Dear Owner at The Aspen Mountain Residences,
We are excited to reintroduce our partnership with Elite Alliance, an exchange program for owners at a select family of prestigious residence clubs and luxurious, professionally managed vacation homes. This partnership grants access to a portfolio of luxury residences in some of the world’s most sought-after destinations.
To learn more about how you can take advantage of this benefit, please join myself, Kelli Buchheit, VP of Operations at Elite Alliance, and Karrie Dell’Anno, Director of Membership at Elite Alliance for a live webinar.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
3:00pm EDT
REGISTER
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/7b126354-00cc-4037-aa9c-625fa51681e0@663ad1e0-9220-41ab-8d1e-98faf21c0443
We look forward to helping you create unforgettable experiences beyond Aspen!
Uncategorized
NOTICE OF MEETING OF THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES EXECUTIVE BOARD
THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES CONDO ASSOCIATION, INC.
Attn: Executive Board & Owners
415 Dean Street
Aspen, CO 81611
Re: Notice of a Meeting of the Executive Board of
THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES CONDO ASSOCIATION, INC (“Association”)
Notice is now given under Section 3.4 of the Bylaws of Association of a meeting of the Executive Board to be held via Zoom teleconference on Thursday, April 17, 2025, 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (9:00 AM MST).
The initial agenda for the meeting is as follows:
1. Call to Order – Welcome and Introduction
2. Review of minutes and approval of board meeting of 1.23.25
3. President Report – Tom Kaplan
a. Welcome and overview
b. Acceptation of the resignation of board member Tim Hall
c. Nominate individual to serve on the board to fill the remainder of Tim Hall’s term
d. Appoint and approve new board treasurer
e. Review owner rental policy
f. Reserve study update
4. Resort Updates – Claudine Grondin, General Manager
5. Legal Committee Update – Joe Ferguson, Vice President
6. Finance Update – Vangel Yurukov, Director of Finance
7. Owner questions or comments
8. Next board meeting is on July 17th at 9am (MST)
9. Adjournment
Owners are welcome to attend the meeting. The board will answer owner questions at the end of the meeting. If you have a question on any of the topics covered you can submit them during the meeting.
Owners interested in viewing the meeting are welcome to click the link below and once prompted, enter passcode: 827169
When: April 17, 2025 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (9:00 AM MST)
Topic: TAMR Board Meeting
JOIN ON ZOOM HERE: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86473287463?pwd=3IfiXXaLs7ZQcAACIMVUqtPvyF3wk7.1#success
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Passcode: 827169
International numbers available: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kcFEdR0uq5
On behalf of the Board,
Thomas Kaplan, President
tkaplan@kkladvisors.com
Board Members and Owner Director Contact Information:
Joe Ferguson – jferguson@rjrcapital.com
Tim Hall – timhl9999@gmail.com
Peter Wells – petercwells@yahoo.com
Bruce Clay – bjc2115@gmail.com
Don Harvey- dharvey@secretariat-intl.com
Jami Champagne (HPC Contractual Appointed Member of the Board)
NOTICE OF MEETING OF THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES EXECUTIVE BOARD
THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES CONDO ASSOCIATION, INC.
Attn: Executive Board & Owners
415 Dean Street
Aspen, CO 81611
Re: Notice of a Meeting of the Executive Board of THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES CONDO ASSOCIATION, INC (“Association”)
Notice is now given under Section 3.4 of the Bylaws of Association of a meeting of the Executive Board to be held via Zoom teleconference on Thursday, April 17, 2025, 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (9:00 AM MST).
Details to follow.
Dear Fellow Aspen Mountain Residences Owners,
Greetings from Aspen, where in the last few days we’ve received over 30 inches of new snow.
I’m writing to provide you with an update on the most recent meeting of the Aspen Mountain Residences (“AMR”) and 2026 float time announcements.
A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE JANUARY 23, 2025, AMR BOARD MEETING:
- I thanked Al Kenney for his six years of service as our prior Board President. Al did an outstanding job of navigating our resort through very tumultuous times. Thank you again, Al!
- I introduced our newest Board member Don Harvey and welcomed him to our AMR team.
- We had a presentation from Hanna Albertson, the Vice President of Marketing for our management firm East West Hospitality (“East West”). Hanna and her team have worked very closely with our Board since day one of East West taking over our management of our resort. She discussed our branding and a variety of marketing initiatives.
- Tim Hall, our Board Treasurer, gave an in-depth report on our positive projected year-end financials resulting in a total better than budget $1 million plus surplus. The surplus will be transferred to our capital reserve fund.
