President Bob Scott called the meeting to order at 9:00 am. President Scott stated that meeting had been properly advertised and a Roll Call verified the presence of a quorum. Members Present: Bob Scott, John Albert, Al Tucker, Nancy Allred, JAlan Aufderheide, Fred Streiff, Linda Brown. Members Absent: Doris Noard, Jim Davis.
Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the prior meeting were reviewed and Al Tucker moved, seconded by John Albert to approve the minutes as submitted, All members present voted yes.
Forest Health and Wildfire Mitigation Committee: RC Ghormley was present and gave a Committee report. He outlined work that he had been doing on several grant opportunities and asked for reactions from the Board as to whether the grants should be pursued, how the Board felt about the dollar amounts, and how the money might be used. After discussion, there seemed to be general agreement that Ghormley should proceed to put the grant application(s) together on behalf of the POA, that both private property and common areas (specifically road rights of way) should be mitigated, and that “more was probably better than less” in terms of dollars requested. Ghormley thanks the Board and indicated that he would be back in touch with progress reports as warranted.
Common Area Committee: President Scott lead off this Committee report by indicating that he has become frustrated with the lack of response from the BNSF and has been working on a proposal for repair and upgrade of the bridge along with an indemnification resolution which would protect those residents involved in any bridge rework or upgrade, and would be bringing this matter to the Board in the relatively near future. Linda Brown also reported on her repeated attempts to communicate with the BNSF railroad contact in order to, among other things, get some engineering assistance in looking at the tunnel on the south end of the Ranch where an emergency egress might potentially be built in light of the railroad’s removal of the Morley crossing.
Road Committee: John Albert gave a road committee report acknowledging that conditions late this winter and early spring had caused many problems with road conditions. Muddy conditions, roads without sufficient roadbase, and significant drainage problems have all contributed to significant travel problems in many areas of the ranch. Several questions were asked and discussed but no Board action was taken, with the clear hope expressed that drier weather would be forthcoming.
Covenant Committee: Jim Davis was absent, so President Scott commented on his behalf that the covenants are continuing to be reviewed by legal counsel to make sure there is compliance with statutory requirements.
Finance Committee: Nancy Allred distributed financial reports to the Board and indicated that, in general, the budget, receipts, and expenditures were “pretty much on track”. Delinquencies, liens, and potential foreclosures continue to be a concern and Nancy is more than willing to work with ranch owners who are in arrears, as this is preferable to an escalating balance due. The use of foreclosure action is specified in the Covenants, and this action is initiated when an account reaches the top of the delinquency list, without the owner attempting to make payment arrangements. J. Aufderheide suggested the Board adopt specific guidelines to be used in dealing with delinquencies and initiating foreclosure. The Board will explore whether there should be more structured guidelines adopted.
Communications Committee: J. Aufderheide reported that the website was in the final stages of buildout after migration over to the new host. He also reported a desire to verify a list of committees. After discussion, there was agreement that the “Coal Bed Methane Committee” was no longer needed and could be deleted. The listing of a “Water Committee” could also be deleted as it more appropriately would fall under the “Metro District” heading. The “Forest Health and Wildfire Mitigation Committee” would be an addition. The Committee Chairs will be given “read/write” capability for their page(s) and should post current reports as needed. Aufderheide also reported that the Committee wants to encourage more use of the “Calendar” function at the website as anyone with an email address giving them access to the owner’s pages can post events on the public calendar. Finally, Aufderheide reported that the Communications Committee would like to allow ranch owners who own and/or operate businesses to advertise on the SFTR home page. The ads would pop up on a “rotating” basis so that each ad would be given equal treatment. President Scott invited a motion of approval to this effect, whereupon Aufderheide moved, seconded by Al Tucker, that the Board approve such a free advertising concept for ranch owners, with the Communications Committee to work out implementation details.
Community Preparedness Committee: Fred Streiff reported regarding the Committee’s continuing emphasis on fire prevention and preparation, noting the importance of consulting the rural prevention website checklist, having water hoses readily available, fire extinguishers placed at strategic locations, and having smoke detectors interconnected for early warning, including garages. Streiff also reported on the intent of the Committee to establish a viable camera system at the front entrance so that vehicle identification would be far more certain. He currently has one proposal in hand and would entertain other proposals to accomplish this. The proposal he has is well within his budget constraints, and he was given verbal approval to proceed with the purchase. Streiff also asked ranch owners and their guests or contractors to assist in keeping the south half front entrance gate closed to emphasize that the Ranch is private property.
Metro Report: Bob Scott explained that the unusually severe weather had caught the system operators unawares resulteing in numerous frozen supply lines. Next year, the weather will be closely monitored and if the same temperature trends are observed, flushing hydrants will be opened slightly to prevent freezing.
Ranching Committee: Jerry Withington mentioned that this year it appeared more cow/calf units would be grazing on the Ranch.
Weed Control: Linda Brown mentioned that weed control would be taking place again this spring.
There being no further action or discussion, Al Tucker moved, seconded by John Albert that the meeting be adjourned.