Newsletters for the Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association

TWIN RIVER RANCH

twinriverranch.com, twinriverranch1@gmail.com, trr-thisandthat.com

The 2023 Annual Membership Meeting will be held Friday, June 16, at 10AM in the meeting room of The Confluence Resort. Coffee, tea, and cinnamon rolls will be provided at the meeting. There will be a picnic at Swiftwater RV Park following the meeting. Burgers, hot dogs, bratwursts, buns, condiments, drinks, and potato salad will be provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert if you can.

A copy of the meeting agenda will be available on the TRRPOA website, twinriverranch.com. The agenda will include financial and road reports, the election of two Board members, and a discussion of fire safety. Minutes from the meeting and the financial report will be mailed to members. The minutes will also be posted on the website and will include a summary of the road report.

There are two Board positions up for vote. Gordon Ross was appointed to fill Cathy Littles position which ends, and Wolfgang Schubert’s position also ends. Gordon is running for election; Wolfgang is not running for reelection. Nominations will be takenfrom the floor. Each candidate will be introduced and given three minutes to speak, including answering these three questions: 1) what are your ideas for maintaining roads; 2) what do you see as the main benefits from having CC&Rs; and 3) what will you contribute to the Association as a member of the Board. Members will be allowed to ask questions of the candidates with each discussion limited to two minutes.  As per our bylaws, a candidate must get 51% of the vote to be elected. If the two positions are not filled after the first vote, a second vote will be held. A Proxy to Vote is included in this mailing for you to complete and sign if you are not attending the annual meeting.  It must be returned to TRRPOA by June 14.  Proxies and votes received after this date will not be counted.

Questions and comments from the floor will be limited to the member forum at the end of the meeting. The members will be given an opportunity to submit their written questions or comments to the Board prior to the member forum.  The meeting Chair will call on those who have submitted questions or comments. Discussions will be limited to two minutes. Rude behavior and interruptions will not be tolerated, and offenders will be asked to leave the meeting. Please cooperate with us to make this meeting productive.

The Board is preparing a list of property owners to be distributed to those members who request a copy. Enclosed is a consent form each member must sign in order to have their contact information included on the list. Only those who return the form and have checked yes for any one of the items and signed the form will be included in the list. We will not include anyone’s information who does not want it shared.

We hope you will join us after the meeting for the annual picnic. We look forward to seeing you there.

Thank you,

Twin River Ranch Board of Directors

November 2022 Newsletter

TWIN RIVER RANCH PROPERTY OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION

P.O. BOX 130, WHITE BIRD, ID 83554

twinriverranch.com, twinriverranch1@gmail.com, trr-thisandthat.com

Greetings members.  Enclosed are your 2023 dues invoice and budget. Details of the budget will be presented at the Annual Meeting.  Please contact Treasurer Debbie Little for questions on either. Please note that dues have increased to $288 for lots serviced by Association Roads, with no increase in dues for roads not serviced by Association Roads. The additional income is needed to offset inflation and the increased costs of fuel and road maintenance, anticipated work on the grader, and repairs or replacement of the snowplow truck. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.  This year, a major lay down of Grading F gravel on Gregory and Hammer Creek roads along with spot touch up of other roads exceeded the budgeted amount, resulting in using money from the reserve to make up the additional expenditure.

Summer extended well into October this year with higher than normal temperatures and dry conditions. The dry conditions prevented grading the road until the rains came at the end of October. Fortunately, there were no wildland fires on the Ranch in spite of the dry conditions. Late summer has definitely ended with temperatures expected in single digits at night in November and the first heavy snowfall at elevations over 3000 feet with up to 10 inches of wet, heavy snow. With the snowplow truck out of commission, property owners stepped up and plowed the roads using their ATVs and SUVs. Thanks to all who helped. At this writing, the snowplow truck is in the shop being evaluated for repair or possible replacement. 

