Archive for the 'General News' Category

Neighbors: 
 
Following is a preliminary posting of our proposed modifications to the Covenants.  Please review and comment, either directly to the website or to Leklawyer@aol.com.
 
Please note the following rules for consideration of comments:
 
1) You must identify yourself & your lot #
 
2) Please make your comments pertinent to the posting.
 
3) You must remain civilized or the public forum will cease and the covenants will be discussed at the annual meeting.
 
Thank you.
 
The Covenants Committee:
Liane Kerr; Marjorie McCornack; Susan Kitch; Brad Snyder; Kenneth Uhlman; Tina Frazelle

Editor’s Note:

The proposed changes can be viewed in three ways:

• Each article is posted in the forums section of this web site. Go to Discussion Forums on the right menu and navigate to the Covenants Committee from there.
• You can view the entire document by clicking here.
• You can download a PDF (Portable Document Format) here.

Dear Neighbors:

The covenants committee has completed its draft of the covenants and is soliciting additional input from the property owners. We recognized that we would not be able to please everyone, but did incorporate property owners’ concerns into our drafts. Additionally, we used the property owners’ survey as a guide in re-drafting the covenants.

Please note the following rules for consideration of comments:

1) You must identify yourself & your lot #

2) The first 3 covenants will be posted for two weeks, after which another 2 will be posted and so on. Please make your comments pertinent to the posting.

3) You must remain civilized or the public forum will cease and the covenants will be discussed at the annual meeting.

Thank you.

THE COVENANTS COMMITTEE: Liane Kerr, Susan Kitch, Tina Frazelle, Kenneth Uhlrich, Brad Snyder, Marjorie McCornack, Steve McKinley

Note from the Webmaster:

To view the committee’s first posting, click here.
If you prefer to download the file and print it, a PDF file can be downloaded by clicking here.

Comments can be made in several ways.

• First, you can comment directly to this posting on this web site. In order to comment on this page, you must be logged in with a valid user name.
• If you prefer, you can go to the forums section listed at the right and make your comments there. Forums can accept comments without the need to be logged in. Please list your name. Comments that are not identified will be removed by the system administrator.
• If you don’t want to log in, but you still want to add your comments about the proposed covenant changes, you can send an email directly to a committee member. If you don’t know a committee member’s email address, use the contact page here to send an eMail to Liane Kerr.

Thanks,

Don Fink, Webmaster

26 December 2007

Dear Members of Hidden Lake Property Owners Association,

I find myself involved in an issue with another Hidden Lake property owner that needs to be resolved privately and outside the association, neighbor to neighbor. I feel that my membership on the Board of Directors might be considered a conflict of interest therefore I tender my resignation effective immediately. I appreciate the understanding of the Board of Directors in accepting my resignation as well as the kind members of the HLPOA who elected me to serve.

Posted in The Board, General News | No Comments »

This year’s property owner’s meeting is going to be important. There are many issues that need to be resolved if the Hidden Lake Property Owner’s Association is ever going to be a useful organization. Many property owners are very dissatisfied with the operation of the association, and have proposed changes.

If you agree that changes are needed, or if you disagree, now is the time more than ever for you to make your voice known! If you are planning on attending this year’s meeting, great! You’ll be a part of the solutions. If you’re not planning to attend, please send someone your proxy so that you can still be part of the solution.

Thanks,

Don Fink

Please note that Hidden Lake is now officially a FIREWISE COMMUNITY as of  June 2006.

This was accomplished the the constant efforts of Hidden Lake resident Joe Stehling  and Colfax Firewise Coordinator Roger Terry.

John G. Vlk, Firewise Board Mbr.

Taos, New Mexico, July 5, 2006, The arrival of the much awaited monsoonal moisture, throughout much of Northern New Mexico, has lessened fire danger levels sufficiently to allow the Carson National Forest to reduce fire restrictions.  The east side of the Carson which includes the Questa and Camino Real Ranger Districts will ramp down to Stage I Fire Restrictions effective Friday, July 7, 2006.  This reduction in fire restrictions will allow these two districts to begin wood permit sales on Monday, July 10, 2006, which had been suspended due to extreme fire danger.  Permits will be available at the Questa and Camino Real District offices, as well as, the Supervisor’s Office in Taos.
 

Stage I Fire Restrictions prohibits the building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, charcoal broiler, coal or wood stove without a permit, except within a developed recreation site where grills and stoves are provided.  Pressurized liquid gas stoves, lanterns and heaters, meeting safety specifications, are allowed. 
 

Smoking is also prohibited except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials. As always, fireworks are never allowed on public lands.
 

The Jicarilla Ranger District will remain at Stage II and the Canjilon, El Rito, and Tres Piedras Ranger Districts will lower fire restrictions from Stage III to Stage II.  Open fires, smoking except in a vehicle or building, chainsaw use and traveling off of forest system roads are prohibited under Stage II Fire Restrictions. Wood permits will not be sold at these districts until conditions permit.
 

When planning a trip to your National Forest, KNOW BEFORE YOU GO, and take fire restrictions seriously.  For current fire restriction information, please call 1-877-864-6985 or visit our website at www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson.  For fire restrictions and other fire information for all recreation sites in New Mexico, log on to www.nmfireinfo.com.

The following New release was received from the Carson National Forest on Friday, June 23rd:

Taos New Mexico, June 23, 2006 – As drought conditions continue to affect conditions on the Carson National Forest as well as other areas of New Mexico, Stage III Fire restrictions will take effective Monday, June 26, 2006. Concern for public and firefighter safety has prompted the move to mitigate the danger to forest recreationists by containing visitors to areas that can be easily patrolled and evacuated in the event of a wildfire.

Under Stage III restrictions, partial closures will be enforced. Areas to remain open are as follows:

Jicarilla Ranger District will remain at Stage II Fire Restrictions.

El Rito Ranger District will enact total closure.

Canjilon Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of Canjilon Lakes for day use and overnight camping. Echo Amphitheater and Forest Road 151 access to Rio Chama will remain open for day use only.

Tres Piedras Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of Hopewell Lake overnight and day use areas.

Questa Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of:

Hello Hidden Lake Owners; 18 Jun 2006

Summer has come to Hidden Lake, and along with it came a drought. Our “Monsoon Season”consisted of a few days of

Spit & Quit rain. Never enough to knock the dust off our plants. Needless to say it is very dry here at HL. During one of the Spit & Quit rains we had some dry lightening that hit a dead tree on Blue Grouse Court. Luckily it was spotted by Kris, our property manager. He informed me and dirt on was thrown on it. Kris retrieved his chain saw and cut down the burning tree. He than hooked a chain to it and dragged it in the road away from the forest. Not only was that quick thinking, but he also is a volunteer fireman and called it in on his radio. Unfortunately it took 30 Min + for the Black Lake Volunteer Fire Dept to get here. We were lucky that the winds were mild that day, or it would have been blown across lots 4& 5 and been burning down the valley East of Ocate Mesa (Hidden Lake).

This is only one example of what can happen when it is so dry at HL.

The State Fire Marshall has directed: no open camp fires, no burn permits, and no charcoal grills. Only cooking permitted is on Propane stoves if kept under adult supervision. And No Smoking in danger areas, forests.

If you come to Hidden Lake, be careful, of the extra dry forest.

John G. Vlk, Firewise Board Member

CHIPPER DAY PROCEDURES
26 – 27 JULY 2006
Starting 8:00 AM

Hidden Lake development will hold a “chipper day” to assist property owners rid their properties of deadfall and slash. We will be using a Colfax county commercial grade chipper, which can handle limbs and logs up to 14 inches in diameter. Chipping will be done at the cabin.
Procedures are as follows:

Trim small branches off of larger limbs to facilitate putting them into the chipper chute.

If possible, deliver and stockpile your slash at the cabin prior to 26 July. The property manager will advise where to stockpile.

For those unable to deliver deadfall and slash to the cabin, stockpile the material along the road fronting your property. Volunteers with pickups and or trailers will transport the material to the cabin. If you are physically present, you will be responsible for loading the material onto the truck or trailer. The stockpiles should not be placed under trees and the area around the stockpiles should be cleared of brush to a radius of 10 to 20 feet so as not to serve as ladder fuel in the event of a wildfire.

For those who will not physically be at Hidden Lake on 26 –27 July and cannot deliver the slash call property manager, 505 377 3379 or the undersigned and we will be sure to pick up any slash you have stockpiled along the road.

If you would like to make use of the chips for landscaping, advise the property manager and be prepared to haul the chips away.

We can use volunteers to load and haul slash, feed chipper, and other tasks to be determined. Please call property manager or the undersigned to volunteer your assistance. Please have available gloves, eye and ear protection for those operating the chipper. I will provide dust masks.

Ridding our properties of dead and downed trees and deadfall will assist in making our development more firesafe. Thinning will be a major stride in keeping our community a Firewise Community.

Joe Stehling
Lot 11
505 377 0546
joestehling@earthlink.net

Not long ago, Kay Phillips sent out a letter to the property owner’s of Hidden Lake, explaining the board’s position on certain issues at Hidden Lake. On the last page, Ms. Phillips mentions that the issue of a newsletter was last discussed in 2000, but until the last year, there was not enough information of substance to warrant the cost and effort.

How about:

• In spring of 2005, the roads were not plowed when over four feet of snow fell in one storm? How many folks have property up here that might have needed propane?
• Our caretaker Luis quit, and no one was notified. How many folks thought they were getting some kind of service up here, but no one was around?
• Everyone was told that the gate would be locked, but it never happened. When the gate ultimately was not locked, no one was notified that it would not happen.
• New caretaker was hired, no one was notified.
• The grader is no longer available for the caretaker to grade the roads. Actually, what exactly does the caretaker do? Joe insists that he be available for work during normal business hours, but there’s no work to do.

  Every one of these issues, in my view, are important enough to warrant an individual letter to the property owners, yet nothing was said. In my case, I live here at Hidden Lake, and had to learn most of this information from outside sources. I found out that we were going to hire a caretaker from a yard boy at RBS in Angel Fire. Later, I was told by a board member that we would not be hiring a caretaker, then one shows up in the cabin. Glad I didn’t go down and run him off!

  At least some of the information that’s being distributed by the board is false. Two examples in Ms. Phillips’s recent letter do not represent the truth. In one example, on the last page of Ms. Phillips’s letter, she is discussing the creation of a newsletter. She implies that the board created a web site instead, and she further indicates that she has records that show no activity or interest in the site. First, the site was created by me at my expense, and I don’t remember releasing any records that indicated site usage to her or anyone for that matter.

  Another issue that’s a distortion of the truth is in the “Details” section of Ms. Phillip’s letter, item 3. In the third paragraph of page 5, she states that the general membership voted to amend the bylaws to include a 1$ per square foot assessment for any new construction. This is a distortion of the truth at best, and mostly just not true. That decision was made in my dining room at my home among the board members present. As a general member, I was not given an opportunity vote on this issue. We were simply informed of its implementation at the general membership meeting.

  When discussing the appropriateness of spending money to inform the membership of relevant news, remember that the cost of postage and the stationery is most likely less than $100.00 per letter. Almost no efforts have been made to utilize email, which would significantly reduce even that meager expense. And, after all, how long can it take Kay to sit down and bang out a quick note via email? My belief is that this board has failed - either through the deliberate withholding of information, or through simple inaction – to adequately inform the general membership of appropriate information. Some of this information could potentially be costly, and all of it is certainly of interest to property owners at Hidden Lake. Whether the information was withheld or distorted, this practice needs to change. If the board doesn’t have time, or is unwilling to provide truthful and timely information to the general population, maybe we should look to folks to run the board who will?

  Don Fink

Last July, at the annual meeting of the Hidden Lake Property Owner’s Association, the Board shot one past us in one of the most blatantly dishonest moves I’ve seen to date. The matter of the special assessment for the snow removal equipment was, in my opinion, a demonstration of the board’s disregard for the homeowners right to participate in the affairs of Hidden Lake.

The problem is not that that the board brought up the issue. In fact, it’s my understanding from reading the minutes that the issue was not brought up by the board at all. The probelm was that the board allowed it to continue to a vote without advertising the fact that they were going to do so. In government, this practice is against the law! There were several people who would have attended the meeting and made significant input to the subject had they known that the issue would be discussed and voted upon. Instead, the subject was left off the agenda, and several people elected not to attend because there was no significant information that would be discussed at the meeting.

