Bridger Creek Subdivision Community Association
Annual Membership Meeting
Minutes of Meeting – May 5, 2014
The
meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM at the Beall Park Center.
Officially
Nominate and Appoint Chairperson
The Board
President called for nominations for a meeting Chairperson. Nominations from
the floor were for Sharyn Anhalt, Paul Gianas and Bill Ranard. Nominations were
seconded. Sharyn and Bill both declined to serve as Chair. A vote was called and
Paul was elected Chair by a majority show of hands.
Paul
provided an overview of the governing documents for our association. Governing
documents are available on the Association’s web site (http://bridgercreek.blogspot.com)
or from the Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder’s office. Paul also provided an overview of Robert’s
Rules of Order, the governing parliamentary procedure as approved by the
membership with the 2008 Bylaws amendment. The protocol for the meeting was
communicated; members must raise their hand, be recognized by the Chair, and
state their name. Members are allowed to
speak for 2 minutes on an agenda item, everyone that wishes to speak will be
given an opportunity to do so before members are called on for a second time,
and questions should be addressed through the Chair. If the Chair cannot answer
the question, the Chair will direct it to a member who can answer.
Officially
Nominate and Appoint Recording Secretary for the Meeting
Karin
Jennings was nominated as Recording Secretary, and seconded, and appointed
Recording Secretary by acclamation due to no opposition and majority show of
hands.
Confirm
Attendance and Quorum
Proxies received
prior to the meeting totaled 140, constituting a quorum. (109 proxies are needed for a quorum, being
40% of 272 lots or votes.) Note: Final
count of members present in person or by proxy was 61 present in person and 99
present by proxy, for 160 present in person or by proxy.
Status
Update Regarding Legal Action with Member Bill Beebe and Gallatin County
District Court Ruling
Eric Nord,
attorney for the Association, was introduced to the Membership. Mr. Nord indicated that he was present on
behalf of the Association and that his time was to be paid by the Association
through its Directors and Officers Insurance policy relating to the lawsuit
filed by Mr. Beebe. Mr. Nord briefly
summarized the specifics of the lawsuit and indicated that the documents from
both sides that have been filed with the Court are available on the
Association’s web site (see link above). The dispute centers on the language of
the Covenants and whether Assessments can be used for certain purposes. The Trial
Court ruled in favor of Mr. Beebe on cross-motions for summary judgment regarding
interpretation of the specific Covenant language and awarded his attorney fees. The Court also ruled in favor of the
Association with regard to collecting delinquent dues from Beebe and awarded
the association attorney fees on that issue. Final judgment is pending a
hearing regarding attorney fees later in May and a possible appeal by the
Association.
Questions
were taken and answered by Mr. Nord relating to the lawsuit.
Design
Review Committee Report
Dave
Andreassi, Chair of the Design Review Committee (DRC) was not present and had
asked Karin Jennings to provide his report in his absence. Karin read Dave’s
report, a summary of projects approved by the DRC since the last annual meeting
in May, 2013:
·
Partial
fence in Phase 3 was approved in June.
·
Single
family home was approved in Phase 3 in June (which is not yet under
construction).
·
Small
privacy fence/screen around a hot tub was approved in Phase 2 in September
·
Exterior
house color change was approved in Phase 1 in September.
·
Single
family home was approved in Phase 1 in September.
·
Single
family home was approved in Phase 1 in November; landscape plans still pending.
·
Landscape
plan was approved in Phase 2 in February.
·
Addition
to a home was approved in Phase 2 in April; but requested Pergola over existing
deck was denied due to being within the required setback.
Details of
each are contained in the Minutes from Board Meetings, available on the
Association’s web site (see above for link). Members were reminded that any
modification or addition to a home exterior or landscape needs to be approved
by the DRC.
Questions
were taken from the floor. A member stated that they had recently purchased a
home and planned to replace some shrubs and do general clean-up of the
landscaping and inquired whether that work needed approval? Response was that
no approval is needed for replacement and clean-up.
Park
and Trail Committee Report
Adam
Racow, Chair of the Park & Trail Committee, provided the report on
activities during 2013-14:
·
A
trail segment was installed adjacent to McIlhattan Road in May after obtaining
approval by the City. This segment is only the north portion of what was
approved by the membership at the 2012 Annual Meeting and extends between the
south end of St. Andrew’s Drive to the subdivision boundary at the north,
connecting to the trail in the Phase 3 park.
·
Storm
drains and swales on Augusta Drive were cleaned in November
·
Culverts
were also installed on the McIlhattan trail segment in November following two
significant rain events indicating that culverts were needed in order to maintain
the trail and prevent erosion.
·
Vegetation
was removed by volunteers from one of the drainage swales adjacent to Augusta
Drive which was causing flow restriction in April. The city was contacted and
cleaned out the section of drain in the right of way that they are responsible
for.
·
Volunteers
also completed reseeding, raking, and ditch enhancement of the McIlhattan trail
segment in April.
·
Grass
Chopper has been contracted to handle mowing and weed spraying of the parks and
trails in all phases.
Questions
were taken from the floor. A member
requested clarification of where the McIlhattan trail segment is located, which
was described. Another member commented that the trail along McIlhattan Road is
difficult to use during winter months due to snow cover and/or ice, that it
puts people back to walking on the road, and asked whether there could be any
consideration to clearing snow from it? Response was that the access issue
would be reviewed.
A member
asked whether any money has been spent on the McIlhattan trail since the
Judge’s Summary Judgment Ruling in November 2013 in the Beebe litigation. The response was that no money has been spent
on the trail since the Judge’s ruling. A
member asked whether more topping [gravel] had been placed on the trail surface
since the first of the year (e.g., January 2014)? Response was that nothing had
been done on the trail since the Ruling except the volunteer work in April of
2014.
