RMA
mulls whether to rebroadcast 1997 board meeting on development
document
Related
story: Builders
close escrow on Murieta Hills development land, triggering
$1.4 million for new North Gate (December 28, 2004)
Published
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
A 45-minute
discussion about Director Dick Cox's request to rebroadcast
a tape of a 1997 Rancho Murieta Association board meeting
renewed board conflicts about the Mutual Benefit Agreement
at December's meeting.
The
board postponed a decision on the tape until the directors
can view it and consult with legal counsel.
Among
other actions taken at Dec. 21's five-hour meeting, the
RMA board approved an aggressive pricing plan for its broadband
operation and agreed to establish an ad hoc committee for
a new North Gate. (See related story.)
The
tape deals with the Letter Agreement, the precursor to the
MBA. The agreement had been signed the month before the
taped meeting. The meeting reportedly includes about an
hour of comments by board members and several residents
on the terms of the document, which development opponents
say was kept secret from the community.
The
videotape was recorded by a resident from a 1997 broadcast
of the meeting.
The
RMA does not archive tapes of its meetings, in keeping with
the advice of legal counsel, said General Manager Greg Vorster.
The Community Services District has a similar policy, keeping
audio recordings of its board meetings for only 30 days.
At Tuesday's
meeting, Vorster pointed out that the Letter Agreement was
not a settlement of the lawsuit between the RMA and the
Pension Trust Fund of the Operating Engineers, although
it is often characterized that way.
"This
was simply a letter agreement saying these are the facts
that both sides are agreeing to. Now you can take that letter
agreement and develop a formal, final agreement. That never
happened until the MBA," explained Vorster.
Two
years ago, when the text
of the agreement was released to the membership, Vorster
said lawyers for the RMA and the PTF had been meeting before
a judge twice a year since the letter was signed to explain
that a settlement had not yet been reached.
At that
time, he characterized the Letter Agreement as the "base
document" for the MBA. The MBA expanded on conditions
outlined in the Letter Agreement to become the settlement
of the lawsuit. (See 2002 coverage here.)
The
negotiating points of the MBA have been available to the
public since November 2000, when they were presented at
the annual membership meeting. A draft of the MBA was released
in October 2002. A year later, the document was signed.
In addition
to the transfer of parks to the RMA and developer participation
in the Parks Agreement, the MBA caps the number of homes
that can be built in Murieta North, secures $1.4 million
from the PTF for a new front gate, establishes road-impact
fees, provides $75,000 for an Escuela gate, and mandates
dues contributions to RMA from homeowners in the new areas,
who would belong to a separate master homeowners association.
According
to Cox, who, like the other directors, hadn't seen
the tape, former RMA director John Merchant appears on it
explaining "why it was in the best interests of Rancho
Murieta to sign this Letter Agreement … and there
is some objection by four members who come to the podium
to speak." Cox said one of the dissenting speakers
is Ted Hart, now a member of the Rancho Murieta Development
Concerned Citizens Committee, a group that opposes current
development plans. Merchant is now the president of the
CSD.
Cox
said he thought the tape was "pertinent piece of information"
for the talks that will be conducted among the county, developers,
development opponents and community representatives early
next year. He said it represents "the history of how
we got where we are today."
Director
Mike Martel said, "The members are really upset about
the signing of the MBA." He termed the Letter Agreement
"the cause of the cancer that was done secretly. …
I would like to see this tape aired. It may give me answers
that I am not aware of …"
Director
Pamela Haines read from minutes of the 1997 meeting which
say Merchant explained and summarized the terms of the agreement.
President
Paul Gumbinger said the issues the tape could raise made
it "almost like a witch-hunt," a characterization
that was taken up later in the discussion by Director Elliot
Sevier, who called the tape "an historical document"
that didn't represent the whole picture or allow for
what's been presented at "a whole raft of subsequent,
follow-up meetings this board has had."
"…This
is a form of a witch-hunt," Sevier said. "I
think it's associated with going after John Merchant.
I think it's associated with trying to vilify him
but, at the same time, sanctify Ted Hart and others."
Sevier added that Hart is "already on my saint list.
He's a gentleman and we can agree to disagree and
it's fine."
"I
happen to think there are probably some witches out here
that need to be hunted," Cox responded. "The
previous members on the board -- if they've got nothing
to hide, they shouldn't be worried about this."
Gumbinger,
Sevier, Haines and Cooper said they were concerned about
the legalities of showing the tape.
To see
past development coverage, click here
for a pop-up window with a four-year archive of stories,
photos and maps.
New
broadband pricing plan approved
The
directors approved a new pricing plan for RMA broadband
that includes a special, introductory rate of $19.99 for
three months for new subscribers signing up for the basic
service between now and Feb. 28.
