SFTR Board Meeting 2/22/2003

Santa Fe Trail Ranch POA
BOARD MEETING
February 22, 2003
Trinidad State Junior College, Sullivan Room

Board Members:
George Gonzalez
Ed Hockett
Rick Johnson
Monica Leche
Diane Rader
Mike Shelton
Harriet Vaugeois
Jerry Withington Guests:
Rich Babnick
Jim Davis
Michelle Minion
Lee Phelan
Carol Rawle
Bob Santoro
Fred Vaugeois Also Present
Bill Quigley

CALL TO ORDER - President Rick Johnson called this regular meeting of the Board to order at 9:00 A.M.
PROOF OF NOTICE - Bill Quigley reported that notice of the meeting had been given at the last meeting in November fulfilling the requirement of providing advance notice.
INTRODUCTION AND ROLL CALL - Mr. Quigley called roll and found all present except George Gonzalez who arrived shortly.
DETERMINATION OF QUORUM - Seven of eight members were present at this time establishing a quorum.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING - Mr. Shelton moved that the minutes be approved. The motion passed.
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY FINANCIALS - Treasurer, Diane Rader, noted that the Financial reports from 2002 were still being amended and corrected, so they are still in progress. She pointed out that 55% of the membership dues had been received in January. There will be an increase in the amount received because of the CPI increase and the reclassification of fifteen properties to the improved status. There was a brief questioning about the classifying of property D - 33 as improved. The feeling was it should be. Mr. Withington then moved that the financial report be accepted. The motion passed.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Committee Reports:
  1. Common Area: Mr. Shelton announced that any property owner installing a new driveway must contact the Road Committee. He asked that this announcement be placed prominently on the web site and disseminated thoroughly.
    He continued by moving that Schrepfer Industries be accepted as the new road contractor for the Ranch. He explained that Matt Ciarlo had verbally resigned in December. Despite several assurances that he would submit a written resignation, none ever arrived. When thirty days elapsed from the date of Mr. Ciarlo’s verbal resignation bidding for a new contract was let to nine potential companies. Seven of these submitted sealed bids, and three attended the public opening of bids on January 6. The bids were reduced to two finalists. Over the next two weeks the two finalists were investigated in further detail. The investigation revealed that Schrepfer industries would best suit the Ranch’s needs for several reasons including that their prices would remain the same for three years, and that since they were the contractors hired to complete the water system, there would be less duplication and better coordination of effort. Ms. Vaugeois wondered if working for the Metro District and POA at the same time and place would cause confusion in billing. Mr. Shelton responded that he did not think it would. Guest Jim Davis, President of the Metro Board, added that Schrepfer has had a system in place for some time using Palm Pilots, so that the division of labor on any given day may be separated and calculated. Ms. Rader questioned whether Schrepfer’s work elsewhere would prevent them from responding quickly to remove snow. Mr. Shelton noted that Schrepfer is very well organized and could easily deal with the irregular events the weather could create. This is especially true because we are their only snow removal customer. The other finalist was extremely well organized, but already was responsible for 350 miles of snow removal before us. After hearing the report and discussion the Board voted to authorize that the road contract be given to Schrepfer industries.
    
    President Johnson commended Mr. Shelton and the Road Committee for their work in the transition of road contractors. Sadly he reported that he had been served papers to garnish the wages of our former road contractor for failure to pay a creditor. There was some questioning whether a lien could be applied to the materials already placed on the Ranch’s roads. Mr. Quigley volunteered to research the issue.
    
