The Minutes
SLE HOA BOARD MEETING
Date: November 12, 2024
Location: Cup of Grace
Board Members Attending: John O’Neil, Gus Ferguson (via Phone), Rebecca Morales, Brendan Mills, Sandi Nichols, David Petersen, and Tisha Dore
Quorum: YES
Call to Order: 7:00pm
Minutes from the last meeting: Accepted (Motioned by: Rebecca Morales, Seconded by: Sandi Nichols)
WELCOME (John): Hello, and welcome, SLE. Thanks for finding your way to our new location here at Cup of Grace. A number of our residents volunteer here and we’re happy to expose more of you to their good works. Additionally, we’d like to welcome our newest board member, David Petersen. He is an inventor + retired business owner who brings to our board a practical perspective, even temperament + sense of humor. We have a full agenda tonight, and just one hour to get through it all while allowing for as much interactivity as possible. So, please, if you have a question or feedback, be very brief, 1-2 mins max. David, would you like to say a few words? David: I’m happy to serve and promise a chicken in every pot!
Treasurer’s Report (Rebecca):
Current in checking account: $ 20,199.91
Current in savings account: $ 21,354.21
Current in petty cash account: $ 201.00
Total in bank accounts: $ 41,755.12
8 PROPERTY OWNERS ARE DELINQUENT ON THEIR DUES (TOTALING NEARLY $4K):
3 lots owe on multiple years – Liens against their property have been recorded with Kootenai County.
1 lot owes on this and last year – Lien against their property has been recorded with Kootenai County.
4 lot owners owe dues for this year and monthly finance charges will only continue to accumulate.
20 owners representing nearly $7K are now current, down from 28 delinquent accounts + nearly $11K, but 8 homes representing $4,053 in unpaid dues is still far too much for a small private community.
*** WE DEPEND ON YOUR DUES. PLEASE WORK WITH US TO CATCH UP OR SETUP A PAYMENT PLAN***
Behind on your dues? Send payment ASAP or contact Rebecca Morales, at treasurer@spiritlakeeast.org. For more info on payments + donations (mailing address + PayPal): www.spiritlakeeast.org/payordonate
Motion to accept Treasurer Report by: Tisha Dore
Motion Seconded by: Sandi Nichols
Roads Report (John): Our Road Chair, Joe Sandbank, is working tonight, but provided info in advance, and Gus who is on the phone, has also provided info here, but John will report to save time, and get to the Q&A. The Intermax Road project is now done and we’re taking over the remaining finishes as they fold into our winter prep grading and we received a check for $1K from Intermax to cover any costs. From our previous minutes, it was critical to bring their work to a close, given delays with one sub that already put them behind schedule, which creates a domino effect, despite all efforts to work in tandem with them and around their work areas to minimize delays in our Road Crew getting on our winter prep.
Speaking of Intermax, please hold your questions re: hookups for when we address it in New Business.
Also, the road work portion of the KEC project to bury our powerlines underground is now complete too. We’ll share more about this project under New Business, so please hold questions about it until then.
THAT SAID, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THESE PROJECTS ON OUR ROADS.
Our roads have been through a lot of work over the last many months. They have been through two major projects to bring safer, more modern infrastructure here to SLE. They've essentially been through surgery multiple times, and so it's going to take some time to get them back to where we want them to be, which doesn't just require grading + material, BUT TIME. It's going to take time for them to dry out and become more stable with more materials and grading. All three of these things are needed.
THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR PATIENCE & UNDERSTANDING.
Grading for winter continues. So far, we’ve graded on CDA, Liberty, Kelso, St. Joe, and the stretch of Hayden from CDA to Liberty. Gutters are being cut in key areas where needed for better drainage. Since initial passes on CDA and St. Joe, which were only partial because they were too wet in areas the week before last, our crew then hit as many hotspots as possible on CDA + St. Joe that became issues after all the rain in addition to the upheaval our roads have been through from dueling infrastructure projects. They also hit as many driveways on those as well, and on Liberty. Newman, Priest River, etc., are next.
Also, please drive safe + slow down on our roads especially around heavy equipment and crews. We’ve repeatedly asked residents to slow down around workers and trucks in SLE and problems continue.
