Board of Directors Meeting

ZAPATA HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

Board of Directors Meeting

June 18, 2010 

Call to Order:  The Board of Directors for the Zapata Homeowners Association held their regular meeting Friday, June 18, 2010 at the Mosca Community Building at 5:30 PM. 

Board Members Present:  Jack Zeman, Joe Funk, Marty Russum, Jim Jones and Jerry Grandey.  Board members John White and John Stump were absent but prior to the meeting each gave their proxy to Jack Zeman for voting purposes for this meeting.  Administrator Cindy Chapman was also present along with the following property owners:  Erin Smith, Dan Curtis and Walter Schwalm. 

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

Approval of the Minutes of the May 20, 2010 Board Meeting:  A vote was taken to approve the minutes from the May 20, 2010 board meeting.  The vote was unanimous. 

Approval of the Bills to be Paid:  Administrator Cindy Chapman asked that check #2061 to The Cline Agency in the amount of $1436.00 to pay for the new D & O Policy be included in the bills to be paid.  Jerry Grandy asked if all of the work by Roy Castleberry being paid by check #2060 had been verified.  Jack Zeman assured him that all work had been completed.  Jerry also asked about check #2058 for head gate materials.  Joe stated that this was to pay for materials for the overflow pipe at the Upper Lake.  Jerry asked that this budget item be renamed for clarification. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to approve the bills as presented along with check #2061 to The Cline Agency in the amount of $1436.00.  Joe Funk seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

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

1. Credit application sent to Z Rock Stone & Supply for future purchases of road base.
2. Notified by Cindy Grimes that she had sold her lot to Trans Gulf Transportation in February, 2010 when she received the late/lien charge invoice.  Voided lien held on this property under her name, transferred to new owner and Trans Gulf has paid the 2010 dues.
3. D & O Application sent by C Street Insurance Professionals.  Obtained necessary information and signature and returned for application submittal.
4. End of month bank reconciliation completed and month end reports emailed to John Stump.
5. Letter formatted and signatures obtained to be sent to John Cooper.
6. Architectural Guidelines emailed to Libbie Landreth for proposed addition to her residence.
7. Annual Meeting documents emailed to Board members for their review and necessary edits made before approval at June board meeting and mailing done to membership.
8. Contacted by Lois Widhalm, Alamosa County Treasurer to set up meeting with her office to obtain listing of possible Treasurer’s Deeds to be issued by her office after the June 15, 2010 property tax deadline.
9. Reconciled month end A/R listing with The Carlton Company.
10. Architecture request from Forrest Ketchin sent out to A/C members.
11. Continued communications with David Isaac concerning lot that he says he no longer owns.  Checked with Alamosa County Assessor and he is still owner of record and responsible for dues and late/lien fees assessed to this property Unit 2-Block 48-Lot 42 .76 acres.
12. Checked with Alamosa Building Supply and they have an account set up for the ZHA.

Jerry asked about the contact made with Lois Widhalm concerning tax certificates that could go to Treasurer’s Deeds at a later point in time.  Cindy informed him that just today she had received a listing showing all of the tax certificates held and by whom.  There are some items in the listing that Cindy will need to get clarified by the Treasurer’s office but at least there is now a point of reference and Cindy was surprised by the number of listings.   

Committee Reports 

Architecture:

     ▪Roach Update:  Chairman Jack Zeman stated that Erich Schwiesow has sent a letter to Mr. Roach stating that Mr. Roach now has 30 days to remove the sheds and portajohn from his property or the ZHA will go to court and have an order to have them removed.  If the ZHA does this, then a $1000 fine might be assessed to Mr. Roach according to the current enforcement policy.  Mr. Roach will also have to pay for any court costs and removal fees.  Mr. Roach was also returned his $250 Building Permit fees as the application that he had submitted was denied. 

Communication:  Chairman Jack Zeman stated that he is working on the next Newsletter to be sent out in early July.  Committee chairs were asked to submit any articles to Jack as soon as possible.  Jack also stated that Shane has been contacted about website changes that need to be made but as of now, Shane has done nothing. 

