PLEASE NOTE: THESE DRAFT MINUTES ARE NOT DUE FOR APPROVAL BY THE MEMBERSHIP UNTIL THE 2011 ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD IN MAY, 2011.
Draft: Annual Meeting Minutes - May 15, 2010
NOTE: Votes of Annual Meeting
1. New Board members elected: Jim Johnson, Mark Ahrenholtz
2. Dues amount approved for upcoming year - $300 (with $15.00 per month late fee on delinquent dues)
Board Members Attending: Barbara Hjelle, Bill King, Jim Johnson, Von Mason, Lance Cornwall
Landowners: A quorum of 203 was required to conduct the meeting.
The meeting was called to order by President Barbara Hjelle at 8:00am. The pledge of allegiance was led by Troop 1799, and a prayer was offered by Mark Ahrenholtz.
Approval of the 2009 minutes of the annual meeting was postponed until a quorum of landowners was reached.
PRESIDENT'S REPORTS:
Babara Hjelle thanked the landowners present for their attendance at this annual meeting. The Fire Department and Chief Kyle Talbot were thanked for their ongoing contribution to the community for the year. Lance Cornwall was recognized for his contribution as head of the Architectural Guidelines committee and Alan Strebeck for his work as manager of the burn pile schedule for the year. Appreciation was expressed for all the landowners who helped prepare for the annual meeting. In summary, Barbara listed some of the projects addressed by the DVLA and landowners over the past year:
1) The SSD was dissolved by the County and the land for the fire house was deeded to the Dammeron Valley Landowners' Association;
2) Mac Thomson and Gary Jensen worked on the Community Center and secured a Certificate of Occupancy for the building;
3) Landowners are asked to place visible lighted or reflective address numbers in the front of their lots to aid the Fire Department members in locating the residents;
4) Sally Musemeche served the better part of the year and had recently resigned. She was presented a restaurant gift certificate in appreciation of her services.
5) If sufficient interest is expressed, an e-mail list will be comprised specifically for DVLA notices only.
Status of the quorum at this point in the meeting was 182 out of the 203 needed.
6) Envirocare was the landscaper chosen to maintain the park and entrance grounds after bids were solicited from interested companies;
7) Carol Clason was hired to replace Stella Callagee. She has learned the ropes and augmented the role of the position, bringing professional accounting skills to the job. She was instrumental in negotiating a new loan for the fire house, reducing the monthly payments and the length of the remaining time on the loan from fifteen years to five years, resulting in a $240,000.00 savings; 8) Anita Painter, who passed away during the past week, was remembered fondly as a long-time member of the Dammeron Valley Landowners' Association; 9) $24,000.00 had already been set aside toward the purchase of a used brush truck for the fire department. The DVLA Board set aside an additional $6,000.00 in the proposed 2010-2011 budget which will enable the purchase of this truck during the 2010-2011 budget year; 10) The cash reserve maintained and carried over the 2010-2011 budget year is approximately eighty percent of the budget; 11) Several landowners are delinquent in their 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 dues. A suggestion has been made to call these landowners, but this has not been completed in 2009-2010. 12) Open meetings, beginning in June, 2009, were held to modify the By-Laws and Architectural Guidelines since some past procedures may be questioned due to legal validity. Landowner input was actively solicited. Fifty-one percent of landowner approval is needed to modify these documents. If proposed amendments do not pass with a fifty-one percent approval on the ballot today, the new board may address the issue in 2010-2011.
Barbara suggested a short adjournment to determine the status of a quorum. MOTION was made by Sheri Mandell that the Fire Chief's report be given at this time. Motion was SECONDED by Rick Gustavson, and motion carried.
REPORTS:
-- FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT:
Chief Kyle Talbot indicated it had been a busy year for the Fire Department and expressed appreciation for the many dedicated members who shoulder the load. Chief Craig Bennett introduced the current members of the Fire Department and announced their certification levels: Chief Talbot, Craig Bennett, Maciej Szczerbiak, Jim Peterson, Ron Johnson, Jay Workman, Chris Volksen, Mark Ahrenholtz, Kevin Dye, Scott Ballif, J. R. Baird, Kathy Szczerbiak, Kathy Mason, Clint Talbot, Doug Collier, Lance Cornwall, Russ Eardley, Chance Olige, Bill Haag, Tyler Volksen (cadet), and Jordan Hall (cadet).
