CASCADEL WOODS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
SPECIAL BOARD MEETING

December 12, 2001

The Board of Directors met on Wednesday, December 12, 2001 for a special meeting to review the proposed by-laws, discuss budget reductions and hold an executive session to consider legal and personnel issues. Present were Richard Johnson, Karen Balog, Joanna Fuchs, Marie Iden, Judy Linda, Gerald Scharton and John White. President Richard Johnson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The By-Law Committee was represented by John White, Judy Linda and Volney Dunavan.

Quorum and Public Participation

It was established that a quorum was present and the floor was opened for a short public participation. Carmen Taylor asked about repairing holes on Cascadel Drive near Schindler's and Cascadel Road near VanAmburg's. Richard responded that these areas will be done when the weather warms.

Karen informed the board that she spoke with Shevy Schindler about placing a bulletin board on his property just inside the archway. He agreed provided it was used for publics notices only and not for advertising.

Agenda Approval and Time for Adjournment

Judy moved to approve the agenda with the option to rearrange the closed session items, and to set the time for adjournment at 9:00p.m. Gerald seconded. Motion carried

Review of By-Laws

John White, as spokesman for the committee, explained how the new by-laws were derived using an attorney's template, the North Fork CDC set, and the old CWPOA by-laws. The aim was to bring them into line without major changes or alterations. He then reviewed specific sections and explained why changes were made.

Items addressed were the elimination of membership fees, provisions for recall of directors, inclusion of some portions of the Davis-Sterling and Brown Acts, filing for and notice of litigation procedures, calling emergency meetings, proper use of road fees, placement of items on the agenda, qualifications for board candidates, service on dual boards, and voting rights. There was extended discussion concerning membership fees and how to assess non-road maintenance expenses, and of voting rights, especially in terms of how to provide a vote for CSA members who are not association members. The committee will review these items prior to the public meeting in January.

Two requests were made from the audience: (1) John Taylor asked the board to review the Hutchin's suit and what was determined and (2) Shevy Schindler asked that the board members not be seated with their backs to the audience if possible.


Budget

After a short break the board began budget discussions. Richard addressed the letter he forwarded to the board members from attorney Rosati. Judy noted that she would like to see the administration costs lowered to 5% of the road maintenance. Joanna added that the office expenses seem to remain stable from yea r to year. John noted that the previous year's collections were at 98% and the current budget was predicated on 87% collection and that the difference of around $3000 - $3500 would go a long way to help reduce the budget. He was concerned that more people would not want to pay their fair share if they knew collection rates were down. Joanna stated that she took this into consideration in figuring the budget. She explained the P & L comparison to the previous year, and noted that the big fluctuation was in the D&O insurance cost. This brought up a discussion on possible ways to reduce the premium, placing parameters on the policy and looking for a more limited policy. Judy offered to research the D&O coverage with Cindy.

Joanna added that she contacted Rosati about billing authority and the two court documents. Rosati also asked for information concerning the CSA, its formation, and if there is a resolution making the board a formal committee for the CSA. He also presented his opinions on assessing road maintenance charges, the need for a study of long term road needs, and how lack of CC&R's affects property values. There was further discussion on road expenses and how to separate those costs from others.

John White asked about attorney fees, where the board now stands, whether there are more attorney fees and if some of the issues are being re-visited. Richard responded that attorney fees need to be cleared up.

Richard asked for a motion concerning the budget . Gerald moved, seconded by Karen, to review the existing line items in the budget to determine the percent of road maintenance, association costs, and CSA costs of each item. Motion carried unanimously. Richard noted that there is a deadline for presenting newsletter articles to Rudy Zeman for the next issue.

Adjournment to Closed Session

Marie urged the board to meet in closed session to discuss what items need to be dealt with immediately. Board adjourned to closed session at 9:30 p.m.

After the closed session the board reconvened the special meeting and John White moved to authorize Richard to work with attorney Rosati to settle the Jamison bill for an amount up to $2000, provided all parties were released from all liability. Karen Balog seconded and the motion carried unanimously. The special meeting was then adjourned.

