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Dakota Ridge Homeowners Association
Annual Meeting of Members
at The Hampton Inn, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
March 13, 2014


The annual meeting of the members of the Dakota Ridge Homeowners Association (“DRHOA” or “Association”) was called to order at 5:01 p.m. by Association President Mindy Williams.

Three members of the current board of directors (“Board”) of DRHOA were in attendance: Mindy Williams, Tom Valicenti and Jim Simon. Medora Fralick, administrator for DRHOA and Nancy Kounovsky of the Commercial Property Group (“CPG”) were present. Homeowners Tom Chaney, Nancy Jarchow, Sharon Pace and Thomas Stone were present in person. A sign in sheet for all lot owners in attendance and copies of proxies are included with these minutes for the record.

Medora Fralick of CPG gave the tally of those members in attendance and the proxies in hand. Six lots were represented in person and 11 proxies were in hand. A total of 17 out of 74 lots were represented. A total of 51% representation is required by the Association covenants to establish a quorum. A quorum was not established.

Without a quorum, the Association cannot approve the minutes from the previous year or approve the 2014/15 budget. Medora mentioned that there was nothing contentious in the minutes from the previous year and they could be approved at the next annual meeting.

Regarding the approval of the next year’s budget, Medora explained that according to CCIOA, if a quorum is not established, the Association reverts back to the prior year’s budget. Since there was no change to the annual assessments in the 2014/15 budget from the prior year, the budget does not require approval by the Association.

The results of the Board Member Vote were given. Two seats were up for election (the terms are up for Mindy Williams and Kathe McCoy). Sharon Pace, Thomas Stone and Sara Jones were the candidates. The voting for the Board positions was handled by a mail in ballot separate from the proxies. Thirty-eight ballots were received so a quorum for the election of new board members was established. The two candidates with the most votes are Sharon Pace and Thomas Stone. All votes were verified by the staff of CPG. Each new Board Member will serve a two year term.

The Board and The Commercial Property Group thanked Mindy Williams for her time spent on the Board. Specifically, it was expressed that Mindy did a great job serving as the President of the Board.

Since the Association’s response to the ballots was higher than the proxies, a recommendation was made to combine the two documents in the future, hoping to establish a quorum more easily in future meetings. Medora mentioned that this could be done in the future.

The next item of business was a discussion on the water system. Tom Valicenti stated that the water system passed all of the state tests in the previous year. The Colorado Department of Health has not finalized its determination as to whether the Association’s water supply is ground water under the direct influence of groundwater (“GWUDI”) as a result of the microscopic particulate test analysis (“MPA”) required by the Colorado Safe Drinking Water Program. Medora checked on the results a couple of weeks prior to the annual meeting and was told to expect the results within a month.

Tom continued with a recap on the water line replacement project that was done in the 2013. The water line in the south side of the subdivision was constructed with PVC; the only problem this part of the system has experienced has been occasional leaks at the connections. The north side of the subdivision, however, was constructed with ductile steel pipe. Over time, this pipe has reacted with the acidic ground soil and has failed. The main focus of the water line replacement is on the north side as this pipe will continue to fail over time. A total of approx. 1,000 ft of water line was replaced on the north side of the subdivision in 2013 where a major leak occurred. There is an additional 9,200 of steel pipe that remains on the north side.

Nancy Jarchow asked if there were any other repair options such as the sleeve technique where the PVC pipe is placed inside the existing pipe. Tom stated that the Board has looked into this option and it was not a recommended technique in our state as it has not been proven in Colorado. Tom also explained that when the water line is replaced the new line is placed on the side of the road (old pipe exists under the road) which is favorable as future water line repairs will not require digging up the road. If the sleeve technique is used, the water line would still be under the road which is not ideal.

The Board is considering a phased water line replacement over the next 7 to 10 years. Thomas Stone suggested that a special assessment be considered in the upcoming year as it does not appear that the existing capital reserve, even augmented with additional capital reserve assessments at the current level, will be sufficient to cover the expected costs. Additionally, Thomas mentioned that there could be cost savings if the project was completed all at once and sooner rather than later. He mentioned that the Association could get bank financing to cover some of the costs, similar to how the road repair project was handled. Tom stated that he thought it would be difficult to get the Association to approve a large special assessment in the upcoming year (67% of vote needed to approve). Tom Chaney suggested spreading the special assessment over time so that it would not be so large in one year.

Tom Valicenti recommended that the Board address the options at the next Board meeting. Jim Simon asked that the Board invite Tim Gibbons and Ed MacArthur to the meeting for their expertise. Tom felt it was best to let the homeowners know now about any potential water special assessments. Thomas stated that the Board should engage as many homeowners as possible for their input.

Thomas asked about the status of cluster boxes at Dakota Ridge. Medora stated that there has not been much interest from homeowners and the Post Office would require enough capacity for the entire neighborhood.

Thomas asked about the results of the “chicken vote.” Medora responded that the Association voted “no” on the issue.

Medora was asked about the issue of allowing solar panels in the neighborhood. She is working with Tim McCarthy of Bright Side on the issue. She stated that CCIOA language states that associations cannot restrict solar panels within a neighborhood. Mindy suggested that the Board develop solar energy guidelines that encourage rather than restrict.

Tom Valicenti asked if the Association guidelines restrict fireworks as there have been problems with homeowners setting off fireworks, resulting in the risk of fire damage. Mindy stated that the Board’s position in the past has been to ask the neighbors to call the Sheriff so there is a record of the complaint. Sharon Pace asked Medora to call the Sheriff’s office and ask if they could place more priority on the problem so that when complaints are made, more pressure is put on the homeowner to comply with County/State laws. It was also suggested that the Board discuss this issue in future meetings to see if the Association should start fining homeowners who do not comply with the laws.
There being no further business before the meeting, it was adjourned at 6:02 p.m. The next Board meeting will held on Thursday, April 3rd at 8:30am.

Respectfully,

Nancy Kounovsky
Recording Secretary