Re: This is the Situation
All, ? Currently, we believe there are two areas of concern. The first
issue is the mailboxes and the second is deals with RMID operations. ? Concerning the mailboxes, Jamie and I are indifferent. Honestly,
we bought this house knowing there were no mailboxes and we are perfectly
content receiving mail at the post office. Regardless, we know that this is an
important issue for some. With that said, we think the funds required of the
RMID to make this happen are relatively insignificant. We do realize that there
is a process and that it will take some time to resolve. We firmly believe that
we need to be patient as we allow the board to work through the process. We do
think it would be helpful if the board would publish a prioritized list of
action items as it relates to each proposed site and send out a regular status
of progress. We do agree with Ken that we should be working all three proposed
sites in parallel. ? We do have some very serious concerns as it relates to the second
issue of board operations, mainly because of the direct impact to our tax rates.
We will start by saying that some if not all of our concerns may have been
elevated if the board had granted our request for information. However, that is
not the case and transparency seems to be a reoccurring issue for several
folks. To recap below is the list of items that we think the board should be
able to provide the community: ? ? ? ? ? ? 1)????
Copy of the bylaws and/or governing documents
(Received – Thank Ken) ? ? ? ? ? 2)????
Financial report documenting the past few years
of financial transactions. We believe this should include the current balance
of the RMID account. ? ? ? ? ? 3)????
List of completed projects and future projects
that determined the 2019 and 2020 respective tax rates of 3.8% and 4.2%. ? ? ? ? ? 4)????
Current 2021 tax rate. (Our understanding is
that the RMID will decide on a 2022 budget during the next board meeting in
June. We do think we should discuss this as a community before a new budget is voted
on.) ? ? ? ? ? 5)????
Status of action items from the last meeting ? We do not understand why the board is reluctant to provide
this information and why we are required to go to the public records to find
it. If there are no legal limitations, we would like to request again that the
board provide this information. We agree with Ken, Tom & Barb that this
information should be made available before the next board meeting so that we
have time to process the information and discus it logically at the next
meeting. ? Unfortunately, the lack of transparency has led us to start questioning
other board operations to include lack of published board meetings/agendas,
meeting minutes, lack of recent elections, validity of current board members,
conflicts of interest and other. We think any potential escalation with the
county can be avoided on these issues if we had better communications and
transparency. ? We want to make it perfectly clear that for us this in not
personal nor are we here to question anyone’s or any family’s integrity. Our
hope is that as we work through these issues and remain a tight-niched
community. So far, our experience with all of the neighbors has been great. We
do apologize for not getting out there to meet more of you. However, at the end
of the day, this is business and we are dealing with taxpayer dollars. We need
to be able to have open conversations to work through the issues. ? Respectfully ? Kevin & Jamie Fitzpatrick. ? P.S. – We are a bit confused on this agreement with VDO. Is
there a document that explicitly states that FFRMID is required to pave that
small section between our neighborhoods? If not, we strongly recommend that the
FFRMID does not make this connection. We would not appreciate the increased
traffic on FF. We hope everyone can agree on this issue and is on the same
page.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 20, 2021, at 12:34 PM, Ken Cameron via < rocks@...> wrote:
Penny, Snow this time of year? Makes me
appreciate Arizona even more! You're missing a beautiful spring
day here, 78 degrees, clear and light breeze.
When I say taxpayers, I mean those who
pay taxes to the Road District, that is, the Fairfield Estates
property owners.? I completely agree with your statement, "should
be done upon direction of the board after consultation and
voting by the members."? That's exactly what I want.
This is a far bigger and more important
issue that simply mailboxes. This is about who has the say on how
our tax money will be spent.
Thanks for your comments.
Ken
On 4/20/2021 11:14 AM, Penny Nyander
wrote:
Hello to all from IL while visiting my family.
It’s snowing here today!
? ? ?I’m wondering, why would a group of taxpayers
not in Fairfield Road District vote on anything regarding our
particular board or tax levy? Or do you mean only the residents
and landowners in Fairfield Road District??
? ? ?I’m hoping that we residents/land owners who
are affected can all join in a meeting(s) together and calmly
and respectfully discuss any and all matters as we move forward
towards gaining mailboxes, deciding road improvement and
maintenance, elections, and any other matter anyone wants
to?address. I think we all agree that community mailboxes would
be great to have. I hope we can all participate with a heart
towards what’s in all of our best interests at a pace that
welcomes and allows complete participation, healthy dialogue,
and proper etiquette. I’d love to attend any and all future
board meetings and will try to attend and participate whenever
possible.?
? ? ?Personally, I think any meetings with county
personnel, attorneys, surveyors, road crews, etc, should be done
upon direction of the board after consultation and voting by the
members. But surely there’s established meeting rules available
by which our group and our board can agree to abide. Anyway, I
digress. One step at a time without rancor or condescension
works for me. So what is the next step? A meeting of the board
and members?
? ? ?Thanks to all who donate their time and
talents to deal with our group’s desires and responsibilities. I
greatly appreciate you all.
Penny Nyander
First, I want to thank the board for their willingness
to serve, and Jim in particular for reviving the Road
District. I’m perfectly happy for this board to continue
to serve.
But this is the situation. Jim and Jimmy control the
purse strings because they are the ones who sign the
checks. However, this board has not been elected by the
taxpayers, and consequently this board has no legal
power to decide how the taxpayers’ money should be
spent. Until a legitimate board is elected by the
taxpayers, all financial decisions should be made by a
vote of the taxpayers and not by the board.
Does anyone disagree??
Should I discuss the legality of our situation with Kim
Lemons, Clerk of the Board?
Ken
|
Re: This is the Situation
Penny, Snow this time of year? Makes me
appreciate Arizona even more! You're missing a beautiful spring
day here, 78 degrees, clear and light breeze.
When I say taxpayers, I mean those who
pay taxes to the Road District, that is, the Fairfield Estates
property owners.? I completely agree with your statement, "should
be done upon direction of the board after consultation and
voting by the members."? That's exactly what I want.
This is a far bigger and more important
issue that simply mailboxes. This is about who has the say on how
our tax money will be spent.
Thanks for your comments.
Ken
On 4/20/2021 11:14 AM, Penny Nyander
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello to all from IL while visiting my family.
It’s snowing here today!
? ? ?I’m wondering, why would a group of taxpayers
not in Fairfield Road District vote on anything regarding our
particular board or tax levy? Or do you mean only the residents
and landowners in Fairfield Road District??
? ? ?I’m hoping that we residents/land owners who
are affected can all join in a meeting(s) together and calmly
and respectfully discuss any and all matters as we move forward
towards gaining mailboxes, deciding road improvement and
maintenance, elections, and any other matter anyone wants
to?address. I think we all agree that community mailboxes would
be great to have. I hope we can all participate with a heart
towards what’s in all of our best interests at a pace that
welcomes and allows complete participation, healthy dialogue,
and proper etiquette. I’d love to attend any and all future
board meetings and will try to attend and participate whenever
possible.?
? ? ?Personally, I think any meetings with county
personnel, attorneys, surveyors, road crews, etc, should be done
upon direction of the board after consultation and voting by the
members. But surely there’s established meeting rules available
by which our group and our board can agree to abide. Anyway, I
digress. One step at a time without rancor or condescension
works for me. So what is the next step? A meeting of the board
and members?
? ? ?Thanks to all who donate their time and
talents to deal with our group’s desires and responsibilities. I
greatly appreciate you all.
Penny Nyander
First, I want to thank the board for their willingness
to serve, and Jim in particular for reviving the Road
District. I’m perfectly happy for this board to continue
to serve.
But this is the situation. Jim and Jimmy control the
purse strings because they are the ones who sign the
checks. However, this board has not been elected by the
taxpayers, and consequently this board has no legal
power to decide how the taxpayers’ money should be
spent. Until a legitimate board is elected by the
taxpayers, all financial decisions should be made by a
vote of the taxpayers and not by the board.
Does anyone disagree??
Should I discuss the legality of our situation with Kim
Lemons, Clerk of the Board?
