GCCHLA MEETING November 15, 2007

Location: Huntoon Residence

Time: 7:00PM

Adjourned:  8:30PM

Attendees (Board Members):
DePoyster, Curtis
Huntoon, Heather
Stahl, Dave
Stewart, Rusty
Taylor, Matt and Missy
Van Geet, Kelly
Vogt, Jim

Next Meeting: The next meeting is expected to be held sometime in March or April 2008.

Previous Meeting Acceptance:  The previous meeting minutes were accepted.

Small Tract Act Update: No updates at this time.

Road Report: The Pisgah portion of GCCHLA purchased their own grader and graded their roads independent of the work contracted by GCCHLA. They requested a fuel reimbursement. The board approved a measure to provide $500 and in the future will consider annual fuel reimbursements for their road work.

The board approved a measure to install two culverts per year. Old Stage and Redtail roads were considered most urgent and so culverts will initially be installed there.

Community Mailboxes: Jim Vogt will be lobbying on the floor of the US Congress for the installation of mailboxes at the firehouse. Seriously, though, he is going to Washington DC where he will meet with an assistant postmaster to move this issue forward.

GCCHLA Home & Landowner list: Matt Taylor has completed compiling a list of property owners gaining access to their properties via York Gulch road for both Clear Creek and Gilpin counties.  Curtis DePoyster is in the process of reconciling the new list with the old.

Website: Curtis DePoyster is in process of updating the website and reports this will be completed in the near future.

Fire Department: Currently we have only one volunteer for the fire department. We risk losing the York Gulch Fire Station without additional volunteers, meaning you would likely LOSE YOUR HOMEOWNER’S INSURANCE!!! 50 hours annual training is required to be a volunteer.  However, volunteers may specify which duties they want to perform (driving, maintenance, rescue, etc.). Let’s get off our half-moons before this becomes a critical issue…

Incorporation: Dave Stahl is revisiting the potential of incorporating as a township. He will investigate 1) the amount of county, state and federal funds we would receive, 2) the potential of receiving ownership of all USFS road easements, 3) the potential of the USFS allowing us to manage all future small tracts acquisitions, 4) the potential of the Fall River HOA joining in incorporation and 5) the costs required to incorporate.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan: Curtis DePoyster has provided a link to the website describing this plan. It can be found at:
http://www.YorkGulch.com/NonGCCHLA/Fall_River_CWPP_2007_11_06.doc
Several representatives attended the meeting to describe the working details of the plan. In a nutshell, its four phases consist of 1) plan development 2) risk assessment 3) mitigation and 4) community outreach.

All GCCHLA home and landowners are highly encouraged to participate. The benefits of participation include:

1)       Prioritization by the forest service of protecting communities that have implemented the plan when combating wildfires. That means we would have USFS firefighters protecting our homes.

2)       Reduced risk of homes catching fire because of large-scale fuel reduction.

3)       Matching grants (i.e., free money) for the expenses we incur in implementing the program. This includes grants for the equipment we supply & the labor we invest… so let’s get busy!

2007/2008 Officer Election Results:

Treasurer: DePoyster, Curtis
Secretary: DePoyster, Curtis (temporary standin)
Vice President: Vogt, Jim
President: Huntoon, Heather

Treasurer’s Report:

Emergency Fund Checking: 283.15
Emergency Fund Savings: 9,437.67
Homeowner’s Checking: 265.07
Homeowner’s Savings: 8,965.59

Total Accounts: 18,951.48