Board of Directors Meeting

ZAPATA HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

Board of Directors Meeting

November 18, 2011 

Call to Order:  The Board of Directors for the Zapata Homeowners Association held its regular meeting Friday, November 18, 2011, at the Mosca Community Building at 5:30 PM. 

Board Members Present:  Jerry Grandey, Joe Funk, Wayne Ross, Erin Smith, and Jim Jones.  Board member John Clark was late to arrive and his entrance will be noted later in the minutes.  Board Chairman Jack Zeman was absent but prior to the meeting gave his proxy to Joe Funk for voting purposes at this meeting.  Co-Chair Jerry Grandey presided over the meeting.  Administrator Cindy Chapman was also present.  There were no property owners present. 

Approval of Agenda:  The following items were added to the agenda for discussion at this meeting:  New Business:  New Occupant on Subdivision and Executive Session:  Joseph Roach Lawsuit after Open Forum.  The agenda was approved as amended. 

Approval of Minutes from October 21, 2011:  Wayne Ross moved to approve the October 21, 2011, board minutes as presented.  Erin Smith seconded and the vote was unanimous. 

Approval of Bills to be Paid:  Erin questioned the fact that only a small amount has been spent in the Newsletter budget category.  Check #2233 being paid this month is for the recent 2012 Budget, ISO Rating Change and Unit III Re-zone.  There has not been a Newsletter sent out this year.  Jerry Grandey questioned check #2221 to Alamosa County Fire Protection District for copy charges.  Wayne Ross contacted Fran Strnad and Mr. Strnad stated that there were no electronic copies of these items available, so they had to be copied.  Wayne requested that this check be released for payment. 

     Jim Jones moved to approve the bills as presented.  Wayne Ross seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 

Wayne asked if the cleanout of the hydrant on Indian Hill had been completed.  Joe Funk stated that he would like to install a trash-catcher to help with sediment build up.  Joe feels that if the system is shut down in the spring when the debris is washing down the mountain and then opened back up this would allow clean water to fill tank.  Joe used a Rota rooter and ran water through the hydrant and he feels he had achieved a really good clean out.  It was decided to leave $2000.00 in the 2011 budget to finish up all of the maintenance work by year end. 

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

1. Emailed 2012 budget information along with Unit III re-zoning and ISO change information to O & V Printing for copying and mailing out to ZHA membership.
2. Emailed 2011 Water Augmentation Report to Water Division III. 
3. Emailed and called and left message for Robert Brownlow concerning the property held on Dos Hombres and Mountain Valley Ranches to try to see if he would like to be put on the November agenda.  Nothing heard prior to board meeting.
4. Emailed contact information for Fran Strnad and Chere Plane to Wayne Ross to follow-up on bill sent for copying charges.  Wayne contacted Fran and none of the documents were available electronically, so Wayne released check to be paid.
5. Water Use Data Submittal Form received from Water Division III scanned in and emailed to Jack Zeman who completed necessary information for Permit 59075-F and emailed back to WDIII.
6. Composed letter to be signed by Jack Zeman concerning change of address for ASB bank statements to begin being sent to Wayne Ross, ZHA Treasurer.
7. October end-of-month financials emailed to Wayne Ross for his review after completing monthly reconciliations.
8. Month-end reconciliation with Carlton Collections on A/R balances.
9. Call to Alamosa County Assessor to see if transfer of deed had been made to Andy and Roberta Tesar for purchase of Scrima property.
10. 27 reminder statements mailed to all accounts that went delinquent in 2011 informing them that if payment is not received by 12/31/2011, their account will be turned over to the ZHA collection agency.