Ken
|
Re: This is the Situation
Hello to all from IL while visiting my family. It’s snowing here today! ? ? ?I’m wondering, why would a group of taxpayers not in Fairfield Road District vote on anything regarding our particular board or tax levy? Or do you mean only the residents and landowners in Fairfield Road District?? ? ? ?I’m hoping that we residents/land owners who are affected can all join in a meeting(s) together and calmly and respectfully discuss any and all matters as we move forward towards gaining mailboxes, deciding road improvement and maintenance, elections, and any other matter anyone wants to?address. I think we all agree that community mailboxes would be great to have. I hope we can all participate with a heart towards what’s in all of our best interests at a pace that welcomes and allows complete participation, healthy dialogue, and proper etiquette. I’d love to attend any and all future board meetings and will try to attend and participate whenever possible.? ? ? ?Personally, I think any meetings with county personnel, attorneys, surveyors, road crews, etc, should be done upon direction of the board after consultation and voting by the members. But surely there’s established meeting rules available by which our group and our board can agree to abide. Anyway, I digress. One step at a time without rancor or condescension works for me. So what is the next step? A meeting of the board and members? ? ? ?Thanks to all who donate their time and talents to deal with our group’s desires and responsibilities. I greatly appreciate you all. Penny Nyander
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
First, I want to thank the board for their willingness to
serve, and Jim in particular for reviving the Road District. I’m
perfectly
happy for this board to continue to serve.
But this is the situation. Jim and
Jimmy control the purse strings because they are the ones who sign
the checks.
However, this board has not been elected by the taxpayers, and
consequently this
board has no legal power to decide how the taxpayers’ money should
be spent. Until
a legitimate board is elected by the taxpayers, all financial
decisions should
be made by a vote of the taxpayers and not by the board.
Does anyone disagree??
Should I discuss the legality of our situation with Kim
Lemons, Clerk of the Board?
Ken
|
Re: This is the Situation
Hi all, As one of the newest members to Faifield Estates community, Barb and I, share some of the concerns posted by Ken and Kevin. The lack of transparency into the RIMD budgets and planning, continues to beg more question and causes us to wonder what’s going on. Although, the board may not have spent any money yet, the taxes certainly have been collected with a plan to spend the money. We have been withholding comment in the hopes we would get more visibility into what is planned and what has been budgeted. So, in that regard, we have been welcoming the efforts by Ken to bring to light this information and are quite surprised how reluctant the board has been in providing some details....forcing us to go dig for information on our own. And, by the way, finding out things we are not to happy with, like finding out how some of the road money has been spent on other projects.
Our three main concerns, 1. Lack of transparency. 2.The biggest concern we have is how the board can submit a budget and our RMID tax rate can fluctuate from 0.12 all the way up to 11.5, that is a fluctuation from 36 dollars all the way up to almost 3,700 dollars just to the RMID. We can not budget for such swings in our tax withholding! 3.We thought, and believe that the tax assessments should all be the same amount per parcel, “equal amount per parcel....”! Instead of being taxed on property value.
Keep up the good “bit dog”work Ken, as I agree that information should be provided prior to a meeting in order for us to have an informed discussion.
Sincerely, Barb n Tom
|
Re: This is the Situation
Matthew,
No, I don't think we need an immediate
election. As I said, I'm happy for the board to continue to serve.
However, what is the evidence that this
board has been elected by the taxpayer? I've been here since
February 2019 and never have heard of a board election.
I'm simply saying that the taxpayers
should be voting on how money is spent rather than an unelected
board. It not a big deal. We simply have normal open board
meetings (or vote by email to get greater participation - just
like mail in ballots) and all the taxpayers vote on how our tax
dollars are spent rather than the board alone vote.? The board
members have a vote like all other taxpayers.
Ken
On 4/20/2021 9:25 AM, Matthew Paddock
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Ken,
I for one greatly appreciate your efforts to work the mail
boxes. That being said I do believe we are having elections at
our next meeting. As far as I can tell there has not been money
spent by the board that would warrant this stance against them.
I do believe the only money spent was not by the board. I also
understand you want this done as soon as possible as do I, but I
feel your approach may not be helping the situation. Are you
trying to say we need to have an immediate election? Where are
you going with this effort??
Matthew Paddock
On Apr 20, 2021, at 08:54, Ken Cameron
via groups.io <rocks@...> wrote:
?
First, I want to thank the board for their willingness to
serve, and Jim in particular for reviving the Road
District. I’m perfectly happy for this board to continue
to serve.
But this is the situation. Jim and Jimmy control the
purse strings because they are the ones who sign the
checks. However, this board has not been elected by the
taxpayers, and consequently this board has no legal power
to decide how the taxpayers’ money should be spent. Until
a legitimate board is elected by the taxpayers, all
financial decisions should be made by a vote of the
taxpayers and not by the board.
Does anyone disagree??
Should I discuss the legality of our situation with Kim
Lemons, Clerk of the Board?
Ken
|
Re: This is the Situation
I believe we had a quorum of the taxpayers at the last meeting and we all nodded as to the constitution of the board. Ballots are not needed when a majority of the parties are present and nod their heads without objection. Formalizing the next time we have to vote would be nice, but again could be done at a board meeting (similar to the most democratic of our institutions - a Town Hall)
Lets get back on track to find a suitable if not ideal, legal , acceptable to the USPS, location. THEN we can get bids to get the necessary turn out and concrete pad put in. THEN we can purchase and install the boxes.
This all takes time, but that is life.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 20, 2021, at 8:54 AM, Ken Cameron via < rocks@...> wrote:
First, I want to thank the board for their willingness to
serve, and Jim in particular for reviving the Road District. I’m
perfectly
happy for this board to continue to serve.
But this is the situation. Jim and
Jimmy control the purse strings because they are the ones who sign
the checks.
However, this board has not been elected by the taxpayers, and
consequently this
board has no legal power to decide how the taxpayers’ money should
be spent. Until
a legitimate board is elected by the taxpayers, all financial
decisions should
be made by a vote of the taxpayers and not by the board.
Does anyone disagree??
Should I discuss the legality of our situation with Kim
Lemons, Clerk of the Board?
Ken
|
Re: This is the Situation
Ken,
I for one greatly appreciate your efforts to work the mail boxes. That being said I do believe we are having elections at our next meeting. As far as I can tell there has not been money spent by the board that would warrant this stance against them. I do believe the only money spent was not by the board. I also understand you want this done as soon as possible as do I, but I feel your approach may not be helping the situation. Are you trying to say we need to have an immediate election? Where are you going with this effort??
Matthew Paddock
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 20, 2021, at 08:54, Ken Cameron via groups.io <rocks@...> wrote:
?
First, I want to thank the board for their willingness to
serve, and Jim in particular for reviving the Road District. I’m
perfectly
happy for this board to continue to serve.
But this is the situation. Jim and
Jimmy control the purse strings because they are the ones who sign
the checks.
However, this board has not been elected by the taxpayers, and
consequently this
board has no legal power to decide how the taxpayers’ money should
be spent. Until
a legitimate board is elected by the taxpayers, all financial
decisions should
be made by a vote of the taxpayers and not by the board.
Does anyone disagree??
Should I discuss the legality of our situation with Kim
Lemons, Clerk of the Board?
Ken
|
First, I want to thank the board for their willingness to
serve, and Jim in particular for reviving the Road District. I’m
perfectly
happy for this board to continue to serve.
But this is the situation. Jim and
Jimmy control the purse strings because they are the ones who sign
the checks.
However, this board has not been elected by the taxpayers, and
consequently this
board has no legal power to decide how the taxpayers’ money should
be spent. Until
a legitimate board is elected by the taxpayers, all financial
decisions should
be made by a vote of the taxpayers and not by the board.
Does anyone disagree??
Should I discuss the legality of our situation with Kim
Lemons, Clerk of the Board?
Ken
|
Re: Request for FERIMD Annual Reports and Budgets
Jimmy,
?So, I just want to be clear, it
appears that neither the President nor Treasurer have hard copies
of the annual? reports nor budgets for the past two years that
they are willing to share with the taxpayers now. Why wait for a
meeting? Email them. The District had no meeting from September to
March,which seems like a long time. Reports can be scanned and
emailed with little effort. I think the community is more
interested in information and results rather than just waiting for
a meeting. Let's get some information that we can think about and
digest before a meeting. Then with that background, we can have an
intelligent, thoughtful and knowledgeable discussion about our tax
dollars at the meeting. What have been the plans for our tax
dollars for the past couple of years? Is that a dumb question?
Thanks,
Ken
On 4/19/2021 8:18 PM, James Ruby wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Ken,?
Please keep in mind that elected positions are purely
voluntary. No board member receives compensation for their
time.?
A treasurers report will be given at the next board
meeting.? If you would like one earlier, I suggest you
request the President to hold a meeting.?
Jimmy R.?
Jimmy,
I'm sorry you interpreted my email as a question of
your family integrity. That wasn't my intent at all.
I think my statement of the "President has been
reluctant to provide us with that information." is a
factually accurate. Perhaps what I interpreted as his
reluctance to provide the information is because it's tied
up due to some change in the county system. But I'm
astounded to learn that neither the President nor
Treasurer have paper copies of the annual reports and
budgets for the past two years.?
