Attending Members: Mary Esther Putnam (Chair); Dall Winn; Jeff Gardner; John Nichols
Also Present: Gerald Schiefer (Fire Chief); George Cropper (Treasurer); Beverly Udell (Secretary)
Absent: Spence Beckstrom;
Guests: Raymond Lindblom; Marion Wells; Tim Graham; Sarah Fleming
1. General Business:
a/b. Welcome – Meeting was opened by Mary Esther (Chair) at 6:00 PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was said.
c. Meeting Minutes for July 7, 2010 were reviewed. John motioned to approve the minutes as corrected. Jeff seconded the motion. All were in favor.
d. Pine Valley Building Permits Reviewed: N/A
g. Board Member Reports:
Mary Esther: There have been many questions regarding the increase price of our water bills. We knew that they were going to be exorbitant, but it seems like they are even higher than was originally predicted by the rate increase. As we all know, the P.V. Irrigation Co. had proposed a rate increase of 42%, but once that got to the state regulator, she decided that the increase still wasn’t enough to meet the needs of the Irrigation Co., so she devised yet an even different rate formula that ended up increasing our billing even more. It is hard on the bills that we are getting to be able to decipher exactly how much water we are each using. Since the water company is private, we have no control over what pricing they charge. More conversation ensued between the members of the audience and Mary Esther reminded everyone that our charter does not include water, so our Board is not allowed to voice any decisions. Tim suggesting getting a lawyer to fight the high increase. As individual citizens we could do that, but as the Special Service District Board we could not. * Mary Esther also said that Dave Patterson commented on the letter that he received from her regarding the road problem that the Terry’s are having. Mary Esther had sent letters to everyone that she could possibly think of that might help the Terry’s find a resolution.
John: N/A
Jeff: N/A
Dall: N/A
g. Fire Chief – (see report). Dumpsters are a problem because it is the County’s responsibility to keep the area surrounding them clean, but they are not doing that. Ray Lindblom has gone over with his backhoe and done some cleaning on a volunteer basis, but declined to do it as a paid employee. The dumpsters are not emptied enough and once they get full, people have no choice but to just dump their garbage on the ground. This seems to be a continuing problem that we have every single summer and holiday weekend.
h. Treasurer Report – George (see report). * George posted a Workman’s Comp notice in a conspicuous place in the fire station as directed by Workman’s Comp. * The Bonds for Beverly and George came through for another year. * George is looking into liability insurance for the military truck.
2 – Public Comments: Tim (from the Pine Valley Lodge) discovered that there are at least 6 cabins in Pine Valley that are being used as nightly rentals. He said they are easily found by an online search. This is not legal because of their zoning. Tim stated that he called the County and spoke with Rachel Beckstrom who mentioned that the County was possibly thinking of changing the zoning regulations to approve cabins being rented. Tim was just making us aware of the situation.
John moved to adjourn at 6:58. All were in favor. The next Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 6:00 P.M.