While not all who drive in SLE are residents here, MOST ARE, and our operator reported again last week that 10+ vehicles passed him at high speeds, and even a couple did burnouts around him, presumably to express frustration with being inconvenienced by road work. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE, SLOW DOWN.
NOW FOR THE MAINTENANCE SIDE OF WINTER PREP.
We’re almost done with maintenance on our trucks + new grader in prep for plowing. We spent just over $1,200 on misc. parts such as plates, bolts, etc. to complete last-round work this week.
Fundraising continues for above-and-beyond items that do not fall under our existing budget such as the big picture project of putting the crown back in our roads + new grader accessories including the already approved chain package with ice cleats, which will cost approximately $5,600 with tax.
Please consider donating for these items. There is a table in the back where we’re accepting donations. EVEN $20, $40, $50 ADDS UP! This will help us to get the chain package + continue with the big picture project of crowning our roads. If you would like to mail a donation, a check is best (no fees). There are stamped envelopes at the table in the back, please pick one up on your way out. To address your own:
SLE HOA – P.O. Box 217, Spirit Lake, ID 83869 *Memo: Road Fund
FUNDS RAISED & PUT TOWARDS NEW GRADER + ROAD FUND SO FAR:
$35,999 from sale of the old grader + dump truck
$ 5,500 from unused shop equipment sale
$12,440 ($1,200/mo for July 2023 – April 2024 KEC shop rent + $440 for June 2023 partial rent)
$ 9,020.03 from community + Intermax donation + advertising (THANK YOU, SLE + INTERMAX!)
$ 62,959.03 TOTAL (PLEASE KEEP CONTRIBUTIONS COMING TO SUPPORT OUR ROAD FUND!)
Email Q’s to roads@spiritlakeeast.org. For roads form for reporting issues: www.spiritlakeeast.org/roads
Motion to Accept the Roads Report: Rebecca Morales Motion Seconded by: Sandi Nichols
ARC Report: No new inquiries. If you have building plans or questions, email ARC Chair, Jon Dore, at arc@spiritlakeeast.org. Learn about building in SLE + find the Architectural Form for approvals here: www.spiritlakeeast.org/building-info
Motion to accept ARC Report by: David Petersen
Motion Seconded by: Rebecca Morales
Newsletter Report:
- Winter issue in progress: Plowing Protocol, Roads Update + Intermax Roll-out articles planned.
- Sandi has local business contacts who are interested in advertising and she’s working on those.
- Newsletters + SLE business ad Info can be found at: www.spiritlakeeast.org/newsletters
- Proceeds from advertising in the newsletter + Facebook Group go to our Road Fund!
- Advertising is NOW OPEN to businesses beyond SLE. Pricing is different, has been posted.
- Also, if you’ve provided an email address, you can always find the quarterly newsletter in your email inbox (or junk). If you haven’t given an email address, you’ll get it in the mail.
- Homeowners: To cut costs + save time, please send us an email address so that we can reduce the amount of people who need a hardcopy newsletter mailed to them. To provide your email for this (or update your email address) contact: secretary@spiritlakeeast.org.
Motion to accept Newsletter Report by: Brendan Mills
Motion Seconded by: David Petersen
Timber Report: VP, Gus Ferguson, says that one new logging application was reviewed + approved. He also reminds that winter is almost here, we’ve already had our first snow, so time is very limited for homeowners to prepare their properties. There are A LOT of fallen trees lining the roads of many properties that must be removed. Haul them out before it snows. If you want to offer up trees for firewood in exchange for someone hauling them away, and clearing them off your property, let us know! Brendan has a group that can help. Also, the burn ban, which was pushed back this year because it was so dry, has now been lifted. Please take caution, though. Here’s the link for more: https://burnpermits.idaho.gov/
Send timber/logging questions to: timber@spiritlakeeast.org. For links to the Commercial Logging + Timber Exemption Forms, visit: www.spiritlakeeast.org/timber
Motion to accept Timber Report by: Tisha Dore
Motion Seconded by: Sandi Nichols
Welcome Committee: Tisha sent all the welcome letters + updated the New Residents page of the website with the same info + printable version. Donated gifts to follow. New? Visit: welcome@spiritlakeeast.org.
