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Dakota Ridge Homeowners Association
Board of Directors
Meeting Minutes
January 10, 2013


A regular meeting of the board of directors of the Dakota Ridge Homeowners Association was held on January 10, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. in the Board Room of The Commercial Property Group, LLC at 3001 S. Lincoln, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Board Members: H.C. Pace
Mindy Williams
Michael Williams
Carrie Hayden (by phone)
Kathe McCoy

Guests: Medora Fralick
Stephanie McDonald
Nancy Jarchow
Marci Valicenti
Nancy Kounovsky

The meeting was called to order at 8:40 a.m.

The Road report was given by Michael Williams. Some road signs have been knocked down, but have since been taken care of. There was nothing else to report.

Under ARC, Mindy Williams reported that there nothing new to report.

The Financial Report was given by Carrie Hayden. She noted there was nothing new to discuss. Medora stated that the bill for the water line replacement to be paid out of the capital reserve account came in on the bid number given. She said the 2013 proposed Budget will not be approved at this meeting since Carrie would not be available for the entire meeting.

Carrie made a motion to approve the Financials and it was seconded by Kathe McCoy. A vote was taken with all voting in favor and none opposed. The motion was approved.

Under the Water Report, H.C. Pace reported that for the 4th quarter nothing has come up. The usage report for each quarter show the amount of water pumped and the amount of water billed. The percentage loss has gone from 32% to 12.7%. It was previously thought that there was a 40% loss of water from the water system. Further research will be done to determine a reason for the discrepancy. Once the 4th quarter 2012 results are in there will be two years to compare numbers. CDC may be able to help decipher the information more accurately and determine if the Board is moving in the right direction with repairs, tracking and new equipment that has been installed. A report from CDC was handed out to each Board member for review concerning the influence of surface water and will be discussed at the next meeting. H.C. also noted that the metering and billing system seems to be working including covering expenses as well as a drop in high usage. The third quarter high users has decreased significantly and the users past Tier One as dropped.

Under Other Business, owner, Marci Valicenti was present to discuss groomed trails and a potential bike access. She suggested adding an amenity for the neighborhood that would be grooming the south meadow common area for snow tubing, snow shoeing and cross country skiing. She hoped this amenity would create a sense of community and by a neighborhood amenity. Several questions were asked concerning liability, cost of maintenance and use by non-owners.

Marci also proposed the possibility of a bike access connecting the south entrance of the subdivision which would connect over River road to the existing bike trail. She noted that it would have to be a collective effort between the surrounding neighborhoods and government agencies. Medora said she would contact the Routt County Riders about the idea. The Board thanked her for her suggestions and would take them under consideration.

Also, under Other Business, H.C. asked that the association take initiative concerning the DOW/DPW building that is next to the neighborhood. Parking of equipment and vehicles is unsightly and not screened. Nancy Jarchow suggested contacting the county. The question was asked if the Board would want to pursue this issue.

H.C. made a motion to initiate action as a neighborhood to clean up the DOW building area and it was seconded by Michael.

Discussion ensued asking Medora to contact the county planning department and drafting a letter to contact neighboring subdivision Country Green concerning the issue.

There being no further discussion, a vote was taken on the motion. All voted in favor with none opposed. The motion was carried.

The next item of discussion was the 2013 Annual Meeting. Medora said that H.C. and Michael cannot be on the board for another term due to term limitations. Carrie’s seat is up and she has agreed to run again. A letter asking for board member nominations will be included with the water billings to be sent out in the next week. The seats are open to any association member and there will be two weeks to submit a short biography. Ballots will be sent out to the association. There was discussion of contacting members personally by the Board for interest in being a candidate.

The Board agreed to schedule the 2013 Annual Meeting for April 3, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Hampton Inn in Steamboat Springs.

Nancy Kounovsky of the Commercial Property Group joined the meeting to discuss the 2013 proposed Budget. She noted that the annual dues will not increase this year, due to the reallocating of the dues to cover administrative and operating expenses. Michael noted that the Budget should be zero based. Carrie had asked previously that the dues cover expenses and any excess water fees be put into the capital reserve account. A new scenario was suggested by Carrie to have the HOA dues cover $29,450 for administrative expenses and $46,250 cover operating expenses resulting in each lot being assessed $1,025 for annual operating dues and $675 for capital reserve. There would $16,400 from the water user fee which would then fund a new line item, water reserve, which would bring the balance to zero. Nancy Jarchow stated that there is a statute stating that any excess money is to be given back to the members if not used and that the association attorney could be asked for confirmation of that statute. Medora asked the Board to take the Budget, review it and ask any questions. A vote by email will be taken to approve the Budget.




The next meeting is Thursday, February 7, 2013

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie McDonald
Secretary for the meeting