Board of Directors Meeting 12/18/09

ZAPATA HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

Board of Directors Meeting

December 18, 2009 

Call to Order:  The Board of Directors for the Zapata Homeowners Association held their regular meeting Friday, December 18, 2009 at the Mosca Community Building at 5:30 PM. 

Board Members Present:   John White, Jack Zeman, John Stump, Joe Funk, Jerry Grandey, Jim Jones and Marty Russum.  Administrator Cindy Chapman was also present along with the following property owners:  Erin Smith, Sharon Mercier, Marvin McCarty and visitors Mike and Leslie Reagan. 

Approval of the Agenda:  A vote was taken to approve the agenda as presented.  The vote was unanimous. 

Approval of the Minutes of the November 20, 2009 Board Meeting:  A vote was taken to approve the minutes from the November 20, 2009 board meeting.  The vote was unanimous. 

Approval of the Bills to be Paid:  Jerry Grandey asked about check #2000 written to Davis Plumbing.  Joe Funk explained that Water Division III required the meter be changed from 8 inches to 4 inches and this was for supplies to make this change.  John White asked and Jerry explained that check #1996 was for the completion of the survey and topo map on Tract B, the proposed firehouse site. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to approve the bills as presented.  Jim Jones seconded and the motion carried unanimously.  

Administrator’s Report:  Administrator Cindy Chapman presented a list of her activities for the last month: 

1. Hand delivered Form 6.1 Water Use Data Submittal to Water Division III and had them correct the mailing address of the ZHA.
2. Returned call from Mark Ehsani concerning fire protection for the ZHA for insurance purposes.
3. Letter received from Donald Stump of D & L Land & Cattle asking for waiver of late/filing fees assessed in 2009.
4. Emailed property owners on the death of Mike Vittoria.
5. Letter received and emailed on to board members from Jason Kelly, attorney for Alamosa County Commissioners concerning Unit III.
6. EOM financials reconciled and emailed to John Stump.
7. Current A/R listing sent to Carlton Collections.  Asked about assistance in tracking down property owners who the ZHA does not have a current address on.  They have software to aid in this search and I provided him all of the previous addresses that were on record to begin this process.
8. Left phone message for Stephanie Dingfelder concerning cell phone listings on Reverse 911 contact for emergencies.  Call has not been returned.
9. Researched unknown addresses of property owners with addresses on file with the Alamosa County Assessor.
10. Formatted letter from the Board to Patti Vittoria concerning Mike’s request for waiver of late/filing fees.
11. Reconciled EOM report from Carlton Collections.
12. Forwarded on email to Tom Hanson in reply to his request to waive the late/lien fees assessed to his account.
13. Emailed Mark Smith concerning his purchase of a lot that had delinquent dues that have not been paid and has a lien against it.
14. Emailed information requested by Jack Zeman concerning application for a DUNS number and registering as a Central Contractor with the government.

          ▪Unknown Addresses of Property Owners:  Cindy stated that she had contacted Charles Gray at Carlton Collections and his company has a means of tracking down property owners listed with an unknown address if the last known address of record was known.  She had then gone to the Alamosa County Assessor’s office and obtained the addresses they had on file and Cindy then generated statements and mailed them.  The new listing of delinquent property owners has also been turned over to Carlton Collections for their help in collections. 

          ▪Donald Stump Letter – Waiver of Late/Lien Fees:  Cindy informed the board that she had included in their board packets a copy of the letter received from Donald Stump of D & L Land and Cattle asking that the board waive the late fees that had been billed to his company.  Cindy stated that the reason she wanted the board to read this letter is that there were many erroneous statements made by Mr. Stump that she wanted the board to be aware of.  Cindy also included a Quick Report from her accounting software showing when payments had been made over the last two years and when the late/filing fees had been assessed in 2009. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to decline Mr. Stump’s request for waiver of late/filing fees.  Jack Zeman seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

A letter will be sent to Mr. Stump along with the Quick Report showing the history of his accounts.   

John White asked what a DUNS number is.  Jack Zeman stated that a DUNS number is necessary to apply for government grants along with a Certified Contractor number which Jack has applied for. 

