LRAA President's Letter, March 28, 2020
 

COVID-19 RESPONSE

March and April is the time of year that usually marks the arrival of spring in all its beauty to the Methow Valley and the rest of Washington. Spring is here, but it comes in the shadow of the coronavirus crisis. With our country in the grip of a pandemic, each of us has undoubtedly felt the ripple effects of the virus in some form. The health and safety of our community and our families is our highest priority. 

On Monday, March 23, Governor Jay Inslee made a statewide Order for everyone to stay home for two weeks, beginning March 25. We urge community members and travelers to stay at home and take protective measures against coming into contact with, or spreading, COVID-19.

There is ample information out there about the virus and the current worldwide and statewide measures in place to prevent its spread. Please remember that we all share in the collective duty to ensure the health and safety of this community.

On behalf of the LRAA Board, I wish you all well in these challenging times. Take good care of yourselves and your families.


OTHER LRAA BUSINESS

Annual Dues
    •    Membership dues: $619  
    •    Water Fees (per Water Right): $305  
    •    Total with one water right: $924

Please make every effort to pay your dues by March 31st. Thanks to all of you who already sent in your payment. Remember that our 2020 annual membership dues are the primary means to fund the day-to-day and annual operation of the Association from January 1 through the end of 2020.

That said, the Board and your neighbors are aware that some members of the Lost River community may be facing considerable financial hardship caused by the coronavirus. They may have lost their jobs, they may be ill with the virus and can’t work, or they may be caring for someone who has the virus. If you are facing that kind of financial hardship, please let the Board know before March 31st if you need to have your payment due date extended to June 30, 2020. During that period no late fee or interest will be charged.

Lastly, due to the coronavirus, our accountant's business office has been understaffed. Payment checks sent by LRAA members will be slow to get deposited. Please be patient if you are waiting for notification that your check has cleared. This may not take place for several more weeks. In the meantime, the date your payment was postmarked will be sufficient for proof of on-time payment.

WUCIOA Update
The third in a series of communications intended to inform LRAA members about the results of the Board's review of the new Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) is now available. Please see Information about WUCIOA #3 in LRAA News on the website.

Annual Membership Meeting
This year's Annual Membership Meeting is currently scheduled for Sunday, May 24, in accordance with LRAA Bylaws. However, as a community we need to face the very real possibility that this meeting will need to be cancelled or postponed. The Board is monitoring the situation, and we will make a timely decision that prioritizes the health and safety of Lost River and its members.

As I bring this message to a close, please know that the LRAA Board remains committed to the smooth functioning of our community. Under these unprecedented circumstances, we must also be mindful of the impact of the coronavirus on our families, the Association, the Methow Valley, and beyond.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to the Board via the Contact Us page on our website.

Respectfully,
Kevin Piasecki
LRAA President

 
 
Lost River Airport Association
Information about WUCIOA (#3)
 

This is the third in a series of communications intended to inform LRAA members about the results of the Board’s review of the new Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA).

In WUCIOA Information #1 we described two provisions of WUCIOA that must be complied with by all homeowner associations, regardless of when an association was created. You may recall that those two provisions addressed how an HOA, created before July 1, 2018, could agree to be bound by the new law and how all Association budgets must be handled. If you haven’t yet read the first document in this series, please take a look.

WHAT’S NEW
As a result of legislation passed in 2019, the law (RCW 64.90.80 now requires all homeowner associations to comply with two additional provisions of WUCIOA, regardless of when they were created. Those two additional provisions are RCW 64.90.405, paragraphs 1(b) and 1(c), which deal with budgets and assessments, and RCW 64.90.545, which requires that a reserve study be done and that it be undated regularly.
 
Section 405 1(b) requires LRAA to adopt budgets in accordance with the requirements of section 525, which we discussed in Information #1. Section 405 1(c) requires LRAA to impose assessments for common expenses and specially allocated expenses in accordance with the requirements of section 525. Because LRAA has always paid for common elements and services through assessments and a budget, which we discuss and vote on at each annual membership meeting, these two additional mandatory provisions have little impact on day-to-day LRAA operations. Section 545 requires LRAA to have a reserve study done by a reserve study professional. That study must be updated annually. It is intended to identify those physical components of LRAA:

i)  which the association is obligated to maintain, repair, or replace, 


ii)  which has an estimated useful life of less than thirty years, and 


iii) for which the cost of maintenance, repair, or replacement is infrequent, significant, and impractical to include in an annual budget.

Although we don’t yet know what the reserve study professional might identify as a “reserve component,” it seems clear that we’re talking about things like our wells, water pumps, backup generator, water meters, water meter radios, trash shed and firehall roof. The study is intended to identify those kinds of things and help us determine what it will cost to replace them at the ends of their useful lives so we can begin to build a reserve to pay for those replacements. Building those funds over time not only avoids the need for large special assessments, it helps protect our property values and ensures that Lost River remains a healthy, well-run and vibrant community.

As a result of requiring a reserve study, the law requires the establishment of a reserve account; imposes requirements on how withdrawals from the reserve account are to be handled and reported to members; describes the required contents of a reserve study; allows the membership to demand a study be done or updated under certain conditions; and provides a limitation of liability in the event a study is not done or is not updated.

That’s a lot to take in, but at the end of the day these additional, required provisions ensure that LRAA is operated in a fiscally responsible manner and that funds collected as a result of the reserve study are properly handled, accounted for and reported to the membership.

Please feel free to use the website Contact Us form [ select Governance (WUCIOA) from the topic dropdown ] to make comments or ask questions. We will do our best to respond.

Interested in reading the various provisions discuss above? Visit the following links:
RCW 64.90.80
https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.90.080

RCW 64.90.405, paragraphs 1(b) and 1(c)
https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.90.405

RCW 64.90.545
https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.90.545

Interested in looking at the law itself?
Visit https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.90 to read the full text.

