Board Members Present: Stu Asay, President Patti Gilmour, Director Carol Menard, Interim Secretary/Treasurer Board Members Absent: None Ranch HOA Filing #1 Annual Meeting Minutes Meeting held July 24, 2017 @ 7 P.M. @ The Ranch Country Club Homeowners in attendance: 25 homeowners, 29 attendees Proof of Meeting notice: Website announcement/email/us Postal Service/Signage Meeting Agenda was displayed on screen as PowerPoint presentation Formal Agenda to follow these minutes Stu Asay opened the meeting by requesting all attendees to initial their address on the sign-in sheet located at the rear door of meeting room. Stu acknowledged the attendees and asked each to introduce themselves with their name, where they live and how long they have been in the filing. Stu asked attendees by show of hands how they learned of the date/time/location of this year s annual meeting. A large majority learned of the meeting via email and the website. A poll was taken on how residents would like to be notified about an upcoming meeting and overwhelmingly stated all of the above, website announcement/email/us Postal Service/Signage. Stu turned the meeting over to Patti Gilmour for an explanation of the rules for the meeting. Patti read language from the bylaws stating that all lot owners shall be able to listen and speak at the appropriate time during open meetings. Therefore, business must be conducted without attendees speaking out of turn. To accomplish order, attendees are to be recognized by one of the Directors before speaking. When multiple people are requesting to speak, numbered cards would be distributed indicating the order in which they would be recognized. If an attendee speaks out of order, the first time they would receive a warning. If the same person were out of order a second time, the President would call a recess until order could be restored. If at any time, order cannot restored, the President may adjourn the meeting. President Asay introduced the minutes to the 2016 Annual Meeting for review and acceptance. A motion to accept as written without reading the minutes was made by Karrie Clarke, second by Mike Menard. A unanimous vote was accepted. President Asay reviewed the agenda. Report of the Board President President Asay summarized the status of the apartment complex at the corner of 116 th Ave. and Pecos Street. He gave a history of the project and the HOA involvement for attendees who were unfamiliar with the situation. Karrie Clarke mentioned that the clubhouse building, which is currently being constructed, looks into her backyard. Karrie asked if there is a way to request to have the view restricted with trees or a taller fence. Stu explained he and Mike Menard, ACC member, spoke with the new developers (Holland Partner Group) when they took over the project last winter. They were told the developer wants the
mountain views and they took over the project, as the city approved, and would be building it to those specifications. Stu stated the problem is if you plant leafy trees they will lose their leaves six months of the year, really not solving the barrier issue. If evergreens were planted it would take much longer for them to grow to a height desirable for a barrier. Adding trees to the site plan of the apartment development is not an option at this point in the project, since the city approved the plan as it is and the developer cannot change it without additional city review and approval. A question was asked on whether trees can be planted on the Ranch property along Pecos Street. Another question was whether trees can be donated and planted on Ranch property. Stu Asay said the board would explore this idea. Marilyn Durkee commented, as a real estate agent, she knows of a homeowner moving because of the apartment complex project. Erik Garrido questioned if the filing votes on something like trees. Matt Baldwin asked if Pecos Street could be entirely lined with trees on the Ranch side. Stu stated this could be a new business item and we could discuss later in the meeting. Gary Hanson stated the apartment complex project appears much different than he recalls from the plan presented at the City Council meetings. President Asay updated the HOA members on the City of Westminster s proposed trash hauling program that came to the board s attention earlier in 2017. The city was exploring options to enter into an agreement with one or two city-wide trash and recycling collection services to reduce solid waste and encourage recycling. After several City Council meetings with a lot of community resistance, the city decided to discontinue its efforts at this time. Stu explained the issue is not dead and can be resurrected if and when the city wants to bring it back up for consideration. The city s original proposal was to allow HOA s who had entered into a contract with a hauler to be exempt from the city-wide trash hauling program. This opens up the question of whether our filing would like to do one of two things; enter into a contract with one trash hauler of our choosing, protecting it in the event the city brings up the trash hauling issue again or, entering into discussions with the other Ranch HOA filings about the possibility of joining into an agreement for several filings with one hauler. It was brought up by one resident that the city of Longmont enacted something similar to the Westminster trash hauling proposal and the company they chose decided they didn t want to recycle anymore. The resident stated Longmont is now paying more because of the recycling issue. President Asay updated attendees on the multi-filing (filings 1, 2, 4 and 6) meeting held May 25, 2017 at the Ranch Country Club to discuss the possibility of the Ranch becoming a gated community. This meeting was held as a result of many residents complaining about speed control, cut-through traffic and crime. Westminster s Community Development Director, Dave Downing, and two officials from the Westminster Police Department, including Deputy Chief Todd Reeves, attended the meeting. Mr. Downing stated in order for the Ranch to become a gated community it would need to go to the City Council for a Right-of- Way change. He said the city is generally opposed to gated communities and would not be inclined to approve such a request. Mr. Downing and Mr. Reeves offered alternative solutions to some of the issues raised at the meeting, including a rent-an-off-duty-cop. As a result of this meeting, the Westminster Police Department has stepped up patrols in our neighborhood. It was relayed to President Asay the vehicles that have been stopped are primarily Ranch residents. Dave Paul stated traffic will only increase when the apartment building is complete. Rob Bacher asked how much and what type of crime are we talking about. Carol Menard said it is mostly petty crime, and in a different filing in the Ranch near 120 th and Zuni. The officer offered to meet with these residents privately to discuss solutions for their specific issues, as he would with our filing as well, if requested. President Asay brought up the recent board turnover. Stu thanked Carol Menard for managing the books during this transition time. Stu informed attendees the board had spoken with our landscaping contractor
