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Hi All, Seventeen of the 18 households in Fairfield Estates have now joined our groups.io. 5689 E Paseo Venado is the only one not on the list because they never sent me their email address. I assume that we are waiting to hear from the School District’s attorney about permission to install the boxes on site #1 east, on Fairfield Cir near the intersection with 3 Canyons. I have heard nothing. On March 25 Jimmy said, “I have contacted Palominas Board and have requested permission to use the easement.” I am concerned about that as I don’t believe that there is an easement. As I had reported earlier, I have a copy of a Quit-Claim Deed dated 14 December 1998 where Palominas Elementary School District sold a 40’ wide strip of land along the west side of their property to 3 Canyons for $4,964. I believe that strip of land is now owned by the Road District and that is the land that the road is on. But perhaps I'm wrong and there is an easement, but that's obviously a very important issue. I want to remind everyone that all the emails are kept on the website, and you can access them anytime. Below are instructions that I sent previously. Ken Basic instructions for groups.io. (1) How to send a message to the group? Send the email to [email protected] and the message will go to everyone in the group. (2) How to read past messages? All email messages are stored as “Topics” on our groups.io website, and the Topics are label with the subject line of the email. To read past email messages you must go to the website. There are at least two ways to do that, and I’ll refer to them as (2a) and (2b). (2a) The simplest way to read past messages is to go directly to the website. Its URL (web address) is /g/FairfieldEstatesMailBoxes I have that bookmarked on my browser. (2b) Alternatively, you can go to the website from any email that you receive from the group. At the bottom of any email from the group you will see a list of options that include: View/Reply Online | Reply To Group | Reply To Sender | Mute This Topic | New Topic. To go to the website, click on “View/Reply Online” and that will take you that message on the website. Now you must navigate from that message to the list of Topics. How you do it will depend on if you are on a computer or cell phone. If you are on a computer, to the left of the current message on the web is a list of options and one of those is “Messages”. Click on Messages, and you will see a list of all past Topics which contain all past email messages. If you are on a cell phone (at least an iPhone), at the top of the message on the website you will see a button labeled “Single”. Press “Single” then “Topics” and you will see the list of all past Topics and email messages.

In case you missed the sign, Jim has called an open Board meeting for Thursday March 18 at 6:00pm at the Meeting Room of Ricardo's Restaurant to discuss and vote on rural mailboxes and review the budget. Hope to see you there. Ken

The agenda for the School Board Meeting must be published 24 hours before the meeting, and a copy is attached as a Word document. I don’t see the school district attorney’s name, Roger Decker, on the agenda nor anything about a request from the Road District. Jimmy, please contact Decker and make sure our request will be considered tonight, and ask him when we should hear the decision. Thanks, Ken

I appreciate your work. 3 Canyons has been going to the post office for 17 years (?). We can wait while you enjoy life. I am open to helping if you would like to delegate and are open to a meeting about your expectations. Or I can wait until you return. In good health, Dr.Gail Pielack, FNP-C

When Jim asked about the size of the mailbox site, I forgot to mention the background. When the Postmaster, Doug Hoover, came out and looked at site #3 east in January, he requested a “drive around” site like they have at Vista del Oro. That is what he approved (see attached letter). As I recall that site is about 75’ deep and 50’ wide. Obviously, we won’t have that spacious of a site, and I’m sure that Doug will approve anything that’s safe. But let’s plan for the future, not the present. At present there are 30 parcels and 18 homes in Fairfield Estates. One of those parcels is 20 acres and may be subdivided into five 4 acre lots. So, in the lifetime of the mailboxes, the number of homes in Fairfield Estates could essentially double. That means more traffic on Fairfield Cir as well as the possibility of more people at the mailboxes at one time. Furthermore, the mailboxes are going to be place where you run into a neighbor and chat. So, I think there should be parking for at least two vehicles and preferably more. Likewise let’s plan for the future regarding the mailbox units. The future is going to be more and more about package delivery and not letters. I strongly recommend the 13 door units with the larger tenant boxes as well as at least one 4-door parcel locker. Ken

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

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

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 (wasn’t 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, https://www.cochise.az.gov/clerk-board/home). 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

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 wasn’t 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.

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 (https://www.cochise.az.gov/clerk-board/home), 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

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

On April 19 the Board’s Treasurer made a revealing statement about power. In his reply to my email under the topic “Request for FERIMD Annual Reports and Budgets”, he wrote, “What started as you offering to help gather information for the board now appears to be your own personal power grab.” Apparently, he thinks that being on the Board is about power. It shouldn’t be about power; it should be about service. The Board should recognize that the power is in the hands of the people who pay the taxes, and the Board’s responsibility is to execute the will of the taxpayers. Being on the Board shouldn’t be about perceived power. I’ve collected all the tax information for the property our house is on from the country GIS, and those data are shown in the first attached document. This property has paid $11,276 in taxes to FERMID. Since there are 30 properties in the Road District, my guess is that the District has collected more than $250,000, probably a lot more, in taxes over the past 10 years. That’s a lot of money. We do have two paved roads, but what accountability do we have in terms of budgets and financial reports? The second attached document is a copy of Cochise County’s “Summary of FY 2019-2020 Primary Tax Rates and Levy Per District”. Notice the far-right column is tax rate “Percentage Increase”. The first line on the second page shows that the Fairfield Estates RMID tax rate increased by 1545.56% from FY 18-19 to FY 19-20! I don’t know how that was calculated, but there it is. I do know there was substantial increase in FERMID tax on our property from $53 in 2018 to $903 in 2019 (see table in first document). I still have no idea of the reason for the tax increase. The President and Treasurer have ignored repeated requests from three households for financial reports and budgets. I completely agree with what Kevin wrote on April 20, “….this in not personal nor are we here to question anyone’s or any family’s integrity……at the end of the day, this is business and we are dealing with taxpayer dollars.” This is just a weird, opaque and completely unsatisfactory way to run a District that takes tens of thousands of our tax dollars every year. Where is the accountability? Ken

