Annual Meeting Minutes - 2004
Meeting Date: October 23, 2004
Location: The Scout Hut
Committee Members Present: Stephen Bochinski, Beverly Romans, James Szepkouski, Jonathan Geller, Steven Plyler
Rancho Heights Owners Present: Ayala, Bochinski, Bond, Bowen, Box, Burke, Cates, Chang, DeSanchez,Deutsch, Dunnick, Eaton, Ebmeier , Geller, Gill, Glasgow, Glick (Rainbow Municipal Water District),Goo, Hawkins, Hill,Ignacio, Konchar, McGonigle, Pagel, Prince, Stoewer, Taufer, Thomas, Vandervost, Wilbur.
Sign In and Call to Order
2:00pm Chairman Bochinski called meeting to order.
By-Law Review
Chairman Bochinski reviewed the Declaration of Restrictions and Road Maintenance Agreement and the 2001 Amendment. This was done to clarify for all present how our Agreement works and to address some of the issues being raised in the community by a number of property owners and as contained in the letter circulated at the meeting by Tim Prince. Reminded all that Road Agreement is available at www:ranchoheights.com, in a printable format. Reviewed bylaws constituting definitions of parcels both "in" and "out" of lands governed by Road Agreement, as confirmed by the courts multiple times.
Clarified legal structure of our community; our lands solely constitute an organization of people cooperating for the common good of the community. Our community does not fit the definition of a "Common Interest Development" as our structure has none of the three required characteristics: incorporation, the right to lien without going to court and ownership of property in common.
As per the Declaration of Restrictions and Road Maintenance Agreement the Committee is required to hold one meeting annually for the property-owners and present a Financial Report at that meeting. Committee meetings are generally held throughout the year on the first Monday of odd months and are open to the property owners.
Distribution of information: The committee reiterated that any property-owner can notify the keeper-of-records that they would like to review records for their own purpose. The policy regarding significant amounts of copying is that a bonded copier must be utilized to assure the safety of our records and to prevent the Association from bearing significant costs for copying outside the normal operations of the Committee.
The Amendment recorded May 18, 2001 raised the annual assessments from the original agreement. The validity of the election to amend the original agreement was questioned by Everett Dunnick, stating it was done only by a show of hands. The chairman stated the vote was done in accordance with the agreement, in writing and is contained in the records.
Agenda Items Requested
Restrictions of manufactured homes. This a County zoning issue and cannot be addressed by our By-Laws. Future Paving. Added to agenda. Road entrance condition. To be taken up by the Committee. Trees blocking view at intersection of roads. To be taken up by the Committee. Road Damage Payments, Culvert watch. To be taken up by the Committee. Dead Tree Hazards. The Committee to address with property-owner. Trash service at driveways. Added to Agenda. Rainbow Water presentation. Mr. Bob Glick, a Director of the Rainbow water district attended and offered that anyone could contact him with questions.
Election of committee members:
Beverly Romans explained the voting process. Proxy and Agenda Requests had been included in mailing sent to property-owners with annual meeting notification. Ballots were passed out which listed APN number with numbers of votes held by each property owner. Incumbents running for re-election were Beverly Romans and Stephen Bochinski. Two new candidates had their nominations seconded. They were Jim Thomas who circulated a one page document on his positions, and Tim Prince. After brief statements by each of the candidates a vote was taken. Two volunteers, Marcia Cates and Kirk Ebmeier, were utilized to count votes. Our sincere thanks to Marci and Kirk for their help. Ballots were cast and tabulations were as follows:
Stephen Bochinski: 94 votes
Tim Prince: 24 votes
Beverly Romans: 86 votes
Jim Thomas: 40 votes
Romans and Bochinski thereby begin new two year terms on the Road Association Committee.
Financial Report:
The financial report was presented by Beverly Romans. Original bank statements including all copies of checks, past financial reports, invoices for road maintenance, accounting and gate expense plus past meeting minutes were made available for inspection by property owners. Beverly stated that property owner's personal information was intentionally omitted to protect the privacy of such records. A motion was made by Stephen Bochinski to approve the financial report. Jonathan Geller seconded the motion. Passed by all.