Vu Dung. Vu stated residents have ask him to take care of issues. He said he takes care of the problems as they come to him. The board expressed to Vu he must always take direction from the board or ACC. Stu asked the residents to bring any issues they feel need addressed to the board or ACC. Report of the Secretary/Treasurer Carol Menard presented the treasurer s report. Carol walked through the 2016 Actual Budget, which was put on the Ranch Filing #1 website prior to the annual meeting. As she was going through the report she told the attendees she knew there would be questions regarding the Landscaping and Repair costs for 2016 and would address those questions at the end. Carol also displayed a pie chart that shows nearly 90% of money spent last year was for Landscaping and Repairs. Finally, Carol reviewed the 2016 Budget vs. Actual report. Carol stated the board only received the books from the previous Secretary/Treasurer in the last several days. Carol has been going through the books, and knows what some of the extraordinary costs are but needs more time before identifying all expenses. Rob Bacher asked if Carol knew what the Landscaping and Repair expenses were for the prior year. Carol stated Landscaping and Repairs were $7,442 in 2015 and approximately $10,000 in 2013. She couldn t find the 2014 expense report, which is probably in the box recently recovered from prior Secretary/ Treasurer. Mr. Smith asked why the HOA paid for the repair and replacement of the golf cart paths. Carol reminded the attendees last year at the HOA Annual Meeting it was discovered while the golf cart paths within its boundaries belong to the city, the Filing #1 was responsible for maintenance and repair. Two of these paths were in disrepair. The ACC and board requested permission to repair the paths and the motion was approved. The repair was estimated between $15,000-$25,000. The actual cost was just under $20,000. It was asked if this was a one-time extraordinary expense and President Asay said this was the first time the HOA has had to repair the paths, so it is a once-in-39 year expense. Peter Williams stated grass and brick are missing on the new paths and should be investigated. Carol Menard reviewed the 2016 and 2017 Income/Expense report to date. A question was asked what documents would be provided on the website. Patti Gilmour read from the Bylaws what is required (Those documents include 1) Date on which the fiscal year commences 2) Association operating budget for the current year 3) List of the association s current assessments, including both regular and special assessments 4) Annual financial statements, including any amounts held in reserve for the fiscal year 5) Results of most recent financial audit or review, if any as far as financials). Attendees would like to see more information on the website, like materials that were presented at the meeting. Carol Menard stated it will be up to the new Treasurer what will be placed on the website. She said she produced a variety of spreadsheets because the Treasurer s Report has been lacking in previous years and wanted to provide as much information as possible. Patti Gilmour stated the HOA is using Quicken and is limited to the type of reports we can get out of that system. ACC Report Mike Menard presented the ACC Report. Mike informed the attendees of his intention to resign at the end of this year, once new committee is selected. Several residents asked Mike to stay on. Mike discussed the ongoing problems with sheds and outbuildings in the filing. He explained every year the topic of sheds comes up. Last year four residents agreed to be on a committee to review the covenants. Shortly after the meeting three of the residents stated they didn t want to participate. The
ACC was left to deal with the shed issue the way it had in the past. Mike Menard wrote ACC letters to nine homeowners regarding the sheds but was unable to get the other ACC members (Don Hafer and Larry MacKenzie) to agree to send them. The letters were never delivered. Mike informed attendees the board and ACC will attempt to create a new committee to review the covenants this year, which will be discussed under new business later in the meeting. Mike asked if anyone was interested in joining the ACC, and described what the job entails. Mike Menard brought up the house at 11580 Quivas Way, which was recently sold. The exterior of this home is in disrepair. The new homeowner has an extensive interior/exterior renovation planned and has been in contact with the HOA for several weeks. The homeowner states once the work is done the home will look great. Questions were asked as to whether it is a flip or a rental. Beth McConnell stated she heard it was a flip. Board Nominees: Up to five new board positions to be filled. Stu Asay (nominated by Carol Menard) Matt Baldwin (nominated by Erik Garrido) Patti Gilmour (nominated by Carol Menard) Mike Lynch (nominated by Marilyn Durkee) Carol Menard (nominated by Patti Gilmour) Dave Paul made a motion to close, Mike Menard second the motion. A unanimous vote for all five nominees was accepted. As the bylaws require a secret ballot for election of Board members, attendees were asked to express any dissent to the hand vote. Hearing none, the election results were considered final. ACC Committee: Up to five members of the ACC to be filled. Karrie Clarke Erik Garrido Beth McConnell Mike Menard Rob Bacher stated a request for additional ACC members should be added to the minutes (noted here). Covenant Review Committee President Asay brought a motion to create a Covenant Review Committee. This committee will review the covenants adopted in 2008. They will identify if any covenants should be added/changed/removed. After this review process, a ballot will be issued to each residence. If the Covenants are modified in any way, after a 67% approval, the changes will be registered with Adams County Clerk and Recorder. Carol Menard stated there are several people the board has identified that would be vital in this review.