Starting
March 1, new rates for basic service will take effect, lowering
the rates for current subscribers by $10 a month if they're
now paying $39.99 or $49.99 a month. Business users, a small
portion of the subscriber base, will see their rates increase,
although they will still be "cheap rates," said
Director Elliot Sevier, head of the Communications Committee.
He said
the new rates are designed to compete with SBC's $26.95
bundled basic rate for DSL and address the leveling off
of RMA broadband subscriber numbers at about 450.
Next
year's budget projections will not be met unless new
customers are added, he explained.
Since
the service was offered in May 2002, broadband has paid
back its start-up costs, become self-supporting, and provided
the association with income that offsets dues. Under new
contracts with service providers, some of the operating
costs have recently gone down.
The
introductory offer and the reduced rates are designed to
attract dial-up users, DSL customers, and newcomers to the
community, Sevier said when he presented the plan to the
Finance Committee a few days before the board meeting.
At the
Finance Committee meeting, Communications Committee member
Mark Miller, who proposed the approach, described it as
a "win-win situation" for new and existing subscribers.
He said he was confident that if people tried the system,
they would appreciate its speed and reliability and stay
on as subscribers at the new rates when the trial period
ended.
Both
the Communications and Finance Committees voted to recommend
the plan to the board.
The
Communications Committee is now working on a marketing plan.
New
development plan for Escuela school site
A new
plan for developing the 14 acres that were to be a school
site represents a complete about-face from earlier proposals,
but it generated little enthusiasm and more than a little
suspicion from some board members.
The
new River West Investments plan reduces the number of single-family,
detached houses from 64 to 39, agrees to make them custom
homes instead of tract houses, proposes to abide by RMA
Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, and to annex to
the association.
The
homes would be subject to RMA architectural control and
the developer would pay parks fees.
The
plan also restores a previously dropped four-acre park site
and proposes to complete the paving of Escuela to Stonehouse
Road.
Initial
plans called for no connection with the RMA and access from
Stonehouse Road instead of Escuela Drive.
In spite
of the fact that this is the sort of proposal some members
of the board have been pushing for from other Murieta North
developers, directors said they wanted to see larger lots
and more information about the houses planned for the site.
President
Paul Gumbinger said he was concerned about grading issues.
Director Dick Cox remarked that he wouldn't trust
anything a developer said.
River
West donated the property last year to a non-profit charitable
organization to receive a tax break, but is still involved
in shepherding the project through the county approval process.
In February, Bret Hogge, land use manager for River West,
said the firm will market the property to a builder for
$3 million or more, once the map is approved.
Hogge
has met with Gumbinger and General Manager Greg Vorster
to discuss the project and revise the plan. In order to
proceed with the revised map and an application to the RMA
for annexation, he requested preliminary plan approval from
the RMA board so the non-profit organization could release
funds for land planning and engineering.
The
board declined to vote on the project and instructed Vorster
to accept Hogge's offer to make a presentation of
the project, scheduling it for the January board meeting.
Contracts
and projects
Annual
meeting completed
New
directors Donni Quinlan and Jack Cooper went from being
appointed directors to elected ones during a fifteen-minute
continuation of the November annual meeting. The meeting
took place before Tuesday's regular board meeting.
The
annual meeting was able to proceed after the required quorum
of 889 votes -- 40 percent of the membership -- was reached.
A total of 894 votes were cast in the uncontested election.
A resolution
on excess revenue was adopted to spare the RMA the tax consequences
of year-end surplus funds by carrying the revenue into next
year's budget.
Committee
members approved:
Architectural
Review
Frank Dininger, chair
Paul Gumbinger, liaison
Bill Barnes
Robert Schindler
Chuck Hardy, alternate
Communications
Elliot Sevier, chair
Chuck Hardy
Mark Miller
Peter Telfer
Cate Merrit-Murphy
Compliance
Jack Cooper, chair
Jack Copeland
Judith Embree
Betty Warner
Jim Moore
Recreation
Donni Quinlan, chair
Caryl Abshire
Bob Kjome
Liz Swan
Doug Moore
Finance
Richard Cox, chair
Frank Pumilia
Bobbi Belton
Joe Ramage
Anthony Souza
Jon Snyder, alt.
Donna McLeod, alternate
Virginia Macko, alternate
Governing
Documents
Pamela Haines, chair
Mel Standart
Grey Christie
Gytis Gavelis
Jack Tavalario, alternate
Maintenance
Mike Martel, chair
Ray Helmick
Lee Hunt
Randy Jenco
Jim Villa
Blake Carmichael
Tim Whiting
Carolyn Kuhnz
