Final Minutes of the DVLA Board Meeting of January 31,
2012
The monthly DVLA Board Meeting was held at the Fire
House. Twenty-five landowners were in
attendance.
Board Members attending: Bill King, Mac Thomson, Terry Taylor, Jim
Johnson, Julie Cropper
President Bill King called the meeting to order at 6:00
p.m.
Per
Bill King, under Old Business, Item a, a presentation by the County Attorney,
Eric Clarke, and associate, Kim Hafen, explaining the process and answering
questions regarding a feasibility study for Dammeron Valley will be covered
first on the agenda.
4. Old Business
a. Update of a proposed feasibility study for
Dammeron Valley. Presentation by the
County Attorney, Eric Clarke, and associate, Kim Hafen, explaining the process
and answering questions.
A short
overview of the steps necessary in the process of ordering a feasibility study
from the County for Dammeron Valley and consideration of incorporation of the
area was presented: 1) First, a request for a feasibility study must
be sent to the County by members of the community consisting collectively of
those who own at least ten percent of the land and seven percent of the appraised
value of the land. 2) The County verifies the request, and, if the
request meets the correct criteria, notices are sent to anyone who owns one
percent or more of the land within the proposed area and is on a border of the
area involved, informing them that they can elect to be exempt from
incorporation. 3) An outside person is
hired to perform a feasibility study which projects the revenues and costs of
incorporation for a period of five years.
That person is hired by three people – a member of the County Planning
committee, a representative of the Governor’s office, and one of the sponsors
of the petition. 4. If a decision is made to continue after the
study, signatures from owners of one-third of the land covering at least
one-third of the appraised value of the proposed area must be gathered on a
petition to incorporate. 5. If sufficient signatures are gathered on the
petition to incorporate, the issue goes to a vote on a regular election
day. A majority of those who vote
(51%) would pass the incorporation.
During the
process, there are required public meetings and notifications (two after the
feasibility study) giving owners an opportunity to ask questions of the person
who did the study and to voice their questions and concerns.
During the
following question and answer period, the following information was provided by
Attorney Clarke and Kim Hafen: The
County pays for all costs in the process up to the election (which is the
responsibility of the “city”). The
County has no say in incorporation and takes no position in favor or not,
regarding the issue. As to the benefits of incorporation, if landowners are
unhappy with the way the County handles the roads and police protection in the
area, incorporation would allow owners more control over those areas. On the flip side, they would pay more for
that control as they would be totally responsible, including financially. A budget would be established covering what
landowners want to fund, and truth in taxation hearings would be required at
that time. The Dammeron Valley
Landowners Association is set up with covenants that attach to the land. Incorporation does not affect the home
owners’ associations. Kim Hafen’s
research on municipal taxation on a $250,000 home indicated that an estimated
$250-$350 in city taxes would be added upon current taxes, if an area is
incorporated. The smaller the population
in the area incorporated, the higher the increase. Through zoning laws, the State would still
have some say over commercial development in the incorporated area. The entire process towards incorporation
would take one to two years to complete:
The County has 45 days to respond to the feasibility request; 60 days
for hiring the consultant; 90 days for the feasibility study to be completed;
and up to 18 months after the study is completed for the petition to
incorporate to be submitted.
Attorney
Clarke encouraged anyone having questions for him concerning the previous
discussion to use his e-mail address of ericclarke@wcattorney.com
or telephone number of (435) 634-5723.
Per Bill
King, it is not a function of the Board to circulate a petition requesting the
feasibility study for Dammmeron Valley since the members of the Board
represents both landowners who favor incorporation and those who do not. The request for the feasibility study will be
listed on the bottom of the next water bill; those who are in favor of the
study can return the form with their water bill.
1. Approval of
agenda
MOTION MADE
by Jim Johnson that the agenda be approved including the change of the
explanation of the feasibility study process to be scheduled first. SECONDED by Julie Cropper, and the motion
carred.
2. Review and
approval of the minutes of the November 29, 2011, monthly DVLA Board meeting:
MOTION was
made by Julie Cropper to approve the November, 29, 2011, monthly DVLA Board
meeting minutes. SECONDED by Jim Johnson,
and the motion carried.
3. Recycling
plan update and check presentation by Jennifer Winward, Recycling Coordinator
for Washington County
Washington
County manages 51 collection sites, including the one in Dammeron Valley. Regarding cardboard recycling, cardboard can
be placed in the bin in Dammeron Valley if the box is cut up to fit flat in
the bin. Large boxes which expand
within the bin take up valuable space which can be better used for other
papers. Dammeron Valley last year
collected a total of 52,990 pounds of material – 31, 027 in fiber; 7.096 in
plastic; 2,261 in metal; 12,606 in glass.
