Board of Directors Meeting

ZAPATA HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

Board of Directors Meeting

October 21, 2011 

Call to Order:  The Board of Directors for the Zapata Homeowners Association held its regular meeting Friday, October 21, 2011, at the Mosca Community Building at 5:30 PM. 

Board Members Present:  Jack Zeman, Jerry Grandey, Joe Funk, Wayne Ross, and Erin Smith.  Board members Jim Jones and John Clark were late to arrive and will be noted later in the minutes when they arrived.  Administrator Cindy Chapman was also present along with the following property owners:  John White arrived late and  his entry will be noted later in the minutes and guest Jackie Britt. 

Approval of Agenda:  The agenda was approved as published. 

Approval of Minutes from August 19, 2011:  Erin Smith moved to approve the August 19, 2011, board minutes as presented.  Wayne Ross seconded and the vote was unanimous. 

Board member Jim Jones entered the meeting at this time. 

Approval of Minutes from September 16, 2011:  Jerry Grandey moved to approve the September 16, 2011, board minutes as presented.  Jim Jones seconded and the vote was unanimous. 

Approval of Bills to be Paid for September 16, 2011, and October 21, 2011:  Jerry Grandey questioned check #2221 payable to the Alamosa County Fire Protection District (ACFPD) for the copy charges for 557 pages containing their minutes, board, packets, etc.  Wayne Ross will contact Fran Strnad, President of ACFPD, to see if these charges can be waived. 

     Jerry Grandey moved to approve the bills from September 16 and October 21, 2011, as presented with the exception of check #2221, which is approved pending a satisfactory response to Wayne Ross, ZHA Treasurer.  Joe Funk seconded and the vote was unanimous. 

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

1.   Emailed A/C approval of Starling-Ross addition to Alamosa County Land Use.
2. Revised Policy #30 – Camping for Governance Committee for third reading at October board meeting.
3. Emailed existing ZHA Phone Directory to Welcome Committee chairman, John Clark.
4. Tried to contact Robert Brownlow concerning the September 30, 2011, deadline for clearing up accounts for Dos Hombres and Mountain Valley Ranches.  Finally contacted on 10/17/2011 and he has another plan.  Will contact me to be put on the November agenda to address the board as to what his intentions are.
5. Contacted Jennifer at Insurance One concerning Liability Insurance and Umbrella Insurance renewal.  Has secured coverage through Colorado Casualty.  Umbrella policy is slightly less than last year but Liability insurance is higher.
6. Chere Plane delivered documents requested by Jerry Grandey from ACFPD.  Jerry picked up these documents along with CWPP report, Firehouse proposal documents and agreement between ZHA/TNC/ACFPD before ACFPD board meeting on 10/12/2011.
7. Reminder emails sent out to property owners who requested payment requests to give them an account balance update and remind them of 12/31/2011 deadline before liens would be filed.
8. September month end financials emailed to Wayne Ross for his review.
9. September month end reconciliation done with The Carlton Company.
10. Vacation request week of November 20-27, 2011 and December 31, 2011-January 8, 2012.

Cindy explained her recent conversation with Robert Brownlow.  He did not meet the September 30, 2011, offer made by the ZHA Board and actually rescinded this proposal.  Cindy informed him that if this is the case, he would need to contact her one week prior to the November 18, 2011, board meeting to be placed on the agenda to discuss this matter.  Jerry requested that Cindy contact him to have him submit his revised proposal by email one week prior to the November 18, 2011, board meeting so that each member has a chance to review. 

Cindy also stated that the liability/umbrella insurance has been renewed through Colorado Casualty. 

     ▪Vacation Request:  November 20-27, 2011, and December 31, 2011-January 8, 2012:  Jerry Grandey moved to approve these vacation requests.  Wayne Ross seconded and the vote was unanimous. 

Wayne asked Cindy for an update on the property owners who had requested payment arrangements for their 2011 dues.  Cindy stated that she has been sending out monthly reminders.  Sandy Ortega (A & J Solar) recently called requesting an account balance, which she was provided.  Also an email had been sent in from Dorothy Iman concerning the Unit III re-zoning approval, to which Cindy responded and reminded her that she still owed ½ of her 2011 dues.  Margaret Chain had also recently contacted Cindy requesting a copy of her 2011 dues invoice, as she had misplaced the one mailed earlier in the year. 

Committee Reports: 

Architecture:  Chairman Jack Zeman stated that his committee had approved an addition on the Starling-Ross house. 

     ▪Joseph Roach Update:  Jack stated that he had recently contacted Erich and there had been a hearing held on October 17, 2011, to set a date for trial on the Roach matter but Erich has not gotten back to Jack on the status of that hearing.  Roach’s defense is that he has done everything legally according to the ZHA Architectural Guidelines, which he has not, and that it is his property and he can do with it what he wants.  Jack did state that one of the sheds is very nicely dressed out and should be easy to sell to help re-coup some of the ZHA expense incurred on this matter. 