Also when Kevin asked for that information last night,
Jim's reply was "Kevin, it’s all public record!". So I
took that to mean that if I wanted the information, I
should go look in the pubic record.
So it sounds like neither you nor Jim? have paper
copies of the Annual reports and budgets for the past two
years. That information is critical for planning the 2021
budget. If you don't have the information, I'll get it
from Kim
Thanks,
Ken
On 4/19/2021 3:39 PM, James Ruby wrote:
Ken,?
Do you not remember our last meeting? The county
changed to a VPN system that I cannot access. I have
contacted Stacey Wooley but she is out until?the
20th.? I stated I would have a treasurer's report for
the next meeting.
You say things like "the current president is
reluctant to give" you something we do not have.?
Myself?and my family have never given you or anyone
else a reason to question our integrity.??
I hope you know, outside of insurance and taxes,
you are the only one that has spent district money
this year.? The last time we had a President like you
we had a $53K attorneys bill and a invalid agreement
with VDO to pave their?road.??
We may not be as active as you would like but at
least the district's money is safe! What started as
you offering to help gather information for the board
now appears to be your own personal power grab. You
must remember that you are not a board member and have
no authority to act on the boards behalf.?
All financials will be available?during?the next
board meeting.?
Jimmy R.?
Jim,
I went to the county this
morning and met Kim Lemons, the Clerk of the
Board. First, I asked for the governance document
for the Road District. She told me where to find
it on the web (),
and I’ve downloaded it and attached it to this
email. I also learned a lot about the “ROAD
IMPROVEMENT & MAINTENANCE DISTRICT (RIMD)”
from the attached pamphlet.
Then I asked for copies of the
RIMD Annual Report and Budget for the past couple
years. She said the RIMD Board has those. I
explained our President has been reluctant to
provide us with that information. She told me to
send her an email request and she would help me.
Kim is obviously a
knowledgeable and helpful contact. However, the
District is so far out of compliance with the
attached governance document (SPECIAL DISTRICTS
GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS RESOURCE MANUAL) in such
areas as elections, report audits, and publication
of budgets that I think it would be unwise to get
her involved any more than necessary.
Please provide the Board and
community with the RIMD Annual Reports and Budgets
for the past two years by Thursday, or I will
request those documents from Kim on Friday.
Thanks,
Ken
--
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The contents of this
email message and any attachments are intended
solely for the addressee(s) and may contain
confidential and/or privileged information and may
be legally protected from disclosure. If you are not
the intended recipient of this message or their
agent, or if this message has been addressed to you
in error, please immediately alert the sender by
reply email and then delete this message and any
attachments. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination,
copying, or storage of this message or its
attachments is strictly prohibited.?
|
Re: Request for FERIMD Annual Reports and Budgets
Ken,?
Please keep in mind that elected positions are purely voluntary. No board member receives compensation for their time.?
A treasurers report will be given at the next board meeting.? If you would like one earlier, I suggest you request the President to hold a meeting.?
Jimmy R.?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Jimmy,
I'm sorry you interpreted my email as a
question of your family integrity. That wasn't my intent at all.
I think my statement of the "President
has been reluctant to provide us with that information." is a
factually accurate. Perhaps what I interpreted as his reluctance
to provide the information is because it's tied up due to some
change in the county system. But I'm astounded to learn that
neither the President nor Treasurer have paper copies of the
annual reports and budgets for the past two years.?
Also when Kevin asked for that
information last night, Jim's reply was "Kevin, it’s all public
record!". So I took that to mean that if I wanted the information,
I should go look in the pubic record.
So it sounds like neither you nor Jim?
have paper copies of the Annual reports and budgets for the past
two years. That information is critical for planning the 2021
budget. If you don't have the information, I'll get it from Kim
Thanks,
Ken
On 4/19/2021 3:39 PM, James Ruby wrote:
Ken,?
Do you not remember our last meeting? The county changed to
a VPN system that I cannot access. I have contacted Stacey
Wooley but she is out until?the 20th.? I stated I would have a
treasurer's report for the next meeting.
You say things like "the current president is reluctant to
give" you something we do not have.?
Myself?and my family have never given you or anyone else a
reason to question our integrity.??
I hope you know, outside of insurance and taxes, you are
the only one that has spent district money this year.? The
last time we had a President like you we had a $53K attorneys
bill and a invalid agreement with VDO to pave their?road.??
We may not be as active as you would like but at least the
district's money is safe! What started as you offering to help
gather information for the board now appears to be your own
personal power grab. You must remember that you are not a
board member and have no authority to act on the boards
behalf.?
All financials will be available?during?the next board
meeting.?
Jimmy R.?
Jim,
I went to the county this morning and
met Kim Lemons, the Clerk of the Board. First, I asked for
the governance document for the Road District. She told me
where to find it on the web (),
and I’ve downloaded it and attached it to this email. I
also learned a lot about the “ROAD IMPROVEMENT &
MAINTENANCE DISTRICT (RIMD)” from the attached pamphlet.
Then I asked for copies of the RIMD
Annual Report and Budget for the past couple years. She
said the RIMD Board has those. I explained our President
has been reluctant to provide us with that information.
She told me to send her an email request and she would
help me.
Kim is obviously a knowledgeable and
helpful contact. However, the District is so far out of
compliance with the attached governance document (SPECIAL
DISTRICTS GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS RESOURCE MANUAL) in such
areas as elections, report audits, and publication of
budgets that I think it would be unwise to get her
involved any more than necessary.
Please provide the Board and community
with the RIMD Annual Reports and Budgets for the past two
years by Thursday, or I will request those documents from
Kim on Friday.
Thanks,
Ken
--
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
The contents of this email message and any attachments are
intended solely for the addressee(s)
and may contain confidential and/or privileged information
and may be legally protected from
disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this
message or their agent, or if this message
has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert
the sender by reply email and then
delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of
this message or its attachments is
strictly prohibited.?
|
Re: Questionnaire on Mailbox sites. Results so far.
I talked to seven households yesterday and had seven interesting conversations. One in particular hit the nail on the head regarding the mailboxes. The person said, “This is mostly about small town politics.” I had to laugh but completely agreed. I forget the details of his story but was something like they lived in a small town that something significant was proposed to change, but politics got involved, and nothing happened.
If there had been a commitment by the Fairfield Estates RIMD board and the community to having the mailboxes installed in an acceptable site starting last September or even in January, we would have them by now. But rather, it’s been bogged down in small town politics.
|
Re: Request for FERIMD Annual Reports and Budgets
Jimmy,
I'm sorry you interpreted my email as a
question of your family integrity. That wasn't my intent at all.
I think my statement of the "President
has been reluctant to provide us with that information." is a
factually accurate. Perhaps what I interpreted as his reluctance
to provide the information is because it's tied up due to some
change in the county system. But I'm astounded to learn that
neither the President nor Treasurer have paper copies of the
annual reports and budgets for the past two years.?
Also when Kevin asked for that
information last night, Jim's reply was "Kevin, it’s all public
record!". So I took that to mean that if I wanted the information,
I should go look in the pubic record.
So it sounds like neither you nor Jim?
have paper copies of the Annual reports and budgets for the past
two years. That information is critical for planning the 2021
budget. If you don't have the information, I'll get it from Kim
Thanks,
Ken
On 4/19/2021 3:39 PM, James Ruby wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Ken,?
Do you not remember our last meeting? The county changed to
a VPN system that I cannot access. I have contacted Stacey
Wooley but she is out until?the 20th.? I stated I would have a
treasurer's report for the next meeting.
You say things like "the current president is reluctant to
give" you something we do not have.?
Myself?and my family have never given you or anyone else a
reason to question our integrity.??
I hope you know, outside of insurance and taxes, you are
the only one that has spent district money this year.? The
last time we had a President like you we had a $53K attorneys
bill and a invalid agreement with VDO to pave their?road.??
We may not be as active as you would like but at least the
district's money is safe! What started as you offering to help
gather information for the board now appears to be your own
personal power grab. You must remember that you are not a
board member and have no authority to act on the boards
behalf.?
All financials will be available?during?the next board
meeting.?
Jimmy R.?
Jim,
I went to the county this morning and
met Kim Lemons, the Clerk of the Board. First, I asked for
the governance document for the Road District. She told me
where to find it on the web (),
and I’ve downloaded it and attached it to this email. I
also learned a lot about the “ROAD IMPROVEMENT &
MAINTENANCE DISTRICT (RIMD)” from the attached pamphlet.
Then I asked for copies of the RIMD
Annual Report and Budget for the past couple years. She
said the RIMD Board has those. I explained our President
has been reluctant to provide us with that information.
She told me to send her an email request and she would
help me.
