EL RANCHO FLORIDA HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
Annual Meeting – February 10, 2015
The Annual meeting of the El Rancho Florida HOA, Inc. was held on February 10, 2015 at 6:00 PM at the Oxford Grange, 8016 Hwy. 172, Durango. Present for the meeting were:
Jack Wasserbach – President
Rex Emenegger – Vice President
Kate Pickford – Secretary
Pete Dietrich -Treasurer
Teri Roberts – Director
Prior to the meeting a potluck was held at 5:30 for all those in attendance. The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM. Jack Wasserbach reported that the meeting notice was e-mailed, mailed and published in the Durango Herald.
Marsha stated that there were 31 Proxies, 22 lots present for a total of 53 lots which met the quorum requirement of 20 lots.
MINUTES:
A motion was made, and passed to approve the minutes of last year’s Annual meeting on February 11, 2014 as written.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT:
Jack Wasserbach reported that there had been a total of 10 BOD meetings thru out the course of the year. The new covenants were adopted by the membership on December 5, 2014 and all were thanked for their input and their participation in the getting the covenants passed. Old rules and regulations were adopted by the BOD after the election approving the new covenants. All were mailed or e-mailed a red-lined copy of the rules and regulations to review prior to the Annual meeting. He clarified that the CCIOA (Colorado Common Interest Owners Association) Policies rule over the Covenants if there is a discrepancy of authority. Within the rules and regulations anything that pertains to the Metropolitan District was deleted since the rules and regulations are controlled by the HOA Board. It was clarified that any plans for new construction needs to be reviewed and approved by the HOA board prior to beginning construction.
RULES AND REGULATIONS REVIEW:
Jack then turned over the meeting to Rex Emenegger to review the Rules and Regulations with the revisions to date. Each rule was reviewed and comment made from those present. Some of the concerns on the rules were:
- Why are there no rules for the common area? The common areas are owned by the Metro. District but the HOA has an agreement to do the management and maintenance on the common area by the pond in UNIT I.
- Could the Metropolitan District authorize the HOA to come up with rules and regulations for the common areas?
- There isn’t anything much at all on the roads, why? The roads are the jurisdiction of the Metro. District NOT the HOA.
- Concerns about removal of noxious weeds. Weeds are the jurisdiction of La Plata County Weed Control.
- What can be done about people burning trash? Burning of trash in the county is a County regulation. Call the County for their regulations on burning of trash. The Sheriff can issue tickets since a permit is needed to burn.
- There was a lengthy discussion on ‘Rentals’. Rentals must comply with the Covenant Section C1 and the Rule #1.
- All of the rules and regulations that were DELETED were reviewed one by one. Input was given by those present and consideration of that input will be given by the Board as they further revise the Rules and Regulations prior to approving them. It does not take a vote of the membership to approve the R&Rs but the Board has asked for the Owners to share their thoughts on them so that as much can be addressed as possible.
RESERVE FUND REQUIREMENTS:
Rex reported that the HOA Attorney, Tracy Cross, researched the necessity of maintaining a reserve fund by the HOA. A reserve fund is not required since such funds are associated with the ownership of real property. The HOA does not own any real property. Therefore, there is no requirement to fund or maintain a reserve fund. However, any accumulated funds could remain in an investment account for future use, or could be spent as determined by the Board.
The existing funds could be spent on such items as:
- capital improvements to the common area such as beach improvements,
- stocking of fish in the pond,
- contributing to the Metro District for issues that are underfunded such as traffic control, weed control, road improvements, or
- reducing the annual dues.
After a lengthy discussion a motion was made and passed to maintain a reserve of $50,000 and any excess may be used for projects that the board feels necessary.
PIONEER DITCH:
The HOA owns 25% of the voting shares in the Pioneer Ditch Company. Eric Sibelius (201 Pioneer Circle) is a member of the Ditch Company Board of Directors. That Board has two vacancies. Tom Biessenberger (1088 Ranchos Florida) and Rich Podlesnik (62 Riverfront Road) may be nominated at their annual meeting to fill those vacancies. Rex Emenegger was authorized to vote the shares of the HOA.
ELECTION OF BOARD OF DIRECTOR TERM UP:
Jack Wasserbach explained that Terri Robert’s term is up but would run again if there was no one else who wanted the position. By acclamation, Terri Roberts will serve another 3 year term on the Board of Directors of the HOA.
BUDGET 2015:
The budget for 2015 was reviewed and approved by the homeowners present. There will be no rate increase in the regular Annual Dues for 2015 of $120/lot.
METROPOLITAN DISTRICT UPDATE:
Steve Swisher reported that the District’s bid date is March 5th for the Distribution Project what will upgrade the main lines allowed for in the Engineer’s Design Specifications. Jack showed what the pipe looks like that is in the ground now (irrigation pipe, mostly 4”) and what will be installed during the project. It will be C900, 8” pipe with NO glued joints. There will better fire flow with hydrants and isolation valves every 1000 feet. The BOD is being proactive in looking ahead for the next 20-30 years. There should also be a better insurance rating since there will be fire flows and more hydrants that will be ‘usable’ in a fire situation.
Jack thanked all those Homeowners in attendance and for their comments on all the topics discussed. It is great to hear from the Owners as to what their concerns are. It helps the HOA Board do a better job for the whole subdivision. The meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM.
Kate Pickford, Secretary