Quorum Present? Yes.
Members present: Dean Drabin, Bart Gernhart, Andra Smith, Doug Patterson, Tim Jenning
Guest present: Mike Armstrong, past president, Fall River Estates HOA
Treasurer’s Report
Checking Account: $31,906
CD: $81,984 (including almost $2000 interest)
Mailbox Account: $996
Note: these totals do not reflect this year’s dues payments, which will be collected after this date. It is estimated that $40,000 will be added by year’s end.
Our payment portal is working well, although most owners seem to prefer to pay by check.
Guest Speaker
Mike Armstrong, former president of Fall River Estates HOA, was invited to answer questions about his community’s CC&Rs. This invitation was extended due to complaints about one house in our neighborhood being used as an AirBnb, with the possibility of the creation of CC&Rs being created in OWW1 in order to address the issue.
Fall River Estates is both an SRD (Special Road District) and an HOA. The road district is a County taxing authority existing for the purpose of maintaining the roads, while the HOA is responsible for common grounds, the community mailbox, and other non-road matters. CC&Rs were written at the creation of the HOA, describing items like architecture, fence height, etc.—along with various restrictions, including a ban on short-term rentals (added as an amendment several years later.)
Mike was asked how CC&R infractions and disputes were dealt with. He responded that if an infraction was determined to be the case, that the offending party would be spoken to and asked to remedy the problem. If this request was refused, the board would be forced to take further action, likely involving expensive attorney fees. This, he noted, was to be avoided, if at all possible, as Fall River had in the past seen several very costly legal actions, which, aside from the expense, negatively impacted Real Estate values, as all prospective Real Estate transactions are required to disclose the existence of HOA lawsuits. He also mentioned that many of the violations could simply be resolved by contacting the County, many of whose restrictions are mostly mirrored in the Fall River CC&Rs (something the OWW1 Board, without CC&Rs, already has the power to do.) When it was noted that, despite his HOA’s ban on short-term rentals, a house in his community was continuing to be used as an AirBnb, he expressed an unwillingness to force that issue, pointing to the likelihood of a contentious and expensive legal battle as a reason to avoid a confrontation.
Mike was thanked for his assistance, and then, after he departed, the Board continued a discussion of CC&Rs. It was noted that creation of such rules would be a lengthy, complicated, and costly process (due to the engagement of lawyers being a necessity), and further, that it would ultimately require majority approval of all property owners, and not just those voting. It was also noted that many owners in OWW1 are operating AirBnbs in the neighborhood without complaints. Ultimately, the feeling was that creating CC&Rs for the purpose of remedying one problem would be a costly, time-consuming and likely, problem-laden case of overkill. As an alternative, it was suggested that cameras and sound equipment could be used to document illegal and noxious activity at that rental site, and with that evidence the Board could then become involved in filing complaints with AirBnb, as well as the County authorities.
Website
We now have 82 subscribers. This is a good number, but we would like to have more, in order to get information out to as many of our residents as possible. Dean has begun the practice of posting Central Oregon Fire information, when such info is relevant to our community, as a way of keeping everyone informed about fire activity, smoke conditions, etc.
Chipping Project, Spring, 2024
The project went very well, with 140 piles, representing 115 cubic yards of debris, being chipped and hauled away. The total cost was $6000. Our County grant for this year was $1000, which was added to a surplus of $1300 left over from last year’s grant, but which still meant that OWW1 funds of $3700 had to be contributed to make up the difference. It is hoped that we will get a substantially higher grant from the County this fall.
Firewise
Dean has arranged to meet with officials July 30, in order to get our 5-year risk assessment done, so that we can continue to be classified as a Firewise Community.
Roads
Roads seem to continue to be in acceptable condition, aside from one spot in the center of Big River Drive, south of Casper, which will require some attention. It was agreed that we will need to examine the road conditions closely next spring, to determine whether we will need to do a community-wide road repaving project in the summer of 2025.
Speed Monitor
Dean has been in contact with the County Sheriffs, and they have agreed to place a speed monitor on Big River Drive, near Casper, facing southbound traffic for two weeks, just as they did last year. It is not known exactly when this will be done.
Meeting was adjourned at noon.