If you have yet to register for HOA billing/mailings, use below link, but first, here’s an explanation of why. As properties change hands, it is important that we establish records for the current homeowner, and we don’t always get them from your title company. It also helps us to more easily verify that you’re indeed the new homeowner + approve your HOA Facebook group join requests because we field a lot of fakes. So, having your info ASAP protects you too. Fill-out the form: www.spiritlakeeast.org/new-residents
Motion to Accept Welcome Report: Brendan Mills
Motion Seconded by: David Petersen
OLD BUSINESS
- Street Signs
o Blanchard + Hayden sign that was tipped-over has now been re-installed.
o Liberty & CDA sign is missing and a new one is now on order (thank you, Brendan).
o Replaced one-way sign installed at CDA & Spokane Circle then post/sign was stolen again.
o We’re now working on options to address theft problem, also focused on brush removal.
Motion to Accept Old Business: Tisha Dore
Motion Seconded by: David Petersen
NEW BUSINESS
- KEC Project
o KEC is now energizing underground power in as many areas as possible before winter.
o They have quite a bit of overhead work to do before it goes live, most recently on Kelso.
o They’ve installed 136,679 feet—which is approximately 25.88 miles— of cable in SLE.
o Then, in Spring, the poles will come down. Yes, you can ask to keep your poles, and there is a list that you can get on for that but we aren’t managing it. Contact KEC.
o Please watch out and be careful around their trucks. We want to keep everyone safe!
- Intermax Project
o Intermax is now hooking up fiber internet to as many homes as possible before winter.
o NO CHARGE FOR TRENCHING, NO MATTER HOW LONG YOUR DRIVEWAY IS, BUT ONLY WHILE THE GRANT IS IN PLACE, SO DO NOT WAIT, IT’LL ADD VALUE TO YOUR HOME.
o That is in our contract, thank you, SLE HOA VP, Gus Ferguson, for negotiating that deal.
o There are tiered service offerings starting at just over $80, $100 and $130 per month.
o Grab a flyer by the entrance tonight or you can find info on Facebook + Fall newsletter.
o CALL TO GET ON THE LIST – Get in line for road-to-home trenching + setup ASAP.
- Board Elections
o Reminder: there are no HOA board elections until May 2025, but nominations for the three spots opening up may be submitted now through the deadline of March 31st.
o Nominations may be submitted in-person here at the semi-annual meeting (visit table at the entrance) or online using the Google form: www.spiritlakeeast.org/nominations
o Voting at the May 2025 meeting or online (link TBD), managed by elections committee.
- IDT To Upgrade Entrances
o No updates: IDT’s upcoming 54 project (TBD over the next year), will include repairing the SLE entrances + getting them up to code + new permitting (at no cost) now in place.
Motion to Accept New Business: Tisha Dore
Motion Seconded by: Rebecca Morales
Questions & Answers – PLEASE, 1-2 MINS, MAX, WE HAVE A HARD STOP AT 8PM
Summary of Q&A Highlights, Ordered To Make More Sense + Clarifications Provided Where Needed:
Vern Peters – Reported that he was nearly shot in his home by a stray bullet. He said that there is a bullet hole in his window as a result. He didn’t call the sheriff or file a report. Vern said that he knows shooting is against the rules in SLE, but for those who do not follow the rules and will continue to shoot, he suggested that they take caution, and at least use the onX app to see home orientations first.
Post-Meeting Answer – NO SHOOTING IN SLE – We do not advise anyone to continue shooting with the help of an app or otherwise. There are ranges nearby. Know who is shooting? Contact Sheriff + HOA.
Vern Peters – Reports that he is upset about grading work that was done by the front of his house on Kelso because he treated the roads and said the grading disturbed the treatment. Vern went into detail about the precise damage + how frustrated he is over our crew grading by his home.
Post-Meeting Answer – As was said by Joe Sandbank, our Road Chair at the Nov 2023 meeting (+ in Mins), and on FB back then, and again just this week, we appreciate homeowner efforts to treat the roads around their properties. We understand there’s a significant investment involved in time + money. This is why our Road Crew waits as long as possible to grade in prep for winter. We’ve already had snow last week, and more is on the way, so they couldn’t wait any longer, happens yearly. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.
