Meeting Minutes - 5/14/2007
Rancho Heights Road & Management Committee Meeting Minutes
Date: May 14, 2007
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: the Eaton Home
Committer Members present: J. Geller, J. Szepkouski, C. Hill, D. Eaton.
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Craig Hill presented prices for spraying and weed abatement that he received from contractors. It was agreed to offer the work to the lowest bidder upon Craig’s recommendation. The contractor recommended two sprayings per year and the Committee agreed that was appropriate. It was noted that the problem is getting worse and that portions of road are heavily invaded, particularly on stretches of road that are not heavily traveled.
James reported damage to the gate by vandals and said that he and Phil Burke were working on a system of steel plates to protect the electronic and mechanical workings of the gate from perpetrators. James recommended that everyone be suspicious of any strangers parked or hanging around at the gate. A sign for the gate was discussed. The final wording agreed to was
PRIVATE ROAD
NO TRESPASSING
RESIDENTS AND GUESTS ONLY
Next discussed was the possibility of repairing the bottom of Rancho Heights Road beginning at Pala Road. The construction of a concrete drainage system on both sides of the road was proposed and discussed. James agreed to investigate possible designs and get prices for the concrete work and necessary pavement repair.
The Upper Pala Magee Road Committee situation was then discussed. As there had been no word from them in response to a letter we had written, the Committee agreed that we would have to wait to hear from them. They have been informed of how much the Committee would assess them for use of the gate and the roads, i.e. all assessments paid by property owners since and including the special assessment of 1996. The total came to $3000 dollars per property owner.
It was noted that resident Chuck Lingafelt had suggested to the Committee that it might be a good idea to start running advertisements for services in the quarterly newsletter. Most present thought that was not a good idea, since it would burden the editor Jackie Hill even more by making her design the ads and manage them. Since Jackie puts out the newsletter and doesn’t charge for her services, and since the Committee believed that in general the amount of revenue to be gained would be minimal, the idea was rejected.
Next on the agenda was discussion of a letter from Tim Prince contesting the Committee’s imposition of a $120 fee for reimbursement of costs to unblock culverts the Committee has strong reason to believe were blocked by Prince. Given that the lawsuit filed by Prince et al has been settled and an agreement signed, the Committee decided to waive the re-imbursement fee on Prince and write him a letter that seeks to mend fences until it can be determined if Mr. Prince and his fellow plaintiffs are taking the agreement they signed seriously.
The Committee's finances were discussed as was the related subject of where best to spend money in the Community's account. It was agreed that the repair at the bottom of Rancho Heights Road should be a priority. Seal coating of the steeper grades was also discussed. It was agreed that a substantial sum should be left in the account to deal with any unforseen emergencies.
The final subject discussed was the possibility of installing cluster mail boxes at a location inside the gate in spite of lack of cooperation from the Post Office. The Chairman noted that since the Committee’s mandate was limited to road maintenance and paving, that it might be better if resident owners formed a group to raise the money and petition the Committee to oversee the construction of such a project. Craig hill said he would look into subject by speaking with Beverly Romans who had done extensive work on the subject.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.
Date Minutes Meeting Held:
Monday, May 14, 2007