    Next, Mr. Shelton reported that he had been contacted by Dave Roybal. Mr. Roybal wishes to complete the work he was paid for last summer before the fencing project was quickly abandoned. Now that fire conditions are diminished, it would be a good time to do the work. Mr. Shelton conferred with Bill Wenstrom and determined two checks were written last summer: one to Mr. Roybal for fence installation and one to Terry Surveying to establish the boundaries. Both owe service for work not completed. We still need to fence a short boundary with Vermejo and a longer boundary with Ray Whitmire’s Ranch. It appears the amount budgeted for fencing this year joined with the services we are owed could be sufficient to complete the fencing of the boundary with Vermejo. Ms. Vaugeois moved that the Board endorse the completion of the Vermejo section, and seek refunds for money previously spent on the fencing project for the Whitmire boundary. The refunds should be applied to completing the Vermejo section. The motion passed. Mr. Shelton delegated the project to Mr. Withington to pursue.
  2. Emergency Services: President Johnson recognized guest Michelle Minion, Chair of the Emergency Services Committee, to provide a report. Ms. Minion reported that the committee has many active members this year. The committee is working on improving neighborhood watch, holding area meetings, and planning a mock evacuation drill. It was noted that a PC has not yet been donated that could be used to operate the surveillance cameras. After inquiring about the details, Mr. Quigley said he would check on the specifications of the computers they will rotate out of service this year. On behalf of the committee Ms. Minion requested that gates similar to the original manual gates be reinstalled at the entrance. Discussion followed revolving around the history of gates at that location, the function of the surveillance cameras, and the placement of signage on the gates. Guest Carol Rawle observed that reflective tape would be essential for such a gate. Ms. Leche then moved that two manual gates be reinstalled at the entrance: one to be left closed, and the other left open. A no trespassing sign should be placed on the closed gate, and both gates should be clearly marked with reflective tape. Any expense for the project should be charged to the Emergency Services Committee. The motion passed.
  3. Budget Committee: Ms. Rader reported on the recent meeting whose minutes are posted on the web site. In the future the effort will be to hold Budget Committee meetings as much as possible in conjunction with Board meetings. She is preparing instructions which she will place on the web site to aid future treasurers as they assume the position. She reported the preliminary budget was reviewed at the committee meeting, and no changes have been recommended at this time. Ms. Vaugeois moved that the 2003 Budget be approved. The motion passed. Ms. Rader concluded by announcing that she would be switching back to accrual basis accounting for doing financial reports.
  4. Covenant Committee: Ms. Vaugeois reported that the committee had met and formulated a policy on enforcement. Lee Phelan had read the committee’s resolutions, however, and did not feel they were addressing the issues he asked to be considered. Subsequently, he submitted a nine page letter for the committee’s consideration. They will be reviewing the letter when they meet in March. Ms. Vaugeois also reported that the committee is heavily involved in developing a definition of “mobile home” including what is acceptable on the Ranch as a permanent dwelling, and what is acceptable on a short-term basis. They hope they will be able to share this definition with local realtors to prevent misunderstandings.
  5. Communications Committee: Mr. Gonzalez, chair of the committee, reported that since the last meeting the forum on the web site had been taken out of service. Shortly, however, new use guidelines were established and implemented allowing the service to go back on line. The committee is also working on making sure a new owner packet is made available to all new owners. The committee is waiting on the production of the new Emergency Services Handbook to complete the packet. It will be available on the web site, and in paper copy for those members not using computers.
NEW BUSINESS
1. J - Lots: President Johnson began the discussion by stating that the inclusion of J - Lots into the Metro District was not a POA issue. Jim Davis speaking in his capacity as President of the Metro Board advised Mr. Quigley to make copies for all Board members of the Land Use Agreement which was created in 1997 at a meeting between the Developer, Mr. Baldwin, and the POA Board. The agreement resolved issues such as mineral rights, use of ponds, the gas well, equipment storage, signage, and other such issues. At that time the J - lots were excluded from the POA, but language was included to allow for the reincorporation of these lots into the POA. Meanwhile, the Metro District boundaries already include the J - Lots. Guest Rich Babnick speaking for Mr. Baldwin’s Company explained they have no divisive plans, and intend to bring lots J - 1, 2, and 4 into the POA without delay. The homes currently under construction on these lots are 3,400 square foot single family residences. There are no plans to build two residences on the lots, although a barn may be built on one of the lots. Mr. Shelton wondered if the Land use agreement would remain valid for those lots readmitted to the POA observing there are some substantial differences pertaining to signage, land use and other concerns between the Agreement and the POA Covenants. Mr. Davis recommended that a meeting between the POA, Metro Board, and the Baldwin Company be set up to resolve this question. President Johnson agreed, and designated himself and Messieurs Withington and Shelton to represent the POA at such a meeting. Mr. Davis, Will Potter, and Tom Stephens would represent the Metro Board, and Mr. Babnick and/or Mr. Baldwin would represent the Baldwin Company. The date of the meeting will be determined, but it will be at the Starkville Fire Station open to the public, so all those interested may attend.
