Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association Minutes, Board of Directors Meeting
Call To Order: President Pat Hurt called the meeting to order at 12:34 PM at the Old White Bird School. Present were John Urbahn, Don Desa, Debbie Little, Kristin Donaldson, Cathy Little, and Susan Schubert. Also in attendance at the Board’s request was Robin Lipinski, the Association equipment operator and member.
President Report: Pat gave a brief message to the audience: the State statutes and Association Covenants give the Board great latitude in performing Board business; the Board will operate on facts and data, nothing is personal; the Board will be transparent; we must save money; we are one emergency away from bankruptcy and were so fortunate that the Gregory Creek washout wasn’t worse; the Board is available for anyone to talk to; and he would be happy if no Members came to the meeting because that would mean they trust what we are doing.
Pat also stated that this is a business meeting of the Board with certain rules: only one person will talk at a time; guests will be given time to talk after the business is taken care of; there will only be an executive session under two conditions: 1) the business meeting is continually interrupted by the audience; and 2) there is a personal issue with a property owner and that property owner requests that it be discussed in an executive session.
Agenda: Debbie moved, Cathy seconded to accept the agenda with the modification that the Treasurer Report would be presented later in the meeting. The motion carried.
Minutes: Debbie moved, Cathy seconded to accept the minutes of the June 14, 2019, Board meeting. The motion carried.
Road Chair Report: Don reported that it will cost $7,500 for gravel on top (Elk Run and Pilgrim Ridge) and that is below what has already been budgeted. The cost includes transportation for the 11 mile round trip. The work will be done in September. Robin reported that it will take about half a day next month to spray weeds for goat heads. It will take two days to grade the lower association roads this Fall. Gravel will be spread on Elk Run this September. He cannot use the grader on top for grading gravel on Elk Run even with the new gravel as there is not enough gravel on the road, so he will use the rock rake. And finally, he mentioned to the board that for next year he estimates about $12k worth of grading-F gravel; ten loads skip dropped on Gregory and fifteen skip dropped on Hammer because the clay binder is washing out thus creating more washboards. Also, next year, he recommended we rent a roller and pack the roads while grading. John moved, Kristin seconded to accept the report. Motion carried.
Secretary Report: Susan reported: we have received six change of address/phone number notifications; thanked Cathy and Pat for printing and mailing the Annual Meeting minutes; she spent $28.99 on copy paper, $10.99 on envelopes, and $109.50 on stamps (two rolls) for Cathy for the annual minutes mailing and future mailings; we received and approved CC&R’s Review Submittal Form from Pete DeSantis for an RV Barn/Shop; and thanked Al Bolden for the kind and encouraging letter he sent to the new Board members. Cathy moved, Kristin seconded to accept the report. Motion carried.
Mastication Report: Pat reported that the mastication is complete, and that we will not be removing any debris at the Board’s (Association’s) expense.
Wild Web West: Debbie reported that she talked with Mary Mangold and that we could do our own updates with Mary’s approval of the person doing it. Kristin has volunteered and has extensive Word Press Experience. Kristin reported she has talked with Mary who has recommended a one hour training session for Kristin to show her how the site is set up, etc., at a cost of $75. Susan moved, Cathy seconded that we approve the training for Kristin and have Kristin maintain our web site. The motion carried.
Equipment Operator Contract and Wages: There was no discussion.
Board Printing by Cathy: There was no discussion other than that presented in the Secretary Report.
Treasurer Report: Debbie began her presentation by discussing the Association’s basis of accounting. The previous treasurer had been using a “true cash basis”, which meant that dues were counted as income in the year they were received, which means that 2019 dues paid in November and December were counted as 2018 income. 2019 dues were not earned by the association yet, and should have been listed as a current liability in 2018. She explained that a “true cash basis” of accounting is not considered an acceptable method under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles because it is misleading to the financial statement users. One of the most basic accounting principles is the Matching Principle, which requires all income and expenses to be matched with the period they pertain to, which is not necessarily the period they were actually received or paid.
Debbie re-stated the financial statements for the year 2018, using the accrual basis of accounting, which included a Balance Sheet and Income Statement. She noted that the year 2018 actually had a deficit (loss) of $5,073.83. She went on to explain that this deficit was funded with the Association’s existing cash balances, and that the covenants recommend replenishing the cash reserves for the deficit in the next year to maintain an adequate amount of cash in the reserve.
The Association previously has not provided a Balance Sheet, so Debbie created one, adding the Association’s equipment in the Assets. She said the rock rake was not included yet because she couldn’t find the purchase information, and asked for input about that. Robin said the rock rake was worth about $2,500, and Don Desa agreed. The Board approved adding the rock rake to the Balance Sheet at that value.
She also provided 2019 Budget statement, as approved by the previous Board, with some presentation changes to illustrate that the budget actually showed a deficit of $19,667. The previous Board showed a line item on the original budget, under Income, titled “ADD: Prior Years Carryover” of $20,000. This line item was intended to illustrate that the deficit would be funded by reducing the Association’s existing cash reserves that have built up from prior years’ net income (not 2018, which was a loss). Pat Hurt expressed that the Members elected this Board based on the candidates’ vows to be conservative with expenditures, and that we should do everything we can to avoid the previously-planned deficit in 2019. To achieve that, Pat, Don, Debbie and Robin previously met to discuss road maintenance expenditures for the remainder of the year, and any places we can cut back. They feel confident that 2019 will actually be a break-even year based on the results of that meeting.
The final exhibits included a new format for dues invoices and statements. Debbie asked the Board members to review the forms at their leisure and send her any suggestions for editing them.
Debbie plans to distribute monthly financial statements to the Board. Members may contact Debbie if they have questions or if they would like her to mail them a copy of the statements. Members may also contact the secretary or any other Board member for copies.
Discussion from the Members followed with Robin asking about submitting monthly billings, and about getting an account at Hoots for his plow-truck fuel in the winter (not diesel). The Board was in agreement to apply for a charge account at Hoots for this fuel, and Debbie requested Robin to submit the monthly billings.
Pat moved, Don seconded that the Treasurer’s Report be approved. The motion carried.
Certificates of Appreciation: Debbie moved, Don seconded that we award gift certificates in the amount of $50 to the recent out going Board members who completed their term and are not currently on the Board, which included Carol Ansell and Pete DeSantis. Susan and Debbie will get the certificates.
New Business: Cathy Little said she would like to see us rescind the “Proposal for Rules” that the previous Board had adopted. Susan explained that the previous Board had wanted to document how the Board will operate. Cathy said she only objected to the second item:
“Board meetings are not open to the Membership, but Members can request/are welcome to speak at the beginning of a Board meeting before the commencement of business. A request to speak at the beginning of a meeting can be made to any Board Member. If Members are more keenly interested in the functioning of the Board, they are welcome to run for any open Board seat during the June Annual Meeting.”
It was decided that the rule would be changed to say:
“Meetings are open to the Membership. Members are allowed to ask questions and make comments during the Member Forum.”
Member Forum: Members in attendance included Al and Cheryl Bolden, Joe and Deanna Thyne, Pete DeSantis, Phil and Kelly Lesqueruex, and Robin Lipinski, Association equipment operator and member. Pat asked if anyone wanted to speak, and no one did.
Adjournment: There being no further business, Cathy moved, Kristin seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried, and Pat adjourned the meeting at 1:29 PM. No date was set for the next meeting, but sometime in October for a budget meeting was suggested by Pat.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Schubert, Secretary Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association