Fees and Budget:

     ▪3^rd Reading – Treasurer’s Deeds/Lien Policy:  Chairman John Stump was absent for this meeting but there had been no changes from the second reading.  Jerry asked about changing the word arrearages to arrears to which he was informed that arrearages is a better word in this circumstance. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to approve Policy #028.00 as presented.  Joe Funk seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

     ▪Insurance Update:  As there was a time constraint to secure a new D & O policy, emails had been circulated among board members prior to this meeting and as The Cline Agency was the only insurance agency able to secure new coverage, it was decided to go with them again for D & O insurance coverage. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to approve The Cline Agency as the D & O insurance carrier.  Joe Funk seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

Fire:  Chairman Jerry Grandey stated that there had been two lightning strikes on or around the subdivision and to his knowledge the pumper being stored at TNC had not been used in either instance.  Jerry stated that he had taken a look at the pumper truck before coming to the meeting and the compartments are not stocked with the necessary axes, shovels, etc. to fight a fire.  His concern is that if this pumper is not being used then there has been no training on this apparatus either.  Jerry thought it might be wise for someone to attend the next Alamosa County Fire Protection District board meeting to bring up this issue.  Jack stated that he will plan to attend this meeting.  Joe will also be installing the signage on the TNC directing responders to the pumper location.  It also appears that the reverse 911 calls are not being received by homeowners. 

Members were told that the fire mitigation work on Lake of the Falls from the north loop of Cottonwood and Navajo has been completed.  All expenses for this work has been submitted for payment and a check in the amount of $9,500.00 to reimburse ½ of these expenses should be coming either by the end of June or the first of July.  There also appears to be a large patch of dead trees on BLM land on the south border of the subdivision.  Phyllis Bovine from the Park has been asked to take a look at this and give her feedback and Jack will follow up with Phyllis on this issue. 

The hydrant has also been installed along with the overflow pipe at the Upper Lake. 

Governance:

     ▪Covenants Update:  Chairman John White was absent but has set up a last ditch effort meeting to bring all of the suggested Covenants changes into a final document for Saturday, July 10, 2010 from 9:00-Noon at the Sand Dunes Conference Room. 

     ▪3^rd Reading – Change to the Voting Section of the Bylaws:  The wording for the change to the voting section of the Bylaws was submitted to Erich for his review and input.  Erich sent out his suggested changes for the board to review.  Jim Jones stated that he has issues with allowing member to “abstain” from voting of subdivision matters.  If the intent is to get to a quorum at the Annual Meeting, he is not sure that the current wording accomplishes what the board is working towards.  Much discussion followed with issues with some of the wording in Section e presented by Erich.  More specifically: “Unexercised votes shall not count in establishing a quorum.”  It was decided to have John and his committee members set up a meeting with Erich to go over his suggested changes.  The third reading was postponed until the July board meeting. 

Physical Improvements

     ▪Trespassing Signs:  Chairman Joe Funk stated that he believes there is some confusion in members being allowed to post signs on their property.  According to the Architecture Guidelines, only one 2 x 2 “For Sale” sign is allowed on an individual’s property.  He has seen several “No Trespassing” signs posted along the Mercier property on Colima Place.  The Merciers’ had previously posted a “No Trespassing” sign on a ZHA tree close to their property and they had been asked and have removed this sign.  There seems to be some confusion on the Mercier’s part on this.  Jack suggested following the dispute resolution policy, review earlier minutes addressing this issue to try and clarify this situation and then have someone talk with the Merciers’. 

Water: 

     ▪Letter from Water Division III:  Chairman Jim Jones read a letter from Water Division III stating that the ZHA is responsible to keep stream channels clear and more specifically North Zapata, Middle Zapata and South Zapata Creeks.  As a bit of background on this situation, Walter Schwalm has had problems with water running through his property over the years and more specifically last year when he advised Robert Schultz, the Water Commissioner, through Jim Jones and Jack Zeman of this issue and Mr. Schultz removed a couple of boards in the head gate.  Well sometime during the last year the boards were replaced and the same thing happened this spring when the runoff began so Walter allegedly tampered with  a couple of board to save flooding which has prompted a recent correspondence from Water Division III to Mr. Schwalm.  At this point in the meeting, Mr. Schwalm stated that he will defend himself against Water Division III on the accusations made directly against him but he felt the Board needed to act to affirm its right to control its own water. 

