ARCMA Parkway News

Updated :

American River Canyon Maintenance Association

Board Meeting

Posted March 5th, 2024

Updated on Meetings.

An Executive Board Meeting will be held on Friday, March 8th, 2024 from 10 to 11:30 AM at the following location:

NCM, 1700 Eureka Road, Suite 130, Roseville. CA 95661

This meeting is closed to the membership per Civil Code §4935. 

The Annual Meeting for March 11th posted below. Following the Annual Meeting on March 11th, a Board meeting will follow. Due to the sensitive nature of the information, Home Owners are NOT to be in the Board Meeting.

All Agendas and Minutes are on the Meetings page in the perspective table.

Posted March 2nd, 2024

UPDATED Location, Date and Time:

Monday March 11th

Meeting time: 6pm

Location:

Holaloha Restaurant

9580 Oak Avenue Parkway 
Suite 8 Folsom, CA

(Corner of American River Canyon Dr and Oak Ave)

Note: No food or drink will be available

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Posted February 23rd, 2024

Hello Community Members,

The next Board Meeting open to all members will be held March 7th at 6:00 PM. The location is to be determined, please check back in a few days.

American River Canyon Maintenance Association

2024 Annual Budget & Disclosure Packet & Browning Reserve Study

February 8th, 2024

Hello Community Members,

Network Community Management has released the 2024 Annual Budget & Disclosure packet along with the Browning Reserve Study for fiscal year 2024 which can be accessed as one PDF file from the link below.

American River Canyon
Association Management

January 23rd, 2024

As many of you know, the Association for our parkway changed last year. I have not added any news as the New Association is working on a new website that is managed by them, however, this is taking longer than thought, and although the information was added to the front page of this website for the changes of our payment portal a several months ago , I will add it also to the "News" section here and the "FAQ" page, as we may be using this site for some time. Also, since the webpage is looking dated,  updating the site to a "new" look to improve access and improve aesthetics will be in the process.

As an update, out new Association Management information:

Network Community Management, Inc.

1700 Eureka Road, Suite 130

Roseville, CA 9566

Our Contact for Network Community Management, Inc

Community Association Manager
Irene Crane: (916) 771-8551 ext.113

Aftter Hours Emergency Contact:

(916) 749-1467

To pay your dues and find information, use link below:

https://2ncm.com/

American River Canyon
Association Management Concepts Portal

Updated

Links below have been removed as we are no longer with the Management Association in 20223.

March 7th, 2023 *Updated March 20th*

Per the American RIver Canyon AMC Portal, the form below can be used for consent to receive electronic documents. Please use the Form Button to download the pdf file.

FELLOW MEMBERS OF ARCMA

I am sure that many people do not realize there is an association portal for American River Canyon in which you can view your home information, pay dues online, set up auto-pay, put in request for reviews and maintenance of our parkway, etc.. The link will be posted here and on the front page for easy access. If you do not have an account, or never have had an account and you are an owner in the area, please check out the link below. If you have any questions setting up your account, please call the American River Canyon Maintenance Association at (916) 565-8080.

To access the American River Canyon AMC Portal, please click on the button below.

Rock Seat Ideas for the
Parkway

February 8th, 2023

FELLOW MEMBERS OF ARCMA

In the meeting on February 7th it was discussed that some images of the rock seats that are proposed to be placed on the Parkway. The following images were added for viewing. Please click on the images for a larger viewing.

MEMBERS ASK ME ….
 

January 25th, 2023



FELLOW MEMBERS OF ARCMA

• Doug, why do you resist updating the ARCMA CC&Rs and By Laws?

In principle I don't. There are certainly elements in both documents which make management difficult, especially the requirement that there be exactly 3 Directors elected for 1 year terms (yearly turnover, steep learning curve, quorum problems). The problem is that both documents set a high bar for amendments. Amendments to the CC&Rs require approval of ¾ of the membership, i.e. 516 “yes” votes; amendments to the By Laws require 344 “yes” votes. In recent years we have had difficulty getting ¼ of our members – the minimum required for a valid election - to even vote in the yearly election of Directors, and that is only 172 participants. I am reluctant to convene a committee and put lawyers to work at whatever the current hourly rate is, (remember, ARCMA is a Corporation, so these are legal documents.) when I see no realistic possibility the end result will ever be approved by the membership.

• Doug, why did you not adopt the Browning Reserve Study?