In response to landowners' questions, Chief Talbot indicated that the military brush truck was not part of the ISO rating criteria. Rick Johnson asked if the landowners could be informed of any investments that could be made to the Fire Department that would raise the ISO rating; Chief Talbot indicated he would look into that possibility. The Fire Department personnel must have the express permission of the owner to enter a landowner's property for clean-up purposes. A county nuisance order can be obtained for those properties that are not maintained and kept free of weeds and debris. A "typical response" time could not be given for emergencies since fire department personnel are volunteers and are not stationed on duty at the fire house. Most of the fire fighters must respond from St. George, get into uniform, and continue from there. The minimum responders to a call are two medical personnel on a medical call and two fire fighters to a fire. The $300.00 appreciation payment to each qualified fire fighter included in the proposed 2010-2011 will not change the volunteer status of the personnel since it is under the $600.00 limit. The $2,000.00 hydrant expense listed in the proposed budget is for anticipated expense for hydrant repair. The training budget was reduced due to the fact that the medic training of approximately $1,000.00 per person is paid for by the fire fighters themselves. There were only two lightning strikes the past year, and this trend is expected to continue this year. The trucks are all certified, and the firefighters' equipment is in place. More involvement with county departments and more opportunities for training and certifications are expected in the next year, although we are in the best shape ever in regard to these issues. Fire department personnel were called to 14 vehicle accidents in the past year; the jaws of life were used in one of these calls.
The Fire Department personnel responded to three fires, one of which was a minor attic house fire. They responded to 53 medical calls, 14 of which were vehicle accidents. No personal injuries were reported. Thirty-one fire and medical training sessions were provided in house. Team members attended six separate trainings out of the area; three firefighters attended EMT certification.
The department still operates six vehicles and one trailer. A lot of money was spent keeping them ready to respond. One diesel truck needed extensive repair to its fuel delivery system.
The military vehicle will not meet state inspection tests. It will be returned to the state sometime this year and will be replaced by a newer brush truck to be purchased with money that the Board has saved from the residuals of payments left over after the Engine was paid off.
The valley fire hydrants have all been flow tested. If you would like to know the flow in your neighborhood, please contact Chief Talbot. Please clean weeds around hydrants for faster access to them. Presently there are ninety-eight hydrants, two with minor problems.
The community was re-evaluated for ISO certification recently. A lot of work went into preparing for the inspector's visit. The water company was represented by Randall Richards. We all feel good about the outcome of the survey. We will not receive notification of our rating for another few months.
The burn pile has worked out very well this past year, thanks to Alan Strebeck and volunteers. We will continue to operate it this year as well. It will be managed by Mac Thomson who will post available dates.
Homeowners may burn on their property through next week; then it will end until fall.
The budget this year includes $3000.00 more for vehicle repair. The radio line item has been increased because of the National Fire Protection Codes that require each firefighter to have use of a hand-held radio. More hand-held radios will be purchased.
$5,000.00 is added for the purchase of a used extrication pump and jaws.
Up to $6,000.00 is added for reimbursement of the firefighters for time and personal resources used.
Chief Talbot calculated the average time spent by each firefighter for one year's service, and the monies being proposed for appreciation: In house and out of area training; duties performed to maintain personal gear, vehicles, pumps, saws, generators, the fire house; hydrant testing; monthly administrative meetings; department office paperwork, etc. = 95 hours per year per firefighter. The board and officers' intent is to offset the time and resources expended by the firefighters by annually paying them a nominal amount. The officers have developed a qualification list for the firefighters to meet to be eligible for reimbursement, which includes dues paid on time and good standing on the team (attendance, duties performed). Payment would be made for the previous year, after the annual meeting. Payments are $100.00 for the past two years; $200.00 for three years; $300 for four years; and $400 for five or more years' service. Payment for the past year under these criteria would total $4,200.00. This is an average of $2.21 per hour for the 1900 total hours spent by twenty firefighters. Chief Talbot would like to see the monies for this purpose available in each future budget.
