Timeline of Board Actions concerning the Mailboxes

November 28, 2023

Meeting with the Metro District about mailboxes

March 14, 2024, Board Meeting Minutes

Update on Meeting with Page Specialty – The Board discussed the meeting held on

Thursday, March 7th, with a representative from Page Specialty. Helen Hardin, Charlie

Fiser, Josh Guftormsen, and Ms. Devine attended the meeting.

May 2024 Board Meeting Minutes

Mailbox discussion: Preliminary indications are that the City would grant the Association a license over its tracts to maintain the CBUs, like what the City has done with the metro district and the mail kiosks previously. With that said, the City has certain standards and requirements that must be met, one of which is likely to include a formal survey. 

We are working with the City to confirm the exact requirements to obtain a license and ensure the Association has appropriate documentation to legally access the property.

May 2024 Newsletter

Last year, the issue of community mail delivery arose when a group of Cluster Box Units (CBU”s) were vandalized, rendering mail delivery impossible for several months. This brought to light the lack of documentation regarding the responsibility for the units, ownership and maintenance. Who owned the CBU’s? The USPS, the Metro District, or the HOA?

Neither the HOA nor Metro District had ever considered  the CBU’s their property, maintained them, or set aside reserves for their replacement. It appears that recently the USPS, facing financial constraints, has backed away from maintaining CBU’s nationwide and rewritten their policies stating homeowners own the property. The Conservatory HOA took the lead last fall and hired a contractor to repair the damaged CBU’s to restore mail delivery to the affected homes. We then began reaching out to all parties to formulate a permanent solution. The project has been delayed by our attempts to establish legal ownership documentation. This has created a unique situation. Before any work to repair or replace can begin we must obtain construction easements. We will keep the neighborhood apprised as we move through the process and decisions are made about scope and costs.

August 8, 2024, Board Meeting Minutes

Mailbox Discussion: The board discussed taking responsibility of the USPS Custer Mailboxes (CBU’s) in the community and the process for obtaining a license agreement.

September 12, 2024, Board Meeting Minutes

Mailbox Discussion - The Board reviewed the status of the license application agreement with the City of Aurora to take responsibility for the mailbox units.

October 10, 2024, Board Meeting Minutes

Mailbox Update – The last item needed is an Insurance document from the new carrier. Aaron Goodlock will contact them to get a current statement. Andrew Igl provided the contact information.

November 14, 2024, Board Meeting Minutes

Mailbox Discussion – Helen Hardin moved to approve quote 35101 for $195,886.00

from Paige Specialty, pending approval from the City of Aurora, and up to 10%

increase if necessary to move forward without any further delays with project to be

funded from the reserve account. Charlie Fiser seconded. Motion carried

unanimously.

A homeowner asked if the community needed to replace all the mailboxes

and expressed concern with the inconvenience of changing the keys. The

board explained the bulk pricing for the mailboxes will save a significant

amount of money. Paige Specialty will handle the key exchange as

smoothly as possible so as not to disrupt homeowners.

November 2024  Newsletter

In 2023, after vandalism left some Conservatory homeowners without functional mailboxes, the HOA Board was unable to find documentation or precedence that the mailboxes were owned by anyone, that being either the USPS, the Conservatory HOA, or the Metro District. With no clear ownership documentation, and with the homeowners’ best interest in mind, the HOA Board decided to assume responsibility for the mailboxes (CBUs).

This effort includes a plan to replace 25 CBUs in all, as some are too old to repair. Despite a months-long attempt to collaborate with the USPS and the Metro District on this project, including a Congressional Inquiry, the Board was ultimately unsuccessful. The replacement project, estimated to cost between $200,000 and $250,000, will be phased in overtime to minimize disruption to mail service, with funding coming from the Construction Defect Reserves.

Homeowners will be issued new keys, and future key management will be homeowner responsibility with involvement from the USPS. The project will not require a special assessment and will not negatively impact the HOA’s financial condition, though the Board may plan to replenish the reserve funds over time. 

February 13, 2025, Board Meeting Minutes

Mailbox Update – Aaron Goodlock gave an update on the Mailbox project. The

The city of Aurora is asking for more information and edits to the application. Aaron

asked the City to submit all requested edits at one time. It is difficult to estimate

a date of approval from the City of Aurora.

March 13, 2025, Board Meeting Minutes

Mailbox Update:  Association attorney, Aaron Goodlock gave the update.   The permits have been processed and paid for.

June 12, 2025, Board Meeting Minutes

1. Mailbox Update – The Association has been issued the license from the City. The Association will obtain an updated quote from Paige Specialties and proceed with the project.

   
   

July 2025 Newsletter

Highlights of the June 12th meeting:

• The city of Aurora has approved the easement application for

  the Conservatory to replace the Mailbox CBUs (cluster box units).

  The next step is USPS approval. Page Specialty, the USPS-approved vendor, will manage the project.  More information will be provided as soon as we have a timeline.

August 2025  Eblast

Dear Homeowners,

We would like to inform you that the new mailbox keys will be distributed starting in mid-August. This update is part of our continued efforts to improve security and ensure reliable access to your mail.

At this time, we are waiting for the finalized schedule from the vendor, and we will share more details—including distribution dates and pickup instructions—as soon as they become available.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this transition.