Final Minutes of the July 21, 2020 CVTIA Zoom Meetings

The Columbia View Terrace Irrigation Association (CVTIA) meeting held by Zoom Meeting on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  Attendees are listed in Attachment A to these meeting minutes.

Action Item Summary

CVTIA Zoom Meeting 7/21/2020

  • Discussion on the need for Co-Administrator and Assistants to help Hank LuBean as Administrator.
  • Discussion on CVTIA Bank Account Status.
    • Checking account signers to be updated – Vote regarding signatory
    • Checking account balance – Vote to increase balance through dues
  • Discussion regarding meeting annually to discuss CVTIA.
  • Discuss the CVTIA website.
  • Discussion on the current gravity fed system, head gate, and current resident lot size.
  • Discuss Opportunity 1 to increase orifice by .33” by adding 3 lots to CVTIA.
    • 3 New Members to pay all costs – Vote on adding new members
  • Discussion for the Opportunity 2 to increase orifice by 1.33” by leasing 4 water shares.
    • Payment plan for leasing option 2
  • Discussion of establishing an HOA and additional covenants to properties.

Decision Summary

  • Adam Nealy was approved by vote to be added as the Co-Administrator. Karen LuBean and Amber Nealy were approved by vote to be added as Administrative Assistants.
  • Adam Nealy was approved by vote to be added to the CVTIA Bank account as an additional signatory for CVTIA to assist Hank with check writing and future expenses.
  • By a vote, an annual meeting will be held prior to turning on the CVTIA Irrigation System each spring in late March or early April and emergency meetings will be held when necessary.  
  • By a vote, established annual dues of $20 for the next five years that will be collected from all 72 current CVTIA members to increase the bank account balance for unforeseen emergency repairs and for routine expenses such as head gate screen replacement for the system.
  • By a vote, members agreed to take advantage of Opportunity 2 to lease 4 water shares for $500 annually. This will increase the orifice at the head gate by 1.3 inches allowing additional flow. The newly established annual dues to be collected will cover this cost along with normal maintenance costs.
  • By a vote, the members present at the Zoom Meeting agreed to allow the additional 3 lot owners, who petitioned or requested to be added to the system, at their own expense, to our current system of 72 members. This item has been requested by members to be sent out in the minutes to members not in attendance for a review period.
  • Members decided that establishing an HOA and covenants were not necessary at this time.

Review Items

  • Three lot owners on 17th Street have requested the possibility to tap into our current irrigation system of 72 members: XXXXXXXXX, 99 17th NE; XXXXXXXXX, 97 17th St. NE; XXXXXXXXX, 95 17th St. NE
  • By a vote of 8 (approved) to 2 (deny) it was determined that 3 additional lots would be added to the current 72 lots associated with the CVTIA. These land owners will incur all costs to tapping into our irrigation system this Fall or in the spring of 2021 when no water is in the system.  They will pay the fees associated with increasing the orifice size at our head gate and will arrange for their water rights to be assigned to our irrigation association with the Wenatchee Reclamation District.
  • CVTIA members involved in the Zoom meeting expressed the importance of making other members aware of this decision via meeting minutes distributed to members.
  • Meeting minutes will be distributed by mail to all 72 members of the CVTIA. The review period will last for a 30-day period to address further suggestions and comments due to Hank LuBean on September 1, 2020.
  • Hank LuBean’s engineering background, calculations, and longtime Administrator experience shows that this opportunity will allow 7.2 gpm of continuous additional water to the CVTIA with little impact on our current pressure. He noted that the three new members being just above the existing system, would be the ones that first experience any pressure issues and therefore they would need to adjust their usage times accordingly prior to any of the existing members having to make usage time changes . 

CVTIA Zoom Meeting Minutes – July 21, 2020

          Welcome

A.    Review Agenda, Zoom Meeting Review, and Discuss Agenda Items

Hank LuBean welcomed the attendees to the meeting and the meeting was held via Zoom because of restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Hank LuBean reviewed the agenda and discussed how the Zoom meeting would work. 

Meeting Agenda Overview

  • Meeting began at 5:04 with 12 members/8 lot owners in attendance.

Hank LuBean identified and discussed the yes/no feature of Zoom in anticipation of several votes needed to help direct the irrigation association.

  • Hank LuBean provided a PowerPoint slide introduction to the current CVTIA system.

Hank noted that we have a viable system but we may need to make additions to continue to be viable which Hank LuBean will discuss later in the meeting.  There has been very little maintenance to our system other than the weekly cleanings and annual head gate screen replacements. 

I.        High Priority Items – Requiring Vote

          Adding the Role of a Co-Administrator and two Administrative Assistants to help Hank LuBean manage the irrigation association.  

Hank LuBean proposed that we ask Adam Nealy to become the Co-Administrator and Karen LuBean and Amber Nealy to become the Administrative Assistants.  Hank LuBean asked that the members on the Zoom Meeting cast a yes/or no vote to the proposed addition of these roles to assist Hank LuBean.  With an unanimous vote it was determined that Adam and Amber Nealy assist with these roles and help with the CVTIA.  The Nealys were in agreeance with helping manage the duties of the CVTIA.  Hank said that Karen LuBean also agreed to continue to help as an Administrative Assistant.

