TIMBERON DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Minutes of the Meeting Held August 14, 2010 IN ATTENDANCE: Everett Putney Rick Merrick Fran Trendler Jen Jones Jake Rubinowitz Cal Tyler Mary Tyler Kent Huisingh Jane Huisingh Ricky Cox Linda Lea Burt Rubinowitz Scott Millar Donna Millar John Howell Shirley Holstrom Charlie Ross Bobbie Brown Bill Brown B.F. Adams Donna Owens Jackie Fioretti The meeting was called to order by President Everett Putney at 10:00 AM. Allegiance to the flag 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 Burt Rubinowitz to accept the minutes as submitted and it was seconded by Donna Millar . The minutes were approved. A Treasurer’s report was given by Fran Trendler. A motion was made by Shirley Holstrom and seconded by Linda Lea to accept the report as given. Motion approved. Bobbie Brown asked if we had any of this money in a cd or money market account. After discussion, it was agreed Jackie Fioretti will look into a money market account with the First National Bank in Cloudcroft. Bills for July and August totaled $1,307.76 which included 19 hours to remove rocks and level the right of way on the airstrip, food & supplies for Western Day Appreciation Picnic, printing, ink & paper for business flyers and other minor expenses. John Howell made a motion to pay our bills and Charlie Ross seconded the motion. The motion was approved. President Putney introduced Ricky Cox. Ricky said he is a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Acting Field Representative who replaced Ryan Whitaker. He gave us his background and said he grew up in the area. We look forward to working with him. Rick Merrick gave an update on the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) meeting which is held the 3rd Wednesday of each month in Cloudcroft. It is basically a planning meeting and reviews completed projects and new projects. Federal Forestry mentions what they are doing on the water sheds. Cloudcroft reported they are using 100% of their recycled water which is powered by solar. Mike Nivison presented other projects at this meeting. Collaboration is extremely important on grants. The next WUI Meeting is August 18th at the Sacramento Ranger Station in Cloudcroft. Rick Merrick gave an update on the BLM Grant. The Fire Department Sub Station tree thinning is completed. A down payment has been given to Jim Miller and the Fire DVD is in progress. Jim Miller is here today to redo some of the audio and he is planning on having the preliminary draft by our next meeting. Thinning the corners is still in progress but has been a little slow due to the rain we have been receiving. If you know of any hazardous corners please call Rick Merrick at 987-2779. over Page 2 Jackie Fioretti reported she and Everett Putney went to the First National Bank in Cloudcroft to inquire about an interest bearing account for TDC (Timberon Development Council). A Money Market Account is available which will draw interest and are able to write six checks to transfer money to the checking account if needed. Any checks written over the six will be charged $6.00 per check. If the council decides to do this, names must be given who will have authorization to write the checks. A motion was made by Donna Millar for the Timberon Development Council Inc. to open a Money Market Account with $15,000.00 and it was seconded by Bill Brown. After discussion, Linda Lea amended the motion to change the amount from $15,000.00 to $25,000.00 and it was seconded by Burt Rubinowitz. The motion, with the amendment, was approved. Donna Millar made a motion that the following are allowed to write checks on the Money Market Account: Everett Putney, President; Rick Merrick, Vice President; Jackie Fioretti, Secretary and Fran Trendler, Treasurer. The motion was seconded by Scott Millar and was approved. After further discussion, Jake Rubinowitz made a motion that only the current officers be allowed to sign any money account every year. Jane Huisingh seconded the motion and it was approved. Burt Rubinowitz gave a report on cell phone service in Timberon. Burt met with David Hughes who is with NMR Plateau to do signal testing etc. It looks like we won’t have cell phone service in the near future. The testing failed and it is too costly to put in a tower. You would need a piece of property that is unrestricted to put the tower on. It would cost $5,000.00 per year for the fees to pay for the cost of doing it. Tank 5 in Unit T16 doesn’t have restrictions but there is no signal path back to Oro Grande. More on this later, we won’t give up trying. Everett Putney introduced Donna Owens, District Ranger for the Sacramento Mountains in Otero and Lincoln Counties. Donna gave a presentation on Wildfire Management in the Lick Ridge area. She