Annual Meeting Minutes - 2009
Date: October 24, 2009
Location: Temecula Community Center / Pujol Street / Old Town Temecula
Time: 9: 00 – 11: 00 a.m.
Committee Members Present: Jonathan Geller, Treasurer, Doug Eaton, Secretary: , Members at Large: James Szepkouski and Craig Hill.
Committee Member Absent: Kirk Ebmeier, Chairman
Property Owners Present: R. Barbannel, G. Barfknecht, C. & M Bolster, R. Bume, P. Burke, J. & M. Cates, J. Chang, S. Clausen, L. deSachy-Davis, T. DiSandro, E. Dunnick, J. Hill, H. Johnson, B. Ling, 0F. Maxson, S. Plyler, R. Rysewyk, F. &K. Santa, B. Shaw, M. Schetter, S. & R. Steffey, C. Szepkouski, M. Williams, J. Wyatt
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Call to Order:
Treasurer Geller, serving as moderator, called the meeting to order at 9: 07 AM.
Additions / Changes to the Agenda:
Bud Swanson of the Rainbow Planning Group spoke about the problems associated with the Pala Raceway, where motorcycles now race 7 days a week. He had been contacted by a property owner in Rancho Heights and offered to speak on the issue. He provided a sign up sheet invited people to join his group which is seeking to find solutions to the problem. Property owner Ron Barbanell spoke of dust and exhaust pollution resulting in potential health problems for people living down wind from the track. If any property owner wishes to become involved in the effort, they may contact via email at bud1022@dishmail.net
Acting Chairman Geller noted that Chairman Kirk Ebmeier was not at the meeting because he had moved to Kansas with his wife Kathy. He noted that Kirk, although still a property owner and eligible for re-election, would not be a candidate for re-election to the Committee and made the following statement in praise of Kirk's service: “......
“We're all sorry today that we no longer have Kirk Ebmeier working with us on the Road Committee. Our Chairman, Kirk, has just recently re-located to Kansas so that he and his wife Kathy, could better look after their extended families. It was such a pleasure to work with Kirk in these recent years. We all found him to be unfailingly kind, respectful, strongly ethical, energetic and selfless. Prior to assuming the Chairmanship this year, he handled our Treasurer's job flawlessly for years and was a fair and organized leader. He worked tirelessly to improve and protect this community and he enjoyed tremendous support from his wife Kathy. He will be greatly missed by all of us who carry on this work into the future and perhaps even more so on a personal level. Thank you, Kirk”.
Elections for three seats on the Committee:
The floor was opened to nominations for three seats on the Committee. M. Schetter nominated J. Geller; seconded by D. Eaton and J. Cates. B. Shaw nominated J. Szepkouski; seconded by J. Cates. J. Eaton nominated M. Williams; seconded by M. Cates.
No further nominations were forthcoming. The Chairman noted again that he had extended an open invitation to nominate any additional candidate and that no nominations were forthcoming. He added that given the level of dis-satisfaction with the Committee and Community among a handful of property owners, it was unfortunate that only one of those who are dis-satisfied saw fit to attend the meeting and none offered themselves up as candidates for election to help in combating the problems the Community faces. Motion to close nominations by J. Hill. Second by John Cates. Unanimously approved.
Mary Williams spoke of her apprehension at running for a seat on the Committee. She noted that others who had and are serving had been subjected to threats and false statements about their professional lives. She stated that it was unfortunate that those who serve voluntarily should be subject to such treatment.
Discussion on Past Balloting Propriety:
Mr. Dunnick accused the Committee of never releasing the results of the 2007 ballot for proposed amendments which had been put forth by Prince et al as a condition of their 2006 lawsuit. Geller thanked Mr. Dunnick for making this accusation and creating the opportunity to address this subject as the accusation had previously been made on the anonymous website. Geller stated that he would read directly from the 2007 Annual Meeting Minutes to address this accusation which he described as baseless.
Geller read the following from the 2007 Minutes;
“Chairman Geller asked for volunteers to count the votes of the day's two elections. Volunteers were L. McGonigle, C. Ayala, D. Wilber and B. Romans. Chairman Geller explained that the process for counting the proposed amendments to our Road Agreement, submitted by Prince et al, would be directed and overseen by Mr. Prince himself. He would also be allowed to participate in the actual counting of the votes if he chose. Chairman Geller directed Mr. Prince to conduct the counting as “he saw fit” as the entire ballot and voting system had been designed by him. The Rancho Heights Road Committee in no way participated in the design or creation of his ballot and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for its effectiveness, accuracy, or viability. At 11: 30 a.m., the meeting was adjourned when it was realized that the vote counting on the six proposals offered by the Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, would go on for another half hour at least....The final tallies later revealed that all six amendments offered by Plaintiffs as a condition of the agreement in the lawsuit had failed to gain approval by wide margins. Vote Results: (Posted after conclusion of meeting): All Amendments Failed to Pass. ”
Geller emphasized that these results were both tallied and reported by Mr. Prince himself, rendering Mr. Dunnick's remarks as baseless.
Geller continued stating that this accusation was a spurious as others made by Mr. Dunnick and other members of the Liberty Tree group, particularly the claims that voting records and other documents had been concealed from the Community. Geller called these claims “delusional” considering that this group sued the Committee in 2006 over these same claims and their own attorney spent many hours in discovery combing through all the business records of our community. Geller spoke in frustration of their accusations and antagonsim never wavering regardless of their own attorney finding no evidence of wrongdoing, nor evidence supporting their accusations and the case thereafter being dismissed in its entirety with prejudice.
