’s HOA, The Ridge at Superior volunteer board, is a CAI member.

Bawman explained that HOA community residents like Sandy Quiller are expected to pay dues in the same way that they must pay property taxes and mortgages. She told the Gazette that HOA dues are typically a housing development’s only source of revenue. “Basically, the associations has to keep the lights on.”

In short, despite the fact that Quiller’s trash cans are melted, there’s no lawn to mow and no faucet or water to brush her teeth, she must pay her fair share. Said Bawman, “The show must go on.”

Across the Turnpike from Superior where the Marshall fire leaped to Louisville and ruined hundreds more homes, a much bigger and more vocal group of fire victims have started a petition over having to fork over HOA dues.

A third of the homes in Coal Creek Ranch were lost, including Andrew Zimmer’s. The husband and father of two is angry and feeling helpless: “I think it’s in the way the system is designed, to be inflexible, unable to respond to extreme situations with extraordinary actions. The community has enfolded us, but our own neighborhood HOA has only made things harder. They are now just one more challenge to surmount.”

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Though it isn’t waiving dues for its fire victims, the HOA at Coal Creek Ranch has responded to them by eliminating trash service fees reducing their monthly dues to around $43. It’s also raised thousands of dollars, which will go a long way in helping residents who can’t pay.  

“If I could change one thing, I’d call on HOAs in Colorado to be more flexible and compassionate to their members; we are human beings, not just dues to be collected,” said Zimmer.

Quiller Classic

In a county known internationally for its robust running scene, the Quiller name is royalty. Quiller’s late husband, Jerry, for whom the annual Pac-12 Quiller Classic track and field meet is named, coached the Colorado Buffaloes to three Big 8 championships and mentored 19 All-Americans before transferring to Army to finish his career. He died in 2012 at age 69.

“My sons asked if anything was found in the rubble from Dad,” said Quiller, who stayed in the home she and her husband bought 25 years ago. A Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team sifted through what was left of it, intent on finding Quiller’s gold ring from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, an honorary sword meant for his sons, and family photos; but they came up short. Thirty paintings by Quiller’s brother, Stephen, a well-known artist, are also gone.

Today, April 4, another $362 will evaporate from Quiller’s bank account and because of the fire, dues may increase. But she is feeling more positive, with a goals of peeling singed baby pictures from the plastic sheets of an ashy photo album. In May, she’ll move to an apartment to supervise rebuilding a new home from that hole in the ground.  After all, she said, “I really like the place.”