Minutes for July 2023
Meeting Called to order at 6:00 pm by Chris Doran
Present at Meeting:
- Chris Doran, President
- John Howsden, Vice President
- Pat Toepel, Treasurer
- Marty DeMartini, Board Member
- Adam Robertson, Secretary
Special Report
Dane Wadle’ from the California Special Districts Association(CSDA) joined by Zoom to welcome Rocky Road CSD as an official member of CSDA. Dane explained that CSDA is an advocacy association,non-profit, and a significant resource for training for special districts in California. Dane connects with legislators at the stateand federal levels to represent special districts.
Minutes Approval
- Chris Doran made a motion to approve minutes from June 29th.
- John Howsden seconded the motion
- All voted in favor 5/0
Financial Report
Pat gave the status of Rocky Road finances:
- Checking Account has $31,412.34
- MMA Account has $348,434.45
- Savings Account has $472,000.30
- Total:
Treasurer Pat Toepel reported that a Stripe account was opened and that setting up online banking is in progress.
Unfinished Business
- L. Bain Audit – President Chris Doran is coordinating with Larry Bain to complete a document that acknowledges missing documents from past audits. Once Larry submits this to the state, Rocky Road will be close to complete compliance regarding audits.
- Sign & Paving Update – Vice-president John Howsden reported that two stop signs were replaced, and a speed limit sign installed. Brandon Cole has been hired to help with general handyperson tasks such as sign installation, on-call hauling, and other miscellaneous items.
- Stripe Update – Secretary Adam Robertson described the features of the Stripe project. It is a gateway service to handle online payments to the District for permit payments for example. He is also coordinating with the HOA to make permit information available to members.
Open Forum
- No questions asked at this point as comments and questions were madeas the meeting progressed.
New Business
- Insurance – President Chris Doran described the work that has been done to evaluate the current insurance policies. The current policies expire in early August so there is a goal to select appropriate policies and appropriate levels of coverage swiftly. The three existing policies are inadequate to cover District activities and Board Members. Chris is working with CSDA to determine policy types and coverage levels useful to special districts. An additional board meeting will be scheduled to address insurance.
- Code Violations – Vice-President John Howsden shared the types of calls and complaints the District receives regarding cars parked on Rocky Road easements, random items left on the easement for sale, and new construction impacting the easement without proper permits. Letters will be sent out to property owners to notify them of these concerns.
Board Progress, next steps:
- The next round of tree trimming with Nate’s Tree Service is scheduled for July 17,18, &19
- County Cleanup Events will be posted on RR website
- Road Striping is a priority. Marty has been researching companies and processes.
- Patching damaged roads is also a priority. Marty and John made a list of several problem areas which would be used to get the project started.
- Follow-up is needed to procure a pavement management condition report. Marty has gathered information from engineering companies and will share his findings with Steve Palmer, the District consultant.
Open Forum #2
- There was a general discussion of easement types and sizes.
- Marty mentioned some questions about the minutes of the April Board meeting. Notes will be checked to see if the discrepancies can be clarified. He also noted an error in a vote count during the June 29meeting.