Pine Forest Owners Association
Membership
Meeting
May 24th, 2008
Pine Forest Board members present were David Chantler, Lynn Lewicki,
Casey Ruud and Kris Guttormsen. Charlie Segale of Pine Forest
Management Services was also present. There were a total of
approximately 25 people present.
Dave called the meeting to order at 3:10 PM.
Recycling
Betsy Cushman of Methow Recycles gave a presentation of what they can do now and what they are
planning in the future. Methow Recycles is in their 7th year of operation at their main site in Twisp.
The site is off Airport Way at the south end of Twisp. It is a nonprofit organization which relies heavily on volunteer help. They welcome anybody that is willing to help. They have been raising money to open a recycling center in Winthrop which is now open in Horizon Flats, across from the lumber yard. The site accepts cardboard only at the present time, but money is being raised to accept other items as well. The Winthrop site will probably not accept glass because of the cost of processing. Glass is accepted at the Twisp site for donation of $2 per 30-gallon garbage can. Most of the processed glass is purchased by MVSTA for use on the trails. Betsy reported that 80% of their revenue comes from aluminum, cardboard and newsprint. Methow Recycles can be contacted at (509) 997-0520.
On a question about recycling building materials, Betsy responded that there is a company in Twisp, Methow Resource
Recovery, which accepts building materials. They also sell recycled materials.
They are open Saturdays 10 AM to 4AM. They are located one block west of SR 20 after crossing the bridge in Twisp.
Contact Mary at 997-5643 for more information or e-mail at mrr@methownet.com.
Dave added that there has been discussions about adding facilities for recycling adjacent to our garbage
dumpster in Pine Forest. We would have to arrange for and pay for hauling of recycled materials to Methow
Recycles
Forest Stewardship
Lynn Lewicki gave some background on the project and how we have gotten
to where we are today. We have received more than $200,000 in federal
grants over the past 9 years and have applied for one more grant in 2008.
We are hoping for a grant of about $22,000. The grant is a 50/50
matching funds type which means we will have to come up with funds
and/or labor/services for our share if we are awarded the grant.
The new grant will be for work on private properties and cannot be
used for burning slash piles. Charlie said he has been burning some
piles located in greenbelts. We are currently looking into the
insurance implications of Charlie burning on private properties as
well. We will probably move away from using outside contractors for
burning and do it ourselves with volunteer help. Lynn also reported
that we are in the process of signing a contract with a local forester
to continue the work Arnie Arnesen has done for us. Arne passed away
earlier this year.
Lynn also mentioned that the Forest Service would like for us to
have an escape route from upper Pine Forest to the west, to Thompson
Ridge Road, in case of fire. They have driven the route, which uses
our access trail and MVSTA trails. Their opinion was that with all
the trail junctions, the route might be confusing and signs may be
needed.
President's Report
Dave explained how we work with our property manager. Our property
manager is responsible for road maintenance, water system maintenance
and monitoring, and snow plowing on common roads. He also collects
dues and is responsible for depositing the funds in our bank account.
He also contracts for outside services and prepares checks for services
rendered. All checks prepared by the manager are signed by the
treasurer. The formal accounting is performed by an outside accountant.
Dave, Charlie and our accountant met recently with a local CPA, Bart
Bradshaw, for him to review our financial procedures and suggest
improvements, if necessary. His conclusion, presented in a letter to
the Board, was that our procedures are proper, with adequate checks and
balances. He did point out that per state law we should have an annual
audit which would cost about $1,500. Based on his understanding of our
procedures, however, he did not recommend that we do annual audits.
Dave asked for opinions from the group regarding an audit this year.
One person was uncomfortable making a decision without having read the
letter from Mr. Bradshaw. It was therefore decided to send a copy of
the letter to the membership.
A motion was made to waive the audit for this year. The motion was
seconded and carried.
Treasurer’s Report
Kris Guttormsen has agreed to serve as treasurer after the resignation
of Kent Hitch. He reported that, as of the end of April, we had total
monetary assets of about $107,000. Our projections for the year show
that our expenses will exceed our income by approximately $1,900. He
also noted that the Board last fall decided to increase the general
dues by $50 per year for the next three years, including 2008. With
the 138 lots that are paying general dues, this will increase our
income by $6,900 next year and by $13,800 in 2010.
There was a question about snow plowing costs for this past winter.
Actual costs were $21,257. Our budget amount was $25,000.
Mail Boxes
Dave suggested we may want to have local mail boxes installed.
It would initially be an assembly consisting of 16 individual mail
boxes plus a couple of larger boxes for packages. The mail boxes
would logically be installed near the garbage dumpster and the post
office would deliver for free. Pine Forest would charge a nominal
annual fee, less than what the post office charges. It was pointed
out that the local newspaper likely would arrive a day later than at
the post office. There were discussions about what would happen to
our addresses, and that has still to be determined.
It was suggested that whatever we do needs to consider aesthetics.
The mail boxes would be installed near our entrance and the signage
that is currently there is not exactly aesthetically pleasing. Dave
suggested that we build a little support structure with a roof to keep
the snow of both sides of the mail box assembly. If we decide to
proceed with recycling facilities at that location, the mail boxes could
be combined with those facilities.
New Board Members
Doug Wolfe and Kent Hitch have resigned from the Board since our
last membership meeting. They have been replaced by Casey Ruud and
Marishka Marten. Marishka has agreed to serve as secretary.
The following Board members were up for election
* Dave Chantler
* Kris Guttormsen
Both had agreed to run again. There were no nominations from the floor.
Mark Schuetz made a motion to accept both candidates.
The motion was seconded and carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:25 PM.
Kristian Guttormsen
Secretary
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