Cindy highlighted that the 2011 Water Augmentation Report as well as the Water Use Data Submittal Form had been delivered to Water Division III.  Cindy also stated that she had both called and emailed Robert Brownlow concerning his request to attend this meeting to present the Board with a new proposal of cleaning up delinquent dues owed by Dos Hombres and Mountain Valley Ranches, with no reply being received prior to this meeting.  Concerning the new occupant of the Tom Scrima residence, Cindy called the Alamosa County Assessor and the property is still under Tom Scrima’s name.  27 statements were mailed out to property owners who became delinquent on their dues in 2011, reminding them to pay their accounts in full by 12/31/2011, or their accounts will be turned over the collections. 

Committee Reports: 

Architecture:  Chairman Jack Zeman was absent but Cindy stated that this committee had approved the Seaton/DeVore shed application over the last month. 

Communication:  Chairman Jack Zeman was absent and there was no report. 

Fees & Budget:  Chairman Wayne Ross reported that his committee held a meeting after the last board meeting.  His committee is asking for more detailed support documentation on budget line items.  They are also asking for a list of the items that are included in the different budget categories (i.e., road grading, rolling, and road base) to better monitor where the money is going when bills are paid.  Wayne’s committee also discussed the concept of the idea for using James Cooley’s crusher to make road base to stock-pile on the subdivision in exchange for the three lots that the ZHA has for sale.  The concern is to make certain that a strong contract is put into place to get the value out of the road base in exchange for the lots.  The committee also feels that a decision needs to be made as to whether to include in the 2012 budget the repairs on the Upper Lake or to do a special assessment. The recent proposal submitted by Crabtree came in substantially less than expected for the necessary repairs.  It was also agreed that a cash reserve needs to be put into place so that money is available when items on the subdivision need to be replaced. 

Board member John Clark entered the meeting at this point. 

Wayne also stated that his committee would like each committee chairman to become more responsible for their budgets and a routine sign off of expenditures and where they should be budgeted.  This will put in place accountability for where the money is being expended and will show where the money has been spent.  Also discussed was what to do with the money left in the fire house account – put back into the general fund or keep in the existing account. 

     ▪Sale of ZHA Lots:  The concept of exchanging the use of James Cooley’s crusher to stock pile road base on the subdivision for use on road maintenance for the three lots the ZHA currently has for sale was discussed.  Joe stated that he had called Cooley and left a message but James had not responded as of today.  Joe will check on the current price of road base and how to best measure it once crushed.  Joe also felt that now is the time to draw up a contract for all parties to look at and state the negotiations.  There is a plentiful supply of rocks on the subdivision but hauling the rock to the crusher would add expense so some thought needs to be put into how to proceed with getting the rocks to the crusher.  Once a contract has been drawn up that is agreeable to the ZHA and Cooley, the Fees and Budget Committee as well as Erich will review before signing. 

     ▪2012 Operating Budget/Membership Comments/Approval: Fees & Budget will tweak the budget submitted and a final budget will be prepared for board approval at their December board meeting. 

Fire:  Chairman Jerry Grandey stated that he had just about cooled down but not so much that he was ready to speak to anyone else over the last month concerning the fire house.  Jim Jones passed around a newspaper article concerning the South Fork area being treated much the same by their Fire Protection District as the ZHA.  The South Fork part of this fire protection district covers some of Del Norte and everything in between and around South Fork.  It was found that 65% of dwellings fall into the South Fork area and 200 signatures have been obtained at the time of the article to establish their own fire protection district and break off from Del Norte.  The thought expressed at the meeting is that the ZHA has enough by pooling with its neighbors to form a separate fire protection district to build a fire house meeting the needs of all of the residents.  Wayne stated that this would bring up a whole new set of requirements to meet and could be very costly.  Jerry stated that perhaps a separate district or something just short of that may be the answer for the ZHA and its neighbors.  Jerry felt a cooperative effort with Mosca/Hooper would be required to build a building.  Jerry’s sense is that Chief Witherspoon is happy with what Mosca/Hooper gets from Alamosa County Fire Protection District (ACFPD) and does not want to rock that boat.  More thought needs to be done on the idea brought up at the October meeting about building the fire house on land owned by TNC, where there would be no ZHA building requirements.  TNC has not been approached on this to date.  Jerry also stated that he does not think any training has been done to use the apparatus housed in Station #3.  ACFPD feels the ZHA will never be lower than an ISO rating of a 9, but Jerry does not agree.  Jerry has not followed through with meeting with Paul Robertson of TNC to see what his response would be.  Jerry feels that if this approach takes as long as the temporary station took, the ZHA cannot wait. 

