EAGLE, Idaho — The City of Eagle is bringing HOA leaders together through a new networking group — and its first meeting surfaced concerns about legislation, infrastructure, and how information reaches homeowners.
The group, called the HOA Networking Group, was created by Eagle City Council Member Nancy Merrill, who previously ran a similar committee when she was mayor of Eagle. Merrill said the idea came back to her after hearing a candidate express frustration with her HOA — and she wanted to pull people back together.
The group is designed specifically for HOA board members, not the general public. Merrill said it is meant to be their meeting, where they collaborate, share vendor recommendations, discuss ordinance challenges, swap ideas for community events, and solve problems together — with city staff available to help answer questions when needed.
Merrill said she knows firsthand how challenging HOA leadership can be. She has served as an HOA president or board member for three different subdivisions in Eagle.
"The only thing harder than being a mayor is being a homeowners association president," Merrill said.
But she said the work is worth it.
Merrill said her vision for the group is bigger than just solving day-to-day HOA problems.
"My goal is to bring our community together from the bottom up, and that's in our subdivisions and bringing back respect and civility back to our community so we can feel that eagle feeling that we've had before," Merrill said.
Merrill said Eagle's growth makes the group even more important.
"You never know, and growth is inevitable. Someone told me a long time ago, you either grow or you die. You don't stay the same. Nobody stays the same. And so Eagle is growing and everywhere is growing," Merrill said.
"Our neighbors that are coming in are coming from everywhere, and those that have been here for a long time are having to welcome them in and getting to know them. You've got different views and different lifestyles, and so it's a coming together melting pot within your very own community," Merrill said.
Eagle HOA leaders bring up their concerns at the city's first networking meeting.
One of the topics at Tuesday night's meeting was House Bill 708 — legislation that would automatically dissolve HOAs after 10 years unless members vote to keep them. Merrill said she learned about the bill through the Association of Idaho Cities, a group of city leaders across Idaho that monitors legislation affecting cities.
Merrill said the bill raises serious and specific concerns. Under the legislation, as of July 1, 2026, HOAs would automatically dissolve on July 1, 2029 unless members vote to keep them. The dissolution threshold depends on each HOA's CC&Rs — whether it requires a 60+1, 66+1, or 50+1 majority vote. If dissolved, assets, including common areas, clubhouses, and playgrounds, would be transferred to a successor entity, the lot owners, or a local government such as the City of Eagle.
Merrill said she has never seen anything like it.
"Never, never in all my 20, 30-some years of working in government. I've never seen anything like this before," Merrill said.
Merrill said frustrated HOA members already have a path forward without dissolving their association entirely.
"I'm very concerned about this for cities and for our homeowners and the disarray that we will have as far as who's going to maintain, when are they going to mow, anybody going to take care of the tree limbs that fall down," Merrill said.
She added that the bill fails to account for the everyday functions HOA boards provide.
"Any of the things that happen within there, who's going to worry about the extra cars parked around that they want off? Nobody will do that except your homeowners association board, and that's really critical," Merrill said.
Eagle neighbor John Cobbinah echoed those concerns, saying the bill fails to address what happens to common areas and shared amenities.
"But the funny thing is, they're not talking about the common areas and the clubhouses and everything. Nothing is being talked about, and this guy out of the blue is floating this House Bill 708," Cobbinah said.
Idaho News 6 spoke with Representative Jeff Ehlers over the phone, who said the bill is currently being reworked. Ehlers said he plans to reintroduce it to the committee this year — or next, if there is not enough time.
HOA leaders also raised concerns about the Eagle Sewer District's partnership with the Farmers' Union Canal. The sewer district is in the middle of a multi-year upgrade to produce "Class A" treated wastewater for irrigation use — plans Idaho News 6 reported on in December.
Frank D'Agostino said his intention is to stop the agreement while a better path forward is determined.
"Our intention is to stop this agreement and see what we can do to figure out what the right situation is moving forward," D'Agostino said.
The project sparked questions about how decisions affecting neighborhoods are communicated to homeowners. One neighbor said residentss have no choice but to receive the water despite not being directly represented in the decision.
"We're not Eagle sewer patrons or Farmers Union shareholders, but yet we have to receive this water, and it's not a closed system. It's an open canal that's gonna spread," the neighbor said.
Hennie White, an Eagle neighbor, said residents had to work to find information about the project on their own.
"We just had to do a lot of digging to find out. So I just don't think that we're represented. I think Farmers' Ditch wasn't communicating with who their constituents are," White said.
Merrill said the new networking group is meant to be a unifying force — and she wants to make sure legislation like House Bill 708 does not undo that.
"This is a great start to bring everybody back together, and this one (HB 708) pulls everybody apart, so we want to make sure that we don't do that," Merrill said.
For more information about the City of Eagle's HOA Networking Group, you can visit their website by clicking here.
