Deer Springs Ranch Board Meeting
January 14, 2011, 4:00 PM at ERA Utah Properties, Kanab
DSROA January Board of Directors Meeting MINUTES
Board members in attendance: Shawna Cox, Dale Clarkson, Kathy Duvall, David Turley, Brent
Fullmer.
Absent were: Dirk Clayson & Ben Clarkson.
Others in attendance: Linda Alderman, Reservation Clerk/Secretary Nancy & Paul
Brayton, Ranch Managers
In attendance by Teleconference: Vance Green & Jodi Akers.
Conducting: Brent Fullmer
1. Welcome - Brent Fullmer
Prayer - Paul Brayton
2. Approval of December meeting Minutes
3. Areas of Responsibility:
Review of board member assignments.
a. Roads and Fire Protection - Brent Fullmer
b. Ranch Activities, Finance - Shawna Cox
c. Water Resources and Management - Dale Clarkson
d. Agricultural ad Wildlife - Dirk Clayson
e. Facilities, Cabin Maintenance - Kathy Duvall
f. Legal and Public Safety - Ben Clarkson
g. Ranch Communications and Reservations, Web development - David Turley
4. Financial Report : Linda Alderman
5. Presentation of 2011 Budget
There was a discussion of the 2011 Budget items. Among the discussed items was a desire to
keep a better handle on fuel and where it goes. Brent is wanting to check on Fuel usage vs
Machinery usage and keep a log for trouble shooting the fuel tank health. Brent and Paul
are working out a system for logging fuel usage.
6. Roads and Fire Protection - Brent Fullmer
a. Ranch road maintenance
1. Culvert placement project. Brent wants input from the members to prioritize the culvert
project.
2. Erosion control issues around the HQ. Brent wants Dales input on the needed changes to
the area around HQ so they can get it back to the way it was before. The runoff is doing
harm to Headquarters. They plan to take a serious look at the situation this week.
3. Repair the minor amount of road damage along the roads caused by the motorcycle race.
4. Drainage issues along Meadow Canyon.
5. Johnnie Brown
6. Snow removal.
7. Warning sign stating " Road Closed Ahead!"
Brent talked to Lou Pratt of Kane Co. Road Dept. and requested a sign at the Skutumpah
and at Lot 137 saying:
Road Closed
No Winter Maintenance past this sign
Travel at your own risk
8. Create an ATV road that runs parallel to the ranch road for Snow Mobiling in the
winter. Dale has already
started one, the Desert Foxes added to it and the hope it to have it as a year round
alternative for ATVs.
7. Ranch Activities - Shawna Cox
There were many ideas for Winter Activities on the Ranch. Snow mobiling, sledding,
tobogganing, snow shoeing, and even skiing were among those suggested. A discussion on how
to get the information out to the membership brought up the desire to have a web cam which
we have on the website now of HQ area but we also need one at the upper cabins and at the
middle part of the Ranch and post conditions on the same page. A web page devoted to
Activities with lots of pictures and maybe a slide show of folks doing activities at the
ranch. There was a discussion on possibly keeping an upper cabin open for winter and
packing down the trails for snowmobile use to get to the upper cabin and the pavilion
where folks could gather for winter activities.
It was stressed that folks would need to check in with Headquarters before venturing up.
It was also suggested that the information on summer and winter activities be posted on
the information board by the comfort station.
8. Update on water issues - Dale Clarkson
a. Leaf Springs
b. 40,000 gallon water tank - project completed. The system is in use. Ice is forming on
top of the water in the 40,000 gal tank. They are looking into a solar powered aerator.
c. Water System expansion, vault is not done yet.
d. Irrigation Management - All need the head gates completed.
1. Water Management of Polliwog Ponds
2. Water Management of Red Reservoir
3. Water Management of Half Moon
4. Water Management of Hidden Reservoir
5. Water Management of fish ponds
e. Water Rights 89-1259 & 89-1260 are shown with an old
address of P.O. Box C. These need to be changed to P.O. Box 254.
f. copy of SPP has been filed by Vance for electronic filing. Vance needs a copy of page
#7. the copy was not readable on that page. Scan and send to Vance then this project is
done.
g. Jodi - discuss having the engineers survey Leaf Springs while they are out at the ranch
surveying Meadow Canyonspring. Jodi had contacted both Dirk and Dale about having the
engineers survey both springs during the same visit to save the cost of two calls. Dirk
asked Jodi to ask Dale, Jodi asked Dale via e-mail with more than one request and was
never responded to. Dale asked Linda if the invoice had already been paid to the
engineers. Linda responded yes. Jodi asked when did the engineers come out, Dale replied
about 5 - 6 months ago. Jodi then responded that the Board hadn't even approved the funds
for that survey until the previous meeting, so why was this done months before the
approval? No answer was given. Jodi then asked the cost of the survey and Linda responded
with around $2500. Jodi asks for a copy of the invoice and again, requested better
communications within the water committee. She stated there was no discussion about the
work being done at the Meadow Canyon Spring and these situations need to be handled
better. Jodi said it is only smart to group these projects together to save the Ranch
money. It was stated that when the engineers will be back again in Spring and they can do
both wells then. Vance asked for a Scan of the Meadow Canyon Spring Report to put in the
electronic file.
h. This week the New Well Proof for Beneficial Use of Water came in from the State of Utah
for the #2 well in the well field near HQ.