Kim is obviously a knowledgeable and
helpful contact. However, the District is so far out of
compliance with the attached governance document (SPECIAL
DISTRICTS GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS RESOURCE MANUAL) in such
areas as elections, report audits, and publication of
budgets that I think it would be unwise to get her
involved any more than necessary.
Please provide the Board and community
with the RIMD Annual Reports and Budgets for the past two
years by Thursday, or I will request those documents from
Kim on Friday.
Thanks,
Ken
--
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
The contents of this email message and any attachments are
intended solely for the addressee(s)
and may contain confidential and/or privileged information
and may be legally protected from
disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this
message or their agent, or if this message
has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert
the sender by reply email and then
delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of
this message or its attachments is
strictly prohibited.?
|
The instructions for board elections (p. 17 of
the Manual) are
complicated and designed for Districts much larger than ours. But
below are
quotes from two bullet points that are relevant.
?“Elections
are held
every two years”.
“Board members serve to the expiration of that
term only and
then must seek re-election.”
That has been my experience with other boards
such as HOAs.
That is, board members are elected, hold office for two years,
then when their
term expires, they must be re-elected.
When I was talking to Kim Lemons, I mentioned I
was on the board
(飞补蝉苍’迟 that discussed at the March meeting, lol). She asked me my
name, I told
her, and she said, “Never heard of you.” I replied, “I’m not
surprised!”, lol.
So, I went on the county website to find out
who is on our board
(attached, ).
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Term Expire
Jim Ruby, Chairman?????????????????????? 2024
Hal R. Nylander, Secretary????? ???????2024
Jessie Diaz?????????????????????????????????????
2022
Jimmy Ruby, Treasurer????????
?????????2022
Vacant????????????????????????????????????????????
2024
?
I’ve lived here since February, 2019, and never
heard of a
board election. And those terms that extend until 2024 surprise
me. But I won’t
quibble with the present board nor the length of their terms. I
appreciate
their service. I am curious, however, about when and how that
vacant seat will
be filled.
On April 15 Jim wrote in an email, “We are a
board with
members. We were formed to represent the will of the property
owners”. In light
of certain irregularities with the election or non-election of
this board, I
suggest that the “will of the property owners” be determined by
the vote of the
property owners and not by the board alone.
Ken
|
Re: Request for FERIMD Annual Reports and Budgets
Ken,?
Do you not remember our last meeting? The county changed to a VPN system that I cannot access. I have contacted Stacey Wooley but she is out until?the 20th.?
I stated I would have a treasurer's report for the next meeting.
You say things like "the current president is reluctant to give" you something we do not have.?
Myself?and my family have never given you or anyone else a reason to question our integrity.??
I hope you know, outside of insurance and taxes, you are the only one that has spent district money this year.? The last time we had a President like you we had a $53K attorneys bill and a invalid agreement with VDO to pave their?road.??
We may not be as active as you would like but at least the district's money is safe! What started as you offering to help gather information for the board now appears to be your own personal power grab. You must remember that you are not a board member and have no authority to act on the boards behalf.?
All financials will be available?during?the next board meeting.?
Jimmy R.?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Jim,
I went to the county this morning and met Kim
Lemons, the Clerk
of the Board. First, I asked for the governance document for the
Road District.
She told me where to find it on the web (),
and I’ve downloaded it and attached it to this email. I also
learned a lot
about the “ROAD IMPROVEMENT & MAINTENANCE DISTRICT (RIMD)”
from the
attached pamphlet.
Then I asked for copies of the RIMD Annual
Report and Budget
for the past couple years. She said the RIMD Board has those. I
explained our
President has been reluctant to provide us with that information.
She told me
to send her an email request and she would help me.
Kim is obviously a knowledgeable and helpful
contact. However,
the District is so far out of compliance with the attached
governance document
(SPECIAL DISTRICTS GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS RESOURCE MANUAL) in
such areas as elections, report audits, and publication of budgets
that I think it would be unwise to get her
involved any more than necessary.
Please provide the Board and community with the
RIMD Annual Reports
and Budgets for the past two years by Thursday, or I will request
those
documents from Kim on Friday.
Thanks,
Ken
--
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
The contents of this email message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s)
and may contain confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected from
disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or their agent, or if this message
has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply email and then
delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message or its attachments is
strictly prohibited.?
|
Request for FERIMD Annual Reports and Budgets
Jim,
I went to the county this morning and met Kim
Lemons, the Clerk
of the Board. First, I asked for the governance document for the
Road District.
She told me where to find it on the web (),
and I’ve downloaded it and attached it to this email. I also
learned a lot
about the “ROAD IMPROVEMENT & MAINTENANCE DISTRICT (RIMD)”
from the
attached pamphlet.
Then I asked for copies of the RIMD Annual
Report and Budget
for the past couple years. She said the RIMD Board has those. I
explained our
President has been reluctant to provide us with that information.
She told me
to send her an email request and she would help me.
Kim is obviously a knowledgeable and helpful
contact. However,
the District is so far out of compliance with the attached
governance document
(SPECIAL DISTRICTS GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS RESOURCE MANUAL) in
such areas as elections, report audits, and publication of budgets
that I think it would be unwise to get her
involved any more than necessary.
Please provide the Board and community with the
RIMD Annual Reports
and Budgets for the past two years by Thursday, or I will request
those
documents from Kim on Friday.
Thanks,
Ken
|
Questionnaire on Mailbox sites. Results so far.
Progress on finding a mailbox site seems to
have stalled. In
order to get a sense of what the Fairfield Estates community
believes we should
be doing, I composed a short questionnaire and had as many
residents as I could
find late this morning/ early afternoon to fill it out. I talked
to members of
seven of the 17 households on the groups.io email list. I went to
four homes
where no one was home, and honestly ran out of steam before going
to all the
houses.
Their responses are attached, and I summarize
them below. So
far, the sense of the community is clear. I encourage all those
who I missed to
answer the questions either by email or drop your answers off
anonymously at
our house 8350 S. Sexton Pl.
(1) Were you at the last Road District
Meeting?
Six Yes, one No.
(2) Do you recall that it was decided at
that meeting
that site #1 east is the best site?
Of the six who were at the meeting, no one
recalls deciding
that site #1 is the best.
Two said they don’t recall what was decided.
One said site #1 east 飞补蝉苍’迟 decided as the best site.
Three said it was the site preferred by Jim.
(3) Do you think the criteria for selection
of the best
site should be based legality, spacious and convenience? If not
those criteria,
what criteria?
Five said yes.
One was mainly concerned with legality
One was flexible.
(4) We need the surveyors to locate the
property line,
but they have been delayed since February. Would you like to
know if surveyors
have been asked to make a fourth survey of?
the entire Fairfield Estates or just locate the property
line at sites
#3 west and #1 west?
Six said we only need information on sites #3
west and #1
west.
One was in favor of a survey of the entire district in order to
hasten
preparation for paving.
(5) Regarding site #1 east and the School
District. Do
you think we should wait another month for the school district
to reach a
decision regarding our request to install mailboxes on their
easement, or we
should move more quickly, meet with the School Board President,
explain the
situation, and answer any questions she might have?
All seven think we should move quickly to get a
positive decision or
rule site #1 east out.
(6) Do you have further comments?
One suggested, as a fallback position,
attempting to
purchase a small mailbox site on the east side of Fairfield Cir
from the owner
of the first (southernmost) lot as you enter Fairfield Estates.
|
Re: Request for Authorizations
Jim,
Thank you for the response. I do appreciate it. We will definitely check into the county to see what we can fine. But shouldn’t at the board be able to provide this information as well?
Respectfully?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 18, 2021, at 4:34 PM, Jim Ruby <jeruby@...> wrote:
?
Kevin, it’s all public record!
On Thu, Apr 15, 2021 at 9:35 PM Kevin Fitzpatrick < Kbobfitz@...> wrote:
Jim, ?
I was going to wait a few more weeks before sending a follow-up email. However, in light of recent emails I figured now is a good time to resurrect my request submitted about three weeks ago.?Can the board please address the following:?
- Send out a copy of the bylaws and/or governing documents for the Fairfield Estates RMID.?
- Send out a financial report documenting the past few years of financial transactions. I would assume this will include the current balance of the account. ?
- Send out a list of projects completed over the past few years and a list of planned/future projects that determined the 2019 tax rate of 3.8029 and the 2020 tax rate of 4.247. Honestly, this
is my biggest ?concern. Based on my?research, we have some of the highest tax rate in the entire county. In most cases by 3 to 4% higher and nobody can tell us what projects are planned that determined the high tax rates. Are we as a community expected
to continue to pay such high rates with no projected projects/transparency? Where are our tax dollars going??
