[VCHPOA Agenda] Minutes - August 14, 2007

[Agenda distribution list]

[ As received from VCHPOA President, 9/12/07 ]

Virginia City Highlands Property Owners´ Association
Minutes - Monthly Meeting, Tuesday August 14, 2007
Virginia City Highlands Fire Station Training Room - 7:00 pm

Present: Rita Lumos, Bill Lewis, Mike Lupo, Debra Gravenstein
Absent:   Mary Tallent-Stewart

I.	Call To Order, Declaration of a Quorum and Approval of Meeting 
Agenda 
President Lumos called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and declared a 
quorum present.  There were no additions or corrections to the agenda.

II.	Appoint New Board Members and Election of Officers 
President Lumos announced that three of the board members´ terms 
expired as of June 30.  Since no property owner offered their name in 
nomination for board office, those positions would be filled by appointment 
by the board members, in conformance with the By-Laws and long 
standing practice.

She introduced Stephen Morrow, PE, who had volunteered to serve on the 
board.

A motion by Lewis, seconded by Lupo to appoint Mr. Morrow to fill the 
position previously held by Debra Gravenstein was approved unanimously.  
Karlyn McPartlin objected to the replacement of Ms. Gravenstein and 
stated that in her opinion the president should be replaced.   

A motion by Lupo, seconded by Gravenstein to reappoint Bill Lewis for a 
two year term was approved unanimously.

A motion by Lewis, seconded by Lupo to reappoint Rita Lumos for a two 
year term was approved unanimously.

Mr. Morrow took his seat on the board and election of officers for the next 
year was held.

Upon motions of the board and unanimous votes for each position the 
following is the slate of officers for the 2007-2008 fiscal year:

President:		Rita Lumos
1st Vice President:	Bill Lewis
2nd Vice President: 	Steve Morrow
Secretary:		Mary Tallent-Stewart
Treasurer:		Mike Lupo

III.	Approve Minutes of the June 12, 2007 Regular Meeting and July 
14 Annual Meeting 
The minutes of the June 12, 2007 were presented for approval.  A motion 
by Lewis, seconded by Morrow to approve the minutes as presented was 
approved unanimously.  
Ray McPartlin complained that the emails he had requested be attached to 
the minutes were not included.  Keith Judson pointed out that the 
attachments could be kept in the official minute book, but that it was not 
necessary to post them on the web site.
Since Ms. Tallent-Stewart was unable to attend the meeting due to an 
emergency the minutes of the July 12 annual meeting were not available.  
They will be considered at the September meeting.

IV.	Financial Statements (Discussion/Action)
A.	Monthly Cash Report
B.	Monthly Financial Statements
Mike Lupo reviewed the financial statements.  The ending cash balance as 
of July 31 is $100,583.90.  As of the meeting date, the amount in the 
operating account is $48,990  and in reserve is $48630.

V.	Comments by Association Members (NRS 116.3108(3)) 
Cecilia Lak noted that she had witnessed a substitute UPS driver speeding 
up and down Sazarac and Conestoga and felt that this type activity by 
construction and delivery people contributed greatly to the road conditions.
Karlyn McPartlin complained about a number of signs that are not in 
conformance with the CC&R´s.  It was noted that these possible violations 
would be discussed in the executive session.

Harry Stanley, president of Fire Safe Highlands, and Eric Guevin, Fire 
Marshall, announced that there will be a meeting of FSH on September 10 
at 6:30 pm at the fire station meeting room.  Regional experts will be in 
attendance.  Flyers will also be distributed at the annual spaghetti feed.  
Harry reported that participation by property owners in the construction of a 
fuel break on Sazarac had been poor, and that less than a third of the 
available money had been spent.  Since the Highlands has been 
designated as the highest possible fire danger area in the state the 
property owners need to be aware of and participate in the programs of 
FSH.

VI.	Committee Reports 
A.	Architectural Committee 
The minutes for the June and July architectural committee meetings were 
reviewed by Bill Lewis.  There were applications for three new residences 
approved along with applications for additions and repainting.

B.	Documents Committee 
Keith Judson reported that to date 407 votes had been cast on the 
proposed changes to the CC&R´s.  Of those, 296 are yes votes and 111 
are no votes.  He pointed out that 585 yes votes are necessary to approve 
the changes.   

He stated that originally there had been an approval for two mailings for the 
ballots and information, but these had not been necessary since the 
mailings were bundled with other required mailings.  He asked for 
authorization to mail a letter and new ballot to the property owners who had 
not yet responded.

A motion by Lewis, seconded by Morrow was approved by a vote of 4 to 1, 
with Lupo opposed.  He felt that those who had not yet voted were not 
likely to do so and that the money was not well spent.

C.	Road Report 
Bob Moore reported that in July he and Doug Fontana had completed the 
work on the grader to repair oil leaks and replace worn parts.  Mr. Fontana, 
who is a resident, is also licensed and experienced to drive the water truck.  
Bob thanked him for his efforts and those present did as well.