9. Agricultural and Wildlife - Dirk Clayson
a. Willow mowing
b. Seeding efforts
c. Dave Turley asked "Why not offer the hunting tags to members first?" Dale
explained that the Ranch gets only one tag and it goes back into a pool of tags with the
Pausaguant Land Owners Assoc. The tag looses it's identity in the process. The PLOA then
raffles the tags off and we get a good sized check from them each year for our one tag. We
could apply for more deprivation (the deer eating our crops) tags because of the reseeding
we've done. Heaton Ranch in Alton gets 30 tags each year. The Board would like Dirk to
take another look at the possibility. Larry Clarkson is the best source of how all this
works.
10. Facilities, Cabin Maintenance - Kathy Duvall toured HQ with Nancy and Paul and
identified areas where weekend projects could take place as the weather warms. Kathy would
like to post: 1) items needed 2) man power needed 3) the benefits of helping - on the
website and in a newsletter and plan the second weekend in May to coordinate with the
Board meeting. There is a hope to have horses on the ranch to ride again in the near
future.
11. Legal and Public Safety - Ben Clarkson
a. Update on county zoning
b. Update on county roads - The Judge involved with the rulings on our roads came out and
went to see the problems first hand. The county won the lawsuit - see the County website
for a more detailed description of the evens that unfolded.
c. Corrections still needed for deed restriction because the restriction to allow 2 cabins
per lot was never recorded. Dale will take care of this and finish it up by the February
meeting.
d. Discussion on a means of tracking, listing and documenting changes/ideas
made by previous Boards that would want to be carried on as policy to current and
future Boards, was deferred to the February Meeting.
12. Ranch Communications and Reservations, Web development - David Turley
CABIN USAGE 2010
199 members (some with multiple lots 298 lots)
Cabins closed for a period of time for repairs
Cabin #4, Cabin #2, Cabin #8, Cabin #7
Number of visits when Cabins were used for less than a week
36 Approx. 20%
Number of times a Cabin was used by non-owners most using a members cabin time.
32 Approx. 17%
Estimated Number of Members that come use their cabin time every year
70 Members Approx. 35% of the membership
Cabins used the most in descending order
Cabin #8 - 32
Cabin #7 - 29
Cabin #1 - 23
Garden Cabin 17
Cabin #3 - 16
Cabin #2 - 14
Cabin #10 - 14
Cabin #4 12
Cabin #6 - 11
Cabin #9 10
No shows for 2010 - a real problem in the past
. None
We had about 6 members return after several years absence from the Ranch cabins.
Total usage for 2010
184 (6 for 2 weeks)
Estimated number of lots held for investment purposes and do not use cabin time
Approx. 113 Approx. 38% of the lots.
Dave wanted to know:
1. Can members sell their unused cabin time to 'outsiders'? Yes they can
2. Can members split up cabin time and reservation fee? Cabin time yes. There is a
reservation fee for each Reservation.
3. Laundry expense - none
4. Discuss public usage of cabins. We re still not in a position to ope the cabins up to
people who are not a member of the Association. But members can sell their cabin time to
anyone. Linda respond to Kent Kaufman.
5. A Cabin Usage Survey was formulated - with other questions that pertain to the Ranch.
It will be sent out by email soon.
Survey questions:
1) How often are you at the ranch and long is your stay?
2) What would get you back to the ranch more often?
3) Do you fish
a) in the ponds?
b) Up in the forest?
c) At Tropic Reservoir?
4) If only 1/3 of the members use the cabins, is it because
a) they have their own cabin or RV and
b) never need extra space for their visitors?
c) they simply do not visit the ranch?
5) How many use up their cabin time by spending the night (or two nights) twice a year?
6) Would more people stay in the cabins if they were nicer?
Dave asked - Can the DSR Association create and sell a few choice lots and with the $$
build some cabins that would rent to outsiders (or insiders), providing a source of income
for the ranch? Dale said -Yes we Can-a portion of the common lands could be divided into
lots and sold. The ranch was originally set up to sell more lots as needed. To go forward
with that plan, Dale will bring a plan back at the February meeting so the Board can do a
feasibility study. This will be added to the questionnaire. As well as a proposal to split
the assessed cabin time into 4 half-week stays. Members will still be able to stay a week
or two weeks if they choose.
13. Ranch Manager's report - Paul Brayton
a. Fencing / cattle guards
. Winter preparations time spent making plans for Spring.
It was moved by Kathy Duvall and seconded by Dave Turley to adjourn to an
Executive Session to review & discuss overdue Assessments. Secretary/Reservation
Clerk's
position, non member cabin usage and a Bartering request.
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