A member
thanked Adam Racow and anyone else involved in parks and trails in the
subdivision for their work and commented that the trail is excellent and
appreciated.
Treasurer’s
Report for 2013-2014 Fiscal Year, Presentation of Budget for July 2014 through
June 2015, and Member Vote for Approval
Dian
Bottcher, Treasurer, requested Sharyn Anhalt, Association Bookkeeper, to
provide the report. Sharyn reminded the
membership that she serves as Board President as well as the Association
Bookkeeper and that there are checks and balances in place for her dual roles,
including that she does not have signature authority for the Association.
The
members were allowed time to review the Budget for 2014-2015 as well as Budget
Report and Balance Sheet through March 31, 2014. There was a motion from
the floor to accept the Budget as presented, which was seconded, followed by a
call for Discussion.
Comments
and questions were received and answered from the membership. One item of note
is that a member commented about whether the membership could even vote on the
Budget as he felt that the Covenants did not give the membership that right. In
response, a Board member agreed that there is no requirement in our Bylaws to
bring the budget to the membership for a vote, but there is nothing that says
the membership can’t approve the budget and the Bylaws do require that the
membership approve the annual assessment. The Board chooses to present the
budget and assessment together for approval by the membership. Further
discussion ensued regarding the amount of the annual assessment. A Board member
responded that the current $75 minimum annual assessment [approved by the
membership at the 2002 Annual Meeting] cannot be changed without a vote of the
membership. It is also important to maintain a reserve for unexpected
maintenance expenses, as it is difficult to predict exact expenditures for a
given year. A member reminded those
present that current budgets cannot be compared to past years in that for a
number of years everything was done by volunteers (e.g., mowing, weed control,
snow removal, etc.).
There
being no further discussion, members were instructed to vote via ballots at the
meeting or on their proxy ballot, if provided one, and to turn them in at the
end of the meeting. Additional ballots were made available, if needed, and
would supersede a previously submitted ballot by marking with today’s date. The
final vote count for the budget, from votes cast in person or by proxy, was 129
yes, 9 no, and 22 abstained. The Budget
for 2014-2015 as presented was approved.
Nomination
and Election for Two Board of Director Positions, Serving Two Years to May 2016
The Chair summarized
that the Board is made up of five positions.
One is a non-rotating member being a representative of Golf Course
Partners (subdivision developer), whereas the other four positions serve
two-year terms, with two of these positions being up for election every year.
Currently Sharyn Anhalt and Karin Jennings have completed their two year terms
from 2012-2014, but are seeking reelection for the 2014-2016 terms, as listed
on the ballots.
Nominations
for Directors were taken from the floor. Nominations were made, and seconded,
for Karin Jennings and Sharyn Anhalt. No further nominations were made. Members
were instructed to complete any uncast ballots for submission prior to leaving
the meeting, and invited to stay after the meeting to participate in or witness
the ballot count. Final vote counts from
ballots were 130 in favor of Sharyn Anhalt and 134 in favor of Karin Jennings.
New
Business
A member
asked why members aren’t notified of Board meetings and stated that no regular
meetings had been held since November. A response was provided that the Bylaws only
require that Directors be notified of Board meetings, but that the Board
provides notification of upcoming meetings by email to members as a courtesy.
The membership was reminded to please provide and/or update their email address
if they wish to receive communications. Please do so by emailing bridgercreekboard@gmail.com.
A member
inquired whether there had been any action or activity regarding the 12 acre
parcel near the association park at the west end of Boylan Road, and also
commented that that property is currently flooding from the East Gallatin
River. Further, has there been any involvement with the City or County
regarding this parcel? The response was the Board has been in communication
with both the City and County regarding development proposals by Tom Murphy,
owner of the 12 acre parcel. Because the property is currently in the county,
Mr. Murphy would need to either annex the property into the City or apply for a
zoning change through the County. To the Board’s knowledge, neither process has
been pursued to date. The terms that Mr. Murphy has been communicating to the
neighborhood are speculative to date, and that the Board is under no obligation
to grant an easement to the 12 acre parcel.
Sharyn
Anhalt indicated that Mr. Murphy was present at the beginning of the meeting
and handed her an offer to purchase an easement. The Board has not yet reviewed
the document, so she could not comment on it. This is the first the Board has
received anything concrete from Mr. Murphy regarding his request. The Board is
not in favor of granting an easement. Further, it was noted that the Board does
not feel that the Covenants specifically allow for the Board to grant an
easement, so any approval would need to be voted on by the membership. The
Board would not present this for a vote unless it appeared there was support
from the membership. At this time, the board has received only one comment in
favor of an easement, and several dozen comments opposing an easement.
A member
inquired about an email that was received from Mr. Murphy just today, stating
that Mr. Murphy has received comments from the neighbors that are 2:1 in favor
of granting an easement. The Board did not receive this email, and has not
provided any member email addresses to Mr. Murphy.
A member
asked about the status of the cell phone tower that was discussed last year,
and was informed that it has been built, but at a reduced height than
originally proposed.
There were
no actions taken on any new business.
A motion
was made to adjourn the meeting, seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:00
pm.
Ballot
and/or Proxy Tally – Final Vote Counts
The final
results of the votes from the Annual Membership Meeting are as follows:
Members
present at meeting, in person or by proxy = 160 (at least 109 are needed for a
quorum).
Approval
of Budget for 2014-2015: 129 yes, 9 no,
22 abstain. Budget is approved.
Election
of Directors:
Sharyn Anhalt
130 votes – Elected to Board for 2014-2016 term
Karin Jennings 134 votes – Elected to Board for
2014-2016 term
