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Dakota Ridge Homeowners Association
Annual Meeting
at The Hampton Inn, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
March 13, 2010
The annual meeting was called to order at 9:10 a.m. by Association Board President Thomas Stone.
Board members in attendance were Thomas Stone, Diane Pietig, Michael Williams, H.C. Pace and Tim DePuy. Medora Fralick, Nancy Kounovsky and Stephanie McDonald of the Commercial Property Group, administrator for DRHOA were also present. Brian Len of Northwest Colorado Consultants was also a guest. A sign in sheet for all lot owners in attendance is included with these minutes for the record.
The first order of business was to establish a quorum. Medora read off the proxies and they were counted. She then read the names of owners signed in on the sign in sheet. Thirty nine members were present in person or by proxy which was over 51% required by the association covenants and therefore a quorum was present.
The 2010 Budget was presented and opened for discussion. The annual fees will not increase and there will be no special assessment. A question from the floor asked how the amount budgeted for water expenses was determined. This expense is estimated from historical usage. Another member suggested that information be provided with the annual meeting packet to include projected calls on assets over the next five years and be part of the budget in the future. The outstanding loan on the road project is a five year unsecured loan at 6.875% interest and is paid monthly, which is funded from quarterly payments.
There being no further discussion, David Zedeck made a motion to adopt the 2010 Budget as presented and it was seconded by Diane Pietig. A vote was taken with all in favor signifying by saying aye and those opposed the same sign. All votes were in favor with none opposed. The motion passed unanimously.
The next item of business was the report of the Board election. Two seats were open. Tim Depuy and Diane Pietig were thanked for their service on the board. David Zedeck and Mindy Williams were candidates for the open seats. They will both serve two years terms. The new board is Thomas Stone, Michael Williams, H.C. Pace, Mindy Williams and David Zedeck. It was noted that Brent Langevin submitted his resignation during the past month and the Board accepted his resignation and voted to have H.C. Pace to serve the remaining year of Brent�s term.
The next item of business was the Road report. Thomas introduced Brian Len of Northwest Colorado Consultants who was the consultant for the road project to verify contractor compliance with the bid and contract. Brian gave an overview of the new road condition and concluded that the road was very stable. There is thermal reflective cracking which is very common for environments such as Steamboat�s which experience repeated freeze/thaw cycles. He noted that this cracking is not preventable and that the industry standard treatment for thermal reflective cracking is annual crack sealing. A question was asked if heavy truck traffic contributed to the cracking. Brian stated he does not believe it has and that any road failure due to construction defects is covered by the contract with Connell. Several questions were asked by a homeowner concerning the south entrance and the different cracking seen on this portion of the road: whether the cracking on this part of the road is inconsistent with reflective cracking, whether the association should have known of this problem beforehand and whether the cracks will get larger. Brian said that crack sealing need to be done every year to prevent further deterioration and that the alternative after roadway deterioration of digging up, roto-milling, compacting and relaying whole new sections of roadway was much costlier. It was determined prior to the overlay that a two inch (as opposed to a costlier four inch) overlay was sufficient. Tim reported that at the request of a homeowner another road expert was contracted to look at the road condition through pictures of the road. This expert agreed with NWCC on the road status. It was concluded that the cracks are not a structural problem, but a climatic problem. An owner asked that when the crack sealing is done, sufficient notice be given to all owners for individual crack sealing of driveways to be contracted by owners with the company doing the main neighborhood roads. It was noted that the association pays for the joint interface between the individual driveways and the road for crack sealing. Several owners noted a pothole was forming at the south entrance. Medora and Brian will follow up on this.
A motion was made by Joe Cadell to approve the 2009 Annual Meeting minutes and it was seconded by Steve Hofman.. The minutes were approved unanimously.
Tim DePuy gave the water report. Charts and graphs along with his report were included in the Board report available at the meeting. He stated that the water system is self-funded as an operational expense. He noted that water meters were installed more than five years ago to promote conservation and to ensure that homeowners pay for the water system according to their usage. He noted that water usage rates are not meant to be punitive, but to incent conservation. He recommended that leakage in the system continue to be tracked down and that a water tank level probe is installed. One homeowner suggested that the possibility of a designated tank for fire protection be looked into. It was also suggested that the pump meters be recalibrated. Steve Hofman suggested that the board hold a neighborhood meeting on excessive water usage regarding equity and enforcement of all covenants. Dale Morris suggested comparing the rates used by Mount Werner Water and the City of Steamboat Springs with the rates used by Dakota Ridge. Tim noted that a replacement pump would likely cost between $5,000 and $10,000 and concluded by noting thatcurrent patterns of water use, particularly during the third quarter when irrigation use is at its heaviest, strain the water system to its limits and that further efforts to encourage conservation are needed.
The next item of Business was the Financial Report given by Michael Williams which is included in the member report packet handed out. He noted that the snowplowing expense is down along with the water system and road repair line items. Sign repair will be done this year. The excess funds will be moved into the capital reserve account by a motion from the Board at a later meeting. It was asked if the Board can impose fines under the ARC and the answer is yes.
The next item of business was the ARC report from Diane Pietig. She noted that there are three large projects ongoing at this time. She said that one project has exceeded their building time limit and has been fined and is scheduled to be complete in August. She also reported that changes to the ARC covenants were not passed due to a lack of votes. These revised covenants will be sent out again this year for approval by the membership. She added that damage to roads is the responsibility of the owner during the building process. She asked that if owners saw any problems during the building process to please call members of the ARC or the office of the Commercial Property Group.
Under Other Member Business, the Board thanked the Williams for hosting the neighborhood holiday party.
Jim Makens asked the Board to look into taking care of combustible materials in the neighborhood due to the fire hazard they create.
It was suggested to have a neighborhood informational meeting. This will be put on the agenda for the Board�s next monthly meeting.
Steve Hofman suggested that the Board look at a five to ten year capital requirement projection and include this report as part of the Budget for next year. The Board will take this suggestion under advisement. He also asked that there be regular communication between the Board and the association.
There being no further business, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting and was seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 a.m.
Respectfully,
Stephanie McDonald
Recording Secretary
