November 2018 Meeting Minutes

The Last Frontier Land Owners’ Association held their quarterly meeting in the Western Town of Gabriella on November 3, 2018 at 1:00pm. Brad Hance, Jim McKennon, Bob Nelson, Jim Nelson and Joe Wolford were the Board Members in attendance. Landowners Steve Phillips and Cratie Sandlin also attended. 

A motion to accept the minutes from the August 2018 meeting was made by Joe Wolford and seconded by Steve Phillips.  The motion carried and the minutes were approved.

A motion to accept the agenda for this meeting was made by Cratie Sandlin and seconded by Joe Wolford.  The motion carried and the agenda was approved.

A motion to accept the Treasurer’s report for this meeting was made by Cratie Sandlin and seconded by Steve Phillips.  The motion carried and the report was approved.  The report is included as a separate post.

We normally get our road base material from Double H Ranch through Coy Craig. We would like to explore getting crushed rock from the quarry on NM 12 near the Green Gap junction.  Unfortunately, the owner of the quarry, Dick Wellborn, is difficult to contact by phone. Perhaps someone could contact him by mail or in person to discuss our proposal to buy rock. The A-1 road base that we previously purchased is working well, but too expensive for widespread use. It was put down in front of Sandlin’s place, covering the two turns near Scout’s Drive.  

Is there a standard we try to maintain our roads to? Yes, emergency vehicles must be able to pass (Ambulance & Fire).

Horse Peek wants us to buy road base for Frontier Trail and they want us to pay for one load for every one they buy.  But they insist on A-1 gravel (and its associated high transportation cost). We will offer $500 toward their project and they can get whatever they want.  The Board voted “no” on grading Frontier Trail for Fall (wait to see how winter weather shapes up).

There was a suggestion of locking well access with a combination lock for prevention of unauthorized water use.  Need access for Fire Department.  This proposal was tabled.  We haven’t had any water thefts since we started our surveillance program.

How much water per lot is allowed by bylaws?  Well rules in general?  The Bylaws don’t address a “gallons per lot” water limit.  Our two community wells each are allowed 3 acre-feet of water per year.  This equals about 2 million gallons per year for the whole subdivision.  If you take the total number of lots as 173, that works out to 11500 gallons per lot per year, or 32 gallons per lot per day.  If you’re just staying for the weekend, two 55 gallon drums of water would be a fair amount. If you live in the Last Frontier on a full-time basis, the Bylaws do require that you have your own well installed within two years of becoming full-time.  I don’t recall the Bylaws saying that the well must be producing any minimum gallons per hour though.

Nance well is currently working.  West Well needs to be used regularly to maintain water rights.

Gabriella Church is going to get sheetrock repairs, so might not be available until May.

In order to keep the Board going, we need people who are willing to run for election.  The elections are usually non-competitive (the number of openings typically equals the number of candidates, so getting elected is almost certain).  If we don’t keep the Board going, Catron County will take over road maintenance and raise taxes.

Joe Wolford made a suggestion to increase the amount we keep in emergency reserve. We are going to stay with the current reserve of $4000.

Brad Hance asked about someone to help with filing liens against delinquent landowners. Jim McKennon stated that there is someone located in Reserve that will file liens (for a fee), but didn’t have specific information.

Cratie Sandlin wanted to post the number of permanent residents and mentioned that if we have enough the Fire Station might qualify for a free defibrillator.

Meeting adjourned at 1:45 pm : 1^st  Philips, 2^ndJim Nelson.

Minutes from August 2018 Meeting

Aug 2018 Minutes

Called to order at 1:05pm Gabriella on Aug 4, 2018

McKennon, Hance, Smith, Jim Nelson, Bob Nelson present.  Wolford absent.

Forgot to take roll of audience.