There are several other issues related to the snow removal discussion that seems odd.

First, the board had clearly not done its research before coming to the property owners. The overall discussion seemed to revolve around a backhoe and a snow blower attachment. In the end, nothing of the kind was purchased.

Second, the minutes say that Kay Phillips said that we needed a special assessment to purchase any kind of equipment. The then Treasurer, Frank Toby, tells me that there was over $90,000.00 available to the board at the time. Without knowing what kind of equipment we were going to buy, how can anyone know that a special assessment was needed?

Third, and this is the point of this article, is why were we discussing assessing someone money when we had not given people the opportunity to be present for the discussion? My point is that a special assessment that basically doubles my dues to this organization is a big deal. I pay dues with an expectation of the amount I’m going to owe, and I believe I have a legitimate say in the assessment of those funds. To bring up the subject of assessing more money when property owners have not had the opportunity to be part of the discussion is simply dishonest.

Did the board openly deceive the property owners in allowing the special assessment? The truth is, it doesn’t matter whether the deception was purposeful or not. The fact is, it happened. Whether it was an open attempt to make an end run around the property owners, or whether it was simply an inability to plan an agenda, the fact was, people were deceived, and money was assessed without the vast majority of the property owners having a say.

Greg Ogawa tells me that I’m wasting my time in bringing this issue up. He tells me that he is comfortable that the board had the legal right to do a special assessment. I guess I shouldn’t be picking on Greg, since he was the only board member who would bother to discuss this with me after the fact. For that, he should be commended. While Greg might be comfortable with the notion that the vote was technically legal, he seems to not be concerned with whether it was the right thing to do.

The fact remains that, without allowing everyone the opportunity to participate in a discussion of this magnitude, the board has demonstrated that it does not care what the general membership thinks, wants, or needs.

So, the members that were present at the last meeting voted to assess everyone else who did not have the opportunity to comment.

What’s the fix?

In my view, the board needs to take two steps to fix this issue:

First, the special assessment needs to go away until everyone has the opportunity to discuss it and arrive at a majority vote. This means that the board needs to either return the money that has been collected so far, or credit that money to the property owner’s next dues.

Second, the board needs to apologize to the property owners who did not have the opportunity to express their views with this important issue. This is not because the property owners need or want an apology, but rather that the board needs to better understand who they work for. They have deeply offended me and other owners with their attitude that they are not accountable, and they need to understand that they are indeed accountable to the people. An apology would be a good first step.

Failing both of these actions, here’s what I propose:

The first action of the property owners at Hidden Lake should be the recall of all board members. There are people who have property at Hidden Lake who are willing to step up and be responsive to the needs of the property owners. By the way, I am not one of those people, so no one needs to worry that this might be just a power grab on my part. I was on the board at one time, and resigned.

If a recall is not the action that the owners believe is necessary, the next best thing is to simply replace members of the board as their term is up. Unfortunately, several of the board members have a long time to run on their terms, and can do a lot of damage in that time.

A Final Note:

You’ll notice at the bottom of the article that there is an opportunity for people to comment. All you need to do to comment on this article is register, log in, and have at it. If you agree with me, I would appreciate a comment. If you disagree, I would suggest that you make your views known. After all, if I’m the only one who comments, people might think that my views are consistent with the majority of the people, and I’ll almost bet money that my views aren’t the only ones out there.

If you’re a board member, and you want to apologize, or if you don’t believe an apology is warranted, some of us would like to hear your views. Again, if I’m the only one who comments on this web site, folks might start thinking that my views are the only ones here.

Don Fink

Hi,

After a considerable time without any activity, HiddenLakeNews.com is now up and running again. The goal this time is to provide a place where property owners at Hidden Lake can meet and express their views about issues related to Hidden Lake.

As many of you know, there are issues here in the woods that concern many of the property owners, and here is the place where it can all get out in the open. Whether your concern is the care of the roads, the behavior of the Board, or the placement of pre-fab homes at Hidden Lake, this is the best place to meet and express your views.

Layout:

Initially, this site is divided into several categories. They are -

1 - General News
2 - Pre-Fab Homes
3 - Roads
4 - The Board
and finally, an “catch-all” called uncategorized, for general subjects.

If anyone believes that a new category is necessary, send me a note and I’ll add it.

All you need to do to post information here is register, then follow the links to write! It’s just about as simple as sending an email once you get the hang of it.

We’ve listened to the experts on wildfire danger, we’ve read tips on how to survive a wildfire, and we’ve become a FireWise community.

However, on Friday (October 6^th) between one and two o’clock in the afternoon, we experienced a powerful electrical surge that posed another kind of fire danger. 

The power surge tripped breakers in several homes. The house on Lot 46 experienced a small fire near surge protectors and breaker panel boxes in the garage. The flames were extinguished and the garage doors opened to dissipate the smoke. One TV was lost. We lost our well pump’s “motor minder” on Lot 4. The surge also blew surge protectors on our computers and television. 

Response Process

Our concern was tripped breakers for water pumps and heat.  With winter around the corner, heat loss in homes could trigger water lines to freeze and break. We’ve maintained, for a few years, a list of property owners who requested notification in the event of a wildfire.  We used this list to e-mail or call property owners who were not here at HL.

Kris Perreault, our Property Manager and we have keys for several homes.  When we notified owners about the surge, we asked them if they wanted us to enter the house and check the breaker boxes.  We had an electrician here on Saturday which many owners used.  The electrician and Jack checked boxes and found many tripped breakers.  The electrician re-set them and checked the pump and heat breakers to ensure they were working properly.  Other owners checked out their own circuit breakers or called a caretaker to do it for them.  The bottom line is that out of town home owners were notified about the surge so they could take an appropriate action.

We notify Kris when we leave HL for more than a day.  We will continue to do so and provide him with our “Property Owners Notification List”.  Those with homes will be asterisked so that if a problem with their home is observed at any time, they can be notified and any necessary action taken.  In the event, Kris and we are gone at the same time; we recommend that Kris request another resident property owner or the RMC to notify owners of an emergency situation.

If you have any questions or want your name added to our list, please e-mail us at jgv5709@earthlink.net or call us at (505) 377-5907.

Marilyn Borich

Lot 4

Unofficial as it is, the first ever newsletter is up and posted on the hiddenlakenews web site. Edited by Marilyn Borich, this newsletter will reside on a permanent page at our web site rather than a “post”. That way, it’s always available.

To find the Harbinger, go to www.hiddenlakenews.com and click on “The Hidden Lake Harbinger“. It’s under pages on the right column.

Personally, I find the Harbinger to be a refreshing report of what’s been happening here at Hidden Lake and I believe that Marilyn is making every effort to be unbiased in her reporting. I can certainly say that issues where I know the facts personally, Marilyn has reported them accurately.

If you haven’t seen a copy of the Harbinger yet, this deserves a look!

Don Fink, Lot 94

This is in response Mr. Bob McCornack’s letter regarding Covenant II and an attempt to explain the work done this past year by the Covenants Committee. Mr. McCornack suggests that we use a simpler definition of what is and what is not allowed in order to support the building of manufactured homes. In essence, while claiming to argue against manufactured housing, Mr. McCornack is in fact, suggesting manufactured housing. Within the body of his suggestion, Mr. McCornack agrees that manufactured or mobile homes should not be allowed in Hidden Lake and argues that they are built to meet the HUD codes, not the more rigorous codes that are used for stick-built homes. He also agrees that manufactured homes tend to depreciate in value.

Mr. McCornack argues the main difference between homes that tend to appreciate in value versus depreciate in value is the building codes that the homes are built to meet. Having researched this issue extensively, I do not agree with Mr. McCornack’s claim. I have a considerable file to support that building codes are just one of many factors in the depreciation analysis.

Mr. McCornack does not provide the name of the local Angel Fire appraiser who “indicated” that manufactured homes appreciate in value just like the stick-built homes that are located near them. In researching the impact of manufactured homes on existing property values and anticipating a possible lawsuit, I personally spoke with two appraisers who stated that manufactured homes do affect existing real estate values.

Mr. McCornack references moving an existing $1 million stick-built home from Red River to Hidden Lake as being excluded from the covenant. This self-serving “example” presumes that Mr. McCornack is considering moving an existing $1 million dollar home into the neighborhood, something which I posit, is blatantly false. This also presumes that the ACC would not approve the home.

Preferred Building Systems, recommended to you by Mr. McCornack, is a manufactured housing center, regardless of what the company now calls itself. It is transported to the site on a truck in two (generally) sections. It fits the definition of manufactured housing in every way. Mr. McCornack argues that “[t]his type of home should also be allowed in Hidden Lake” in spite of the survey wherein a majority of owners opted not to have manufactured homes. Karsten Homes honestly refers to itself as manufactured housing. See, http://www.karstenhomes.com/.

Like many of you, after last year’s eight hour annual meeting, I left disappointed in the direction of our association. However, because I wanted to ensure the integrity of Hidden Lake, I volunteered and chaired the Covenants Committee. I personally shared the Hidden Lake Property Owners survey with the committee so that we could incorporate your concerns into our discussions. You may recall that the majority of property owners did not approve of manufactured housing in Hidden Lake.

The covenants committee was incredibly thorough. I saved the notes and comments from each of the members and in reviewing them, am reminded of how thoughtful the members of the committee were in attempting to redraft each covenant in order to address concerns of the membership at large.

The committee worked democratically, debating a particular suggestion on any given issue and voting via email. Using this process, several items were considered and incorporated into the final drafts and several were not. For example, I was the only homeowner on the committee and with another member, urged that the ACC be composed of a majority of homeowners, to ensure the integrity of construction. We were overruled and you do not see my suggestion in the final version for your consideration.

Another member, Marjorie McCornack, suggested the version proposed by Bob McCornack, lot 8. Marjorie prefaced many of her arguments/comments with “Bob and I” or “We”, so there is no doubt in my mind that Bob’s concerns were also being addressed by the committee. The version now recommended by Mr. McCornack was considered by the committee and overruled. In spite of that, Mr. McCornack presents the membership with his attempts to make an end-run around the efforts of the committee vote and place manufactured homes within our community.

Mr. McCornack’s proposal excludes reference to the committee’s concern about being built to withstand the harsh Hidden Lake winter environment and comply with the fire code; it excludes reference to approval by the Hidden Lake Architectural control committee before construction commences; it excludes consistency, something which the committee strove to protect within the covenants.

To express disappointment that one of our committee members had a say in the drafting, but was overruled and is now shopping her agenda in a different forum is an understatement. I suppose that I could disregard the committee’s vote and now shop my idea that composition of the ACC should be a majority of homeowners.

Am I defensive of the work my committee did? You bet I am, as to sit idly by and say nothing negates the purpose of a committee, which works diligently on behalf of all the membership and tries to set individual agendas aside. Was I aware that the proponents of manufactured housing were still advocating same? Yes, as many of Marjorie’s comments referenced Bob. Was I naive in believing that the committee process works? Absolutely.

The most important covenant is Covenant I, Intent, which advances the enhancement of value, desirability and attractiveness of Hidden Lake property and prevents the construction of improper or unsuitable improvements. The Covenants Committee tried to harmonize each covenant with the existing covenants and they were presented to the Board in that fashion. The Board; however, parsed the proposals and sent them to you in a cafeteria-style, vote covenant by convent plan. The Covenants should not be considered piecemeal to make way for Manufactured Housing. Alternatively, I move to ban Manufactured Housing of any kind from Hidden Lake–that’s simple enough. The Covenants should be considered in the manner in which the committee reviewed and incorporated them—all or nothing. To do anything else is to nullify the work of the committee.

Liane Kerr, Lot 49

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I urge everyone to vote “against” the proposed covenant change to paragraph II, Dwellings.  The definition of what is not allowed is too broad.

Using that definition, for example, would not allow someone to move an existing $1 million stick-built home from Red River to Hidden Lake.  All homes can be moved.  Just look at historic buildings that are moved to preserve them for future generations.  Just because the foundation is “permanent” does not mean the building cannot be moved.  These historic buildings were not built on “temporary” foundations, yet they were still moved.  Just because a home is moved to a location does not mean the home is inferior to one that is built onsite.  This type of home should be allowed in Hidden Lake.

