SLPPOA Newsletter April 2004
The intent of this newsletter is to report the official minutes of the Board meetings and other unrelated events or notices which may be of interest to our Association members.
Board meetings are normally held the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7:15 PM at the SLP fire station. All property owners are welcome.
April 28, 2004
The meeting was called to order at 7:17.
Board members in attendance: Brian Reardon, Ann Cooke, Wendy Bisset, Orlando Archuleta, Karen Taylor, Donna Smith, Nate McDowell, and Kirk Thompson.
Minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.
John Fredlund was introduced as possible ninth board member to fill in term of recently resigned member. He was voted onto the Board. On a second vote, he was approved to fill the vacant Secretary position. His term will last until August, when it must be voted on at the general meeting.
John Bootzin was present to discuss modifications he plans for the Gentry lot he purchased on Lauer Lane and to ask for a variance to allow the house to remain within the setback. Brian will draft a response. Later discussion indicated the prevailing sentiment of the Board is to approve the modifications, allow the current dwelling to remain in place for the foreseeable future, but not to grant a variance, as there is no way the Board could do this and still protect the interests of SLPPOA.
Katie Watson presented her proposal for the Board to approve and support the construction of a playground near the fire house. Existing playground equipment in SLP is aging. She is currently seeing an increase in the number of small children and believes that a playground could increase property values while serving an important component of the community. Fund-raising was discussed, as the entire cost of a playground would be beyond the budget. Different installation options were discussed with neighborhood volunteer labor being preferred. Plastic was preferred over wood as material of construction due to decreased maintenance requirements. Katie felt that the new playground in Jemez Springs was a good example of what SLP might build. Her proposal was viewed favorably so she was asked to prepare further plans for this project.
Bob Bootzin was present to discuss water rights and lot assessments. He presented three issues:
1. Bob has been asked to join 6 unsold units to the association and pay for previous special assessments and for recent assessments. He does not see this as fair, as lots were not subject to yearly assessments until sold. Since money from yearly assessments is now being used to fund upgrades to the water system, these lots are receiving benefits not covered by special assessments.
2. Bob has been advised that SLPPOA will no longer be able to provide water to lots in Unit 9. To solve the problem this creates for him, he is asking that SLPPOA deed back well #??? along with its 1/4 acre easement, power line, etc. Bob originally sold this well to SLPPOA with 15 acre-feet of water rights. SLPPOA would keep the 15 acre-feet of water rights and Bob would be responsible for providing water to Unit 9.
3. When the above well was sold to SLPPOA, the state required Bob to retire 5 acrefeet of water rights. He only retired 3.5 acre-feet. He proposes that SLPPOA split the cost of retiring the remaining 1.5 acre-feet of rights with him. Donna was tasked to draft a response that will be reviewed and discussed at a special meeting during the week of May 2.
Treasurer's Report: Taxes are done. There is a $28 dollar difference between what our accounts show and what we have, which is pretty good and will likely be reconciled shortly. Eight lots have not remitted full 2004 dues. New invoices with accumulated late fees will be sent after May 1. SLPPOA currently has an account balance of $51,772.14. $7,237.81 was spent last month.
Water Report: The system 1 leak mysteriously disappeared.
Roads: SLPPOA is square with snow-plower. There is some disappointment that we are paying to have the plow on call, yet response time this winter was over a day. Summer maintenance is needed, with some areas where utility warning tape is showing needing immediate attention. Jersey barriers have been purchased to protect the water booster station that came very close to being knocked out last year by an out-of-control vehicle.
Architectural: Basset greenhouse was approved. Log Cabin for Unit 8, lot 2 was approved. Donna is getting bid from State Farm for insurance because our rates went up so much this year. Most of the insurance cost covers liability for water.
No volunteers are needed for chipper day because the Forest Service does not let anyone get close to the machine. The possibility of a donation to FireWise was discussed. Ann started to refuse herself, but couldn’t. Strategies were developed to get startup monies to get necessary insurance and get program going here at SLP. Bob Bootzin’s proposals were discussed further. Kirk showed us a letter that clearly showed it was Bootzin’s responsibility to retire the water rights, with no indication that the responsibility in any way transferred with the well. The possibility of returning the well to Bob was discussed favorably, allowing him to take responsibility for supplying water to Unit 9. The decision on how to handle other 6 units that are not paying assessments that are being used for water system improvements will be handled at a special meeting.