Of Bears and Budgets, April 2021
 
2020 LRAA bear sightings

2020 LRAA bear sightings

Hello LRAA Members,

Every Spring we have a couple of black bears that roam around the community looking for food near the river and throughout the community. So far, they seem to leave people alone, but we do not want the bears to learn that they can get food here.  We are asking all members to do their part to keep the bears away. 

The dumpster is the first place we are asking for your help. The bears can push the sliding doors open.  Already this year they have made it into the dumpsters, where they have pulled garbage out looking for food.  To prevent this, we are locking the sliding doors from the inside, and we are asking that members use the side door to access the dumpsters.  If you need to use the sliders, you can unlock them and lock them back up when you are finished.  If you notice the sliders unlocked, please lock them. 

For now, we are not locking the side door, so no one needs to know the key code yet.  Eventually we will lock the side door as well to keep non-members from using our dumpsters, but now our priority is keeping the bears out.  We can safely assume that these bears do not have opposable thumbs and thus will not be able to turn the doorknob.

Please help us with this new procedure. We realize that this is a change to the way members are used to accessing the dumpsters, but we feel this is a small inconvenience to protect both the community and the bears.  If you have a better idea for keeping the bears out, please let us know.

Be BearWise around your property. You can also help by storing all garbage indoors at your own home/cabin, feeding your pets indoors, cleaning and covering your outdoor grills, and removing food from bird feeders until the bears move to higher ground. 

On a separate note, keep an eye on the website over the next week for 2022 budget information. In the coming days we will post the proposed 2022 budget along with an explanation of changes to the budget.  This budget will need to be approved by members at the upcoming membership meeting, which has been rescheduled to Labor Day weekend assuming public health circumstances allow. 

Thanks for your help.

Jef Rettmann
LRAA President

Be BearWise!

bearwise-logo.png

“When bears emerge from dens, their digestive systems are sluggish and may take a week or two to gradually normalize. Then, hunger hits hard, and despite eating Spring foods, such as grass, dandelions and tree cambium, their bodies slowly lose more and more fat reserves until WA berries start to ripen.”

For additional facts and (safety) tips for how to live responsibly with black bears, please visit BearWise.

The policy of the DF&W is NOT to capture and relocate bears. If a bear becomes a problem, they will euthanize it. As Sargent Christensen said, “a fed bear is a dead bear.”

If you encounter an actively aggressive bear call the Washington State Patrol at (509) 227-6650 and they will dispatch enforcement officers. Also contact the LRAA through the Contact Us form on our website.

 
Lost River Airport Association
Annual Meeting, WUCIOA and Proposed Bylaw Changes
 

The purpose of this post is to provide some updates regarding LRAA business.

1. At our Feb. 21st meeting, the LRAA board voted to postpone our May membership meeting. Our feeling is that by May we will still not be able to safely hold the meeting. Our current plan is to reschedule the meeting for Sunday, Sept. 5th of Labor Day weekend. If by Labor Day we are still not able to hold our meeting, we will schedule a membership meeting on Zoom. One way or the other, we will have a membership meeting in September.

2. Two documents have been added to the LRAA website Governance page (under WUCIOA) that relate to changes in the state law that governs homeowner’s associations. The new law, WUCIOA, requires LRAA to make some revisions to our bylaws to comply with the law. We have been posting a series of documents, produced by our Governance Committee, explaining how the new law will impact LRAA. We recently posted WUCIOA Information #4. We have also just posted the proposed revisions to our bylaws. These revisions will need to be approved by the membership at our next membership meeting, but the board believes these revisions are required to comply with the mandatory portion of the new law. If you have questions or concerns, we encourage you to email us through the website. We will consider concerns and post our responses.

LRAA also has the option to opt into a voluntary portion of WUCIOA. The board is recommending that the association take this step. The Governance Committee is now working on the requirements and implications of the voluntary portion of WUCIOA. We will post information on this as we have it ready. Members will have the opportunity to vote on this portion of WUCIOA. Our intent is to pursue this at our upcoming membership meeting.

3. One of the requirements of WUCIOA is that the board have a Reserve Study completed. We received the study last Spring, but significant changes needed to be made before we felt comfortable making the study public. The study is now posted on the Governance page of the website. The board is making the final decisions regarding the plan to fund the reserve. The details of the funding plan will be posted on the website by May 1st, along with the proposed budget for the coming year.

If you have questions or concerns, please use the website Contact Us page to send us a message.

RELATED LINKS

 
Lost River Airport Association
Information about WUCIOA (#4)
 

This is the fourth 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).

