ARTICLE VIII
ASSESSMENTS
1. General. First Party, for each Lot within the Property, hereby covenants, and each Owner of any Lot by acceptance of a deed therefor, whether or not it shall be so expressed in any such deed or other conveyance, shall be deemed to covenant and agree to pay (i) annual assessments or charges; and (ii) special assessments, such assessments to be fixed, established and collected from time to time as hereinafter provided.
The annual and special assessments together with such interest thereon and costs of collection thereof shall be a charge on the Lot and shall be a continuing lien upon the property against which such assessment is made. Each such assessment, together, with interest thereon and cost of collection thereof, shall also be the personal obligation of the person who was the owner of such property at the time when the assessment fell due.
2. Purpose. The assessments levied under this Article shall be used exclusively for the purpose of promoting the recreation, health, safety and welfare of the residents in the Planned Environment Unit and in particular for the rendering of services in the furtherance of such purposes, including the carrying out of all functions herein authorized, and for the acquisition, improvement, maintenance and operation of the Common Property and all facilities thereon and easements herein or on the plat(s) of the Property established, including, but not limited to, the payment of taxes and insurance thereon, and repair, maintenance, replacements and additions thereto, and for the cost of labor, equipment, materials, management and supervision thereof, and for such other needs as may arise.
3. Annual Assessments. The maximum annual assessment shall, until increased as herein authorized, be Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) per Lot; provided, however, that the Trustees may increase such assessment for any assessment year by an amount which is equal to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as indicated by the last available Index published prior to the assessment year over the corresponding last available Index published prior to commencement of the first assessment year hereunder. If such Index be discontinued, the Trustees shall utilize a successor index determined by the Trustees in their sole judgment, to be most similar to the discontinued Index.
The Trustees may, after consideration of current maintenance costs and future costs and needs, fix the actual assessment for any year at a lesser amount. The Trustees may change the basis and maximum of assessments provided for herein upon the approval of a majority of the Trustees and the assent of a majority of the owners voting in person or by proxy at a meeting duly called for such purpose, written notice of which shall have been sent to all Owners at least thirty (30) days in advance and shall set forth the purpose of the meetings.
Each annual assessment shall be levied prior to or during the year for which it is levied, notice thereof being given by first class mail addressed to the last known or usual post office address of each Owner and deposited in the United States mail with postage prepaid, or by posting of a notice of the assessment upon the Lot against which it applies. Each annual assessment shall be due on the date which is thirty (30) days after such mailing or posting, and shall become delinquent if not paid within thirty (30) days following such due date.
4. Storm Water Facilities. In addition to the foregoing, the Trustees are authorized to make separate annual assessments upon and against each Lot for the purpose of maintaining or repairing storm water storage, disposal or sewer facilities located within the Property; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, separate power granted to the Trustees by this Section 4 shall expire with the calendar year following the acceptance of any such storm water facilities for maintenance by the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District or another appropriate governmental body or public utility. Any assessment made under authority granted in this, Section 4, shall be assessed and collected in the same manner as the assessments under Section 3 above, and the Trustees shall have the same powers of collection and lien rights against the Lots as provided in said Section 3.
5. Special Assessments. If at any time the Trustees consider it necessary to make any expenditure requiring an assessment additional to the annual assessment, they shall submit a written outline of the contemplated project and the amount of the assessment required to the then Lot Owners. If such assessment is approved, either at a meeting of the Owners called by the Trustees, by a majority of the votes cast in person and by proxy, or on written consent of a majority of the total votes entitled to vote thereon, the Trustees shall notify all Owners of the additional assessment; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in determining such required majority, each Owner shall be entitled to one (1) full vote, except that only those who have paid all assessments theretofore made shall be entitled to vote. The limit of the annual assessments for general purposes set forth in Section 3 hereof shall not apply to any assessment made under the provisions of this Section 5. Notice of any special assessment hereunder shall be given in the same manner as notices of annual assessments are given, with such assessment becoming delinquent thirty (30) days after the date of such notice.
6. Prorations. Should a Lot become subject to assessments after January 1 in any year, and should an annual or special assessment have been levied for that year, then such assessment shall be adjusted so that such Lot shall be charged with a portion of the assessment prorated for the balance of that year.
7. Interest and Liens. All assessments shall bear interest at the rate of one percent (1%) over the from time-to-time floating rate of prime interest charged by Mercantile Bank Of St. Louis, N.A., St. Louis, Missouri, to its best and most creditworthy customers from the date of delinquency, and such assessment, together with interest and costs of collection, shall constitute a lien upon the Lot against which it is assessed until the amount, together with interest and charges, is fully paid. As an assessment becomes delinquent, the Trustees may execute and acknowledge an instrument reciting the levy of the assessment and cause the same to be recorded in the Recorder's Office of St. Louis County Missouri, and thereafter institute any appropriate legal action to enforce such lien. Should an Owner pay an assessment after the recording of a notice thereof, as herein provided, the Trustees shall cause to be executed and recorded (at the expense of the Owner of the affected Lot) a release of said lien.
The lien of the assessments provided for herein shall be subordinate to the lien of any institutional (bank, savings and loan association, pension or retirement fund, insurance company or federally insured mortgage) first mortgage now or hereafter placed upon any Lot with respect to which assessments have become due and payable prior to a sale or transfer of such Lot pursuant to foreclosure or transfer in lieu of foreclosure. Such sale or transfer shall not relieve such Lot from liability for any assessments thereafter becoming due, nor from the lien of any such subsequent assessment. As used herein, the term "mortgage" or "mortgages" shall include deed or deeds of trust.
8. Exemptions. The following properties subject to this Indenture shall be exempt from the assessments, charges and liens created herein:
(i) All Common Property;
(ii) All properties exempted from taxation under the laws of the state of Missouri; and
(iii) All Lots owned by First Party until occupied or until title to the Lot has been transferred to the first purchaser thereof at retail (as distinguished from sales in bulk or at wholesale to others for development or resale). No Lot devoted to residential use shall be exempt from assessment hereunder.
9. Keeping of Funds. The Trustees shall deposit the funds coming into their hands as Trustees in a bank protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or in a savinqs and loan association protected by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the treasurer being bonded for the proper performance of his duties in an amount fixed by the Trustees.
10. Ordinance Compliance. Notwithstanding any other conditions herein, the Trustees shall make suitable provisions for compliance with all subdivision and other ordinances, rules and regulations of the County of St. Louis, Missouri, including, but not limited to, street lights, and for such purposes shall not be limited to the maximum assessment provided for herein.