Submitted by,

Cynthia Curtis
Assistant Secretary
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CASCADEL WOODS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
BYLAW MEETING

January 12, 2002

The CWPOA board met on Saturday, January 12, 2002 to review the draft of the proposed new bylaws. Present were directors Richard Johnson, Judy Linda, John White and Karen Balog. Absent were Joanna Fuchs, Marie Iden and Gerald Scharton. Richard called the meeting to order at 10:12 AM. John White, Judy Linda, Volney Dunavan and Keith McClure were present as representatives of the bylaw committee.

Each article of the proposed bylaws was reviewed, discussed and added to or changed as necessary. The board decided to delay any alterations to Article 3 until after the board meeting on Monday the 14th. At that time a date will be set to finish the review.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:45 PM on a motion from Judy Linda, seconded by John White, and carried.

Submitted by,

Cynthia Curtis
Assistant Secretary
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CASCADEL WOODS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING

January 14, 2002

The Cascadel Woods Property Owners Board of Directors held its regular meeting on Monday, January 14, 2002. Present were Richard Johnson, Karen Balog, Joanna Fuchs, Judy Linda and John White. Marie Iden and Gerald Scharton were absent.

Richard called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. A quorum was present and the agenda was reviewed and approved.

Public Participation

John Taylor asked for information on the Hutchins' law suit. Judy responded that the board needs more information on the case and the new attorney should be asked to review the matter. John requested a copy of the court ruling.

O. J. Hefner made comments on the bylaws and inquired who is responsible for the expenses of the corporation if the Board is not. He also had questions concerning CSA expenditures on the clubhouse and "park". It was explained that work done "in house" on budgeted projects helps to reduce costs.

Shevy Schindler commented on officer liability and responsibility.

Minutes

Approved minutes from 9/8/01. Richard handed the president's gavel to the secretary for this. Joanna moved, seconded by Richard to approve the minutes. Motion carried.

Richard then took back the chair's position to continue the meeting. Minutes from 11/12/01 were approved as moved by John, seconded by Karen and carried.

Karen moved to approve the minutes from 11/19/02. Judy seconded. Carried.

Karen moved to approve the minutes from 12/12/01. John seconded. Carried.

CSA Business

There were questions and comments on the CSA budget and Joanna explained that the budget reflected room to cover possible increases in electrical, propane and water costs.

It was noted that a valve to the garden had been found open and a large amount of water had been wasted. There was discussion about who is responsible for turning off the water to the community garden, who should be responsible for the cost of water used in the garden, and how to determine the usage. Judy moved to have Brian provide the board with the cost information on the total water use on the garden for spring and summer, to be reviewed at the next board meeting. Karen seconded. Motion carried.

Richard noted that at future meetings the Board will consider opening the CSA meeting, conducting the CSA business, then adjourning the meeting and opening the CWPOA portion of the meeting.

Fire Committee - Brian Curtis reported for Robert Buckles who was unable to stay for the meeting. He reported that meetings were held with the Oakhurst Fire Safe Committee, CDF and the USFS and they came up with the following 12 projects to do.

1. Complete the roadside brushing in the subdivision.
2.

Treat the sprouts from last year's cutting by spraying, and possibly by mechanical means. There was some discussion on the safety of spraying.

 
3.

Home Defense - CDF will reinstate home inspections as this is a high risk area. A public workshop with CDF, USFS and the Fire Safe Committee is planned for the community to explain the proper methods for clearance.

 
4. Vacant Lots Clearance - Encourage owners of vacant lots to do fire clearance.
5. Demonstration Lots - Plan to clear a couple lots to show what a properly cleared lot will look like.
6.

Reduce the fuels in the meadows and creek - treat the 40-acre CSA area. Should be some grant money available  to help do this.

 
7.

Mow meadows using an established procedure and schedule, and trim perimeter of meadows of ladder fuels and brush.

 
8.

Shelter in Place - Maintain area at clubhouse for shelter for residents when unable to evacuate during a fire.

 
9.

Fire Brigade - Not a volunteer fire department, but volunteers trained to do emergency contain -

 

ment while waiting for the fire department to arrive. Would have hose, nozzles and slip-on water pumper unit available.

10. PG&E Clearance - Continue to work with PG&E on clearance under power lines.
11.

USFS Fuel Break - Long term plan for the US Forest Service is to make a 300 foot fuel break

 

surrounding Cascadel. There may be grant funds for them to do this. We would encourage surrounding owners to support a fire break.