Cindy has also tried to obtain information on how to have cell phones listed on the Reverse 911 calling for emergencies on the subdivision.  She has tried numerous times to reach Stephanie Dingfelder to obtain the link for property owners to access to register their cell numbers but Stephanie has not called back.   

Jerry asked about the conversation with Mark Ehsani.  Cindy stated that he had been dropped by his insurance company for insurance on his Zapata residence.  He wanted a statement saying that there was a fire department within 5 miles of the subdivision which she could not do.  Cindy did provide him with a couple of insurance agencies to contact in Alamosa for insurance coverage information. Jerry and others pointed out that fire apparatus in an enclosed building to which volunteers respond is the same configuration as the Mosca firehouse, the Hooper firehouse, and even the Alamosa firehouses.  

Committee Reports 

Architecture:

     ▪Roach Update:  Chairman Jack Zeman presented event documentation for board review of Roach violations.  Jack stated that after doing this documentation that his conclusion is to turn this over now to the ZHA attorney for proper notification of fines and order Mr. Roach to correct his violations.  Jack did verify with Ken Van Iwaarden that Mr. Roach only had applied for a site improvement permit…driveway, well and septic.  He has put in the driveway and well but no septic and Ken was not aware of sheds being placed which is in violation of both County and ZHA building requirements.  Jack will check with the County to see what they will do about this situation.  John W. stated that per Policy #26 perhaps Mr. Roach had not received proper notification wherein it is expressed that he has the opportunity for a hearing.  Marty Russum expressed that perhaps our attorney should notify Mr. Roach about such a hearing.  A certified letter will be mailed to Mr. Roach concerning a request for a hearing on this matter. 

Communication:  Chairman Jack Zeman stated that he had spoken with Carole Bieshaar and she will not be able to help with the January newsletter.  Jack asked each committee chair to write articles they would like to have in the upcoming newsletter and he and Cindy will work on getting a newsletter out in January. 

Fees & Budget:  Chairman John Stump stated that his committee had not met since the budget was approved.  He will be calling a meeting in January to work on delinquent property owners. 

Fire:   Chairman Jerry Grandey stated that contacts had been made with steel-frame building suppliers for estimates and that exterior cladding materials will be discussed over the upcoming weekend.  Committee members will also try and do site visits to look over the different exterior materials available and their appearance.  Thin panel concrete exterior is something that the committee is looking at as well. An energy efficiency expert has review the site and initial building plans for recommendations; he cannot go into an elaborate assessment without a site visit but is doing all of this work free of charge.  This expert had also suggested a “green”-experienced builder and a “green”-experienced architect to contact about building advice as well. 

Governance:

     ▪Covenants Update:  Chairman John White stated that there has been no more activity on the Covenants update.  Something that needs to begin is continual recruitment of board and committee members to serve the ZHA.  Also a date needs to be set for the Strategic Planning session sometime in February.  John W. stated that some HOA’s have posted five minute videos on community issues on YouTube with some very positive results. 

Physical Improvements:  Chairman Joe Funk stated that the steel stakes that had been knocked over by cattle in Unit III and the runway area have been replaced.  He has been working on the rough spots on the roads with a tractor rather than have the grader come up.  Wood continues to be removed on California Circle and put out for anyone interested to take.  Cindy also informed those present that Joe had been tallying his volunteer hours on the subdivision this year and to date this totals $6,792.50 in savings to the subdivision. 

Water:  Chairman Jim Jones stated he had procrastinated in calling a Water Committee meeting.  John W. reminded all committee chairs that they should have a meeting at least quarterly.  Jim will be calling a meeting with TNC for spring to discuss water issues. 

Welcome:  Chairman Marty Russum stated that he hard heard from John W. on including some information on dogs on the subdivision in the welcome letter.  Marty is still waiting to hear from Jerry on fire issues. 

Old Business: 

     ▪Approval of the 2010 Budget:  Jerry Grandey moved to approve the 2010 budget as presented to the membership.  Marty Russum seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

     ▪Michael Vittoria Late Fee Waiver Update:  A letter was presented to be mailed to Patti Vittoria concerning Mike’s request to waive late/lien fees billed to their account in 2008.  Since John W. had not been able to meet with Mike before his recent death, this letter will be signed by all board members and will inform Patti that she contact the board on this matter at her convenience. 

