Bent Tree Property Owners’ Association
2008 Annual Meeting Minutes
The BTPOA 2008 Annual Meeting was convened Thursday, September 25, 2008.
Due to a lack of quorum at that meeting, a motion was passed to continue the meeting.
The meeting reconvened Thursday, November 13, 2008
at the Sundance Mountain Lodge, 1865 Woodmoor Drive, Monument, Colorado 80132.
2 Determination of quorum: Steve Fuhrmann counted the list of attendees and reported that a quorum was present.
3 Call to order and welcome: Duane Fitch, President: The meeting, continued from September 25, was reconvened at 6:41 p.m.
a) Approval of agenda: John McCullough moved that the agenda be accepted. Howard Schmitz seconded. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
b) Approval of 2007 Annual Meeting Minutes: Howard Schmitz made a motion to accept the 2007 Annual Meeting Minutes. The motion was seconded by Wayne Claybaugh and passed by unanimous consent.
c) Comments: Duane highlighted the accomplishments of the past year and acknowledged the contributions volunteers have made.
1) He thanked Chris and Terri Patterson for setting up refreshments for this meeting and the meeting September 25.
2) Duane noted that the board meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Monday of every month and will listen to any owner that comes to a meeting. Duane introduced the board members present.
3) Duane noted that the Beautification and Trails Committee arranged for clean up of the entrances and repair of the trail. For erosion control, steps were installed in portions of the trail. Duane added that Al Thaut is the point of contact for issues with the roads.
4) Duane noted that state laws require the association to enforce the covenants and said the board has renewed its contract with Red Oak Associates to help with that. He added that there has been a marked improvement in covenant compliance within Bent Tree. He announced that Bill Owens is the new chair of the Covenant Compliance Committee and that Bill is looking for volunteers to help with that work.
5) Duane acknowledged the work of John Anderson and Larry Stevens on the Forest Management Committee.
6) Duane noted that Chris Patterson has been active in coordinating neighborhood watch. The neighborhood watch signs are up. Those with neighborhood watch questions or comments should contact Chris.
7) Duane commended Steve Fuhrmann’s work on the BTPOA web site (www.btpoa.net). Duane added that we receive positive comments from many associations and questions about how to set up a similar site.
8) Duane noted that the Bent Tree Log newsletter has been superseded by the email communications and postings on www.btpoa.net. He added that to reduce costs, the BTPOA directory will not be published again until 2010. The latest Architectural Control Committee (ACC), board, and committee contact information is posted www.btpoa.net as are minutes of the board meetings and membership meetings and notices of upcoming meetings.
9) Duane commended Jerry Lopez’ work on the Water Augmentation Committee and solicited volunteers to help Jerry.
10) Duane recognized Wayne and RaeJean Claybaugh for their work on the Welcoming Committee, which greets new people to Bent Tree. If you know of newcomers, please contact Wayne or RaeJean.
11) Duane noted that Tri-Lakes disposal is now offering a discount for Bent Tree residents.
4 Election officials: Ron Britt and Bob Hostetler were accepted as the election officials for the meeting.
5 Board Election: Howard Schmitz made a motion to elect Mike Mastrodonato to fill the board vacancy created when Larry Stevens resigned. There were no nominations from the floor for the position. The motion was passed by unanimous consent. Mike’s term expires at the 2011 Annual Meeting.
6 ACC Election: Mark Wester and Ron Restanio were elected to the ACC by unanimous consent. Mark’s term ends at the 2011 Annual Meeting. Ron’s term ends at the 2009 Annual Meeting.
7 Revision to the Bylaws: John Heiser noted that since the Bylaws currently make no mention of proxies, the Colorado statutes governing non-profit corporations require that proxies be accepted. Duane added that some proxies were brought to this meeting to ensure that a quorum was achieved and the cost of convening another meeting was avoided. Duane proposed that if we want to change the Bylaws to prohibit use of proxies that the quorum requirement, which is currently 15% (39 lots), be reduced to 10% (26 lots). He said that alternatively, if the 15% quorum requirement is retained then proxies could be explicitly allowed with some limit as to the number of proxies any one person can exercise. After some discussion, Steve Fuhrmann made a motion to reduce the quorum requirement to 10%. Jon Wroblewski seconded the motion. The motion failed with a show of hands vote of 14 for and 28 against. A motion was made by Darlene Johnson and seconded by Chuck Loeffler to have a maximum of two proxies per person. An amendment to the motion was made by Wayne Claybaugh to reduce to one the number of proxies allowed per person. The amended motion failed with a show of hands vote of 15 for and 30 against. The original unamended motion retaining the current 15% quorum requirement and limiting to two the number of proxies any person can exercise passed on a show of hands vote with 40 for and 1 against.
8 Water Committee Report: Duane reported that Jerry Lopez could not attend because of a death in the family. Duane noted that Bent Tree water usage for 2008 is under the threshold set in the subdivisions’ water court rulings. From 2006 to 2007, over 550,000 gallons less water was used in the 36 lots that are measured. The 2008 report shows we are using even less water than in 2007. Duane thanked the residents for their conservation efforts and noted that as a result, the amount of augmentation water we will need to buy from Great Divide Water Company will be reduced, which will save the association money.
9 Forest management update: Larry Stevens led a discussion of the pine beetle and mistletoe problems. A Bent Tree-wide tree inspection is being planned. More information will be provided later.
10 Treasurer’s Report: Chris Patterson presented a financial report, which is posted at www.btpoa.net. There were no questions from the floor. Chris noted that the Annual Budget meeting will be held in Feb 2009.
11 Rewrite of the Covenants for Filings I and II: Duane noted that a committee is being formed to prepare the proposed changes to the covenants. The proposed changes will then be submitted to the owners of property in Filings I and II for a vote. Duane stressed that all proposals for changes be provided to the committee in writing. The committee plans to make extensive use of e-mail to develop and refine the changes to the covenants. Duane introduced Mike Mastrodonato who is coordinating the effort. Mike spoke of the need to update the covenants now and that he is seeking a broad spectrum of individuals to conduct the review and update. If you are interested in helping this effort, please contact Mike.
12 Adjourn: Ron Brett moved for adjournment and this was seconded by Howard Schmitz. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m.
13 Education about Bent Tree and the BTPOA: John Heiser stayed after the meeting to discuss these topics with those who were interested.
Minutes submitted by Chris Patterson and John Heiser. Approved by the membership February 12, 2009.