Hal, I request the following item be added to the meeting agenda for May 5. “Governance of FERIMD including procedures, accountability, elections and voting.” Thanks, Ken _____________________________________________ Below are some comments and questions I have regarding topics on the agenda. I make these comments in the spirit of cooperative governance and looking forward not backward. Topics for discussion under “Governance of FERIMD”. I suggest that the Board generally follow procedures described in the “BOARD MEMBERS RESOURCE MANUAL”. Where the Board deviates from those procedure, to do so with permission of the taxpayers. I’ve attached another copy of the manual. Specially: Manual p. 4-6, Annual Report. This is an annual financial statement. See Appendix A, p. 28-32 for the form the county requires. Much on that form is irrelevant for our small district, but we should expect an annual financial statement that includes a photocopy of the checkbook (warrant) register. Manual p. 10. Annual Budget. “All districts must publish their budget 30 days prior to the Public Hearing at a meeting to adopt the fiscal year budget.” “All warrants issued by a district must have a completed memo line with sufficient detail stating the purpose for which the warrant was issued.” Manual p. 17. Elections. Board members have staggered two-year terms. Board members serve to the expiration of that term only and then must seek re-election. Manual p. 21. Meetings. An agenda for meeting must be published 24 hours prior to the meeting. Voting procedures not in the Manual and specific to FERIMD. I think Penny hit the nail on the head as to how the Road District should be governed. On April 20 she wrote, “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.” I would expand the statement from “meetings” to cover all significant decisions regarding the Road District such as choice of roads to be paved and any preferred site for mailboxes. That is, the governance of the District should be controlled by the vote of the taxpayers and not the Board alone. When are votes required? I liked Jeff’s comment the same day about “the most democratic of our institutions”. He wrote, “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)” In a town hall meeting, the community votes, not a Board alone. I agree that a nod of heads without objection is just fine for non-controversial subjects such as “we all want mailboxes and we should move ahead” and perhaps “FERIMD is governed by the vote of the taxpayers.” However, for apparently more controversial subjects such as “where should the mailboxes be located” or “which street should be paved this year”, I believe those deserve a ballot. I believe that voting on serious issues should be done by email and not done at a single meeting. Some people have other commitments and simply can’t make all the meetings. Jeff is out of state for about half the year and I’m gone every summer, but we both should be given the opportunity to vote. Voting by email will allow the broadest participation, and this has already been tested. In early March there was an email vote for thumbs up or down on the favorability of site #3 west. Five household voted that were not at the March meeting. Voting by email is efficient because it doesn’t require a meeting. Board Service: I believe that service as a Board member for at least a two-year term should be expected of all willing community members. Board positions should rotate through the community and include both women and men. It shouldn’t be a significant burden, and probably only involving a few hours a year. Other questions related

I’m glad to hear of the Board meeting on this Wednesday, May 5 at 6 pm at Ricardo’s. I’ve finally received the “public record” of the Fairfield Estates RIMD budgets for 2019 and 2020 and they are attached. The budgets are very simple with income about $20,000 a year in taxes, ~$10,000 in transfer from Reserve Account (which I know nothing about) and for 20-21 ~$22,000 carryover. The planned expenditures for each year are essentially $5,000 for Professional Services and $20,000 for improvements other than buildings. The last pages have the cash balances on June 30, ~$14K in 2019 and ~$33K in 2020. From 2019 to 2020 the cash balance increased by $18,569 so not much was spent in 2020. The FERIMD was dormant for several year before 2019 when Jim revised it. I greatly appreciate him for doing that as the Road District is a hugely important assent of our community. But the Road District is taking about $20,000 in our taxes every year, and I suggest the Board start following some of the rules that boards normally follow. See the attached copy of the Board Members Resource Manual. On page 24 of the attached Manual, it says, “The public must receive prior notice of the….meetings at 24 hours in advance. The notice must include …an agenda listing the specific matters to be discussed, considered or decided upon.” On page 10 it says, “All districts must publish their budget 30 days prior to the Public Hearing at a meeting to adopt the fiscal year budget. A copy of the publisher's affidavit and the published budget must be submitted along with the district budgets.” Obviously 30 days prior can’t be met for the budget on May 5, but 24 hours prior should be able to be met with no problem. So, the meeting Wednesday should have an agenda and budget published 24 hours ahead of time. Hal’s email said, “We plan to discuss mailboxes, the recent history of the board, and financial records.”, which sounds like a good start to an agenda. If you have specific questions or items, you want added to the agenda, I suggest that you send them to Hal and that he ,following the Board Members Resource Manual, publish (via this groups.io) a more specific agenda 24 hours before the meeting. Ken