- Does the board know the tax rate for 2021?
- During the last board meeting, a concern was addressed that property owners with unapproved lots were not paying their share of the taxes while still benefiting. We were told by the board that
initially each property owner paid an equal share vs a percentage based on property value. An action was taken for the board to question the county on why the tax process had changed and to determine if we could go back to the way it was. Has this action been
resolved? If so what is the outcome?
Thanks for your time.?
v/r
Kevin Fitzpatrick?
On Apr 15, 2021, at 9:19 PM, Jim Ruby <jeruby@...> wrote:
?
Ken, the financial records are available for everyone to see. The Board sets the budget, the county approves it, and issues a check book, that they refer to as warrants, that require two signatures, and they keep the records. We have never written
more than 5 checks maybe 6 in the past several years. Paying for things like property taxes, mail box rent, and liability insurance.?
Our problem with the county in obtaining monthly statements has been their attempt to automate the system and having us go on line to view them. I liked it better when they just mailed it!
We have more work to do in regards to the county and how they do collections, that will be a topic for the budget meeting for FY 21/22.
Do not pay the attorney it has already been arranged and he should have the check by now. I did see the letter he had drafted to the school board at your request. That prompted me to comment that we shouldn’t pay the attorney for ?things we can do ourselves!
In some cases the squeaky wheel does get the grease, in other cases, it’s an annoyance and you just get a new wheel.?
Thank you for your support to stay on as president, but truthfully I really don’t want the job. I only stayed on this past year because I was asked to due so, because of my longevity and experience. I made it my mission to protect the District from the
first President continually committing us to projects that had nothing to do with Fairfield Roads. He was such an analytical type, and spent our money like it was his own.?
I’m glad you have the VDO agreement in writing, I can’t wait to read it as check the signatures. I guess it’s a good thing you discovered it, other wise we would never have the opportunity to fulfill the obligation.
?A 30x50 area for mailboxes in my estimation may not be realistic but that too will be a topic at the next meeting.? I still believe the PSB will be respective to us using a small area considering ?our district is so small and only grown by two houses
in the past 5 or more years.?
Working together is a must, we all have an investment in this goal. You attract more flys with honey than salt. We need to sell this in order to make it happen. Jimmy made a good solid contact.... now let him work on achieving the goal....Please?
?
Jim,
Thank you for your comments. I understand that as President, you want to withhold comments on many of my emails. And I understand that I do send a lot of emails, but frankly, sometimes a wheel needs to be squeaky to get any action.
Below I address your specific questions and comment that are in quotes.
“During the last meeting, it was decided that site #1 (the best site) would be investigated until it had been determined it was unusable.”?
I don’t recall a decision at the meeting that site #1 was the best site. Nor did Jimmy mention that decision in his email a week after the meeting when he listed the two reasons that he and you thought site #1 was the best option.
“We just received a statement from the attorney for $200 for just talking to you the first time. I expect we will receive another bill for the letter of intent you requested him write to the Ellers and School Board without first discussing
this with the board.”
I don’t recall requesting him to write the letter. I was certainly in favor of him doing it and he may have written them in anticipation that they would be sent. But I don’t want to quibble. I will contact his office tomorrow and pay the
bill myself.
“In regards to your meeting with the VDO?President Lynn……. Again, I ask, did you see any such agreement in writing?”
Yes and a copy is attached. See page 4, third bullet point.
??
“Why may I ask are you so focused with whether there is or is not an easement bordering the school property for Site#1?”
As I’ve said ad nauseam, there are big differences in what rights we have in an easement (some rights) as opposed to private property beyond the easement (no rights.) I was focused on the easement because Jimmy said our request was to install
the mailboxes in the easement that doesn’t exist. Our request should be clear that the boxes need to be installed on the private property, not on the easement.
“Do we have the exact dimensions or requirements signed off by the Postmaster?”
I’ve never seen a requirement for exact dimensions for parking, and just from looking at cluster mailbox installations, I doubt there are any. Obviously, the site must be large enough to be safe. I think the site should be large enough
to make U-turns on to the road, and parking space for two or three cars. My guess is about 30’x50’, but the Board and all interested residents should decide.
“When he is able to survey our District for the 4th time, rest assured that he will have all the current legal documents to go on. I am curious as to why you?feel the need to speak to him personally, and would like to know your intentions
prior to his arrival, especially if it concerns the district.”
We don’t need to have the district survey for the 4th time! Maybe that’s what causing the delay. I only want to speak to him personally because they may have maps that show the location of the property line. Then we won’t need
them to come out at all and save some money. My questions are extremely simple. Where is the property line in two small areas?
“Your personal timeline doesn't matter as much as doing the right thing concerning the District does.”
I completely agree, but taking more than eight months from last September to simply site the mailboxes?does seems unnecessarily long too me.
In closing, Jim, I think you have the personality for a great President, and I greatly appreciate your reviving the Road District. I do believe that we need financial transparently, and I haven’t seen that since September when I joined
the Board. I would like to see a financial report, have an outside audit of the books, and know how my tax dollars are going to be spent. Those are pretty normal expectations for an organization like this. If that information is available at the last meeting
of the year, then I would like the privilege of nominating you for President again, I’ll vote for you with both hands, and I’ll buy you a bottle or two of your favorite drink. You will deserve it! Let’s work together.
Best wishes,
Ken
On 4/15/2021 2:12 PM, Jim Ruby wrote:
Ken,
We are a?board with members. We were formed to represent the will of the property owners in regards to the "Roads".? During the last meeting, it was decided that site #1 (the best site) would
be investigated until it had been determined it was unusable. I do not understand why you consider this site a "long shot", ?and I respectfully disagree!? it appears to me that you are following your own agenda.? ?I will openly admit that I am troubled by
some of your?actions.? We just received a statement from the attorney for $200 for just talking to you the first time. I expect we will receive another bill for the letter of intent you requested him write to the Ellers and School Board without first discussing
this with the board. FYI, I sent an email to the attorney instructing that any requests of any kind regarding legal matters will come from the Board,?not any single individual.??
In regards to your meeting with the VDO?President Lynn, I had a meeting with Ross Miller, the former President of FRMID?and discussed the agreement with VDO that you mentioned in a previous email,
that we possibly overlooked. Since we were both present during the paving of Fairfield, neither of us were aware of any such agreement to pave the unused chained off exit from Palisades. Again I ask, did you see any such agreement in writing?? ?Hopefully you
did not commit the district to fulfill such a request without discussing and presenting facts to the board.
Why may I ask are you so focused with whether there is or is not an easement bordering the school property for Site#1?? We have never approached the school board and asked them to consider allowing
us to place mail boxes on a small portion of their property prior to now. If we obtain permission, and I have confidence that we will, we do not need to pursue?any other actions. In my experience the school board will need to see drawings showing exact dimensions
of the area we are requesting to use. Do we have the exact dimensions or requirements signed off by the Postmaster??
On a personal note, I feel the need to remind you that this is Cochise County, Arizona and we are currently in the middle of an inflated economy. Everyone that has anything to do with home services,
home improvement, construction or land development etc. (which includes our surveyor) are extremely busy. There are shortages on products and materials as well as prices escalating at unimaginal rates. ?
I spoke to the?surveyor yesterday, he apologized and said he will do the best he can considering his current?backlog of work. He is unable to predict just when he will be able to get out to Fairfield
but hopes it might be within the next two weeks. When he is able to survey our District for the 4th time, rest assured that he will have all the current legal documents to go on. I am curious as to why you?feel the need to speak to him personally, and would
like to know your intentions prior to his arrival, especially if it concerns the district.
In closing, I want to make it known that I personally have not chimed in on your continuous emails for a reason.? As the Board President, I would like to remain politically correct and feel it's
better that I say nothing than to add my personal input which might be considered rather negative.
Your personal timeline doesn't matter as much as doing the right thing concerning the District does.?
It is apparent?that you disagree with the way the district is being managed, then I suggest you plan to?attend the last meeting of the year and elect a new board.?
I’ve been working on finding a site for the mailboxes since the Board Meeting last September.?
On September 17, 2020, I sent the Chair of the 3 Canyons Master Design Committee a “heads-up” email about our plans to install mailboxes. There was little progress in the fall because I was waiting for a Board meeting to be called to discuss the mailboxes.
The meeting in March was the first since September.
I must admit that I’m a little frustrated with the slow pace of progress, especially the past few months. Frankly, I feel it has been me, who has wanted to explore all the potential sites simultaneously, against the Road District that focused
solely on site #1 east, which I’ve always thought was a very long shot.
Why is the Road District so set on site #1 east? This is what Jimmy said in his email of March 21.
“We think #1 is the best option for these reasons.
