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Last July as 63 home owners living in Harvest Gold Village neighborhoods in north Loveland gathered to elect a
new Board of Directors for their HOA (Home Owner’s Association), a stranger from out of town walked-
in and took control of the association – literally.
Many of the new Loveland homebuyers were outraged to learn that a man living in the mountains near Bellevue,
Colorado elected himself to their Home Owners Association (HOA) Board of Directors. The man simply
attended the annual homeowners’ meeting and elected himself to the HOA Board of Directors.
William Rumley was elected to the board easily by voting for himself 57 times while everyone else could only
vote once. Rumley was also able to select who would serve with him and excluded existing board member
Jack Olinger and home owners like Greg Snyder who raised concerns regarding the unusual situation. Joseph
Daley and Diane Matthews were hand selected by Rumley to serve with him since he controlled 57 votes in a
meeting attended by only 63 residents. Even though the winners were chosen by one man, the management
company still counted the 120 votes cast. Patrick Mastes remained since his term has not yet expired.
Harvest Gold, a newer development located just off Wilson Ave. north of Lucille Erwin Middle School and
south of 50th, was developed by Loveland City Councilman Larry Heckel who also served on the Harvest
Gold Village HOA Board of Directors while the neighborhoods were being developed. Harvest Gold Village
isn’t just single family residential but also includes a large apartment complex originally named “Wilson
Commons.� Later the name was changed to Rock Crest Apartments. Rock Crest Apartments is a City of
Loveland subsidized public housing project that offers low-income earners and government-dependent people
subsidized housing. According to the Harvest Gold Village professional management company, MSI, this
means anyone representing Rock Crest Apartments can cast all 57 proxy votes for himself.
Who Is the Mystery Man?
The Loveland Housing Authority which owns and operates Rock Crest Apartments gave Bill Rumley of
Bellevue, Colorado 57 votes (one for each apartment) that he can cast at the annual homeowner meetings or
anytime there is a general vote of the HOA. Bill Rumley doesn’t own property in the community but
instead works for the City of Loveland Housing Authority which operates the city funded housing project.
Conflict of interest?
Builders often suffer lawsuits from homebuyers who discover cracked concrete, shifting foundations or other
flaws in the construction. Complaints brought to the Harvest Gold Village HOA must now be vetted through
the Loveland Housing Authority employee from Bellevue before the HOA can take any action against the
developer. Not coincidentally, the developer is a City Councilman who also presides over Loveland’s
Housing Authority SEE ORG CHART FOR HOUSING AUTHORITY http://www.lovelandhsg.
org/pdfs/contact_us/ORG_CHART.pdf.
As an employee of the Loveland Housing Authority, William Rumley is hardly is the position to raise any
complaints or potential lawsuits against the developer since that developer reigns over Rumley’s own
employer which empowers him to be on the board in the first place. Rumley could literally risk his job if he
pursued a course against Councilman Heckel thus the Harvest Gold Village residents are stuck in a Catch-22 of
conflicts of interest by Loveland’s City Councilman Larry Heckel.
Harvesting Discontent In Harvest Gold
A gentleman who recently purchased a new home in Harvest Gold thought he was joining a vibrant community
of neighbors all looking out for the value of each other’s homes through covenant enforcement and an
active HOA. Instead, he found his home owners’ dues and association resources are now being controlled
by someone outside the community who doesn’t have any vested interest in property located in Harvest
Gold Village. “That guy brings more proxy votes to the meeting than there are people attending.� He
stated to LovelandPolitics in his frustration that a Bellevue resident controls his HOA.
According to one Harvest Gold Village homeowner, Bill Rumley is directing services paid for by individual
homeowners to benefit the Loveland Housing Authority’s property while ignoring the complaints of home
owners. The accusation is that the “common areas� maintained at the expense of the homeowners
includes areas near the apartments that are really not for the benefit of everyone in the HOA. Randy Hegwood,
MSI’s current account manager for Harvest Gold Village, told LovelandPolitics when contacted for this
story that this simply isn’t true and that the Harvest Gold association dues only pay to maintain common
areas that are not part of Rock Crest Apartments.
