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Dakota Ridge Board of Directors Meeting

April 13, 2021 @ 8:30am via Zoom

Board Members Present: Sarah Jones, Jim Lob, Ron Lemieux, Holly Van Deursen, Carrie Rawlins

Others Present: Andrea Wilhelm and Emily Conkling, Commercial Property Group (CPG), Mary Andre, Civil Design Consultants (CDC), Nancy Jarchow (Owner – Lots 1 & 2)

Sarah called the meeting to order at 8:36 am and Andrea recapped the water system progress since the prior meeting. DRHOA is moving forward with the ARV and PRV replacements as approved by the Board in March. Matt Mielke from CDC worked with Native to get that portion of last year’s bid updated. CPG has signed the contract and is targeting a May/June timeframe for the work to be completed. Mary put together a scope of services for the smart meter project with Beacon; CPG has signed that contract as well and requested an installation target by the end of July. Mary provided an update regarding the leaking fire hydrant – CDC has coordinated with Tim Gibbons, Native, and the fire department and will have it repaired on Thursday, April 15th. Mary provided some background on how the leak was detected. On Thursday, Tim Gibbons had a thought that he should check the hydrant that was slated last summer for some replacement parts and when he put his ear to the hydrant, he heard water flowing inside. He had previously observed that this hydrant was difficult to close, and had skipped over it the last time he flushed the hydrants, which happens annually. Mary mentioned that Tim had checked the water readings at the plant this morning and noted that the pumped gallons were running about half of what they had been days before. It is estimated that the leak was flowing somewhere between 2-5 gallons per minute and could have been leaking anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years. Mary pointed out that 4 to 5 gallons per minute of water loss could conceivably explain the recent losses per quarter that DRHOA has experienced. It was also noted that this type of leak would not be visible as it flows through a drain inside the hydrant and gets absorbed into the ground. Holly and Ron both commented that we need to make sure that there are consistent procedures and checklists in place for the water operator going forward so that DRHOA is not relying on fortuitous discoveries of leaks. Tim had mentioned to Andrea that flushing the hydrant would not have necessarily brought this leak to light due to the quiet sound. Mary also agreed with that statement and said it was a somewhat rare and “perfect storm” of circumstances. She also noted Chad from Native had not detected the sound of water when he was at the hydrant two weeks ago measuring for replacement parts. Mary suggested having a mid-month meter read performed so that it could be compared against the May 1st scheduled read. Jim motioned to approve this step and the rest of the Board agreed. Mary also suggested that she could create a spreadsheet with hydrant numbers, dates, minutes flushed, observations when flushed, etc. for tracking purposes which Tim could provide to CPG for recordkeeping. The Board agreed.

Jim asked for a repricing number on the ARV/PRV vs. the previous year’s bid to which Andrea answered it had not changed at the $75k quote. Jim also questioned whether one or multiple plumbers would be used for the smart meter project. Andrea commented it would take longer with one, but multiple plumbers could complicate the project in terms of consistency and communication. Jim also asked for bullet points on the benefits of the smart meters for his Annual Meeting Water Report; CPG will provide this.

Holly asked whether the leak would have been detectable with regular acoustic testing and Mary indicated that was probable. She further explained that acoustic testing can be performed with and without water. If water is turned off at the service line there shouldn’t be any flow and thus, it would be easier to detect a leak. Holly suggested perhaps the association should have acoustic testing performed every year without turning off the water, and if loss numbers rise above 20%, the testing could be performed with a water shut off. Holly also noted that she would like acoustic testing to be performed where the road has crumbled and where there is evidence of ground disturbance.

The Board questioned whether flows throughout the system could somehow be measured in various supply lines and Mary noted meters along the distribution line had not been planned for, but that it could be done. Mary reported that pressure loggers were added to the ARVs and PRVs with multiple-month batteries, but they would have to be manually read and logged. Smart meters could be added inside the vaults but would still require endpoints to communicate live data through cellular signals. If smart meters were added within the service lines the cost would be pricey and it would be more difficult to make sense of the data given the complexity of looped service lines. Holly asked Mary to look into the cost of putting meters in at the trunk lines; Mary will look at strategic placement and quantity and get back to the Board with that information. The Board also asked CPG and/or CDC to obtain a quote for the acoustic leak testing separate from the installation of smart meters. With no further water discussion, the Board thanked Mary for her time.