Rick Johnson applauded the DVLA Board for dissolving the SSD during the previous year. In response to a landowner question, Chief Talbot indicated that a replacement of a brush truck this coming year would not affect the ISO rating.
Meeting was adjourned to determine status of quorum. 205 potential ballots met the number needed for a quorum.
There was a short discussion on what constituted a quorum determination. Barbara Hjelle made a determination that a quorum had been reached for voting purposes, and a MOTION was made to close the discussion, seconded, and the motion carried.
PROPOSED 2010/2011 BUDGET:
There were no further comments or questions regarding the proposed 2010-2011 budget.
TRUSTEE NOMINATIONS CANDIDATE STATEMENTS:
Barbara Hjelle introduced Jim Johnson, the landowner running for a Board position. Annie Hune and Mark Ahrenholtz were nominated from the floor as additional candidates, and agreed to accept the nominations. Barbara gave each candidate a few minutes to introduce themselves and answer questions from the landowners. She expressed appreciation for their willingness to help serve on the Board.
MOTION was made by Sally Musemeche to close the nominations, and Sheri Mandell SECONDED the motion. The motion carried.
PROPOSED BY-LAWS AND ARCHITECTURAL GUIDELINES:
After a short discussion on the proposed amendments to the By-Laws, Ken Mandell made a MOTION that the discussion be closed; SECONDED by Sheri Mandell, and the motion carried.
The discussion on the proposed amendments to the Architectural Guidelines was closed by a MOTION by Rick Johnson, SECONDED by Ken Mandell, and the motion carried.
REPORTS (Continued)
-- WATER COMPANY/DEVELOPER:
Brooks Pace presented the water company/developer report. He announced that Nicki and Randall Richards are the new managers of the Dammeron Valley Water Company. A SCADA system has been put in place and is being maintained with the help of Bill King. Presently Trent Bowler is the certified operator for the water company.
The last development planned for the valley was in 2005. There are 18 lots available for sale in Pinion Hills, and 280 lots on state land. It could be a few years before anything happens with the 280 lots.
Brooks encouraged the DVLA Board to try and establish a smaller quorum number requirement. He indicated he did not vote for the By-Law amendments as proposed on the ballot since they did not address this issue. He would like to see energy put into incorporating Dammeron Valley, and would cooperate in increasing the initiation fees on new lots to help pay for additional fees incurred in incorporating.
-- ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW:
Lance Cornwall indicated that the Architectural Committee had reviewed and approved 3 homes, 4 garages/barns, 1 green house, 1 pergola, and solar panels during the 2009-2010 year.
-- FIRE SAFE COMMITTEE
Mac Thomson explained the fire safe program in which landowners' hours spent cleaning debris from around their homes and lots are paid back by work completed by the state or by the use of state equipment. Volunteers are needed to update the Dammeron Valley fire plan book and also to be available at the burn pile during open hours. Burn pile open hours will be posted on Thursday evenings; the burn pile will be open approximately every other weekend.
DISCUSSION COMMENTS FROM THE FLOOR:
Comments were given on different ways of establishing a quorum. One landowner requested that members consider the rights of others when allowing their dogs to run free. It was announced that one renter whose property has not been appropriately maintained was being evicted that day.
BALLOT RESULTS
Barbara Hjelle announced the balloting results. The new Board members are Jim Johnson and Mark Ahrenholtz. The dues amount was approved for $300.00 with a $15.00 per month late fee on delinquent dues.
The budget passed with 180 yes votes; 23 no votes. The amendments to the By-Laws did not pass with 137 yes votes; 63 no votes. The amendments to the Architectural Guidelines did not pass with 120 yes votes and 74 no votes.
MOTION was made from the floor to adjourn the meeting. It was SECONDED by Jim Johnson, and the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.
Carol Clason, Recording Secretary
