2020 Annual Member Letter
 

Dear LRAA Members,

We hope that this letter finds you healthy and safe during this unprecedented health crisis. Your LRAA Board has been working to determine the implications of the governor’s Stay at Home order for LRAA and our annual membership meeting. The purpose of this letter is to explain the board’s decisions and to provide an update on important Association business.

ANNUAL MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
The first news is that the board has voted to postpone the annual membership meeting originally scheduled for May 24th. We felt this was necessary in order to protect the health and safety of our members. Currently Gov. Inslee’s order extends to May 4th. Even if the meeting is allowed under the new orders, social distancing at a meeting with around 80 people is a challenge. Many of our members who traditionally attend the meeting are of an age that is considered a high health risk. Last year it rained during the meeting and we had to move inside the firehouse, which would not be possible with social distancing requirements.  We debated the option of hosting a phone or video conference but decided that the logistics of doing so would not allow our members to adequately attend or participate in the meeting. Our hope is that we will be able to reschedule sometime later in the summer or fall. We will keep the website updated, and we will send out an email blast and postcards to inform everyone as soon as possible if a new date can be set later in 2020.                  

EMERGENCY BYLAWS
In view of the governor’s Stay Home, Stay Safe proclamation, and rules adopted by the county, state, and federal authorities, and on advice of the association legal counsel, the board adopted Emergency Bylaws on April 5thunder the authority of RCW 23B.02.070. These Emergency Bylaws are valid only during the emergency order. They provide the board with the ability to change the date of the annual meeting, allow voting in different formats if needed, clarify the establishment of a quorum, and to fill vacant board positions. The Emergency Bylaws are posted on the website.

WUCIOA
Due to postponement of the Annual Membership Meeting and uncertainties surrounding how many members will be able to attend a later annual meeting, the board has decided to delay addressing some important issues until the 2021 annual meeting. These issues include a discussion of whether to be governed by WUCIOA and revisions to our bylaws required by those provisions of WUCIOA that apply to LRAA, whether we decide to be governed by all of WUCIOA or not. Both topics will be on the agenda at the 2021 meeting. The board will take steps to comply with the mandatory WUCIOA requirements in the meantime. One of those requirements is to have a Reserve Study done. The board has already contracted with a reserve study professional to do that study, which will be completed in the coming weeks. The results will be posted on the website.                            

BUDGET
The board created a budget for 2021 that needs to be approved by the membership. Since our fiscal year ends December 31st, there is no hurry to approve the new budget. Our hope is that this can take place at the rescheduled meeting this summer or fall. If circumstances do not allow our meeting to be rescheduled and the budget is not approved, our bylaws say that we will continue with the previously approved budget (2020). It is our belief that this would not create a hardship for the association since the 2021 budget is not substantially different than the 2020 budget. 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
The LRAA currently has five open board positions. One board member has moved and is no longer in our community; two board members are term-limited and must rotate off; one board member is choosing not to run for a second term; and one board member is resigning with one year left in his term.  The board is going to emergency-appoint five new members. This will allow the board to continue with the full complement of nine members. According to our bylaws, emergency appointments last until the next membership meeting, when the members will vote to officially fill the positions. Again, more information regarding the new Board members will be posted on the website.                                                             

Please continue to check the website for updates and information regarding the Annual Meeting. If you have questions or concerns, please send them to us via the “Contact Us” form or to our Business Manager at lraa.business@gmail.com or (509) 996-3215.

Sincerely, 
LRAA Board

 
Lost River Airport Association
LRAA Tree Trimming
 

The Okanogan County Electric Co-op scheduled the Lost River to Mazama Store area for tree trimming in 2020. The purpose of this work is to ensure appropriate clearance of trees/limbs from OCEC structures responsible for conducting electricity. OCEC is fully responsible for managing this project, including the scheduling of work and scope of work.

OCEC was able to begin the work this past February. The Co-op plans to return to clean up and chip the downed branches. However, given the COVID-19 pandemic, the time frame for getting this work done is not yet determined.

Any questions should be directed to OCEC at (509) 996-2228. More information can be found on the OCEC website under Quick Links, “Tree Trimming [pdf]".

 
Lost River Airport Association
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