Holly briefly went over the financials by highlighting favorable and unfavorable variances over $1k and noted the overall net operating income was $6,400 favorable. The balance sheet has assets of approximately $400k, $100k up from last year, mainly due to capital reserve build. Holly walked through each of the capital projects and related costs for those plans in the coming year. Holly shifted to the 2021/22 budget, noting operating revenue and capital reserve dues are budgeted at same level as last year. Operating Expenses were budgeted about $1,500 less than prior year. Andrea explained the addition of the utility locate fee; DRHOA is now considered a tier one member and will have to pay $1.32 for each locate. The Board discussed the wildfire mitigation capital and operating budget and Sarah mentioned she would like to develop an evacuation plan. Despite last year’s significant spend on common area tree removal, the Board voted to leave the $5,400 placeholder in the capital budget and increase the Wildfire expense in the operating budget amount to $1k for potential consulting expenses. Holly made the motion to approve the budget as presented, Sarah seconded, and all were in favor with none opposed.

The next order of business was the Capital Improvement Plan / Sources and Uses of Capital. Holly noted the sources section has remained unchanged. Within the Water System section, 2021 was updated to $150k due to delays in 2020; 2024 was updated to align with CDC’s updated Water CIP, which Holly pointed out was a draft since the Board had not yet discussed/approved all items it within it. For 2024, $150k of the $205k is related to the DIP replacement and the remaining is asphalt work. 2027 includes $395k in looping costs. Holly noted the average annual spend on water to be $94k per year, compared to $68k per year in last version sent to homeowners. Holly moved onto the Road section, noting there were no changes besides actuals. The NWCC road report for Dakota Ridge has not been updated since 2019 but the Board intends to have it updated again on a three year cycle in 2022. Holly also noted the last road report denoted road replacement would be necessary at some point in the future and would like NWCC’s next report to include a timeline of costs.

Holly asked the Board whether this “Sources & Uses of Capital” document should be shared with the association as a result of the changes over the year; she was in favor and Sarah also felt it important to share this updated information. Ron and Carrie were in favor of making it available to all homeowners, but felt posting it on the homeowners’ portion of the DRHOA website would ensure continuous access to this information in case the Annual Meeting packet was misplaced. Holly then suggested holding a separate Q&A session for homeowners interested in asking questions specifically about the CIP, similar to the wildfire mitigation Zoom last year. Ultimately, the Board agreed to put the information on the website, Holly will briefly address it in her committee report for the annual meeting, and will mention a special meeting can be scheduled if owners are interested in discussing further. Sarah made a motion to approve this version of the Sources and Uses of Capital, Carrie seconded the motion, all were in favor with none opposed.

The next order of business was the ARC. Ron noted that by driving through the neighborhood there does appear to be construction activity taking place that has not come across the ARC for approval. The ARC will be reminding everyone at the Annual Meeting that all exterior remodel, new construction, landscaping and tree removal/fire mitigation plans should be presented to the ARC for approval before construction begins, not after the project is completed. Ron also mentioned he would like to have the guidelines updated for new construction so that all water meters are moved out of the house and to the street where individual supply lines are connected to the HOA distribution system. This will allow for a more accurate picture of the water usage for each home and eliminate the possibility of irrigation lines inadvertently being connected to the distribution system before each homeowner’s water meter. Andrea will engage Paul Sachs for legal advice on whether this is feasible with the HOA documents since some meter pits could be shared by multiple owners. The Board also discussed construction and related road damage and what the governing documents currently allow. Andrea advised that according to the current covenants, the review fee cannot exceed $250 and the road damage deposit is $2000. She said that in past experience, keeping owner deposits or partial deposits for road damage is difficult due to the challenges of documenting/pinpointing damage as a result of one owner, contractor, date in time, etc. CPG was asked to provide the Board with some examples of ARC forms from other associations.

Andrea moved the discussion onto the sign post repair/installation and noted the sign cannot currently be lifted without equipment. The Board discussed steel as a long-term solution instead of treated wood, but decided to stick with treated wood for aesthetic continuity with the rest of the signs in the neighborhood. The Board expressed concern regarding packages being left on top of or on the ground near the new mailboxes for days out in the elements; CPG will reach out to the mail carrier.

Andrea will target the first week of May to send out the annual meeting packet for Board review and requested committee reports by 4/30 if possible. CPG will ask owners to submit any questions related to the Annual Meeting packet ahead of time in order to keep the meeting more manageable and efficient. The next Board meeting was scheduled for Monday, July 19th at 8:30am.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30am.

Recorded by,

Emily Conkling