Vern Peters – Wanted to provide the Road Crew with his overall detailed recommendations about how exactly he would grade the roads in SLE including exact number rock, binder he wants us to use.
Jon Dore – Said we can look into the possibility of using a binder.
Vern Peters – Wanted to discuss the cost of road repairs + maintenance and why we can’t pay operators a lower rate. He provided examples of people he knows who charge less but in Washington.
Tisha Dore – Our crew already gets paid a discounted rate about $10 less per hour than they normally get.
Rebecca – They are paid $35/hr for grading.
Vern Peters – Said he has friends in Washington who are paid $25/hr.
Elisika Ambler – Said her husband is paid $38/hr [in support of the deal we are getting at $35/hr].
Post-Meeting Clarification – Our Road Crew is paid less than the going rates for both plowing + grading. They are also paid less than they receive in their day jobs operating the same equipment. These discounted rates were negotiated by the board and it’s a gift to our community from our crew. Our main operator lives here in SLE while Joe also owns a home here in our community. Other Road Crew members work for Joe’s excavation company and have agreed to the same discounted rates. Sometimes, they leave their higher-paying day to come to grade or plow our roads for less. This is a favor. We’d not ever ask Joe or his crew to charge even less than an already discounted rate, especially when they do most maintenance on our equipment for FREE charging only cost for parts needed. We also greatly benefit from Joe having his own belly dump truck to haul/distribute more base + sand, which saves us money too.
Kerry Thompson – Wants to see fuel logs, says we aren’t providing fuel logs because we don’t have them.
Gus Ferguson – This is not something we’ve ever had to provide previously. These are private roads, it’s like managing a farm, and fuel reports aren’t needed on private property or farms.
Kerry Thompson – Disagreed, says they do need to be provided.
John O’Neil – I don’t have a problem providing more documentation.
Post Meeting Clarification – Our rigs use red-dyed diesel. For those who aren’t aware, this is agricultural fuel that our crew would NEVER use in their trucks. If caught with it in their tanks, there’d be a heavy fine. Despite the fact that there is no requirement to report ag fuel use on private roads + farms (there is not even a form for it), Road Chair, Joe Sandbank, is fine to report on his crew’s ag fuel use on their time cards.
Jesse Zadalis – Asked about the pricing process for materials being purchased. He also inquired if we’ve talked to experts about our roads here in SLE, and can find out what else can be done about the unique challenges with their construction, and possible alternative materials.
Jon Dore – Said we can look into alternative methods.
Gus Ferguson – Brought up how pit rock was used in the past and not crushed rock just to get something put down, and that’s the material that doesn’t want to stay put, then that pit rock was put down again another 10-15 years ago with the same result. He said that’s what’s mixed in and creates problems with the rollie pollie rock that’s not wanting to pack, and gets pushed aside when speeding or during construction projects like with KEC + Intermax. So, each year, we’ve been adding in more crushed.
Steve Bechtold or Vern Peters – Wants to know why over $60k needed for road repairs after winter.
Tisha Dore – Last year’s winter was unique with extreme highs + lows where water was trapped under layers of ice and it made for a lot of mud + rutting, so the cost was significant to get roads back in shape.
Unknown – Where is that base now?
Jon Dore – It’s on our roads, but we lost a lot during the KEC + Intermax projects, especially with all the heavy equipment + opening up several sections after they’d already been opened up by KEC. We also have lost a lot of base from speeding and rock getting pushed to the outside and around the corners.
Unknown – Had a question about reclaiming the base from the berms in SLE.
Jon Dore – Noted there are boulders and the wrong kind of rock in them, so they are not worth trying to reclaim or the potential damage to our grader if we were to try.
Rick Still – Suggested that Wrong-Way signs we need replaced from theft can be installed more securely to prevent further theft. He noted that the bolts can be bent down or nuts welded on.
Brendan Mills – Thanked Rick for the suggestion and said he was considering those options and others.
Vern Peters – Wanted to talk about the HOA’s recent efforts to remove business signs in SLE from his previous feedback on this in our FB group. He said, we aren’t that kind of community and asked, why can’t a business have signs up or a number on their greenhouse. Also, why, if other signs need to come down is there an Intermax sign at the entrance?
