Introductions and Welcome - Tracie Duensing, President Vintage Heights HOA

Introduction of the Current Board 

Tracie Duensing- President

Jeff Bohmont- Vice President

Chris Schroeder- Treasurer

—--------------- Secretary

Mike Cruce

Tom McEvoy

Steve Hankins

Tim Thaden

 

General Announcements - Tracie Duensing

• Neighborhood Garage Sales June 12th, 13th, 14th

• Kids Entrepreneur Day June 14th

• Spring Clean-Up (Please consider picking up trash this spring when out on a walk) especially on the neighborhood periphery. 

• Road construction in the neighborhood. The first phase of the improvement project will improve:

1. 93rd from Foxtail Drive to Old Cheney Road, Simi Ct, Rokland Cir., and Dargent Ct.

2. Foxtail from 91st and wrap up to Merryvale Drive.

3. S 91st Street from Silver Oak Road to Foxtail Drive

4. S 91st from Foxtail Drive to Merryvale Drive and Merryvale Drive from 91st to 93rd

5.  and near the creek)

 https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/LTU/LTU-Projects/Projects/Vintage-Heights-Neighborhood

 

VH Accomplishments 2024-2025- Mike Cruce

• Ongoing planting and maintenance at the Pollinator Greenway. The greenway provides for water and soil erosion control and supporting pollinators with Native plants. This year we did extensive weeding, thinning and planted wildflower seeds.

• Continued partnership with the Nebraska Arboretum- New species, trees and shrubs- we gain expert advice & access to Native and well adapted plants to our area.

• Removal of non-native thistles.

• Removal of hazardous trees.

• Continued weed removal on the gas line.

• Large July 4th Celebration at Mendoza Park and picnic.

• Kids Bike Parade on July 4th.

• Sponsored Summer Neighborhood Garage Sales.

• Sponsored a Kid’s Entrepreneur Day.

• Finalized three year contracts with our most recent vendors (snow, mowing, bookkeeping, landscape maintenance at roundabouts and entrances).

• Sponsored two Holiday Decorating Contest.

• Maintained financials and kept the neighborhood fiscally solvent with enough retained earnings to cover neighborhood emergencies.

• Completed major infrastructure project (sidewalk path over the creek at Mendoza Park). The retention area and pipe under the sidewalk had lost stability and the sidewalk was about to collapse $16,000 expense).

• Sponsored neighborhood clean-ups to keep the neighborhood nice

• Removed several fallen or dangerous trees across the neighborhood

• Cleaned debris out of the creek to prevent flooding

• Thinned out and cleaned up neighborhood entrances. 

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Board Elections 2025

The board runs with members. At this time we can fill many open slots for board membership. Terms are currently for one year. 

 

• Open Slot (Formerly Tracie Duensing)

• Open Slot (Formerly Mike Cruce)

• Open Slot (Formerly Chris Schroeder)

• Open Slot (Formerly Tom McEvoy)

• Open Slot

• Open Slot

• Open Slot

• Open Slot

 

Prospective Board Member Bios/Into

The following people are interested in joining the HOA board.

 

Jim Himmelberg

I am Dr. Jim Himmelberg and my wife and I have lived in the Vintage Heights neighborhood for over 20 years. We have 2 adult sons and two grandchildren. Three dogs and one cat share our home, and my veterinary office has the same name as the neighborhood. I have both business experience and currently serve as Treasurer for the St. Michael Knights of Columbus. When the VH Board sent the notice asking for new members to join, I threw my proverbial hat into the ring.  Never served on an HOA before, but I am willing to learn and pitch in. 

 

Habib Olomi

My name is Habib Olomi, my family and I have been living in Vintage Heights for 7 years. My spouse, Maria and I have been married for 19 years and we are raising three beautiful kids, 14, 11 and 10 Years of age. I am interested in helping my community by providing as much as I can. 

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Chris Domgard

I graduated from UNL with a bachelor’s degree majoring in Finance and a MBA from UNO.  I’ve been in the financial services industry between 18 to 19 years total with just over 15 of them as a financial advisor.  I taught several masters level finance classes at Doane these last few years.  I own my business and own the office we are in.  I have lived in the neighborhood for just over 10 years now and my wife and I have three kids all at Kloefkorn. 

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Becky Morrow

A Seattle native, I moved to the neighborhood (sight unseen!) in 2021 to support my husband's career and to provide a safer environment for our young children. The move turned out to be the best decision we could have made as we have fallen in love with the area and the people in the community. We love seeing the neighborhood go all out for holidays, having a 4th of July parade, and driveway gatherings. These are things we grew up with, but sadly have not experienced since our childhoods. That is why I wanted to join the board and contribute my time towards ensuring that these kinds of memory-making events can continue and grow. A Navy veteran, I am good with deadlines, planning, working with people, and making things happen!  