The definition also does not take into account new building techniques that have and will be developed that allow quality homes to be built more quickly and efficiently.  Look at the following website for an example of an Albuquerque builder that has developed such techniques:  www.preferredbuildingsystems.com.  I have researched this builder and there are quite a few of their homes in Angel Fire.  The local Angel Fire appraiser that I talked to indicated that these homes appreciate in value just like the stick-built homes that are located near them.  This type of home should also be allowed in Hidden Lake.

I agree that manufactured or mobile homes should not be allowed in Hidden Lake.  These homes are built to meet the HUD codes, not the more rigorous codes that are used for stick-built homes.  These homes tend to depreciate in value.  The “Manufactured Homes” and “Mobile Home” definitions in the revised covenants do a good job of explaining how to identify them.

The main difference between homes that tend to appreciate in value versus depreciate in value is the building codes that the homes are built to meet.  That is why I feel that the covenant should use a simpler definition of what is and what is not allowed.  Homes built to meet the HUD codes should not be allowed.  Homes built to meet the same building codes as stick-built homes should be allowed.

Here is my proposal for how the covenant should read:

“Unless as otherwise described herein, all dwellings shall be permanent structures built on permanent foundations.  Each dwelling shall contain a minimum of 1,000 square feet of heated space.  Each dwelling shall have electrical service and indoor plumbing.  Each dwelling shall have at least a 2-car attached or detached garage that shall be located a maximum of 25 feet from the primary dwelling.  Dwellings must be built to the same building codes that are used for all New Mexico stick-built homes.  Dwellings that are built to meet the HUD codes shall not be allowed in Hidden Lake, except as temporary residences as defined in paragraph VIII of this document.”

Editorial Note: This posting was made by Bob McCornack, Lot 8. Remember to sign your name when posting on this web site, please..

Hidden Lake Property Owners Association

The President’s Corner

Volume 1, Number 2
April 23, 2007

To All HLPOA Members;

I hope that at the time of this writing, everyone is safe and well.  Included within this writing are noted areas of communications I feel need to be brought to the membership prior to the Annual Meeting.  Most all of this information is from the recent Board Teleconferences held in February and April.  While some members may not necessarily agree with the openness of the Board, your President does feel the need to inform all and let the membership be aware of some of the decisions your Board is actively engaged in.

The current Board of Directors is acknowledging the past resignations of Greg Ogawa, Guy Pierce and Mark Fleenor.  Kay Phillips confirmed all these resignations were received via e-mail shortly after the Annual Meeting in 2006.

Recent items brought to the Board are:

• Communicating with Mr. Alsop regarding our past water line connection which Mike Vorst and Bill Frazelle are working on.
• Transfer of Responsibilities with our Financial Institutions and completion of signature cards as of February 2007.
• Kay Phillips has contacted Joe Machock and he will be removing his stored fire truck from the chain link storage yard near the Property Manager’s cabin this Spring sometime.
• The Board has implemented the usage of a standardized expense reimbursement form by the Board, Resident Manager and Property Manager.  All reimbursable expenses require prior approval, if possible, from the Treasurer.
• Out of concern for the safety for our Property Manager, the Board is reviewing the possibility of Security and Firearms Training for the Property Manager, in light of recent hunting and trespassing events occurring in the Hidden Lake Subdivision.  We have reviewed potential Insurance liabilities with our carrier.

In speaking with some members of the Covenants Committee, the Chair brought the issue of One Lot/ One Vote before the Board pertaining to the situation of two members of the same family holding dual representation on the Board.  This issue was placed before Kay and David Phillips regarding their positions and a motion was made, seconded and voted on that Kay and David excuse themselves from voting on any potential outcome of this issue.  The floor entertained discussions from both Bob McCornack and Joe Stehling that since David’s term ended January 2008 and that they were not in favor of any type of removal or call for resignation.  Opposing opinions offered a conflict with the One Lot/ One Vote under Article Four within the By-Laws and a motion was offered for either Kay or David to resign within 10 days and that neither of them would be entitled to vote on the issue and that the Board would vote to appoint a new Board member which would fill the position vacated through the end of 2007.  The vote taken recorded that J. Stehling, no; S. Stokes, yes; B. McCornack, no; M. Vorst, yes; and B. Frazelle, yes.  On Feb. 26, 2007, David Phillips resigned and Mike Vorst recommended that Bill Frazelle chair the Architectural Control Committee until the Annual Meeting.  To date, the Board has not received any new construction plans from any members wishing to construct on their property.

Recent Board Teleconferences have provided reviews of the new 2007 proposed budget which the Treasurer, Mike Vorst, has raised concerns of the Snow Plow expenses and budget areas of increases and past Boards allowing deficit spending.  Additional reviews and comments were discussed and the Board approved the 2007 Budget during the Feb. 27, 2007 Teleconference, unanimously.  In consideration of the membership, a survey was sent out, which asked one question of how best to facilitate the increase in dues, which the By-Laws state that the Board may establish the Annual Dues within Article Five. 

Other items of importance in the Survey bring up areas of concern by the Lake Committee and By-Laws Committee.  Road maintenance issues along with equipment sourcing are major areas of financial responsibility along with and support of our Property Manager, Kris Perrault and the Resident Manager, Scott Jones.  Recent information about this survey has been mailed in the Harbinger and posted on both Websites.  While we all may respectfully agree to disagree, it is important to let your ideas be known via this survey so we all may have representation and understanding in the development of Hidden Lake Subdivision.

During the Feb. 27, 2007 Teleconference Meeting, the Chair asked all Board Members to provide bios and/ or resumes of interested individuals wishing to be considered for the vacant position.  Both Kay and Joe had discussed the possibility with a couple of individuals who declined consideration.  The Chair nominated both Dean Ford and Marilyn Borich for the position.  Actions during the April 10, 2007 Teleconference Meeting voted to place Dean Ford onto the Board of Directors through the end of 2007.  The vote taken recorded that B. McCornack, K. Phillips and J. Stehling voted for Dean Ford, while M. Vorst and S. Stokes voted for Marilyn Borich.  The Chair agreed with the majority for Dean Ford to fill the vacancy. 

Within the next several weeks, mail notifications for the Annual Meeting will begin being distributed.  I encourage all members to review the information packages as well as becoming involved with the development of Hidden Lake.

Joe Stehling, in the past meeting, would like all members to know that tentatively May 22-25 have been set aside for chipping last year’s remaining slash at the Property Manager’s Cabin.  No new slash will be accepted or added to the existing pile.

A special thanks for a designated contribution from the following members, specifically for the purchase of a new impact wrench for the Association, Max & Betty Shaver, Michael Hudson, Mike & Bonnie Vorst, Marilyn Borich & Jack Vlk, George & Sandra Stokes, Frank & Jeannie Collins, Trevor & Erica Hatchell, Liane Kerr & Paul Donisthorpe, and Tina & Bill Frazelle. 

The Annual Meeting Agenda will be developed with the Board and any information or business from the membership should be forwarded to either me or Sandra Stokes for implementation.  I want to thank those of you which have written to me and called about the Corner comments.  We hope that all Board members are serving the membership effectively.  We look forward to seeing and visiting with many of you at the Annual Meeting.

Please write or call with points of interest or concerns anytime.

Bill Frazelle
wmfrazelle@aol.com
Cell: 602-292-0646

Many of you have used or are using Kris Perreault, our Property Manager, to perform lot clearing, driveway plowing or other services on an independent contractor basis. Kris does an excellent job and performes these services on his own time rather than on the association’s time. In the future in order to protect the association, and by extension, you, homewoners will be required to sign an indemnification form before Kris performs the requested service. This will take a little time to impliment and during the implimentation process Kris will continue to plow driveways as requested. In the next week I will send out indemnification forms to all those whose driveways are currently plowed by Kris. If you suspect that you may want to use Kris in the future as an independent contractor please email me at mv7600@aol.com so that I can send you a form for signature that we can keep on file. I would estimate that beginning 4/1/07 Kris will be unable to perform independent contractor services for any owner until such a form is signed. Signed indimnification papers will be good for the calendar year.

Michael J. Vorst

Treasurer

To All Hidden Lake Lot/Home Owners:

Recently, a three page letter was posted to the website by a PBS salesman, Craig McKinley. Because Mr. McKinley did not have the courtesy to write to me individually, opting instead to post his condescending note on the website, I respond in kind. In reviewing the letter and the claims made therein, I was reminded of a quotation from William Shakespeare: “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Incidentally, I did not give my occupation in my response to Bob McCornack, which begs the question of Mr. McKinley’s reference to same.

My response to Bob McCornack contained a single paragraph regarding PBS homes:

Preferred Building Systems, recommended to you by Mr. McCornack, is a manufactured housing center, regardless of what the company now calls itself. It is transported to the sight on a truck in two (generally) sections. It fits the definition of manufactured housing in every way. Mr. McCornack argues that “[t]his type of home should also be allowed in Hidden Lake” in spite of the survey wherein a majority of owners opted not to have manufactured homes. Karsten Homes honestly refers to itself as manufactured housing. See, http://www.karstenhomes.com/.

Attn: Association Members

The Annual Hidden Lake Propertry Owner’s Meeting, Part 1

As I start to write a summary based on our notes from Saturday’s meeting, I am beginning to discover that it will take a very long time to get it all down. This meeting was long, it was unpleasant for some, and some very important business was handled. I therefore have the problem of scheduling enough time to write this up properly, and still get on with other obligations in my life.

I have therefore decided to write it in sections, and publish the information as I get it written down. That way, you can at least read the parts I have so far, and not have to wait for it all at once. I apologize for this inconvenience, but at least you can see it as it’s written, and not have to wait for a long time for the official minutes to tell you what happened.

Background

It’s important to point out that the actions that took place on Saturday were not single, isolated incidents; nor were they arbitrary on the part on individual owners. They were the result of a significant number of people who were increasingly dissatisfied with the behavior of the present board’s management of Hidden Lake. Many of us have decided that enough is enough. While several property owners have actually sold their properties up here specifically because they don’t feel a need to deal with the politics of an out of control board, others of us have decided that it’s time to take back the board and require it’s behavior to be in the interest of the property owners.

The Meeting:

Saturday, July 29th, was the annual Hidden Lake property owner’s meeting. Like meetings in the past, this one was filled with lots of spirited discussion, but unlike meetings in the past, this one looked like it was going to go all night!

There were many seriously dissatisfied owners at the meeting, a few who were not all that worked up, and a few who were just trying to figure out what was going on. Before you read further in this article, you should know that I was one of the seriously dissatisfied people, and therefore will probably slant my writing in that direction, even though I try to be factual in every way.

You should also know that this report is by no means an official report. These are not minutes. While I have most of the meeting on video tape, I’m writing this from memory in order to get it out quickly, so I may miss a couple of points, and may be just plain wrong in others. Please don’t take these comments as the absolute record. Having said all the disclaimer stuff, we’ll move along.

The First Hour

The meeting started with a few words from various people; Joe Stehling gave a good report about Firewise, I gave a brief talk about fire department issues, and county commissioner Bill Conley talked about a few things that are of interest to Hidden Lake folks.

According to Bill, the county is looking at placing dumpsters at one of two places; maybe both. The first location is at the spot along Highway 120 where it turns to dirt. The second location is at the Black Lake Fire Station, along Highway 120 near Angel Fire.

Mr. Conley is planning to meet with some state officials in the next couple of weeks to discuss the possibility of improving Highway 120 from the Moreno Valley to Ocate. The obvious reasons are that it would result in an important improvement for the people who live in the area. Commuters (yes, people commute to work every day on that road) would have a safer, more effiicient road, and tourists from Oklahoma and Texas would enjoy about an hour less travel time when coming to the Moreno Valley. Tourism is an important industry here.

He reminded us that locking the gate at Hidden Lake is not an option since the roads at Hidden Lake are public county roads.

Mr. Conley also gave us some advice: If we’re planning to seek political action, consider doing it as a unified group. He says that groups like property owner’s associations get more attention when they act as one rather than as single individuals. Important words to remember as we move forward, especially in light of our current level of hostility.

This year’s property owner’s meeting is going to be important. There are many issues that need to be resolved if the Hidden Lake Property Owner’s Association is ever going to be a useful organization. Many property owners are very dissatisfied with the operation of the association, and have proposed changes.