Post-Meeting Answer – In the CC&Rs, it clearly states that there are no signs allowed in our community beyond a for-sale sign or construction co. sign (for duration of build only) outside of a home here in SLE. We all agreed to the CC&Rs when we purchased our homes. This is not up for debate. There have been three companies that have been in violation and those signs have been removed by us or by biz owner. What’s more, the greenhouse in question is not on the homeowner’s property and they’ve agreed to remove it now that they know it’s not on their property, and must be place according to county setbacks. No one can build or place a building on the road in SLE. The HOA owns the roads + there are easements. Secondly, we are allowing the Intermax sign at the entrance because Intermax is now installing fiber Internet in our community and we want as many people as possible to get free trenching while they can while the funding is still available. While our VP, Gus Ferguson, negotiated free trenching no matter how long your driveways are (THANK YOU!), this is just while the grant is in place, so we want to be sure as many residents as possible get this huge benefit. Lastly, the business owner with the greenhouse and signs around SLE was allowed by the board to keep up many signs and his greenhouse in place on HOA property for several weeks to allow him more time to help him deliver on offers of free mulching on those properties and not be rushed on removal given his frequent work out of state. We do everything we can to help our community but too many complaints were made and this needed to be addressed.
Vern Peters – Wanted to talk about the new grader and how we need a wing for it.
Tisha Dore – We do not need a wing.
Vern Peters – Yes, we do (then explained why re: berms and snow build-up on shoulder).
Gus Ferguson – No, we don’t. The new grader can articulate well. Look up the capabilities of this grader. They’re impressive. Check out the YouTube videos on it. If we were to get a wing, we would be plowing both sides of the road at the same time, meaning we would be holding up traffic in both directions the entire way, which we can’t do and would be dangerous, so there is no need at all for a wing.
Steve Bechtold? – Asked why we’d do winter repair road work in spring if Intermax was putting in fiber.
Tisha Dore – We had to do the work. We didn’t know they were coming in until it was final and we weren’t going to lose the opportunity to get this infrastructure.
Gus Ferguson – We didn’t know. We were in conversations with them for a couple years and then it was finally time for SLE to get fiber. We also couldn’t leave the roads that way after winter.
Unknown – Asked about the fiber installations.
Gus Ferguson - Went over rates with Intermax (see link: http://www.intermaxnetworks.com/print)
Tisha Dore – [In response to some overlapping questions about roads] Said that if you’re reporting an issue with the roads, please share location, date, time, especially if sharing photos.
Steve Bechtold, Murisa Zadalis, Kerry Thompson, Marilyn Rousher, et al. – Want to see all of the receipts.
Tisha Dore – We have a Financial Reports page on our website where there are Quarterly P&Ls with itemized expenditures, Balance Sheets for each year, and you can see them if you go to the HOA page of the website, and click Financial Reports.
Murisa Zadalis – I don’t understand why we can’t see all the receipts?
Tisha Dore – [explaining why it’s not typically done] It’s just a lot of work to make every receipt public, and this is already a full-time job.
Two Members – We also have an annual audit and they look at all the receipts.
Tisha Dore – Yes, every year, a trusted auditor reviews our books, including every receipt, and they draft an audit report based on their review of everything. Our current auditor is Heather Polombo who served on the board for many years as Treasurer, etc.
Murisa Zadalis – Why can’t we just see the receipts?
John O’Neil – I do not have a problem with providing that information.
Rebecca Morales – I can pull them together (looking at Tisha).
Tisha Dore – I will post whatever you give to me (looking at Rebecca).
Post Meeting Update: THE RECEIPTS page is NOW LIVE at the top of the Financial Reports page providing our community with even higher level of transparency. To our knowledge, receipts, invoices + payment confirmations have never before been made this readily available given the incredible amount of time it takes to create + maintain such a pubic document, as noted in the meeting. While it will take even more time to post all receipts for the entire year, the ones that were the focus of the initial request at the meeting concerning spring clean-up of our roads are NOW AVAILABLE. We’ll continue to update the page (+ our community) once the rest of the 2024 receipts are loaded. www.spiritlakeeast.org/financial-reports
- Motion to adjourn by: Rebecca Morales
- Motion Seconded by: Tisha Dore
- Meeting was adjourned at: 8:00pm