Communications:  Chairman Jack Zeman stated that a notice on the Unit III zoning change and the ISO insurance information would be mailed out to all property owners along with the proposed 2012 budget information. 

Fees & Budget:  Chairman Wayne Ross stated that he would be holding a committee meeting next weekend.  One item that will be addressed will be the cash funds available at year-end and the reserve policy.  Wayne asked all committee chairmen what they expect to be spent out of their 2011 budgets prior to year-end.  One item is the status of the Indian Hill system that is silted in and not working properly, which Jerry stated had been discussed at the recent ACFPD meeting.  This is the best source of water for fire fighting and Mosca/Hooper wants it to be operating.  Blaine Witherspoon stated that he thought it could be cleaned out like a septic system, which may solve the problem.  Wayne questioned what a long-term solution might be to solve this silting problem.  Joe Funk stated that one issue is that the ZHA needs to be able to open it up monthly to check for clogs and fix if necessary, but the Water Commissioner had required that a fire department lock be put on the system.  Jerry also feels that the inlet needs to be re-configured and money had been budgeted this year to complete this project.  Jack suggested getting approval from the Water Commissioner to open it regularly to keep the system working, and if this request is denied, then the ZHA will take alternative action to accomplish this.  Jack will write a letter to WDIII requesting this access.  Jack also stated that the water will be shut off November 1, 2011, and there may not be enough water to accomplish this clean out.  The maintenance on this system can be accomplished this fall, prior to approval from WDIII. 

Property owner John White entered the meeting at this time. 

     ▪Sale of Rockwood/HC Land Company Properties:  No Action. 

     ▪2012 Operating Budget:  Wayne stated that the major items on the subdivision for 2012 are the road grading/maintenance/improvements, fire mitigation and to start working on a reserve.  Discussion followed on how to tweak the budget to get it balanced before being sent to the membership.  Joe addressed the issue of using James Cooley’s rock crusher to make road base in trade for the three lots that the ZHA currently has for sale.  This would help decrease the road grading/maintenance/improvements budgets dramatically.  Joe feels fairly certain that James would do this trade.  John White questioned how this sale would be handled.  The deed to these properties to James would not be recorded until the necessary road base has been stockpiled.  A mining permit will be necessary to do this rock crushing.  Joe’s plan would be to build the road dividing the Unit III residential properties from commercial properties and to stockpile the road base along this road.  A contract will be drawn up with signatures from all parties.  John White stated that he feels all of this can be accomplished without a solid budget as long as the dues are not increased. 

     Wayne Ross moved to decrease the Fire Mitigation budget to $12,400.00 from $24,800.00 and the offset to $6,200.00 from $12,400.00 from fire mitigation grant reimbursement; Road Improvements from $22,000.00 to $10,000.00 which would balance the proposed 2012 budget without increasing dues.  Erin Smith seconded and the vote was unanimous. 

Jack also would  like to approve the 2012 Strategic Plan at the December board meeting along with the 2012 Budget.  He will email to all board members for their review and edits prior to approval at the December board meeting. 

Fire: 

     ▪Report from Alamosa County Fire Protection District (ACFPD) Board Meeting/Presentation of Zapata Firehouse Proposal:  Chairman Jerry Grandey handed out copies of the preliminary draft of the minutes from the October 12, 2011, ACFPD board meeting attended by Jerry Grandey, Jim Jones and John White. 

Board member John Clark entered the meeting at this point. 

Jerry stated that ACFPD had been presented the firehouse proposal two months ago to study.  Jack then attended the September ACFPD board meeting and got a generally negative response.  Jerry’s goal in attending the October meeting was to find out what ACFPD members actually were interested in, and what support the ACFPD would actually give.  Jerry stated that what was not represented in ACFPD board minutes was that this board said if Jerry had been there the previous month they would have laughed Jerry out of the room when presenting this proposal.  Jerry stated that he tried to remain positive throughout the meeting, but felt the ACFPD board had no respect for the conversation that Jerry tried to have with them.  Jerry pointed out that in the 2009 CWPP (Community Wildfire Protection Plan) which the ACFPD themselves published, it is stated that a firehouse, roughly in the size of a 2 bay 40 x 60 structure, needs to be built in the Zapata area, with cost totaling approximately $225,000.00.  ACFPD then took the ZHA’s latest proposal for funding the larger firehouse, and applied it to a smaller project, saying that 75% of this amount ($225,000.00) would have to be grant-funded and 25% would be split between the ZHA and ACFPD.  Jerry declined to leave the table until it was written into the minutes as to specifically what ACFPD would do; they stated that ACFPD might support the following:  1) before any construction funds would ever be committed, the ZHA needs to have two fully trained firefighters; 2) they would only consider a 1-bay heated building at a reasonable price; 3) ACFPD will support looking into a reasonable plan but this is not to be construed as any sort of commitment.  During the meeting it was stated that ACFPD collects about $15,000.00/year in taxes from the subdivision through their mill levy.  Jerry wanted to ask what the subdivision gets for that $15,000.00/year in tax support.  These figures do not include the tax support from ZHA neighbors.  The ACFPD feeling is that the ZHA is not worth spending any money on, better to spend their money where the population is located.  The first issue Jerry addressed is that the TNC is allowed to and may remove the temporary apparatus storage with a 30-day notice.  This ACFPD board made it clear it does not care about losing that facility; it would just relocate the apparatus elsewhere.  ACFPD will do nothing to plan for replacing the temporary station.  ACFPD also thinks the ZHA is foolish in being concerned about the ISO rating being dropped from 10 to 9.  Any funds expended by the ZHA to date on the firehouse proposal will not be reimbursed.  Jerry feels that the ZHA is on its own now in building a firehouse. 

