[VCHPOA Agenda] Board minutes, 10-Jan-2006

[Agenda distribution list]

[As received from VCHPOA Secretary, 2/16/06]

Virginia City Highlands Property Owners´ Association
Minutes - Monthly Meeting 
 Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Virginia City Highlands Firehouse 

Present:  Woolley, Lumos, Landaburu (until 8:00 pm), Gravenstein (after 
7:10 pm)  
Absent:  Bent

I.	Call to order, declaration of a quorum, and approve meeting agenda 
(Action)  

President Woolley declared a quorum present and called the meeting to 
order at 6:35 pm

II.	Approve minutes of December 13, 2005 regular meeting & December 27, 
2005 special meeting (Action)  

A motion by Landaburu, seconded by Lumos to approve the minutes of both 
meetings was approved unanimously.  

III.	Financial Statements (Action)
A.	Monthly Cash Report 
B.	Monthly Financial Statements  

Lydia Hammack reported on the financial statement.  Since July 1, 2005, 
the entire amount of the annual budget for road maintenance has been 
spent.  When the new board took office in November there was only $9000 
left in this budget item.   


The estimated road maintenance cost for January is approx.  $6,740.  Ms. 
Hammack pointed out that there is cash on hand which carried over from 
previous years so the association will be able to meet its expenses.  The 
cash balance at the end of December, 2005 is $36,892.23.  

*   A motion by Lumos, seconded by Landaburu, to accept the financial report 
    as presented was approved unanimously.

IV.	Comments by association members (NRS 116.3108(3)) (Discussion only)

John Holliday of Empire Road, commented that the north end of Empire Road 
is in terrible shape.  He provided a sketch of what he feels would 
resolve the situation, including installing a culvert across the road.  
President Woolley noted that Mr. Holliday´s comments will be taken under 
consideration but budget constraints will be a factor.  He pointed out 
that there is a driveway culvert in the area which is not allowing normal 
flow along the side of the road.  

Frank Vann stated that residents in this area feel that their end of 
Empire is being neglected.   

Jerry Snell reiterated what others have said.  He would also like a dead 
end sign put up so truck traffic will not further damage the cul-de-sac.

Jack McGuffey of Harte Rd. stated that there are two culverts that dump 
on his property.  During the flooding water flooded his leach field.  He 
would like some help with this problem.

Mr. Warren who lives at the corner of Dortort and Enterprise stated that 
the road bed is being eaten away due to an insufficient or plugged 
culvert under Dortort.    President Woolley stated that Johnny DuFresne 
has this problem on his agenda for action.  

President Woolley stated that the board and road crew are trying to get a 
handle on the road problems and asked for patience from the property 
owners.  Time and budget are considerations.

V.	Committee reports: (Discussion/Action)
A.	Architectural Committee 

Sherry McCready provided minutes from the unofficial meeting held last 
Tuesday.  There was no quorum so no meeting could be held.  She reported 
that Wally Cory is in Northern Nevada Medical Center.  Bill Redman has 
resigned from the committee.

President Woolley stated that some of the governing documents indicate a 
board member should be on the committee.  

*   A motion by Landaburu, seconded by Woolley, to appoint Rita Lumos to the 
    architectural committee was approved unanimously.

B.	Road Report

President Woolley attended a meeting of the County Commissioners last 
week regarding flooding and washouts in Storey County.  The roads in the 
one acre subdivision fared better than the roads in the ten acre 
subdivision.  Sazarac, Cartwright, Bonanza, Calaveras, and Silverado were 
named as areas with significant damage.  A number of culverts have been 
plugged up for some time, forcing water across the roads and doing 
serious damage.  Emergency measures were taken to open drainage along the 
sides of the roads, including across driveways in order to save the 
roads.  At least one owner has installed at new culvert across his 
driveway at his own expense.   

John DuFresne reported that the association needs to buy rock to repair 
the roads.  He stated that this is a good time to install the rock since 
the roads are wet.  Large aggregate (1 ½") gravel would be installed 
after the rock.  The roads also need to be widened and crowned.  It will 
be expensive, but he feels it will be the only way to build durable roads 
that can be maintained in the future.   

