TRRPOA Board Meeting Minutes
March 12, 10AM
IOOF Hall, White Bird ID
Call to Order/President’s Message: President JP Goding called the meeting to order at 10AM. Also present were Board members Roy Johnston, Vice President; Samantha Stults, Treasurer; Kristin Donaldson, Webmaster; Gordon Ross, Fire Tree and CCRs; and Susan Schubert, Secretary. Guests included Shelly and Mark Frayser and their son, John Raynor, Pat Hurt, and Scott Dalgliesh. JP expressed thanks to Pete DeSantis, who was not present, for the snow plowing he has been doing as volunteer work.
Treasurer Report. Sam reported the following. Ninety-five percent of the dues have been paid with 9 outstanding, including 7 new owners in arears and 2 who repeatedly do not pay. Liens have been filed and letters sent to those 9 property owners. She also provided the current balances in both Checking and Savings.
Roads. Road Chair Jerry Bentz resigned in February, and both Roy and JP have taken over the duties of Road Chair until that position is filled. In the absence of an equipment operator, they have also been taking turns plowing snow with the Association equipment. As mentioned earlier, Pete DeSantis has also helped with plowing, as have several others. Roy Johnston presented the following Road Report items.
Roads – Equipment. The Dodge plow truck transfer case went out during this past winter during a snowstorm. A local County Road department was selling their plow truck with plow, an F350 with 140K miles on it, and offered to sell it to the Association at a good price. The new plow truck has proven to be excellent at plowing. The Dodge transfer case will be repaired, and the truck kept for spraying weeds and as a backupplow truck. One of the tires on the grader is leaking air at the valve stem and will be fixed.
Roads – Sanding. Sanding was discussed. We do not have a place to store sand. It has to be kept dry or it freezes. Using salt is not an option as residents do not want salt on the roads. The Ford had a sander, but we opted out of buying it with the Ford.
Roads – Cleaning Culverts. Thanks to Pete DeSantis, Pat Hurt, and Cathy Little for telling us about the blocked culverts on Gregory Creek. All of the culverts on Gregory Creek have been cleaned out. Culverts on other roads will follow. Please let us know if you see any that are blocked.
Roads – Road Committee. The Board created an ad hoc Road Committee consisting of Scott Dalgliesh, John Raynor, Mark Frayser, Roy Johnston, and JP Goding. The committee will identify immediate road concerns and define the structure, operation, and duties of a Standing Road Committee which will consist of the new Road Chair, the President, and two area road maintenance experts, TBD. The Standing Committee will define 1, 3, 5, and 10 year road maintenance plans with options to present to the Board. The Standing Committee will be discussed at the Annual Membership Meeting in June.
Roads – Graveling. Roy did an analysis of the Association roads and found there are 17 miles of developed roads in addition to the unimproved extensions of Pine Ridge, Shuck Creek, and Big Canyon Roads. Based on current costs of gravel and hauling, he estimated it would cost $20,400 per mile to lay down two inches of gravel, 16 feet wide, or $350,000 to gravel the 17 miles of improved roads. With a budget of only $35,000 per year max, graveling all of the roads would be a ten year project. He would like to see a 3-5 year plan to pull all the old gravel from the ditches, process it onto the roads, and then see how much new gravel we need. In some areas we are getting down to the roadbed. The new Road Committee will research this and present different options to the Board, starting with the ad hoc committee making immediate recommendations and the standing committee, once assembled, presenting multi-year plans with options to the Board.
Roy reported that some local Highway 95 roadbed is being removed this summer and replaced and that maybe we might have a use for some of the ground, removed pavement. There could also be left over Jersey barriers that we might be able to get to place along the steeper sections with drop-offs, such as along the S Curves on Hammer Creek. He also said DeAtley was running a crushing activity in conjunction with the highway work and perhaps we could purchase some of the leftover gravel from them as it probably would not be cost effective for them to haul it off.
