TIMBERON DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Minutes of the Meeting Held November 14, 2009 IN ATTENDANCE: Everett Putney Rick Merrick Cheryl Miller Mary Tyler Ward Cosgrove Alejandra Cosgrove Scott Millar Donna Millar Linda Lea Burt Rubinowitz Judy Hodnett B. F. Adams Gwen Adams Fran Trendler Elsie Gideon Bill Gideon Jackie Fioretti The meeting was called to order by President Everett Putney at 10:05 AM. The Pledge of Allegiance was given by all and a prayer was given by Everett Putney. Everett asked if anyone wanted the minutes read from the last meeting. A motion was made by B. F. Adams to accept the minutes as submitted, it was seconded by Scott Millar. The minutes were approved. A Treasurer’s report was given by Fran Trendler. A motion was made by Donna MIllar and seconded by Cheryl Miller to accept the report as given. Motion approved. Bills for October totaled $716.51. Gwen Adams made a motion to pay our bills and Donna Millar seconded it. Motion approved. Old Business: Everett Putney advised he spoke to the owner of the John Deere Dealership in Mesquite, TX about the Frontier Mower we purchased from them and we put approximately three hours of use on it before it broke. The Owner said it would cost $1,800 to repair the Frontier Mower or he would sell us the John Deere MX6 Mower for $1,800. The gear box and shaft on the Frontier Mower is what needs to be repaired. The MX6 Mower is a heavier mower than the Frontier Mower. The dealership will give us a $800 break on the MX6. After discussion Gwen Adams made a motion to purchase the John Deere MX6 Mower. Scott Millar seconded the motion and it was approved. An update on the airport improvement was given by Everett Putney. He advised Otero County had $113,000.00 grant money in the budget for our airport improvements. He received a letter and telephone call from Ray Backstrom, Otero County Manager that in a recent meeting the Governor of New Mexico cancelled all grant money. Last month Everett met with Bill Nancarrow, Delta Airport Engineering, and David Polger, Director of New Mexico Aviation, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. State Aviation advised the Timberon Airport would never be approved by the FAA because it does not meet their requirements. You can’t have any houses or hangers within a certain number of feet from the airstrip. We can still request state funds for improvements. Since Otero County owns the airport it is a public use airstrip and the County Manager is in the process of submitting the paper work to change it from private to public. The park signs for Mary Glover, Shallow Creek, Tres Marias and Deer Park have been installed on 4X4 posts. Everett thanked Steve Griffith, Richard Rodriguez and Dave Eerkes for helping him. The directional signs to Mary Glover Park are very small and it was suggested to fill the arrow in with black paint. Rick Merrick advised there is WUI, Wildland Urban Interface, money available to thin private properties. The grant money will be available until next summer. If you are interested in thinning your property please call him. Andrew Fredrickson, with State Forestry said Timberon is doing better than anyone else in Otero County in using the grant money. We are still waiting to hear if the BLM grant money is available. Joy Esparsen has not responded to our telephone calls or emails. Everett will write a letter to her. The decision on the copy machine has been postponed to January. New Business: Rick Merrick advised the Timberon Development Council sent a letter to business owners in Timberon and held a meeting Thursday, November the 12th. Approximately thirteen people attended. The meeting was to find out what the council could do for them to help with their business. They like the events that bring more people to Timberon and would like more of them. There was discussion on collaboration and using local business instead of going off mountain, advertisement, web site links etc. There weren’t any accomplishments or actions at this meeting and the next meeting is scheduled January 13, 2010 at 7:00pm. It was mentioned Timberon looses a lot of business such as seminars because we don’t have cell phone service. Burt Rubinowitz advised NMR Plateau needs a dedicated T1 and is waiting for Dell Telephone to give them the pricing for this. There was discussion on forming a mini Chamber of Commerce or a Business Owners Association so that owners can promote their business. There will be more on this later. Everett received a telephone call from Herb Wimberly and Herb advised the Golf Course is in good shape because of all the work Peter and Barbara Bowidowitz have put into it. Thanks to Peter and Barbara for all their hard work. Everett advised the lower lake at the lodge has been sealed with the bentonite that has been on hand for several years. Dr. Marty Moore, Manager TWSD will give an update on this at the Town Hall Meeting today at 1:00pm. Everett expressed the fishing lakes are a very important draw to Timberon. It was mentioned the upper lake at the lodge draws a lot of birds and it could have a nature trail and be used for bird watching. It was mentioned the Cloudcroft Boy Scouts need projects to obtain their badges and perhaps they could be used to build the trail. Donna Millar advised Lance Wright is the Boy Scout Coordinator for Otero County and can be reached at 575- 682-1010 in Cloudcroft. A letter was read from Robert Dixon, President and CEO of LP3.com, who attended our meeting in October with his wife, Joanne. The council would like more information about Mr. Dixon and references in his work. Everett will be in San Antonio Thanksgiving week and will contact Mr. Dixon. Page 3 Election of Officers: Scott Millar made a motion to accept by acclamation the present Officers who were nominated at the October meeting to serve for the ensuing year. The motion was seconded by B.F. Adams and it was approved. The following Officers for 2010 are: Everett Putney, President, Rick Merrick, Vice President, Jackie Fioretti, Secretary and Fran Trendler, Treasurer. Due to the upcoming busy Holidays, Donna Millar made a motion to suspend the December meeting. Bill Gideon seconded the motion and it was approved. Everett Putney gave a report on a meeting held in Cloudcroft by SCMRC&D, South Central Mountain Resource Conservation & Development, and the USDA Forest Service. A $50,000 Grant has been given to SCMRC&D to develop a Master Plan for trails in the Lincoln National Forest. The plan is to identify trails for hiking, biking, 4-W motorized and equestrian. Establish solutions for trails that dead end and trails that do not connect. The next meeting will be January 12, 2010 at 7:00pm in Cloudcroft at the District Ranger Station. B. F. Adams advised updated trail maps are available at the Forest Service for free. New Mexico doesn’t recognize all states ATV registrations. You may go to the website b4uride.com to register out of state ATV’s on line. Jackie Fioretti and Everett Putney are in the process of acquiring signatures for the updated Timberon Community Action Plan. Burt Rubinowitz advised TWSD, Timberon Water and Sanitation District, has a web site timberonwater.com. Scott Millar gave a report on the VFW’s programs “Patriots Pen” and “Voice of Democracy”. November 1st was the deadline for these projects. The “Patriots Pen” program for middle schools received 55 essays which is outstanding. Last year the “Voice of Democracy” program received 30 participants and this year there were only six but they were high quality. He thanked the Timberon Development Council for their support in the programs. Donna Millar made a motion to adjourn and Fran Trendler seconded the motion. The motion was approved and the meeting adjourned approximately 11:10 am. Our next meeting will be January 9, 2010 at 10:00 am in the red barn. These are open meetings and the community is invited. Happy Holidays to all! Respectively submitted, Jackie Fioretti, Secretary