We have a new Board member, Gordon Ross, who was appointed by the Board when Cathy Little resigned from the Board in September. We thank Cathy for her years of dedicated service. Her expertise will be missed. In addition to the Fire Tree, she also did all the printing, was our CC&Rs expert, and researched many issues on State HOA laws. Gordon will fill Cathy’s term which expires in June of 2023. We thank Gordon for accepting our appointment and hope he runs for election in 2023. Robin Lipinski also resigned his position as equipment operator in September. He has been replaced by Ryan Hampton, who also lives on the Ranch, who will be the grader operator, and Roy Johnston, another resident, who will share the plow truck operator position with Todd Miller, a local resident but not a resident of the Ranch. All three new employees come with years of valuable experience. We thank Robin for his years of service and also thank Ryan, Roy, and Todd for agreeing to their respective equipment operator positions.

We are asking everyone to include their current email address and phone number on their invoice when they return it so we can make sure our records are up to date.  We are moving towards using email for more communications. Thank you very much.

Happy Holidays to All and we’ll see you next June!

TRRPOA NEWSLETTER

MAY 2022

The 2022 Annual Membership Meeting will be held Friday, June 17, at 10:30 at the meeting room of The Confluence Resort. Pat Hurt, President, resigned on March 22, so John Urbahn, Vice President, will chair the meeting. Coffee, tea, and cinnamon rolls will be provided at the meeting. There will be a picnic at Swiftwater RV Park following the meeting. Burgers, hot dogs, bratwursts, buns, condiments, drinks, deviled eggs, and potato salad will be provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert if you can.

A copy of the meeting agenda is available on the website under Annual Meetings.  Minutes from the Annual Meeting and the financial report will be mailed to members. The minutes will also be posted on the website and will include a summary of the road report.

There are three Board positions up for vote. Debbie Little, Treasurer, is running for reelection. Also running are JP Goding, Jeff Dickson, Gordon Ross, Mark Frayser, David Bennett, and Jerry Bentz. Nominations will also be taken from the floor. Each candidate will be introduced and given three minutes to speak, including answering these three questions: 1) what are your ideas for maintaining roads; 2) what do you see as the main benefits from having CC&Rs; and 3) what will you contribute to the Association as a member of the Board. Members will be allowed to ask questions of the candidates with each discussion limited to two minutes.  As per our Bylaws, a candidate must get 51% of the vote to be elected. If the three positions are not filled after the first vote, a second vote will be held. A Proxy to Vote has been mailed to members to complete and sign if you are not attending the annual meeting.  It must be returned to TRRPOA by June 15.  Proxies and votes received after this date will not be counted.

Questions and comments from the floor will be limited to the member forum at the end of the meeting. The members will be given an opportunity to submit their written questions or comments to the Board prior to the member forum.  The meeting Chair will call on those who have submitted questions or comments. Discussions will be limited to two minutes. Rude behavior and interruptions will not be tolerated, and offenders will be asked to leave the meeting. Please cooperate with us to make this meeting productive.

We hope you will join us after the meeting for the annual picnic. We look forward to seeing you there.

November 2021

Greetings members.  By regular mail you will receive the 2022 dues invoice and the 2022 budget. Details for the 2022 budget will be presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting.  Please contact Treasurer Debbie Little for questions on the invoice or budgets. Please note that dues have increased to $240 for lots serviced by Association Road and to $90 for roads not serviced by Association Roads.

The summer was dryer and hotter than normal, and with those conditions and increased traffic, roads took a beating.  The major road event this past year was graveling Pilgrim Ridge and purchasing Grading F gravel for application in 2022 to the steeper, corrugated sections of roads. The grader did not require transmission work, so that money was used towards the purchase the gravel for 2022. Unauthorized work was done to an easement area by a member who was not the owner of the affected lot, but the member who performed the work graciously agreed to repair the damage at his expense. The sign that was torn down at the intersection of Shuck Creek and Hammer Creek was replaced, along with a new sign warning motorists of the unimproved condition of that section of Shuck Creek. There were several fires on the Ranch this year – Saddle Ridge, off of Doumecq, and Elk Run. All fires were immediately contained by property owners mainly because they were easily accessible. There were several large fires in the general area, the Dixie fire being the largest.

Three homes have been started this past year, two are still in progress but should be finished this fall or winter, 24 lots have sold, and eight properties are currently listed. You can follow available listings and other local news on www.trr-thisandthat.com.

