2012 Annual Meeting Minutes

Thursday, September 13, 2012, 6:30 p.m.

1)      Determination of Quorum – determination of quorum made by Matt Dunston. Forty-one lots were represented in person or by proxy at the meeting.

2)      Call to Order, Introductions, Conduct of the Meeting – John Heiser – called meeting to order at 6:40 pm.  John Heiser thanked Emily Vannelli for her service to BTPOA as our contract administrative support service and introduced her successor, Mandi Roehrich.  Emily Vannelli received applause from everyone in the room.  Directors present:  John Heiser and Matt Dunston.  Directors absent:  Duane Fitch, Wayne Claybaugh, Jane King.  Architectural Control Committee members present:  Bob Brown, Mark Wester, Ron Restanio; none absent.

3)      Motions to approve the agenda and accept the election officials – John Heiser- announced that intended agenda item Fire Mitigation, must be postponed because Fire Marshall John Vincent was called out of state to fight forest fires.  Motion made to approve agenda without fire mitigation by Matt Dunston, seconded by Mark Wester, all in favor.   Motion made to accept election officials who were Jim Rios and Ron Restanio made by Phil Perry, seconded by Mark Wester, all in favor.  A similar motion approved Steve Fuhrmann as the recorder for the meeting in the absence of the Secretary of the Board.

4)      Review/Approve Minutes Previous Meetings – John Heiser –motion made by Phil Perry to approve minutes from 9/15/11 Annual Meeting, seconded by Mark Wester, all in favor.  Motion made by Bob Hostetler to approve minutes from 2/16/12 Budget Meeting, seconded by Ron Restanio, all in favor.

5)      ACC Report – Mark Wester – explained the resignation of Pedro Canellas from the ACC and Wester’s appointment of Bob Brown, who was already assisting the ACC as an unelected volunteer, as ACC member pending BTPOA elections.  In a subsequent move, the ACC changed their chairperson from Wester to Brown.  Wester answered questions from floor:
Question:  What about chain link fences?  Answer: Not authorized, at least not in the common galvanized steel version.
Question:  What kind of fence would be approved?  Answer:  split rail, smooth posts, coated wire if not garish.
Question:  How do I apply for a change on my lot?  Answer:  Prefer email to have a record and trail of ACC actions.  See request form on the web site.
Question:  How do you resolve the tree cutting permission vs. fire mitigation?  Answer:  There is no BTPOA barrier to fire mitigation.  Just do it and let us know. 

6)      ACC Election – John Heiser
Fill one 3-year position currently occupied by ACC member Ron Restanio. The new term ends at the 2015 Annual Meeting.  Restanio agreed to run again; there were no other candidates.   Motion was made by Matt Dunston to elect Restanio to another term, seconded by Mark Wester, all in favor.
Fill one 3-year position vacated by Pedro Canellas after two years.  This term ends at the 2013 Annual Meeting.  Bob Brown affirmed his candidacy on the ACC; there were no other candidates.  Motion was made by Phil Perry to affirm Wester’s appointment of Brown to fill the remainder of the term, seconded by Matt Dunston, all in favor.

7)      Board of Directors Election – Matt Dunston
Fill one 3-year position currently occupied by John Heiser. The new term ends at the 2015 Annual Meeting.  Heiser announced his candidacy for re-election; there were no other candidates.  Motion was made by Mike Young to elect Heiser as Director, seconded by Lance Dodd, all in favor.
Fill one 3-year position currently occupied by Jane King. The new term ends at the 2015 Annual Meeting.  Heiser announced that King, who could not be at the meeting, had informed him of her candidacy for re-election.  Patrick Quinlan self-nominated from the floor.  Quinlan addressed the BTPOA members about his interest; Steve Fuhrmann spoke on behalf of King.  Dunston called for secret ballot vote.  Results:  25 for Quinlan; 18 for King.  This presented a technical issue—43 votes with 41 lots signed in.  Heiser suggested re-vote; Lance Dodd pointed out that the margin is wide enough to not change the outcome.  Motion was made by John McCullough to accept the election results, seconded by Howard Schmitz, all in favor.  Quinlan was elected.