If you agree that changes are needed, or if you disagree, now is the time more than ever for you to make your voice known! If you are planning on attending this year’s meeting, great! You’ll be a part of the solutions. If you’re not planning to attend, please send someone your proxy so that you can still be part of the solution.

Thanks,

Don Fink

Please note that Hidden Lake is now officially a FIREWISE COMMUNITY as of  June 2006.

This was accomplished the the constant efforts of Hidden Lake resident Joe Stehling  and Colfax Firewise Coordinator Roger Terry.

John G. Vlk, Firewise Board Mbr.

The following New release was received from the Carson National Forest on Friday, June 23rd:

Taos New Mexico, June 23, 2006 – As drought conditions continue to affect conditions on the Carson National Forest as well as other areas of New Mexico, Stage III Fire restrictions will take effective Monday, June 26, 2006. Concern for public and firefighter safety has prompted the move to mitigate the danger to forest recreationists by containing visitors to areas that can be easily patrolled and evacuated in the event of a wildfire.

Under Stage III restrictions, partial closures will be enforced. Areas to remain open are as follows:

Jicarilla Ranger District will remain at Stage II Fire Restrictions.

El Rito Ranger District will enact total closure.

Canjilon Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of Canjilon Lakes for day use and overnight camping. Echo Amphitheater and Forest Road 151 access to Rio Chama will remain open for day use only.

Tres Piedras Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of Hopewell Lake overnight and day use areas.

Questa Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of:

Hello Hidden Lake Owners; 18 Jun 2006

Summer has come to Hidden Lake, and along with it came a drought. Our “Monsoon Season”consisted of a few days of

Spit & Quit rain. Never enough to knock the dust off our plants. Needless to say it is very dry here at HL. During one of the Spit & Quit rains we had some dry lightening that hit a dead tree on Blue Grouse Court. Luckily it was spotted by Kris, our property manager. He informed me and dirt on was thrown on it. Kris retrieved his chain saw and cut down the burning tree. He than hooked a chain to it and dragged it in the road away from the forest. Not only was that quick thinking, but he also is a volunteer fireman and called it in on his radio. Unfortunately it took 30 Min + for the Black Lake Volunteer Fire Dept to get here. We were lucky that the winds were mild that day, or it would have been blown across lots 4& 5 and been burning down the valley East of Ocate Mesa (Hidden Lake).

This is only one example of what can happen when it is so dry at HL.

The State Fire Marshall has directed: no open camp fires, no burn permits, and no charcoal grills. Only cooking permitted is on Propane stoves if kept under adult supervision. And No Smoking in danger areas, forests.

If you come to Hidden Lake, be careful, of the extra dry forest.

John G. Vlk, Firewise Board Member

CHIPPER DAY PROCEDURES
26 – 27 JULY 2006
Starting 8:00 AM

Hidden Lake development will hold a “chipper day” to assist property owners rid their properties of deadfall and slash. We will be using a Colfax county commercial grade chipper, which can handle limbs and logs up to 14 inches in diameter. Chipping will be done at the cabin.
Procedures are as follows:

Trim small branches off of larger limbs to facilitate putting them into the chipper chute.

If possible, deliver and stockpile your slash at the cabin prior to 26 July. The property manager will advise where to stockpile.

For those unable to deliver deadfall and slash to the cabin, stockpile the material along the road fronting your property. Volunteers with pickups and or trailers will transport the material to the cabin. If you are physically present, you will be responsible for loading the material onto the truck or trailer. The stockpiles should not be placed under trees and the area around the stockpiles should be cleared of brush to a radius of 10 to 20 feet so as not to serve as ladder fuel in the event of a wildfire.

For those who will not physically be at Hidden Lake on 26 –27 July and cannot deliver the slash call property manager, 505 377 3379 or the undersigned and we will be sure to pick up any slash you have stockpiled along the road.

If you would like to make use of the chips for landscaping, advise the property manager and be prepared to haul the chips away.

We can use volunteers to load and haul slash, feed chipper, and other tasks to be determined. Please call property manager or the undersigned to volunteer your assistance. Please have available gloves, eye and ear protection for those operating the chipper. I will provide dust masks.

Ridding our properties of dead and downed trees and deadfall will assist in making our development more firesafe. Thinning will be a major stride in keeping our community a Firewise Community.

Joe Stehling
Lot 11
505 377 0546
joestehling@earthlink.net

Not long ago, Kay Phillips sent out a letter to the property owner’s of Hidden Lake, explaining the board’s position on certain issues at Hidden Lake. On the last page, Ms. Phillips mentions that the issue of a newsletter was last discussed in 2000, but until the last year, there was not enough information of substance to warrant the cost and effort.

How about:

• In spring of 2005, the roads were not plowed when over four feet of snow fell in one storm? How many folks have property up here that might have needed propane?
• Our caretaker Luis quit, and no one was notified. How many folks thought they were getting some kind of service up here, but no one was around?
• Everyone was told that the gate would be locked, but it never happened. When the gate ultimately was not locked, no one was notified that it would not happen.
• New caretaker was hired, no one was notified.
• The grader is no longer available for the caretaker to grade the roads. Actually, what exactly does the caretaker do? Joe insists that he be available for work during normal business hours, but there’s no work to do.

  Every one of these issues, in my view, are important enough to warrant an individual letter to the property owners, yet nothing was said. In my case, I live here at Hidden Lake, and had to learn most of this information from outside sources. I found out that we were going to hire a caretaker from a yard boy at RBS in Angel Fire. Later, I was told by a board member that we would not be hiring a caretaker, then one shows up in the cabin. Glad I didn’t go down and run him off!

  At least some of the information that’s being distributed by the board is false. Two examples in Ms. Phillips’s recent letter do not represent the truth. In one example, on the last page of Ms. Phillips’s letter, she is discussing the creation of a newsletter. She implies that the board created a web site instead, and she further indicates that she has records that show no activity or interest in the site. First, the site was created by me at my expense, and I don’t remember releasing any records that indicated site usage to her or anyone for that matter.

  Another issue that’s a distortion of the truth is in the “Details” section of Ms. Phillip’s letter, item 3. In the third paragraph of page 5, she states that the general membership voted to amend the bylaws to include a 1$ per square foot assessment for any new construction. This is a distortion of the truth at best, and mostly just not true. That decision was made in my dining room at my home among the board members present. As a general member, I was not given an opportunity vote on this issue. We were simply informed of its implementation at the general membership meeting.

  When discussing the appropriateness of spending money to inform the membership of relevant news, remember that the cost of postage and the stationery is most likely less than $100.00 per letter. Almost no efforts have been made to utilize email, which would significantly reduce even that meager expense. And, after all, how long can it take Kay to sit down and bang out a quick note via email? My belief is that this board has failed - either through the deliberate withholding of information, or through simple inaction – to adequately inform the general membership of appropriate information. Some of this information could potentially be costly, and all of it is certainly of interest to property owners at Hidden Lake. Whether the information was withheld or distorted, this practice needs to change. If the board doesn’t have time, or is unwilling to provide truthful and timely information to the general population, maybe we should look to folks to run the board who will?

  Don Fink

We’ve listened to the experts on wildfire danger, we’ve read tips on how to survive a wildfire, and we’ve become a FireWise community.

However, on Friday (October 6^th) between one and two o’clock in the afternoon, we experienced a powerful electrical surge that posed another kind of fire danger. 

The power surge tripped breakers in several homes. The house on Lot 46 experienced a small fire near surge protectors and breaker panel boxes in the garage. The flames were extinguished and the garage doors opened to dissipate the smoke. One TV was lost. We lost our well pump’s “motor minder” on Lot 4. The surge also blew surge protectors on our computers and television. 

Response Process

Our concern was tripped breakers for water pumps and heat.  With winter around the corner, heat loss in homes could trigger water lines to freeze and break. We’ve maintained, for a few years, a list of property owners who requested notification in the event of a wildfire.  We used this list to e-mail or call property owners who were not here at HL.

Kris Perreault, our Property Manager and we have keys for several homes.  When we notified owners about the surge, we asked them if they wanted us to enter the house and check the breaker boxes.  We had an electrician here on Saturday which many owners used.  The electrician and Jack checked boxes and found many tripped breakers.  The electrician re-set them and checked the pump and heat breakers to ensure they were working properly.  Other owners checked out their own circuit breakers or called a caretaker to do it for them.  The bottom line is that out of town home owners were notified about the surge so they could take an appropriate action.

We notify Kris when we leave HL for more than a day.  We will continue to do so and provide him with our “Property Owners Notification List”.  Those with homes will be asterisked so that if a problem with their home is observed at any time, they can be notified and any necessary action taken.  In the event, Kris and we are gone at the same time; we recommend that Kris request another resident property owner or the RMC to notify owners of an emergency situation.

If you have any questions or want your name added to our list, please e-mail us at jgv5709@earthlink.net or call us at (505) 377-5907.

Marilyn Borich

Lot 4

Unofficial as it is, the first ever newsletter is up and posted on the hiddenlakenews web site. Edited by Marilyn Borich, this newsletter will reside on a permanent page at our web site rather than a “post”. That way, it’s always available.

To find the Harbinger, go to www.hiddenlakenews.com and click on “The Hidden Lake Harbinger“. It’s under pages on the right column.

Personally, I find the Harbinger to be a refreshing report of what’s been happening here at Hidden Lake and I believe that Marilyn is making every effort to be unbiased in her reporting. I can certainly say that issues where I know the facts personally, Marilyn has reported them accurately.

If you haven’t seen a copy of the Harbinger yet, this deserves a look!

Don Fink, Lot 94

This is in response Mr. Bob McCornack’s letter regarding Covenant II and an attempt to explain the work done this past year by the Covenants Committee. Mr. McCornack suggests that we use a simpler definition of what is and what is not allowed in order to support the building of manufactured homes. In essence, while claiming to argue against manufactured housing, Mr. McCornack is in fact, suggesting manufactured housing. Within the body of his suggestion, Mr. McCornack agrees that manufactured or mobile homes should not be allowed in Hidden Lake and argues that they are built to meet the HUD codes, not the more rigorous codes that are used for stick-built homes. He also agrees that manufactured homes tend to depreciate in value.

Mr. McCornack argues the main difference between homes that tend to appreciate in value versus depreciate in value is the building codes that the homes are built to meet. Having researched this issue extensively, I do not agree with Mr. McCornack’s claim. I have a considerable file to support that building codes are just one of many factors in the depreciation analysis.

Mr. McCornack does not provide the name of the local Angel Fire appraiser who “indicated” that manufactured homes appreciate in value just like the stick-built homes that are located near them. In researching the impact of manufactured homes on existing property values and anticipating a possible lawsuit, I personally spoke with two appraisers who stated that manufactured homes do affect existing real estate values.

Mr. McCornack references moving an existing $1 million stick-built home from Red River to Hidden Lake as being excluded from the covenant. This self-serving “example” presumes that Mr. McCornack is considering moving an existing $1 million dollar home into the neighborhood, something which I posit, is blatantly false. This also presumes that the ACC would not approve the home.

Preferred Building Systems, recommended to you by Mr. McCornack, is a manufactured housing center, regardless of what the company now calls itself. It is transported to the site on a truck in two (generally) sections. It fits the definition of manufactured housing in every way. Mr. McCornack argues that “[t]his type of home should also be allowed in Hidden Lake” in spite of the survey wherein a majority of owners opted not to have manufactured homes. Karsten Homes honestly refers to itself as manufactured housing. See, http://www.karstenhomes.com/.

Like many of you, after last year’s eight hour annual meeting, I left disappointed in the direction of our association. However, because I wanted to ensure the integrity of Hidden Lake, I volunteered and chaired the Covenants Committee. I personally shared the Hidden Lake Property Owners survey with the committee so that we could incorporate your concerns into our discussions. You may recall that the majority of property owners did not approve of manufactured housing in Hidden Lake.

The covenants committee was incredibly thorough. I saved the notes and comments from each of the members and in reviewing them, am reminded of how thoughtful the members of the committee were in attempting to redraft each covenant in order to address concerns of the membership at large.

The committee worked democratically, debating a particular suggestion on any given issue and voting via email. Using this process, several items were considered and incorporated into the final drafts and several were not. For example, I was the only homeowner on the committee and with another member, urged that the ACC be composed of a majority of homeowners, to ensure the integrity of construction. We were overruled and you do not see my suggestion in the final version for your consideration.