Not because of anything that Browning did. I have the utmost respect for Mr. Browning and the Browning Reserve Group (BRG). However, they have to follow their clients direction, and it became clear to me that someone in ARCMA has been giving them direction about basic assumptions which do not match reality. There are multiple examples where Browning noted their inputs were “Per client”, not to mention one where the input was $28,080 in 2024 as “a placeholder component” - i.e. ARCMA has no projects in mind but throw in $28,080 just in case we think of something - and another entry for $45,101 in 2023 for “SMUD Boxes”, a project that was already completed.. I did meet with Mr. Browning in the AMC office with Brad Higgins, and Mr Browning agreed to revise their study to address the identified problems. Unfortunately, in the revision the basic assumptions for the areas in the original study which I had previously accepted were CHANGED. I don't know who asked BRG to change those, but I know it wasn't me. At this point I gave up, but I would point out that the reserve in the 2023 approved Budget is just over twice the BRG recommended $30,000 in their (in my opinion) flawed revision. We are NOT shorting the Reserves, we are rebuilding them.

• Doug, if you didn't use the BRG recommendation, how DID you compute the Reserve?

By using traditional budgeting methods. One calculates the anticipated necessary expenses and the anticipated income and evaluates the difference. Hopefully, income will exceed expenses (IT DOES!), and the difference is held in the reserve account to cover unexpected budget overruns and unanticipated emergencies. Simple, easily understood, and completely transparent. (Slightly off topic but appropriate here: Non-profit entities like ARCMA are allowed to hold Reserves. Amounts recommended range from 3 months expenses up to more than 1 years expenses. Our yearly Budgets are somewhat under $300,000. I would be comfortable with something around $100,000, but that is something for the Board to decide. We DO need to guard the Reserves and not just spend them willy nilly.)

• Doug, why don't you vote the way members want you to?

The technical answer is that this is representative Government. Directors are elected by the members to act in their behalf. My personal criteria is: What is best for the Parkway, what is best for the Company, what is best for our members – all 687 of them.. Those objectives are not always compatible, and are often in conflict, but the job is to make the best decision you can. The practical answer is that no matter what you decide, some one or some group won't like it, and passions can run high. You just have to grit your teeth and move on. That's why they pay us the big bucks. (THAT WAS A JOKE! We are all volunteers. No one gets paid a penny.)

Douglas N Brower

President, ARCMA

You Could Lose

Your House!   

December 15th, 2022

FELLOW MEMBERS OF ARCMA

This message won't be pleasant or easy, so let's hit it head on. A number of our members have not paid their 2022 dues; some of those have not paid for 2021 either, and some before that. Now, in the normal course of business (yes, ARCMA is a BUSINESS, incorporated in California) it is entirely normal and expected that a small number – a very small number - of accounts will be overdue. People forget, or misplace the bill, or whatever, the dues don't get paid. Further, at the beginning of the pandemic ARCMA management took a rather lenient view. We sort of got away from strict enforcement. People, our friends and neighbors, were hurting, and it seemed the right thing to do. That time is now past. COVID-19, in its many variations, is no longer a concern for most Americans, the unemployment rate is below 4.0%, and the economy is running again – changed, but not at a stand still. Unfortunately, our overdue rate has continued to be a concern. It is almost like some folks are thinking “that guy over there doesn't pay and nothing happens, why should I pay?” It has become a problem which cannot be ignored.

The answer to the rhetorical question, “Why should I pay?” is, quite simply, if you don't pay the consequences will be terrible for you, and could even possibly result in you losing your house. I know, it seems silly that an unpaid account of $1,000 or less could endanger a house worth hundreds of thousands, but that's the way the system works. Society discovered over the eons that unpaid small bills grow into unpaid large bills, businesses run out of money, and the economy grinds to a halt. Unacceptable. I do not pretend to understand exactly how this all works. The only thing I am pretty sure of is that if an account gets “sent to collection” lawyers get involved, it costs substantial EXTRA money – above and beyond the amount actually owed – to get out of it, and you are in for a monumental hassle. Brad Higgins at AMC, our management consultant, is actively working on this issue for ARCMA, but there are still overdue accounts, and billing notices for 2023 will be arriving soon.

The overwhelming majority of members are probably wondering, what does this have to do with me? Simple. Those unpaid dues mean the ARCMA cash accounts are short by thousands of dollars that they would have if everyone paid on time. I understand that we will eventually get the money, but “eventually” doesn't pay the bills NOW, and now is a really scary time for anyone trying to budget a year ahead. At the last meeting of the Board of Directors we voted a $15 increase in dues for 2023. I was not convinced we needed to do that at this time, but I will NOT criticize those who did. They could very well be right, and a year from now we may be wondering why the increase was not $50 instead of $15. As with all things in this life, time will tell.

Whatever the reasons, if you are behind in your dues, do YOURSELF a favor and contact Brad Higgins, 916-565-8080 X308, brad@assocmc.com, and get current. And if you are NOT behind, then ARCMA thanks you and trusts you will continue your prompt payments.

Douglas N Brower

President, ARCMA

Parkway

Budget & Dues    

August 20th, 2022

NEWS from the President



Greetings to my fellow members,

Today I am going to write about two interconnected topics, your yearly dues and the ARCMA Budget.

