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Dakota Ridge Board of Directors Meeting
October 13, 2020 at 8:00am via Zoom

Present: Sarah Jones, Ron Lemieux, Holly Van Deursen, Jim Lob, June & Neil Winward, Carrie Rawlins
Others Present: Mary Andre (CDC), Andrea Wilhelm, Medora Fralick, and Emily Conkling (Commercial Property Group)

Sarah called the meeting to order at 8:04am. Andrea thanked Medora for all her work and announced this will be her last Board meeting, but that she will be available on a consulting basis going forward. Andrea introduced Emily who gave a brief background of her experience.

Water Update
Jim provided a water update regarding water loss, the CIP budget, and the Aspen Ridge leak. Water loss is at 26%+- for the quarter compared to a recent historical 19% loss. Jim had previously expressed concern to CDC and CPG in regards to frustration over not knowing where there is PVC vs. ductile iron piping (DIP) and that the unknown could turn out to be a budget surprise. Jim further expressed the Board’s concern with the delay in getting this year’s capital improvements completed. He asked Mary to speak to the leak, RFP changes, and the revised CIP program for 2021. Holly also asked Mary to explain the “why” behind changing from DIP to PVC and noted that the Aspen Ridge road leak was PVC.

Mary Andre explained the initial DIP used in the water system was not poly wrapped and that soils within the subdivision caused corrosion leading to pinhole leaks, which have interrupted water service. The water service interruptions led to the desire to wholesale replace all DIP to PVC. She mentioned that there is still one segment from water treatment plant to River Road that will be problematic to replace due to the steep slope and boring requirements under River Rd. Mary reported that the most recent leak was a longitudinal break of PVC pipe and that Native did not see a cause/explanation for the leak. She said it is not common for PVC to fail in that way, but the pipe had been in place for over 20 years. She further went on to discuss the 500 ft of DIP identified in the 2015 leak was shown in the as-built drawings as PVC. Once that area is potholed, the extent of DIP vs. PVC can be more closely determined. While Mary admitted that confidence in the as built drawings isn’t 100%, she did agree they should be accurate. Holly acknowledged that it is not unusual for as built drawings to have some inaccuracies, but questioned whether it would be more appropriate to perform periodic/scheduled replacements vs. waiting for a failure or leak. Mary responded that it is more common to replace pipes upon failure and estimated the service life of PVC to be 50 to 100 years. Holly questioned whether they should put in any additional pressure gauges to help with future leaks and Mary noted that as part of the current project they will be putting pressure loggers at each of the pressure zones. Ron mentioned that there were periods of single digit loss historically and wondered if there was some kind of failure in the system that could be identified. Mary responded that a loss in the range of 15-20% is typical but that greater losses were worth chasing down. Sarah pointed out that the pumping system was replaced during the Chlorine Contact Basin project in 2018 and that there may be calibration issues attributing to non-consumptive loss. Andrea asked Mary for her thoughts on how the September leak impacted readings, noting the loss of 215k gallons. Taking into account those numbers, the quarter loss was maybe closer to 20%.

Ultimately, Jim directed the group back to the CIP plan and asked Mary to provide a revised recommendation on capital water improvements over the next few years. Holly also asked for Mary to address calibration, pressure gauges, and flow meters. Mary acknowledged the questions and said that she will get back to the Board within the next month. It was noted that Native will still be repairing the leaking PRV from vault 2 in the next few weeks and installing one ARV at the same time.

Financial Update
Holly provided an update on financials, noting they are in good shape. The YTD income statement shows an unfavorable $9k variance in NOI. Of the $9k variance, $2k was due to lower water user fees and $7k due to water system operations and repair. In terms of expenses, general maintenance shows an unfavorable variance of $1k (due to the sign repair after the 9/8 storm), road maintenance a favorable $1k, and fire mitigation a favorable $1.5k. In terms of capital expenditures, the HOA is projected to spend about $90k of the original $180k estimate for this fiscal year, most of which relates to water. Holly noted this capital expense will most likely shift into next year, which is not a major issue, but does cause the capital reserve balance to grow to $430k compared to reserve minimum of $300k. Capital road spending is currently at $20k (vs. the $50K estimate) but will double once RMA completes patching. Wildfire mitigation spending is $30k vs. $5k budgeted. This was an intentional overage when the Board made the decision to take out deadwood.

On the Balance Sheet, cash assets are right around/within FDIC limits on all holdings. There are no delinquent receipts and the check register looks good. Holly raised the question of checks cut by CPG to CPG and mentioned that as a matter of governance, she will review checks to CPG.

Road Update
Carrie noted that we have $64k budgeted this year but will only spend about $54K – the previously invoiced $13,725 for crack sealing and another $40K on patching. Carrie asked the Board what they would like her to focus on and Holly referred her to the NWCC road report and road spending section of the CIP (Carrie & Andrea reviewed the day before). Andrea mentioned Ben Schreiner would be doing some patchwork in the coming weeks, particularly around the area of the leak where the road was destabilized and said she would put Ben in touch with Carrie for a debrief on Dakota Ridge roads.

ARC Update
Ron confirmed that internal-only redesign projects do not need ARC approval and the only plans submitted to the ARC have been for a garage proposal and an exterior color change. Several Board members noted that concrete and exterior work is being done at a residence at the lower corner of Aspen Ridge and Agate Creek, but nothing was submitted to the ARC. Andrea acknowledged this issue is not unique to DRHOA so CPG sometimes relies on Board members to report unapproved construction activities. She will reach out to those owners immediately. CPG will send out a reminder to all homeowners that they must submit plans for ARC approval for any changes affecting the outside of their residences, building footprints, or significant tree removal.

Ongoing Projects
The entrance sign repair was completed on Friday. Jim interjected that Paul and Susanna Orzech respectfully wanted to know if they could put holiday lights on the entrance sign that they will pay for and maintain. Sarah approved, Carrie seconded and Jim asked Andrea to reach out to them regarding the approval of their request.

The Wildfire mitigation project is finished. Sarah reached out to homeowners specifically identified in plan and will work with Ron this winter on an emergency evacuation plan and procedures. The Board would like to host another educational session next year, in which the Fire Marshal agreed to participate.

The cluster boxes are installed but the post office approved the project with less boxes than owners. Several members noted they had an easy process of visiting the post office and receiving their keys but others were not so lucky. The Board and CPG discussed the uncertainty around whether any homeowners have tried to get keys, but could not because they were not on the labeled list. If someone is outright denied, CPG said they would mediate with the post office. It was discussed that the Board either halt the process until more boxes are installed or move forward with current situation. Sarah, Jim, and Holly voted to leave as is and move forward with an email to the HOA announcing they are ready. Andrea will also try to circle back with the post office regarding the labeling issue.

Lastly, Medora mentioned the Haydens would like to host a “socially distanced” outside gathering after Christmas and the Board agreed with that idea.

The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, January 19th at 8am.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:28am.

Recorded by,
Emily Conkling
Commercial Property Group