Cascadel Woods Property Owners Association

P.O. Box 734, North Fork, CA 93643

Tel: (559) 877-2635    Fax: (559) 877-4024

E-mail: cascadelwoods@netptc.net

 

Draft Minutes of the Annual Meeting

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Cascadel Woods Clubhouse

(Unless otherwise noted, all votes are unanimous)

 

 

President Stan Eggink called the meeting to order at 10:00am. Present were Directors Shaunna Shortes, Volney Dunavan and Warren Cox. Director Jan Quistad had advised that she would not be able to be present. There were 16 other CWPOA members attending.

 

The agenda was approved as presented (Motion by Volney, Second by Warren). The minutes of the 2010 Annual Meeting were approved as presented (Warren/Volney).

 

President Stan explained the Election procedure. Cindy Curtis reported there were 46 ballots received which is above the necessary quorum of 35. She then moved to the office to count the ballots with the help of Karen Balog and Cheryl McClure. Volney agreed to take minutes in her absence.

 

President’s Report: Stan began by explaining about the recent road repairs that not only fixed the road itself, but the culvert below it so that in the future water will not be able to erode the road; in other words, the erosion was handled, we were not just putting a band-aid on the trouble spot.

 

The voluntary membership fees partially pay the expenses of our office and so we do not have to use road fees for that purpose. We also raised money by renting our snowplow to pull the chipper during the brushing. In the period from the second week of July through yesterday, the income from this was just above $3,000.

 

Our new Bylaws are in their first year of use. Stan reminded everyone that the Bylaws are a work in progress; they can be amended at any time to meet the current needs of the Association. All that is required is that the proposed amendment meets the requirements of the current California Corporation Code, and that it be approved by a simple majority of members.

 

The Property Owners Association and the Water Board met with our accountant to see what might improve our system. At present, we need to do many things manually to get the information we need to give our members, and to also intelligently run the corporation. It was agreed that the best solution was to set up a new system which will go into effect with the beginning of this fiscal year, July 1. This is not that we have a bad system, but during the years it has been altered here and there until it is no longer responsive to our financial needs. Once the new system is up and running, current financials will be available on our website www.cascadel.org or hard copies can be obtained through the office.

 

We have some old equipment we are selling. It can be seen at the end of the parking lot. Silent bidding begins today and will close on Saturday, October 1. Envelopes and other supplies as well as equipment descriptions are available on the back table.

 

As it costs about $200 for a community wide mailing, we will be using the website to post our agendas, minutes and other informational notices. They also will be available electronically and, when requested from the office, in hard copy. Voting information will continue to be sent by regular mail.

 

Thanks to Warren and our Fire Wise Committee, we now have four completely stocked fire hose boxes and will have two more later this fiscal year. Everything needed for a fire is in these boxes which have been strategically placed near our fire hydrants. They will be available to our Fire Wise Brigade as well as to the North Fork Volunteer Fire Department and Cal Fire. We did have a fire alert a few weeks ago. Fortunately, all turned out well. The Fire Wise Committee and this fire box project, are made possible through donations; the fire brushing has come through a grant that Bob Buckles was able to get through the Eastern Madera County Fire Safe Council. Job well done to all.

 

The Clubhouse Committee has been working two years to get rid of woodpecker damage. They also have improved the outside lighting, added an electrical outlet to the front deck and strengthened the outside handrails. Additionally they dealt with the root-bound leach lines and now, all is working as it should. This committee is funded through donations and, in some cases, CSA-21 funds.

 

Neighborhood Watch in conjunction with the Fire Wise Committee, has completed the emergency telephone tree with the help of Carol Eggink. This committee runs on donations.

 

The Common Area Committee (formerly the Land Management Committee) has worked with the Board to create a policy for benches and picnic tables in the common area. They are targeted to be in place next spring. The Committee will also be labeling some of the flora. At present, they are working on lowering the pond to expose some of the shoreline. This will be allowed to dry and then will be cleared of weeds. There will be a work day for this project on Saturday, October 15. The pond will probably be revisited again next year to clear out more and maintain a healthier ecosystem. Tours may possibly be available in the future.  This committee is funded through donations.

 

As a recap:

  • The CWPOA is only funding roads.
  • CSA expenditures are approved in advance by the Board; we had to shut down mowing two months before the end of the year, so not to exceed available money. It is imperative we stay within our budget.
  • In the future we plan to have a system where billing and our payments can be accomplished electronically.

 

Treasurer’s Report: Shaunna explained the relationship between CSA-21, the CWPOA and the roads.

 

Because of the longer winter season last year, we were able to combine road monies and start on the repair of the two culverts that were threatening our road. We chose to hold off on all other road repairs until we were certain there were no surprises during the culvert repair process. There is $4,500 remaining following payment for the culverts. We will start working on the big holes where the stream crosses the road, and also the pot holes on Cascadel Drive, beginning at the archway.

 

Shaunna then went through the written report as presented at the meeting.

 

Committee Reports:

  • Neighborhood Watch is obtaining an engraver so we can mark small electronics for identification if something is lost or stolen. It will be used first by the Fire Wise Committee and the office, to mark CWPOA properties.
  • Common Area wants to better mark the boundaries of CSA-21, and is seeking donations for marking posts. The preferred are made of Carsonite and probably would run in the range of $12 per post. There is an alternate which also could be used safely with mowing; it would cost in the range of $3 each but might not be as long-lasting. Joanne reported that the apple trees were pruned which should improve the crop, if not this year at least next year. There also was a duck nesting box donated. It has been put near the pond, hopefully to lure ducks here.

 

Open Session:

  • Again there were kudos to the Fire Wise Brigade for their work, and to Bob Buckles who got the grant and has been running the clearing crews; also to Dan Norton for his help with the clearing. Cindy mentioned that a lot of people have commented to the office, how happy they are with the fire prevention clearing.
  • We will need to keep Phase II of the clearing project on our agenda as next year and the years after, the cleared area will have to be maintained.
  • A lot of our traffic seems to be folks who are looking for Whisky Falls. Would it be possible to have the yellow line that ends at the arch, swing to the left to indicate that’s where to go? There is a sign on the road to the left but it doesn’t stand out very well. Something could also go on our new, larger billboard which will be placed just inside the arch. Perhaps “No access to National Forest”? Something short and sweet.

 

Election Results: Cindy reported that 6 of the 46 ballots were disqualified for not following the directions. There were two abstentions. Shaunna, Volney and Rick were duly elected to the Board of Directors.

 

There being no further business to be transacted, the meeting adjourned at 10:55am.

 

Respectfully submitted

Volney Dunavan, Director