PLEASE NOTE: THESE DRAFT MINUTES ARE NOT DUE FOR APPROVAL BY THE MEMBERSHIP UNTIL THE 2012 ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD IN MAY, 2012.
Draft: Annual Meeting Minutes - May 14, 2011
NOTE: Votes of Annual Meeting
1. New Board members elected: Julie Cropper, Mac Thomson
2. Dues amount approved for upcoming year - $300 (with $15.00 per month late fee on delinquent dues)
Board Members Attending: Lance Cornwall, Mark Ahrenholtz, Bill King, Jim Johnson, Von Mason,
Landowners: A quorum of 204 was required to conduct the meeting.
WELCOME, PRAYER, FLAG CEREMONY:
The meeting was called to order by President Lance Cornwall at 8:00am. The pledge of allegiance was led by Troop 1799, and the prayer was offered by Ryan Anderson.
APPROVE AGENDA/2010 ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES:
Mark Ahrenholtz MADE A MOTION that the agenda be approved; SECONDED by Jim Johnson, and the motion carried.
The minutes of last year's annual meeting of May 15, 2010, stated that the amended by-laws and architectural guidelines did not pass because they were not approved by a quorum. For clarification, Lance Cornwall stated that at a monthly DVLA meeting shortly after the annual meeting, the architectural guidelines were approved, as amended, since they had been approved by a majority of the landowners at the annual meeting. As a matter of past precedence, the guidelines had always been approved by the majority of the landowners, and not a quorum. The by-laws were approved by seventy percent of the voters at the annual meeting. All prior by-laws had been approved by a majority of a quorum. At last year's annual meeting, the by-laws were approved by over seventy percent of a quorum, so those by-laws are on the same status as all previous by-laws. Bill King MADE A MOTION that the minutes from the previous annual meeting be approved. Jim Johnson SECONDED the motion, and the motion carried.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, Lance Cornwall:
President Lance Cornwall thanked everyone present for coming to the meeting. He expressed his appreciation for the work completed by the Board members, Chief Talbot, and his crew for the previous year. The improved ISO rating given the Valley during the past year was an indication of all the efforts of many people in the community. Mac Thomson was thanked for overseeing the burn pile for the entire past year. The entranceways were cleaned up due to the efforts of Mark Ahrenholtz and a crew he assembled to do the work. The recycling program is starting to pay off - approximately $2,000 was received from the County which was used for spreading road base at the mail boxes. 204 approval votes were needed to pass the amended by-laws as presented in the recent mail-out to the landowners. 185 votes were submitted and 161of the votes approved the by-laws, with 24 against.
SECRETARY/TREASURERS REPORT, Carol Clason:
Last year the big money issue was the refinancing of the Fire House, which resulted very favorably for the Association. This year the largest purchases had to do with the buying of the Ford F450 command truck ($12,000), and the International Navistar brush truck ($20,000). New these trucks would have cost approximately $70,000 for the smaller truck and $$190,000 for the International truck. They were paid for by the $24,160 set aside in previous years, plus $5,840 set aside this last fiscal year in the budget specifically for the purchase of trucks. The additional $2,000 needed came from the contingency reserve fund to make up the total purchase prices of $32,000. Two weeks after the purchase of the trucks, the State gave the Valley a $20,000 grant to help with the cost. This money was used to paint and perform any maintenance needed on the vehicles - and to thoroughly equip them. It appears that the Bureau of Land Management and the State of Utah very much helped the Valley landowners financially - the Bureau of Land Management in giving us a rock-bottom price on the trucks, and the State for supplying grant monies toward the purchases. So we, as landowners, need to know we are getting help from other sources in the funding of the Fire Department expenses.
This spring the County presented the Dammeron Valley Landowners' Association with a check for $1,981.06 - $174.55 for the year 2009 plus $1,806.51 for 2010. This money was earned from the recycling program we entered into with Washington County. The Board approached landowners regarding how they wished the money to be spent, and the majority of those responding wanted improved surfacing of the area around the mailboxes. 2 1/2 dump truck loads of road base were spread on this area plus a load of purple jasper, trying to improve the surface.
Regarding delinquent dues, 31 lots have partial or full dues unpaid - 4 landowners have dues owing for three years' past. Liens are filed on all these properties and have been useful in collecting dues that are owed. Recently, a landowner sold his lot that had three years' owing and paid approximately $1300 in delinquent dues and fees.