LovelandPolitics asked for a copy of the minutes from the now infamous July board meeting when Rumleyâ
۪s coup d'̩tat took place. Hegwood denied the request by stating it will be another year before the board
approves the minutes at the next annual meeting and they cannot be released until approved. LovelandPolitics
was provided a copy of the minutes by an unnamed source which document the objections raised by residents
of the coup d'état.
Below is an excerpt,
“There were some concerns from some of the homeowners regarding William Rumley and a
discussion regarding the fact that William Rumley is an employee of the Loveland Housing Authority
and entitled to cast 57 votes on behalf of the Housing Authority. Homeowners were also concerned
that William Rumley is not a homeowner in Harvest Gold Village.�
In the meantime, home owners are wondering why a City of Loveland Housing project should be calling the
shots in their neighborhood. Councilman Larry Heckel served on the HOA Board until a majority of the lots in
the subdivision were sold. This is a common practice. However, what is not common is to have the City of
Loveland Housing Authority making decisions over the HOA monthly dues paid by residents who paid over
$200,000 to purchase home in what they believed to be an upscale neighborhood. The management company,
MSI, is paid $10,800 per year for management services and approximately $2,000 per year for administrative
costs. MSI has apparently not taken any steps to mitigate the impact on the other homeowners regarding the
fact a quasi city employee is now running the HOA for Councilman Larry Heckel’s development.
Who Can Residents Contact?
According to the meeting minutes from last August, “From 7:35 p.m. to 8:55 p.m. the Board went into an
Executive Session Meeting with the Association’s attorney Melissa Garcia. “ The subject matter of the
legal consultation was not disclosed. Issues have been raised in the past regarding cracked concrete and other
problems but Board of Director minutes don’t indicate anything is being done to address those concerns.
Whether Rumley has spoken directly with Councilman Heckel is unknown and only speculation by some
homeowners at this point.
MSI is a professional property management firm that is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. Homeowners
in Harvest Gold can contact Randy Hegwood at MSI’s satellite office in Centerra at 2725 Rocky
Mountain Avenue, Suite 330 Loveland, CO. 80538 to request a copy of the minutes and get information
regarding future board meetings. Randy Hegwood can be reached at (970) 635-0498.


Bellevue Man Takes Over Harvest Gold Village HOA Some Residents Are Angry And Feel Cheated
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Loveland City Councilman Larry Heckel (right) developed Harvest Gold. Today, all home owners must go through an employee of the city's housing authority who sits on the HOA Board of Directors if they want the HOA to make claims against Heckel's company Heckel Construction LLC.
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Rock Crest Apartments, a City of Loveland subsidized public housing project, is part of the Harvest Gold development. Rock Crest Apartments offers low-income wage earners and government dependent people (whether Loveland residents or not) three-bedroom apartments starting at only $320 per month. Two-bedroom apartments are available for just over $200.
Private landlords in Loveland normally charge approximately $300 per bedroom but lowered these prices in the past five years as competing with Loveland’s subsidized housing became more and more difficult. Ironically, a number of multi-family units in Loveland have gone into foreclosure for lack of viable tenants while Loveland’s Housing Authority advertises vacancies in competition with these private landlords and plans new projects.
A Spanish language website is also available for non-English speaking tenants looking for taxpayer subsidized housing in Loveland.
A City of Loveland subsidized apartment in this complex was the site of perhaps Loveland’s worst crime in memory when a man from New York shot his live-in girlfriend and than himself in March of 2005. Reports regarding domestic violence were not unheard of in that complex likely contributing to the reason the Loveland Housing Authority failed to investigate or intervene when neighbors reported problems
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Click Here to See The City of Loveland Housing Authority's Spansih Langauge Website For Assisting Non-English Speakers Into Loveland Taxpayer Subsidized Housing
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Above - single family homes in Harvest Gold development
Below - the City of Loveland subsidized housing at Rock Crest Apartments. At issue - whether the HOA is paying (or should pay) to maintain the areas in the picture below - some residents say they do while the management firm claims they do not.
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