1. The mailboxes would be located on the east side of the road which is convenient.?
2. The pull out is on private property. If we lose access to the pull out, where will we park?”?
That’s it. Why have the other potential sites, #3 west and #1 west, been ignored?
As I’ve said numerous times, I have no favorite site. I just want to have mailboxes. At least three factors need to be considered in evaluating potential sites: legality, spaciousness, and convenience, with legality by far the most important.
?Legality involves contacting the property owners and spaciousness involves knowing the location of the property line.
They surveyors were originally scheduled to come out in early February, but they haven’t been here yet. They haven’t been given the priority that they deserve. We don’t need much information. Only the location of the property line at site
#1 west and site #3 west.
I request authorization from Jim to contact the surveyors ASAP and to meet with them when they are here.
We also need to contact the property owners of site #3 west.?
I request authorization from Jim to contact the property owners of site #3 west. I believe that he has their contact information.
Unfortunately, we’re not going to make my goal of having mailboxes installed before Sharon and I leave for the summer at the end of May. (I didn’t expect it to take eight months just to find a site along Fairfield Cir!) Nevertheless, I
will continue putting my best effort into the project, and hopefully someone will take over when we leave.
Ken
<2011-01-20 Deed (VDO to Fairfield).pdf>
|
Re: Request for Authorizations
Jim, can you tell us where that public
record is? I haven't seen it but will go to the county tomorrow
and see what I can find.
Ken
On 4/18/2021 4:34 PM, Jim Ruby wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Kevin, it’s all public record!
On Thu, Apr 15, 2021 at 9:35
PM Kevin Fitzpatrick < Kbobfitz@...>
wrote:
Jim, ?
I was going to wait a few more weeks before sending a
follow-up email. However, in light of recent emails I
figured now is a good time to resurrect my request
submitted about three weeks ago.?Can the board
please address the following:?
- Send
out a copy of the bylaws and/or governing
documents for the Fairfield Estates RMID.?
- Send
out a financial report documenting the past few
years of financial transactions. I would assume
this will include the current balance of the
account. ?
- Send
out a list of projects completed over the past few
years and a list of planned/future projects that
determined the 2019 tax rate of 3.8029 and the
2020 tax rate of 4.247. Honestly, this is my
biggest ?concern. Based on my?research, we
have some of the highest tax rate in the entire
county. In most cases by 3 to 4% higher and nobody
can tell us what projects are planned that
determined the high tax rates. Are we as a community
expected to continue to pay such high rates with no
projected projects/transparency? Where are our tax
dollars going??
- Does
the board know the tax rate for 2021?
- During
the last board meeting, a concern was addressed
that property owners with unapproved lots were not
paying their share of the taxes while still
benefiting. We were told by the board that
initially each property owner paid an equal share
vs a percentage based on property value. An action
was taken for the board to question the county on
why the tax process had changed and to determine
if we could go back to the way it was. Has this
action been resolved? If so what is the outcome?
Thanks for your time.?
v/r
Kevin Fitzpatrick?
On Apr 15, 2021, at 9:19 PM,
Jim Ruby <jeruby@...>
wrote:
?
Ken, the financial records are
available for everyone to see. The Board sets the
budget, the county approves it, and issues a check
book, that they refer to as warrants, that require
two signatures, and they keep the records. We have
never written more than 5 checks maybe 6 in the
past several years. Paying for things like
property taxes, mail box rent, and liability
insurance.?
Our problem with the county in
obtaining monthly statements has been their
attempt to automate the system and having us go on
line to view them. I liked it better when they
just mailed it!
We have more work to do in regards to
the county and how they do collections, that will
be a topic for the budget meeting for FY 21/22.
Do not pay the attorney it has already been
arranged and he should have the check by now. I
did see the letter he had drafted to the school
board at your request. That prompted me to
comment that we shouldn’t pay the attorney for
?things we can do ourselves!
In some cases the squeaky wheel does get the
grease, in other cases, it’s an annoyance and
you just get a new wheel.?
Thank you for your support to stay on as
president, but truthfully I really don’t want
the job. I only stayed on this past year because
I was asked to due so, because of my longevity
and experience. I made it my mission to protect
the District from the first President
continually committing us to projects that had
nothing to do with Fairfield Roads. He was such
an analytical type, and spent our money like it
was his own.?
I’m glad you have the VDO agreement in
writing, I can’t wait to read it as check the
signatures. I guess it’s a good thing you
discovered it, other wise we would never have
the opportunity to fulfill the obligation.
?A 30x50 area for mailboxes in my estimation
may not be realistic but that too will be a
topic at the next meeting.? I still believe the
PSB will be respective to us using a small area
considering ?our district is so small and only
grown by two houses in the past 5 or more
years.?
Working together is a must, we all have
an investment in this goal. You attract more
flys with honey than salt. We need to sell
this in order to make it happen. Jimmy made
a good solid contact.... now let him work on
achieving the goal....Please?
?
Jim,
Thank you for
your comments. I understand that as
President, you want to withhold
comments on many of my emails. And I
understand that I do send a lot of
emails, but frankly, sometimes a
wheel needs to be squeaky to get any
action.
Below I address
your specific questions and comment
that are in quotes.
“During the last
meeting, it was decided that site #1
(the best site) would be
investigated until it had been
determined it was unusable.”?
I don’t recall a
decision at the meeting that site #1
was the best site. Nor did Jimmy
mention that decision in his email a
week after the meeting when he
listed the two reasons that he and
you thought site #1 was the best
option.
“We just received
a statement from the attorney for
$200 for just talking to you the
first time. I expect we will receive
another bill for the letter of
intent you requested him write to
the Ellers and School Board without
first discussing this with the
board.”
I don’t recall
requesting him to write the letter.
I was certainly in favor of him
doing it and he may have written
them in anticipation that they would
be sent. But I don’t want to
quibble. I will contact his office
tomorrow and pay the bill myself.
“In regards to
your meeting with the VDO?President
Lynn……. Again, I ask, did you see
any such agreement in writing?”
Yes and a copy is
attached. See page 4, third bullet
point.
??
“Why may I ask
are you so focused with whether
there is or is not an easement
bordering the school property for
Site#1?”
As I’ve said ad
nauseam, there are big differences
in what rights we have in an
easement (some rights) as opposed to
private property beyond the easement
(no rights.) I was focused on the
easement because Jimmy said our
request was to install the mailboxes
in the easement that doesn’t exist.
Our request should be clear that the
boxes need to be installed on the
private property, not on the
easement.
“Do we have the
exact dimensions or requirements
signed off by the Postmaster?”
I’ve never seen a
requirement for exact dimensions for
parking, and just from looking at
cluster mailbox installations, I
doubt there are any. Obviously, the
site must be large enough to be
safe. I think the site should be
large enough to make U-turns on to
the road, and parking space for two
or three cars. My guess is about
30’x50’, but the Board and all
interested residents should decide.
“When he is able
to survey our District for the 4th
time, rest assured that he will have
all the current legal documents to
go on. I am curious as to why
you?feel the need to speak to him
personally, and would like to know
your intentions prior to his
arrival, especially if it concerns
the district.”
We don’t need to
have the district survey for the 4th
time! Maybe that’s what causing the
delay. I only want to speak to him
personally because they may have
maps that show the location of the
property line. Then we won’t need
them to come out at all and save
some money. My questions are
extremely simple. Where is the
property line in two small areas?
“Your personal
timeline doesn't matter as much as
doing the right thing concerning the
District does.”
I completely
agree, but taking more than eight
months from last September to simply
site the mailboxes?does seems
unnecessarily long too me.
In closing, Jim,
I think you have the personality for
a great President, and I greatly
appreciate your reviving the Road
District. I do believe that we need
financial transparently, and I
haven’t seen that since September
when I joined the Board. I would
like to see a financial report, have
an outside audit of the books, and
know how my tax dollars are going to
be spent. Those are pretty normal
expectations for an organization
like this. If that information is
available at the last meeting of the
year, then I would like the
privilege of nominating you for
President again, I’ll vote for you
with both hands, and I’ll buy you a
bottle or two of your favorite
drink. You will deserve it! Let’s
work together.
Best wishes,
Ken
On 4/15/2021 2:12 PM, Jim Ruby
wrote:
Ken,
We
are a?board with members. We
were formed to represent the
will of the property owners in
regards to the "Roads".?
During the last meeting, it
was decided that site #1 (the
best site) would be
investigated until it had been
determined it was unusable. I
do not understand why you
consider this site a "long
shot", ?and I respectfully
disagree!? it appears to me
that you are following your
own agenda.? ?I will openly
admit that I am troubled by
some of your?actions.? We just
received a statement from the
attorney for $200 for just
talking to you the first time.
