PLAYA ENCANTO
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PLAYA ENCANTO
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PLAYA ENCANTO NEIGHBORHOOD CIVIL ASSOCIATION, A.C. 83 Mantarrays President Al Ciasca called
the meeting to order at Minutes of the Al asked that individuals,
who speak up at the meeting, to identify themselves by name before speaking. Al counted the board
members as present: Terry Creech, Treasurer; Michael Colpitts, Vocal; Jack Hall,
Vocal ; Sharon Hill, Secretary. He introduced newly elected board members
Debra Jackley, Vocal and the President -elect Jack Garrity. TREASURERS REPORT Treasurer, Terry Creech
reported that, as of UTILITY PROJECT Terry Creech reported that,
as of Nick
Appleton questioned why the IRS was paid $19,000 in 2007 and Terry answered
that it was the interest on the $3 million that was held in an account in the ACTIVITIES OF THE BOARD Al stated that a new water
system was installed at the guard house. ATV trails that were made by people
cutting through the dunes to the bottom road had been cordoned off along
with warning signs not to ride in the dunes. He also said that there
had been meetings with Estero Morua to discuss the road
closure issue and some information about the recreation area that would
be covered later in the meeting under old business. He said there
was a new outside door installed in the guard shack for access to the bathroom. UPDATE ON ELECTRIC Jack Hall stated that four
new meters were to be installed next week and that if anyone needs power,
or know someone who does, to contact him. ROADS, SECURITY AND T Al stated that the road
condition is good considering the foul weather in the past month. He said that
Rene and the guards are doing a good job of trying to keep up with it. He
stated that he had Rene grade the upper road as a relief road when the
main road in is non-passable. Al said that the guards are
doing a great job of security. He said that Carlos has been out of commission a
month due to illness and hospitalization. He introduced Carlos and stated
that it was his second day back to work. A round of applause went out to Carlos. Nick Appleton
complemented the board on acquiring the nice winter jackets for all the guards.
Al responded that it was an easy decision to make considering what a good
job our guards do. He said that they really like them and they look very nice
and professional. Nick also asked if, as the gas prices go up in Al announced that the
Wednesday trash pick up had been discontinued for a while but would resume soon
for the busy Spring breaks and Easter holidays. Carol Johnson asked what
time the trash pick up circuit would start and Al answered around ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE
REPORT Marv Sexson stated that there
are two jobs submitted with plans approved. One is for a new garage at Mz 12,
Lote 39. The other is a new build on Mz 43, Lote 11. He said that
Victor will be the contractor. OLD BUSINESS Al called on Marilyn Hall to
explain the bylaw revisions and Ballots. Marilyn explained that
the revisions are being made to make our bylaws consistent with the CC's
and R's and the Partial Development Plan that is registered with the State of
Sonora and Federal government of Mexico. She said that we have not revised
any of the bylaws since 2007. Item one is to
eliminate references to Item two would be to change
the PENCA meetings from three per year to two meetings per year. One
meeting In November (which is required by the Mexicans to report the Mexican
Corporation) and one meeting in the Spring, possibly in April. This would
eliminate the February meeting. Item three would be to
allow proxies by email and to eliminate notification by certified mail. Proxies by email would be
accepted if they are signed and sent from the email address registered with
PENCA. Carol Johnson asked if they can be e-signed on a computer and sent
and Marilyn answered yes. Marilyn also said that one person can only hold 3
proxies, so all else remains the same. We are only changing this to get
better participation. Give your proxy to someone you trust that shares
your feelings on the topic. Nick Appleton said that
this all makes good sense, but, what happens when they are approved, will there
be any complications with the Mexican government; could this be an issue? Marilyn
answered, no, it's not, because other changes have been made, for
instance, the number of board members have been changed, but not registered or
taken to a Notario. To save money we can do this all at one time. We
will put this all together so that they are aligned with the Partial Development
Plan. Marilyn then asked the
members to sign their proxies so we can keep track because a bylaw change
requires at least 50% of members to vote and 2/3 of them must vote in favor of
the changes. One ballot per household is required. Continuing with Old Business, Al reported that the plans for the Community/Recreation center are still in negotiations. The board met with the owners of the property that we are trying to have donated and their demands may be more that PENCA is willing to take on. He said that if that property is not available perhaps we could acquire another or maybe another generous member would like to donate a piece of land. Nick Appleton asked if we
know what a lot on the top row would sell for and Brandon Makenzie said possibly anywhere from
$7500 to $12,509 depending on the piece. Nick said that perhaps we should
contract some property owners and see if someone would sell, that just want to
get out...a "fire sale", so to speak. Al said we are pursuing
several different options. Wendell Holder asked if donating the
land could be a tax deduction and Bert Cooper answered No. In an update of the Estero