Minutes from May 2018 meeting were approved (motion by Ralph Callaway; 2^ndby Mike Gibbs

Agenda and treasurer’s report approved (motion by Ralph Callaway, 2^ndby Bob Nelson) Attach report.  A-1 charges are not included in report (hadn’t been paid yet) 

Road base from A-1 gravel looks good, but not worth the extra transportation cost.  Makes more sense to use local material and save on transportation.  Nobody can ever get in touch with Dick Wellborn.  Who is in charge of contacting Wellborn? 

Roads look good in general.

Correction to previous wells report: West well still missing a blade

New valves (hose bibs) on storage tanks for both wells.  Surveillance cameras have been installed to monitor wells now.  

Someone is using too much water from Nance well (maybe an outsider)

Hance proposed having regular maintenance scheduled for wells rather than emergency repairs.

Nance well repairs: Bryant Electric invoice read to audience.  Three trips to complete repairs.  Attach invoice (or summarize).  Bob Nelson explains background story (about 19 min in on audio recording).

Liens will be filed against landowners who are three years delinquent.

Get details on how to file, how long they last, etc.

Public shaming (listing names) is not palatable to the Board, but listing delinquent lot numbers may work.

Bob Nelson will remain on the Board, but not as Secretary.  Thanks for his service.  Hance will act as interim Secretary.

Some members can request newsletters by mail.  Web page will be primary means of communication in future

Next meeting Nov 3 at 1 pm Gabriella.  McKennon proposed that we only have 2 meetings per year;  May & Nov.

Listing of Board members with contact information suggested by Sandlin.

What are the rules for changing Bylaws?

Meeting adjourned at 1:43pm (motion by Ralph Callaway; 2^ndby Jim Nelson)

Upcoming Board of Directors Election

I haven't received any new nominations for candidates for our upcoming election, so expect to see Bob Nelson, Merv Smith and Brad Hance on the ballots. I'll keep the nominations open until March 30 to see if we get any late entries.

There are three positions open and we have three incumbent candidates, but it would be nice to get some new people participating in the Association.

If there aren't any other interested candidates, I am still obligated to mail out ballots.  They should be arriving in your mailboxes by April 15, and will include a reminder about the Annual Meeting in May.

Lot for Sale

Posted on behalf of Kris Roberts:

Hello to the members of the Last Frontier Homeowners Association!  

I am reaching out on behalf of my step mother, Carol Evenson, regarding her property in Last Frontier.  Due to failing health (Alzheimers), she needs to sell the property immediately and the family would like to first offer it to any interested neighbors at a rock bottom price (as dictated by the requirements for her Elder Wavier program).     Here are the key details:  

• Last Frontier, Unit I, Lot 55 
• 11.24 acres 
• Names on dead: James R & Carol J Evenson
• Price:  $2,800.00   

Please contact Kris Roberts at 612-387-8957 by February 15th if interested.  Thank you.  

Dues

There have been some questions and misunderstandings regarding the subject of dues.

Yearly dues are currently set at $65 per lot and are payable January 1^st through the day of the Annual Meeting in May (for 2019 that would be May 25^th). After May 25^th, a fixed late fee of $30 is added for a total of $95 per lot.  This fee is not interest, but a financial encouragement to pay dues early in the year so we have funds to keep the roads and wells in good repair for the busy summer season.

Upcoming Events

The Annual Membership Meeting will be held May 25, 2019  at the church/courthouse in Gabriella NM, starting at 1 pm.

Dues paid after this date are considered late and will incur an additional fee of $30 per lot.

Ballots for the three Director positions will be counted just before the end of this meeting.

Our New Means of Communication

We have used printed and mailed newsletters in the past and emailed newsletters more recently. While the printed newsletters usually reached most of the Association’s members (but were time-consuming and costly), the emailed newsletters only reached a small proportion of the membership and were often bounced back because of outdated or erroneous email addresses.  Also, since I am serving as both Treasurer and interim Secretary, a less labor intensive way to communicate with our members is needed.  Like it or not, here is the latest “solution”.  Members that are interested in the activities of the LFLOA can come to this web site to get the latest information.  As a bonus, things like maps, useful links and an archive of past newsletters and announcements will be available.

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