Cluster mailboxes

Started by TN1 • 12 replies • 1742 views

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TN1 (California)
Posts: 45

Posted:

HOA board of directors votes to switch from indiviual curbside delivery mailboxes to cluster CBU's againt majority of home owners wishes present at HOA meeting. Consists of (over 250 homes) by using reserve study funds that list calculated mailbox replacement in 2026.

Plan to notify homeowners when the CBU' are being installed with no prior notice.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Question? How many voted for it that did not attend the meeting? I don't think a majority of 250 showed up to the meeting. So was their a vote outside of the meeting?

Former HOA President

TN1 (California)
Posts: 45

Posted:

No notification was made to association / owners prior to board meeting other than discussion of " locking mail boxes" being placed on the agenda posted on the clubhouse bltn. board.
Board made decision and took it upon themselves to approve the change.

The only homeowners aware of action is been by word of mouth.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Has your HOA had incidents involving mailbox thefts? Why would they consider the change? My area they are switching to cluster boxes in some of the new building areas. It was voted on by our city not just the developer/HOA.
Many were upset about it but think it's now becoming some kind of law or code now. Think their decision is a combo between the post office and developers. It's cheaper for the post office to have cluster boxes than ride to each home.

Will warn them though. Finding company that makes cluster boxes or does repairs on them are very limited. The Postal service used to do it. However, now you have to find another contractor. The replacement locks are easy and cheap to buy at Lowes or Home Depot.

Former HOA President

CjC
Posts: 210

Posted:

What does the post office say about this? Our post office dictates what type of boxes we use and this directly affects the pay of the postal carrier. They get paid based on the number of stops they have to make in some areas. I am also curious about the reserve to replace mailboxes. We discussed this in our neighborhood but since mailboxes were personal property and not HOA property, this was going to exceed the 90/10 rule for our tax status.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

TN1,

Keep in mind that once the cluster mailboxes go in, the post office won't allow them to go back.
Additionally, the area around the cluster must be handicap accessible (something the Board might not be aware of).

Put out a flyer and let the membership know.
The membership may be able to stop things before the project gets too far along.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

The Board has complete authority concerning voting to install the clusters. It doesn't matter if the reserves study says replacement isn't needed till '26. No h'owner vote is required in CA and that taken at the open meeting may have been just a courtesy "vote," or "straw vote."

The agenda was posted 4 days in advance of the meeting (I presume per CA Civ. Code) and TN says one item was "Locking Mailboxes."

The Board, of course, must comply with local, federal law, etc. I assume their vendor knows the statutes, etc.

It could be the board already has a contract with a vendor--your property manager will know. If not, TN, you could try to rally h'owners to sign a petition to oppose this.

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

As a property manager I had this exact same scenario last year after a string of mail thief from the boxes. They had cheap curbside boxes and I went online and found the USPS had/has a program to but the cluster in for free. Problem is getting someone from the Post office to call back. I wonder how they stay in business. They said it was and third the labor cost to service the clusters than the individual boxes. The cluster are more secure and has places for oversize packages.

We did two town hall meetings, one was in favor the other no. Why because of one board member. For a 90 home complex the cost for installation and purchase of the clusters was $7000.00. The one board members wanted the boxes curbside and much heavier duty. The project would cost $14,000.00. I made them do a secret ballot vote as the expenditure exceeds the legal limit for a capital improvement. It passed by one vote. The mailboxes were also turned over to the homeowners for repair and replacement and taken out of the reserve study as it wasn't an item required in their CCRs.

As same point in time, the Post office will have to get smart and install these clusters everywhere to reduce costs where it make sense. If I were running the PO, this is one of the areas to reduce costs.

TN1 (California)
Posts: 45

Posted:

Could u eloberate on the 90/10 rule u are referring to ?

TN1 (California)
Posts: 45

Posted:

The HOA board was only presented with one bid for this project by the asssociation property management company. Bid was quoted at over $30,000.00 for 16 cluster boxes with 16 incoming slots and 2 cluster boxes with 8 incoming slots, pouring up to 8 pads, Installation of cluster boxes to USPS wishes, remove existing homeower boxes, posts and backfill each with dirt.

No mention of specifics such as size of pads or if will be compliance
with disabled, handicapped, state or local law / ordinances, any required Permits,. etc.

Does this sound right ???

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Yes. It does. I think our cluster box was about 15K or so. That was a long time ago. Handicap access is debatable as HOA's are private. Which may or may mean certain ADA laws apply. Overall I would say this expense and the work seems pretty comprehensible. These cluster boxes are not widely mass produced. The USPS does not make them anymore as they once did. So you can expect to pay out some thousands of dollars for the boxes.

Former HOA President

PatJ1 (North Carolina)
Posts: 568

Posted:

Our community put in cluster mailboxes around 10 years ago. We didn't pour pads, we installed them directly into the ground. They still look new. Do you need to pour pads? Ours can be reached by standing on the paving in the parking lot.

TN1 (California)
Posts: 45

Posted:

USPS now requires all Cluster boxes to be mounted on concrete pads.

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