There has been discussion of hiring an engineer experienced in road 
management to lay out a program of correction and maintenance.  Rita 
Lumos has been in contact with an engineer she knows who has experience 
in this area and has been the head of the street department for a 
municipality.  She asked that if there is someone who lives in the 
Highlands with this experience or if others know of a qualified person, 
please submit their name.  Rita will continue to talk to the engineer she 
knows about a proposal for doing an assessment and report on the roads.

John Holliday suggested that an assessment be levied to pay for road 
improvements. 

John DeFresne pointed out that much of the drainage facilities in place 
are inadequate.  

He is currently 30% finished with digging out and cleaning culverts.  A 
back hoe has been rented for up to a month to complete the needed repairs 
from the recent storm damage. 

Lydia asked if something like snow markers could be installed along 
dangerous areas. 

Home Depot has denied our request for an account due to our address being 
a PO Box.  We might try again using the address of the maintenance yard.  
Some small equipment items are still needed.  Lydia will pick up the 
items in the meantime. 

The guard rail at Cartwright and Saddleback still needs repair.  
Hopefully it will be done this month.  The fuel tank needs to be 
refilled. 

We loaned sand to the fire department for sandbags on Lousetown during 
the flooding.  It will be replaced with a like mixture. 

C.	Park Report 

President Woolley announced that Patti Poston has resigned from the park 
committee and asked for volunteers to work on this committee. 

VI.	Old business (Action) 
A.	Fire Station: Lease and Well Use 

Chief Hames has submitted a lease form that is similar to the previous 
one.  Well use will be restricted to emergency purposes and the use of 
the two associations as needed.  Wild horse watering will be added as an 
appropriate use.  The fire department will have the authority to permit 
use.  Lease approval will be continued to the next meeting. 

The Fire Department would like to retrofit our water tender with a dump 
valve so that it could be used for fire protection in case of wild fire.

*   A motion by Gravenstein, seconded by Landaburu, to allow Storey County to 
    retrofit the water tender with a dump valve at their expense was approved 
    unanimously. 

B.	Preparation of Reserve Study 

This item was placed on the agenda as a result of a public comment at the 
December meeting.  A reserve study must be prepared every five years.  
Keith Judson reported that he did the last one in 2002.  He believes that 
now, according to state statute, the person who prepares the report has 
to be permitted by the Commission.  The board will do further study to 
determine what the requirements are for this study. 

C.	Fees for Architectural Committee Review 

During public comment at the last regular meeting it was suggested that 
the fees be reviewed and that certain fines be rescinded.  Fees were 
raised last year from a flat fee to a charge per square footage.  There 
have been few property transfers in the last few months and income is 
down from that source.  

There are numerous inconsistencies among our governing documents and 
state statute.  A list of questions for clarification by the attorney has 
been prepared and submitted (see minutes of December 27, 2005).  Until 
those questions are answered there is a lot of uncertainty as to what can 
be done in these areas.  The board is wary of exposing the association to 
a major lawsuit. 

President Woolley stated that fees will be reviewed and perhaps revised 
after attorney clarification of the questions submitted.  

Joe Alt asked what the board´s interpretation of the current fee schedule 
is.  If it is an impact fee it can only be used for capital expenditures. 
 It is noted in the fee schedule that it is intended to cover operating 
costs and damage to roads by construction but are not named as an impact 
fee.  Currently the fee goes into the operating funds.  The review of the 
fee schedule will not be done until the questions to the attorney are 
answered.  A committee might be appointed to study the issue of 
guidelines and fees. 

A complaint was received from Lenny Wenrick regarding the fees charged 
for Architectural Review.  He has had an ongoing dispute with the 
committee and previous board on this issue.  

President Woolley stated that there is a danger that if the fees are 
reduced at this time then all those who have paid the fee would asked for 
a refund of the amount.  There is no money to pay for those refunds.  

Mr. Wenrick stated that he believes that no study was done to determine 
what fees are necessary prior to enactment of the new fee schedule.  He 
asked that the fee schedule be put in abeyance until all questions are 
answered and a study done and the previous fee schedule charged.  

Joe Alt stated that part of the problem is that the fees have not always 
been charged.  He is troubled by the fact that there is no representation 
of vacant land owners on the board.  