Another member, Marjorie McCornack, suggested the version proposed by Bob McCornack, lot 8. Marjorie prefaced many of her arguments/comments with “Bob and I” or “We”, so there is no doubt in my mind that Bob’s concerns were also being addressed by the committee. The version now recommended by Mr. McCornack was considered by the committee and overruled. In spite of that, Mr. McCornack presents the membership with his attempts to make an end-run around the efforts of the committee vote and place manufactured homes within our community.

Mr. McCornack’s proposal excludes reference to the committee’s concern about being built to withstand the harsh Hidden Lake winter environment and comply with the fire code; it excludes reference to approval by the Hidden Lake Architectural control committee before construction commences; it excludes consistency, something which the committee strove to protect within the covenants.

To express disappointment that one of our committee members had a say in the drafting, but was overruled and is now shopping her agenda in a different forum is an understatement. I suppose that I could disregard the committee’s vote and now shop my idea that composition of the ACC should be a majority of homeowners.

Am I defensive of the work my committee did? You bet I am, as to sit idly by and say nothing negates the purpose of a committee, which works diligently on behalf of all the membership and tries to set individual agendas aside. Was I aware that the proponents of manufactured housing were still advocating same? Yes, as many of Marjorie’s comments referenced Bob. Was I naive in believing that the committee process works? Absolutely.

The most important covenant is Covenant I, Intent, which advances the enhancement of value, desirability and attractiveness of Hidden Lake property and prevents the construction of improper or unsuitable improvements. The Covenants Committee tried to harmonize each covenant with the existing covenants and they were presented to the Board in that fashion. The Board; however, parsed the proposals and sent them to you in a cafeteria-style, vote covenant by convent plan. The Covenants should not be considered piecemeal to make way for Manufactured Housing. Alternatively, I move to ban Manufactured Housing of any kind from Hidden Lake–that’s simple enough. The Covenants should be considered in the manner in which the committee reviewed and incorporated them—all or nothing. To do anything else is to nullify the work of the committee.

Liane Kerr, Lot 49

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I urge everyone to vote “against” the proposed covenant change to paragraph II, Dwellings.  The definition of what is not allowed is too broad.

Using that definition, for example, would not allow someone to move an existing $1 million stick-built home from Red River to Hidden Lake.  All homes can be moved.  Just look at historic buildings that are moved to preserve them for future generations.  Just because the foundation is “permanent” does not mean the building cannot be moved.  These historic buildings were not built on “temporary” foundations, yet they were still moved.  Just because a home is moved to a location does not mean the home is inferior to one that is built onsite.  This type of home should be allowed in Hidden Lake.

The definition also does not take into account new building techniques that have and will be developed that allow quality homes to be built more quickly and efficiently.  Look at the following website for an example of an Albuquerque builder that has developed such techniques:  www.preferredbuildingsystems.com.  I have researched this builder and there are quite a few of their homes in Angel Fire.  The local Angel Fire appraiser that I talked to indicated that these homes appreciate in value just like the stick-built homes that are located near them.  This type of home should also be allowed in Hidden Lake.

I agree that manufactured or mobile homes should not be allowed in Hidden Lake.  These homes are built to meet the HUD codes, not the more rigorous codes that are used for stick-built homes.  These homes tend to depreciate in value.  The “Manufactured Homes” and “Mobile Home” definitions in the revised covenants do a good job of explaining how to identify them.

The main difference between homes that tend to appreciate in value versus depreciate in value is the building codes that the homes are built to meet.  That is why I feel that the covenant should use a simpler definition of what is and what is not allowed.  Homes built to meet the HUD codes should not be allowed.  Homes built to meet the same building codes as stick-built homes should be allowed.

Here is my proposal for how the covenant should read:

“Unless as otherwise described herein, all dwellings shall be permanent structures built on permanent foundations.  Each dwelling shall contain a minimum of 1,000 square feet of heated space.  Each dwelling shall have electrical service and indoor plumbing.  Each dwelling shall have at least a 2-car attached or detached garage that shall be located a maximum of 25 feet from the primary dwelling.  Dwellings must be built to the same building codes that are used for all New Mexico stick-built homes.  Dwellings that are built to meet the HUD codes shall not be allowed in Hidden Lake, except as temporary residences as defined in paragraph VIII of this document.”

Editorial Note: This posting was made by Bob McCornack, Lot 8. Remember to sign your name when posting on this web site, please..

Hidden Lake Property Owners Association

The President’s Corner

Volume 1, Number 2
April 23, 2007

To All HLPOA Members;

I hope that at the time of this writing, everyone is safe and well.  Included within this writing are noted areas of communications I feel need to be brought to the membership prior to the Annual Meeting.  Most all of this information is from the recent Board Teleconferences held in February and April.  While some members may not necessarily agree with the openness of the Board, your President does feel the need to inform all and let the membership be aware of some of the decisions your Board is actively engaged in.

The current Board of Directors is acknowledging the past resignations of Greg Ogawa, Guy Pierce and Mark Fleenor.  Kay Phillips confirmed all these resignations were received via e-mail shortly after the Annual Meeting in 2006.

Recent items brought to the Board are:

• Communicating with Mr. Alsop regarding our past water line connection which Mike Vorst and Bill Frazelle are working on.
• Transfer of Responsibilities with our Financial Institutions and completion of signature cards as of February 2007.
• Kay Phillips has contacted Joe Machock and he will be removing his stored fire truck from the chain link storage yard near the Property Manager’s cabin this Spring sometime.
• The Board has implemented the usage of a standardized expense reimbursement form by the Board, Resident Manager and Property Manager.  All reimbursable expenses require prior approval, if possible, from the Treasurer.
• Out of concern for the safety for our Property Manager, the Board is reviewing the possibility of Security and Firearms Training for the Property Manager, in light of recent hunting and trespassing events occurring in the Hidden Lake Subdivision.  We have reviewed potential Insurance liabilities with our carrier.

In speaking with some members of the Covenants Committee, the Chair brought the issue of One Lot/ One Vote before the Board pertaining to the situation of two members of the same family holding dual representation on the Board.  This issue was placed before Kay and David Phillips regarding their positions and a motion was made, seconded and voted on that Kay and David excuse themselves from voting on any potential outcome of this issue.  The floor entertained discussions from both Bob McCornack and Joe Stehling that since David’s term ended January 2008 and that they were not in favor of any type of removal or call for resignation.  Opposing opinions offered a conflict with the One Lot/ One Vote under Article Four within the By-Laws and a motion was offered for either Kay or David to resign within 10 days and that neither of them would be entitled to vote on the issue and that the Board would vote to appoint a new Board member which would fill the position vacated through the end of 2007.  The vote taken recorded that J. Stehling, no; S. Stokes, yes; B. McCornack, no; M. Vorst, yes; and B. Frazelle, yes.  On Feb. 26, 2007, David Phillips resigned and Mike Vorst recommended that Bill Frazelle chair the Architectural Control Committee until the Annual Meeting.  To date, the Board has not received any new construction plans from any members wishing to construct on their property.

Recent Board Teleconferences have provided reviews of the new 2007 proposed budget which the Treasurer, Mike Vorst, has raised concerns of the Snow Plow expenses and budget areas of increases and past Boards allowing deficit spending.  Additional reviews and comments were discussed and the Board approved the 2007 Budget during the Feb. 27, 2007 Teleconference, unanimously.  In consideration of the membership, a survey was sent out, which asked one question of how best to facilitate the increase in dues, which the By-Laws state that the Board may establish the Annual Dues within Article Five. 

Other items of importance in the Survey bring up areas of concern by the Lake Committee and By-Laws Committee.  Road maintenance issues along with equipment sourcing are major areas of financial responsibility along with and support of our Property Manager, Kris Perrault and the Resident Manager, Scott Jones.  Recent information about this survey has been mailed in the Harbinger and posted on both Websites.  While we all may respectfully agree to disagree, it is important to let your ideas be known via this survey so we all may have representation and understanding in the development of Hidden Lake Subdivision.

During the Feb. 27, 2007 Teleconference Meeting, the Chair asked all Board Members to provide bios and/ or resumes of interested individuals wishing to be considered for the vacant position.  Both Kay and Joe had discussed the possibility with a couple of individuals who declined consideration.  The Chair nominated both Dean Ford and Marilyn Borich for the position.  Actions during the April 10, 2007 Teleconference Meeting voted to place Dean Ford onto the Board of Directors through the end of 2007.  The vote taken recorded that B. McCornack, K. Phillips and J. Stehling voted for Dean Ford, while M. Vorst and S. Stokes voted for Marilyn Borich.  The Chair agreed with the majority for Dean Ford to fill the vacancy. 

Within the next several weeks, mail notifications for the Annual Meeting will begin being distributed.  I encourage all members to review the information packages as well as becoming involved with the development of Hidden Lake.

Joe Stehling, in the past meeting, would like all members to know that tentatively May 22-25 have been set aside for chipping last year’s remaining slash at the Property Manager’s Cabin.  No new slash will be accepted or added to the existing pile.

A special thanks for a designated contribution from the following members, specifically for the purchase of a new impact wrench for the Association, Max & Betty Shaver, Michael Hudson, Mike & Bonnie Vorst, Marilyn Borich & Jack Vlk, George & Sandra Stokes, Frank & Jeannie Collins, Trevor & Erica Hatchell, Liane Kerr & Paul Donisthorpe, and Tina & Bill Frazelle. 

The Annual Meeting Agenda will be developed with the Board and any information or business from the membership should be forwarded to either me or Sandra Stokes for implementation.  I want to thank those of you which have written to me and called about the Corner comments.  We hope that all Board members are serving the membership effectively.  We look forward to seeing and visiting with many of you at the Annual Meeting.

Please write or call with points of interest or concerns anytime.

Bill Frazelle
wmfrazelle@aol.com
Cell: 602-292-0646

Many of you have used or are using Kris Perreault, our Property Manager, to perform lot clearing, driveway plowing or other services on an independent contractor basis. Kris does an excellent job and performes these services on his own time rather than on the association’s time. In the future in order to protect the association, and by extension, you, homewoners will be required to sign an indemnification form before Kris performs the requested service. This will take a little time to impliment and during the implimentation process Kris will continue to plow driveways as requested. In the next week I will send out indemnification forms to all those whose driveways are currently plowed by Kris. If you suspect that you may want to use Kris in the future as an independent contractor please email me at mv7600@aol.com so that I can send you a form for signature that we can keep on file. I would estimate that beginning 4/1/07 Kris will be unable to perform independent contractor services for any owner until such a form is signed. Signed indimnification papers will be good for the calendar year.

Michael J. Vorst

Treasurer

January, 2007
Our property manager Kris Perreault continues to watch our roads and common areas for trespassers and potential hunters.  Since November, he has contacted Game and Fish at least 5 times to check out suspicious circumstances.  Game and Fish has been very responsive to date in coming up - our information is that G&F has obtained 3 convictions and fines after enforcement and court appearances.

Our long term goal is to establish a very smooth working relationship with Game and Fish, and to build a reputation across the Colfax, Mora, and Taos county communities as a difficult place to break the trespass, hunting, and fishing laws.  We should all thank Kris for his diligence.

Scott Jones, RMC

Season’s Greetings!

To all our friends at Hidden lake, we extend a special holiday invitation to join us for an open house, lot 49, December 22, 2006, 6-9 p.m.

We are lakeside, blue roof.

Liane Kerr/Paul Donisthorpe 377-6367

Amos Espinoza of A&J Excavation has agreed in principle to leave a front end loader with us at the Property Manager’s House this winter.This equipment will be available for hire by both the property owners and by HLPOA as needed, and Kris Perreault will act as operator. When working for the Property Owners, both the equipment and labor come through A&J who will bill the Property Owner. Prices will be set by the vendor, but A&J has consistently been one of the low bidders for work in HL.  

Mr. Espinoza cannot guarantee the equipment to be on site at all times

- if in the eventuality he has emergency snow work in Guadalapita, he may need to take the loader for a bit. However, declaration of an emergency normally takes place in the afternoon after a snow so that the emergency response authorities can gauge the possibility of melt-off, and a measured response. This would leave us the morning and noon period for our own needs. Additionally, Mr. Espinoza may have a job that requires the front loader for a few days, which might require a bit of planning ahead by a Property Owner in need of service.

