Minutes of the Regular Monthly DVLA Board Meeting November 27, 2007
Board Members attending: Cyndy Johnson, Jerry Yurek, Mike Barker, Crystal Phillips, Alan Strebeck
Thirty landowners were in attendance.
President Cyndy Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
1. Approval of Agenda
Alan Strebeck asked that item 7b: meeting protocol be moved up to the beginning of the meeting. It was decided to make it item 3a.
MOTION was made by Jerry Yurek to accept the amended agenda, Crystal Phillips seconded the motion. The motion was passed.
2. Review & approve minutes of the November 7th special meeting.
MOTION was made by Alan Strebeck to approve the November minutes. Mike Barker seconded the motion. The motion was passed
3. President's Message - Cyndy Johnson
In response to a recent criticism of the Board that they do not address complaints, Cyndy wanted to take this opportunity to focus on the accomplishments of the Board. 1) Over the past three years there has been full dues collection. This has been a group effort by the Board. 2) Crystal Phillips has led the effort to renovate the community center and that work is nearing completion. 3) When it was brought to the Board's attention that fences along SR-18 had areas of disrepair, the Board wrote a letter to the greenbelt landowners and the problems were fixed. When it comes to enforcement the Board looks at the steps needed to get people to cooperate. The board tries to resolve complaints by encouraging neighbor to neighbor discussion.
Alan Strebeck reported that he has been looking at improving meeting protocol. He has looked at various examples and suggests that the Board put in place an organized way to conduct meetings. When a landowner has an issue they should come up to the front of the meeting room and address the Board. Landowners need to refrain from personal attacks and harsh language. It is also important that landowners do research on the issues they are presenting. Is the issue determined in the CC&Rs or is it a State or County issue that is outside the action of the DVLA Board? Alan put together a draft document for the Board members to review and adopt as a guide for meeting protocol.
4. Review & approve financial reports - Stella Callagee
Stella asked if a special budget meeting could be set-up in January to start the process. The Board set a date of January 15, 2008 at 7:00pm in the firehouse to start budget discussions.
MOTION was made by Jerry Yurek to accept the financial reports, Mike Barker seconded the motion. The motion was passed.
5. Reports
a. Fire Department
Chief Talbot gave the report for the fire department. The department had been called out to a motor home fire on the highway. The owner was able to extinguish the fire with a personal fire extinguisher. There were a number of medical calls - an accidental shooting in Diamond Valley, a person with chest pains and a broken ankle.
For the most part the vehicles are in good condition. The Rescue Suburban has needed a complete brake job.
Jay Workman has joined the department which helps cover the Pinion Hills area. The department is now at 20 volunteers which is the most it has ever had.
Recent training was on water supply. The department has also provided CPR training for local scout groups.
The burn pile is going well. Volunteers are there the first and third Saturday of the month from 8:00am to Noon. The Chief said how much he appreciated their efforts. The Chief plans to get a dump truck to haul off the burned materials residue.
The Chief cautioned landowners to be careful of ashes as they cleaned wood stoves in their home. Ashes should be placed in a metal can with a lockdown lid. The can should be given a 10 foot clearance from the house. If ashes became windblown they could start a fire as experienced in the areas around Malibu, CA.
If a landowner wants to burn on their own property they need to call Chief Talbot for a permit. His home number is: 574-2467 or cell: 703-0931. In response to a question Chief Talbot said that the permits are date specific.
The Chief updated the meeting on the issue of pagers. He and his officers met with the County Commissioners about the problem with the repeaters. He said the Commissioners appreciated the civil approach. The Commissioners knew what was happening and committed to try and allocate funds to get the repeaters fixed. Next year they plan to make the costs a ballot issue. The cost to maintain the repeaters which page out the fire departments is $150K per year. The lack of this operating equipment means the County is not prepared for a wide spread emergency. The signals are too weak and are therefore hit and miss when department personnel need to be paged out.
b. ARC
Trustee Assignments: November รข€“ Jerry Yurek, December - Alan Strebeck, January - Mike Barker
Lance Cornwall, Chair of the ARC, reported that there were two final approvals - a garage and shed.
c. Trustee Reports
1. Mike Barker reported on water issues. Bill Feeney has compiled the information gathered from landowners on the past flooding. The group which put together the report is seeking a face to face meeting with the County.
2. Cyndy Johnson reported that she has continued to pursue getting dead trees cut down in the County right of way. She has received promises this will be done.
6. Old Business
a. Robert Mitchell was on the agenda to talk about a proposed annual meeting ballot issue to limit the number of animals on lots. He started by saying he appreciates the efforts of the Board. He is very concerned about any action to limit horse ownership. He said that horse owners are very passionate and this could be a divisive issue causing contention among neighbors. County zoning rules are clear in Dammeron Valley and the DVLA cannot just vote to change those rules. His legal research shows that such an action would be doomed to failure. If someone wants to change a zoning rule there is a specific process that needs to be pursued through the County.