12. Burn Pile Management - Continue with the burn pile, assigning various spots for dumping

The fire committee asked for the board 's approval of these items and to set a date for a March meeting. Richard noted that there may be some grant funds available for some of the items. The board went through each proposed project and okayed them with some provisions. For the spraying, should have a MSDS list of the chemicals available. Judy made a motion to set a date of the 2nd of March to have a meeting of the community with CDF and USFS to provide information on home defense, education and inspection. Karen seconded. Motion carried.

Correspondence

A thank you note from Judy Linda was read to the board. Copies of all other correspondence were supplied to each board member. No comments other than a correction to the Coldwell Banker letter for the assessment amount. A thank you note should be sent to Joy and Don Heisig for their service as newsletter editors.

John Jamison

Settlement - Through attorney Robert Rosatti, a negotiated settlement was arranged with John Jamison where he received a final payment of $1500. Jamison and the association attorney still have to sign the final papers. There may still be some other expenses to be paid, plus Rosatti's fees.

Records & Correspondence - This was put on hold.

Budget

Budgets - The issue of how road fees are spent was addressed. Richard explained Rosatti's recommendations on how to assign proper percentages to management. There was further discussion on how to divide expenditures between road maintenance and other costs. He explained that he met with Gerald and Brian to break down past expenditures and the board will sit down with this and make changes as necessary.

It was suggested to have regular audits of the books, and Joanna indicated she had quotes of $1000 to $3000 for each year. John noted there have been published budgets showing how the money is spent. It was also noted that the new bylaws would require annual audits. Questions were raised as to how audits were to be paid, how to remodel the budget, obtaining the assistance of a controller, and having a CPA review the books. Richard noted that it is on the agenda to hire a new CPA. Karen made a motion that Judy Linda look into the cost of a controller to oversee the finances of the CWPOA concerning how the budget is broken down. Joanna seconded. Motion carried.

Sherwood's Bill - Tabled to the next meeting. Richard presented a history of the events that led to the services of Jim Sherwood. There was discussion on paying it, requesting reimbursement from Marie for the payment and getting an itemized list of the services provided. Judy moved to table the issue of James Sherwood's bill until the content of e-mails and questions to the lawyer and responses are presented to the board by Marie Iden. Joanna seconded. Motion carried.

Reimbursement of Funds - On hold.

D & O Insurance - Richard explained that he had spoken with the insurance agent concerning the cost of the D&O policy and she recommended keeping it as is for a while and look at other ways to reduce costs. She also explained that the rates could go up to over $3000 due to the claims. There was discussion on this and of not having a D&O policy. Following the discussions, Karen moved to request details of all claims on the D&O insurance. Joanna seconded. Motion carried.

Unfinished Business

Get Acquainted Meeting for Board Members - February 8th was set as a date for the board members to meet informally at Richard's home.

New CPA - Joanna contacted Moore, Grider and Company of Fresno about doing the tax returns and audits. They would charge $600 to do the three tax returns and $1000 to $3000 for the audits. Judy moved to approve the firm of Moore, Grider and Company and to negotiate terms for an audit. Karen seconded. Motion carried.

Placing Items on Agenda - Richard noted that each board member has a responsibility to place items on the agenda and to observe to cut-off time (10 days prior to the meeting). Richard and Judy are the contacts for this.

Spraying - This was covered is the fire committee report (funding is approved).

New Business

Office Keys - Concern was expressed about too many keys being out. Cynthia was asked to get keys back from Jenny Castles and Greg Sheets. No change was made to the policy of Board members having keys upon request.

Rumors - Marie Iden, Passes - On hold

Apology Letter - On hold.

Rumors - Richard explained that the rumor that he had gone to the Grand Jury was untrue. He and Gerald had filled out papers for this purpose, but did not submit them. Had the situation in Cascadel broken down, then they would have contacted the Grand Jury for assistance.

E-Mail Messages - Richard expressed concern about individual board members receiving e-mails addressed solely to them and circumventing the attorney. He was specifically concerned about a letter sent to Marie prior to the last executive board meeting with no cc's to the rest of the board. John noted that it was faxed to her just prior to the meeting, and she had no control over to whom it was sent.

O. J. Hefner - Had requested to address the board on the financial issues, but it was covered earlier in the meeting.

Committees

Placed on hold.

Adjournment

Joanna moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:55 PM. Karen seconded. Motion carried.

Submitted by,

Cynthia Curtis
Assistant Secretary
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