HOMEOWNERS are up in arms after a golf club asked them to foot the bill for a giant net to help prevent residents from being hit.
According to residents, the incredulous proposal from the nearby Red Barn Golf Course after they installed 10 tech-driven hitting stations that face people’s homes.
Association President Paul Grossen has been worried about the effect this can have on his elderly residentCredit: 23 WIFR
A gold course wants residents to foot the bill on a $180,000 netCredit: 23 WIFR
While residents of the Summit Condos Association, located in Rockton, Illinois are used to the odd golf ball flying through the window, many are worried about the effects it might have on elderly residents.
“It possibly could give someone a heart attack at an age like that,” president of the Summit Condos Association, Paul Grossen, said to CW affiliate WIFR.
“And you have a projectile coming into your home.”
According to Grossen, ever since the hitting stations, created by Topgolf, had been installed they have already had to replace five windows.
Grossen claims that in the community’s 20-year history, only four windows have ever had to be replaced.
In June, many residents thought their pleas were finally heard when Mayor John Peterson and Rockton’s Board of Trustees revised its public nuisance ordinances.
“Sometimes people just aren’t good neighbors,” said Mayor Peterson. “And so you have to protect those other folks.”
The change came after a wayward golf ball allegedly crashed into a sliding glass door and bounced off a kitchen wall near a resident’s head.
The Summit Condos Association and Red Barn’s owner, Richard Barnes have tried to come up with a solution that suited both of them in several meetings.
Many residents were shocked after Barnes reportedly suggested that residents pay from $187,000 “giant net,” to keep the golf balls away.
The association president claimed the company would offer only $10,000 toward the installation.
“They’ve made changes, and they want us to foot the bill – to save our lives,” says Paul – distraught by the potential arrangement.
Mayor Peterson claimed that while he wasn’t aware of any citations from the updated ordinance, Red Barn can still be held responsible if neighbors continue to have their windows broken.
Grossen believes the ordinance is needed to help protect his residents.
“We’ve heard that they want to be good neighbors,” says the association president. “But I haven’t really seen that happen.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Red Barn Golf Course for comment.
It possibly could give someone a heart attack at an age like that.
Paul Grossen,President Of The Summit Condos Association
MAJOR FRAUD
While the residents of Summit Condos Association, will possibly avoid a hefty bill, every homeowner is not so lucky.
Last December, Pam Crabb from Loveland, Colorado revealed she was one of the many homeowners who was ordered to pay more to their HOA due to alleged fund mismanagement.
“Who’s been watching the cookie jar?” Crabb asked NBC affiliate KUSA.
In 2023, multiple HOAs that work with Poudre Property Services filed a complaint with the Loveland Police, claiming that the organization stole from HOA accounts.
Police later confirmed that they were investigating the company, but charges were never filed against the owner.
Crabb was shocked when she found out in December that her fees were being raised from $600 to $1000.
“You’re penalizing those of us who live here and got ripped off,” Crabb said.
“We’re the victims in this crime, and yet, you’re turning around and saying, ‘Okay, now you have to pay for this.'”
The HOA normally had her pay her dues monthly, but changed their mind and asked for the cash upfront.
“They said ‘By the way, we are not going to do it monthly anymore, you have to come up with it all by January 1,'” Crabb accused her HOA of saying in December.
She added that during the board meeting, no one apologized for what the homeowners were being forced to go through.
“No one is taking responsibility, no one is even truly saying ‘I’m sorry,” Crabb said.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the owner of Poudre Property Services, Loveland Police, and Enchantment Ridge for comment.