2. Board Meeting Schedule and Administrative Issues:
  1. Board Vacancy: President Johnson read into the record a letter (Appendix A) which was the written confirmation of a conversation between Bob Santoro, Mr. Shelton, and himself. He received a subsequent phone call from Mr. Santoro indicating his interest in rejoining the Board under certain conditions. In view of the request that conditions be met, President Johnson requested a written statement from Mr. Santoro. As of the meeting date, no response had been received. Since Mr. Santoro was present, the President asked if he wished to resume his position on the Board. He indicated that he did provided the Board apologize publicly for its actions, and that official record of the actions against him be erased. The President affirmed that the letter read into the official record was an apology for the Board using an improper procedure to remove him. As for erasing official record, he did not believe that was possible to do. This was the best the Board could do to meet his conditions. Mr. Santoro accepted the response and resumed his position on the Board.
  2. Meeting Schedule: The next scheduled Board meeting falls on Easter weekend. This scheduling did not seem appropriate, so the meeting date was changed to April 26. Future meetings will be on June 21, August 6, and at the annual meeting.
  3. Absence of the President: President Johnson anticipated his absence at the June meeting. Mr. Shelton will also be absent at that time. Mr. Gonzalez is checking his schedule to make sure that he will be able to chair this meeting.
3. By - Law Compliance: Mr. Quigley expressed his concern that the state is moving toward the creation of legislation similar to the Sunshine Laws which would apply to private groups. He cautioned the Board about unofficial meetings, and observing proper notification procedures for all Board and committee meetings. He will attend a conference in May on this subject and will report what he learns.
4. Membership Dues Policy: Ms. Rader was concerned that the Covenants require that an interest charge of 18% be applied when a property owner is 30 days overdue for payment of membership dues. Still, a small group of owners are paying late or in installments without paying interest charges. The Board struggled with how the policy could be applied equally to all members without abruptly changing the way some members were accustomed to paying their dues. Jim Davis observed that interest had been forgiven in the past for some owners who were experiencing personal difficulties. This forgiveness, however, was never meant to be perpetual. Mr. Quigley stated that his office knew who the people were and as an impartial intermediary, he would assume the responsibility of notifying everyone about the requirement of paying interest charges on overdue membership dues.
5. Water System Update: Mr. Davis reported that a letter from the Metro Board explaining the current situation had been placed on the web site and a paper copy had been sent to all property owners. Currently Schrepfer Industries is starting at the North end and moving South installing air bleeding mechanisms. Many of the leaks OPEC thought they detected are in fact a problem of air compaction which was not bled out. As they work, they are finding many improper saddles which were not sealed, sealed improperly, or damaged that created leaks. These are being repaired as they go. They hope to complete this work by the end of March. Then, leak testing will take place. The city of Trinidad will assist in the sanitization. Schrepfer is working on good faith while the documents at International Bank are being prepared. The Metro Board has applied for grants to get a lower rate of interest on the loan, but early indications are not favorable. An in person presentation will be made next week to the grant committee. OPEC has filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, and has filed a claim to halt our legal action. OPEC has drafted a reorganization plan to deal with creditors, but it has not been seen yet. Meanwhile, action against the bonding company is moving forward. Response to Metro Board action has been favorable.
FROM THE FLOOR - No questions or comments were made.
DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING - The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board will be April 26, 2003 at 9:00 A.M. in the Sullivan Room on the Trinidad State Junior College campus.
ADJOURNMENT - Mr. Shelton moved that the meeting be adjourned. The motion passed, and the meeting was adjourned at 11:44 A.M.

Submitted by Ed Hockett, Secretary February 23, 2003

APPENDIX A

December 5, 2002

Mr. Robert Santoro
SFTR
33012 Bear Paw Lane
Trinidad, CO 81082

Dear Bob:

I wanted to confirm the conversation that you, Mike Shelton and I had yesterday. After additional consultation with the Board’s advisors relative to the decision that we made removing you from your position on the Board, we understand that this action was not in accordance with the relevant section of the governing by-laws of the Property Owners Association. Therefore, as we indicated in our conversation, on behalf of the Board, I want to apologize for your removal and offer to immediately reinstate you to the Board, if you so desire.

You indicated that you wanted to take some time and think about what you wanted to do and that you would get back to me in the near future. I will be leaving the Ranch for a couple of weeks beginning Saturday, December 7th. If you can not get back to me prior to Saturday, please inform Mike Shelton of your decision so we can put this issue behind us.

Sincerely,

Rick Johnson

cc. Mike Shelton