- Tim also shared how our operating and reserve funds will be conservatively invested in fixed income financial vehicles.
- Tim also shared how our operating and reserve funds will be conservatively invested in fixed income financial vehicles.
- Our General Manager, Claudine Grondin, provided an update on our AMR resort:
- She shared that this year’s Christmas/New Years holidays were very busy and many of our owners had their first opportunity to stay in their newly refurbished units.
- She also explained that our hot tubs which are under repair construction should be completed by the end of February.
- Claudine also outlined our “owner only” ski and snowshoe opportunities, please visit our concierge to book these activities.
- Joe Ferguson, our Board Vice President and Chair of our Legal Committee, provided an update pertaining to the two ongoing legal issues that we are dealing with, a complaint against our original interior designer, and an owners’ lawsuit, demanding that she be allowed to bring her emotional support animal on property (emotional support animals are not allowed at the AMR, while service animals are permitted, with proper paperwork)
- Also discussed at the meeting is the Board’s focus on developing a detailed reserve study to project the various physical and strategic needs of the property over the short and long-term future.
- I also discussed that everyone needed to submit their float time selection paperwork.
- Our next Board meeting is scheduled for April 17th, 2025.
- For those who would like additional details on the January 2025 Board meeting, a Zoom recording of the meeting is available: https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/dz3Keh9IMbPGjrYcYh13Aa1rknOsYCcf7qlBHcV6UmOhS_GcFiKPudVPMn48qiTN.0Vbr9DHUN2uXOka5 and enter password: ^g7Yuu5f
VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PERTAINING TO YOUR FLOAT SELECTIONS
All owners should receive communication with your 2026 float week assignments in the next few days. We also want to remind everyone of your options for how to best utilize your deeded and float weeks at the AMR.
Owners have several options that you can take advantage of for your weeks (whether deeded or float) if you choose not to utilize your weeks for personal or family stays and if you want to consider renting your week(s)—or even a portion of your weeks(s)—prior to giving your week to an outside real estate agent or rental firm, I suggest that you consider these other options:
1) Post the week that you want to rent or trade on our AMR owners’ website (https://owners.aspenmountainresidences.com/), under “Time and Trade.” Many owners have been taking advantage of this opportunity to rent or trade their time with fellow owners. This method not only helps your fellow owners, and you don’t have to pay a commission, a win-win for our owners.
2) Turn in the week that you want to rent to East West, who has developed an excellent program to help owners rent their weeks working to maximize rents with reasonable commissions. Another advantage of using East West’s system is if you change your mind, and you don’t want to rent your property or you would like to rent or share with friends, East West has structured their program to allow you to cancel your listing with no penalty.
3) Turn in you week that you are planning on using with Elite Alliance. When you turn in your week to Elite Alliance you will receive Elite Alliance points that you can use at various resorts throughout the U.S. and worldwide, or even to rent more time at the AMR. Every AMR owner is able to become an Elite Alliance member at no additional cost. Elite Alliance will also be putting on webinars for our owners this year to understand more of the benefits of the program. You can learn more about the AMR’s relationship with Elite Alliance at the following link: https://elitealliance.com/exchange
Please contact Owner Relations at: aspenres@eastwest.com or 833.393.0981 for help with the owner’s website and regarding the potential in renting your unit.
Finally, if you’re considering buying an additional week or selling your weeks, please consult our preferred realtor Tom Carr at Leverich & Carr Real Estate (https://www.aspenreinfo.com/).
On behalf of the AMR Board, I want to thank you all for being part of this great community, and we look forward to a wonderful 2025 at the Aspen Mountain Residences.
All the best,
Thomas Kaplan, President
tkaplan@kkladvisors.com
Board Members and Owner Director Contact Information:
Joe Ferguson – jferguson@rjrcapital.com
Tim Hall – timhl9999@gmail.com
Peter Wells – petercwells@yahoo.com
Bruce Clay – bjc2115@gmail.com
Don Harvey – dharvey@secretariat-intl.com
Jami Champagne (HPC Contractual Appointed Member of the Board)
General Manager
Claudine Grondin – cgrondin@eastwest.com
Dear Fellow Owners,
I would like to wish all of you and your families a wonderful 2025!
Our first executive board meeting of the new year is scheduled for Thursday, January 23 at 11 AM Eastern time. This meeting will be conducted via Zoom. You will find the meeting agenda and zoom login information by clicking below.