The following persons were selected for this committee: Don Shantz (former president of HOA/presided over last covenant review in 2008) Marilyn Durkee (real estate agent) Mike Menard (long-time ACC member) Peter Williams Nancy Paul Carol Menard presented the 2017 Projected Budget. Dave Paul motioned to accept the budget. Karrie Clarke second the motion. A unanimous vote was accepted. Rob Bacher thanked the board and ACC for the decorum of the meeting. He stated the last meeting was so contentious he felt that is why there were fewer people this year. A question was asked about how information is pushed out to homeowners. Carol Menard answered the website is updated as information becomes available. If a newsletter, minutes or any other important information is uploaded to the website Carol pushes it out by email or regular mail. A question came up about whether golf carts are legal to drive on residential streets. Attendees noted children are driving golf carts. The question of what the law is for driving an electric vehicle was brought up. Matt Baldwin looked it up and the age limit for driving an electric vehicle in the state of Colorado is 16 years old. The board stated they will get an answer as to whether it is legal to drive golf carts on residential streets in Westminster. Marilyn Durkee stated if the Ranch bans golf carts on the streets residents will leave. In regard to Marilyn s comment, the board felt it would be helpful to confirm with the city since it is their authority to enforce/regulate the law in this regard and HOAs do not have the authority as to use of golf carts on streets. The board contacted Westminster Police Department after the meeting and received the following statement: Golf carts are not allowed on city streets under any circumstance. 1) There is no registration and 2) They are not insured. The police department generally does not enforce the law unless there are complaints, then the violator would likely get a warning the first time. Any questions concerning this law should be directed to the City of Westminster Police Department. President Asay returned to the discussion about the proposed city-wide trash hauler contract. Dave Paul explained the history of this issue. During the process, the city announced HOAs who had a contract with a trash hauler would be exempt from the new city-wide hauler program and would be brought in once that contract expired. Peter Williams asked if residents would get a better deal with the city proposal and several residents said based on the proposals the city got during the bidding process residents likely would be paying more, based on volume of trash and the fact that residents who do not recycle would be forced to pay for it. Patti Gilmour reminded attendees the Ranch community produces a lot of waste from trees and grass and with the limited trash allowance it would increase fees. Rob Bacher stated he didn t want the city to choose his hauler, he wants to make that decision on his own. The board will look into possibility of contracting one trash hauler for our filing and would bring information back to the residents. President Asay returned to the discussion on the gated community concept. He stated the city is very opposed to gated communities and since the Ranch would have to go the City Council to get a Right-of- Way change, it is not likely to move forward on the idea. Patti Gilmour reminded the attendees two of the entrances into the Ranch subdivision have homes facing the street, making it impossible to add a gate
in these areas. Ken Harris noted that it is an election year and suggested the filing make the decision to install one gate without the city s involvement and see what happens. Stu Asay and several attendees discouraged this idea. Karrie Clarke stated she has lived in areas where there are gated communities and they restrict access for emergency and maintenance vehicles. She suggested the Ranch explore a Neighborhood Watch Program. Erik Garrido asked about speed bumps. Stu Asay stated speed bumps cause problems with snow plows and are not a good option. At the meeting in May with the other HOAs, the Westminster Police Department said speed bumps slow down emergency vehicles approximately 22 seconds. Matt Baldwin asked what the other filings think about the idea of a gate. Rob Bacher made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Stu Asay second the motion. A unanimous vote was accepted. Meeting Adjourned. 2017 Ranch Filing #1 Annual Meeting Agenda Roll Call Proof of Notice of Meeting Reading of the Minutes of previous meeting Reports of Officers President Treasurer Reports of Committees ACC Election of Officers Selection or vote of Members to ACC Ratification of Annual Budget Old Business Construction of golf cart paths Construction of website New Business City of Westminster Trash collection Discussion on Ranch subdivision becoming gated community/traffic control/crime Adjournment