Special Committee Report:
Road: Phil Burke gave a report on the road repairs that were done within the last year as he was on the committee at the time and oversaw the actual paving contractor. The money for the road repairs came from the annual road assessments, road damage assessments and the balance of funds remaining from the Power and Phone Co-op. Everett Dunnick stated that he had asked Timothy Prince to look into the Power and Phone Co-op accounting and to why the remaining money was spent on the road. Chairman Bochinski explained that the Power and Phone Co-op collected $3,500 per parcel to bring in a power and phone backbone system to those participating and there was no promise made to refund any excess money. Stephen Bochinski and Phillip Burke decided the best use of the excess monies were to be put into road repairs due to the use of the road by the heavy trucks during installation of the power and phone lines. The Chairman also mentioned this had been discussed in committee and at the last annual meeting.
Gate: Underground conduits are completed and electricians can begin work soon. Completing electrical will take 3-4 weeks due to staged inspections. Further construction will ensue as funds become available. Original budgets versus future incurred costs were discussed. Phil Burke, who was on the Committee when gate planning and budgeting began, explained that original budget was based upon all labor being donated. This approach has since been abandoned as volunteer parties are no longer available. Between normal labor costs and increased material costs, gate construction expenses have increased substantially. Discussion was held regarding numerous options for collecting funds as soon as possible for gate completion. To obtain a consensus of those property owners present, a motion was made by Beverly Romans that future funds collected be utilized towards gate completion. James Szepkouski seconded the motion. A hand vote was taken of all the property owners present. The motion passed by a majority.
Tom Taufer, the property owner on whose property the gate is located, stated the proper easements were not obtained by the committee or the community. The Chairman stated the gate is located within the road easement and that permits were obtained for the construction of the gate. The property tax for the gate which had been assessed to Mr. Taufer's property in error had been removed after a phone call to the tax assessor.
The idea of creating a special property-owner committee was discussed for the purpose of managing both the initial operations of the gate as well as the long-term operation. Gate operations will include remote controls (self-purchase), emergency boxes for fire and police, siren activation, key pad entry for deliveries and monthly codes for construction workers. Further "operations" considerations will be worked on by the committee and property-owner committee as the time comes nearer.
Old Business:
Property-Owners responsible for Road Repairs:
Reviewed policy of Property-Owners being responsible for repairing any damage to the road caused by construction or other activity on their parcel. This policy also pertains to contractors working for property-owners.
Culvert Awareness:
It is requested that all residents continuously keep an eye on our culverts to assure they remain clear and open for water passage. It is especially important for the Arizona crossing to remain clear as if it were to flood, a majority of us would lose complete access in and out of the community.
Future Road Paving:
Discussed the extent of the original 1997 road paving and the expectations of owners for future paving. It was explained that as much paving as possible was done in 1997 with the monies collected at that time. It was further explained that monies billed in 1997 for that purpose, but collected significantly later, did not allow for an equivalent degree of paving due to the loss of both economies of scale and subsequent increases in paving costs. Further discussion was tabled and it was suggested that interested parties attend upcoming regular road meetings for further discussion.
New Business:
Road Safety Blockage: Magee Rd. "access" road:
Discussion was held regarding the safety concerns of having only one passable road in and out of the community. As our regular paved roads can be blocked by the passage or break-downs of trucks and "wide loads", it is highly desirable to have alternate access. Discussion centered on the maintenance of the existing dirt road which connects Magee Rd. and Rancho Heights Road. Using a bulldozer periodically to keep this alternate access road passable to regular passenger vehicles would be a significant community benefit.
Inclusion of additional parcels into Road Association:
Clarification was made as to parcels wishing to be included who have alternative access to Pala Temecula Road or Hwy 76. Parcels which have alternative access and thereby do not have to utilize our roadways may not currently be included in our Association. Should they wish to be, in order to utilize our roadways, policy states they must pay all assessment back to the 1997 assessment which originally paid the costs of paving our roads.
Trash Service:
Fallbrook Refuse has offered to provide trash pick-up service at our driveways for approximately $60 every two months. This service can be initiated only if at least 22 property-owners sign up for service. Our thanks to Kirk Ebmeier for coordinating this project. For further information, contact Fallbrook Refuse.
Date Minutes Meeting Held:
Saturday, October 23, 2004