Robert Mitchell told the Board that horse owners in the Valley have taken action to form a Dammeron Valley horse owners association. This group will not only organize activities but also provide a venue for horse owner education and a means of addressing complaints.
Discussion followed. Laurie Foremaster asked what is the acceptable number on a lot? Sheri Mandell said that smell was her objection. Frank Shearer said that in the winter inversion conditions cause some smell, no matter what a horse owner does. He added that to put this issue on the ballot would be a mistake due to the contention. Instead horse owners should be good neighbors. Landowner Patty Arnett said that her property was the one across from the Foremasters. She has just moved to Dammeron Valley and she has specific plans for setting up her horse area. She has been waiting for equipment that will be here shortly. She told the Board she is aware of neighbor concerns.
b. Sally Musemeche reported on the response to the incorporation feasibility study petition. She discussed the following report which she presented to the Board:
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DVLA INCORPORATION FEASIBILITY STUDY
SURVEY RESULTS
November 26, 2007
Background:
An informational meeting was held on November 7th, 2007 at the Dammeron Valley Fire Station regarding possible incorporation of Dammeron Valley as a City. In response to a request by the Board, I volunteered to lead an information gathering process on behalf of the community to determine interest in requesting (petitioning) Washington County to conduct a feasibility study to identify the impact of incorporation. In my volunteer capacity, I endeavored to verify the land area and the assessed value of privately held land that would encompass most, if not all of Dammeron Valley, and to solicit responses from land owners who would support petitioning the County for a feasibility study.
Methodology:
I requested data from Washington County pertaining to District 21 which included 457 parcels of privately held land (not including parcels I could readily identify as publicly owned land). I may well have missed some publicly owned parcels, and if and when actual proposed boundaries are determined the characteristics of the area would change, but I felt it was sufficiently accurate for this informal survey.
Responses were solicited by email. No phone calls were made, nor were letters sent, so only people who have provided email addresses for either Stella's or Karen's email lists had an opportunity to respond.
Findings:
Total area comprised of privately owned land within the study area: 965 Acres
Total assessed value of privately owned property within the area: $107,655,551
Number of people responding who wish to proceed with a feasibility study: 25, including 1 person who could not be found in the database and whose information was therefore not included in the results.
Area represented by respondents: 6% of the total (10% required for petition)
Value represented by respondents: 8% of the total (7% required for petition)
It should be noted that I don't believe any developers responded, so the results are not skewed by people or corporations who own very large parcels.
Respectfully submitted,
Sally Musemeche
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The next step in the process is to define boundaries for a prospective incorporation and then do a determination of owners and properties within those boundaries. With this information a petition to request a feasibility study can be presented to the landowners for signature. If the required signatures are obtained then the County will contract for a feasibility study. This will be the instrument to help inform Dammeron Valley residents about the costs and impacts of incorporation. There are public discussions at the conclusion of the study. Within 18 months after the presentation of the study results there has to be another petition submitted to the County requesting a vote on the issue. There are public hearings and then a public vote. Sally pointed out that she herself is not sure if she supports incorporation or not. The feasibility study is a means of becoming informed.
Sally said that the whole issue came up because Diamond Valley has requested an incorporation feasibility study. When this effort was unveiled it turned out that their boundaries are coming right up to Dammeron Valley with no buffer. If incorporation was accomplished, Diamond Valley City, as a bordering municipality would have a say in the future development of Dammeron Valley.
Cyndy Johnson said at the last meeting the representatives from Diamond Valley indicated they would push back the proposed boundary. But when checking with the person conducting the study Cyndy found that this has not been done yet. It may also not be an option to change the boundaries now that the study has started.
The Board discussed the study process and need to put together a committee to establish proposed boundaries. All agreed that an incorporation feasibility study was the means to obtain information about costs and impacts. The need for information and clarification was echoed by landowner comments.
MOTION was made by Alan Strebeck to appoint a committee to established proposed boundaries to start the incorporation feasibility study petition process. Crystal Phillips seconded the motion. The motion was passed by a unanimous vote.
Sally Musemeche was asked to chair the committee which was established with a one issue charge to recommend boundaries and to present their findings at the January budget meeting date.
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(Note: Sally Musemeche followed up to the Board that the committee would be:
Robert Mitchell
Richard Downer
Brooks Pace
Two members from the DVLA Board - Cyndy Johnson and Alan Strebeck
Sally Musemeche (Chair)
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7. New Business
a. Brooks Pace and Carol Thorpe came to answer landowner questions about the Water Company. They discussed billing rates. Carol Thorpe said that she was willing to go over rates and bills with individual landowners who had questions. Landowners should call the Water Company: 435-574-2295.
b. Cyndy Johnson said that an upcoming highway clean-up would again be held on a weekday to see if that schedule could work. Details would be posted at the mailbox notice board.
8. Adjournment 9:00pm- MOTION was made by Jerry Yurek to adjourn the meeting. The motion was passed.
Stella Callagee
Recording Secretary