As an important reminder, you should’ve already received an email from Aspen Res/East West with the forms to submit your float week requests for 2026. A follow up text was also sent. The deadline for submitting these requests is January 24. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Aspen Res via email at aspenres@eastwest.com or 833.393.0981.
Also, very important if you have not paid your 2025 annual owner assessments please do so ASAP. If your payment has not been received by the end of January, you will not be eligible to select your 2026 float weeks. If you need information pertaining to your annual payment, please email or call Lindsay Allen at lallen@eastwest.com or 970.924.6108.
Our winter season is off to a great start, especially with the help of mother nature providing very good ski conditions.
Claudine Grondin, our General Manager and her team have received many positive comments from owners that were seeing and enjoying their renovated units for the first time.
I look forward to updating you with additional information pertaining to our resort as a follow up after next week’s board meeting.
Wishing everyone the best!
On behalf of the Board,
Tom Kaplan, President
tkaplan@kkladvisors.com
Board Members and Owner Director Contact Information:
Joe Ferguson – jferguson@rjrcapital.com
Tim Hall – timhl9999@gmail.com
Peter Wells – petercwells@yahoo.com
Bruce Clay – bjc2115@gmail.com
Don Harvey- dharvey@secretariat-intl.com
Jami Champagne (HPC Contractual Appointed Member of the Board)
Dear Fellow Owners,
Please click the button below to watch the recording of the Annual Owners Meeting.
When prompted by Zoom, use the following passcode: L$eC95@q
CLICK HERE to watch Q4 Board Meeting:
On behalf of your board,
Al Kenney
al@bluewaterfractionals.com
Board Members and Owner Director Contact Information:
Joe Ferguson – jferguson@rjrcapital.com
Tim Hall – timhl9999@gmail.com
Tom Kaplan – tkaplan@kkladvisors.com
Peter Wells – petercwells@yahoo.com
Bruce Clay – bjc2115@gmail.com
Trust – Appointed Member to the Board:
Jami Champagne – Jami.Champagne@vacationclub.com
Dear Fellow Owners,
This is my last letter to you as your Board President.
As of tomorrow, a new board and officers will lead our property into the future. I wish them success and know they will continue to build and promote The Aspen Mountain Residences as a wonderful place to spend your vacation time and a solid investment for all of you.
As my six-year term ends, I thank the board for their continued selfless dedication and support. Many of them were expecting roses and instead were greeted by being thrown into the fire with the reality of maneuvering through a very difficult time. A special thanks to Tim Hall who has functioned as our treasurer during the most stressful time we’ve ever had as an association. Tim led our investment team to invest our reserve fund safely and ensured we always had cash on hand when needed. Tim is a consummate professional who stayed on well past his promised date, and for that, I am grateful. I would also like to thank the rest of the board and our non-board member-owners who have offered their invaluable expertise on one or more of our committees over the years.
The last few years have been a tremendous transition for all of us. It certainly was not easy, and at times, I’m sure it felt like we were going through the spin-dry cycle of a washing machine, but the result is we are now in complete control of our property. I know the direction we had taken involved some sacrifices and cost us some money, but I feel it was an investment in our future and the correct direction to take. I pushed hard to get us through the major items we needed to put behind us before my departure, as I was determined to leave a much more stable environment for future boards. Now that we have made the separation, I feel our relationship with Marriott has been strengthened, and we must continue to strive to keep that relationship strong to keep our property healthy.
I have tremendous respect for and confidence in our day-to-day management team at East West Hospitality, led by Scott Williams. One of our original employees, General Manager Claudine Grondin, has a year of leadership behind her. I have witnessed her growth as a leader first-hand. She has hired a very capable and responsible team who has been very responsive to our needs. Claudine also has set an excellent example for all of our employees that hard work and dedication to their jobs, no matter the circumstances, can result in working their way up to the top position at our property and, someday, even beyond that with higher level East West corporate opportunities. I’m confident our team’s combined experience and dedication will allow us to operate the property very efficiently and will be a partnership that will last a very long time.
I am very optimistic about the future of our unique property, and I see the marketplace has already begun to recognize it as prices are up. Some of it is being driven by our owners buying more fractionals to stay here longer. Many of us have built solid and lasting friendships with other owners. Realtors are newly engaged and recommend TAMR to prospects as a great place to stay and buy, as well as a fractional program that is easy to understand and sell.
I have met many owners with tremendous work and life experiences, which we can all benefit from as an association. I want to ask everyone with the business skills and some time to “donate” to consider serving on a future board. I think you will find it both challenging and rewarding, and as a bonus, you get to work with some pretty great people.