LRAA Bylaw Changes Required by 
Mandatory Provisions of WUCIOA

The Washington legislature made a number of WUCIOA provisions mandatory for existing common interest communities including LRAA. These mandatory provisions require that amendments and additions be made to LRAA’s Amended and Restated Bylaws so that LRAa is in compliance with the new law. Summaries of those Bylaw additions and changes appear below. Members will have an opportunity to review and vote on the specific language at the next annual membership meeting. “RCW” refers to the Revised code of Washington.

For more information on the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) and why we are talking about it, please vist our Governance page.

1. RCW 64.90.405 paragraphs (1) (b) & (c) RE mandatory and require LRAA to do two things: adopt budgets and impose assessments for common expenses and specially allocated expenses on the members, as described in RCW 64.90.525. RCW 64.90.525 is also mandatory and describes how budgets, assessments and special assessments are to be handled.

The budget process described in WUCIOA is similar to the process LRAA currently follows, with a few exceptions. The new law imposes timing obligations on the Board that are slightly different than those called for in our existing Bylaws. Under WUCIOA a copy of the proposed budget must be sent to each member within thirty days of its adoption by the board along with a notice of a meeting where the budget will be considered by the members. Our existing Bylaws specify the timing of that notice at “no less that 14 nor more than 60 days prior to the meeting, while WUCIOA requires the notice to be sent no less than 14 nor more than 50 days prior to the meeting.

Another difference is that our existing Bylaws call for the members to “approve” the proposed budget, whereas WUCIOA requires that unless a majority of members at that meeting “reject” the proposed budget, it is deemed “ratified.” Either way members are able to decide on LRAa’s budget.

RCW 64.90.525 provides a detailed list of the information the Board must include in the annual budget, while our existing Bylaws include a more general description of what must be included. The greater details provides more information to members. Some new categories of information that will be provided includes the current amount of regular assessments budgeted for contribution to the required reserve account, a statement of whether the association has a reserve study that meets the requirements of the law, the extent to which the budget meets or deviates from the recommendations of that reserve study, and the current deficiency or surplus in reserve funding.

Our existing Bylaws allow the Board to impose special assessments “if required for the proper operation of the Association.” Under this mandatory WUCIOA provision, the Board is still permitted to impose special assessments, but they become effective only if the Board follows the procedures for ratification of a budget by the members. That means members must be notified of the perceived need for a special assessment and provides them an opportunity to consider the need for a special assessment.

RCW 64.90.405 and RCW 64.90.525 require amendments to LRAA’s Revised and Re-stated Bylaw Articles 6.03, 11 and 12.

2. RCW 64.90.480 relates to expenses incurred by LRAA that are caused by the willful misconduct or gross negligence of any member or that member's tenant, guest, invitee, or occupant. Those expenses may be assessed against the member, but that assessment can only be made after notice and an opportunity for the member to be heard.

RCW 64.90.480 requires an amendment to LRAA’s Revised and Re-stated Bylaw 12.01.

3. RCW 64.90.545 requires LRAA to prepare and update a reserve study. The initial reserve study must be prepared by a reserve study professional. This study must be updated annually, but only the study update performed every third year must be prepared by a reserve study professional.

RCW 64.90.545 requires the addition of a new Bylaw 11.09.

4. RCW 64.90.535 requires LRAA to establish one or more reserve accounts for the deposit of reserve funds. That account must be an income-earning account that is maintained under the direct control of the Board.

RCW 64.90.540 requires the addition of a new Bylaw 11.10.

5. RCW 64.90.540 allows the Board to withdraw funds from the reserve account to pay for unforeseen or un-budgeted costs that are unrelated to replacement costs of the reserve components. Withdrawals must be recorded in Board meeting Minutes and the board must give notice of the withdrawal to each

member. Finally, the Board must adopt a repayment schedule to bring the reserve account back up to the appropriate level.

Reserve account withdrawals to pay for replacement costs of reserve components not included in the reserve study do not require notice.

RCW 64.90.540 requires the addition of a new Bylaw 11.11.

6. RCW 64.90.550 describes the details of what a reserve study must include. The burden of complying with this provision would fall on the reserve study professional.

The requirements of RCW 64.90.550 are addressed in language included in a new Bylaw 11.09.01.

7. RCW 64.90.555 allows members to demand that the cost of a reserve study: i) be included in the next annual budget, ii) be done by a reserve study professional and iii) be prepared by the end of that budget year. Assuming that budget is not rejected by the members, the board must comply with the members’ demand.