Morua issue Al stated that we are still working on a resolution. Some of
PENCAS board members met with their board in late December. We
presented our case to them but it was not accepted. At first they were not
allowing any vehicles past their gate but at the meeting they did say that
people could come in, leave their gear, then exit and park in the lot
provided just outside their gate and walk back in. It was the first anyone
had heard of that. Now, that they haven't changed their mind we are going
to pursue other options. Some avenues to follow are
working with Fausto Soto, having our attorney arrange a meeting with the Puerto
Penasco Mayor and possibly having our attorney go to Al said we have heard from
many upset members of PENCA who simply want to enjoy the area for fishing,
shelling, bird watching and as Nick Appleton said " there is so
much more to enjoy there than just fishing, maybe simply to just be on
that beautiful beach". Marilyn Hall asked if anyone
was aware that the Bird Sanctuary is owned by the city of A very lively discussion
ensued with members upset that they use our road to access their property and
pay very little for their share of maintaining the roads they use. Some
feel that the $750 they pay is much too little compared to the $49,000 we
paid in maintenance last year. Ward Bell suggested that if we deny access
through our property for one weekend that we would get a better response. Nick Appleton asked if we
could ask the city to provide a parking area on the lands that are city
property. Al said that we asked about widening their road for 2-way
traffic and parking and were told that they can't do that. Al said it is
one of the points we will pursue. Al said we asked if there is
available property to construct a new lot and were told no, but in some
research, there is a percentage of acreage donated for public use in the records
but we cannot find the purpose and are waiting for some maps of the area. Bert
Cooper, who attended the meeting with their board, felt that they did not
listen, they dictated and were not particularly nice. He said we suggested
we could help with some of the expenses to repair their damages, etc. and were
told our pockets are "too big". Bert said that it clearly states
that in Bert went on to say that he
did not like their attitude. We went there to help, not hinder, just to try to
restore what was there previously for all our enjoyment. He said he understands
that going through the system to get it done is necessary and should be done
because it is the right way to do it. But, he believes, at this time, we should
not do anything additional to help out that community. He thinks two
people are driving this agenda because he knows people who live there who do not
share these views and did not get the chance to vote on these changes of the
road closure. He said that we publish everything and they will be able to
read these minutes, but, we have no access to theirs; a secret society? We
need to know who set these rules, how did they come by them and who said
it was legal? He said we need to stop this before it gets bigger. Bert also said that he was
pleased to hear that the city officials have been working with PENCA by recently
shutting down some illegal construction. He said he feels that this
shouldn't be any different. This is not the law. He feels they are pushing
this to keep us out. Al responded that he thinks we cannot legally keep
people off our road. Bert said we can stop them at our gate, and, as long
as they have access to their homes, they can use the lower road. He said
that everyone must have ingress and egress to their homes (even the non-payers,
which he is working on). They do not have to go through our property to
access their home, they can use the lower road, so, we can say to them, use the
$750 to grade the bottom road and that's your ingress and egress. It
really is not necessary to go through our property and he feels we can get Al responded that he thinks,
with our efforts that we will make with the city, we will find out how much, how
soon we can do this and hopefully we will get rid of this problem. That is
our mission at this point, he said. Denise Beaver asked why they
are keeping us out and Al answered that they have a massive amount of
erosion to the property and the old parking area which he believes they caused
themselves. They say they have had a heavy influx of campers, kite
surfers, and those people have abused the beach so they are retaliating in a way
not fair to us. We are still allowed to go there but are restricted by not
allowing our vehicles onto the property. Carol Johnson said that she
believes the real issue is what they are doing with the large boulders and
concrete which is changing the flow of the tides and eroding the beach. Al
answered that she is correct and we realize that when you see all the boulders,
etc. put in place to protect two or three homes which diverted water to
the area of the old parking lot. He said they have created their own
problem and won't admit it. Carol said by changing the tide flow further
down the beach and she thought the Federal Zone officials would be out here
stopping those big trucks full of boulders (which came through Playa Encanto).
They should have been made to use the lower road. She believes
that the big issue is that they are changing the flow of our tides for future
generations. Someone asked if Estero Morua
is a registered HOA and Sharon Hill answered that they say they are. NEW BUSINESS No new business to report.
OPEN FORUM No activity to report. A motion to adjourn by Ward
Bell was seconded by Carol Johnson The meeting was adjourned by
Al Ciasca at Submitted by Sharon Hill PENCA Secretary
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