Valleyhi Community Club, Inc.
Minutes of May 17, 2012 Board of Trustees’ Regular Meeting
Location: Leavenworth PUD
Proper notification of meeting was given.
President, José Blazquez, called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M.
The minutes of the April meeting were read. One correction was made, which was that the video of the special members’ meeting cost $315.00 not $215.00. A motion to approve the minutes with the correction was then made, seconded, and passed.
The meeting was attended by:
Trustees: Danielle Hester, Susan Raley, Mike Weil, and Jim Wolf
President: José Blazquez
Vice President: Larry Hamilton
Treasurer: Robyn Hoffman Smith
Secretary: Peggi Lopez
Members: Herman Raley, Kevin and Melinda Steiner, Ted and Julie Grinolds, Colleen Clark,
Brad Williams, and Dave and Kimiko Nalle
Absent Board Members: Don Thomas
A quorum was present.
The plat maps with the water connection and occupancy information, the time line/documentation of DOH allowed connections, and the As Built plans requested by a member were on display. They will be on display again at the Annual Meeting of the Membership on June 10th and will also be available for viewing upon request.
The Public Notice was received via US Mail by the board, but the board has not yet had a chance to consider it.
The letter of determination from Mr. and Mrs. Richard Miller’s attorney was publicly read at this formal business meeting at their request. Their attorney found the 10’ strip to be private property belonging to the Millers. Some members present at the meeting disputed this finding.
Members’ Concerns
Colleen Clark requested clarification from the board about the email sent to Brad Williams on May 11, 2012, written by Susan Raley, on behalf of the board in response to Mr. Williams’ email dated May 10, 2012 regarding right of way issues and Mr. Williams’ claim that the board had not contacted Karen Peele, Current Planning Manager of Chelan County Community Development, a copy of which was sent to Karen Peele, Commissioner Goehner, and Sergeant Long (email and letter attached). Ms. Clark believes that, based on what she said at the March 31st Special Members’ Meeting, that Ms. Raley made some erroneous statements. Ms. Clark asserted that the only quote she made at that meeting pertaining to Karen Peele was that Ms. Peele was very adamant about the dedication on the map being forever and always. She was also curious about whether or not the emailed letter sent to Mr. Williams was representative of the entire board.
In answer to whether the letter attached to the email was representative of the entire board, the board said that the email was representative of how they believed things were quoted.
In answer to the charge of erroneous statements made by Ms. Raley in her email, Ms. Raley clarified that the quotes were not taken from the March 31st members’ meeting, but rather from Ms. Clark’s “My Notes as a Member…” document. Ms. Clark asked to know the quotes that Ms. Raley referenced. Ms. Raley read from Ms. Clark’s document.
One of the quotes turned out to be a misunderstanding. Ms. Raley’s letter to Mr. Williams referenced “wetland donation,” not “wetlands” in general. Ms. Clark said she, “stands corrected.” Another quote attributed to Ms. Peele by Ms. Clark was that it would be a “big liability” to receive a wetland lot for donation. Ms. Raley read the quote, as she had read it to Ms. Peele, and Ms. Peele said that she did not say that. Lastly, Ms. Raley read the quote about “easements are forever and could never be legally sold”, which Ms. Raley had also read to Ms. Peele. Ms. Peele said she could not give legal advice and that she did not. Ms. Raley said she was only repeating what Ms. Peele told her. A board member added that Ms. Peele had not responded to the emailed letter to say that she was misrepresented or that the letter was inaccurate.
Brad Williams brought up his concern about one easement. He said that he voiced his concern about the easement between the Millers and Conrad at the September 2010 meeting, and that he has a recording of it if the board would like to hear it. The board would like to hear it. After a very lengthy discussion, the board and those members present seemed to be in agreement about contacting a land use attorney and including some community members in that meeting.
Colleen Clark was also concerned that the Prosecutor may have received from the board a letter forwarding the Miller’s attorney’s determination to the Prosecutor. She wanted to know if that was true. The board said it is not true.
Kevin Steiner wanted to know if members can form a committee in light of the RCWs that appear to say that the Board cannot form committees. The board said they do not have a legal interpretation of it yet.
Kimiko Nalle had a concern about a letter dated April 30th that Kevin Cox, the Blewett Pass Fire Chief, received from the board. One part of the letter mentioned strife between the firefighters and board members. She said she was unaware of any current strife between the board and Chelan County Fire District 6. She went on to explain how the firefighters have worked very hard to assist the community in any way they can and to rebuild bridges. She asked that if the board had any concerns to please let her or the Fire Chief know about them, and they would be glad to address them. Her biggest concern, though, was that this business letter was sent to the Fire Chief at his personal residence. She asked that in the future, the board send all business letters to an address that she would provide to the board via email. The board agreed and expressed a desire to rebuild bridges as well.
