Wednesday, April 8th, 2026

ONLINE ZOOM MEETING

Trustees Present:

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

Homeowners Present (for all or some): Stephen Whitelande, George Johnson, Scott Keesling

Quorum and Minutes: The minutes of the Trustees meeting of Wednesday March 11, 2026 were approved as submitted.

Public Comment and General Trustee Comments if any:

• None

Consent Agenda Reports:

• The February 28, 2026 financial reports submitted by bookkeeper Kim Clinco were received and accepted without change. Kim will check with Tony Rizzo, webmaster, to find out why there is an extremely high charge for web hosting. She will also ensure that the tax filing is made in a timely fashion. (Although the HOA is a nonprofit corporation under Colorado law – meaning no shareholders expect any profit – it is not a charitable organization and so the HOA must file an annual tax return.)
• Adrian Aguilar and James Gordon of HC US were at the meeting in lieu of providing a written report.
• Rutledge’s monthly report is available through Google Docs.

Consideration of Items removed from Consent Agenda:

• None

Water Systems - High Country Utility Services: 

• CDPHE Domestic Water Inspection. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was on site for its periodic on-site review on February 25, 2026. On March 16, 2026, the CDPHE report was received and showed no deficiencies. On the other hand, the semi-annual water testing results from the identified homes showed that the copper readings are just at the top of the acceptable range for distribution. HCUS plans to reach out to the HOA’s civil engineering firm, JVA Engineering, to determine if any change in process needs to be made.
• Ditch Maintenance.

  The Board and HCUS discussed the challenges that will come with this extremely dry snowmelt year. The Little Elk Creek Ditch, which serves Alexander Avenue and others, will be turned on April 16 and we hope to have water by April 20. HCUS, Sharon Caulfield, Ned Andrews, Jose from Timberline, Will Rutledge, and Gabe Racz (attorney for LECDitch) walked the ditch on March 27. This was intended to introduce HCUS to the LECDitch system and to give Racz background to do requested work to identify the sources and legal rights to ditch water. James Gordon plans to have inventory photos weekly. The three main ditch laterals that serve LECV will be adjusted using wood stoppers to ensure that the water flow reaches the LECV irrigation pipes as soon as water is flowing to all ditch users (correcting for a 3" gap between the bottom of the diversion structure and the entry to the pipe).

  HCUS and Timberline have been in touch concerning replacement of the internal LECV lateral located on Davidson at the Fusaro’s home. Timberline has submitted engineering drawings to the concrete fabricator in Grand Junction and anticipates having the structure available for installation in mid-May.

  George Johnson spoke as the Ditch Manager for the length of the Boram and White Ditch. He has walked the ditch and believes it is generally in good shape to delivery water. He plans to turn on the ditch on April 13 (two weeks before the typical date) due to the very dry conditions in March. George will walk the ditch on April 10 with James Gordon, Adrian Aguilar, and Beth Hoff Blackmer to familiarize HCUS with the ditch distribution system.

  In light of the extreme drought situation, Carolyne Heldman moved and Eric Pelander seconded that all homeowners should irrigate only every other day. The motion passed unanimously. Homeowners will be notified by the newsletter and by a special email. Will Rutledge has prepared a map that shows that the west side of LECV should irrigate on odd numbered days of the month, and the east side of LECV should irrigate on the even numbered days. Homeowners can contact Will if they need help programming their systems for these odd-even arrangements. In May, July, and August, when there will be 31 days, everyone may irrigate. This system will remain in place so long as necessary; the Board may update the system if conditions change.

  Scott Keating had asked by email if it would be possible to check for any fertilizer or herbicide contamination in the irrigation water. While such tests are available, the Board asked HCUS to start by checking with upstream irrigators to determine whether such products are in use.

ACA: 

• The Board acknowledged its approval by email of the revised privacy fence proposal submitted by Stephen and Emma Whitelande at 184 Little Elk Creek Avenue.
• The Pelander family intends to put in a dog fence around the back side of their home on Haystack Avenue. As shown in the submitted materials, the fence will be similar to others in the neighborhood, with split rail buttressed with square wire. The Board approved the application for fencing subject to receipt of further comments from affected neighbors.
• The Keating/Lovendahl family has asked to replace and extend a split rail fence to separate their property from their neighbors the Smarts. The Board approved the submitted application.

Old Business: 

• Banking Resolution. Treasurer Beth Hoff Blackmer reported that Wells Fargo was unwilling to address the poor customer service LECV HOA received when Beth and President John Ott went into the WF office the Friday before a substantial CD was due to renew the following Monday, and were told that the renewal could not take place until the actual expiration date. Then when they went back slightly more than ten days later (due to family medical needs) WF stated that they had missed the renewal date. In light of this rebuff, Sharon Caulfield moved, and Beth Hoff Blackmer seconded, that in July the CD should be removed from Wells Fargo, the Wells Fargo accounts closed, and all investment funds should be moved to Alpine Bank. The motion passed unanimously.
• Wildfire Evacuation Plan. Many are worried about the risk of wildfire during this extreme drought. Some reports of an El Nino weather pattern give some hope. Nevertheless, the Board reviewed that the evacuation plan for our valley recommends use of the East Sopris Creek Road, reached either from Capitol Creek Road or over the Rose Spur through McCabe Ranch, in the event that a wildfire has blocked passage through the Snowmass Creek corridor.

 New Business:

• Good Neighbor Policies. Will Rutledge presented to the Board an update to the New Homeowner Welcome letter and the Good Neighbor Policies. The Board, having reviewed the policies and upon motion by Sharon Caulfield and seconded by Carolyne Heldman, unanimously approved the updated documents.
• Responsible Governance/Collections Policy. Will Rutledge is working with the attorneys Moeller Graf to finalize a new collections policy to comply with updated Colorado law.
• Moeller Graf annual agreement. The Board unanimously approved continued participation in the Moeller Graf law firm’s annual retainer agreement.

There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm. The next Trustee meeting will be May 13, 2026.

Respectfully submitted,