Jack stated that the letter sent to the ZHA was very general with no specifics as to what stream and what is being blocked.  Jack’s concern is that this lack of clarity and certain statements in the letter to Mr. Schwalm are contrary to the Ryan Stipulation and a very serious charge of purposefully diverting water.  During the early development of the subdivision, Malcolm Stewart did what he wanted without permission from Water Division III and now there is a co-mingling of water between the ZHA and TNC.  It has also been charged that Spyder Creek is a man-made, privately owned lake where in fact Lower Zapata Creek is a man-made channel connecting Spyder Creek to the Lower Lake.  The Ryan Stipulation came into being when the bubblers were installed and Jodine Ryan feared that Spyder Creek would dry up. 

The areas that are in need of control are Zapata Falls and Spyder Creek.  There are currently three padlocks on the head gates and it was just discovered that TNC had never given their key to the ZHA designated parties who are to control water flow.  Dan Curtis asked if it would be possible for the ZHA to assume control of the Ryan Stipulation since Jodine’s death to control this water during high water season. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to have the ZHA Executive Water Committee coordinate with Erich Schwiesow to discuss the letters received from Water Division III by the ZHA and private parties to ascertain the effect of proper control of water in channels on the ZHA and to inquire if the Zapata Homeowners Association can assume control of the Ryan Stipulation and report back their findings at the July board meeting.  Marty Russum seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

Welcome:  Chairman Marty Russum had no report. 

Old Business:

     ▪Unit III – Application Filing Update:  Jack stated that he had not had an opportunity to meet with Commissioner Darius Allen over the last month but will try to arrange a meeting before the July board meeting. 

     ▪Schwalm Lawsuit:  No Update 

     ▪Curtis/Park Place:  A meeting was held with John White, Jim Jones, Joe Funk, Jack Zeman of the ZHA; Paul Robertson and Fidel of TNC; and Clifton Curtis to look over the location where the road needs to go in.  TNC had no objection but would like an engineer to be involved in the project.  Robertson and Fidel had concern with the ditch or culvert being damaged during the road installation.  Jack stated that the incline is very steep for a road to be constructed.  Erich Schwiesow was contacted and sent a reply letter that it is his opinion that the ZHA is not obligated to complete this platted road.  Much discussion followed on what the best course of action would be.   

New Business:

     ▪Bank Signature Card:  Cindy asked that the Board review who they would want as signatories on the Alamosa State Bank account as all three signatures at this time will be going off of the board in August. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to have George M. Russum, Joe Funk and Jack Zeman be on the signature card for Alamosa State Bank.  Jim Jones seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

     ▪Approval of Annual Meeting Notice and Agenda:  Cindy presented the Annual Meeting documents for board review before being sent out to the membership.  The meeting will be held in the meadow by Jim Jones’ residence at 214 Big Bear on the Zapata subdivision beginning at 10:00 AM.  If necessary, a new member orientation will be held beginning at 9:00 AM. 

Discussion was also held on board vacancies.  There will be one-two year term and three-three year terms that need to be filled.  Jerry Grandey will run for the two year term and Jim Jones will let Cindy know if he will run for one of the three year terms.  Jack will also contact John Clark to see if he might be interested as he and his wife will soon be moving to their new home on the subdivision. 

If the Voting Section of the Bylaws wording can be agreed on, there will be a vote at the very beginning of the Annual Meeting.  The agenda will be finalized by email over the next two weeks so that all documents can be mailed to the membership by the July 7, 2010 deadline. 
 
 

ACTION ITEMS 

20 Minute Open Forum:  As all members had left before the end of the meeting, there was nothing discussed during this time.

Adjournment:  The next regular board meeting of the Zapata Homeowners Association will be held on Friday, July 16, 2010 at 5:30 PM at the Mosca Community Building. 
 
 

__________________________________

Joe Funk, Secretary