Jerry also feels that the ACFPD was repeatedly misleading the ZHA during the past year of plan development, causing the ZHA to spend precious money developing the plan further.  As each of the preliminary stages was presented to ACFPD over the last year, there was no negative comment, and only encouragement to go to the next step. If the ZHA comes back to ACFPD having met all of their requirements, further consideration may be given on this project, but definitely not as presented.  John White stated that when he contacted his insurance agent, his insurance premiums would be decreased 5% to 10% (approximately $50.00-$100.00/year).  Jim Jones stated he had gotten the same response from his agent.  Jack stated that the ZHA’s hands are tied when trying to obtain federal grants as it is a private entity, and grant applications must be made by a governmental agency.  Jerry stated that John White brought up the fact that the TNC still owns one piece of property on Lane 6 and Highway 150, which is within five miles of the furthest lot in the subdivision, and any sort of structure could be built there, since ZHA Architectural Guidelines would not have to be met.  How soon would this happen…who knows.  Jerry would like to go public with the fact that if TNC should pull their building, there would be no assistance from ACFPD to find a replacement building.  Jim proposed having a ZHA delegation take a look at the firehouses recently built in the south end of the Valley and find out what avenues they took to get these buildings in place.  Jack feels that at some point residents on the subdivision will not be able to obtain insurance at any price.  John White’s thoughts were to let ACFPD build a firehouse on the southeast corner of the TNC land stated above, and using the tax base from the subdivision.  That way, the ZHA gets their insurance rates and ISO rating lowered and the ZHA then can walk away.  The ZHA needs to hold ACFPD’s feet to the fire to get this done.  Jerry would like to meet with Paul Robertson from TNC and start a plan to pursue another avenue for fire protection. 

Jerry’s thoughts on what the next steps would be on this issue by the ZHA:  Talk with TNC, specifically Paul Robertson; talk with Darius Allen, Chairman of the Alamosa County Board of County Commissioners; and the federal Representatives and Senators with a plan in place.  Members interested should also consider running for a position on the ACFPD board.  An election will be held next year. 

John Clark took this time to thank Jerry for his diligence on this project and felt Jerry had not deserved the reception that he was given by ACFPD. 

Governance: 

     ▪3^rd Reading – Policy 030.00 – Camping:  The third reading of the proposed new camping policy was reviewed. 

     Erin Smith moved to approve this policy as presented in the third reading.  Wayne Ross seconded and vote was unanimous. 

Physical Improvements and Maintenance:  Chairman Joe Funk stated that grading had been done over the last month and rolled up to the John White residence.  Patching was done on Cedar Ridge and a couple of ditches were pulled to help with water flow.  Front gate hinge is broken and needs to be repaired.  Joe will have all of the hinges repaired to prevent further breakage. 

Water:  Chairman Jim Jones stated that water is still flowing on the subdivision.  The early snow helped replenish water sources on the subdivision.  Upper Lake issues should be resolved in the near future; the proposed changes have not yet been officially approved but the ZHA will stay on this issue so that repair work can be completed in the spring and get the lake filled up.  The Augmentation Report has been completed for this year. 

Welcome:  Chairman John Clark handed out hard copies of the ZHA phone directory.  Members pointed out changes that need to be made, which will be done and available at members’ requests. 

Old Business 

     ▪McCarty Camping/Open Fire/Tree Cutting:  Nothing new on this issue so will be removed from the agenda until an update is needed. 

     ▪Robert Brownlow Proposal:  This having been discussed earlier in the meeting; it will now be up to Robert Brownlow to contact Cindy to be placed on the November agenda with a proposal. 

New Business 

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

ACTION ITEMS

20-Minute Open Forum:  Jack will not be at November board meeting.

Adjournment:  The next regular board meeting of the Zapata Homeowners Association will be held on Friday, November 18, 2011, at 5:30 PM at the Mosca Community Building. 
 

___________________________________

Joe Funk, Secretary