While there won’t be 100% coverage, Hidden Lake Operations regards this as an additional tool and risk-reducer, and we are very pleased at Mr. Espinoza’s ability to provide this opportunity.

Scott Jones, RMC

We’ve listened to the experts on wildfire danger, we’ve read tips on how to survive a wildfire, and we’ve become a FireWise community.

However, on Friday (October 6^th) between one and two o’clock in the afternoon, we experienced a powerful electrical surge that posed another kind of fire danger. 

The power surge tripped breakers in several homes. The house on Lot 46 experienced a small fire near surge protectors and breaker panel boxes in the garage. The flames were extinguished and the garage doors opened to dissipate the smoke. One TV was lost. We lost our well pump’s “motor minder” on Lot 4. The surge also blew surge protectors on our computers and television. 

Response Process

Our concern was tripped breakers for water pumps and heat.  With winter around the corner, heat loss in homes could trigger water lines to freeze and break. We’ve maintained, for a few years, a list of property owners who requested notification in the event of a wildfire.  We used this list to e-mail or call property owners who were not here at HL.

Kris Perreault, our Property Manager and we have keys for several homes.  When we notified owners about the surge, we asked them if they wanted us to enter the house and check the breaker boxes.  We had an electrician here on Saturday which many owners used.  The electrician and Jack checked boxes and found many tripped breakers.  The electrician re-set them and checked the pump and heat breakers to ensure they were working properly.  Other owners checked out their own circuit breakers or called a caretaker to do it for them.  The bottom line is that out of town home owners were notified about the surge so they could take an appropriate action.

We notify Kris when we leave HL for more than a day.  We will continue to do so and provide him with our “Property Owners Notification List”.  Those with homes will be asterisked so that if a problem with their home is observed at any time, they can be notified and any necessary action taken.  In the event, Kris and we are gone at the same time; we recommend that Kris request another resident property owner or the RMC to notify owners of an emergency situation.

If you have any questions or want your name added to our list, please e-mail us at jgv5709@earthlink.net or call us at (505) 377-5907.

Marilyn Borich

Lot 4

Unofficial as it is, the first ever newsletter is up and posted on the hiddenlakenews web site. Edited by Marilyn Borich, this newsletter will reside on a permanent page at our web site rather than a “post”. That way, it’s always available.

To find the Harbinger, go to www.hiddenlakenews.com and click on “The Hidden Lake Harbinger“. It’s under pages on the right column.

Personally, I find the Harbinger to be a refreshing report of what’s been happening here at Hidden Lake and I believe that Marilyn is making every effort to be unbiased in her reporting. I can certainly say that issues where I know the facts personally, Marilyn has reported them accurately.

If you haven’t seen a copy of the Harbinger yet, this deserves a look!

Don Fink, Lot 94

I have finally been motivated to write this letter by all of the “goings on” at the last annual meeting and then the board actions that followed.  Brad and I knew immediately that lot 79 was where we wanted to live in retirement, and sooner if possible.  The property, the wildlife and the neighbors on either side of us (Don & Bonnie Fink #94 and George & Sandra Stokes #78) make our souls feel at home.  Kris makes us feel secure and comfortable when we are there, and especially when we are not there, knowing that he has the area well under control.  We also felt that it was remote enough that the people living there (now and in the future) would be “free spirits”, and similar to us in our beliefs.
 

I should have known after 25 years of practicing medicine that, if you give a group of people some power over others, no matter how small, some will try to abuse it.  Now we have learned of all the fighting, posturing and underhanded actions of some members of the board, and our piece of heaven has been quite shaken.  The old board seemed to have only their own interests in mind and did not want any input or communication from any “outsiders” (ex. - no feedback allowed on the “official website”, zero official communication about annual meeting status, zero communication regarding other issues such as mobile homes/manufactured housing, snow removal, etc). 
 

I felt that perhaps the future was not so bleak was when “new blood” was elected to the board.  The next I heard was the end run by Ms. Phillips by reappointing 2 members who lost the election (meaning that the majority of the landowners did not want back on the board).  What are these maneuvers but people exerting pressure on others in a backhanded manner.  This does not make for good neighbors or a cohesive (or effective) subdivision. 
 

Thank goodness we have met some wonderful people and the lot and the area is so special.  We will not be chased off.  We are with the “new guard” that feel things need to be done differently, openly and honestly.  The lines of communication must be opened and utilized.  We are living in the hope that genuine progress can be made and that the people who have begun to lead the “good fight” will continue.  We’re right there with you.

Steph Snyder, Lot #79

In spite of a nearly 9 hour homeowner’s meeting, numerous questions remain outstanding. At the meeting, Kay Phillips admitted there were communication problems between the board and the membership. Accordingly, with the spirit of communication in mind, we call upon the board to respond to our questions:

1) First, it is our understanding that 3 board members have resigned from the board: Greg Ogawa, Mark Fleenor & Guy Pierce. In spite of this, no notice has been posted to the membership either through the board website or the more widely read Hidden Lake News website. The board is charged with appointing new board members; however, the gossip is that a single board member, Kay Phillips, unilaterally made new appointments to the board. Is this true? Please respond.

2) Sandra Stokes was re-elected to the board. Kay Phillips and David Phillips are the hold-over appointments made by developer, Joe Machock. The bylaws provide each property owner with one vote per parcel; that is, a husband & wife owning a 20 acre parcel has only one vote between them. Kay & David Phillips, as board members, have two votes. Although Kay stated that she has only voted once to break a tie, it was enough. Because of Kay’s “second” vote, the membership is stuck with the antiquated, $15,000 more than was allocated for, Osh-Kosh dump truck. Why did both Phillips get to vote on this issue?

3) Many homeowners have contributed money or materials for the caretaker’s cabin. Frank & Jeannie Collins donated a dishwasher and $2000 for tile. This question would not be necessary if more communication was forthcoming from the board; however, the property manager was able to get a deal from an Angel Fire company on tile for the caretaker’s cabin. For some reason, Kay Phillips stepped in, took the Collins’ money and provided tile from her tile company. It is our understanding that she did not donate the tile; rather, she made a profit from this transaction. Perhaps Kay was able to provide us with a better deal; however, we have received no accounting on this. We are asking Kay Phillips to provide an accounting for the tile, including receipts and costs, which was paid for by a member of the HLPOA and which was originally to have been purchased in Angel Fire.

4) Why are we paying $1250 for fish and stocking the lake when there is so much algae and seaweed that fish could surely not survive?

5) We know that Joe Machock sold us the caretaker’s cabin and that he objected to any kind of environmental study on the property prior to purchase (and he won it with his proxies); however, we also know that there are alleged problems with the wiring and septic system, in spite of Kay Phillips’ assurances to the contrary at the annual meeting. What is the status of the caretaker’s cabin? Is the wiring up to code? What is the status of the septic system? May we please review the receipts? We ask that Kay Phillps provide us with proof, per her assurance at the annual meeting, that the electrical system for the caretaker’s cabin is up to code, per the UBC specifications.

6) In keeping with the spirit of open communication, we should be able to access minutes and information each time the board meets and/or discusses anything. Has the board met? By such meetings, we mean actual quorum of the board, not individual phone calls to each other. Please provide minutes and information regarding each meeting by the board. Additionally, we would be interested in why individual conversations are necessary rather than full participation by all of our representatives.

We call upon the board to answer our questions. We are not a “few” property/homeowners; rather we are some of the majority who have ongoing concerns regarding our investment at Hidden Lake. Thank you.

Liane Kerr/Paul Donisthorpe, Lot #49

Marilyn Borich/Jack Vlk, Lot #3 &4

Trevor & Erica Hatchell, Lot#52

Mike & Bonnie Vorst, Lot #61

George & Sandra Stokes, Lot #78

Jeannie & Frank Collins, Lot #75

Don & Bonnie Fink, Lot #94

Tina & Bill Frazelle, Lot #64

Mike Smith, Lot#82

M/M Mike Hudson, Lot#46

Karla and Bill Dobbs, Lot #31

Brad and Steph Snyder, Lot #79

Craig & Pam Morris asked me to post this message they sent to  the HLPOA board president

TO:  Hidden Lake POA Board of Directors
 
FROM:  Craig and Pam Morris, Lot #92
 
DATE:  August 2, 2006
 
RE:  2006 Annual Meeting
 
My name is Craig Morris, my wife, Pam, and I attended the 2006 Hidden Lake POA annual meeting and feel compelled to write this letter.  We want to express our concern about how the meeting was conducted.  We feel the Board did not control the meeting at all and because of that, vital issues and discussions were put on hold while the membership present sat through a torrid of Board bashing.  We would like to address just a few of our concerns.
1.     The main purpose of our annual meeting is to discuss issues at hand, i.e.: the agenda.  Mr. Frank Collins was allowed to place his own issues on the agenda and the issues were out of order.  Dealing with the purchase of the snow removal equipment should have been delayed until New Business.  His behavior reminded us of a 6 year old boy being pulled out of the toy department, screaming because he did not get the toy he wanted.  It was very apparent that early into his rhetoric, the Board should have stopped and deferred his issues till later in the agenda. The longer we sat and listened to him the angrier we became.  Had we known how this meeting was going be conducted we would not have attended at all.
2.  On the subject of Mr. Collin’s discussion regarding the snow removal
     equipment—his perception of last years meeting is not ours and we do not
     agree with him at all.  No matter what anyone says, a backhoe is not
     considered snow removal equipment.  So Mr. Collins spent 364 days
     stewing on this issue, planning out his attack on the Board for not buying the
     backhoe and YOU made us sit through it.  Thank you!!
3.  We are requesting that Mr. Collins submit the names and lot numbers of the
     property owners that he quoted in the dissertation that he gave the
     membership.  We requested this information during the meeting however,
     Mr. Collins could not remember who these individuals were at the time.  This
     should be added to the minutes as an addendum.
4.  We are making an official request to amend the Bylaws to limit the number
     of proxy votes that can be held by one property owner at the annual
     meeting.  We are concerned that one property owner had 20 proxy votes.
     That is one fifth the membership vote.  This person, through his/her proxy
     votes is able to sway any vote his/her way.  What is the point of voting when
     it can be controlled by one lot owner?  If a property owner can not make the
     annual meeting, they should request an absentee ballot with the issues that
     are to be voted on at the annual meeting.  This would allow each property
     owner the ability to make their own decision(s).  It is going to be easier to
    disseminate information to the membership through the 2 websites.
                                                                    
Finally, on a personal note, we would like to congratulate the incoming board members on their election.  We would also like to thank the current board members who will be leaving, for a difficult job well done.  We would say to all the board members not to let one or two unhappy property owners discourage you.  They do not reflect the feelings of all the membership.  We feel that if Roberts Rule of Order had been followed our annual meeting would have been a productive meeting with many important issues being dealt with rather than the embarrassing display that occurred.   

 Posted by Joe Stehling at the request of Craig and Pam Morris.
 
 

HLPOA ANNUAL MEETING AFTER ACTION REPORT

Please Note: I originally tried to post this on 1 August prior to a trip.     Somehow it never made into the Posted area.
I was prepared for a difficult annual meeting of the HLPOA on 29 July 2006.   What I was not prepared for was the high level of animosity, hostility, vindictiveness, and outright rudeness of some of the members.  It got so bad that my wife, Carol, could take no more and went home in tears.  Others told me they had to leave the room because they felt the anger welling up within them.   I will admit I was rude at one time when I lost my cool after Jeanne Collins’ fourth or fifth interruption of a speaker to continue to chastise the board for their decision on the manufactured home issue, regardless of what issue was being discussed at the time of her interruption.   I apologize to the assemblage for my outburst and my use of a curse word.   What I should have said was that there is a difference between constructive criticism that focuses on success and destructive tirades that focus on nothing but failure.   That was the tenure of the Collins’ tirades- focusing only on perceived failures.    
The only constructive comment I heard (which is not new) was that the board needed to increase communication, which is true.    However, you should know that in January, Mark Fleenor put together a newsletter to be distributed in January with the annual dues invoices.   I personally had written three articles for the newsletter.   After the litigation threat letter on manufactured homes  was received by the board, the association’s lawyers put a stop to any communication.   Lawyers do more harm than good at times.
That is not to say that some positive things did not come out of the meeting.   Several committees were formed which could have a positive influence on the association, if they all do their job.    But that is about all I can think of at the moment.    
I moved to Hidden Lake to make friends, not enemies.  My wife believes that we now have more enemies than friends, not because of anything we have done personally to or against certain individuals, but by virtue only of  my being on the board.   One of our previous so-called friends egregiously betrayed a sacred trust by passing on information provided to them in confidence.   They also used Kris to further their agenda by including his candid comments in Mr. Collins’ board bashing speech.
The last minute maneuver by Jeanne Collins at the very end of the meeting when a good 60 percent of the assemblage had departed was especially devious and underhanded.   Without an understanding of what she was doing and the implications thereof, she called for the resignation of the entire board.   This caused a referral to Roberts Rules of Order, which evidently provides for a vote of no confidence, but not for removal of any board member.    I am wondering how many of the 20 members who provided proxy votes to Marilyn Borich were aware of this and would have voted for the wholesale removal of the board causing the association to lose all corporate memory and knowledge.  Members must realize the danger of providing so much power (20% of the property owners in this case)  to one individual with an ill-defined agenda, who can do nothing but criticize and complain.  As President Bush said in his State of the Union address:  “Hindsight alone is not wisdom, and second-guessing is not a strategy”.
 