The Annual Meeting and Picnic were held this year.   Details on the Annual Meeting and Board meetings throughout the year can be found on our website. Three board members’ terms expire next June (Pat Hurt, John Urbahn and Debbie Little). Debbie Little, our Treasurer, is seeking re-election. If any members wish to run for the board, we are suggesting a brief letter be sent to the board as to why you would like to run and what you see as to your contributions to the board. Please send your letter by April first of 2022 so it can be included in the May newsletter next year. Nominations will still be taken from the floor at the June 2022 annual meeting. 

We are asking everyone to include their current email address and phone number on their invoice when they return it so we can make sure our records are up to date.  Thank you very much.

Happy Holidays to All and we’ll see you next June!

TWIN RIVER RANCH

PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION

P.O. BOX 130

WHITE BIRD, IDAHO 83554

TRRPOA NEWSLETTER

MAY 2021

Greetings Members:  It’s time for the 2021 Annual Membership Meeting and Picnic.  It’s been a trying year for many, but things remained pretty much unchanged here on the Ranch.  We hope this letter finds you and your family well and having survived the COVID-19 pandemic.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING AND PICNIC: The 2021 Annual Membership Meeting will be held Friday, June 18, at 10:30 at the meeting room of The Confluence Resort (formerly Hoot’s Café).  Coffee, tea, and cinnamon rolls will be provided at the meeting.  There will be a picnic at Swiftwater RV Park following the meeting.  Burgers, hot dogs, bratwursts, buns, condiments, drinks, deviled eggs, and potato salad will be provided.  Please bring a side dish or dessert if you can.

AGENDA:  A copy of the meeting agenda is available on the TRRPOA website, twinriverranch.com.

FINANCIAL REPORT: The financial report will be distributed at the meeting.  A copy will also be included with the meeting minutes that will be mailed to members.

ROAD REPORT:  A road report will be given at the meeting.  You can refer to the website for the meeting minutes, which will contain a summary of the road report.

PROPERTY SALES AND CONSTRUCTION:  Property sales have been strong this past year, and prices have increased.  A report on sales and current listings will be given at the meeting and will be available in the minutes for viewing online.

SRRFD: The Salmon River Rural Fire District will give a presentation on fire safety and their organization.

ITEMS UP FOR VOTE:  There are two Board positions open.  Please contact a Board member if you would like to be considered and cannot attend the meeting.  Susan Schubert and Kristin Donaldson are running for reelection.  Nominations will be also taken from the floor.  There will be a vote on increasing dues to cover the increased cost of road maintenance, and to build up the Association’s Reserve Account funds to a safer level.  There will also be a vote on an amendment to the Covenants regarding the use of the Association’s Reserve Account funds (see Reserve Account below).  The amendment will require membership vote to approve planned (non-emergency) expenditures from the Reserve Account in excess of $5,000.  An example would be the purchase of equipment like our road grader.  If you cannot attend the meeting, there is a proxy enclosed for voting on Board members and a voting sheet for voting on the Amendment to the Covenants and on the dues increase.  Proxies and voting sheets sent through the mail and received at the Post Office after close of Post Office on June 16 will not be counted.

DUES INCREASE: This past year has shown a huge increase in property sales and building activity on the ranch.  Due to the increased traffic – new residents as well as commercial vehicles from building contractors and suppliers – our roads require much more attention than in the past.  Additionally, there has been much more activity from FedEx and UPS trucks which sometimes pass through our roads more than twice a day.  Unfortunately, gravel and fuel are more costly and there does not seem to be any indication that prices will return to levels seen in prior years. 

The main access roads to Twin River Ranch are Gregory Creek and Hammer Creek Roads.  The majority of families who use an association road to gain access to their properties use either Hammer Creek or Gregory Creek Roads, some use both roads.  Both roads are very steep and “wash boards” are common.  The wash boards can be graded out with some success, but the roads can only be graded when the roads are wet.  Thus, the further we go into summer, the worse the wash boards become.  Placing gravel on these wash boarded roads has met with very limited success.  Very quickly the new gravel is at the edges of the road and the wash boards return quickly.

