Residents of Cedar Park,

The past year has been an extraordinary adventure for residents of Cedar Park and the Cedar Park Road Maintenance Corporation (CPRMC).  Monumental flooding on the Big Thompson River and surrounding areas resulted in considerable damage to both major highways and Cedar Park access roads.    Emergency repair to our access roads were performed by CPRMC and volunteers after the flooding.  Repair to Highways 34 and 43 was performed   and continues today.  Unfortunately, much more work is needed to return our roadways to pre-flood condition.

Beginning in 2014, responsibility for maintenance and improvement of the Cedar Park and Cedar Springs access road system has been transferred to Larimer County with the creation of The Larimer County Storm Mountain Public Improvement District Number 55 (PID) with a five member citizen advisory Board.  Maintenance funds will be raised by mill levy on assessed valuation of properties within the district.  Road work will no longer be performed by CPRMC and road fees were not collected for the year 2014.

Cedar Park property owners need to determine whether the CPRMC should be dissolved or what capacity it shall operate in the future.  The Covenants by which the CPRMC operates can be change only by a 67% of record owners.  The CPRMC Board recommends a limited transitional role for CPRMC to support the PID Board and to fulfill its corporate legal obligations.  Accordingly, changes to the By-Laws are required.

Recommended changes to the By-Laws include the following:

• Decreasing the number of Board officers to President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary, and reducing the compensation for Treasurer and Secretary to $300 each.
• Instead of using the mail to post the annual meeting and other required notices, use the website, http://cprmc.org and electronic mail.
• Change the role of the CPRMC to an advisory to the PID Board.
• Change Board meeting frequency to semi-annually.
• Determine how the funds on hand will be disbursed.

I hope to see you all at our annual meeting on July 19, 2014.

Jerry Romero, CPRMC President

This is an alternate presentation of the proposed proposed CPRMC Bylaw changes that may be more easily digestible by some.  It is a PDF file showing the changes – additions and deletions – highlighted in red, a Microsoft Word Track Changes presentation.  (Click to open the PDF).

The key changes include:
1.    Allowing all notices to be posted on the cprmc.org website and emailed to property owners, eliminating a need for the expense of USPS mailing.
2.    Changing the phrase “Road Fee” or “Road Dues” to “Assessment” since at this time there is no intent to assess for further road work.
3.    Allowing the board to meet electronically or in person.
4.    Statements to the effect that the function of the board will be to advise the PID board and to otherwise fulfill it legal obligations as a corporation (the current PID board has asked that the existing filing director structure be used to advise it of area road needs – see the PID section of the CPRMC website).
5.    Language to nullify certain bylaw sections as long as the PID is in effect to manage area road work.
6.    A few editorial changes.
John Green
CPRMC Treasurer

BY-LAWS OF
CEDAR PARK ROAD MAINTENANCE CORPORATION
(A NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION)
Proposed Amendments 7/19/2014

ARTICLE I, SECTION 1. Currently reads:
The Annual Meeting of the Property Owners of this Corporation shall be held the third Saturday of July, the place to be determined by the Board. This information will be stated in the mailed notices of the Annual Meeting to Property Owners of Record.

Proposed Change:
The Annual Meeting of the Property Owners of this Corporation shall be held the third Saturday of July, the place to be determined by the Board. This information will be stated in notices of the Annual Meeting posted on the Corporation website at http://cprmc.org and emailed to Property Owners of Record.

Reason for Change:
To save costs of mailing notices and use electronic mail in it’s place

SECTION 3. Currently reads:
Notice of meetings, – written or printed – shall be prepared and mailed to the last known Post Office address of Property Owners of record at least thirty (30) days prior to any regular or special meeting of the Property Owners, and if a special meeting, such notice shall state the object or objects thereof. A notice sent to at least one owner of lot shall be deemed sufficient notification of all owners of that lot.

Proposed Change:
Notice of meetings, – written or printed – shall be prepared, posted on the Corporation website and emailed to the last known email address of Property Owners of record at least thirty (30) days prior to any regular or special meeting of the Property Owners, and if a special meeting, such notice shall state the object or objects thereof. A notice posted on the website and a good-faith effort to send an email notice to email addresses provided by property owners shall be deemed sufficient notification of all owners.