B.     Adding a signatory to the CVTIA Bank Account

Hank LuBean proposed that Adam Nealy also be added to the Key Bank Account for help with expenses and check writing.  The members attending the Zoom meeting voted in unanimous agreement that Adam Nealy would be added.  Hank LuBean and Adam Nealy will discuss a time to meet to accomplish that task.

C.     Columbia View Terrace Irrigation Key Bank Account Status

Hank LuBean discussed the bank balance of our checking account of roughly $3300 which would not cover the cost of a major construction repair of our system.  Although, this is not expected currently, being prepared for the cost of emergencies is important to the members.  The cost alone for digging up and repairing any road would be potentially $5-6,000 or more depending on circumstances.  It was voted unanimously by the members present that the Administrator assess an annual dues of $20 to all members for the next five years. 

D.    Annual Dues to be collected from members.

Dues have not been collected from members since 2012.  It was suggested that at a minimum $20 be collected from each member annually to boost our irrigation bank account for unforeseen expenses that may arise as well as to pay for Opportunity 2 discussed below.  It will be easier to collect a small amount rather than a large sum when an emergency arises.  Hank LuBean noted the option of shutting off valves to lots that don’t pay the dues.  

II.     Opportunities Presented – Requiring Vote and Review

          Opportunity 1:  Our neighbor, Seth Super, approached CVTIA with the opportunity to receive more water through the orifice in our head gate by allowing his lot and the two adjacent lots to him to join or be added to our existing system.  Those three lots are not able to receive irrigation water at this time.  If we allow them to join our system, the Wenatchee Reclamation District will expand our orifice size to accommodate the three new lots by adding their water shares to CVTIA.  All expenses associated with this proposal would be paid by the three new members.  The additional capacity that this opportunity brings will benefit our system by giving us additional water.  The same risk of low pressure exists currently as it would with the addition of these new lots that is, we can’t all use water at the same time; we must stagger our use or else the pressure can drop causing unsatisfactory sprinkler operation.  The additional water they would bring helps but doesn’t solve the concurrent use issue; it will always be with us unless we meter each connection, which nobody would want.  The proposed three new members would be the first affected by any pressure drop in the system since they would be closest to the head gate.  They are above Aurora (higher in elevation) which means they have less hydraulic head (less pressure to start with) than the rest of us, and as such they would need to be more vigilant in staggering their water use so as not to reduce the system pressure (for them or others) any more than necessary.

Hank LuBean has performed an engineering review of the system and has concluded that adding these three lots to our system should not materially affect our system only enhance it.  They bring additional capacity to the system which is needed.  If the existing system is negatively impacted more than can be solved by water use timing, we would exercise our right to limit their use so as not to degrade the existing system.

Ben Tucker suggested that this Opportunity 1 be presented in these minutes so lot owners who weren’t present could review the info and that concurrence be obtained from these lot owners.  Concurrence is needed via a majority vote before proceeding with a final decision to move forward.  The lot owners present at the Zoom meeting agreed and therefore we ask that lot owners return a yes or no vote on this Opportunity 1.  This can be done by marking and returning the voting sheet mailed with these minutes or by emailing Hank LuBean at hlubean@gmail.com with a yes or no vote.  You may also call Hank at 509‑679‑4259 with a verbal vote. The votes will be tallied.  We need results by September 1, 2020.  If the majority of the votes are yes, we will move forward with Opportunity 1.  

          Opportunity 2:  Seth Super, our neighbor who brought us Opportunity 1 has spent a lot of time researching acquiring irrigation water for his lot as well as for his adjacent neighbors.  We thank him for his efforts.  He discovered that a private individual had four Wenatchee Reclamation District shares that he would lease to canal users.  Seth presented this option to Hank LuBean and Hank presented it at the Zoom meeting.  If the CVTIA leased these four shares from this individual, the Wenatchee Reclamation District would increase our head gate orifice by 1.33 inches.  This would increase our capacity by about 29 gallons per minute (gpm); we currently are allowed about 77 gpm; this would increase our capacity considerably; no more air sucking at the head gate and resultant pressure losses.  Our existing 3 inch PVC pipe can handle and utilize this additional capacity.  The lease is only for 5 years but it may be able to be extended.

This individual offered this option to Seth and consequently to us until July 27.  We needed to decide on this quickly since having additional shares available for lease is rare.  Due to this deadline, those on the Zoom call all agreed to pursue this Opportunity 2.  The cost is $125 per share per year or $500 per year.  This cost will be just over $6 per lot owner per year.  Collecting this leasing option from lot owners would be accomplished using an annual billing process.       

III.  Housekeeping

          CVTIA Website

Hank LuBean maintains a webpage on behalf of the CVTIA and it was suggested that someone may need to know how to update that site.  Hank discussed sharing it with Karen LuBean.

          Member’s discussion on holding future meetings.

It was discussed that annual meetings would be beneficial and other meetings throughout the season as necessary or as issues are require member approval or guidance.  

IV.  Review Items

          Outcome of Review Items

TBD after review period ending September 1, 2020.

V.    Next Meetings

The next meeting will be announced at the end of March and held in April 2021, via mail and posted on the CVTIA website https://www.lubean.com/cvtia/.  This annual meeting will be held via Zoom meeting or similar on-line process; the login details will be included in the announcement and on the website.

VI.  List of Attachments

Attachment A   List of Attendees   List of Attendees has been deleted from these minutes since it is being put online. The Attendee names and addresses are in the CVTIA Administrator files and in the minutes mailed to members.