Minutes from the Initial Meeting of the Member Advisory Committee (7/11/16)

by conradin MSR HOA Meetings, MSR Member Advisory Committee, Wateron Posted on

MSR Member Advisory Committee

See section 6 (Background) for a summary of the purpose of the committee. Comments are encouraged (see form at bottom of post).

Meeting Minutes

Held July 11, 2016 at the McCarthy residence; duration 1:15 hr

Present: David Blouin – MSR Community Association President
Pam Brannon – MSR077+078 (by phone)
Neil DeLuca – MSR091
Conrad McCarthy – MSR058 (Timekeeper)
Russell Palmer – MSR (Note taker)
Next meeting: TBA, notionally Q4, see item 5 below

1) Agenda

All                          Introductions, review agenda
Dave                     Review of YTD financials, budget vs. expense on an exception basis
Dave                     Status of acceptance by Liberty; any water operation issues not covered above
Dave                     Outlook for remainder of 2016
Members             Concerns, issues not covered above
All                         Was this worthwhile?  Suggestions for next meeting
The notes below are organized by the Agenda topics for ease of reading, although the actual discussion was less linear.

2) YTD Financials

Working from a 1/1/16-5/31/16 Banking Summary provided by the Treasurer, Dave stated that we are generally in line with the 2016 Budget, except in the following areas:

  • YTD Legal Fees total $11,730 against a $15,000 budget. Fees already paid in 2016 cover billing by the Secretary for the period 4/1/15-12/28/15. Additional fees for 2016 are expected to be less than last year, as the Secretary is not heavily involved in the Liberty transaction. However, we may run over in this budget category.
  • Well & Water Line Repair expenses total $3103 YTD, against a budget of $1300. The bulk of these expenses ($3000) covered replacement of a pump, radios, and solar controller. These expenses are carried as W&WL Improvements, and are therefore general costs (not part of Water Operation).
  • Additional water system work, including required upgrades to the Alamo pumping station, are anticipated before transfer to Liberty. Dave hopes to defer most of these expenses until after a final inspection of the system by Liberty. However, depending on timing, this may require additional (unbudgeted) W&WL Improvements in 2016. (See also Water Consultant concerns in Section 3 of these minutes.)
  • Dave anticipates that these above-budget expenses can be accommodated between the 2016 $5790 income-budget surplus, and normal variations in the other budget items.
  • Neil asked if there was any opportunity to save money from expenses in the Budget. Dave said that the only real way is to decrease water usage.
  • NO GENERAL SUPPLEMENTAL ASSESSMENTS ARE ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME

3) Water System Acceptance / Water Operation

  • Status: MSR is assisting Liberty in preparing the submittal package for the AZ Corporation Commission.
    • Liberty counsel is working the final documents, but MSR is often called on to revise our engineering documents into the format required by the AZCC.
    • Dave expressed some concern that the water consultant who designed our system (Peter Livingston), and who has provided much of our technical response to Liberty, has taken a full time faculty job at a California university. In his new role, Peter may be unable to provide timely response to Liberty requests. Dave is working to effect a smooth transfer to another water consultant that MSR has used (Kyle Brock), but it may require some “doubling up” of consultant cost to effect the transfer.
  • After Liberty counsel submits the documents to AZCC, Dave anticipates it will be a minimum of three, but more likely six months, until the public hearing before the Commission.
    • Is was suggested that Dave prepare a simple “road map” outlining all the steps from where we are now, to final acceptance by Liberty as an aid to communicating status to the Members. Dave agreed to pull this together.
    • There was discussion of whether Member involvement would be helpful once the matter is before the AZCC. Dave’s initial thought was that since the proposal is apparently unopposed, the less public input, the better.
      • The Treasurer has affidavits of support from all but one MSR property owner, and no opposition from the single exception.
      • Pam cautioned that any opposition (whether from MSR members or other Liberty customers) will show up at hearings anyway. In which case, it may be very beneficial to have a strong, unified, property owner presence at any public hearing.
      • Dave took this under advisement for discussion with the Board. If Members do chose to attend any hearings, it will be very desirable to have a unified voice.
  • Water consumption is up
    • Dave and Conrad resumed reading water meters in June, in preparation for the return of cattle to the northern part of the ranch. Ranch daily consumption averaged 7,525 gal/day in the Nov-Jan period. Ranch consumption rose to 17,276 gal/day in the Feb-May period, and increased further to 20,282 gal/day in June.
    • Most of the increase is driven by increased watering during the dry, hot months. However approximately 20% of the Feb-May consumption can be attributed to a leaking irrigation valve at a single residence. It has now been repaired, but all residents need to ensure that their water use is monitored, even when they are not around.
    • Dave and Conrad expressed frustration that a very small number of residences consume a large share of the water, and show limited interest in trying to reduce it. Conrad asked Dave to have to Board discuss potential approaches to encourage conservation in the period prior to Liberty acceptance.
    • Third-quarter water system operating expense payments were due July 15. Dave does not expect any change to the fourth quarter assessment. Based on ranch consumption through end June, our Water Contract Expense is slightly less than half the 2016 budget for this category.
    • Dave is assessing whether water for the cattle could be met with well supply only.

4) General Discussion

  • Earlier in 2016, Dave and Russell presented a proposal for the MSR developer that would allow construction of guest houses prior to the main house. The idea being to allow owners to experience living at the ranch prior to embarking on major construction. The proposal also included the notion of the developer building several such “spec” guest houses in an effort to stimulate sales on the ranch. Dave and Russell plan to revisit the proposal with the developer to clarify some of their ideas.
  • Several residents have commented on the worsening drop from the asphalt to the gravel in the trash bin area. Dave said he would look into either a concrete apron, or additional grading.
  • Neil suggested finding ways to get suggestions from property owners. Conrad explained that the simplest way is to do that is through the website, but that only about half the Members have registered on the website (www.msr-hoa.org).

5) Future Meetings?

  • Dave expressed appreciation for being able to get a group perspective.
  • All attendees felt that the meeting was useful, and worth the time spent so far. Neil commented that in order to have these ranch meetings to be beneficial:
    • there needs to be a specific way for residents to get their concerns to the committee (via web HOA).
    • to have a consensus among the committee on issues.
    • have David present the issue(s)to the board.
    • get a response from the board.
    • if the board is not responsive, whether positive or negative, the committee is a waste of time.
  • The next meeting is notionally planned for the Nov/Dec timeframe, unless events (e.g. discussion of the Liberty Acceptance Road Map) make an earlier meeting desirable.

6) Background on the Committee

The purpose of the committee is to implement the recommendation made at the 2016 Annual Member Meeting:

“It was then proposed that a committee of owners be created who could bring the concerns of the members to the Chairman’s attention, and with whom he could discuss matters of general concern, preferably before the Board takes action on them. There was general agreement among the members that such a two-way flow of information would help avoid misunderstandings in the future. The Chairman and Secretary agreed that this was a very good suggestion, and the Secretary requested the names of volunteers to serve on the committee. After some discussion, it was agreed that Pam, Conrad and Russell would be the initial members.”

Neil Deluca was drafted to the committee to add perspective from non-resident members.

If other Members are interested in being on the committee, they should contact Dave Blouin.

 

Leave a Comment