Always looking forward, I’ve spent much time putting together a framework plan with a timeline calendar for future boards to follow. My advice to future boards is simple… Never forget the decisions to be made must benefit most of our owners, and never stop thinking about how we can improve our property offerings to increase our value and lower expenses. Keep the ball moving forward.
For owners, remember a few things: The board positions all involve non-paid volunteers and dedicated people donating their time to help everyone. Current TAMR rules are not “board rules.” Instead, they represent the requirements of most of our owners, most of which have been in place since we opened in 2006. Rules can be changed easily if the majority of our fractional owners want them to be, but until then, the rules currently in place need to be followed.
In the meantime, we all need to take a deep breath, sit back, and enjoy the environment we have created and, with it, the privileged lifestyle we are fortunate to have here at TAMR. We now have complete control over our future direction with a new brand, a redesigned property, better infrastructure, solid financials, a fair and easy-to-understand float program, an excellent management partner in East West Hospitality, and a very dedicated, capable, warm, and engaging staff.
Thank you all for allowing me to serve on your board for the last six years and as your board President for the last three years. It’s time I once again experience the property the way it should be, from a purely relaxing vacation perspective. 😊 I promise that you are all in excellent hands. Thank you again, I hope to see you in the hot tubs!!
Sincerely,
Al Kenney
al@bluewaterfractionals.com
Re: Notice of a Meeting of the Executive Board of
THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES CONDO ASSOCIATION, INC (“Association”)
Pursuant to Section 2.3.C. of the Bylaws of The Aspen Mountain Residences Condo Association, Inc., notice is hereby given that an Annual Meeting of the Association Members of The Aspen Mountain Residences Condo Association, Inc. FKA The Grand Aspen Resort Condominium Association, Inc. (the “Association”), will be held via a zoom webinar, on November 15, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. EST, 9 a.m. MST.
Purpose of Meeting: Announcement of results of Board of Director elections, Ratification of 2025 association budget which includes additional assessments, and transacting such business that may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.
As to voting at the annual meeting for other Association-related business, if you cannot attend the meeting, please designate a Proxy Holder to cast your votes for you. The deadline for proxy designation is November 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. Mountain Time. If you are attending the meeting in person, you may vote at the meeting.
The initial agenda for the meeting is as follows:
1. Notice of the Annual Meeting
2. Agenda for Board of Directors Meeting and Annual Meeting and Election
3. The 2024 budget approved by the board prior to November 10, 2024
4. Credential for on-line voting and voting
5. Meeting minutes for 2023 annual meeting held on November 20, 2023
6. Zoom Webinar invitation credentials (in the letter to owners)
2024 The Aspen Mountain Residences Annual Owners Meeting Agenda
- Call Meeting to Order
- Proof of Notice of Meeting
- Declaration of Quorum
- Approval of Agenda
- Approval of November 20, 2023 Annual Meeting Minutes (below)
- Executive Board Election Results
- Appointment of Inspector of Elections
- Announce Election Results
- Ratification of 2025 proposed operations and reserve budgets
- Resort Updates
- Legal Update
- New Business
- Owner comments
- Adjournment
Join the meeting by clicking the link below and once prompted, enter passcode: 578596
When: November 15, 2024 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: TAMR Q4 Board Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88132899033?pwd=34zxWGaX1c7zuXZe0zPzi4vNyALpYa.1#success
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Webinar ID: 881 3289 9033
Passcode: 578596
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbJVKZXycp
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please get in touch with me.
Al Kenney
President, The Aspen Mountain Residences HOA Board
860-354-7979
al@bluewaterfractionals.com
Board Members and Owner Director Contact Information:
Joe Ferguson – jferguson@rjrcapital.com
Tim Hall – timhl9999@gmail.com
Tom Kaplan – tkaplan@kkladvisors.com
Peter Wells – petercwells@yahoo.com
Bruce Clay – bjc2115@gmail.com
HPC Contractual Appointed Member of the Board:
Jami Champagne – Jami.Champagne@vacationclub.com
Dear Fellow Owners,
Please click the button below to watch the recording of Q4 Board Meeting.