Treasurer’s Report
The Summary of Checking and Cash/Asset Accounts for May 2012 shows a checking account balance brought forward of $10,362.07. After accounting for all deposits and checks, the balance as of May 14, 2012 is $13,071.64. The Water Project Checking Account balance is $1,128.07. The savings account balance is $38,722.87. The two CD balances are $53,331.26 and $9,813.87. The total of these balances leaves our total cash for all accounts at $116,067.71. After adding the accounts receivable of $71,333.56, our total assets as of May 14, 2012 are $187,401.27.
The Community Dues income for April was $250.00; expenses were $80.00.
The Water System Operating income for April was $82.32; expenses were $1,839.95.
The Fiscal YTD Water System Operating income as of April 30, 2012 was $78,939.83; expenses were $78,986.47.
The Aging Summary balance is $71,333.56.
Ms. Hoffman Smith’s research on the cost and practicality of owning a Honey Bucket instead of renting one each year showed that it is less expensive to rent. Also, by renting, we do not bear the responsibility of cleaning, pumping, and maintaining the Honey Bucket. There seems to be no benefit in owning one. She also reported that many members are answering the call for donations to our Community Dues Fund with generous donations.
A motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report was made, seconded, and passed.
Water Report: Nothing to report at this time.
Cleanup Report:
The annual cleanup day was a great success. A crew of over 25 people volunteered and much was accomplished. One very good thing about the cleanup day was that it fostered community. Members were out working together, sharing a meal, getting to know one another, and having a good time. It was a good day. The board thanked everyone who volunteered.
The Community Project List is on hold until the end of the month when the donations will have been received, and we know what we have to work with. In relation to this, Ms. Hoffman Smith said that once the sprinkler system for the vines around the pump house fence is put in, she will buy all the vines and plant them. Mr. Wolf volunteered to put in the sprinkler system, and Ms. Raley, Ms. Hester, and Ms. Grinolds volunteered to help plant.
Unfinished Business
Land Use Attorney: This was discussed earlier in the meeting when Mr. Williams brought up the easement issue, so a motion to hire a land use attorney to look into all easements and right-of-ways in Valleyhi, after receiving two estimates, and to include two members in the meetings with the attorney was made, seconded, and approved.
Castle Playground Equipment: Ms. Grinolds showed the board examples of the equipment she would like to see in our park. The vendor is Starcraft. The board said that whatever we get will need to be for commercial use because of insurance issues. Mr. Grinolds will get a brochure and a price quote for a specific one and give it to Ms. Hester to bring to the July meeting.
Prescribed Burn: Ms. Nalle has some pictures on discs of the prescribed burn that she will provide to the board for them to put on the website, or they could be posted at the June meeting. She gave the board a copy of the Valleyhi Controlled Burn Plan for Valleyhi’s permanent record. If we do another prescribed burn again in a year or two, we will have this record for Ms. Nalle to update, or after careful review, the board may want to make changes. This year’s burn was a controlled burn adjacent to the wetlands. Blewett Pass Station 64, Peshastin, and Dryden Fire Departments were all on scene. It was a training fire assignment for some who had just been red carded, which means they are qualified to fight wild land fires. It was done with volunteers, and CCFD6 paid for all of the fuel to ignite the burn, so it was free of charge to the community. They patrolled the burn twice a day for the next four consecutive days, checking for any heat or smoke, until they got measurable rain on the fifth day after the burn, at which time they called the fire out. The board offered to post on the website information that the Fire Department wanted to get out to the public such as the June 1st Burn Ban.
Bikes for Humanity: Mr. Ruether will provide the board with a flyer about this program, and in the meantime, we will put a blurb on the website to say that if anyone has any bikes to donate to put them in Mr. Ruether’s driveway at 3565 Hansel Lane.
New Business
Mower: The tractor and the little mower need maintenance before June. The oil and hydraulic fluid have already been purchased. Mr. Weil needs to buy the oil filters and service the tractor. The blades on the tractor need to be replaced, too.
A motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and approved. The meeting adjourned at 7:58 P.M.
The following motion was made via email:
May 10, 2012: A motion to send the public notice to Kiesz for review was made, seconded, and approved.