HOA special one time assesment fee

[Lefty Karr]

On July 15th, I bought the townhouse that I was renting for 3 years already in Illinois. A few days before closing, a company treated and re-stained all the decks in the community. This was a special assessment that was approved by the previous owner. At the closing, the seller was given a release letter that he did not owe any assessments or reserve charges. The work that was approved and completed before i closed was billed on Aug 9th so now the management company wants to charge me for it. Does that even make sense?