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President's Report

Minutes

SVPORC BOARD MEETING

Minutes

November 14, 2009

SV Pavilion at 10:00 a.m.

Attending: Zug Standing Bear (President), Shaun Gordon (Vice President, Covenants/Architectural and Lakes/Fishing), Deb Schneider (Secretary and Activities), Sam Mathews (Welcome and SV Improvements), Richard (Dick) Cope (Lakes/Fishing), Georgia Curie (Member) and Jill Cochran (non-voting Office Coordinator). Absent: Greg Smith (Treasurer).

Call to order: Zug called the meeting to order at 10:14 a.m.

Community Comments and Questions

Do we have a copy of the proposed covenants? Not yet. Zug clarified that the declaration (the new document is now called a declaration instead of covenant) is still in draft form. We don’t want to distribute it until it is finalized. There are currently twelve individual covenants which cover different filings. There is a filing “0” giving us some confusion at the courthouse. In addition, there are six individual covenants on individual pieces of land. Some do not have street addresses. Identifying these properties has been time consuming. 

We are proposing to change the covenants for two reasons: (1) The old covenants are unenforceable due to changes in CO Laws. The new declaration will be the same for all. (2) To match as close as possible to the old covenants with consolidations and updates to comply with CO Law. They have been made more accurate to what is happening in 2009.

How will the vote be taken? A mailing to all residents will include the declaration, proposed 2010 budget and two ballots. It will be sent to all residents in SV with a return stamped envelope. All filings will need to receive an affirmative vote of 51% of the filings owners to pass in that filing. If not, the covenants in that filing will not change and essentially will be unenforceable.

The Board is trying to have one declaration for all filings. There are also some additional changes. One of which complies with CO Law in that the old covenants gave the Executive Board too much authority in certain areas. There are now areas that would require a vote of the membership. They give less, not more, control to the SV Board of Directors.

It was stated that we got in this situation in the beginning because years ago the developers opened up the valley for development in parcels and filed new covenants with each parcel over about an eight year period. This resulted in multiple covenants. We are trying to place everyone under one declaration.

The anonymous website, emails and correspondence are a mystery. The declaration has not even been distributed yet. It was also reported that a woman was going door to door taking a survey without identifying herself. This is not a representative of the board. The board would identify themselves. We have also received emails with fictitious names.

What is going on with the complaints about the rental property? It is a legal issue and can not be discussed outside of executive session. However, there is a concern about rentals in general, both long and short term. If they follow the rules and behave themselves, the board may not even know that they are renters. Some have rules posted and their renters abide by the rules, thus posing no problems. Others have big groups which misbehave taking boats, etc. This is an ongoing issue.

Wouldn’t the property owner be responsible for the renters? Yes, they would. When misconduct occurs we contact the property owners.

Who will count the ballots? Mick Gunn, John Bousquet, Don Stanec and Dale Schroeder volunteered.

When will the mailing take place? As soon as Zug is able to wrap up issues/loose ends at the courthouse, hopefully, by the end of the month. There is general agreement on the declaration by the board.

Are there two issues, the declarations (what the board can and can’t do) and the covenants (what the community can and can’t do)?  No. The term declaration is just a new word for covenant. We were advised by our attorney to use the word declaration rather then covenant under the Common Interest Community Laws of CO. The new declaration is 14 pages long. It adds the things that the CO Law requires.

Asked if we needed someone to proofread the documents? The attorney does the proofreading.

Zug reviewed the contents of the declaration.

How will it be enforced? The first step is a complaint to the board. The board then investigates the complaint. If a violation is determined, the property owner is notified. They can then either fix it or if there is disagreement; request a hearing with the board. The person doing the complaining can also be present at the hearing, but this is not required. Based on the results of the hearing and response of the property owner, further steps will be considered.

Will we get a copy of the declaration with the ballot? Yes, the declaration will be sent with the ballot.

