West Beach Road AssociationMinutes of the Annual Meeting
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| General Account balance* | $4,016 |
| Water Account balance | $199 |
| Water Cap Fund Savings | $1,373 |
| Road Repaving | $55,580 |
| Total | $68,385 |
A proposed 2015 Budget was presented.
The cost for delivering water to WBRA members’ homes in 2014 exceeded the income derived from the sale of that water at $0.0078/gallon. Further, an additional $1,710 was transferred from the General Checking fund to the Water Fund to offset expenses. The bulk of the expenses were incurred by King Water for water testing, tank cleaning, and billing services. Other ongoing expenses include electricity, insurance, and BOH fees. An increase in the cost/gallon fee is recommended by the Board at this time. This is the first water rate increase proposed in the past 4 years.
The Water Capitalization Fund was severely depleted due to unexpected expenses in 2014 (Board of Health mandated water system engineering study, storage tank crack sealing, well pump electrical issue, filter replenishment). An increase in the Fund quarterly assessment from $25 to $50 is recommended by the Board to replenish this account (See Voting on Budget Items below).
The Road Repaving Fund assets should increase by $5,500 by 2/1/15 as the annual Road Assessment is collected. This will provide adequate funds to fulfill the contract obligation with the paving contractor, Kreig Construction, for paving in 2015.
The $1,500 in funds budgeted for gravel road maintenance were not spent in 2014.
The final 2015 Budget will be developed and voted upon after all budget items are discussed during this meeting. (See link at bottom of page.)
Water Manager's Report:
Jim Patton reported on the WBRA responsibilities for our “Group A” water system:
A discussion as to whether or not it would be advisable to employ a “professional” water manager, or potentially consolidate into a larger “Water District” (a special taxing district with a professional manager) was conducted. It was the opinion of the group that a professional manager was not needed, and consolidating into a larger water district potentially adds the woes of others onto our organization.
The need for a new water filtering/treatment system was discussed. The current filtering/treatment system to remove iron and manganese is an older technology. The State BOH strongly recommends a more modern filtering/treatment system with different media than we now employ and added chlorination.. The engineer who recently conducted the “as-built” study for the WBRA (Jeff Tasoff), estimates that such a new system, installation, and fees would cost about $30,000.
While the members present all thought that an improved water quality system would be beneficial for the community as a whole, a discussion ensued about ideas of how to pay for this improvement:
A Motion was made by Robert Elphick and Seconded by Bill Hamburg to authorize Jim Patton to complete the details if his investigation into a new filtration/treatment system:
Depending on the results of Jim Patton’s investigation and the Board’s recommendation, a Special Meeting of the WBRA will be called in early 2015 for the members to consider the facts of this issue and vote on whether to proceed or not, as well as how to pay the cost.
Road Committee Report:
Bill Hawkins reported that the road repaving originally contracted for in 2013 was deferred in 2013 at the request of the contractor, Kreig Construction and deferred again in 2014 to accommodate the Hamburg home construction. A contract is in hand to repave the roads in 2015 at the original 2013 bid.
Maintenance of the gravel roads within the WBRA (south end of Seacliff Lane, Iris Lane, and American Way) has been sporadic and unfunded over the years. The Road Committee has been unable to identify a contractor willing to do meaningful maintenance within the 2014 budget constraints. Jim Neilon, a non-WBRA member neighbor, has done some light grading and gravel road maintenance as a good will gesture. He has offered to continue this work sporadically as requested by the WBRA.
Robert Elphick advocated continuing to build a gravel road maintenance fund. The 2015 Budget should reflect the transfer of another $1,500 to the gravel road maintenance line item from the General Checking account. Robert Elphick advised that he will no longer be Road Committee Chairman, and Bill Hawkins has agreed to assume this role.
American Way residents who are not WBRA members use our road to access their properties. A recent Washington court ruling obligates those residents to support the maintenance of the Association’s roads. When the road repaving work is completed, the WBRA will seek an assessment of $100/year from the American Way property owners (except the Neilons who provide free “in kind” gravel road maintenance work).
Architectural Control Committee Report:
Three requests in 2014 were reviewed by the ACC and approved by the Board:
Stormwater Drainage:
Robert Elphick and Jim Patton observed and photographed various gravel and paved road areas following heavy rains in early 2014. No flooding that would suggest a safety issue was noted. No action is recommended.
Webmaster’s Report
Robert Elphick reminded members that the WBRA website is donated to WBRA at no cost to WBRA, and invites any updates and additions desired.
Members must keep their WBRA contact information (email address, mailing address, and phone numbers) current with the Secretary [CC&Rs Article III, Section 3] who will forward this information to the webmaster.
Voting on Budget Items
Renew 2015 Annual Dues of $100/property payable by 1/31/15
Motion by Jenny Nunn, Seconded by Jim Patton. Approved unanimously
Increase the water rate of $0.0084/gallon, effective with the 12/31/14 billing
Motion by Robert Elphick, Seconded by Bill Hamburg. Approved unanimously
Increase the quarterly Water Capitalization Fund assessment for all members from $25/quarter up to $50/quarter effective with the next billing.
Motion by Robert Elphick, Seconded by Jenny Nunn. Approved unanimously
Transfer $1,500 from General Checking into a Gravel Road Maintenance line item
Motion by Robert Elphick, Seconded by Belinda Hawkins. Approved unanimously
Note: The $250/year Road Fund Assessment was approved in 2012 by the members through 2017 and will continue without change.
A motion was made by Robert Elphick and seconded by Belinda Hawkins to approve the revised 2015 budget. This motion was Approved unanimously. The 2015 budget reflecting the outcomes in this meeting is attached.
Elections
With only one candidate for each available elective office, a Motion was made by Anita Dragoo, and Seconded by Dave Steckman, for the elections of Robert Elphick as President, Rudy Deck as Secretary, Wendy Patton as Treasurer, Bill Hamburg as Director, and both Russ Johnson and Belinda Hawkins as ACC members.New Business
None.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 PM