TRRPOA 2017 Board Meeting Minutes

Call to Order:  President DeSantis called the meeting to order at 8:46 AM.  Present were Steve Duerksen, Don DeSa, John Urbahn, Annelle Urbahn, Carol Ansell and Marty Ansell.

Minutes:  Steve Duerksen moved to approve the minutes of the August 19 Meeting of the Board.  The motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report:  Marty Ansell reported that the Association had received payment on behalf of one Member in default.  There had been minimal financial activity during the last two months with the notable exception of the purchase of a maintenance truck.  The amount paid at auction for a one-ton truck was $11,126.50, but additional costs were incurred to deliver the vehicle to White Bird.  President DeSantis commented that even with the other expenses, the cost of the truck was approximately equal to the proceeds from the sale of the backhoe.  Steve Duerksen moved to accept the Treasurer’s report.  The motion passed.

Road Chair Report:  John Urbahn reported that enough rain had been received that road grading was taking place today.  There was a discussion of whether to hold off on the application of gravel until spring; ideally the gravel should be applied when the grader can work it in.  President DeSantis moved to have Gary Little and Robin Lipinski coordinate on the grading and graveling as their schedules and the weather would allow.  The motion passed.  There was discussion of the Association’s signage on Pilgrim Ridge.  John Urbahn is re-building a back for the sign so it can be used again.  Carol Ansell moved to accept the Road Chair’s report.  The motion passed.

President DeSantis brought up that the new truck still needed to be outfitted with tire chains, and moved to allocate no more than $325 for the purchase of a full set of chains.  The motion passed.

President DeSantis also proposed that a secure location be found for the storage of the grader, truck, rock rake and fuel tank.  He identified a party who is willing to store all the equipment for a total of $100 per month for the term of one year.  Carol Ansell offered to draft a lease

Secretary’s Report:  Carol Ansell had no information on recent transactions, but Steve Duerksen reported that one property had changed hands.  President DeSantis moved to accept the Secretary’s report.  The motion passed.

President’s Report:  President DeSantis reported that ad space had been purchased in both the Idaho County Free Press and the Shopping Guide reiterating that Twin River Ranch was private property and hunters were expected to have written permission of the landowner if hunting within TRR boundaries.  The general consensus was that to date, this had been a quieter hunting season than in the past.

The Association received two building requests.  Both requests were reviewed and approved by the Board.  A burial request was also received and Steve Duerksen moved that the request be approved.  The motion carried.

President DeSantis updated the Board regarding the suit filed against a Member for undertaking construction using materials specifally prohibited by the Board.

Carol Ansell noted that the long-range weather forecasts predicted a winter similar to 2016-2017, and asked about the possibility of improving Shuck Creek to provide an alternative route to the steep sections of Hammer Creek that became treacherous with last winter’s ice.  The Board discussed the merits of this proposal, the number of residents that could benefit from improving that section of road and the possibility of a two-year improvement plan to spread out the cost.  Steve Duerksen moved that the Board consider improving Shuck Creek from the intersection with Hammer Creek to the cul-de-sac.  The motion carried.
With no further business to conduct, the meeting adjourned at 10:34 AM.

PLEASE NOTE:
HUNTING SEASON STARTS OCTOBER 10TH

If you plan to hunt in the White Bird area, please remember:

All of Twin River Ranch is private property.  There are no public roadways in Twin River Ranch and no access to public lands.

All entrances to Twin River Ranch are posted with No Hunting/No Trespassing Signage, in accordance with Idaho State Statute 36-1603.

Hunting within Twin River Ranch requires written authorization from the property owner, and any person hunting must be prepared to produce that written authorization upon request.

Property owners should ensure that their guests have written authorization to hunt on their lots. and that their guests know the lot boundaries.  Please do not let anyone hunt on your property without these two items.

And it should go without saying that some folks will still be in TRR without permission.  Please make sure your gates are locked and your property and animals are secure.

