Newsletters for the Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association

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.

Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association
PO Box 130 White Bird, ID 83554
twinriverranch.com

November 2020

Happy Holiday Season to our members.  Mailed are the 2021 dues invoice and the 2021 budget.  Details for the 2021 budget will be presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting.  Please contact Treasurer Debbie Little for questions on the invoice or budgets.

Here’s a look at the year in review.  The major road project for 2020 was the graveling and rolling of Gregory and Hammer Creek Roads using “Grading F” gravel.  Regular graveling and maintenance will continue in 2021, including Pilgrim Ridge.  The grader will require replacement of the transmission seal at an estimated cost of $5000.  In 2020 the Board removed obstructions and repaired damage to roadways, easements, and signs, all intentionally caused.  The Board was able to identify the perpetrators for some of the damage and is currently seeking reimbursement from the property owner.  The Board also continues to enforce CC&Rs to maintain the quality of life that owners expected when they purchased in Twin River Ranch. Three homes have been started in 2020.  This year 25 properties have sold with five currently for sale.  The Board continues to try and collect past due accounts from three property owners. Please follow the CC&Rs and respect the roadways, easements, and road signs.  You can refer to the Board minutes for the year on the Association website for information on additional Board activities for 2020. You can also visit trr-thisandthat.com for other interesting articles, upcoming events, and property for sale listings.

Our webmaster is currently working on setting up an email account for the Association. If you would like to receive communications via email instead of mailed paper copies in 2021, please send us a note with your email address to our address above. 

The biggest local event of 2020 was the closing of US95 due to a rockslide on July 3.  A bypass on Pollock Road was used until the road was finally restored to full use at the end of July and early August.  This year also hosted the Rainbow Family down near Riggins.  Local events, including White Bird Days in June, were canceled starting in March because of the virus and still have not resumed.  Some local businesses remain open, some with limited hours.  Idaho County started out very slow with no or very few cases of the virus but has seen the number of cases increase during the summer and early fall.  Idaho numbers have also increased, with large increases in recent weeks.  Idaho is now at Stage 3.  Please visit trr-thisandthat.com, the Coronavirus page, for weekly updates on the virus in Idaho.

Hopefully, we can all meet again in June 2021!

Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association
PO Box 130 White Bird, ID 83554
twinriverranch.com

May 2020

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING AND PICNIC

The 2020 Annual Membership Meeting, originally scheduled for June 19, has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 5, of Labor Day weekend, due to concerns over COVID-19 and Governor Little’s four-stage plan to reopen the State.  The June date falls inside the possible dates for Stage 4, which may allow non-essential travel to areas with no outbreak, still requires social distancing, and allows gatherings of more than 50 if social distancing can be maintained.  There is no way to predict what the outbreak in Idaho County will be in June and if non-essential travel will be allowed.  The Board also feels that the gathering could be more than 50, and that we cannot guarantee social distancing for the meeting or the picnic.  Here is the URL for the plan for those who wish more details: https://rebound.idaho.gov/stages-of-reopening/.  The Board canvassed a number of members, all of whom were in agreement on postponing the meeting until September.  As of May 16, there were 2419 confirmed and probable cases with 73 deaths in Idaho, and 3 cases with 0 deaths in Idaho County.  

An August newsletter and mailing will be sent out to members confirming the September date and containing an agenda for the meeting, a proxy for voting, and a mail-in ballot for the three open Board positions – Cathy Little, Don deSa, and Susan Schubert will decide by the August mailing if they will run again.  The three members have agreed to remain on the Board until the September meeting.  If you wish to be a candidate for a Board position and have your bio included in the August mailing, please send a copy to the Board by the end of July.  You can mail it to the Association PO Box (see above) or email it to any Board member.  Nominations will also be accepted from the floor during the September meeting.  You may bring copies of your bio for distribution at the meeting.

RECENT NEWS AND UPDATES

The following summaries are as of the end of April and cover activity since the February Board meeting.  Please contact the Board if you would like more information or have any questions.