said there are two kinds of fire: Unplanned which is caused by natural or human causes and Planned, which is managed by prescribed fire burns. Lick Ridge has 41,000 acres or 64 square miles and is adjacent to Timberon. The Wildland Fire Decision is to utilize a prescribed burn in the Lick Ridge area. Timberon will see smoke, smell smoke and might even see a large plume when this happens. The Forest Service is in this process now. There are very few structures and a good road system in the Lick Ridge area. Suppression is not always the way to go! Some fires will be managed. The Forest Service is starting small and is asking the Timberon Community for their awareness and their support for this project. It was mentioned to Donna that our Smokey Bear sign, which belongs to the Forest Service, at the Fire Department is deteriorating. She will look into this. Donna advised the Forest Service has a Resource Advisory Committee that covers water shed improvements, trails and roads. There is $200,000 available in Title 2 Act and proposals are due October 01, 2010. Ricky Cox with BLM gave us a report on some of their projects. They just finished masticating 100 acres of slash around Rim Tank. They are working on another 400 acres of lop and scatter which they might treat with some fire later. Everett Putney gave a report on a meeting we had on August 4th with our Otero County Commissioner, Ronny Rardin, Otero County Manager, Ray Backstrom and Sharon Hill, Commission Liaison. This meeting was to talk about the airstrip, roads, parks and striping of Page 3 Sacramento. There is a possibility the county will roll and reseal the airstrip. The county said the parks are for the public but didn’t commit to how they were to be used. Signs for the parks were discussed. How does Timberon want the parks to be used? It was apparent in this meeting that if we want something done we will have to do it ourselves. What would you like done? A committee was formed to look at the use of the parks. The committee is Bill Brown, Rick Merrick and Shirley Holstrom. If you have any ideas please contact them. They are willing to listen to your ideas. Rick Merrick gave a report on the Business Meeting and advised the next meeting will be on September 16th at 7:00pm. Rick thanked Pastor Frank Hodnett and B.F. Adams for the concept of the Business Flyer and B. F. for designing it. Jane Huisingh made a motion that the money collected and the expenses shall be a separate line item in the checking account. Shirley Holstrom seconded the motion and after discussion it was approved. There was agreement in the meeting that the web page have a link to the business flyer. Jackie Fioretti reported that she and Everett Putney visited the Chamber of Commerce in Alamogordo and Cloudcroft to distribute the business flyers. Both Chambers only distribute flyers for their members. The Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce dues for a 501(c)3 is $70.00 per year. The Cloudcroft Chamber of Commerce dues are $150.00 per year. Donna Millar said the VFW pays $75.00 per year. Looking at the information that was given that is an Associate Member. Donna Millar made a motion for TDC to join the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce. After discussion, Burt Rubinowitz made a motion to postpone the motion until the next meeting. It was seconded by B.F. Adams. Donna Millar agreed and Burt’s motion was approved. Jackie Fioretti advised the Timberon Development Council, Inc. annual dues to SCMRC&D (South Central Mountain Rural Conservation & Development) for $100.00 is due. Shirley Holstrom made a motion to pay the dues. It was seconded by Donna Millar and was approved. Jackie read a bid letter on two of our donated properties from William J. Allen in Morgan City, LA. After discussion, Burt Rubinowitz made a motion for the council to make a counter offer of one half of the county full tax value per lot. Jane Huisingh seconded the motion and it was approved. Jackie advised the Timberon Development Council received a $2,000.00 donation check from Wal*Mart in Ruidoso Downs, NM. The TDC will donate this money to the Timberon Community Swimming Pool. Jackie read a thank you note from Pastor Frank & Judy Hodnett for the hamburger patties, buns and fixings that TDC donated for the young people at the Timberon Baptist Church on Sunday, July 31st. Burt Rubinowitz made a motion to adjourn and B.F. Adams seconded the motion. The motion was approved and the meeting adjourned at approximately 12:10pm. Our next meeting is September 11, 2010 at 10:00 am at 1841 Sacramento Drive. Rick Merrick will chair the meeting and Shirley Holstrom will take the minutes. These are open meetings and the community is invited to attend. Respectfully submitted, Jackie Fioretti, Secretary