Call to Order:  President DeSantis called the meeting to order at 1:01 PM.  Present were Steve Duerksen, Don DeSa, John Urbahn, Carol Ansell and Marty Ansell.  Annelle Urbahn was absent.

Officer Election:  President DeSantis reminded the Board that in the past year there had been two vice presidents due to the fact that he lived out of state at the time of the election in 2016.  Now that he is living in White Bird, he felt that there was no need for two vice presidents.  DeSantis moved to name the following slate of officers for 2017-2018:

President:  Pete DeSantis

Vice President: Steve Duerksen

Treasurer:  Marty Ansell

Secretary:  Carol Ansell

The motion passed.

Minutes:  Marty Ansell moved to approve the minutes of the May 20 meeting and the June 10 Special Meeting of the Board.  The motion passed.

President DeSantis reminded the Board that the Board can approve the Annual meeting minutes as the entire Association meets less frequently than quarterly. The Board reviewed the Annual meeting minutes.  Steve Duerksen moved to approve the minutes as corrected.  The motion passed.

Ballots:  President DeSantis proposed treatment of the ballots from the annual meeting.  He will ask greeters Trealisa Brimmer and Kellly Lesquereaux to sign the tally sheet, which will become a part of the Association permanent records.  He will then arrange to have the ballots destroyed.  The motion passed.

Containers Proposal:  The balloting on the container proposal was very close, as indicated in the minutes of the annual meeting.  President DeSantis reminded the Board that the balloting did not meet with the approval of 75% of the voting members in attendance at the Annual Meeting or represented by mail-in ballots, and therefore did not meet the standards for inclusion in the rules of the Association.

Vehicle Purchase:  Following on the approval at the Annual Meeting of the purchase of a used maintenance/snow removal truck, President DeSantis moved that a committee of three individuals, comprised of himself, Equipment Operator Robin Lipinski, and Don DeSa work on behalf of the Board and the Association to purchase an appropriate vehicle at a cost not to exceed $20,000.  The motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report:  Marty Ansell noted that there had been minimal activity on funds received and expended, and the Association’s bank accounts totaled $104,647.38.  John Urbahn moved to accept the Treasurer’s report.  The motion passed.

Road Chair Report:  John Urbahn reiterated the Treasurer’s comments about the lack of activity, noting that the lack of rain did not allow for the application of gravel.  The roads need approximately an inch of moisture to allow for grading work to be done.  He also reported that the sprayer works well but he and Robin Lipinski had been dissatisfied with the results of the chemical that they used, and would likely use a more expensive, non-generic type next year.  But the ability to apply herbicide with Association equipment will still make the spraying process much less expensive than having a third party complete it.  President DeSantis moved to accept the Road Chair’s report.  The motion passed.

Secretary’s Report:  Carol Ansell reported on the completed sales of three lots within TRR.  Carol reminded the Board that the Board had expressed a desire to place a notice in the Idaho County Free Press regarding no public hunting in Twin River Ranch, and recommended placing a similar notice on the TRR Website.  Carol will draft the announcement and Steve Duerksen will collect information on the cost of placing the notice in the paper.

President DeSantis updated the Board on matters covered in the June 10 Special Board Meeting.

With no other items on the agenda, President DeSantis adjourned the meeting at 2:20 PM.

Call to Order:  President Pete DeSantis called a special meeting of the Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association Board of Directors to order at 3:00 PM at the DeSantis residence.  Present were John Urbahn, Annelle Urbahn, Don DeSa, Steve Duerksen and Carol Ansell.  Marty Ansell attended via phone.

The Board discussed 4 topics related to current or former Members:

·         The board has received a request for current amounts owed related to a prior Member who agreed in mediation to an amount owed to the Association, but who did not pay the amount.  A collection agency was engaged by the Association, and a lien filed against the Member in Washington.  The Treasurer estimated the amount (including interest) at $3,543.65; a portion of any amount received will be retained by the collection agency.  Steve Duerksen moved to  offer a payoff in full.  The motion passed.

