Carry
Ponds Association Board Meeting
August 20,
2016
Wanda and
Juddy Calder Camp
East Carry
Pond
Present: Sandy
Runyon, Wanda Calder, Bob Smith, Walter Purda, Norm Kalloch, Jerry Child, Jim
MacLeod. Others: Larry Stowell, David
Robinson, MaryEllen Royce, David Royce, Juddy Calder.
President Runyon called the meeting to order at 9:20AM.
Dirigo. Sandy gave an update on latest communications
with Blaine Miller of Dirigo. Mr. Miller
made a request for CPA gate keys. Sandy
responded noting Dirigo was not a member of the CPA and had reservations about
providing keys, however would do so if needed for timber harvesting. If the intended use of the keys was for real
estate brokers, the CPA prefers that they be given Dirigo keys. Sandy provided John DiPierro’s contact
information. It was also, noted that
Dirigo has added their own lock to the Mountain Road Gate and that they have
begun logging near Middle Carry Pond.
Bills. Copies of East and West 2016 road
bills were passed out. Jerry Child noted
that all road bills needed to be itemized and not lump sum. Road Commissioners approve road bills and if
they are not sufficiently detailed need to be returned to the contractor before
passed on to the treasurer for payment. Jerry Child offered to
compile a standardized format for future billing.
Jim MacLeod noted that the construction and installation of
the water bars is by volunteers with the materials paid for out of West Road
Funds. Jim reported that he went to
several contractors for cost estimates for 2016 roadwork and that Leo Beane
provided the best value for the CPA.
Discussion of the Carrie Beane Letter addressed to the CPA Board. A copy of the list of Road Commissioners
Duties was handed out. (This and the
duties of other CPA positions are available on the CPA blog.)
Background. It was
decided in 2014, that to improve
coordination of road work between the road commissioners and the board, a
process be instituted whereby the road commissioners would coordinate their
activities (dates, work areas, costs) with a member of the board from their
respective area(s).
Little coordination
occurred at EOM, and although initial coordination occurred at West, there was
not adequate follow-up. In 2015, the
board discussed the success, or lack thereof, of this policy and reaffirmed the
position that this coordination was paramount to success and, two
coordinators were appointed; Jerry Child for the East and Jim MacLeod
West. Coordination at EOM improved
dramatically, but did not really change much at West.
At the end of the summer in 2015, there was a
misunderstanding by the board concerning Leo’s bill as it appeared to be way
over budget even though Leo absorbed the overage. The board felt having Jim MacLeod as Road
Commissioner for the West would further improve communications with the board,
and remove any perception of conflict of interest. It is the consensus of the board that
communication has improved. President
Runyon and then Director Larry Stowell talked to Leo about the reasons for the
change in road commissioners.
Jerry Child noted the difference in terrain between the east
and west zones with the west having steeper topography, and more surface water
issues.
David Royce felt the board was not treating the east and
west commissioners the same as Stan was paid to work on the roads. Bob Smith replied that Stan Giguere is not a
contractor and does not submit a bill and is not paid by CPA. He may be paid by the contractor if hired to
cut brush or similar tasks. Sandy clarified that the board did not direct
Jim to seek outside bids for 2016 roadwork.
Walter Purda and Bob Smith said the whole issue involved a
lack of communication between the board and Leo. The board needs to write a response to Carrie
and move on.
There was discussion on the perception in lack of
transparency by the board. MaryEllen
stated that not everyone has email therefore not all CPA property owners are
aware of scheduled board meetings. Also,
board minutes are not sent out by regular mail, only posted to the blog and
that system adds to the perception of secrecy, but she also noted sending
mailings is expensive. Sandy suggested
if the board knew of individuals who had a desire to know the happenings at a
particular board meeting and did not have email, the meeting notice and minutes
could be sent out by regular mail.
Dave
Royce suggested that the board develop a yearly schedule of board meeting
dates. Although this idea has merit,
Sandy stated that presently it takes numerous phone calls and emails to pick a
date agreeable with everyone to meet and that scheduling meeting dates that far
out could be problematic.
It was questioned whether Carrie’s letter should have been
read at the annual meeting as it was addressed to "CPA Officers &
Directors." There was discussion of the pros and cons of reading the
letter to the general membership.
MaryEllen noted that Leo was not invited to the September
24, 2015 board meeting and therefore not able to be involved in the board’s
discussion or decision to replace him as road commissioner. Sandy said that it was not the intent of the
board to offend Leo, but to alleviate the perception of a conflict of interest
and have improved communications with the board.
The board agreed to place Carrie’s
letter in the CPA’s permanent file as requested.
David Robinson told the board that part of the problem
stemmed from the $9000 bill presented to the treasurer in 2015 for roadwork,
but Leo planned to absorb the $3,000 overage as a contribution to the CPA, and
did so.
The board discussed the pros and cons of including in the
annual meeting minutes some of the disconcerting comments that followed the
letter’s reading . Some felt they should be in the minutes, as that was what
was said, while others felt they were not conducive to getting beyond the
situation.
Jim MacLeod made a motion not to include the detailed
comments in the minutes, but note that there was a lively discussion on the
issues presented in Carrie Beane’s letter.
Motion passed.
Walter Purda volunteered to write a draft response to
Carrie’s letter for approval and revisions by the President & the Board. Once finalized and signed by Sandy he offered to deliver it to the Beanes. All agreed to his willingness to do so.
Other
issues/ comments:
Wanda Calder gave a brief history of how the current
structure of having two road commissioners and two separate road maintenance
budgets happened. In 2005, because of
the perception that the east not getting its share of attention for road repair
annual road dues were split based on ownership percentage in each area. This has eased concerns of fairness and the
structure is working well. Bob Smith
concurred. Dave Royce noted that early
on there had been an issue relative to access to Eagle Trail, but eventually resolved.
A brief discussion on the negative effects logging can have
on gravel roads. Jerry Child was
confident Dirigo would repair any damage to the road system resulting from
their timber harvest. David Robinson
uses the Boise Road as much as possible while doing roadwork to minimize damage
to the Spring Road.
CPA has a long term lease on the outlet dam at West Carry
Pond and access to the dam for needed repair as noted in the deed from Tom
Dickson Jr. to Leo, Carrie and David.
Norm Kalloch will search the CPA records for a copy of this lease.
David Royce commented that if Bayroot ever gated off both
ends of the Boise Road it might be possible to go back to our original gate
system consisting of just three gates.
It was noted, that if Bayroot should later reverse the road closure it
might not be possible to get permission to reinstall the current gates.
The board recognizes the ownership of much of the road
system in the West Carry area by the Beanes and David Robinson. CPA holds an easement to use and maintain
these roads.
Meeting adjourned
11:00AM(ish)
Submitted by Norm Kalloch, Secretary
