Wednesday, September 9th, 2026

ONLINE ZOOM MEETING

Trustees Present:

Manager(s) Present: Will Rutledge (Rutledge Mgmt); Kim Clinco RMAS; James Gordon HCUS

Manager Absent: Will Rutledge (Rutledge Mgmt)

Homeowners Present (for all or some): Gayle Morgan

Quorum and Minutes: The minutes of the Trustees meeting of Wednesday August 12, 2026 were approved as submitted.

Public Comment and General Trustee Comments if any:

• None

Consent Agenda Reports:

The following were unanimously approved after a motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Sharon Caulfield and seconded by Beth Blackmer.

• The monthly financial reports dated August 31, 2026 as submitted by bookkeeper Kim Clinco were received and accepted without change.
• The End of Year Financials for the LECVHOA were received and accepted without change. The reserve account at the start of the 2026-2027 fiscal year has funds in the amount of $675,661.
• Rutledge’s monthly report is available through Google Docs.
• High Country Utility Services’ monthly report was deferred to be provided verbally below.

Consideration of Items removed from Consent Agenda:

• None

Water Systems - High Country Utility Services:

Domestic water systems

1. Backup Energy Source: The Board discussed whether some backup energy plan and equipment should be installed at the pump house. James Gordon of HCUS stated that the pump house currently requires about 200 amp service to run the pumps at steady capacity. It has been noted that there have been occasional power outages that seem to be increasing in frequency. Several years ago at the time of the Lake Christine fire board members reported that Holy Cross Energy’s main power line into the upper Roaring Fork Valley was very nearly severed. James Gordon noted that with gravity feed from the tank above East Sopris Road the subdivision could likely be served for three to five days, especially if residents were able to conserve water usage. To reach about a week’s water supply, therefore, James believes that a backup system that might be able to run the system for about another three days would likely be adequate. The Board agreed that additional information should be obtained from Aspen CORE, Holy Cross Energy, and our electrical consultants to determine the most effective and economical means to develop a reasonable backup energy source.
2. Short-out of pump electrical lines: The electrical shorts associated with the well lines replaced in 2024 have been identified. Samuelson has replaced the pump that had stopped working (which is how the electrical shorts were discovered, when that pump was purportedly isolated). HCUS and Samuelson recommend that the old electrical lines be abandoned, as they are colocated with the water transit lines and are relatively deep. New electrical lines would then be installed in shallower conduit. Trenching will be required for this revision, and will be accomplished after the busy irrigation season is complete.
3. Water Leaks:The water line leak at the Baar home at 50 Alexander has been resolved. The Board discussed that the Eye on Water system identifies leaks, but owners may not be aware of them if the owners have not opted in to receiving notifications on such leaks. Sharon Caulfield moved, and John Ott seconded the motion to require all homeowners to receive such notifications as to their own homes. The motion was adopted unanimously. Will Rutledge is able to add all homeowner emails to the Eye on Water system so that homeowners can be notified without having to opt in. The process for such notifications was clarified so that if the notification was not sufficient to engage the homeowner to resolve the leak, then HCUS will send an email to the homeowner to provide a secondary means of notice. If the leak remains active after the email, then either HCUS or Will Rutledge will call or make a personal visit to the homeowner to ensure the homeowner is aware of the issue. A policy will be developed and adopted by the Board to document the adoption of this process and the new policy will be explained in a subsequent newsletter.

Irrigation Matters:

Ongoing maintenance matters: HCUS will install a new steel canal gate this year at the lateral split located at 61 Davidson; the concrete canal gate at the Hedges structure can be fitted with a locking mechanism and this also will be done this year.

The water flow through the Boram and White Ditch has improved and been more consistent since the board sent its communications to the Boram and White Ditch board expressing that at least 3.5 cfs should be diverted at the Capitol Creek headgate so that the LECVHOA minimum irrigation/septic/fire mitigation needs can be met. The illegal ditch tampering on the central ditch that was experienced earlier in the summer appears to have been resolved by these changes. James Gordon reported that he and Boram and White Ditch manager have been in touch at least twice per month concerning ditch flow and management, which is an improvement.

The Little Elk Creek Ditch has continued to flow low during this month. Homeowner Jeff Weiss has communicated frequently that the ditch has been dry. James Gordon concurs that this has been a very difficult summer. There should be .81 cfs in the ditch for HOA uses. Sharon Caulfield noted that the Little Elk Creek Ditch Company has engaged attorney Gabe Racz of Clark Hill to review the water rights of the ditch company and identify any means by which ditch flows can be required to become more consistent. It was noted that some of the homeowners served by the Little Elk Creek Ditch take their water directly from the ditch, and that development of short-term storage should be encouraged for these properties.

ACA: 

• 7 Alexander Avenue (Howard):. the questions concerning the stability of the ditch structure at this property remain. Landscaping, ditch and irrigation plans have not yet been submitted and must be approved by the board. Will Rutledge was asked to engage with the contractor and homeowner to find a path to resolution of these serious issues. Will also will review the situation of electrical meter placement and advise the Board about how to proceed.

Old Business: 

• Banking:. ow that the Wells Fargo CD investments have been consolidated to Alpine Bank, Beth Blackmer will work with John Ott and Tony Rizzo to remove former President Rizzo from the Association’s bank accounts.
• Infrastructure:. Weed mitigation is a Pitkin County requirement. The HOA’s weed contractors will be on site within the month of September to address thistle. Certain homeowners along the central ditch have significant thistle infestation. Beth Blackmer and John Ott will reach out to these homeowners to encourage voluntary compliance; if such compliance is not completed, Will Rutledge will send a letter notifying the homeowners that they "must mitigate or treat" the infestation.
  
  At the Board’s request, Will Rutledge reached out to Pitkin County wildfire agencies to notify them that the HOA’s ponds can be used for fire protection or to fight wildfire. Will reports that no further action is necessary for this notice to be effective.
• Policies:. Will Rutledge reports that the fines that may be imposed for the life of any policy violation is $500 under Colorado law. Any enforcement policy therefore must carefully define how a violation is measured. Will Rutledge and Sharon Caulfield will collaborate to prepare updated collections and policy enforcement policies for Board review.
  
  The Board considered whether a more formal process for document management and sharing would be helpful as the new management system has been implemented with Rutledge and Company and decided that no new document management policies are required.
  
  The Board requested that Treasurer Beth Blackmer and Kim Clinco confer to implement Treasurer access to the Association’s QuickBooks accounts. Beth Blackmer does have current on-line access to the Alpine Bank operational accounts for oversight, and has encouraged more frequently and timely bill payment from that account. Beth is considering how to train a new Treasurer for the HOA as she intends to cycle out of that role.
  
  The Articles of Incorporation of the Association have been amended a number of times and are cumbersome to work with. Sharon Caulfield will work with legal counsel and Will Rutledge to prepare proposed Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation to be presented to the Association members at the June 2027 Annual meeting.
  
  In light of the challenges the board has faced with the 7 Alexander ditch, irrigation and landscaping procedures, the Board discussed making an amendment to the Architectural Guidelines to clarify that ditch, irrigation and landscaping plans must be provided to the ACA Board at the time of approval of a remodeling or building application, rather than delayed til closer to completion of the construction project. A proposed amendment will be brought to the Board in October.

 New Business:

• The snow removal company for the HOA’s roadways will remain the same as last year – M&M Snow Removal. Will Rutledge will send an email in the fall to notify homeowners that if they wish to piggyback upon the HOA’s plowing service, they may do so.

There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm. The next Trustee meeting will be September 9, 2026.

Respectfully submitted,