Oww1 Annual Meeting Minutes – Saturday, August 12, 2017


La Pine Rural Fire Protection District Sub-Station

55785 South Century Drive

Quorum Present?:  Yes; 42 property owners attended, plus 54 proxy votes=96 (72 total votes needed.)

Board Members Present:  Al Zupo, President; Tonya Sims, Treasurer; Larry McGlocklin, Secretary Pro Tem; Dean Drabin; Time Jenning

Guests: Monte Dammerell, president of the Upper Deschutes River Coalition

Meeting called to order by President Al Zupo at 9:00 a.m.

Al introduced the board members.  He then asked audience members to introduce themselves and note their street locations.

Al asked for board member nominations from the floor; there were none.  Doug Patterson, our mailbox maintenance volunteer, was mentioned as a write-in candidate for a three-year term.

Al discussed the treasurer’s report prepared by Tonya Sims.

Checking Account: $50,058.46

Road Paving Account CD: $24,844.15

Mail Box Account: approximately $500 (exact amount unknown, as payments were in the process of being made for reconstructing mailbox roof.)

Comments from the audience:  None.

Old Business

La Pine Rural Fire Protection District Report

Due to wildfires in region, no representative was present.  Al mentioned that the board had again this year donated $100.00 to the fire district for the use of their station for our annual meeting.

Comments from the audience:  None

Fire Fuels Reduction Report

The report was presented by Monte Dammerell and board member Dean Drabin, who also serves on the board of the Upper Deschutes River Coalition.  Report deals with ongoing efforts to reduce fuels in the community, thereby helping to limit potential damage from wildfire in the area.  It was noted that, because of UDRC grants over the last decade or so, a great deal of work clearing fuels from our properties has been accomplished at no expense to the community.

For the future, two programs were discussed.  One, administered by the UDRC, is a cost-sharing plan.  Residents who wish to employ a contractor to clear their properties of excess fuels are asked to go to the UDRC.org website, where they can register.  Once work is completed, they can then provide the UDRC with a paid invoice, and be compensated for 50% of the expense, up to a limit of $500.  This program is on a first come, first served basis, and is subject to funds availability.

The other service, tentatively scheduled for spring, 2018, is a “sweat-equity” program, administered by the county.  Similar to past programs, it involves owners doing the work of cutting and trimming, and then hauling woody debris to be piled at the roadside, where it will then be chipped by county crews and blown back on to their properties, free of charge.  New on this occasion, however, will be a requirement for owners to first register with the county in order to qualify for the service, so that the county will be able to keep track of in-kind labor performed by property owners.  Further contact information, along with exact dates, will be posted at the mailbox next year as it becomes available.

Comments from the audience:  None

Road Paving Repair Project

Al said sealing will be applied soon to repair cracks, and potholes will be filled.

Comments from the audience:  A member liked the way the county chip-sealed South Century Drive near our subdivision and wondered if we could do the same in the future.  Washington State road engineer and OWW1 POA member, Bart Gernhart, noted that the process they used (coated gravel and light oil binding) was prohibitively expensive, but that it could be considered at the time of repaving, if residents wished to do so.

Snow Removal Report

Al reported a heavy year for snow removal, which had resulted in more funds than usual having been spent.  He also mentioned that a heavy winter for this year is predicted.

Comments from the audience:  None

Roadside Weed Control

Dean and Al encouraged owners to be diligent, individually, in spraying for knapweed and other noxious, non-native plants on their properties. as board volunteers lack sufficient time or resources to treat anything beyond common areas and community right-of-ways.  Al provided physical examples of several county-identified noxious weeds.

Comments from the audience:  None

New Business

Election of Three Board Members

After 21 years on the board, President Al Zupo is retiring.  After 18 years on the board, Treasurer Tonya Sims is retiring.  The board and audience members gave both Thank You cards and applause.

Nominated for a three-year term were Bart Gernhart, Kevin Grieg, and write-in candidate Doug Peterson.  Nominated for a one-year term to replace retired board member, Carl Schwarz, is Leonard Dahl.

Election results:  Bart Gernhart, Doug Patterson, and Leonard Dahl are our new board members.

Septic Systems/Sanitary District Annexation Update

The board has sent out an advisory letter last week asking for owner response in favor or against proceeding further with a sewer project.  Volunteer Robert Stingle is receiving the returned ballots and will continue to coordinate with the OWW2 Sanitary District, if a majority of owners approves.  The cut-off date for voting is August 26.  So far, votes are 80 in favor, and 37 against.

Comments from the audience:  There was extensive discussion, including history of efforts in the region by the County, ten years ago, to force septic upgrades, as well as steps taken by OWW1, in reaction to the County’s efforts, to evaluate the possibility of a sewer system hook-up with the existing OWW2 Sanitary District (a project estimated, in a feasibility study to cost three million dollars), as an alternative to the forced upgrades—all of which was eventually rendered unnecessary when the County’s initiative (called “The Local Rule”), was defeated in a referendum. 

It was pointed out that the current vote is only an advisory one, and several steps remain to be taken before any sewer construction is possible—including a County Commission-sanctioned Rule 11 exemption, followed by a more formal, binding vote involving only OWW1 residents who are registered to vote locally.  Also mentioned was the likelihood that such a system would be financed by a general obligation bond issue, which would mitigate the considerable burden of hook-up expense—estimated to be $10,000.oo—by spreading it out over thirty years at low interest.

Arguments from the audience in favor of sewers were presented by various property owners, ranging from basic environmental and health-of-the-community concerns, to expectations about how sewers could result in increased property values across the board, to worries about the condition of many decades-old in-ground septic systems, now no longer legal but currently grandfathered throughout the community.  Arguments against sewers centered around an unnecessary added expense for owners who had already spent thousands of dollars on existing, fully-functioning above-ground systems.  Also voiced were concerns from owners with properties not being used for residence, which would nevertheless be subject to mandatory hook-up, as required by the DEQ.

Mail Box Update

Al mentioned the approximately $3000.00 spent to reroof the present structure, which will now allow snow to slide off to the sides, rather than to the front and back, which had previously caused considerable hardship for both residents retrieving mail, as well as for those postal employees delivering it.

Comments from the audience:  None

Other business:  One resident suggested that we need more 15 MPH signs

Good of the Order

Mosquito Control

Al said that it has been a bad year and members can call the Vector Control Service to request a pass-by of the spray truck (541-593-1689.)  This week helicopters dropped tablets into wetlands along the river.

August 21 Eclipse

Al and Dean mentioned that Deschutes County Fairgrounds will be a command post along with three satellite locations to dispatch appropriate response teams; that ODOT will have water, fuel and medical aid located every five miles along major highways; that members should fill their vehicle tanks and stock up on food well in advance of the event.

Comments from the audience:  None

Meeting adjourned at 10:20 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Larry McGlocklin, Secretary Pro Tem