Yosemite West Property & |
The minutes from the June 17, 2006 and September 4, 2006 YWPHI Board of Directors meetings by Debby Hagan were approved after changes were made to the June minutes.
The Treasurer’s report covering the period from January through September 2006 was presented by Kim O’Neil. The total balance for YWPHI is $11,310.63. Expenses have exceeded income this year by $1,302.34. The largest expense for YWPHI was $3,000 for chipper and crew rental for community fire safety clean-up. A change in the date of transfer for the Treasurer’s position from Kim to Al and Carol Ruiz was made. The new date is June 2006. Kim reported that membership renewals to date were only 58. Renewal forms will be sent out again with the next newsletter.
The next newsletter will be distributed in mid-November. Kim O’Neil is preparing this issue while Tom Lambert is unavailable. A rough draft of the newsletter was brought to the meeting for Board members to view. Anyone in the community who wants to contribute content for future newsletters should contact Tom.
A meeting was held recently with representatives from the Center for Fire Research, College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley (see www.yosemitewest.org/firesafe.htm for link). An article in the newsletter will discuss their work in Yosemite West for their Sierra fire study. The Center mailed fire safety home reports to homeowners in Yosemite West; everyone is encouraged to email the Center to alert them to any errors in the reports. The funds expected from approval of last year’s fire safety grant proposals (approximately $56,000), have not been received yet. These funds come from the federal budget and will be used for creating a shaded fuel break around Yosemite West, completing the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), and establishing a community Fire Safe Program. Work on these projects cannot begin until funding is received. Issues which must be addressed include signing memoranda of understanding (MOU) between 4 groups (YWPHI, NPS, CA FSC, and YSRCD), NEPA and CEQUA compliance, insurance for the project, the mechanics of transferring funds, hiring a project manager, and contract bidding. The three other agencies with which we are working are the California Fire Safe Council (CA FSC), the National Park Service (NPS), and Yosemite Sequoia Resource Conservation & Development Council (YSRCD, our fiscal sponsor). NEPA is the National Environmental Policy Act and CEQUA is the California Environmental Quality Act. The most critical issue right now is getting NPS to sign MOU with the CA FSC. Last fire season, CDF (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) did not inspect and issue citations to owners of buildings in Yosemite West. This will be discussed in the next newsletter.
Kim reported difficulties with our website due to the sale of our service provider (Inreach) to Nationwide Internet. Please have patience with us if updates to the site are slow in appearing.
President Grace Bartel announced her resignation from the Board due to her impending move to Oregon. Kay Pitts will take over as Board President following this meeting. We now have a vacancy on the YWPHI Board of Directors. Nominations from members to join the Board are welcome.
See Holiday Open House
Grace Bartel has contacted The Pacific Forest Trust several times in order to secure from them written confirmation that they will repair all roads within Yosemite West which are impacted by their logging activities. PFT has posted a $30,000 bond for road repairs and documented the condition of Henness Ridge Road prior to their logging. These documents were provided to YWPHI. Kim O’Neil met with Jon Remucal, Stewardship Manager for PFT, at the Presidio in San Francisco. She obtained a copy of their Timber Harvest Plan which is available for examination by Yosemite West residents. One of PFT’s main goals is conservation, and they harvest trees in order to improve forest health. Anyone wishing to discuss details about the Harvest Plan with Jon can contact him at jremucal@pacificforest.org or (415) 561-0700.
Keys are missing for a few of the mailboxes in the shed. Grace will order replacement locks from Postal Products Unlimited Inc. in Milwaukee, WI, phone number (800) 229-4500. The USPS advised that new locks are necessary.
The annual YWPHI Holiday Home Tour name has been changed to Holiday Open House. It is scheduled for December 23, 2006. A motion was made and passed by the Board to provide a total of $250 to defray costs for the host homes since no fee will be charged this year. A notice with instructions for the Open House will be posted on the Mailbox Shed bulletin board.
There are two vacancies on this board following the resignations of both Walt Roland and Helen Yates. Walt and Helen have moved out of Yosemite West. Anyone interested in joining this group should contact Supervisor Lee Stetson. It was requested that a notice be placed in the newsletter reminding residents that blowing snow into the road is not permitted in Yosemite West. A discussion concerning disposition of excess money collected for our sewer renovation occurred.
YI is investigating locations for building a new educational facility, primarily for middle school students. So far, their top ranked site is on NPS property adjacent to Wawona Road near the sand shed at the entrance to Yosemite West. A water well was drilled recently near Chinquapin to determine if sufficient water were available to support this project. Kay Pitts volunteered to draft a letter to YI with our concerns about their project. The Board will review the letter prior to sending.
Mariposa County is developing a camping ordinance which will apply to Yosemite West. Our Planning Commissioner, Harry Hagan, will discuss this ordinance in the next newsletter.
Many residents are concerned about speeding within our community. The speed limit is 25 mph. It was recommended that the County place more speed limit signs in Yosemite West. Kay volunteered to investigate the procedure for obtaining/borrowing a large speed indicator sign for placement in Yosemite West.
Kim recommended that the treasury audit be performed every March. We need to find a volunteer to perform the audit.
The following changes to the YWPHI Board meeting schedule were made:
Saturday, March 24, 2007, andThe next Board meeting will be held on Saturday, December 23, 2006, at 10 a.m. at Kay Pitt’s home.
The meeting was adjourned by President Bartel at 12:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah O. Hagan
YWPHI 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. |