For 2011, Dammeron Valley is receiving $1,611.48, and tonight a check
for $1,510.77 is being presented to Dammeron Valley, with the remainder to
follow within the next few weeks. Please
note that signs are posted on the bins indicating what materials can be
recycled in each of the bins. Please
do not place Styrofoam in any of the bins because the County does not have access
to any processor that can handle that material.
4. Old Business:
b.
Update on attorney consultation and resolution of attorney billing –
Bill King
In addition to the opinion and legal
work on the rehabilitation center, Attorney McKay has researched deeper into
the CC&R’s and by-laws and given the Association a lot of information
regarding their interpretation. He did,
in error, exceed the dollar amount agreed to when hired, which was $3,500. He acknowledged his error and has not
requested the additional monies of $3,219 that was invoiced. MOTION MADE by Jim
Johnson to pay an additional $1500 to meet the attorney half-way on the
cost. MOTION SECONDED by Mac Thomson,
and the motion carried.
Chief Talbot was called on to
give his report at this time so that he could be excused.
6. Reports:
b.
Fire Department Report – Chief Kyle Talbot
There were no fire calls during the
previous month and only one call in the early morning involving a smoke alarm
that went off. A medical team hiked in
one mile to handle a compound fracture of a lower leg. There are three new members on the fire
department plus two cadets. Brush II is
presently being housed in Diamond Valley where there is a vacant bay. A $1,500 generator has to be replaced on one
of the vehicles. Two Eagle projects are
underway in the fire house. One project
involves compiling an inventory list of all items costing $100 or more, and any
item over $500 is being marked with a sticker indicating owner
information. The second project consists
of laying concrete, a 6 foot by 20 foot slab, (cost of concrete to be paid by
the fire department) over the area between the storage trailer and the existing
concrete that has sunk. Some landscaping
will be also be added. The 30-hour
winter fire school given by the state has been attended. The medical team has been recommended by the
State of Utah to receive a water rescue award, partially for the rescue last
summer of three victims. Fire department
personnel have completed the two basic classes for the beginning of the year –
the radio communications class and a class on the personal protective
equipment. Chief Talbot requested the
landowners’ help in finding junk vehicles that can be used in extrication
training. Next year the 1989 Chevrolet
Suburban medical vehicle needs to be updated.
It is missing some of the safety features that are needed and should be
exchanged for a newer model. For
training reasons, internet is being brought into the fire department building,
and Bill King offered to aid in installing the system. Regarding the current radio paging system, it
is no longer being maintained by the County and barely sets off the seventeen pagers in
the Department. The new multi-million
system is within two months of being in place.
Dammeron Valley’s share of the cost is $30,000 for the thirty
radios. With the grant we have received,
our share will ultimately cost $3,000.
4. Old Business:
c. Update on the test solar light to illuminate
the Dammeron rock on Highway 18 – Terry Taylor
Solar lights furnished by Bill King
have been illuminating the Dammeron rock for approximately the past twelve
weeks. There is no illumination on the
back of the rock or into the sky, and they are only on for four hours a
night. No negative responses have been
received from landowners regarding the lights.
The one landowner who did not want the lights on the rock as she can see
them from her windows decided she likes them.
Terry Taylor MADE A MOTION that the lights be permanently
installed. Jim Johnson SECONDED the
motion, and the motion carried.
5. New Business:
a.
Consideration of reroofing of the Community Center, Mac Thomson
A bid has been received for reroofing
the Community Center of $2,719 for shingles and $4,240 for metal.
Persons who have expressed their opinion on the reroofing asked for the
metal roof and that the cupola be left as it sets the building apart. Mac Thomas MADE A MOTION that the Community
Center be reroofed with a metal roof with the cupola to remain in
position. Jim Johnson SECONDED the
motion, and the motion carried.
A metal sign has been provided by the
State for the burn pile which asks that burnable debris only be deposited on
the pile. Mac Thomson was given
permission to purchase two 6x6’s to make poles on which to mount the sign.
6. Reports:
a.
President’s Message – Bill King
The turnout by the landowners this
evening was much appreciated. Good
information was brought out, the input is always welcomed, and we had a good
meeting.
c.
Financial/Secretarial Report – Carol Clason
Regarding the proposed budget for
2012-2012 that was passed out, the bottom line indicates dues of $341.00 per
landowner. This is not an indication that
dues should be raised from $300.00. Everyone
is interested in not raising the annual dues for landowners. Members are being asked to take a serious look
at the budgeted figures and come prepared during meetings to make informed
decision on what is really needed financially to operate the Association.