That recall maneuver has caused me to rethink my decision to resign from the board.  Several members expressed regret that I was considering resigning and I will now fulfill the rest of my term as a board member.    If I choose to resign, I prefer to do it on my own volition and not because a small coalition of members with an ill-defined agenda wants me to resign.  
Joe Stehling

Lot 11

Good Evening Neighbors:

 We, like so many others, are tired of the in-fighting that has been going on at Hidden Lake; however, we cannot stand by and watch some of the issues which are of concern to everyone.

 For example, the lake has been over-run by algae for the last several years and nothing has been done.  Obviously, the lake is cold, but no-one would risk falling in due to the algae problem coupled with leeches.  In addition, the shrinking condition of the lake has made it difficult to access the lake due to the mud, which could “take a body down” if one isn’t careful.  Each year, we have put in a temporary floating dock and each fall we have taken it out.  We have encouraged folks to use it freely and in fact, many persons have used the dock to access the lake.  The dock prevents the user from sinking into the mud when accessing a boat.  We think the association should finance 3 more floating docks and we will contribute ours to the association as the 4th to allow everyone access to the lake, said docks to be placed at the (hopefully cleared) edges to each of the 4 easements.

 A second, and in our opinion, very serious matter, is the Board’s clandestine behavior regarding all aspects of management of our properties.  As indicated by Don Fink’s postings regarding the annual meeting, it was arduous and contentious—-and Mike Vorst, Sandra Stokes and William Frazelle soundly defeated all challengers for the Board.  We just heard (through the grapevine, but confirmed by several people) that Greg Ogawa and Mark Fleenor (beaten in re-election bid) resigned, effective immediately, from the Board.  Rather than replace them with those persons who ran and received majority votes, our Madam President (1/2 of the board duo of David and Kay Phillips, which is such an obvious conflict) appointed two persons who ran for the Board, but who were defeated by the electorate.  What kind of kingdom do we have here?

 In a second appointment surprise, we understand that Joe Stehling resigned from managing Chris Perault.  Rather than appoint Don Fink, Bonnie Fink, Marilyn Borich or Jack Vlk—long-time property and home owners who all get along well with Chris—to the position, our Madam president (again, that 1/2 of the duo team) apparently appointed a new property owner, who no-one knows but is endorsed by that duo!  Chris is even in the dark!

 Again, it would seem that the issues which arose at the Board meeting (including a motion to recall the Board due to their inability to communicate and their “royal” attitudes, which has contributed to the in-fighting at HL) fell on deaf ears.  We feel like the Scots in the border wars—-loyal to the last, but losing power to the king!

 Liane Kerr & Paul Donisthorpe, Lot 49

(all hail the common folk)

Anyone wishing to assist with the bylaws/covenants committee, please contact Liane Kerr via email correspondence at Leklawyer@aol.com and include your phone number with the communication.

Lake Report

Dave Phillips reported that the lake was recently stocked. He would like to hear from people who fished, to know if anyone was catching fish. He wasn’t aware of anyone catching any fish for several years. Several people mentioned that the lake smelled and had algae. They asked if the health of the lake had been checked before the fish were planted. David mentioned that the person who planted the fish checked the water’s PH level after the fish were released, but said that the PH levels were okay. He also said that it would take $7,000 to $8,000 to have a full study done on the lake.There was further discussion on other less expensive ways of determining  the lake’s health, and how good of an idea it was to have the person selling the fish assessing the health of the lake.A motion was made to form a committee of property owners to research ways to check the health of the lake. Motion carried.

Hidden Lake POA Membership Directory

A long discussion went on about how hard and expensive it was to create a directory. Many suggestion were made from the property owners to do as much of it as possible electronically; via eMail or web site. The board seemed to have an issue with using technology to communicate, but maybe that’s just my opinion sneaking in again. I made a motion that we publish a new membership directory annually. Another property owner had a proposed By-law change that accomplished essentially the same thing, so I withdrew the motion.

There was also discussion where Kay related that several property owners had threatened to sue the board if their contact information was published. The specific number of persons who didn’t want their information made available was not known, or at least I missed that part of her answer. It was also mentioned that most of the contact information about property owners is public knowledge; that all one has to do is go to the county offices in Raton and ask for it.

Later, the By-law was proposed and passed by majority vote, which obligates the board to publish a new directory each year. The preferred method of distributing the directory will be eMail to keep costs at a minimum. The by-law basically says that a directory will be published once a year. Folks who do not want their information published will not be published. They will also not receive a directory (the thought here is that information flows both ways).

Covenants and By-laws Update

Mark Fleenor gave a presentation on updating the covenants and by-laws. A long discussion took place about why the work of several members last year was never addressed by the board. It seems that people did a considerable amount of work on the by-laws and covenants, only to have their efforts ignored by the board.

The explanation gave by Kay was that when the board was threatened with a law suit about the off-site manufactured home, all work stopped on all other projects. To better phrase it, all communication with property owners stopped. Kay said that this was the advice of legal council.

Now, here goes my opinion again, but you really have to wonder about the usefulness of legal council that tells you to shut down your corporation because someone threatened a legal action. Let’s translate that over to a commercial corporation, and examine the feasibility of shutting down for five months.

I’m not an attorney, but I did spend several years managing employees with an extremely hostile union (National Air Traffic Controller’s Association). There was rarely a day that went by that we weren’t threatened with a grievance, an Unfair Labor Practice Charge (which was heard in federal court), or a civil lawsuit. Consider what would have happened if we simply refused to speak to our employees because we were engaged in unpleasant business with one subject or another. I’m sorry but this is just about the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.

Kay said that if this happens again, the board will again refuse to communicate with the membership. This is unacceptable! End of this particular opinion!

Mark Fleenor said that the board was considering hiring a consulting firm to update our covenants. Of course, there was a long discussion of why we were spending money to an outside firm when we had folks in the membership who could and would do that at no cost. In all fairness, the idea of hiring a consulting firm was a proposal before the membership, and not a done deal.

A motion was made to form a committee of property owners to address the work that folks had already done last year and get input from other interested property owners about changes to the by-laws and covenants, then get information out to everyone. Motion carried.

Discussion and Voting on Changes to By-Laws

(These may not be in the actual order, as we’re working from a “pile” of notes here)

Proposal: Creating four board officers instead of three. There was originally the President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer. The proposal broke off the Secretary/Treasurer position into two separate jobs. Proposal passed.

Proposal: Setting permanent annual meeting dates. One proposal called for meeting dates to be set for the last Saturday in July. Another called for the meeting to be set for the first Saturday in August. There was some discussion, and the first Saturday in August was set as the permanent annual meeting date. Time and place will be set by the board each year.

Proposal: Current membership list will be maintained and distributed to the membership each year. See the discussion above for more details. Proposal passed.

Proposal: Terms for newly elected board director shall begin at midnight, September 1^st following their election at the annual meeting. Some discussion. Proposal failed.

Proposal: Filling vacancies on the board. Currently, when a vacancy occurs on the board of directors, the board will appoint a new property owner to fill the position for the remainder of the normal term of the person who left. With the new proposal, the board will appoint a new board member who will serve until the next annual meeting. At the annual meeting, the membership will elect a new director who will then serve for the remainder of the vacant term. Proposal Passed.

Proposal: All decisions made by the board of directors except for daily operations and emergencies must be ratified within 60 days by vote of the owners. There was a long discussion about this proposal. One owner suggested that we vote to not ratify, and the absence of voting constituted approval.

Here goes my opinion again – I personally support this idea for two reasons. First, I don’t trust the board to do the right thing. They have proven many times over that they will fail at nearly every opportunity. Secondly, I have worked in an environment where union officials needed to have their membership ratify major decisions, and the idea – although somewhat of a burden to the union management – works. It keeps people in check, and it also takes union management (in this case the board) off the hook in controversial situations.

There was lengthy discussion about having to trust the board to manage operations. The proposal was tabled until the by-law/covenant committee could look it over. They will see if the terms used can be further defined to everyone’s satisfaction and we’ll address this again at the next annual meeting.

Election of new board members:

New members are (in no particular order)

• Bill Frazelle
• Mike Vorst
• Sandra Stokes (re-elected)

The Annual Hidden Lake Propertry Owner’s Meeting, Part 1

As I start to write a summary based on our notes from Saturday’s meeting, I am beginning to discover that it will take a very long time to get it all down. This meeting was long, it was unpleasant for some, and some very important business was handled. I therefore have the problem of scheduling enough time to write this up properly, and still get on with other obligations in my life.

I have therefore decided to write it in sections, and publish the information as I get it written down. That way, you can at least read the parts I have so far, and not have to wait for it all at once. I apologize for this inconvenience, but at least you can see it as it’s written, and not have to wait for a long time for the official minutes to tell you what happened.

Background

It’s important to point out that the actions that took place on Saturday were not single, isolated incidents; nor were they arbitrary on the part on individual owners. They were the result of a significant number of people who were increasingly dissatisfied with the behavior of the present board’s management of Hidden Lake. Many of us have decided that enough is enough. While several property owners have actually sold their properties up here specifically because they don’t feel a need to deal with the politics of an out of control board, others of us have decided that it’s time to take back the board and require it’s behavior to be in the interest of the property owners.

The Meeting:

Saturday, July 29th, was the annual Hidden Lake property owner’s meeting. Like meetings in the past, this one was filled with lots of spirited discussion, but unlike meetings in the past, this one looked like it was going to go all night!

There were many seriously dissatisfied owners at the meeting, a few who were not all that worked up, and a few who were just trying to figure out what was going on. Before you read further in this article, you should know that I was one of the seriously dissatisfied people, and therefore will probably slant my writing in that direction, even though I try to be factual in every way.

You should also know that this report is by no means an official report. These are not minutes. While I have most of the meeting on video tape, I’m writing this from memory in order to get it out quickly, so I may miss a couple of points, and may be just plain wrong in others. Please don’t take these comments as the absolute record. Having said all the disclaimer stuff, we’ll move along.

The First Hour

The meeting started with a few words from various people; Joe Stehling gave a good report about Firewise, I gave a brief talk about fire department issues, and county commissioner Bill Conley talked about a few things that are of interest to Hidden Lake folks.

According to Bill, the county is looking at placing dumpsters at one of two places; maybe both. The first location is at the spot along Highway 120 where it turns to dirt. The second location is at the Black Lake Fire Station, along Highway 120 near Angel Fire.

Mr. Conley is planning to meet with some state officials in the next couple of weeks to discuss the possibility of improving Highway 120 from the Moreno Valley to Ocate. The obvious reasons are that it would result in an important improvement for the people who live in the area. Commuters (yes, people commute to work every day on that road) would have a safer, more effiicient road, and tourists from Oklahoma and Texas would enjoy about an hour less travel time when coming to the Moreno Valley. Tourism is an important industry here.

He reminded us that locking the gate at Hidden Lake is not an option since the roads at Hidden Lake are public county roads.

Mr. Conley also gave us some advice: If we’re planning to seek political action, consider doing it as a unified group. He says that groups like property owner’s associations get more attention when they act as one rather than as single individuals. Important words to remember as we move forward, especially in light of our current level of hostility.