Regarding the secretarial part of the report, I wanted to emphasize that when voting by mail, please follow the instructions that are given in submitting your ballot. We have had to exempt several ballots from the final count because we were unable to identify from the outside envelop who had submitted the ballot. We need to mark off who has voted so that more than one ballot is not counted per dues-paying lot. That information is not matched with how the landowner votes as the ballot should be inside a second blank envelop.
We are trying to keep an updated listing of all mailing addresses for landowners. For the annual meeting mail-out, we start with the county's property list of landowners' mailing addresses. If you submitted a change of address previously, and it has been changed afterwards, it is not because we are ignoring your requests. The County insists they have the most up-to-date listing which comes from the property tax mailings. We do have to honor your request on what to use for your mailing address, and the best time to submit that would be in March so that it would override any address the county may have.
The landowners were asked, if they hear negative comments or muttering about the operation of the Landowners Association, to speak up and remind people of all the positive things that are happening due to the hard work of many in the Valley and give a thanks to all of those landowners and board members who are helping.
Lance Cornwall also thanked Carol Clason for all her help, Jan Yergensen and her crew for taking care of the refreshments for the meeting, and all the people helping at the registration tables.
FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT, Kyle Talbot:
Chief Talbot began by thanking the landowners for all they provide to the Fire Department, Carol Clason for her help, the Board for all the time they expend in carrying out their duties, and the fire fighters and medical personnel for all they provide. This past year, the fire department personnel responded to 59 medical calls. In addition, the medical personnel does provide transportation to and from medical facilities for patients and/or their families. There were two fire calls during the year, and no personnel injuries to the fire department volunteers. Chief Bennett introduced the fire department personnel and their certifications: Chief Talbot, chief fire fighter and EMT; Maciej Szczerbiak, fire fighter and EMT; Jim Petersen, fire fighter and engineer; Jay Workman, fire fighter, engineer, and EMT; Chris Volksen, fire fighter and brush engineer; Mark Ahrenholtz, fire fighter; Scott Ballif, fire fighter; J. R. Baird, firefighter; Kevin Dye, firefighter and engineer; Lance Cornwall, fire fighter and brush engineer; Kathy Szczerbiak, EMT; Kathy Mason, fire fighter and EMT; Don Collier, fire fighter; Clint Talbot, fire fighter; and Russ Eardley, fire fighter.
The Fire Department is in desperate need of volunteers for all types of jobs such as traffic controllers, flood control, etc., not just fire fighters. If interested, please come to a meeting the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. or the fourth Saturday morning of the month to become familiar with the program. Captain Szczerbiak gave an overview of the Department's past and future training programs. Chief Talbot expressed appreciation for the compressor supplied by the County for use by Dammeron Valley so that all tanks do not have to be carried to St. George to be refilled. Six of the Dammeron Valley Fire Department trucks - the engine, the rescue, the command, and the brush 1, 2, and 3, were displayed to the landowners.
Regarding the fire house, it is starting to show its age and is presently too small to house the number of vehicles used by the Fire Department. Some electrical work has been done on the fire house, and the asphalt is deteriorating rapidly. This coming year's budget allows monies to have the asphalt resurfaced. Some equipment purchased during the past year includes the extrication equipment and hand-held radios.
The burn pile will continue throughout the coming year, being organized by Mac Thomson. The ISO rating for Dammeron Valley improved from a "5" rating to a "4", and documentation is available to present to your insurance company to reduce your homeowner's insurance cost. This paperwork can be secured from Mark Ahrenholtz and can be e-mailed to those interested. The water company's rating makes up about forty percent of this overall rating, and their personnel are doing a great job of providing service to the Valley.
Washington County applied for a grant to improve the communications system through which the fire department personnel receive their calls. $900,000 was secured for this system and will greatly improve the communication from the message center to the Fire Department. Our share of this grant money is $3,000. This will help with the system, but one hand-held radio or one truck radio costs $2,600 each. Our Department needs 18 hand-held radios and 7 truck radios.
The wildland fire season is predicted by the experts to be comparable to that of 2005and 2006, which is the worst we have seen. The certifications of personnel and the trucks are complete and in place to meet the fire season. Craig Bennett can be contacted by any landowner interested in obtaining a fire inspection on their property. No fire works are allowed in unincorporated areas of Washington County, which includes Dammeron Valley. The Fire Department will continue to help surrounding areas just as those departments cooperate with Dammeron Valley.
Status of quorum at this point: 191 votes counted out of the 204 needed.
PROPOSED 2011/2012 BUDGET:
In response to questions by one landowner, the $2,000 set aside for fire hydrant repair was not included in the 2011-12 budget as the money had not been used in the past several years, and those monies have carried forward during that time. The cost of a treasurer's bond covering enough liability was exorbitant. When the premium cost reached $1,000 annually, money was set aside instead for an outside audit in an attempt to accomplish the same purpose of tracking the association's monies. There were no further comments or questions regarding the proposed 2011-2012 budget.
