Fall '25 Newsletter

NEW HOA PRESIDENT:

Mike Smith, our longtime President, announced that while he will continue to sit on the board, he has decided to step down from the role as President of the HOA.  We want to extend our heartfelt thanks for his outstanding service and leadership during his time as President. His hard work and commitment have made a positive impact on our beautiful neighborhood, and we are truly grateful for his contributions.

As Mike’s replacement, the Board elected Serena McKnight (203 Starweather) as the new HOA President.

We look forward to your support as we transition to this new chapter.

LETTER OF INTRODUCTION:

Hello Neighbors,

I’m honored to have been selected to serve as the new President of our HOA. Having lived in this wonderful community for over three years, I truly appreciate the unique beauty of Idaho, the Big Wood River, and our neighborhood. My previous experience as an HOA president in New York taught me the importance of making thoughtful decisions that respect all members of our community while also protecting our extraordinary neighborhood environment. By trade, I am a certified Project Manager, and I’m passionate about bringing that expertise to our community.

My husband Shad & I have two children who attend Wood River High School and Boise State University.  We moved to Idaho 5 years ago to be closer to family. I was raised in the charming rural town of Elgin, Oregon surrounded by the Wallowa & Blue Mountain ranges, while my husband spent his high school and undergraduate years in Bozeman, Montana. We lived on the East Coast for 20 years, but our hearts were always in the Mountains, and we were thrilled when we were finally able to move back West.

I look forward to working with all of you and want to encourage you to reach out with any issues, questions or comments.

Warm regards, 

Serena McKnight

GOVERNING DOCUMENT VOTE

The final version of the updated Starweather governing documents were sent out to the community for a vote on September 3^rd hoping to close the voting around September 16, 2025.

If you did not receive the email & DocuSign or if you have any questions about how to return your vote, please contact our Property Manager Jon Gilmour at Jon@sawtoothproperties.com as soon as possible.

Update: The governing documents were approved on September 24, 2025 with the required 51% or more votes needed for the adoption of the new CCR's & By-Laws.

BACK-UP GENERATOR

We have been following up with our electrician and are still waiting for the delivery of our generator.  Once the generator is received it will be built and brought out to the site for installation.

The necessary DEQ approval and site prep-work for the installation is complete so once the generator is delivered, we will be able to install it without delay.

WATER LINE EXCAVATION

Two winters ago, we had issues with our pipes freezing in several locations through-out the neighborhood.  The frost-free hydrants were installed to fix the issue for the water main.   However, the concern at the top of Starweather/Mallard Lane, was not resolved.  The issue for this section is with the service line located off the water main. The service line extends from the water main to the property line connection.  The homeowner line each of us are responsible for maintaining is located after this service line connection, so any issue with service line is an HOA matter.

Last month Joe’s Backhoe/Excavation dug up part of Mallard Lane down to the service line connection for the home on Mallard.  They found the service line was higher than it should be and trenched below the line to drop it down further. They added additional insulation to the line itself and covered it with blue backer foam board before backfilling & re-asphalting the location.  We hope this fix will be the end of this issue.

While there are other homes along Starweather that had their service line freeze, the home on Mallard has lost water multiple times over the years and was the priority.  Now that we understand the issue and cost, we will work to determine if other homes require the same repair.

WATER RIGHTS IDAHO LEGISLATION UPDATE

On July 1, 2025, an update to current Idaho State legislation was made to clarify water right usage between household and irrigation use.  The clarification states that household water rights & irrigation water rights are not only separate, but states that household water rights cannot be used in any way for irrigation purposes. Starweather has two water rights, one for household use and one for irrigation, so the update to the law doesn’t currently impact to our community, like other communities in the valley who may not hold irrigation water rights.

However, it seems Idaho is leaning toward monitoring irrigation water usage more than they have in the past and may soon require communities to verify compliance within their defined limits. Today, Starweather would not be able to prove compliance as we have no meters on our homel irrigation lines.

At this point, the board is not taking any action to install irrigation line meters.  We simply want to make you aware of this legislative update in case we are required to make any changes in tracking our water consumption in the future.  

Starweather’s irrigation water rights can be found under the "Resources" link on this website.

ARCHITECT REVIEW COMMITTEE HOMEOWNER REPRESENTATIVES

In recent years the Starweather Architecture Review Committee has not had Starweather Homeowner’s on the committee.  Rather it has been a committee of professionals reviewing the request and making decisions on our behalf with Board review & approval.  While this makes sense for new builds and major changes, the HOA Board is looking to re-install Starweather Homeowners on this committee.

The new ARC Homeowner Representatives will handle “minor” ARC requests without going through the professional committee, as well as sit in on the formal Committee Meetings to ensure homeowner representation and input is given.

The three members of the ARC Homeowner's Representatives are: Barrett Ott, Kate Parnes and Jeffery Wood. They will work directly with Jon Gilmour and the Professional ARC team.

Please do not contact the Homeowner Representatives directly. ARC requests (minor and major) can only be initiated by sending the ARC form via email directly to our Property Manager Jon Gilmour at Jon@sawtoothproperties.com. Jon will determine if the request fits under the Homeowner Representative’s role or if the request needs to be sent to the larger committee for a formal review.

FIREWISE COMMITTEE

We’re excited to announce the formation of the Starweather Firewise Committee! We invite more community members to join us in our mission to enhance fire safety in Starweather. Our committee meetings will primarily be held virtually throughout the year, but we’ll also organize neighborhood projects that everyone can take part in. Together, we aim to achieve Firewise designation for our community. Your involvement can make a significant difference!

If you are interested in joining, please contact Amanda Porino at: aatwill@gmail.com