The Minutes
SLE HOA BOARD MEETING
Date: March 13, 2023
Location: Tisha Dore’s home
Board Members in Attendance: John O'Neil (President), Gus Ferguson (VP), Marilyn Rousher (Treasurer), Vern Peters (Member at Large), Corrie Piper (Member at Large), Tisha Dore (Secretary)
Quorum: YES
Call to Order: 6:37pm
Minutes from the last meeting: Unanimously accepted as written
Treasurer’s Report:
Current in checking account: $ 62,603.65
Current in savings account: $ 102,621.71
Current in petty cash account: $ 201.00
Total in bank accounts: $ 165,426.36
Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report by: John O’Neil
Seconded by: Tisha Dore
ARC Report: Keven and Michelle Porter, Lot 158, followed up on earlier correspondence and verbal approval received this Summer to get a written thumbs-up now that the final plans have been approved by the county, and construction is about to begin. John responded to their follow-up message, and reached out to them, and provided final written approval on their build plan.
Timber Report: Timber Committee Chair, Gus Ferguson, says there is nothing to report.
Road Report: Roads Committee Chair, Joe Sandbank, attended this portion of the meeting. He said both SLE entrances and round abouts are priorities and clean-up will be completed shortly. Joe noted the crew may need to deal with some trees in the way too. Rock was also discussed. Ten loads for St. Joe is already approved. Joe said that ten loads is a $2500 day for SLE. The low areas must be covered in rock as well.
Joe provided background on the low entrances. He said many years ago, they were paved incorrectly by the state, leaving them too low. This has resulted in ongoing issues that we must deal with each year. Joe says that if we could mag the entrances this will improve roads long-term. We’ll price this out, look for possible discounts, and see what can be done after rainy season. While John will reach out to the state to inquire about possible fixes, the focus will remain on keeping SLE road repairs + maintenance on track.
The board also discussed the possibility of inquiring about a bulk discount for those who want to spray the roads outside their properties in the dry season starting in June/July. While Marilyn will inquire about possible discounts with Lyman’s, Joe suggested that we can then coordinate with residents to grade those sections first before they are sprayed to maximize the impact, help preserve the roads longer-term.
Per Joe, we rather urgently need improved equipment to get on the next phase of road work in Spring.
Joe is urging the board to invest in a new grader, which (as discussed previously) would cost approx. 90k, at the least. Joe is working his contacts and all possible angles as he continues to search for deals for SLE. Even with sales of existing equipment, budget is still a concern for everyone. We all agree time can be significantly cut with a better grader and more work completed with less down-time for repairs. In a few years, Joe notes that with a new grader, the entire process of maintaining the roads in SLE could be significantly streamlined with simple Fall and Spring tune-ups, which we know would be welcomed by all.
Fundraising to help with the purchase of a newer grader was also discussed. The board will invite donations from residents who can and would like to help to supplement the cost. We will work with Joe to put more structure around our fundraising plans. We will share more info on this at the upcoming annual meeting May (see below for date, location). In addition, we will share fundraising info in our recently re-launched newsletter as well as on Nextdoor and our new private Facebook group.
For now, Joe will request more materials, and keep looking for best deals on graders and cutting edges for the blades. He will pull the budget on previous purchases of edges to compare. Vern suggested tractor auctions in neighboring towns. He’s going to continue to research along with Joe and Troy. Remaining equipment to be cleared out of the shop was also discussed. Vern then mentioned that we should keep an eye on the KEC plans to bury power lines in SLE starting this Fall, which could impact road projects. Given there are grants involved, there are many moving parts, but we’ll continue to keep an eye on this.
OLD BUSINESS
- Treasurer’s Budget – Status quo, targeting same as last couple years, but Marilyn will do an assessment of where we were at end of each of the last few years in order to begin to see how much fundraising may be needed to help offset the costs for a better grader soon.
- SLE Equipment Sale – focus is on selling items, but fundraising is the highest priority.
- Mechanic Expenditures – complete, Joe headed that up, and we’re good.
- Missing Street Signs – weather permitting, this will be dealt with shortly.
Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report by: Marilyn Rousher Seconded by Vern Peters
NEW BUSINESS
- May Public Meeting – We are confirmed with Timberlake HS Commons Room for May 9th at 6:30-8:00pm. Tisha is working on an invitation letter to mail out first week of April.
- Fundraising Party / Chili Cookoff – Targeting July, we can promote in prep for + at May meeting, Vern is going to head this up, and the board is going to help. Fundraiser for new grader.
- Website – We’re sticking with it as-is until it expires, but continue to update content for accuracy. Tisha has requested images from the board and fundraising vids from Joe + Troy.
- Facebook – Tisha reported 115+ residents with confirmed addresses/residency are now members of the FB group and encouraging other board members to keep engagement high with informative posts, images, and discussed future fundraising posts asking for grader donations.
- Newsletter – Lois is working on the content, Tisha will handle distribution via email, website and Facebook. Nextdoor app will point to the website and FB links and note that if we don’t have a resident’s email address, they’ll get a hardcopy, so SLE neighbors, please let the non-tech folks know they’ll get a newsletter as well, just in their mailbox.
Motion to adjourn the meeting at: 8:39pm by: Vern
Seconded the motion: Everyone Else
Meeting was adjourned at: 8:39pm