Reason for Change:
To save costs of mailing notices and use electronic mail in its place

SECTION 6. Currently reads:
The order of business at the Annual Meeting of the Property Owners shall be as follows:
1. Proof of Notice of Meeting
2. Reading and approval of previous minutes
3. Reports of Officers and Directors
4. Election of Officers
5. Miscellaneous Business
6. Setting of the amount of the Road Fee for the next year

Proposed Change:
Change the wording of #6 to read Assessment instead of Road Fee.

Reason for Change:
We can no longer collect Road Fees but would like the option of an Assessment Fee to help maintain the Corporation’s expenses.

SECTION 8. Currently Reads:
For the purpose of electing officers and conducting other business, each lot shall be represented by no more than one voting unit at meetings of the Corporation. Accordingly, the combined voting strength of all owners of a particular lot may not constitute more than one vote; and, individuals owning more than one vote; and, individuals owning more than one lot shall be entitled to vote the interest of each lot owned.

Proposed change:
Change wording in the second sentence to read: Accordingly, the combined voting strength of all owners of a particular lot may not constitute more than one vote; and individuals owning more than one lot shall be entitled to vote the interest of each lot owned.

Reason for Change:
Clarification

Article II Officers and Directors
Section 1. Currently Reads:
All business and property of the Corporation shall be managed and controlled by a board consisting of Property Owners of the Corporation and which shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and a director from each of the seven (7) filings. The offices of President and Vice President will be one-year terms, with the Vice President acceding to the Presidency. The office of the Secretary and Treasurer will be two year terms expiring on alternate years. The office of the seven (7) directors will be for indefinite terms with the directors holding office until notifying the President of their intention to resign and until replaced by a majority vote of the Board. Additionally there shall be a Director of Roads and a Liaison Director between the Board, the Forest Service, Cedar Springs and the County as defined in Article II, Section 7 & 8 respectively.

Proposed Change:
All business and property of the Corporation shall be managed and controlled by a board consisting of Property Owners of the Corporation and which shall consist of four Officers: the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and seven directors, one from each of the seven (7) filings. The offices of President and Vice President will be one-year terms, with the Vice President acceding to the Presidency. The office of the Secretary and Treasurer will be two year terms expiring on alternate years. The office of the seven (7) directors will be for indefinite terms with the directors holding office until notifying the President of their intention to resign and until replaced by a majority vote of the Board. This board shall serve to advise the board of the Storm Mountain PID #55 and to fulfill its corporate legal obligations.

Reason for change:
Clarification and to remove the offices of Director of Roads and Liaison, adding the last sentence clarifying that we will advice the PID #55 board.

Section 2: Currently reads
The officers of the Corporation shall be elected by the Property owners at the Annual Meeting and shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified as noted in Section 1, Article II. Owners of lots upon which liens have been filed and recorded for non-payment of road fees shall not be entitled to serve as officers and directors.

Propsed Change:
Capitalized the word Officers

Reason for Change:
Correct capitalization

Section 4: Currently reads:
The vice President shall in the absence of or disability of the President, performs all duties and functions of the President, and shall perform such additional duties and functions as may be assigned by the Board.

Proposed Change:
Capitalize the word Vice

Reason for Change
Correct capitalization

Section 5: Currently reads:
The Secretary shall keep records of all correspondence of the Corporation; shall prepare and distribute to the Officers, Directors and property owners all minutes of meetings; publish and distribute a semi-annual newsletter; shall keep a record of the names and addresses of Property Owners; shall give notice of the meetings of the Corporation and of the Board; and shall render such reports and perform such other duties as may be required by the Board. The Secretary shall receive an annual stipend as determined by the Corporation.

Proposed Change:
Publish an annual newsletter in place of semi-annual.

Reason for Change:
Once a year newsletter is all that is needed.

Section 7: Currently reads:
The Board of Directors shall appoint a Director of Roads. This person shall be in charge of the maintenance of all roads within Cedar Park. The Director of Roads shall be appointed each year for a period of one-year and may be re-appointed for successive years. This person is responsible to the Board. The director of Roads shall be a member of the Board with voice but without vote.

Proposed change:
Add the sentence: This section does not apply as long as the Storm Mountain PID #55 is in effect to manage area road work.