I expect we will receive
another bill for the letter of
intent you requested him write
to the Ellers and School Board
without first discussing this
with the board. FYI, I sent an
email to the attorney
instructing that any requests
of any kind regarding legal
matters will come from the
Board,?not any single
individual.??
In
regards to your meeting with
the VDO?President Lynn, I had
a meeting with Ross Miller,
the former President of
FRMID?and discussed the
agreement with VDO that you
mentioned in a previous email,
that we possibly overlooked.
Since we were both present
during the paving of
Fairfield, neither of us were
aware of any such agreement to
pave the unused chained off
exit from Palisades. Again I
ask, did you see any such
agreement in writing??
?Hopefully you did not commit
the district to fulfill such a
request without discussing and
presenting facts to the board.
Why
may I ask are you so focused
with whether there is or is
not an easement bordering the
school property for Site#1??
We have never approached the
school board and asked them to
consider allowing us to place
mail boxes on a small portion
of their property prior to
now. If we obtain permission,
and I have confidence that we
will, we do not need to
pursue?any other actions. In
my experience the school board
will need to see drawings
showing exact dimensions of
the area we are requesting to
use. Do we have the exact
dimensions or requirements
signed off by the Postmaster??
On
a personal note, I feel the
need to remind you that this
is Cochise County, Arizona and
we are currently in the middle
of an inflated economy.
Everyone that has anything to
do with home services, home
improvement, construction or
land development etc. (which
includes our surveyor) are
extremely busy. There are
shortages on products and
materials as well as prices
escalating at unimaginal
rates. ?
I
spoke to the?surveyor
yesterday, he apologized and
said he will do the best he
can considering his
current?backlog of work. He is
unable to predict just when he
will be able to get out to
Fairfield but hopes it might
be within the next two weeks.
When he is able to survey our
District for the 4th time,
rest assured that he will have
all the current legal
documents to go on. I am
curious as to why you?feel the
need to speak to him
personally, and would like to
know your intentions prior to
his arrival, especially if it
concerns the district.
In
closing, I want to make it
known that I personally have
not chimed in on your
continuous emails for a
reason.? As the Board
President, I would like to
remain politically correct and
feel it's better that I say
nothing than to add my
personal input which might be
considered rather negative.
Your
personal timeline doesn't
matter as much as doing the
right thing concerning the
District does.?
It
is apparent?that you disagree
with the way the district is
being managed, then I suggest
you plan to?attend the last
meeting of the year and elect
a new board.?
I’ve
been working on finding a
site for the mailboxes
since the Board Meeting
last September.?
On September 17,
2020, I sent the Chair of
the 3 Canyons Master
Design Committee a
“heads-up” email about our
plans to install
mailboxes. There was
little progress in the
fall because I was waiting
for a Board meeting to be
called to discuss the
mailboxes. The meeting in
March was the first since
September.
I must
admit that I’m a little
frustrated with the slow
pace of progress,
especially the past few
months. Frankly, I feel it
has been me, who has
wanted to explore all the
potential sites
simultaneously, against
the Road District that
focused solely on site #1
east, which I’ve always
thought was a very long
shot.
Why is
the Road District so set
on site #1 east? This is
what Jimmy said in his
email of March 21.
“We
think #1 is the best
option for these reasons.
1. The mailboxes would be
located on the east side
of the road which is
convenient.?
2. The pull out is on
private property. If we
lose access to the pull
out, where will we park?”?
That’s
it. Why have the other
potential sites, #3 west
and #1 west, been ignored?
As I’ve
said numerous times, I
have no favorite site. I
just want to have
mailboxes. At least three
factors need to be
considered in evaluating
potential sites: legality,
spaciousness, and
convenience, with legality
by far the most important.
?Legality
involves contacting the
property owners and
spaciousness involves
knowing the location of
the property line.
They
surveyors were originally
scheduled to come out in
early February, but they
haven’t been here yet.
They haven’t been given
the priority that they
deserve. We don’t need
much information. Only the
location of the property
line at site #1 west and
site #3 west.
I
request authorization
from Jim to contact the
surveyors ASAP and to
meet with them when they
are here.
We also
need to contact the
property owners of site #3
west.?
I
request authorization
from Jim to contact the
property owners of site
#3 west. I believe that
he has their contact
information.
Unfortunately,
we’re not going to make my
goal of having mailboxes
installed before Sharon
and I leave for the summer
at the end of May. (I
didn’t expect it to take
eight months just to find
a site along Fairfield
Cir!) Nevertheless, I will
continue putting my best
effort into the project,
and hopefully someone will
take over when we leave.
Ken
<2011-01-20 Deed (VDO to
Fairfield).pdf>
|
Re: Request for Authorizations
Kevin, it’s all public record!
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Thu, Apr 15, 2021 at 9:35 PM Kevin Fitzpatrick < Kbobfitz@...> wrote:
Jim, ?
I was going to wait a few more weeks before sending a follow-up email. However, in light of recent emails I figured now is a good time to resurrect my request submitted about three weeks ago.?Can the board
please address the following:?
- Send out a copy of the bylaws and/or governing documents for the Fairfield Estates RMID.?
- Send out a financial report documenting the past few years of financial transactions. I would assume this will include the current balance of the account. ?
- Send out a list of projects completed over the past few years and a list of planned/future projects that determined the 2019 tax rate of 3.8029 and the 2020 tax
rate of 4.247. Honestly, this is my biggest ?concern. Based on my?research, we have some of the highest tax rate in the entire county. In most cases by 3 to 4% higher and nobody can tell us what projects are planned that determined the high tax rates.
Are we as a community expected to continue to pay such high rates with no projected projects/transparency? Where are our tax dollars going??
- Does the board know the tax rate for 2021?
- During the last board meeting, a concern was addressed that property owners with unapproved lots were not paying their share of the taxes while still benefiting.
We were told by the board that initially each property owner paid an equal share vs a percentage based on property value. An action was taken for the board to question the county on why the tax process had changed and to determine if we could go back to the
way it was. Has this action been resolved? If so what is the outcome?
Thanks for your time.?
v/r
Kevin Fitzpatrick?
On Apr 15, 2021, at 9:19 PM, Jim Ruby <jeruby@...> wrote:
?
Ken, the financial records are available for everyone to see. The Board sets the budget, the county approves it, and issues a check book, that they refer to as warrants, that require two signatures, and they keep the records. We have never written
more than 5 checks maybe 6 in the past several years. Paying for things like property taxes, mail box rent, and liability insurance.?
Our problem with the county in obtaining monthly statements has been their attempt to automate the system and having us go on line to view them. I liked it better when they just mailed it!
We have more work to do in regards to the county and how they do collections, that will be a topic for the budget meeting for FY 21/22.
Do not pay the attorney it has already been arranged and he should have the check by now. I did see the letter he had drafted to the school board at your request. That prompted me to comment that we shouldn’t pay the attorney for ?things we can do ourselves!
In some cases the squeaky wheel does get the grease, in other cases, it’s an annoyance and you just get a new wheel.?
Thank you for your support to stay on as president, but truthfully I really don’t want the job. I only stayed on this past year because I was asked to due so, because of my longevity and experience. I made it my mission to protect the District from the
first President continually committing us to projects that had nothing to do with Fairfield Roads. He was such an analytical type, and spent our money like it was his own.?
I’m glad you have the VDO agreement in writing, I can’t wait to read it as check the signatures. I guess it’s a good thing you discovered it, other wise we would never have the opportunity to fulfill the obligation.
?A 30x50 area for mailboxes in my estimation may not be realistic but that too will be a topic at the next meeting.? I still believe the PSB will be respective to us using a small area considering ?our district is so small and only grown by two houses
in the past 5 or more years.?
Working together is a must, we all have an investment in this goal. You attract more flys with honey than salt. We need to sell this in order to make it happen. Jimmy made a good solid contact.... now let him work on achieving the goal....Please?
?
Jim,
Thank you for your comments. I understand that as President, you want to withhold comments on many of my emails. And I understand that I do send a lot of emails, but frankly, sometimes a wheel needs to be squeaky to get any action.
Below I address your specific questions and comment that are in quotes.
“During the last meeting, it was decided that site #1 (the best site) would be investigated until it had been determined it was unusable.”?
I don’t recall a decision at the meeting that site #1 was the best site. Nor did Jimmy mention that decision in his email a week after the meeting when he listed the two reasons that he and you thought site #1 was the best option.
“We just received a statement from the attorney for $200 for just talking to you the first time. I expect we will receive another bill for the letter of intent you requested him write to the Ellers and School Board without first discussing
this with the board.”