8)      Committee Reports

a)      Beautification and Trails – Leslie Velez, Chairperson – Velez made three points.  First, she invited participation in B & T.  Second, she proposed an “Adopt and Entrance” program, in which seven BTPOA members would monitor the condition of one of BTPOA’s seven entrances, do light-duty maintenance, and report maintenance beyond their capability/desire.  Third, she announced a “Fall Cleanup Day” for community maintenance on the entrances on 6 October.  Velez answered questions from the floor:
Question:  What is planned for the washed out trail on Higby Road near Viscount Court?  Answer:  Velez was not aware; she’ll work it.
Question:  Current BTPOA spending on B & T is already over budget; what are the rules?  Answer by Heiser, BTPOA Treasurer:  Budget is guidance; Board adjusts funds as appropriate during the year; this year’s over budget on B & T is offset in the long run by B & T being under budget for several past years.
Question:  How much was spent on materials for the improvements on the Scottswood Drive entrance?  Answer by Heiser:  about $2200; don’t have exact number here.
Question:  Can we spend the same amount on each of the other entrances?  Answer by Heiser:  No, the others are not as badly destroyed and do not require equal amount of work.

b)     Covenant Compliance – No report.

c)      Directory and Website – No report.

d)     Water Augmentation –Bob Hostetler, Chairperson – made two main points about why water augmentation and reporting is important.  First, we live in the west; water is scarce.  Second, we do not own the water we use from our wells.  Therefore, BTPOA is required to submit a detailed report annually as required by Colorado water regulations.  He encouraged BTPOA members on two points.  First, when you receive a postcard from Bent Tree about water use and irrigation, please fill it out and return it.  This saves a lot of time-consuming follow-up.   Second, the ACC’s generous support for fire mitigation does not give property owners authorization to violate their well permits by planting and watering 30 foot-wide green belts around their houses.

e)      Forest Management – John Anderson, Chairperson – presented the report found attached to these minutes.  Please see report at Attachment 1.  (Post-meeting addendum for the record:  Twenty-one lots were inspected during the catch-up tree inspection on 9/17/12.  Seven trees on two lots were found and are to be removed.)

10)    Financial Report – John Heiser, Treasurer – called people’s attention to the 2012 Balance Sheet and Budget vs. Revenue and Expenses pages of the meeting packet and asked if there were any questions or issues.  There were none. 

11)    Neighborhood Watch/Crime Prevention Presentation – Herb Wetzel, Chairperson – pointed out that Bent Tree is fairly safely relative to some neighborhoods in the County.  Our main problem is vandalism, mainly to light fixtures on driveway monuments.  He encouraged everybody to simply be aware, to know the people, activities and vehicles normally on “their block”, and to note and record details about unusual vehicles and activity.  We should phone the non-emergency number at El Paso County Sheriff’s Department, 390-5555, to report every act of mischief or suspicious activity.  Wetzel went over several brochures available for people to pick up about not inviting crime, security systems and self-defense.  Wetzel introduced Keith Duda, Deputy Sheriff, Crime Reduction Unit, El Paso County District 1.  Duda’s remarks and answers to questions are recorded at Attachment 2 to these minutes. 

12)    Meeting Schedule – John Heiser

a)   Special BTPOA meeting to complete the fire mitigation topic is tentatively scheduled for October 18, 2012.

b)     Annual Budget Meeting Date: Thur., February 21, 2013, 6:30 p.m. (“on or about Feb. 15^th”)

c)     Board Meetings: Second Wednesday of each month, 6 pm, Monument Sanitation District board room, 130 Second Street, Monument.

13)    Any Other Business – None

14)    Adjournment – The meeting ended about 8:45 without formal motion or vote for adjournment.

Two Attachments

1. Forestry Report
2. Deputy Duda Remarks

Minutes approved 11/21/2012 by Board for presentation to BTPOA membership.

Minutes approved 9/13/2013 by BTPOA membership.

BTPOA 2012 Annual Meeting Minutes

Attachment 1, Forestry Report

John Anderson, Chairperson, Forestry Committee

In early spring your BT board approved the cost for having the Forest Service (F.S.) inspect all 257 lots for beetle infestation.

A letter and cards were mailed to all lot owners requesting their approval to have the survey performed and at no cost to them.

The cards gave the lot owners three options for having their lots inspected and were asked to mark and return the cards accordingly:

1.  Approval to have the F.S. inspect their lots.

2. That they did not need the F.S. and at their own cost would hire a professional tree service.

3. They had the knowledge and experience to inspect their own lots.

Fifty two lot owners did not return the cards.  Wayne Claybaugh, nine members of our committee (who I will recognize in a few minutes) and myself made numerous phone calls requesting the cards returned so we could let the F.S. know which lots to inspect.

We experienced some glitches responsible for the cards not being returned:

1 .Our data base of current lot owners was not up to date.  Letter/cards were sent to previous owners who ignored them.

