RPOA Board Meeting
July 16, 2012
Lewin Residence
318 Cottonwood Creek Road
Durango, Colorado 81301
Minutes
Call To Order: President Brad Gray called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm.
Members Present: Brad Gray, Carol Lewin, Barbara Lynch, Gay Robson, Sherry Taber (via speaker phone), Scott Voss & George Widmeyer.
Members Absent: None
Guests: None
Secretary’s Report – Carol Lewin
Minutes for RPOA Board Meeting 6/18/2012
Brad Gray moved and George Widmeyer seconded that minutes for the RPOA Board meeting on 6/18/12 be approved as presented and the motion carried unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report – Scott Voss
Scott submitted the June 2012 financial statement.
Brad Gray moved and Gay Robson seconded that the financial statement for June 2012 be approved as presented and the motion carried unanimously.
Committee Reports
Architectural – Gay Robson
Gay reported the following:
Approved Projects:
304 Cottonwood Creek Rd. - Architectural Committee member, Ed Heath approved the proposed fence project submitted by Michael and Terrie Lumsden. Work is expected to begin this summer.
22 Latigo Rd. - Barbara Lynch and Gay Robson approved the landscape plan submitted by Karen Mee of Open Gate Landscapes on behalf of Rick and Ann Huttner. George Widmeyer will coordinate with Derek Vaughn of Mountain Oasis Irrigation to ensure that the irrigation component of the project will work with the existing irrigation system. The landscape will be installed this summer.
Completed Projects:
The new roof at 7 Latigo was finished, and the fence at 25 Latigo was stained to match the house.
Pending Projects:
114 Cottonwood Creek Rd. D-2 – Mark Muraswski will get final approval on materials for replacing his deck. Work is scheduled for mid-July to August. Committee member, Bud Burgess will follow up.
7 Latigo – There has been no proposal from Pat Goulait regarding her tenants’ request to place three sculptures on her property.
Violations:
537 Cottonwood Creek Rd. - Committee member, Susan Whitfield satisfactorily resolved the violation regarding landscape lights on common ground. The lights were removed.
185 Cottonwood Creek Rd. - The Committee is working with Bill Cartwright to resolve the violation regarding window air conditioning units.
Architectural Committee:
Members of the Architectural Committee met on June 20. They drafted an update of the rules for contractors working at The Ranch. (See attached.) The rules will be posted at all work sites. Ed Heath volunteered to review the La Plata County plat maps of The Ranch as part of the ongoing project of revising RPOA Architectural Rules. Barbara Lynch is editing the Rules and resolving any discrepancies between the 2006 Rules and the current DCCRs.
Brad Gray inquired about the Huttner’s landscape plan. Gay Robson provided a description.
The question was asked about neighbors talking to each other when one is planning a remodel or an addition. There is no provision in the governing documents that requires approval by neighbors.
By-Laws – Sherry Taber
Sherry reported the following:
Sherry confirmed that Charlie Burnham will serve on the By-Laws commiittee.
Directory – Carol Lewin
Carol did not have anything new to report. Gay Robson requested that the one-page Abridged Ranch Rules be included in the directory.
Finance – Scott Voss
The board discussed the timeline used when paying the contractors for mowing, irrigation and maintenance of flower beds. The payment schedule in the respective contracts is that payment will be made by the 15th of the month.
The annualbudget for the hourly portion of the Irrigation contract has already been used up and the board will need to authorize any further hourly work according to the Ranch financial rules. George needs to justify how many additional hours he wants the Board to approve for the balance of the year.
George Widmeyer requested that we continue to pay these contractors on the first of the month, as we have been doing.
Gay Robson moved and George Widmeyer seconded that RPOA continue to pay RPOA contractors,Rosie Herrera, Howard Herrera and Laurie Shephard, on the first of the month during the remaining period of their current contracts . The motion was carried with one abstention.
Maintenance – George Widmeyer
George reported the following from his written report:
Work In Progress
We are still waiting on word about the removal of a tree from property owned by David James on CCR. No date
is planned for this effort at this time.
At least eight more dead trees in the common areas need to be removed. A professional tree feller may be necessary for one or two of these. No date is planned for this effort at this time.
We are continuing to work with an outside contractor on controlling the algae and cattails in several of the ponds. A second round of spraying has been tried, and it seems to have had some effect. We are continuing this effort.
Several large sprinkler heads for the common areas have been sent on June 28 to an outside contractor in California for repair or replacement. We are waiting for the pricing for each of the submitted items.
Work Completed
The intake pipe to the Game Trail pump was suctioned cleaned by an outside contractor on July 6. The pressure has been good on the pump ever since this was done.
The electric meter for the Whitfield and Zelenka pumps was “fried” sometime on July 10. LPEA replaced the meter but The Ranch had to engage an outside electrician to replace wiring and connectors between the meter and our irrigation clocks. The pumps were back online July12.
The two piles of dirt across from CCR 292 and next to the Game Trail pump have been removed. The mounds of gravel, dirt and brush beyond the RV lot have been completely flattened. This area had been used for several years by RPOA projects as a dumping ground and its appearance invited others to use it also. The work was completed July 14, 2012.
Work Being Planned
The grate over the intake to the River Run pump has rusted and fallen off into the pond. A temporary fix is in
place but we need to have a new grate made and then installed. Custom construction of a new grate will
require an outside contractor.
We are discussing removing improvements in the common area behind 484 and 486 CCR. The proposal is to remove the junipers and other shrubs and plant with native grasses. There is also a two-tiered fountain in the improved common area that needs to be examined. This will not happen until later this summer and may not be completed until next year.
Other Issues
A homeowner’s dog bit a maintenance contractor on July 5. The dog was on a leash as required in the the DCCR’s. The contractor did seek medical attention for the bite and related injury. This issue needs to be followed and addressed as required.
Nominating – Barbara Lynch
No report at this time.
Old Business
General
DCCR violations-resident parking in guest parking areas
Brad Gray is still working on this issue.
Rental/leasing by agents/property managers
Property managers’ responsibilities regarding providing completed rental information forms on tenants to RPOA were discussed. Scott Voss volunteered to help Brad Gray resolve this issue.The known property management companies operating at the Ranch are: Durango Property Management, Animas Valley Property Management (Bill Cartwright) and AREM.
New Business
General
Problems with dogs owned by homeowners and tenants were discussed.
Maintenance
Prairie Dogs
Sherry Taber reported that she and John Taber have worked with their neighbor, Arno Burnier of 108 Latigo Road and have achieved successful control of prairie dogs on their properties. Sherry stated that even though the prairie dogs may appear to be a Ranchette problem, they could spread to other parts of The Ranch.
Brad Gray asked Sherry Taber if she would work with the Ranchette owners on finding a solution to eradicate the prairie dogs, and she agreed to do this.
Fall Pruning
Brad Gray asked about options for fall pruning of shrubs on common ground.
Gay Robson volunteered to work with George Widmeyer to determine other options for pruning of shrubs in
highly visible areas at the Ranch.
Pond Liners
Brad Gray asked George to keep the topic of pond liner solutions on the list of concerns.
Next Meeting
Lewin residence on 8/20/2012 at 7:00 pm
Adjourn
Barbara Lynch moved and Gay Robson seconded thatthe meeting be adjourned at 9:20 pm ,and the motion wascarried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carol Lewin, RPOA Secretary
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RPOA Minutes – Draft 4July 16, 2012