This year’s property owner’s meeting is going to be important. There are many issues that need to be resolved if the Hidden Lake Property Owner’s Association is ever going to be a useful organization. Many property owners are very dissatisfied with the operation of the association, and have proposed changes.

If you agree that changes are needed, or if you disagree, now is the time more than ever for you to make your voice known! If you are planning on attending this year’s meeting, great! You’ll be a part of the solutions. If you’re not planning to attend, please send someone your proxy so that you can still be part of the solution.

Thanks,

Don Fink

Please note that Hidden Lake is now officially a FIREWISE COMMUNITY as of  June 2006.

This was accomplished the the constant efforts of Hidden Lake resident Joe Stehling  and Colfax Firewise Coordinator Roger Terry.

John G. Vlk, Firewise Board Mbr.

The following New release was received from the Carson National Forest on Friday, June 23rd:

Taos New Mexico, June 23, 2006 – As drought conditions continue to affect conditions on the Carson National Forest as well as other areas of New Mexico, Stage III Fire restrictions will take effective Monday, June 26, 2006. Concern for public and firefighter safety has prompted the move to mitigate the danger to forest recreationists by containing visitors to areas that can be easily patrolled and evacuated in the event of a wildfire.

Under Stage III restrictions, partial closures will be enforced. Areas to remain open are as follows:

Jicarilla Ranger District will remain at Stage II Fire Restrictions.

El Rito Ranger District will enact total closure.

Canjilon Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of Canjilon Lakes for day use and overnight camping. Echo Amphitheater and Forest Road 151 access to Rio Chama will remain open for day use only.

Tres Piedras Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of Hopewell Lake overnight and day use areas.

Questa Ranger District will prohibit entrance to all areas with the exception of:

Hello Hidden Lake Owners; 18 Jun 2006

Summer has come to Hidden Lake, and along with it came a drought. Our “Monsoon Season”consisted of a few days of

Spit & Quit rain. Never enough to knock the dust off our plants. Needless to say it is very dry here at HL. During one of the Spit & Quit rains we had some dry lightening that hit a dead tree on Blue Grouse Court. Luckily it was spotted by Kris, our property manager. He informed me and dirt on was thrown on it. Kris retrieved his chain saw and cut down the burning tree. He than hooked a chain to it and dragged it in the road away from the forest. Not only was that quick thinking, but he also is a volunteer fireman and called it in on his radio. Unfortunately it took 30 Min + for the Black Lake Volunteer Fire Dept to get here. We were lucky that the winds were mild that day, or it would have been blown across lots 4& 5 and been burning down the valley East of Ocate Mesa (Hidden Lake).

This is only one example of what can happen when it is so dry at HL.

The State Fire Marshall has directed: no open camp fires, no burn permits, and no charcoal grills. Only cooking permitted is on Propane stoves if kept under adult supervision. And No Smoking in danger areas, forests.

If you come to Hidden Lake, be careful, of the extra dry forest.

John G. Vlk, Firewise Board Member

CHIPPER DAY PROCEDURES
26 – 27 JULY 2006
Starting 8:00 AM

Hidden Lake development will hold a “chipper day” to assist property owners rid their properties of deadfall and slash. We will be using a Colfax county commercial grade chipper, which can handle limbs and logs up to 14 inches in diameter. Chipping will be done at the cabin.
Procedures are as follows:

Trim small branches off of larger limbs to facilitate putting them into the chipper chute.

If possible, deliver and stockpile your slash at the cabin prior to 26 July. The property manager will advise where to stockpile.

For those unable to deliver deadfall and slash to the cabin, stockpile the material along the road fronting your property. Volunteers with pickups and or trailers will transport the material to the cabin. If you are physically present, you will be responsible for loading the material onto the truck or trailer. The stockpiles should not be placed under trees and the area around the stockpiles should be cleared of brush to a radius of 10 to 20 feet so as not to serve as ladder fuel in the event of a wildfire.

For those who will not physically be at Hidden Lake on 26 –27 July and cannot deliver the slash call property manager, 505 377 3379 or the undersigned and we will be sure to pick up any slash you have stockpiled along the road.

If you would like to make use of the chips for landscaping, advise the property manager and be prepared to haul the chips away.

We can use volunteers to load and haul slash, feed chipper, and other tasks to be determined. Please call property manager or the undersigned to volunteer your assistance. Please have available gloves, eye and ear protection for those operating the chipper. I will provide dust masks.

Ridding our properties of dead and downed trees and deadfall will assist in making our development more firesafe. Thinning will be a major stride in keeping our community a Firewise Community.

Joe Stehling
Lot 11
505 377 0546
joestehling@earthlink.net

Not long ago, Kay Phillips sent out a letter to the property owner’s of Hidden Lake, explaining the board’s position on certain issues at Hidden Lake. On the last page, Ms. Phillips mentions that the issue of a newsletter was last discussed in 2000, but until the last year, there was not enough information of substance to warrant the cost and effort.

How about:

• In spring of 2005, the roads were not plowed when over four feet of snow fell in one storm? How many folks have property up here that might have needed propane?
• Our caretaker Luis quit, and no one was notified. How many folks thought they were getting some kind of service up here, but no one was around?
• Everyone was told that the gate would be locked, but it never happened. When the gate ultimately was not locked, no one was notified that it would not happen.
• New caretaker was hired, no one was notified.
• The grader is no longer available for the caretaker to grade the roads. Actually, what exactly does the caretaker do? Joe insists that he be available for work during normal business hours, but there’s no work to do.

  Every one of these issues, in my view, are important enough to warrant an individual letter to the property owners, yet nothing was said. In my case, I live here at Hidden Lake, and had to learn most of this information from outside sources. I found out that we were going to hire a caretaker from a yard boy at RBS in Angel Fire. Later, I was told by a board member that we would not be hiring a caretaker, then one shows up in the cabin. Glad I didn’t go down and run him off!

  At least some of the information that’s being distributed by the board is false. Two examples in Ms. Phillips’s recent letter do not represent the truth. In one example, on the last page of Ms. Phillips’s letter, she is discussing the creation of a newsletter. She implies that the board created a web site instead, and she further indicates that she has records that show no activity or interest in the site. First, the site was created by me at my expense, and I don’t remember releasing any records that indicated site usage to her or anyone for that matter.

  Another issue that’s a distortion of the truth is in the “Details” section of Ms. Phillip’s letter, item 3. In the third paragraph of page 5, she states that the general membership voted to amend the bylaws to include a 1$ per square foot assessment for any new construction. This is a distortion of the truth at best, and mostly just not true. That decision was made in my dining room at my home among the board members present. As a general member, I was not given an opportunity vote on this issue. We were simply informed of its implementation at the general membership meeting.

  When discussing the appropriateness of spending money to inform the membership of relevant news, remember that the cost of postage and the stationery is most likely less than $100.00 per letter. Almost no efforts have been made to utilize email, which would significantly reduce even that meager expense. And, after all, how long can it take Kay to sit down and bang out a quick note via email? My belief is that this board has failed - either through the deliberate withholding of information, or through simple inaction – to adequately inform the general membership of appropriate information. Some of this information could potentially be costly, and all of it is certainly of interest to property owners at Hidden Lake. Whether the information was withheld or distorted, this practice needs to change. If the board doesn’t have time, or is unwilling to provide truthful and timely information to the general population, maybe we should look to folks to run the board who will?

  Don Fink

Last July, at the annual meeting of the Hidden Lake Property Owner’s Association, the Board shot one past us in one of the most blatantly dishonest moves I’ve seen to date. The matter of the special assessment for the snow removal equipment was, in my opinion, a demonstration of the board’s disregard for the homeowners right to participate in the affairs of Hidden Lake.

The problem is not that that the board brought up the issue. In fact, it’s my understanding from reading the minutes that the issue was not brought up by the board at all. The probelm was that the board allowed it to continue to a vote without advertising the fact that they were going to do so. In government, this practice is against the law! There were several people who would have attended the meeting and made significant input to the subject had they known that the issue would be discussed and voted upon. Instead, the subject was left off the agenda, and several people elected not to attend because there was no significant information that would be discussed at the meeting.

There are several other issues related to the snow removal discussion that seems odd.

First, the board had clearly not done its research before coming to the property owners. The overall discussion seemed to revolve around a backhoe and a snow blower attachment. In the end, nothing of the kind was purchased.

Second, the minutes say that Kay Phillips said that we needed a special assessment to purchase any kind of equipment. The then Treasurer, Frank Toby, tells me that there was over $90,000.00 available to the board at the time. Without knowing what kind of equipment we were going to buy, how can anyone know that a special assessment was needed?

Third, and this is the point of this article, is why were we discussing assessing someone money when we had not given people the opportunity to be present for the discussion? My point is that a special assessment that basically doubles my dues to this organization is a big deal. I pay dues with an expectation of the amount I’m going to owe, and I believe I have a legitimate say in the assessment of those funds. To bring up the subject of assessing more money when property owners have not had the opportunity to be part of the discussion is simply dishonest.

Did the board openly deceive the property owners in allowing the special assessment? The truth is, it doesn’t matter whether the deception was purposeful or not. The fact is, it happened. Whether it was an open attempt to make an end run around the property owners, or whether it was simply an inability to plan an agenda, the fact was, people were deceived, and money was assessed without the vast majority of the property owners having a say.

Greg Ogawa tells me that I’m wasting my time in bringing this issue up. He tells me that he is comfortable that the board had the legal right to do a special assessment. I guess I shouldn’t be picking on Greg, since he was the only board member who would bother to discuss this with me after the fact. For that, he should be commended. While Greg might be comfortable with the notion that the vote was technically legal, he seems to not be concerned with whether it was the right thing to do.

The fact remains that, without allowing everyone the opportunity to participate in a discussion of this magnitude, the board has demonstrated that it does not care what the general membership thinks, wants, or needs.

So, the members that were present at the last meeting voted to assess everyone else who did not have the opportunity to comment.

What’s the fix?

In my view, the board needs to take two steps to fix this issue:

First, the special assessment needs to go away until everyone has the opportunity to discuss it and arrive at a majority vote. This means that the board needs to either return the money that has been collected so far, or credit that money to the property owner’s next dues.

Second, the board needs to apologize to the property owners who did not have the opportunity to express their views with this important issue. This is not because the property owners need or want an apology, but rather that the board needs to better understand who they work for. They have deeply offended me and other owners with their attitude that they are not accountable, and they need to understand that they are indeed accountable to the people. An apology would be a good first step.

Failing both of these actions, here’s what I propose:

The first action of the property owners at Hidden Lake should be the recall of all board members. There are people who have property at Hidden Lake who are willing to step up and be responsive to the needs of the property owners. By the way, I am not one of those people, so no one needs to worry that this might be just a power grab on my part. I was on the board at one time, and resigned.

If a recall is not the action that the owners believe is necessary, the next best thing is to simply replace members of the board as their term is up. Unfortunately, several of the board members have a long time to run on their terms, and can do a lot of damage in that time.

A Final Note:

You’ll notice at the bottom of the article that there is an opportunity for people to comment. All you need to do to comment on this article is register, log in, and have at it. If you agree with me, I would appreciate a comment. If you disagree, I would suggest that you make your views known. After all, if I’m the only one who comments, people might think that my views are consistent with the majority of the people, and I’ll almost bet money that my views aren’t the only ones out there.

If you’re a board member, and you want to apologize, or if you don’t believe an apology is warranted, some of us would like to hear your views. Again, if I’m the only one who comments on this web site, folks might start thinking that my views are the only ones here.

Don Fink

Hi,

After a considerable time without any activity, HiddenLakeNews.com is now up and running again. The goal this time is to provide a place where property owners at Hidden Lake can meet and express their views about issues related to Hidden Lake.

As many of you know, there are issues here in the woods that concern many of the property owners, and here is the place where it can all get out in the open. Whether your concern is the care of the roads, the behavior of the Board, or the placement of pre-fab homes at Hidden Lake, this is the best place to meet and express your views.

Layout:

Initially, this site is divided into several categories. They are -

1 - General News
2 - Pre-Fab Homes
3 - Roads
4 - The Board
and finally, an “catch-all” called uncategorized, for general subjects.

If anyone believes that a new category is necessary, send me a note and I’ll add it.

All you need to do to post information here is register, then follow the links to write! It’s just about as simple as sending an email once you get the hang of it.