When prompted by Zoom, use the following passcode: 6avV?&WL
On behalf of your board,
Al Kenney
President, The Aspen Mountain Residences HOA Board
860-354-7979
al@bluewaterfractionals.com
Board Members and Owner Director Contact Information:
Joe Ferguson – jferguson@rjrcapital.com
Tim Hall – timhl9999@gmail.com
Tom Kaplan – tkaplan@kkladvisors.com
Peter Wells – petercwells@yahoo.com
Bruce Clay – bjc2115@gmail.com
Trust – Appointed Member to the Board:
Jami Champagne – Jami.Champagne@vacationclub.com
Dear Fellow Owners,
I hope this letter finds you all well. Preparations are now underway for phase #3 of our redesign which is refinishing the remaining wood floors in all units, fixing the hot tub, and replacing many of the electrical outlets and switches.
Voting Ballots Coming Friday
I want to let everyone know that our voting documents will be emailed to you on Friday.
A few things you should know:
1) They are being mailed to you from invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com Make sure your system is set to receive from this email address.
2) You can only vote through the link sent to you by this.
3) If you have not received the ballot by Saturday 10/26/24, check with other family members first, then reach out to Kenny Mostern at kenny@mkelections.com to ask him to send another ballot to you.
4) The ballot you receive will count for all of your fractions.
5) If you own fractions through different corporations or trusts you may receive several ballots (one for each entity).
6) You have two weeks to complete the process.
Voting Items
1) Three candidates to serve two-year terms starting on Nov 15, 2024 (there are 7 owners running).
2) Approval of the 2025 budget (you only need to vote if you are opposed to it).
2025 Budget Background
For the last few years, you have seen higher assessments due to a number of factors; mainly legal issues, a complete redesign, and property infrastructure replacement and repairs.
With our building being eighteen years old, it became evident repairs needed to be made to our many parts of our key infrastructure. This plus the costs for the redesign project were higher than what was budgeted from prior years, putting pressure on our reserve fund. We had kept our maintenance increases low for the 15 years prior. The reality is the $10MM in reserve which seemed like so much money to many, turned out not to be. We should have put aside more money for our reserve fund over the years.
This resulted in a few years of special assessments to cover the costs. The reality was there was no way around it. We need to keep our property operating at the highest levels possible. We now have a completely redesigned property and are working towards a vastly improved infrastructure which will last us many years into the future.
We have increased our annual reserve funding to cover future maintenance and refurbishing needs. Looking forward with proper planning, slight annual increases in our maintenance charges should cover our needs. With all that the 2025 budget represents a significant reduction vs what was charged the last two years and in-line with where we were 3 years ago.
More good budget news
1) Through tight financial management and utilizing alternative vendor options we were able to come in more than $1MM under our revised budget for the refurbishment. This means instead of starting 2025 with approximately $1MM in reserve we will have close to $3MM
2) We are also significantly under budget for 2024 and should be able to put approx. and extra $1MM in overages into our reserve fund
3) We have one fractional unit to sell for approx. $110K. Proceeds from that sales will also be put into reserve
4) Our successful tax protest has resulted in approx. $400K in annual While we are very happy with that result, you can expect the board to also protest next year’s tax bill as the reductions were still not to the level we think they should be.
We need to keep up with asset replacement and we need to have our fingers on the pulse of what future amenities will increase our values and attract new owners. Keep in mind we still have a few big items coming up in the next few years which need to be replaced including elevators, our AC system, and a redo of both bathrooms and kitchen cabinetry. This is why we need to keep putting aside enough to cover all of that so we don’t have a need for future assessments.
Development of Lot 6
I feel one of our biggest opportunities is some type of development on Lot #6 (ice rink square block). If developed in conjunction with both the town and our owner’s needs, I see the potential for it to become an income annuity which will lower our association maintenance costs for many years to come.
We have just started the initial idea generation of what that land could become and how we could draw income from it. We need to understand what the town wants from the property and if they still want an ice rink in that location. At some point when we know a bit more, the board will certainly report back to and want to hear from owners. Any development would require partnerships for building and raising capital and owner approval.
Annual Owners Meeting
Meeting date is November 15th at 11 am – 1 pm EST time.
An invitation to the webinar has already been sent to all owners.
I hope to talk with you then!
Sincerely,
Al Kenney
President, The Aspen Mountain Residences HOA Board
860-354-7979
al@bluewaterfractionals.com
Board Members and Owner Director Contact Information:
Joe Ferguson – jferguson@rjrcapital.com
Tim Hall – timhl9999@gmail.com
Tom Kaplan – tkaplan@kkladvisors.com
Peter Wells – petercwells@yahoo.com
Bruce Clay – bjc2115@gmail.com
Trust – Appointed Member to the Board:
Jami Champagne – Jami.Champagne@vacationclub.com