I don’t recall requesting him to write the letter. I was certainly in favor of him doing it and he may have written them in anticipation that they would be sent. But I don’t want to quibble. I will contact his office tomorrow and pay the
bill myself.
“In regards to your meeting with the VDO?President Lynn……. Again, I ask, did you see any such agreement in writing?”
Yes and a copy is attached. See page 4, third bullet point.
??
“Why may I ask are you so focused with whether there is or is not an easement bordering the school property for Site#1?”
As I’ve said ad nauseam, there are big differences in what rights we have in an easement (some rights) as opposed to private property beyond the easement (no rights.) I was focused on the easement because Jimmy said our request was to install
the mailboxes in the easement that doesn’t exist. Our request should be clear that the boxes need to be installed on the private property, not on the easement.
“Do we have the exact dimensions or requirements signed off by the Postmaster?”
I’ve never seen a requirement for exact dimensions for parking, and just from looking at cluster mailbox installations, I doubt there are any. Obviously, the site must be large enough to be safe. I think the site should be large enough
to make U-turns on to the road, and parking space for two or three cars. My guess is about 30’x50’, but the Board and all interested residents should decide.
“When he is able to survey our District for the 4th time, rest assured that he will have all the current legal documents to go on. I am curious as to why you?feel the need to speak to him personally, and would like to know your intentions
prior to his arrival, especially if it concerns the district.”
We don’t need to have the district survey for the 4th time! Maybe that’s what causing the delay. I only want to speak to him personally because they may have maps that show the location of the property line. Then we won’t need
them to come out at all and save some money. My questions are extremely simple. Where is the property line in two small areas?
“Your personal timeline doesn't matter as much as doing the right thing concerning the District does.”
I completely agree, but taking more than eight months from last September to simply site the mailboxes?does seems unnecessarily long too me.
In closing, Jim, I think you have the personality for a great President, and I greatly appreciate your reviving the Road District. I do believe that we need financial transparently, and I haven’t seen that since September when I joined
the Board. I would like to see a financial report, have an outside audit of the books, and know how my tax dollars are going to be spent. Those are pretty normal expectations for an organization like this. If that information is available at the last meeting
of the year, then I would like the privilege of nominating you for President again, I’ll vote for you with both hands, and I’ll buy you a bottle or two of your favorite drink. You will deserve it! Let’s work together.
Best wishes,
Ken
On 4/15/2021 2:12 PM, Jim Ruby wrote:
Ken,
We are a?board with members. We were formed to represent the will of the property owners in regards to the "Roads".? During the last meeting, it was decided that site #1 (the best site) would
be investigated until it had been determined it was unusable. I do not understand why you consider this site a "long shot", ?and I respectfully disagree!? it appears to me that you are following your own agenda.? ?I will openly admit that I am troubled by
some of your?actions.? We just received a statement from the attorney for $200 for just talking to you the first time. I expect we will receive another bill for the letter of intent you requested him write to the Ellers and School Board without first discussing
this with the board. FYI, I sent an email to the attorney instructing that any requests of any kind regarding legal matters will come from the Board,?not any single individual.??
In regards to your meeting with the VDO?President Lynn, I had a meeting with Ross Miller, the former President of FRMID?and discussed the agreement with VDO that you mentioned in a previous email,
that we possibly overlooked. Since we were both present during the paving of Fairfield, neither of us were aware of any such agreement to pave the unused chained off exit from Palisades. Again I ask, did you see any such agreement in writing?? ?Hopefully you
did not commit the district to fulfill such a request without discussing and presenting facts to the board.
Why may I ask are you so focused with whether there is or is not an easement bordering the school property for Site#1?? We have never approached the school board and asked them to consider allowing
us to place mail boxes on a small portion of their property prior to now. If we obtain permission, and I have confidence that we will, we do not need to pursue?any other actions. In my experience the school board will need to see drawings showing exact dimensions
of the area we are requesting to use. Do we have the exact dimensions or requirements signed off by the Postmaster??
On a personal note, I feel the need to remind you that this is Cochise County, Arizona and we are currently in the middle of an inflated economy. Everyone that has anything to do with home services,
home improvement, construction or land development etc. (which includes our surveyor) are extremely busy. There are shortages on products and materials as well as prices escalating at unimaginal rates. ?
I spoke to the?surveyor yesterday, he apologized and said he will do the best he can considering his current?backlog of work. He is unable to predict just when he will be able to get out to Fairfield
but hopes it might be within the next two weeks. When he is able to survey our District for the 4th time, rest assured that he will have all the current legal documents to go on. I am curious as to why you?feel the need to speak to him personally, and would
like to know your intentions prior to his arrival, especially if it concerns the district.
In closing, I want to make it known that I personally have not chimed in on your continuous emails for a reason.? As the Board President, I would like to remain politically correct and feel it's
better that I say nothing than to add my personal input which might be considered rather negative.
Your personal timeline doesn't matter as much as doing the right thing concerning the District does.?
It is apparent?that you disagree with the way the district is being managed, then I suggest you plan to?attend the last meeting of the year and elect a new board.?
I’ve been working on finding a site for the mailboxes since the Board Meeting last September.?
On September 17, 2020, I sent the Chair of the 3 Canyons Master Design Committee a “heads-up” email about our plans to install mailboxes. There was little progress in the fall because I was waiting for a Board meeting to be called to discuss the mailboxes.
The meeting in March was the first since September.
I must admit that I’m a little frustrated with the slow pace of progress, especially the past few months. Frankly, I feel it has been me, who has wanted to explore all the potential sites simultaneously, against the Road District that focused
solely on site #1 east, which I’ve always thought was a very long shot.
Why is the Road District so set on site #1 east? This is what Jimmy said in his email of March 21.
“We think #1 is the best option for these reasons.
1. The mailboxes would be located on the east side of the road which is convenient.?
2. The pull out is on private property. If we lose access to the pull out, where will we park?”?
That’s it. Why have the other potential sites, #3 west and #1 west, been ignored?
As I’ve said numerous times, I have no favorite site. I just want to have mailboxes. At least three factors need to be considered in evaluating potential sites: legality, spaciousness, and convenience, with legality by far the most important.
?Legality involves contacting the property owners and spaciousness involves knowing the location of the property line.
They surveyors were originally scheduled to come out in early February, but they haven’t been here yet. They haven’t been given the priority that they deserve. We don’t need much information. Only the location of the property line at site
#1 west and site #3 west.
I request authorization from Jim to contact the surveyors ASAP and to meet with them when they are here.
We also need to contact the property owners of site #3 west.?
I request authorization from Jim to contact the property owners of site #3 west. I believe that he has their contact information.
Unfortunately, we’re not going to make my goal of having mailboxes installed before Sharon and I leave for the summer at the end of May. (I didn’t expect it to take eight months just to find a site along Fairfield Cir!) Nevertheless, I
will continue putting my best effort into the project, and hopefully someone will take over when we leave.
Ken
<2011-01-20 Deed (VDO to Fairfield).pdf>
|
Re: I’m a Candidate for Road District Treasurer
Ken,
I think you would make an excellent treasure. I agree that transparency is key.
I would like to nominate Ken as treasure or second his self nomination.
Question, during the last board meeting it was stated that the current board was self appointed. Is this acceptable within the constraints of the bylaws/governing documents? Are we able to have an election out of cycle to get an official board elected?
I believe there are enough new folks to the neighborhood that have a Similar interest.?
Would love to hear everyone else’s thoughts. ?
Respectfully?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 16, 2021, at 9:54 AM, Ken Cameron via groups.io <rocks@...> wrote:
?
In the next Road District election, I’m tossing my hat in the ring for the position of Treasurer. My first goal would be to improve the financial transparency of the District. Beyond that, I would like to work with the President and Board
to produce two documents. One would be a “Welcome Letter” that would be given to all new property owners in Fairfield Estates. That letter would cover subjects such as the history, responsibilities and goals of the Road District.
The second document would be an “Operations Handbook” that would contain all the information needed to run the District. For example, if a pothole needed to be filled, the handbook would contain the procedure to follow and specific county
office to contact. If weeds needed to be cut or trees trimmed along Fairfield Cir, the handbook would contain information on who has done it in the past, costs, etc. The purpose of the handbook would be to remove many of the burdens from the President. Ideally,
with the handbook, anyone in the community could be President and run the District efficiently.
?
I encourage women to join the Board.
I’m not the ideal candidate for a number of reasons. I’m gone about three months in the summer and couldn’t sign checks then. Also, I’m probably too old for the job (will turn 80 this year) and would serve only one year. In addition, I
obviously have certain annoying personality traits. If another candidate is elected Treasurer, I promise I won’t be heart broken.
Ken
|