·         The physical conditions leading to the mediation mentioned above remain unresolved, and there have been recent complaints from other Members.  Steve Duerksen moved to send a letter to the current owner  to advise them to resolve the conditions.  The motion passed.

·         A complaint has been received related to a business being operated within Twin River Ranch without review of the Board.  Carol Ansell moved to table discussion of the complaint until the next regular meeting of the Board.  The motion passed.

·         A Member is undertaking construction using materials and techniques that have been specifically prohibited by the Board.  Steve Duerksen moved to request a court-ordered injunction to halt further construction.  The motion passed.

With no other business to discuss, Pete DeSantis adjourned the meeting at 3:37 PM.

Call to Order:  President Pete DeSantis called the meeting of the Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association Board of Directors to order at 1:00 PM at the White Bird Library.  Present were John Urbahn, Annelle Urbahn, Don Desa, Marty Ansell and Carol Ansell.  Steve Duerksen was absent.

Minutes:  The minutes of the prior meeting were distributed to the Board members.  Annelle Urbahn moved to accept the minutes as presented.  The motion passed.

Annual Meeting Minutes:  Roberts Rules of Order indicates that for organizations that meet annually, the Board of Directors can approve the minutes of those meetings to avoid a lag of a year between a meeting and the acceptance of the minutes.  For avoidance of doubt, the annual meeting minutes from 2016 were re-distributed to the Board.  Marty Ansell moved to accept the minutes.  The motion passed.

Documentation of Business between Meetings:  Carol Ansell presented a memorandum documenting a decision made after the March Board meeting related to requesting legal assistance for a Board response to a Member who was commencing construction without prior Board review and approval of the plans.  The memorandum documented the decision reached between meetings.  All Board members present signed the memorandum.

Treasurer’s Report:  Treasurer Marty Ansell reported the April checking account balance was $52,242 and the money market account totaled $58,312.  The board discussed one Member who is significantly in arrears, and Pete DeSantis moved to re-serve the Member with a lien from Small Claims Court to further protect the Association’s interest.    The motion passed.  There was also discussion related to a letter received from Idaho County related to a Member whose property taxes are in arrears as well as TRRPOA dues.  As the taxes greatly exceed the unpaid Homeowners Association dues, the Board will not pay the taxes to protect its lien.  John Urbahn moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report.  The motion passed.

Road Committee Report:  John Urbahn reported that the Equipment Operator had conducted two days of grading within the last few weeks.  The lower roads are in fairly good shape, with no need to grade on top at present.  He also reported that 20-25 loads of gravel are likely to be needed for the upper and middle parts of Hammer Creek.   John also shared with the Board an advertisement for a sprayer that could be hauled in a pickup truck to either spray weeds or to be used as fire protection.  Pete DeSantis moved to spend up to $1,500 on a sprayer and herbicide.  The motion passed.

There was additional discussion regarding the possibility of redeploying the backhoe proceeds on a heavy framed truck which would be used for lighter road maintenance, including weed spraying.  The board asked the Road Committee members to meet with the Equipment Operator with the idea of assembling information to be presented at the Annual Meeting.  Carol Ansell moved to accept the Road Committee report, and the motion passed.

Secretary’s Report:  Carol Ansell reported sales activity on two lots. She also reported that the Association’s current approach regarding filing fees for liens was to assess them once, at a rate of $30.00.  However, each time a lien is filed, the Association incurs a fee from the County.  For liens where multiple years of assessments are unpaid, the Association must file each year to protect the amounts due.  Don DeSa moved that the Association assess a filing fee of $30.00 each year.  The motion passed.

The Board also discussed logistics related to the upcoming Annual Meeting on Friday, June 16 at 10:30 AM at Hoot’s Café, and the picnic to follow the meeting at Swiftwater RV Park.  John Urbahn moved to accept the Secretary’s report, and the motion passed.

With no other business to discuss, Carol Ansell moved to adjourn the meeting at 1:57 PM.  The motion passed, and President DeSantis adjourned the meeting.

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.