Yosemite West Property & |
The meeting was held on Friday, April 15, 2005 at the home of Debby Hagan. The meeting was called to order by President Debby Hagan at 10:04 a.m. and the agenda, the April 15, 2005 Treasurer's Report, the mailing for the Memorial Day Week-end Yard Clean-up on Sunday May 29, 2005 and Committee Reports for Fire Safety, CWPP Website and Newsletter were distributed.
Debby Hagan, Kim O'Neil, Helen Yates, Carol Ruiz and Grace Bartel
Larry Anstead
The minutes from the November 6, 2004 meeting were approved after making minor spelling corrections. The Treasurer's report of April 15, 2005 was also approved. It was announced that Joan & Pete Ulyatt will retire as Treasurer and Membership Chair.
Editor, Kim O'Neil reported that the first issue of In the West was e-mailed on January 2, 2005 to the members who had signed up to receive an e-Newsletter and the hard copies were mailed shortly thereafter. As the current spring issue addresses many topics important to all property owners in Yosemite West, not just members, it was decided to mail this issue to every property owner on record. The Board wants to encourage participation in the MCFSC chipping program and the May 29th meeting and clean-up. Funds for this mailing may be covered by Fire Safety grants.
It was decided to adopt a policy to post the previous newsletter on the website's newsletter archive section at the time of the release of the next newsletter. An exception is made for the current mailing, as it is being mailed to all property owners. It was also decided to encourage the members with e-mail addresses to receive their newsletter via the e-Newsletter to save production and mailing costs. Grace Bartel volunteered to print/mail the hard copy newsletters after this current mailing.
There was a discussion about how the membership information is managed and if it is time for new database software. The board decided to postpone the purchase of any new software until a new Treasurer and Membership Chair is available to be consulted.
The annual expenditure of $35.00 to obtain information from Mariposa County regarding the owner of record for all properties will be continued so that this information can be integrated into the YWPHI database.
The Committee Chair, John Mock, was unable to attend the meeting so Kim O'Neil presented his report. Wildland Fire Associates, the consultants hired by NPS in 2004, completed a Draft Yosemite West Community Wildfire Plan, known as CWPP, and presented it to NPS, USFS and Mariposa County Fire SafeCouncil at a private business meeting in El Portal on February 25, 2005.( A copy of this CWPP is on the website). A draft of this document was given to John to prepare three "concept papers", to present to the Fire Safe California Grants Clearing- house by the February 11, 2005 deadline. This is the first crucial step in applying for grants for our community. Two of the concept papers will be partially funded by the NPS. They are the Yosemite West Community Wildfire Protection Plan, (CWPP) and the Fire Safe Program, and the Yosemite West Shaded Fuel Break Program. Additionally, John submitted formal grant applications by the April 15 2005 deadline. Word is expected by Memorial Day if the applications were successful. The 2005-2007 fiscal year for funding from NPS begins in October. Any grant award is provisional until passage of the federal budget.
The Spring Chipping Program is sponsored and funded by the Mariposa County Fire Safe Council and will be available for use by the property owners in Yosemite West in May of 2005. Specific information is posted on the website, the bulletin board and in the current newsletter. Fire hose training sessions are planned for the first Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. between May and September. Additional information about these programs is also on the website, the bulletin board and in the current newsletter.
The board discussed how to address the problem of taxes, if and when, we receive the grant money. YWPHI is a non-profit organization, but it is not tax exempt with the IRS and Franchise Tax Board. To solve the immediate problem, a fiscal sponsor has been identified called the Yosemite/Sequoia Resource Conservation and Development Council (http://ysrcandd.org). They are a 501(c)(3) tax-exemption organization. Debby Hagan made the motion which was seconded and accepted by the board that the YWHPHI authorize funds to hire a tax accountant or attorney experienced in this field to investigate whether the Association is eligible for tax exempt status. An amount of $1000.00 can be used to pay for these services. If the cost exceeds $1000.00 additional board authorization will be needed.
A possible location for a fourth hose house for our fire hoses was discussed. It was decided to contact Ken Wall about the leaving a set of hoses under his deck and painting the metal housing cans a bright red for identification, instead of purchasing another hose house.
NPS and Wildland Fire Associates have confirmed that they will attend our picnic on Sunday, May 29th to present the CWPP to our community. They have been asked to come at 11 a.m. It was decided and funds approved to formally invite the following agency representative who work with our community to attend the meeting: Mariposa Count Fire Department, USFS (Smiley and crew), CDF, NPS, Pacific Forest Trust and Yosemite Associates (Jack Herring and doctors).
Kim O'Neil, webmaster, reported that the number of hits continues to increase with the month of March, 2005, reaching 3300 hits. On March 5, 2005 Kim had to upgrade the service from Inreach's Bronze to its Silver package ($19.95 month). We now have 100MB storage (increased from 25MB) and 50 e-mail accounts of which 40 are currently available. Randy Reed agreed to manage the e-Group. The Board authorized the purchase of a spam filtering service ($4.95/month) for the yosemitewest.org domain at a future time when the webmaster needs it.
We are in need of one new board member immediately and will need at least two new members for the coming year. A request for volunteers has been posted in the two most recent newsletters. Several names were discussed and the committee will be diligent in contacting prospective board members to join us.
The pot-luck lunch assignments for the May 29th clean-up picnic were made. This lunch is provided by the board.
Helen Yates volunteered to be in charge of the Christmas Open House again this year. It was agreed by all that last years party was a big success and should initiate a new Yosemite West tradition.
There is information in the current newsletter about the sewer upgrade progress. The next meeting of the Maintenance Committee will by May 6, 2005.
The next meeting will be April 25, 2005. Due to weather constraints and other problems there have been no recent meetings.
The YWPHI has a new address and mailbox. The address is: 7585 Henness Ridge Road. This address is for YWPHI business. Kim O'Neil and Grace Bartel have keys for the box. A sign-up sheet has been posted on the bulletin board for volunteers to be responsible for keeping the shed clean for one month at a time.
None noted during the winter months.
Helen Yates will meet with Kay Pitts to work on this project and have a presentation prepared for the Labor Day Homeowners meeting. Kim O'Neil volunteered to do the formatting after the information is collected. The board will consider the distribution of the Master List at our July board meeting. It was also suggested that in the future the individual home and property owners be responsible for notifying the board of any changes in their phone number, mailing addresses and e-mail addresses.
It was moved, seconded and approved that the board will not approve renting a dumpster for use at the Memeorial Day clean-up. A comprehensive notice is being sent to all property owners and is posted on the bulletin board and on the website.
July 16, 2005 at the home of Carol Ruiz. All Board members should contact Debby by July 1, 2005 to confirm attendance at the meeting.
The meeting was adjourned by President Debby Hagan at approximately 12:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Grace Bartel, Secretary
 Copyright text © Yosemite West Property & Homeowners, Inc. 2003-2012, Copyright photographs © John Mock 2004-2012. All rights reserved. Unauthorized redistribution of this document is prohibited. Updated February 7, 2012. |