Reason for change:
self- explanatory

Section 8: Currently reads:
The Board of Directors shall appoint a Co-op, Liaison Director. This person shall be the liaison between the Cedar Park Road Maintenance Corporation and the Forest Service, Larimer County and Cedar Springs. This person will be responsible for all communications and requests regarding cooperative road construction and actions with Forest Service, county and Cedar Springs. The co-op Director shall be appointed each year for a period of one year and may be re-appointed for successive years. This person is responsible to the Board. The liaison shall be a member of the board with voice but without vote. This person shall receive an annual stipend as determined by the Corporation.

Proposed change:
Add the sentence: This section does not apply as long as the Storm Mountain PID #55 is in effect to manage area road work.

Reason for change:
self- explanatory

Section 11: Currently reads:
The Board shall be empowered to hire persons or equipment to maintain the roads. It also has the right to purchase equipment and materials necessary for adequate maintenance.

Proposed change:
Add the sentence: This section does not apply as long as the Storm Mountain PID #55 is in effect to manage area road work.

Reason for change:
self- explanatory

Section 12: Currently reads:
The Board shall meet at least quarterly.

Proposed change:
The Board shall meet at least semi-annually, which may be by conference call or other electronic means.

Reason for change:
Feeling is that the board does not need to meet more often than twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring.

Article III Operation, Finances & Prerogatives
Section 1: Currently reads:
The Corporation shall not be operated for profit, but organized for the purpose of maintaining the roads in Cedar Park Subdivision from funds that are collected annually as provided in the Restrictive Covenants that have been filed with the County Clerk and Recorder. In Accordance with the provisions of the Restrictive Covenants, the “charge” shall be in such an amount as shall be fixed each year by the Cedar Park Road Maintenance Corporation.

Proposed change:
The Corporation shall not be operated for profit, but organized to support maintaining the roads in Cedar Park Subdivision. The corporation shall act to fulfill its legal obligations to remain a legally viable corporation until the Property Owners of the corporation act to legally dissolve the corporation; shall act in an advisory capacity to the board of the Storm Mountain PID #55 as long as the PID is in effect to manage area road work; and shall operate from funds that are collected annually as provided in the Restrictive Covenants that have been filed with the County Clerk and Recorder. In Accordance with the provisions of the Restrictive Covenants, the “charge” shall be in such an amount as shall be fixed each year by the Cedar Park Road Maintenance Corporation at its annual meeting.

Reason for change:
To help clarify CPRMC role to support PID #55 until such time as our corporation dissolves.

Section 2: Currently reads:
Nothing shall restrict the Property Owners from the right to determine the amount of the Annual Road Fee; to elect Officers, to remove from office those Directors who fail in their duties; to amend or to revise the existing By-Laws, Rules and Regulations, or to adopt new and different ones to the full extent permitted by law.

Proposed change:
Replacing the Road Fee with Assessment.

Reason for change:
To be uniform throughout the document

Section 3: Currently reads:
Property Owners shall be liable for the yearly Road Maintenance Fee. The non-payment of the yearly assessment will result in a lien being filed against the lot or lots for which the fee is not paid Interest and penalties will be added to the unpaid fees.

Proposed change:
Replacing the Road Fee with Assessment.

Reason for change:
To be uniform throughout the document

Section 4: Currently reads:
Major items of business, election of Officers, and setting of road fees shall be listed in the notices of annual and special meetings.

Proposed change:
Replacing the Road Fee with Assessment.

Reason for change:
To be uniform throughout the document

Merry Christmas to All & A Happy New Year!

Our fall newsletter is a little late this year, because we wanted to get as much info as possible to you. Let me start with the PID. It passed with a 2-1 vote. As soon as the new 5 member board is appointed they will be taking over our roads. Until then everything will remain the same. We will not be collecting road dues anymore as our new mill levy will be collected by the County, and they will pay our bills. The next order of business will be to decide whether or not to continue our road board.

Our next topic is the roads. We have been in contact with FEMA, Central Federal Lands, the Forest Service and the County. FEMA has turned us down. In talking with Central Federal Lands (a division of the Federal Highway System) they have been tasked with contracting and engineering for work on 43 and our access road. The Forest Service will be paying to repair their portion of the road (approx. ½ mile) plus farther up on the lower Forest Service and upper Forest Service (128) road. In talking to the County, their best guess is that they will probably pay at least 75% of the access road. That leaves us with our interior roads. At this point, we are waiting to hear if the County is including any help for us. We are also exploring other grants. Worst case scenario is we will make repairs ourselves.