1)
The $4,425.00 maintenance and repairs on line 1.1 covers replacing the
metal roof on the community center.
2)
I do not know if $8,000 on line 2.1 will be needed for 2012-13, and
would be better addressed by Chief Talbot.
3)
Line 3.11 is always under budgeted by at least $5,000, so let's raise it
to the appropriate amount. Maintenance
and repairs of the fire trucks are always going to be a large ongoing expense.
4)
The budgeted amount of $1,500 on line 6.5 addresses a need for a laptop
and necessary software that will be dedicated to the Dammeron Valley
Association only. It will be handed over
to whomever handles the records, and the records will be kept on the computer
for availability, whenever they are needed.
I have been using my own personal computer; it is eight years old, and
is beginning to have issues due to its age, so this is an area that has to be
covered in 2012-2013.
5)
Line 6.7 deals with legal fees.
The $8,000 budgeted there has to do with some of the Board members’
belief that monies need to be set aside for attorneys fees so that they are
available, if needed.
Under secretarial items, there were fourteen 1099
Miscellaneous forms mailed out last week to take care of our tax reporting
requirements at this time.
The new web site is up for the Dammeron
Valley Landowners' Association. You can
reach the information right now by going to http://mydvla.blogspot.com or to
http://my dvla.org. Johnna transferred
all the previous information over to the new site, plus all the minutes and
announcements are up to date at this time.
A comment was made during our last DVLA
meeting that since the web site was down, why didn't we mail out the minutes,
as it only took a few stamps. Much
expense and work is required for any mailing to the landowners. First, a trip should be made to the County,
if it has not been done for a while, to get an updated list of landowners. While we have not been paying much for this
list, the last time we received one, the personnel was questioning the charge
since it takes their computer personnel about 3-4 hours to compile the list.
Then
the following costs in the mailing would be:
1)
410 stamps = $185.00
2)
4 boxes of envelops = Approx. $80.00
3)
1,640 printed pages - Paper (3 reams) = Approx $80.00
4)
One ink cartridge that prints 2300 pages = $80.00
Total
cost: $425.00
Work
involved: 2 trips to the County
Recorder's office; 1 trip to a post office; and approx. 16-20 hours to print
the minutes, fold, stuff, stamp, and seal the envelops. A mailing should be seriously considered
before being undertaken.
Regarding the financial statements, there
have been no unusual or large expenses during the previous two months. Three landowners have full paid their dues -
the check from one is still being processed, one landowner paid off 2011-12,
and another property that was sold paid off two years' dues, late fees and lien
fee.
One item that is usually decided tonight
is on what Saturday we hold the annual meeting.
It is usually the third week of May, which would be the 19th. The schedule we have been on previously
regarding the annual meeting is that the financial information be given the
Board in January, (I have given the draft proposed budget to the Board this
evening.) Chief Talbot is to furnish his
budget prior to the February meeting, and the budget is completed during that
meeting. The announcements can then be
compiled to be sent to the members about the first of April.
During the financial report, the following
meetings were announced: An open meeting
on the budget will be held on Thursday evening, February 16, at 7:00 p.m. at
the fire house. Also, the date of the
annual meeting was set at Saturday, May 19, 2012.
d. Committee Updates:
i.
Finance – Terry Taylor
Comparison between the on-line
bank statements and the financial statements submitted in tonight’s financial
report indicate that all bank account balances match. The only discrepancy is in the Dammeron
Valley operating bank account where there were several written checks that had
not been cashed by the bank. When
totaling these checks and adding them to the DVLA operating account, the
account balance matched the bank statement.
MOTION WAS MADE by Mac Thomson to approve
the financial report. The motion was
SECONDED by Terry Taylor, and the motion carried.
ii.
Public Safety – Mac Thomson:
The County needs to be
contacted about repairing the large cracks on Canyon Trails Road. Also, another truckload of road base is
needed for the area around the mail boxes.
Mac Thomson MADE A MOTION that $500 be set aside for road base; Julie
Cropper SECONDED the motion, and the motion carried.
iii.Social – Jim Johnson
Anyone interested in
volunteering for an Easter Egg Hunt
committee, please contact Jim Johnson at (435)574-6476 or Terry Taylor at
(435)574-2302
iv. Architectural Review – Gary Jensen:
A duck coup was approved during
the past month.
v. Public Properties – Julie Cropper: (None Reported)
7. Comment and Discussion by Landowners:
None given.
8. Adjournment:
Julie Cropper MADE A MOTION to adjourn the
meeting which was SECONDED by Jim Johnson.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
Carol Clason