FINANCIAL REPORT

A copy of the 2019 Financial Statements is included in the mailing.  The treasurer, Debbie Little, plans to make a full report on the 2019 and 2020 financial information at the meeting in September.  The discussion will cover the adjustments that have been made to bring our financial reporting into compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).  She will explain how the reporting changes increase the accuracy of the information you receive and allow the Board to make more informed decisions that are in the best interest of our members.  She will also be discussing our updated collection procedures for past-due accounts.  Please contact the treasurer if you have any questions about the budget or the financial statements.

ROAD REPORT

Grading, graveling and rolling were performed on Gregory, Shuck, and Hammer Creek Roads during the week of April 6.  The project came in a little over $1000 under budget.  Grading was also performed on all the other Phase I Association roads.  As of May 2, the gate on Pilgrim Ridge Road has been removed and the upper roads dressed up.  On May 3, Association roads were sprayed for weeds.

UPDATES FROM FEBRUARY 2020 MEETING

• Demand Letter on Mastication. There has been no new action or contact with the members or their lawyer regarding this matter.
• Easement Encroachment. The property owner has moved the rocks out of the roadway easement.  The Board thanks the property owner as this makes it easier and safer for the road maintenance operator to plow and grade there.
• Locked Gate on Pilgrim Ridge Road. The gate has been removed, as of May 2, but the posts remain as they also serve as signposts.
• Shuck Creek Road Signage.  The sign for Shuck Creek Road at the intersection and Shuck and Hammer Creek Roads has been installed.

PROPERTY SALES AND CONSTRUCTION

Thirteen properties have sold in the past year.  Another lot had a buyer that decided not to buy when he learned he would have to have a septic system even if he had a composting toilet. Three new houses have been built.  Lot development has started on a fourth but no CCR approval form has been submitted. Two more homes are planned to start this spring with one having submitted the CCR approval form.  Twenty properties are currently for sale. The Board would like to remind members and potential buyers that septic systems are required and that a CCR approval form must be submitted prior to building.  The CCRs are on the Association website, as is the approval form.

Hope to see you in September!

Twin River Ranch Property Owners Association
PO Box 130 White Bird, ID 83554
twinriverranch.com

November 2019

Greetings members as another year on the Ranch nears its end.  Enclosed you will find the invoice for your 2020 dues, the year-to-date statement through November 15 for the 2019 budget, and the 2020 Budget.  The details for the actuals for the 2019 budget will be presented at the 2020 Annual Meeting.  Please be reminded that dues for lots not served by the Doumecq Highway District are now $200 per lot with those served by the District remaining at $75 per lot.   You will also notice that the invoice has a new format.  Please contact Treasurer Debbie Little if you have any questions on your invoice or on the budgets.

Message from the Board: The focus of 2020 will be to save money where we can while still maintaining roads and road equipment.  The Board has a set a goal to try and apply 20% of incoming dues towards building up the emergency reserves with a goal of reaching $100,000 over the next several years.  This is a goal, not a mandate, as we realize unforeseen expenses, such as unexpected road maintenance or plowing and legal fees, will impact our ability to reach the goals.  Please visit the Association website for a list of the current Board members.

Roads and Equipment: The three major road events in 2019 were the spring washout of Gregory Creek, mastication of Association road easements, and the graveling and/or grading of the roads on top, i.e. Pilgrim Ridge, Elk Run, Repeater, and Bear Ridge.  Please refer to Board Meeting minutes on the Association website for details on these three events or contact Road Chair Don deSa.  The major road project for 2020 will be the graveling and rolling of upper Gregory Creek and Hammer Creek Roads.  “Grading F” gravel, with fines that allow better compacting when rolled, will be used, and those areas where needed will be rolled for better longevity.  Again, please contact Don if you have any questions on 2020 projects.  New warning signs were placed at the top and bottom of the S curves on Hammer Creek Road.

Property Updates: One home under construction was completed in 2019.  A second home is nearing completion, and a third home has been started.  Ten properties sold through November in 2019, and 23 are presently for sale. 

Other Association Business:  Please see the Board minutes for the year on the Association website for information on additional Board activities for 2019.