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::: COMMUNITY NEWS
Julie Sams appointed to seat on RMA board Published Thursday, June 30, 2005 Julie Sams was appointed to the Rancho Murieta Association board of directors on the first ballot Tuesday night. She received four of the six votes cast. The directors voted by paper ballot and did not reveal their choices. More than 60 people packed the Community Services Building board room to witness the selection process. Some sat on the floor and others ended up standing when all the chairs were taken. The meeting was not videotaped for broadcast to the community.
Sams, a resident since 1999, was selected after the board interviewed five candidates to serve out the 17 months remaining in Dick Cox's term. Cox resigned from the board in May for health reasons. The other candidates were Jim Herrman, a self-employed real estate appraiser; Bonita Jones, a teacher at Cosumnes River Elementary School; Rowie Sizemore, a manager for the City of Sacramento, and Mel Standart, a retired manager in the aeronautics field. Standart and Jones each received one vote. Sams is an associate project manager for the UC Davis Architecture and Engineering Department. Board members asked the candidates questions about the cable system, plans for a new elementary school, community representation on the board, committee and board experience, selecting amenities for the community and upholding the CC&Rs. The questions didn't deal with development issues, although the process played out against that backdrop. On Monday, Rancho Murieta Development Concerned Citizens Committee member Candy Chand sent out a mass e-mailing endorsing Sams on behalf of the RMDCCC and asking people to come to the meeting to show their support and cheer for her. In her e-mail, Chand described the appointment as "crucial" because "the pro-development faction is in a power struggle to regain control of the board." Prior to the meeting, Ted Hart, another leading member of the RMDCCC, sent a letter to the RMA board, and shared it with others in the community, stating that Cox's resignation should not provide board members "with an opportunity to exercise their own beliefs ... Let those candidates with publicly expressed views differing from Dick's stand for election in November…." Hart's letter did not endorse a candidate or mention any of them by name. Cox was an outspoken critic of the Mutual Benefit Agreement and current plans for development who promised to be the "worst nightmare" of the RMA board when he ran for office in 2003. He and Director Mike Martel received the RMDCCC's endorsement in that election. At Tuesday's meeting, candidate Jim Herrman, who is seen by some as pro-development for expressing views that differ with some RMDCCC positions, thanked his supporters, whom he identified by the green shirts they wore to the meeting. Except for one instance, the audience was quiet and attentive while the directors interviewed the candidates. The exception occurred during Herrman's interview. He asked the directors if he could explain a point he made about amenities and some audience members reacted by audibly muttering "no." Director Elliot Sevier deviated from his standard questions to the candidates to ask Herrman about a rumor that he had "some special financial relationship with some builders out here." Herrman replied that he had no ties or financial arrangements with any developer. Sevier said he asked the question because "sometimes you have to take these rumors by the head and give them a good whack." Mel Standart was the only candidate who has served on RMA committees. He has also regularly attended RMA board meetings for the past four years. Jones has lived in the community for 22 years and now serves on the townhouse association's landscape committee. Sizemore has lived in the community six months and said he is concerned about issues related to growth. Sams first came to public attention in May when she spoke at the special RMA meeting on the draft environmental impact report for two subdivisions proposed for Murieta North. During her 18-minute interview at Tuesday's meeting, Sams said she manages construction and infrastructure systems in her job with UC Davis. She provided details about her 20 years of committee experience with residential, commercial and industrial development. She said her corporate work over the past 15 years has involved interpreting environmental law and working with legal staff and described herself as "a quick study." This will be the first time she has served as a board director. Some in the audience were surprised at Sams' response to Director Donni Quinlan's question about the issues involved with locating a new elementary school on Stonehouse Road. Sams asked, "Would that be inside the development or outside the development?" After being told that the school site, which was proposed last year, is outside the development, Sams listed access requirements, the community's resources for supporting a school, and how it fits into the community as issues that should be considered. Sams was unclear about when RMA board meetings are held and how often RMA committees meet, but said her schedule was flexible enough to accommodate meetings as long as they didn't occur weekly. Sams concluded the interview with a question of her own about liability insurance coverage for directors. President Paul Gumbinger assured her the association has directors' liability insurance and "it protects you personally from any lawsuit that would be brought forth by a citizen." "You can avoid personal liability if you act in good faith, in the best interests of the corporation as a whole," said General Manager Kathryn Henricksen. "That's called meeting your fiduciary responsibilities," said Sevier. "Failure to do that can get you into trouble." During a brief discussion before the vote, Gumbinger said all the candidates would make great board members. "All have something different to offer," he noted. Director Jack Cooper pointed out that the seats held by Gumbinger, Sevier, and Director Pamela Haines are coming up for election in November, although Sevier is in the process of selling his home and plans to leave the board before his term is up. Directors are elected to three-year terms. Haines applauded both the candidates and the people who turned out for the meeting, saying their continued participation in the association will ensure a "successful future." Sams' first official act was to vote for a new secretary. Martel resigned the position when he took over for Cox as treasurer. Quinlan and Haines were nominated and Quinlan was elected on a 4-3 vote of the seven directors.
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