Call to Order: President Pete DeSantis called the meeting of the Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association Board of Directors to order at 1:01 PM at the White Bird Library. Also present were John Urbahn, Annelle Urbahn, Don DeSa, Marty Ansell, Steve Duerksen and Carol Ansell.
Minutes: The minutes of the prior meeting were distributed to the Board members. John Urbahn moved to accept the minutes as presented. The motion passed.
Documentation of Business between Meetings: Carol Ansell presented a memorandum documenting a decision made subsequent to the January Board meeting about selling the Association-owned backhoe. The backhoe was sold for $13,000 less the cost to transport it to the buyer at Tolo Lake. The memorandum documented the decision reached between meetings. All Board members signed the memorandum.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Marty Ansell reported that all but 10 Members have submitted their Association assessments, and aside from the $255 cost to transport the backhoe, there have been no expenses since the last snowfall and associated snow plowing labor. The checking account balance as of February 28 was $50,464 and the Association’s accounts totaled $108,772. The treasurer specifically reported on one Member who paid two year’s base assessments, but not the lien filing fees for last year or the Board-imposed late fees, and recommended a partial release of lien, retaining the lien amount for the unpaid fees. Steve Duerksen moved to initiate the partial lien release, and the motion passed.
Secretary’s Report: Carol Ansell reported while one lot has apparently recently sold, there has been no notification from any of the title companies of the sale. The board discussed the challenges with keeping the membership list up to date. Secretary Ansell reported that Idaho Statutes consider that notices are appropriately delivered to Members when they are sent to the address the Association has in its files; in other words, the responsibility of notifying the Association of changes is solely with the Member. That said, there was some discussion about possible assistance from the Idaho County Tax Assessor’s Office in sharing addresses. Annelle Urbahn offered to investigate further, and moved to approve the Secretary’s report. The motion passed.
Road Committee Report: John Urbahn noted that the roads are in decent condition considering all the rain and snow, though Steve Duerksen added that Big Canyon is rutted. The committee reported that they continue to be very pleased with the road work being done. John Urbahn reported that Robin Lipinski had recommended having someone pull the rock rake immediately behind him as he smoothed out the roadway with the grader. Both John Urbahn and Pete DeSantis volunteered to pull the rock rake. John also reiterated his comment from the last meeting that spraying will need to be done more heavily this year than last. Marty Ansell mentioned that Robin Lipinski had suggested reinvesting the backhoe proceeds into a pickup that could be fitted out with a sprayer or with a plow blade. Given that the Association spent $3000 last year on spraying, the Board agreed it was an idea worth considering, but will need to be voted on by the Members in June.
Containers in Twin River Ranch: John Urbahn also reported on the alternate container proposal that was developed after the January meeting. Marty Ansell moved that the Members be presented with three options at the June meeting: keep the existing bylaws as-is, approve the revisions sent in the November letter, or prohibit containers completely from Twin River Ranch. The motion passed.
Annual Meeting Preparations: Carol Ansell reminded the Board that the Notice for the Annual Meeting needs to be mailed 30 days in advance of the Meeting, which is scheduled for June 16. In addition to the Notice of the Meeting, the mailing to members needs to include a financial statement of the Association, the container proposals mentioned above and a ballot for the container proposal and for board members. Carol Ansell proposed that Members interested in running for the Board contact her and provide a short resume and statement of why they wanted to serve on the board/what they hoped to bring to the board (no more than 500 words) so that Members who were unable to attend the meeting in person could still vote for specific board candidates. The motion passed. Members interested in serving on the Board should contact Carol at 214-709-1227 and submit their resume/statement to her electronically no later than May 1, to allow for the information to be included in the May mailing.
Steve Duerksen volunteered to contact Hoots and Swiftwater to reserve those facilities for the Annual Meeting. The consensus of the Board was to return to hamburgers and hot dogs as the main dish. Attendees are encouraged to being side dishes for pot luck.
President’s Report: President DeSantis reported that he had received numerous complaints of loose goats, but as of the time of the meeting the goats had apparently been removed from Twin River Ranch. President DeSantis reminded the Board that the Bylaws clearly state that animals cannot become nuisances, and that state open range law does not supercede the Association Bylaws.
Constitution of Board: President DeSantis also reported that with the resignation of Vicki Hughes, the Board is left with seven Board members. The Board had been seven members prior to July when Carol Ansell was appointed as Secretary. President DeSantis put to the Board whether they felt it necessary to refill Hughes’ seat, or to leave the Board at seven individuals. One obvious benefit is that it is therefore not possible to have a tie vote. Annelle Urbahn moved that the Board remain constituted at seven members, and the motion passed.
As a follow-on to that vote, President DeSantis noted the terms of the seven Board members meant that one term (Marty Ansell’s) would end in 2017, followed by three in 2018 and three in 2019. It was agreed that this 1 – 3 – 3 structure in terms created a greater risk of loss of continuity. Steve Duerksen, whose term ends in 2018, offered to end his term a year early, allowing for a 2 – 2 – 3 year term structure for the board seats. Therefore, both Marty Ansell’s and Steve Duerksen’s seats will be open in June. Both indicated a willingness to serve again and will be submitting their resumes/statements to the Secretary for inclusion in the May mailing.
President DeSantis also reported that he had received a request from a Member involved in a lawsuit for access to Association records, and moved that the records be made available to both parties in the suit. The motion passed.
Annelle Urban reported that she was updating and will be redistributing the fire call tree.
With no other business to discuss, Steve Duerksen moved adjournment at 2:18. The motion passed, and President DeSantis adjourned the meeting.