Financial Report
Treasurer Geller presented the financial report. Annual Income and Expenses were enumerated and explained. Geller presented statistics that showed that 87% of expenses went to road repair and related work. E. Dunnick claimed that his figures showed that only 2/3 of the money spent went to road improvement and repair. Treasurer Geller explained that total Road Assessment income collected in the 2009 Fiscal Year was $55, 055.00 of which $48,133.00 was spent on road paving and maintenance, equating to 87% of funds being spent on road paving and maintenance for the year.
E. Dunnick objected to what he termed commingling of funds on the mailbox project in the general account and demanded to know by what authority the Committee assumed responsibility for overseeing such a project. It was explained that the mailbox funds were a separate item in the accounting, and that although all funds were in the same account for purposes of efficiency and the earning of interest, the accounting for the mailbox project was completely separate from road and management expenses.
Authority to oversee the project was cited in Section 9e under Duties and powers of the Committee: “The primary duty of the Committee shall be to act for the landowners as a whole in the enforcement of these restrictions, and in providing for the repair and maintenance of the roads covered hereby; to consider the addition of new roads to this agreement, as hereinafter set forth; to levy road maintenance assessments when required; to approve or disapprove requests for exceptions to these restrictions as hereinafter set forth; and to carry out such other activities as the land owners shall from time to time direct.”
As mailboxes are considered a necessity in modern life, and as the easement language in each title is all encompassing and allows for appurtenances to be installed in the easement, the Committee determined that the wishes of over fifty resident-property owners out of approximately 60 total for a secure mailbox location inside the gate were reason enough to approve of and proceed with the project.
F. Maxon commented that it seemed that the Committee had only expressed an interest in building a cluster mailbox project after another property owner (who was not in attendance) had begun construction on a cluster mailbox project that was not approved by the Community and was located outside the gate. This was contradicted by Secretary Eaton who noted that there are numerous documents that prove otherwise, not the least of which are the minutes of the 2003 annual meeting during which it was stated that Committee members and property owners agreed that a mailbox project inside the proposed security gate was to be the goal.
Road & Gate Report
J. Szepkouski detailed work done on roads in 2009 including extensive patch paving and drainage ditch reconstruction. He reviewed security and gate functions, and described various violations of gate code security that need to be halted, including the giving out of codes, the posting of codes on paper taped to the gate telephone box, the offering of gate access by passing residents to unidentified strangers who happen to be parked outside the gate, etc. Residents need to be aware that gate security is only as effective as their adherence to procedures that guarantee security.
Given the time since original codes and remote openers were distributed, and given the number of violations of gate security that have occurred, Szepkouski stated that all gate codes would soon be changed and that remote openers would have to be re-programmed to ensure security. Letters would be sent to all property owners describing the process.
FIRE ESCAPE ROUTES: It was noted that Magee Rd south to Pala would be the main escape route in a fires or other emergency and that the Community had an informal agreement with property owners on Magee Rd beyond the boundaries of Rancho Heights that would require them to open any locked gates in the event of a fire or other kind of emergency. Phil Burke said that he had an ongoing relationship with the ranch owners who promised to ensure their gates were open in case of an emergency. E Dunnick offered the opinion that the agreement should be more structured than informal. It was observed by F. Maxon and agreed to by others that even in the event the gates happen to be locked in an emergency, that they could easily be opened by a variety of means, including breaking the chains that bind them with your vehicle.
E. Dunnick then was challenged for calling the county of San Diego in on a contractor hired by the Committee who was surface excavating, hauling and dumping rip rap rock in an effort to fortify drainage ditches in the Community. Even though the Committee had permission of property owners to remove the rock material from their properties, Dunnick claimed to the County that an illegal “mining operation” was going on and that the trucking of the materials was damaging the roadways. It was pointed out to him that once the County shut down the job for review, that the Committee was forced to purchase stone at a far higher cost and that his actions had consequently forced the Committee to spend several thousand dollars more than would have been necessary if he had not filed a complaint with the County. The complaint to the County by Dunnick was later found to be merit-less and the County found that no violations had occurred. Dunnick was unapologetic, even though his efforts cost the Community $3,000 [needs to be verified] more than was originally budgeted.
Election Results:
J. Geller, J. Szepkouski and M. Williams were all elected without challengers by vote counts of Geller: 103 votes, Szepkouski, 94 votes, and Williams 102 votes.
Open Forum:
The Chairman acknowledged a variety of issues relating to the community and asked for comment. Discussion revolved around pressing issues with a few dissatisfied property owners.
K. Santa spoke of the accuracy of the minutes and asserted that if people wanted to know what is really going on in the Community, all they had to do was consult with the minutes. She stated that a lot of information being disseminated was inaccurate.
Chairman Geller spoke of the irrelevancy of information and opinions that are offered anonymously either by mail or over the internet. He stated that, “Anonymity denies credibility which in turn denies accountability and that was the key difference between the Road Committee who proudly stands before the community at this meeting and the Liberty Tree group who anonymously lurks in the shadows”. He continued with, “if those who call themselves the Liberty Tree group have legitimate interest in the health of the community they need to come forward, identify themselves, recruit support, represent themselves legitimately and participate in this democratic process rather than continuing with guerrilla warfare tactics which only serve to harm everyone.
He stated that it was in everyone's interest to get answers to their questions from people on the Committee or those who work with the Committee.
Ron Barbanell spoke at length about his knowledge of the dissident faction in the community and nature of the dispute. He stated that he would mediate the dispute if the Committee would approve. This was welcomed by Chairman Geller who engaged in dialogue with Barbanell on the possibility of a successful discussion.
F. Maxon noted that the minutes did not contain all the pertinent information. He complained that he had offered up the idea for a security cameras at the gate at one of the quarterly meetings, and that it had not been mentioned in the minutes.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn by D. Eaton. Seconded by J. Szepkouski. Unanimously approved. Treasurer Geller adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m..
Date Minutes Meeting Held:
Saturday, October 24, 2009