Rita Lumos stated that it is not unreasonable to raise fees from time to 
time, but feels that it should be a flat fee that is equitable for all. 

Harry Stanley asked how many people have paid the fee per the current 
schedule.  Someone thought it has been a very small number of people; 
President Woolley stated that the income from architectural review fees 
since July 1 would indicate only about half a dozen applicants had paid 
the increased fee.  

Gabriel Venegas stated that he has discussed the issue with former board 
members.  He said that he has a great deal of experience in road 
maintenance.  He does not believe that the construction traffic causes 
sufficient damage to the roads to justify the higher fee.  He feels that 
if this fee is going into the general fund, it might not be a legal fee.  
He believes that many feel that people were misled and that the premise 
for the fee increase was wrong. 

Debra Gravenstein stated that she went to Storey County last summer and 
obtained a copy of all paperwork a builder must provide to obtain a 
building permit.  She thought that the fee at that time was for an 
application for a residence was $100.  Possibly the fee was $75 for a 
residence and $25 for the application.  She feels that the board should 
roll back to the previous fee until a study can be done and an 
appropriate fee set.  

Ray McPartlin stated that any fee assessed for road improvement must be 
assessed against all owners per statute.  He believes the application fee 
is not the correct way to assess the fee. 

*   A motion by Lumos, seconded by Gravenstein, to place items A and B of the 
    current fee schedule in abeyance and revert to the previous flat fee of 
    $100 for residences and $75 for detached garages and outbuildings until a 
    study can be completed and an appropriate fee voted upon by the board; 
    further, that those who pay the reduced amounts in the interim will be 
    asked to pay or be refunded any difference in fee when the review is 
    complete was approved unanimously. 

No provision was made to refund the increased fees to those who have paid 
them.  It was pointed out that the previous board was within its rights 
per NRS 116 to set the application fee.  After a fee study is complete 
the issue can be addressed if necessary. 

D.	Fines for violations of CC&R´s 

Architectural committee has been directed to not assess any fines until 
clearer direction is obtained from the association attorney.  This item 
will be continued to the next meeting. 

E.	MOU with HRPOA regarding equipment use 

The current heavy equipment rental fees charged by equipment rental 
companies are comparable to the current fee being paid by the HRPOA for 
use of association equipment.  The HRPOA would like to use their own 
operators rather than being required to use the VCHPOA operators.  There 
are some insurance and liability concerns if other operators are used.  
Their operators could possibly be added to the insurance.  

Debra Gravenstein will work with the HRPOA and Lydia Hammack to develop 
an MOU to be approved at future meetings of the respective associations. 

F.	Long Term Road Plan / Road Manager 

A cost estimate for the development of the long tem road plan will be 
obtained.  

President Woolley reported that he has talked to a resident who is a 
retired road maintenance and heavy equipment operator.  He may be 
interested in helping with dealing with day to day road issues on a 
volunteer basis.  Oversight of the road crew would be a part of the 
duties of the road manager. 

VII.	New business (Action) 
A.	Vandalism of Road Signs 

Many of the signs that were missing were not properly installed on the 
poles by the detention work crews and either blew off or were vandalized. 
 Some of the missing signs have been recovered, but a few are still 
missing.  The signs were obtained using grant money at no cost to the 
association but are a valuable asset.  President Woolley feels that there 
should be a policy for what to do in the event a sign is missing.  He 
feels that no action should be taken if a sign is returned within a 
reasonable time, but that a stolen property report should be filed if it 
is not. 

B.	Vacancy on Architectural Committee 

This item was addressed under the committee report. 

C.	Building plan approvals while awaiting attorney opinions on authority 
1.	Possible moratorium on approvals through March 2006 

The board is not inclined to impose a moratorium at this time. 

2.	Restriction of guidelines to compliance with CC&R´s and statute 

The current guidelines go beyond what is allowed in the CC&R´s but appear 
to be written with practicality and common sense in mind.  The board 
intends to continue to enforce the architectural guidelines as they exist 
until the attorney review is complete. 

VIII.	Adjourn 

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 10:05 pm. 

Respectfully submitted,  

Rita Lumos, Secretary