RELATED LINKS

 
Lost River Airport Association
Winter 2019-20 Snow Removal
 

Hello Lost River Members and Happy Holidays!

Snow has finally arrived in Lost River. The most recent storm's snow removal was challenging and resulted in roads being more narrow than desired for both maneuverability and safety. We always try to have roads widened as soon as possible, but sometimes this takes longer than we'd like. Thank you for your patience!

Some things to keep in mind during the snow season...
 
• The LRAA threshold for requesting snow removal is 6-inches. We try to be as consistent and accurate as possible with regards to making the decision to request snow removal services. Even then, our snow removal contractor may be called or arrive earlier or later than would be ideal.
 
• There will be times when private driveways are unfortunately blocked by snow berms resulting from the clearing of snow from LRAA roads. Our provider is not under contract to remove these berms, regardless of whether or not there are signs of occupancy. Please see LRAA Community Guidelines for Winter.

If you have any questions or need to report snow removal issues on Association roads, please notify the Board via the topic "Roads/Plowing" on the Contact Us page.


Your LRAA Board
Lost River Airport Association

 
Lost River Airport Association
Become an LRAA Trustee!
 

(updated 02/15/2020)

The Lost River Airport Association Board of Trustees is elected by members to oversee the common assets of our community, manage its finances, run business affairs, enforce and set rules, and see to the maintenance and upkeep of the area. In other words, it provides structure to a community, protects property value, and works to make it a pleasant place to live.

A Trustee is required to be Lost River Airport Tracts property owner and be current with payment of all dues, fees and assessments. Trustees do not have to be full-time residents of Lost River. A Trustee is also required to sign a Conflict of Interest Policy Acknowledgment.

New Trustees are elected at each Annual Meeting in May. More information about the Board and election of Trustees can be found in the Bylaws at Revised & Restated LRAA Bylaws (Article 8).

In general, a Trustee is expected to:

  • Be interested in Lost River as a great place to live and vacation.

  • Participate in monthly Board meetings.

  • Be interested in Lost River as a great place to live and vacation.

  • Participate in monthly Board meetings. Those meetings usually are held via telephone conference, however the Board tries to meet occasionally in person.

  • Attend the Annual Member Meeting and be present during that weekend. The Annual Member Meeting is held on the Sunday before Memorial Day in May.

  • Work together with other Trustees, as needed.

  • Assist with researching and responding to requests for information and other communications sent to the Board.

Time commitment averages 2 - 4 hours a month.

No prior Board experience needed. Board members do not need to be full-time residents of Lost River.

Please contact Ron Suter if you’re interested in serving on the Board or would like to learn more. Use our Contact Us form and select “Become a Trustee” from the topic dropdown.

 
Lost River Airport Association
Information about WUCIOA (#2)
 

This is the second in a series of communications intended to inform LRAA members about the results of the Board’s review of the new Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA).

We have created a Q & A area on the LRAA Governance page to publish responses to member questions regarding the WUCIOA (Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act). Future member questions and Board responses about WUCIOA will be found there.

Please use the website Contact Us form [ select Governance (WUCIOA) from the topic dropdown ] to submit your questions to the LRAA Board.

(Questions sent by members may have been slightly edited to remove personal information and to allow for clear, concise responses. An effort has been made to stay true to the question/concern being raised.)

MEMBER QUESTION #1
Did we vote to join WUCIOA at our May membership meeting?

BOARD ANSWER #1
The vote taken at the 2019 LRAA Annual Meeting was not on whether to adopt WUCIOA in full.  Rather, it was to determine whether, given the implications of a recent court case involving LRAA, the Members attending that meeting felt it was worth the time and expense for the Board to evaluate and explain WUCIOA more fully.  As a result of the interest shown by what appeared to be a clear majority of those Members, the Board is now evaluating the law and has put onto the website the first of a series of communications on the results of that effort. We will continue to add content over the coming months as we continue our evaluation.

Using the procedure called for by WUCIOA (RCW 64.90.095) we will have a discussion of that law at the 2020 Annual Meeting, followed a short time thereafter by a written vote of all Members.  Here’s a link to Section .095 in case you’re interested reading it yourself: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.90.095.

MEMBER QUESTION #2
One of the two mandatory sections of WUCIOA, 64.90.525, appears to give more power to the board to raise dues than they’ve had in the past. It appears to say that a budget proposed by the board must be rejected by the votes of a majority of the total membership or it passes. Today doesn’t a majority present at the meeting have to vote to approve the proposed budget?

BOARD RESPONSE #2
There are a couple things to think about here.

First, this provision imposes mandatory obligations on ALL Washington common interest communities including LRAA, so we cannot avoid compliance with it. See: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.90.525

Second, the new law talks about the “votes” of a majority of the membership. Under LRAA’s Revised and Restated Bylaws, members may vote by proxy or by mailed in proxy. They need not be present at the Annual Membership Meeting to have their votes counted.

Third, under LRAA’s current Bylaws it does not take a “majority” of the membership to approve a budget. Today a quorum of the Members for purposes of conducting business at the Annual Membership meeting, where the annual budget is voted on, is 25% of the members in good standing, present in person or by proxy. We currently have 172 Members (not counting Access Owners who can’t vote on the budget). 25% of that number is 43. If only 43 members attended an annual membership meeting, 22 members could approve a proposed budget.

The Board hopes that this new law encourages more members to become aware of and engaged in the business of the Association. At the end of the day, members should elect Trustees who they trust to do a good job for all members. Those of us currently serving on the Board hopes the membership feels we’ve done that.

RELATED LINKS

 
 
Lost River Airport Association