I work from home as a product strategist for Ameritas and my husband Reid and I own a commercial cleaning company here in Lincoln that Reid runs full time. We have two sweet boys that attend Kloefkorn Elementary. Sam (8) is in the third grade and Ben (7) is in 1st grade. For fun, I like to practice my archery skills and we have recently started playing pickleball on the weekends. I look forward to meeting you all and doing my part to keep Vintage Heights a great place to live. 

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Adam Lininger

I'm relatively new to Lincoln and the neighborhood, having moved here last May from Missouri. I'm a software engineer, working from home full time. Outside of work, I can usually be found gaming, working on electronics projects, or making some small woodworking projects in the shop. While I'm new to neighborhood organizations, I've spent several years serving on various boards at my church. I'm looking forward to getting to know the neighborhood and the city better.

 

Brett Joseph

My name is Brett Joseph, and I am interested in joining the VH board. I have lived in Vintage Heights since 1999; I moved into the area as a home builder, and have built several homes within the development. I have a degree in accounting, and have 20+ years of experience working as a controller, business manager, as well as tax and auditing with a CPA firm. With my experience as a home builder and remodeling contractor, I have plenty of exposure to contract negotiations, and interacting with various subcontractors. I have also served on several boards in the past, and am familiar with the process, and understand the commitments that are required.

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Valerie Hansen

My name is Valerie Hansen, and I am writing to express my interest in serving on the HOA board. My family and I have been residents of the neighborhood for the past four years, and we have three young children and two dogs, which certainly keep us busy. However, I am eager to contribute to our community in a meaningful way. My areas of expertise include finance, landscaping, strategic planning, and communication. I have greatly enjoyed being part of this neighborhood and am excited about the opportunity to offer my skills to support in any way that I can.

 

Bonita Rickers

Bonita Rickers, Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, has lived in Vintage Heights for three years, and in Lincoln for 20 years. She would like to join the Vintage Heights Homeowners Association as a member at large on the landscaping team.

Bonita is a business owner, with over ten years of experience in event planning, business management, and community engagement. She has also done fundraising and volunteering for many local charities, including Friendship Home, Matt Talbot, Out Nebraska, and Voices of Hope. In college, Bonita worked with a USDA Land Grant, focusing on composting, permaculture, and indigenous plants. At home, she is a budding gardener, often calling her father, a Master Gardener and former landscaper, for advice.

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Financial Report - Chris Schroeder, Treasurer for Vintage Heights HOA

The HOA board spent the better part of last year looking at the neighborhood's finances, our balance sheets, and projected expenses along with the increased cost of virtually everything in our city, state and country. Additionally, our contract with our current bookkeeper is up and our bookkeeper is looking to move on to another phase of life. We have been down in board members for several years now and it has been a challenge to juggle the neighborhood business with our increased size, age and need of the neighborhood and increase in city mandated projects. For the integrity of the neighborhood we have  transitioned to a professional property management company this year. This necessitated modest dues increase to cover their services. 

 

As a reminder, the initial HOA dues for Vintage Heights were $200 per year in the mid 1990’s and went down and held steady for a period of twelve consecutive years until last year's increase. 2025 will be the first year that our dues will approach similar costs paid by those at the beginning of our neighborhood 30 years ago. 

 

The cost of landscaping and mowing for 40 acres of common space, snow removal, insurance, bookkeeping, necessary infrastructure projects and downed and dead tree removal require a constant flow of payments to keep the neighborhood clean, safe and aesthetically pleasing for all who live here. This past year alone, we lost many established trees due to weather, including some 100-year-old cottonwoods. We had a major project to reinforce the sidewalk area over the creek near Mendoza Park that had become washed away over the years. Projects such as this carry high costs, and most of us don’t see the positive outcome but we would all see the negative effects if we ignored these problems. 

 

Board members are unpaid volunteers from all over the neighborhood who come together to try to solve issues that could end up being problems for all of us all. Although it is rewarding work, we have to make tough decisions at times. We also attempt to do as much of the work ourselves as possible as volunteers to attempt to keep costs down. 

 

The neighborhood remains fiscally strong with approximately 90% of dues collected going back into several primary categories (mowing, landscaping of entrances, cul-de-sacs and common spaces, snow removal and bookkeeping). 

 

The remainder of the monies collected went to smaller expenses (legal fees, insurance, and special events like holiday contests and neighborhood social events).

Questions and Answers

Conclusion and Thank You - Tracie Duensing