Last but certainly not least, we were lucky to sustain the amount of damage we did. When you drive down 34 to Loveland or 43 to Estes Park the devastation you see is heart wrenching. But we are a resilient community, and are helping our neighbors by shopping in their stores or eating in their restaurants.

On the home front, I would like to thank the first responders, the people who worked on 153, the people who led convoys of our people in or out. The people who set up the food bank on the mountain, the ones who donated food and helped run it. The people who helped to make our roads safe. The people who got information and shared it with the community. The people who reached out to their neighbors because they could. I know I’m forgetting someone or something, so here’s to them!

We’ve all said this hundreds of times, to live here is a gift, as are our neighbors! About 99.9% of the time I realize how lucky we are, of course .05% of the time I’m mad at someone or something, and .05% of the time someone or something is mad at me! That is a wonderful thing!

P.S. Thanks to whoever decorated the Christmas tree on the access road!

Gary

Please note our new website and email addresses at http://cprmc.org

 Cedar Park Property Owner Responsibilities – A Reminder

1. To notify CPRMC of changes affecting the billing of road dues for your property, including address changes, pending ownership changes, and combining / separating lots. You are responsible for the payment of your road dues and late fees, even if you do not receive an invoice.

2. To install and maintain culverts as needed at driveways.

3. To keep the roadside and ditches along your property clear of debris.

4. To pay outstanding Road Dues and fees. The implementation of a Public Improvement District does not reduce the duty and commitment of CPRMC to use all available means to collect outstanding debt.

 Combining Lots

There are two ways to legally combine lots in the in the eyes of Larimer County. Combining lots assigns a single parcel number to what had been multiple lots with individual parcel numbers. When one of the lots is taxed at the larger “unimproved property” rate, and another is taxed at the lower “improved property” rate, this will result in the new combined lot being taxed at the lower, “improved property” rate.

1. Amended Plat – this is a permanent joining, and may also be used alter lot boundaries, for example, when three lots become two.

2. Combining for tax purposes – This is largely a paperwork change and can be reversed. It is often done to join an undeveloped lot with a developed lot so that the new combined parcel is taxed at the lower rate for developed property. This can save the property owner a significant amount of money on the annual tax bill. The current Larimer County Assessor supports this, though future Assessors may not. We were provided with a copy of the Assessor’s requirements for combining lots for tax purposes, relayed below.

Guidelines for Combining Assessor Property Accounts – Transfer Section, Larimer County Assessor’s Office, February 23, 2007

1. Accounts must be contiguous. (i.e. lots must share a boundary)

2. Accounts must be under the same ownership.

3. Accounts must be in the same taxing district.

4. We must make sure there are no tax liens against any account before we combine.

5. There must be a written request signed by the property owner requesting we combine accounts.

CPRMC Policies

1. CPRMC pursues collection of unpaid road dues using any legal method available, including suit, foreclosure and wage garnishment, as it determines to be in its best interests.

2. All legal fees and collection costs are charged back to the property owner’s account.

3. In July of each year we file a lien against each property with unpaid road dues. As above, the cost of the lien is charged to the property owner’s account.

4. If circumstances make it difficult to pay road dues, please contact the Treasurer – we often can work with you, and avoid additional charges to your account. Legal fees add up quickly, and can often double or triple the amount owing.

John Green

CPRMC Treasurer, PO Box 344, Drake, CO 80515

Email: treasurer@cprmc.org

The Officers and Directors of the Cedar Park Road Maintenance Corporation (CPRMC) are making plans for our community’s transition to a Public Improvement District for area road work. This includes:

1. A decision to not bill Cedar Park property owners for a 2014 road assessment.  This was really assumed by the board with little discussion, but we know some of you want the reassurance that we have no intent to make further assessments for road work.
2. Reducing operational expenses to the minimum that will allow CPRMC to continue to exist as a legally-viable corporation in the short term.
3. A review of corporation bylaws with an eye toward changes to support more financially-efficient operation.
4. A commitment to continue to fulfill our Corporate duty to collect outstanding debt.
5. To determine how best to apply existing Corporation funds to needed road work within Cedar Park.
6. As required by our organizing documents, we will have a summer annual meeting as usual, where one topic of discussion will be the future of CPRMC.

This website is part of our effort to reduce operational expenses, as electronic communications are more cost-efficient than using US Mail.  Following the Fall 2013 newsletter, all further communications will be via e-mail and this website to the maximum extent permitted by law.