Could a professional organization be hired to enforce the declaration? The closest we can get to that is called an attorney. The board will handle the enforcement. If they do not fix the problem a fine schedule would kick in and a lien would be placed on the property. At the time the property is sold the lien would need to be paid.

The board was thanked for all they have done! The board is distressed by all the nonsense that has come out over this issue.

Two newsletters have had articles about the new declarations.

If you don’t want to go along with the covenant/declaration, why live in a covenanted community? Covenants are meant to be protective to all. Some have moved here from communities where the covenants are much more stringent then what we are talking about here.

The board was commended for taking this action!

Are the minutes of all meetings posted on the website? Yes and they are also posted on the message board next to the pavilion. 

When the ballot is mailed, what will be the returned timeframe? Two weeks.

Why don’t we use Robert’s Rules of Order?  We do. Where are we violating that? There was no answer given. Additional issues were brought up. It was recommended that the additional individual concerns Bill Bash has with the board be taken up with the board and the rest of the meeting proceed as planned.

October 13th Board Meeting Minutes were approved via email.

Board Reports                                                                     

President’s Report

It will take about 4 more hours at the courthouse to complete the declarations. The board had no other concerns with the declarations as they have been distributed. The board agreed to have numbered policies which are indexed rather than all procedures and policies included within the bylaws.  

Vice President’s Report

Shaun stated that he had nothing new to report.  

 

Treasurer’s Report

Greg was absent due to a death in his family. The October financial report he had prepared was distributed.  

 

Secretary’s Report/Newsletter

Deb reported that the next newsletter will be sent in January or February. All articles are due by January. She completed assembly of the return envelopes for the ballot mailing.  

 Committee Reports

            Activities Committee Report

Deb reported that the Holiday Party will be on December 12th at 1:00. It will be a potluck including a turkey dinner and dressing. Please bring a side dish. There will be crafts for the kids with the making of yuletide logs. Roni Gordon spoke about the success of the 1st Annual SV Craft fair. Thirteen people brought their treasures to sell and the pavilion overflowed. It was a good turn out and we hope to do it again next year. There were a variety of crafts including pictures, pottery, stain glass, chocolates, etc. She expressed her appreciation to those that displayed and attended.

 

A community member expressed a thank you for the Directory that Marie Wells puts together.  

  

Welcome Committee Report

Sam reported that Roni Gordon has handed out a couple of welcome packets. Roni asked that if you see a moving van at a home, please let Roni or Sam know so they can follow up with a Welcome Packet. The Title Companies do not always notify us of the change in ownership.  

Spring Valley Improvements Committee Report

Sam reported that there have been no new improvements. She asked that the board consider a sign for the other entrance to SV if the issues of posting the sign can be overcome. The new sign at the first entrance was a facelift. The board will take this under consideration for future discussion.

            Fishing Committee Report

Dick reported that there were three people fishing on the island and asked to leave since the lakes are closed. They did not understand the red flag. He suggested a sign or sleeve over the fishing signs to announce that the lakes are closed when the red flag is flying. He asked that an announcement be made in the newsletter that volunteers are needed for the fishing patrol for next year.

 

Covenants Committee and Architectural Committee Report

Shaun reported that there was nothing additional to report. He clarified that anytime a homeowner is making changes to their property they should run it by the architectural committee by calling Shaun.

Other Business

It was reported that a radon test had shown high amounts of radon in a SV home. Zug has a continuous radon detector he would be willing to loan out. Dick and Zug attended a meeting that talked about the studies related to radon and there is a lot of conflicting information. 

Web site

A committee including Shaun, Sam and Mary Kottwitz will review the issues related to the SV Web site and make recommendations.

Next Meeting Date: Next meeting Saturday, December 5th at 10:00 a.m. at the pavilion.

The meeting adjourned at 11:36 a.m.

Board went into Executive Session at 11:59 a.m. General topic:  Legal issues concerning declarations.

Board came out of Executive Session at 12:17 p.m.

 

Older Meeting Minutes are archived at Archives.