Bob reported that a test strip was done on Empire Road from the park to 
Morgan that day, working with property owner Kelly Rogers who has a 
great deal of experience in road construction.  He thought the outcome 
was good but is reserving judgment until he sees how it wears with the 
traffic.  Test areas will be done in various areas of the Highlands to see 
how conditions vary and what can be done to improve them.

D.	Park Report 
Rita reported that she had been in contact with Public Works Director Mike 
Nevin about the park improvements.  He indicated that his schedule is very 
full and that the work might be put out to a licensed contractor to complete. 

VII.	Old Business
A.	Fire Station Lease 
As directed by the board at the June meeting, the proposed lease renewal 
was reviewed by the association´s attorney and is currently under review by 
the Storey County District Attorney.  No action was taken at this time.

B.	Rental House 
1.	Insurance Inspection 
It was reported that the insurance company had inspected the rental house 
and demanded that the driveway that serves the house and the east side 
of the fire station by resurfaced by August 1.  Ms. Lumos has been working 
with Storey County officials to gain cooperation in this effort.  The cost for 
the materials only would be approximately $3120, with the County 
providing all labor and equipment.

2.	Repairs
It was reported that their had been a water leak in the upstairs bathroom 
which apparently had gone undetected for some time and had caused 
mold and sheetrock damage.  The cost of repairs is approximately $1000.

3.	Lease Renewal
The lease with the current tenant expires October 1, 2007.  Ms. Lumos 
reported that the Fire Department is interested in expanding the lease on 
the fire station to include the rental house.  Eric Guevin, Fire Marshall, was 
present to represent the department in this matter.  He stated that the 
current budget had not provided for this but that the department would be 
willing to pay an amount equal to the current lease on the station ($1200 
per year) plus take over all maintenance and insurance for the entire 
property.   There would be a full rebate of property taxes on the property.  
They would not be able to pay the current lease rate of $1000 per month.  
There was general concurrence among those attending the meeting as 
well as the board that it was a great benefit to have the Fire Department 
take over that property and have it´s full use.  There is also the prospect 
that the County might purchase the property in the future, after all the 
statutory requirements for appraisals, etc., were completed and with the 
concurrence of both the County Commissioners and the association.
A motion by Lupo, seconded by Lewis to notify the current tenant that the 
lease would not be renewed immediately was approved unanimously.
A motion by Lupo, seconded by Lewis to attach the house to the proposed 
fire station lease, which is for a period of ten years, and to include an 
option for purchase at fair market price in the future was approved 
unanimously.

A motion by Lewis, seconded by Lupo, to approve the paving of the 
driveway, with the proviso that if the Fire Dept. takes over the residence, 
they will pay that cost, was approved unanimously.

VIII.	  New Business 
A.	Sheriff´s Large Animal Evacuation Plan 
Sharon Dixon reported that she had been appointed by Sheriff Miller as a 
special deputy for large animal evacuation in case of fire in the area.  She 
stated that there are plans to erect pens on the lot where the Highlands 
Ranches Assoc. has their equipment yard.  The pens will be available from 
May through October.  It will be the owners´ responsibility to get their 
animals to the pens in case of emergency.

Donations are needed to pay for the pens.  The cost for the pens will be 
$3007.  The HRPOA had donated $1000.  The Fire Safe Highlands grant 
money cannot be used for anything but human needs.  There is some 
money available from Homeland Security to provide information to the 
owners and to determine the number of animals that are in the Highlands.
A motion by Lewis, seconded by Morrow, to donate $1000 to the Storey 
County Sheriff´s Department Large Animal Evacuation project was 
approved unanimously.  

It was pointed out that owners will also be asked to donate to the project.  
Many present stated that this is a community safety issue and were in favor 
of using association funds for this purpose.

B.	Reserve Study 
Rita reported that state statute requires that a reserve study be done at 
least every five years, that this association must have one done this year, 
and that the state had finally registered reserve study specialists to perform 
the studies.

The HRPOA had done some research and found a qualified person to do 
their study at a reasonable price.  An application for a proposal has been 
sent to this person/firm, but no response has been received to date.

C.	Gravenstein Letters 
Rita read into the record a letter that Debra Gravenstein had sent to each 
of the board members objecting to the July road meeting and demanding a 
written response.  Mike Lupo stated that he was not willing to respond to 
the letter.  Rita indicated that she would respond and presented proposed 
language for the response.

It was announced that a formal road committee would be appointed at the 
September meeting.

IX.	Any Other Matters which the Board Members Wish to Discuss
There were no items for discussion under this agenda item.

X.	Executive Session to discuss possible violations of CC&R´s 
The regular meeting was recessed and the board met in executive session 
to discuss possible violations of the CC&R´s which had been reported.
It was decided that certified letters would be sent to a property owner 
whose construction trailer residence had been in place well past the one 
year allowed time limit, to an owner who had not cleared construction 
debris from the front of his property long after the completion of 
construction, to the builder of a white fence in violation of the architectural 
guidelines, and in the case of several signs not in conformance.  These 
owners will have the opportunity to correct the possible violations or appear 
before the board in executive session to state their case.

XI.	Adjourn 
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Rita Lumos, President