     ▪Tom Hansen Late Fee Waiver Update:  John W. stated that he had just received a response to the email sent out earlier to Mr. Hansen asking for more information on why Mr. Hansen had been late in paying his 2009 dues.  Mr. Hansen stated that he felt the late fee was excessive and that he had paid his dues immediately upon receipt of the last statement sent in October.  He had always been punctual with dues payments in the past and that he wants to continue to have a working relationship with the board as he would like to build on his Zapata property sometime in the future.  John W. stated that he will draft a response stating that the board has declined waiving the late fees assessed to his account. 

     ▪Unit III – Application Filing Update:  A letter was given to each board member from Jason Kelly, attorney for the Alamosa County Commissioners stating that the water issues surrounding the subdivision must be resolved before the commissioners will move forward on this issue.  Mr. Kelly suggested hiring a third party to research and write an opinion on the water issues of the ZHA. 

Jack and Joe stated that they had met with Ken VanIwaarden and he suggested that if the ZHA can reach an agreement with Water Division III that there is plenty of water available and get them to make such a statement in writing to the Commissioners that this should be sufficient.  Jack stated that Craig Cotten had been given a memorandum of understanding with a table showing intended usage of commercial water on the subdivision and there is more than sufficient amounts of water to support the Unit III rezoning plan.  Jack feels Water Division III should not base water on acreage when discussing water on the Unit III rezone application but to also look at water decree 80CW132 addendum where the intention of the Zapata is to only have commercial property in the upper triangle area of Unit III.  An argument was also give that wells are permitted on use and then acre feet are assigned.  Jack will go back to Water Division III and have them sign an agreement and submit documentation showing Unit III rezone would have sufficient water so that this application can move forward.  There is some feeling from Alamosa County Land Use that all property owners on the subdivision should be notified on this rezone application and not just the neighboring property owners and have even suggested this notification be sent out by certified mail which would be very costly to the Association.   

Right now there are three commercial wells on the subdivision:  one at the lower lake, one held by Bob Schultz and one held by Carol Sperling/Bill Stalker.  Contact has been made with Sperling/Stalker and they are willing to relinquish their commercial well once a decision has been made on the rezoning.  Bob Schultz has not been as receptive.  Discussion has been held to perhaps assign a special use permit to Schultz to run a commercial business on residential property and have him retain his commercial well if he will give Barbara Parker her land.   She is not able to drill a well because at some point in time her land became tied up with Schultz’s commercial well permit. The Commissioners are reluctant to change the current zoning if a possible lawsuit would result as they want this change to benefit all and not just one.  

John White suggested in order to move forward with the Unit III rezoning application that Jack meet with Water Division III to see if they will sign an agreement to the fact that there is sufficient water to support the commercial rezoning and work on gaining a compromise with Bob Schultz.  John W. also suggested including a notice in the upcoming January dues billings as a means of notifying the entire membership on the application for rezoning Unit III. 

Jerry and Jack then presented a suggested questionnaire to be mailed out to the membership to gain their feelings on building a firehouse on a greenbelt (Tract E).  John Stump asked how this tract had been chosen as the firehouse location.  Jerry stated that this was the location recommended by Mosca/Hooper Fire Department.  Erin Smith voiced that her only concern with this site is having the firehouse located so close to the ZHA entrance, as it could create a bottleneck or accidents should a major emergency arise and the firehouse be used as a staging area.  John W. stated that this area would be unlikely to be the staging area in such an emergency and should not pose any problems. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to send the questionnaire on building a firehouse on Tract E, a greenbelt, out to the membership with the January dues billing.  Jack Zeman seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

     ▪Schwalm Lawsuit:  There is no new information on this matter. 

New Business: 

There was no new business to come before the board at this meeting. 
 

ACTION ITEMS 

 20 Minute Open Forum:  Nothing discussed. 

Adjournment:  The next regular board meeting of the Zapata Homeowners Association will be held on Friday, January 15, 2010 at 5:30 PM at the Mosca Community Building. 
 
 

____________________________

Joe Funk, Secretary