Roads – Equipment and Fuel Storage. With Jerry Bentz resigning from the Board, the equipment that had been stored on his property needs to be moved. This includes the grader, drip fuel tank, and Dodge. JP is currently storing the Ford plow truck; Roy will store the Dodge plow truck; Ryan Hampton will continue to store the grader. The Board will purchase a slip tank for the Ford and fill it from the drip tank, emptying the drip tank so it can be moved. It was moved, seconded, and all approved to purchase the slip tank. Scott Dalgliesh then offered the Association free use of one of his 120 gallon slip tanks for a year to see if that solution works for us. He also offered to store the drip tank on his property at no charge. The Board will accept his offer, and the purchase was tabled.
Roads – Weed Spraying. Roy reported on his meeting with the Idaho County weed control officer. They toured the roads in the Association and looked at the weeds we currently have on both the road right of away and the members’ lots, observing what they could without trespassing onto the properties. At the end of the tour, the County official informed Roy that whoever applies the spray must have a State issued applicator’s license. The Board has operated under the belief that the chemicals we use did not require an applicator’s license. The Board will research the different options of hiring an employee and getting them licensed, hiring a contractor to do the spraying, and hiring as an employee someone who is already licensed to spray with our equipment and the chemicals we already have. Those not wishing to have their easement sprayed must fill out the online form on our website and must also post their easement.
Roads – Unimproved Association Roads. Roy reported on the Association’s responsibility in maintaining or upgrading the “road extensions” or unimproved Association roads, including Pine Ridge, Big Canyon/Canyon, and Shuck Creek, and thatportion of Gregory Creek from the entrance into the subdivisionto Doumecq. He researched plat maps and recorded deeds and other documents. There is a recorded agreement that the Association will maintain that portion of Gregory Creek Road from the entrance into the subdivision to Doumecq. Big Canyon/Canyon from the culdesac off of Hammer Creek/Pine Ridge to Meadow View is private access or privately owned. All of the lots off of unimproved Shuck Creek have access to improved Association roads. The lots off of unimproved Pine Ridge have access via private legal access off of the end of Gregory Creek. There was some disagreement among the Board members on whether the CCR’s are stated in such a way as to require the Association to improve/upgrade that portion of Pine Ridge. This subject has been visited in the past, and previous Boards reached the conclusion that legal access to those lots was provided by the private easement/access off of Gregory Creek. All agreed it was something that might need to be decided in court if it ever came to that.
Roads – Upper Roads Winter Maintenance. With a full time resident living on Pilgrim Ridge, there was a brief discussion on keeping the upper roads open all winter. The Board will use the plow truck and the grader when necessary to keep the roads open, but there may be short periods of time when they will be closed.
Employee/Volunteer Record of Activities. Roy presented an employee/volunteer activity form for employees and volunteers to fill out when they do work for the Association. It captures hours worked/volunteered, actions performed, roads serviced, dates the service was performed, and activity usage. This provides a time sheet record for employees, hours worked/volunteered for workmen’s comp requirements, data for scheduled maintenance on equipment, and a record to use to provide information to members when they have questions on plowing, grading, etc.
Dues Increase. There are currently no plans to raise dues again this year.
Board Vacancy. Jerry Bentz resigned from the Board on February 10. It was moved, seconded and all approved to accept his resignation. The Board then left the meeting to meet in an Executive Session to discuss the reasons for Jerry’s resignation and to select a replacement. After the Executive Session, the Board returned to the general meeting. JP reported to the general meeting that the reasons Jerry Bentz had given for resigning had been discussed and that Mark Frayser, who was runner up in last year’s elections, had been appointed to the Board as Jerry’s replacement.
Road Committee Meeting. The ad hoc Committee members assigned earlier will have a short meeting at the conclusion of this meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:30 PM. Anyone wishing more details on items discussed may contact any Board member or make a request totwinriverranch1@gmail.com.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Schubert, Secretary