Assessment Letter of 3/9/2012
3/9/2012
Henry E. (Hank) LuBean, Administrator
Columbia View Terrace Irrigation Association
C/O Hank LuBean
1700 N. Aurora Ave
East Wenatchee, WA 98802
To Association Members: property parcel owners in the Columbia View Terrance neighborhood who receive irrigation water with Addresses on North Sunset Hwy, North Anne Ave, and North Aurora Ave with address numbers from 1601 to 1799 and on 18th from 1 to 50.
Dear Member
This letter is an assessment of $40 from each owner of a parcel of property in our neighborhood irrigation system (the Columbia View Terrance Irrigation Association) for which you are a member. Most members have a full parcel ($40) but some of us have 1 ½, 2, or even 2 ½ parcels; the assessment is effectively $20 for each ½ parcel; if you have 2 ½ parcels, your assessment would be: $40+$40+$20 = $100; most everyone will be less than this.
You are a member because our records show that you are an owner of, or are responsible for, parcels of property within the boundaries of our neighborhood’s system and your address is registered with the Douglas County Treasurer’s Office as receiving irrigation water from the Wenatchee Reclamation District. If you don’t own any parcels or are not a responsible party (a renter or lessee who is supposed to pay for all utilities and expenses of the parcel) and do not receive irrigation water, please let me know and I will attempt to straighten it out with the entities involved. This assessment is for funds to maintain our neighborhood irrigation system only. There are two assessments related to our irrigation system as follows:
- The first irrigation assessment to property owners is annual and is collected from each property owner, just like property taxes, by the Douglas County Treasurer on behalf of the Wenatchee Reclamation District (WRD). The WRD provides the water, pipes, and canal to deliver the water to our neighborhood’s irrigation system. The WRD’s responsibility and funding requirements end at the head gate in the canal where our neighborhood’s system receives its water.
- The second irrigation assessment (this one) is for maintenance of the facilities, valves, and pipes from the canal head gate to each of our properties. This second assessment is only periodic, every few years, and is only necessary when the funds in our association’s bank account get too low for comfort. The last assessment for our neighborhood system was six years ago in 2006. Right now the account has only $1340 in it as of the end of 2011. If our association’s piping ruptured forcing us to dig up a street for its repair, it could cost us anywhere from $3000 to $5000 at a minimum (backhoe, asphalt, valves, pipes, etc.); we can’t afford this amount right now; we would need to turn the water off until we gathered enough funds from each neighbor to make the repairs. I don’t think you want this to happen. It is our responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen by collecting funds now through this assessment.
I am the newly elected (selected) Administrator of the Columbia View Terrace Irrigation Association as of November 16, 2011. Among other assignments, I have agreed to administer this assessment process this year (2012) to build up our bank account to a responsible level. Please respond to this assessment as soon as you can; I am targeting the end of March or Early April (about the time irrigation starts) for receipt of your assessment. Please use April 15, 2012 (Tax Day) as the payment deadline. If you use a check or money order please make it out to: Columbia View Terrace Irrigation Association; you won’t get a receipt back from me unless you want one, in which case let me know. If you use currency (cash) which I prefer you not use, I will accept it and will provide a receipt. You may mail it using the envelope provided or drop it off at my house (1700 N Aurora). You are not supposed to use my mailbox, per the US Postal Service, unless it is stamped and sent through regular postal channels; if I happen to find any in my mailbox, I will accept them and apologize to the USPS later.
I am compiling information (documents, maps, diagrams, photos, etc.) of our neighborhood irrigation system including items from the Wenatchee Reclamation District where we get our water. I will place these items on a website I created for our irrigation association. I hope it is useful to you. The website is at the URL: www.lubean.com/cvtia. The website is a work-in-progress and won’t amount to much initially, but will be expanded as I have time to photograph and collect items of interest or importance. I will try to keep it updated as possible. The website will have feedback ability (like a blog) and contact information for your use. If any of you have anything of a historical value or interest about our neighborhood irrigation system or our neighborhood in general let me know; I’ll put it on the website. I won’t put any personal information on the website other than contact information. You can email any information you might have to me at hank@lubean.com. You can always mail it to me at: Hank LuBean, 1700 N. Aurora, East Wenatchee, WA 98802, or just drop it off at the house.
If you have any questions or need to contact someone about our irrigation system, you may mail me, email me at hank@lubean.com, or you may call me; I prefer evenings since I am still employed (Douglas PUD) but in an emergency you may call any time: Cell 509-679-4259, Home: 509-884-7815, Work: 509-881-2247. If I don’t have the answer, I will find it out and get back to you.
Please don’t forget to send your assessment as soon as you can. The association does have the right to shut water off until assessments are paid as well as to collect the assessment through conveyances such as leans just like taxes; this is covered in your property title covenants. We haven’t had to do this in the past because we all want the same thing — the water we have paid for during the time we need it. I hope to hear from you soon. Let me know if you have any concerns or need a little more time to pay, we can work with you.
Yours Truly
Henry E. (Hank) LuBean, Administrator
Columbia View Terrace Irrigation Association