TRUSTEE NOMINATIONS CANDIDATE STATEMENTS:
The candidates for Board Member - Julie Cropper, Mac Thomson, Bill King, and William Feeney - were given several minutes to provide a short biography to the landowners listing their reasons for running as a candidate for the Board. (Since William Feeney was absent, Mac Thomson provided information on him.)
REPORTS:
WATER COMPANY/DEVELOPER, Nikki Richards:
Nikki Richards thanked the Fire Department personnel and Karen Sharkey for all they do in the community. As far as development in the Valley, very little is happening. It is expected that it will be approximately five more years before any further development will occur. Lisa was introduced as the newest member of the Water Department office personnel who will be dealing with landowner contacts. Bill King has been instrumental in installing a SCADA system for the Valley that allows control of the water tanks from any location. There is a million gallons of water storage in the Valley, which is double what is required. 250,000 gallons is reserved, and never touched, just for fire. A water transmission line was completed this week to provide additional water from the east side of the Valley to the west, where there was less storage available. The developer is attempting to keep water rates at their current level, and a recent survey indicated that the rates charged in Dammeron Valley are in the medium range. Every home in the Valley is required by the Health Department to have back flows on their faucets. A pamphlet addressing this issue is being provided during the meeting for the landowners.
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW, Lance Cornwall:
Lance Cornwall indicated that the Architectural Committee had reviewed and approved 2 new homes, 1 garage, 4 horse shelters, 3 fences, 1 addition, 1 re-roof, and a pergola during the 2010-2011 year.
FIRE SAFETY COMMITTEE/DAMMERON VALLEY RISK PLAN, Dr. Wayne Staab Mac Thomson:
Per Mac Thomson, the burn pile has received 106 loads so far this year. It was to be open next weekend, but due to the scheduled fire department training that day, it will be closed. Each person driving into the burn pile signs a sheet listing their property information and testifying that they are aware of what is allowed on the pile. If you, as a landowner, have not received a copy of the Dammeron Valley video on fire safety, there are several available from Mac Thomson. The State does have funding to aid landowners in clearing their properties if they are unable to do it or have it done. Contact Ned Cordery of the Valley if you are interested in using a wood chipper at your property.
In 2004 Dammeron Valley volunteers put together the Community Fire Planning Program which is used by the State for fire management in our area. Per Dr. Wayne Staab, Dammeron Valley landowners were asked to review and upgrade the plan late in 2010. A council of fifteen individuals, all of whom had expressed an interest in participating, was organized. A concern was expressed by the Council that while fire was the greatest risk event in Dammeron Valley, the program should be expanded to cover all kinds of potential disasters: fire, flooding, other catastrophes, and an evacuation/traffic control plan. Collectively, the plan was called the Dammeron Valley Citizen Wildland-Urban Interface Plan. The goal of this plan was to provide a Wildland-Urban Risk Assessment and Implementation Plan for Dammeron Valley. Because fire danger is the greatest risk, managing fire constitutes the greatest portion of the plan. However, a complete plan must include, by necessity, other potential risk management, and this was covered as well. A complete plan was provided to the State, including a number of appendixes relating to the risks. The State was interested only in the fire portion and eliminated everything else in the plan, including the evacuation procedure. Additionally, they modified the report by adding and subtracting actions specifically related to fire that the Council had not discussed and with which they would not agree. A revised copy, with recommended changes will be resubmitted to the State.
DISCUSSION COMMENTS FROM THE FLOOR:
Regarding speeding in the Valley, installing speed bumps might not be feasible due to difficulties in snow removal and trailer hauling. Regarding the property with the rehabilitation center, money has been set aside for an initial consultation with an attorney to determine if it is feasible to pursue any action against the property.
BALLOT RESULTS
Mark Ahrenholtz announced the ballot results. The number of dues-paying lots is 406, making the quorum 204. 205 votes were cast which passed the budget with 181 votes in favor and 18 against. The new board members are Mac Thomson with 171 votes, Julie Cropper with 157 votes, and Bill King with 123 votes. William Feeney received 98 votes. The dues amount was approved for $300.00 with a $15.00 per month late fee on delinquent dues. (A second count after the ballot results were announced resulted in 211 ballots submitted.)
A MOTION was made by Mark Ahrenholtz to adjourn the meeting. It was SECONDED by Jim Johnson, and the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Carol Clason, Recording Secretary
