HIGHLAND RANCHES P.O.A.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

MEETING MINUTES

                                  June 5, 2004 Annual Property Owners Meeting & Elections

                      Please note:  Approved at the June 29, 2004 Board of Directors meeting

 1.     Established Quorum of the members.  (127 or 25% needed per bylaws) Proxies for each person totaled 95. Plus Lot Owners attending who signed in 65 =160 members in attendance by proxy or in person.

2.      Meeting called to order by Gary Brownwell, President at 10:15 AM.  Board Members Present: Gary Brownwell, Kelly Brownwell, Lou Tassone, Jay Campbell, & Jim Dakin.            

                   Review and approve Agenda for June 4, 2004 Annual meeting & elections. 

                                                  M -Lou      S – Jay       V- Unanimous

3.    Board of Directors welcome to all property owners made by President Gary Brownwell. Thanks to our volunteers who helped put this meeting together- Sherry, Sharon, Maggie, Norma, Kay & Lydia. Thanks also to the folks who brought snacks.  Gary reminded everyone that reflective signs are still available –ask at the fire station.

4.    With a quorum of members present by proxy and in person, the election committee was instructed to count the ballots received.   

5.    Lou Tassone, Board Treasurer & Secretary, reviewed current financial reports and informed us the yearly audited statement is available for those who want a copy. Savings balance is $104,272.20; Checking balance is $9855.04 and CD reserve fund is $ 45,596.08.

6.   Jay Campbell, Architectural Committee Advisor, gave a recap of the years activity, which included the approval of plans.  19 new homes were approved since the last annual meeting as opposed to the 11 the previous year.  4 new plans were received this past week. The Highlands is growing.

7.     Gary Brownwell gave the road report.  Graveling of several roads was completed.  He was thanked for a good job as volunteer road manager.

A letter from the District attorney regarding speed limits was read into the record. The homeowners were asked what speed limits we wanted on our roads. The county needs direction to enforce the speed limits. This will be discussed more during the Commissioners report. 

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7.   Road report continued. A letter from the Nevada Trail Riders association was read into the record. They are asking to use 10 acre roads for their upcoming endurance race this September. Much debate about horses that come in, could that have spread disease to horses in the Highlands ?  A member said any horse a trail rider would bring in would be vaccinated prior to the ride.  It was put to a show of hands vote and 95% approved the ride. The board will let them know they have our approval this year & ask them to look at other options for future rides.

8.       Bob Kershaw and John Flanagan, Storey County Commissioners, gave a presentation about the water study that has been completed by the university. They spoke of the need for more water storage out here. A member asked about the speed limit enforcement citations being challenged when they get to court. Both said a few things can be changed & they are working to increase the teeth in the laws. The county is aware of the issues & making strides to make this a safe place to live. The commissioners were thanked for attending and answering questions.

9.     Sgt. Jerry Pedersen gave the sheriffs report. He first made apologies on behalf of Sheriff Whitten for not being able to attend due to a family obligation. He reported that the sheriff’s department is well aware of speeding and trespassing problems. He said associations in other areas have formed a keep watch committee to strengthen the ability to not only enforce but also to get citations to stick. The sheriff’s department advises everyone to get your reflective address signs from the fire department and the decals for your vehicles to help with the enforcement in the area.

10.    Gary Hames, Storey County Fire Chief, provided information on the subscription ambulance service. He reported that three paramedics are training for the higher level of care and would result in less Care Flight transfers. 5 seasonal firefighters are moving into the Highlands starting on Monday- allowing for 3 people on duty everyday during fire season. The student conservation corps will again do consultations on defensible space with homeowners. The emergency number to call for dispatch from a cell phone is 847-095.  From a landline in the County- please call 911 so your address information will be automatically displayed and can save valuable time. Tom Peevers, Highlands Volunteer fire Chief, said more volunteers are needed as this area grows. They will have an application and training process to complete and encouraged people to consider.

11.    Fran Shields gave the Fire Safe Highlands presentation. She said everyone should be on the mailing list, if not contact her after the meeting. She said there are two grants totaling $200,000.00 for doing slash removal from around residents’ houses. You can fill out an application and return it to the fire station. They will come out and evaluate your needs and depending on what you want done you can have a crew for one whole day for $150 or ½ day for $75. She said our labor counts towards matching funds and asked that homeowners fill out and turn in a time sheet for any clearing they are doing around their property.  She reminded everyone that there is a trailer available to check out to haul brush and dead trees to the slash pile next to the fire station. She asked that only slash be dumped there because the pile will be ground up from now on instead of burned. The meetings are posted and they will have 4 openings for election to the fire safe board this year.

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12.   Sandy Tyson gave the presentation for the VRWPA because Sherry O’Mahoney was on another project today. She said the VRWPA is a wildlife protection organization, not just horses. They are doing a horse birth control study this year. The next major fundraiser is July 10^th at John Tyson’s ranch. They’ll have a trained horse auction w/ a dinner & raffle. There will be a pancake breakfast fundraiser soon. She spoke about the Sage Grouse reintroduction program. All were encouraged to attend the monthly meetings held at the fire station the last Monday of the month at 7 PM.

13.   Sharon Dixon gave a report on the fine survey information. 506 property owners in the HRPOA 152 submitted the survey making a 30% response rate with the following numbers for each question.

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13. Fine survey continued.  Discussion about how will people know what landscape materials are allowed without having a list of approved materials. Members wanted to make sure the homeowners who were turned in for finable violations had time to make corrections before a fine is levied. Many wanted to know how homeowners will be forced to pay the fines. Kelly said the details are just now being worked out and the board just wanted to get an idea of what homeowners wanted in the way of fines.

14.   Owners comments suggestions and questions. Keith Osgood thanked the board for improving Buckeye Rd. Dale Ortman hopes that forming a road committee will help the board prioritize the distribution of gravel among the many miles of roads in this growing area.

15.    Election results:  Total ballots received -158

                  Votes for Ed Diederich -135 votes  

                  Votes for Michael McDonough-130 votes

                  Votes for Dale Ortman- 134 votes

Three positions were open, so all three were elected to fill those positions.

16.     Meeting adjourned at 12:30 PM.