Jim suggested the fire house committee and other interested property owners examine this situation from all angles and decide what avenue is the best to pursue and bring back to the board with an action plan. 

Joe stated that there had been a fire in the trash dumpster.  He notified Mosca/Hooper to extinguish it. 

Governance:  Chairman Erin Smith had no report. 

Physical Improvements and Maintenance: Chairman Joe Funk stated he had done a little rolling and grading on Alamosa and Cedar Ridge to repair water damage.  There is a tree on Arrastre that is blocking the road and needs to come out.  This tree would be good fire wood but he has not found anyone who wants to come up to get it.  It was suggested contacting Ausberger’s about this tree to see if they would like to remove it for the fire wood.  Cindy will send them an email about this offer and see what their response might be. 

Water:  Chairman Jim Jones stated that a proposal had been drawn up by Crabtree for the Upper Lake dam repair and had come in much less than expected.  There seems to be water going into the Lower Lake at this time and not into the Ryan ditch as outlined under the Ryan Stipulation.  Discussion was held on how to best approach the heirs of Jodine Ryan to discuss the turning over of the control of this water under the Ryan Stipulation to the ZHA.  The feeling is that Jodine’s heirs do not have an understanding of how important this Stipulation is to the water management on the subdivision.  Discussion followed on how best to approach the Ryan heirs to discuss this matter.  It was decided to have Jim and Jack draft a letter to the Ryan heirs by the December 16, 2011 board meeting. 

Welcome:  Chairman John White stated that he had recently contacted Tom Scrima concerning the sale of their residence on the subdivision to Andrew and Roberta Tesar.  Tom informed John that the house had been sold but is still in escrow.  A coyote killed the Scrima’s dog and at that point, Carrie was ready to move off of the subdivision.  There have already been problems with the new owners which will be discussed under New Business.

Old Business 

     ▪Robert Brownlow Proposal:  No proposal was presented.  Discussion was held on proceeding with foreclosure on all Dos Hombres and Mountain Valley Ranches lots as there is a large amount due the ZHA in delinquent dues. 

     Erin Smith moved to notify Mr. Brownlow through the ZHA attorney, Erich Schwiesow that the ZHA will pursue foreclosure proceedings on all properties currently held under Dos Hombres and Mountain Valley Ranches and to have Erich advise Mr. Brownlow of what foreclosure entails.  All delinquent dues must be paid in full by December 31, 2011 or foreclosure proceedings will begin.  Wayne Ross seconded and the motion carried unanimously.  Erin will contact Erich on this situation. 

New Business 

Editorial Note: The following paragraph's contents are under reveiw in part or in whole by the Board and the ZHA attorney for authenticity, accuracy and appropriateness for publication.

     ▪New ZHA Occupants:  Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg bb.Xxxxxx xxxxxx gg Discussion then followed on when handing out permits to individuals, to direct each individual to a specific area to cut to try and track cutting activity.  Cindy will contact XXXXXX by email to direct them to the ZHA website and all of the governing documents of the subdivision. 

ACTION ITEMS

20-Minute Open Forum: 

Jim Jones:  A large cottonwood tree blew down on his property and destroyed two picnic tables…one of his and one of the ZHA’s. 

Executive Session:  The board then went into an Executive Session to discuss the upcoming Joseph Roach trial. 

Adjournment:  The next regular board meeting of the Zapata Homeowners Association will be held on Friday, December 16, 2011, at 5:30 PM at the Mosca Community Building. 
 
 

_______________________________

Joe Funk, Secretary