RCW 64.90.555 requires the addition of a new Bylaw 11.12.

8. RCW 64.90.560 limits the monetary damages or other liability that may be awarded against or imposed upon the association or its officers or board members, or any person who may have provided advice or assistance to the association for failure to: establish or replenish a reserve account, have a current reserve study prepared or updated, or make reserve disclosures.

RCW 64.90.560 requires the addition of a new Bylaw 11.13.

RELATED LINKS

 
Lost River Airport Association
ALERT! Low Flow Water Restrictions in Effect
 

Lost River Members,
 
As if Covid-19 and dangerous air quality are not enough to deal with, we have one new challenge to address:  the Lost River community is now under a restricted water usage permit based on the water flow in the Methow River. Under the restricted permit, we can now only draw 74 GALLONS/PER DAY/PER WATER CONNECTION until the river flow rises above a minimum level. At our current water usage rate, we will certainly exceed this restricted allowance. If this happens, the Department of Ecology (DOE) can impose sanctions on LRAA which will likely result in fines. 
 
Effective immediately, to comply with DOE requirements, all outside watering is banned until further notice. This includes the use of sprinklers, as well as washing vehicles or using a pressure washer.  Further, we ask that all members make an effort to conserve water usage within their household by employing every possible water-saving strategy, such as not running the water while brushing your teeth, taking shorter showers, minimizing loads of laundry, fixing any running faucets and toilets, etc. See additional water usage details below this message, including a link to a “Water Footprint Calculator.”
 
We are putting out “No Outdoor Watering” signs along the entry roads. Jim Brousseau, the board member who oversees the water system, is personally talking to the highest water users in the community. If everyone stops all outdoor water usage and conserves indoor usage, we can stay under our water allotment and avoid fines.
 
If we fail at our conservation efforts and are fined by DOE, we will have to pass this cost on to members, particularly to the highest water users. We would like to avoid this, so we are asking everyone to cooperate with the conservation efforts.  
 
Thanks for your help in addressing this issue.  
 
Sincerely,
 
Jef Rettmann
LRAA President

The number of gallons of water the average American uses in each room, per day, according to the EPA:

  • TOILET – 18.5 gallons per person/per day
  • WASHING MACHINE – 15 gallons per person/per day
  • SHOWER – 11.6 gallons per person/per day
  • FAUCET – 10.9 gallons per person/per day
  • DISHWASHER – 1 gallon per person/per day

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-specification-home-suppstatement-v1.0.pdf

The USGS breaks water use averages down even further:

  • TOILET – 1.6 to 4 gallons per flush, depending on type of toilet
  • WASHING MACHINE – 25 to 40 gallons per load, depending on type of machine
  • SHOWER – 2 to 5 gallons per minute, depending on the type of shower head
  • FAUCET – 1 to 2 gallons per use, depending on type (e.g. brush teeth, shave, wash face/hands, etc.)
  • DISHWASHER – 6 to 16 gallons per load, depending on type of machine
  • HANDWASHING DISHES – 8 to 27 gallons per load, depending on method

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity-percapita.php

For an estimate of how much water you and your family currently use each day, use this handy Water Footprint Calculator and get started conserving today!

 
Lost River Airport AssociationLost River Airport Associaton
ALERT! No Fireworks in LRAA!
 

Fireworks prohibited in unincorporated areas of Okanogan County

https://www.codepublishing.com/WA/OkanoganCounty/#!/OkanoganCounty08/OkanoganCounty0848.html

County Code 8.48.020
It is unlawful for any person, firm, copartnership or corporation to offer for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail, or use or explode any fireworks in the county in areas lying outside of the incorporated cities and towns thereof.

Please keep everyone and their property safe by observing this fireworks ordinance.

No Fireworks on Public Lands

https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/okawen/alerts-notices/?aid=59817

June 30, 2020
Fire officials remind all those headed out to public lands this Fourth of July weekend to leave fireworks at home.

Fireworks are prohibited on national forests at all times. Anyone who starts a wildfire can be held liable for suppression costs.

Violators can be subject to a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail (36 CFR 261.52). Fireworks are also prohibited on public lands managed by Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Washington State Parks, and county / city parks.

Visitors are also urged to take safety precautions with campfires:
• Keep campfires small and preferably in designated campfire ring
• Keep water and shovel nearby and never leave fire unattended
• Completely extinguish campfire by drowning it with water and stirring with shovel

Lower elevation areas have already dried out and could easily spread a wildfire ignited by fireworks.

 
Lost River Airport Association