In the past, the association has applied grading F mixture to these two heavily traveled roads.  Grading F is a mixture of crushed basalt and clay.  It is produced in this area by Camas Gravel for the US Forest Service.  Grading F will bind to a dirt road if the road and the grading F are both wet at the time of application.  The first time we applied grading F to these two roads was a great success.  The gravel stayed where it was placed for well over a year and did a great deal to mitigate the wash boards.  This application was successful because the grading F was delivered to us wet thanks to Mother Nature (rain).  These two roads were also wet at the time of delivery.  This material was then compressed with a rented roller and we had a fine result.  The second application was less than satisfactory.  The grading F came dry, and the roads were dry.  It could not be compacted by the roller without moisture. 

We quickly realized that we need to control the variable of moisture in order to use grading F in the future.  The board has decided to control the moisture variable by stockpiling this material adjacent to Gregory Creek Road and Hammer Creek Road.  Snow fall and rain will moisten this material for us through the winter and we can apply it when our roads are wet in the spring.

This stock piling of Grading F will require a second handling of this material as it will not be placed on our roads by the vendor but will be stock piled for us to use at a time that will insure an excellent result.  This second handling will increase our costs. 

This plan to mitigate wash boards, and thus improve somewhat the conditions of these two major roads, is not the only factor driving our costs up.  The additional traffic requires us to do more grading, along with special Grading F gravel which requires watering and rolling to keep the steep sections of road passable.  The additional traffic also requires more prompt and frequent snow plowing which also includes the higher elevations of Pilgrim Ridge and Elk Run Roads.  The Board would like to increase the annual dues to cover the increase in operating costs while still building up the Reserve account, so money is available in case of a road or equipment emergency.

The proposal is to raise the dues to $300 per lot on properties that have sole access on an association road.  If this proposal passes, properties that have sole access from a county road would not be affected and will have no increase in their annual dues.  However, if this proposal fails, ALL properties on the ranch will have their dues raised 20%, which means those who currently pay $200 in dues will then pay $240 per lot and those who currently pay $75 per lot will then pay $90 per lot.

RESERVE ACCOUNT EXPENDITURES:  As the result of assessment collection (annual dues) and frugal use of these assessed funds, the association has been able to create a contingency Reserve Account fund for emergency road repairs and/or other emergency needs.  The current protective Covenants do not contain any safeguard for use of these Reserve Account funds, and without these Reserve Account funds, any significant damage to an existing association road, or major equipment repairs, could be catastrophic for some association members.  Currently, a Board of Directors could use the Reserve Account funds for projects that may not benefit the entire association membership and that do not fall under routine maintenance.  In essence, without any protection, the Board of Directors could utilize these Reserve Account funds for non-emergency purposes, depleting the financial Reserve, and thereby greatly jeopardize the association’s ability to adequately respond to an emergency situation.  

The establishment of policies regarding the use of reserve Account funds provides structure and framework for use by successive boards and management personnel and eliminates the necessity of reinventing the wheel when there is a change in the association’s management.  The establishment of proper policies provides associations with consistency that outlives any particular board of directors or management personnel. 

The health of an association’s reserve account is vital to protecting the financial viability of the association and the property values of its members. HOAs are therefore required to perform reserve studies, make various reserve disclosures, and are subject to limitations on the purposes for which funds may be expended from the reserve account. 

Association boards of directors have legal, contractual, and fiduciary responsibilities that require the proper handling of association funds. The importance of being aware of all state laws and requirements imposed by an association’s governing documents relative to the maintenance and use of Reserve Account funds cannot be overstated. The proper allocation and use of Reserve Account funds will ensure that the homeowner’s association has necessary funds available when needed and will facilitate the association’s operations while at the same time minimizing conflicts within the association that frequently result from the improper conduct relative to the collection and use of Reserve Account funds. 

Currently our Covenants, under Section 7.3 (Duties of the Association), subsection “c” provides for the Duty to Maintain and Care for Roads.  The last sentence in “c” reads, “In performance of this duty, the Association shall incur no expense of the current assets.”  

The current Board of Directors feels that an Amendment is needed to further define what the current assets, which is called the reserve account, are to be used for and what limitations the Board must have in using funds from this reserve account.  The proposed Amendment, labeled Section 7.3, subsection “d”, is defined on the VOTE page in this mailing for property owners to vote on.

In closing, we hope you will support our efforts to build up the Reserve Account and to safeguard the account from any future misuse.  We also hope you will join us at the Annual Picnic and get to know your fellow Association members.  It’s time to take a deep breath and return to some measure of normalcy.