2. Some said they never received the cards.

3. Some said they returned the cards which we did not receive.

4. Some said they did not remember if they returned the cards.

5. Some returned the cards but did not mark their chosen option.

6. Phone numbers of lot owners were wrong, not listed or blocked.

After numerous phone calls and conversations I am pleased that we got approval from most of the 237 lots to have the F.S. do the inspections in late April.  A few opted to use a professional tree service or had the knowledge/experience to do it on their own.  The other 20 lots missed the April survey but gave approval to have the F.S. do it on Sept. 17^th.

Beetle infested trees begin attacking other healthy trees between mid-May and late summer.  Beetles in one infested tree will swarm and will kill three or more trees over the winter and spring. Witness what is happening in Colorado’s Summit and Grand counties.

The Sept. 27^th inspection will identify any remaining infested trees that must be removed.  Hopefully any beetles will still be in those trees.

Now…a summary of the April inspections:

Between lots 101 thru 160 and lots 217 thru 228, thirty one active Mtn. Pine Beetles trees were identified and have been disposed of.

Throughout the 237 lots surveyed in April, one hundred and one IPS beetle infested trees were identified and have been removed.

Next year we will do our best to eliminate the glitches that we encountered in 2012.

Most of the lot owners have given us approval to have the F.S. do the inspection on an annual basis.  They will receive a letter stating when the 2013 inspections will take place. If their situation changes, they will contact the Bent Tree (B.T.) Forestry Chairman and advise him/her.

A letter will be sent to the lot owners who did not use the services of the F.S. in 2012. They will be required to send a letter to the BT Forest Chairman stating that they will use a professional tree service to inspect their lot…or that they have the knowledge and experience to do their own inspection.  Our covenants and rules and regulations state a report must be given to the BT Board of the finding of their inspection and send documentation that diseased trees have been removed.

In Summary: I want to thank Wayne Claybaugh, our Board and my committee for their support.  Especially Scott Pann, Mark Oldfield, Henry Arbuleta, George Sanders, Howard Schmidt, Chuck Loeffler, Jim Bering, Steve Prilezky and Larry Stevens.  If they had not helped me with all of those phone calls, I would still be on the phone trying to reach people!! 

And most of all thanks to everyone for your co-operation in helping to keep our beautiful BT forest protected from the invasive and destructive pine beetles. 

-- End of Attachment 1 --

BTPOA 2012 Annual Meeting Minutes

Attachment 2, Neighborhood Watch/Crime Prevention

Keith Duda, Deputy Sheriff, Crime Reduction Unit, El Paso County District 1

Remarks

Introduction.  The Crime Reduction Unit is different than patrol.  We’ll most often see them in unmarked vehilcles.  The work from trends and volume.  Reporting is important.  Bent Tree is in El Paso County Sheriff  District 1. 

Criminal Mischief.  Bent Tree’s primary issue is criminal mischief, mostly by local kids. 

Burglary.  Burglary is relatively low, but is does happen.  Usually citizenry makes burglary easy with unlocked cars and open garage doors.  Primary items stolen are electronics, credit cards and gift cards.  Burglars who want to enter the house typically make a dummy door knock to check for somebody being home.  Always answer, even it is through the door to say you are not interested.

Answers to Questions from the Floor

Question:  (Female) Should I answer the door even if I’m alone?  Answer:  Yes, or you’ll soon be facing the person face to face through kicked in door or window.

Question:  Is the “make my day” law still valid?  Answer:  Yes, IF the person is in your premises (house or garage) AND you feel threatened.  Do not shoot somebody on the way out with your stuff; that is not a threatening act.

Question:  Is a Taser worth it?  Answer:  Yes, better than pepper spray.  Whether you use hand gun, rifle or Tazer, be familiar, practiced, and confident in your ability and intent.  The other person can detect anything less and you may end up the victim of your weapon.

Question:  Do you respond to home security alarms?  Answer:  Yes, but after priority responses.

Question:  How do I screen solicitors?  Answer:  It is difficult to really know.  If suspicious, call the non-emergency number.

Question:  Can I fire a warning shot?  Answer:  No.  That is reckless endangerment because that bullet has to come down.

Question:  What can be done to control speeding?  Answer:  Call the traffic unit.  Based upon trends and volume of complaints they first set up speed monitoring/feedback trailers.  If that does not slow the traffic, they advance to speed traps.

Question:  What can be done about reckless driving?  Answer:  Get a good description and take immediate notes.  Reckless driving goes to court and will result in citation if defendant cannot successfully refute your report.

-- End of Attachment 2 --