The Budget should come first, and I have developed a preliminary “straw man”, based on past expenses incurred and 2023 anticipated expenses. I have asked AMC, our management consultant, to look it over to make sure I haven't made any silly errors. I will share that with you as soon as it is fully vetted. As a general observation, our finances look fine for the rest of this year, and as of right now it looks like 2023 will be equally satisfactory. We are currently scheduled to consider the 2023 Budget at our next Directors meeting, September 6, 2022.

In the past 3 months I have heard a refrain that “Yearly dues haven't changed for years. We need to raise them.” My friends, that is exactly backwards. First we develop a budget for next year and THEN we decide what dues are necessary to fulfill it. However, since people do want to talk about dues let's get our facts straight first:

1. When we bought our house in 2000 the yearly dues were $100, and they remained $100 through 2005. They then rose gradually until in 2015 they were $210. I think most of us would not think that an unreasonable increase for a parkway going from 25 to 35 years old. But Dennis Bracht – and perhaps others -could see trouble coming with the advancing age and knew that more funds would be needed for large, one time expenses.
2. So, the yearly dues increased 20% in 2016 to $252, by another (almost) 20% in 2017 to $300, and by another 20% in 2018 to $360. Wow. A 71.4 % cumulative increase in 3 years! I trusted Dennis implicitly, so I never voiced a single complaint, and Charlotte Bracht has always said that once the big projects were over Dennis intended to reduce the yearly dues.
3. But then Dennis became ill, others assumed the management of ARCMA and the yearly dues NEVER WENT BACK DOWN.

That is all history. Over. Done. Bygones. As I have said before, I am completely uninterested in searching for scapegoats and assigning blame. BUT, we can at least be honest and tell the whole story about past dues increases. Yes, your dues have not increased in 4 years, but in the 3 years before that they rocketed up 71.4%! What we need to concentrate on right now is the present and the future, and that is what your Board of Directors is doing.

Finally, these more recent letters from me to the membership are an attempt to better communication between us. I am trying to be open and direct about topics we are currently working on, and I honestly welcome your thoughtful and constructive comments, on any subject. My email is douglasnbrower@gmail.com, and I read every one I receive. I do not respond to every one – there are 686 of you and one of me – and let me emphasize, thoughtful and constructive.

Thanks for listening.

Douglas N Brower

ARCMA President

"Parkway Q&A"       

9th August 2022

My fellow members,

I want to address in some detail the project to remove 5 redwood trees encroaching on the Parkway fence, trees which are on ARCMA property. First, in early May, Director Jeffrey Harris, during one of his frequent walks on the Parkway noted several instances where a redwood tree was damaging the fence. Since Jeff was assuming responsibility for the fence he took pictures of 4 of the worst offenders and asked that the subject be placed on the agenda for the 11 May 2022 meeting, which was done. Since no vendor quotes were in hand, the Board authorized Jeff to pursue removal of the 4 redwoods at a cost not to exceed $12,000. While obtaining a quote from NorCal tree management it was noted that a second redwood adjacent to one of the identified 4 original trees was also in contact with the fence, and that it would be more efficient to remove it at the same time. Therefore the project was increased from 4 to 5 trees. It was also found that removal of one of our large redwoods would cost closer to $4,000 than $3,000. Now, we are fully cognizant that one can find sources on the Internet which claim “large” trees can be removed for less than $2,000. However, if one digs more deeply you find that “large” is undefined or defined as 40-60 feet tall and our redwoods are about twice that size. Furthermore, those lower “quotes” uniformly do not include stump grinding: that is a $400 to $600 extra. Finally, those numbers are not firm quotes, but will depend on an individual tree inspection. An informal review of previous tree removals by ARCMA convinced me that a cost of $4,000 for one of our large redwoods was not unreasonable.

Some have asked why we need to remove the trees at all? The answer to that question is: Damage and Liability. Those trees are already damaging our fence, and even if we leave the trees alone and repair the fence we are still surely going to suffer additional damage in future years. However, the more important issue is liability. Since they are OUR trees, ARCMA is responsible for any damage they may cause to the property of others, specifically our members on the other side of the fence. Redwoods are notorious for dropping limbs and for having aggressively invasive roots. I personally remember a case a few years back when the Board of Directors approved a $6,000 payment to an across the fence neighbor for damage attributed to one of our trees. I was at that Meeting of the Board. Let me also point out that we offered each of the affected across the fence neighbors an option: If they would sign a legally binding document releasing us from liability for any damage caused by our tree, then we would leave the tree untouched. None of them accepted that offer, and in their shoes neither would I.

None of us WANT to remove trees. Those redwoods are beautiful trees and I sincerely wish the landscapers 40+ years ago had planted them 15 or 20 feet away from the fence. But they did not, and we have to face the realities as they are presented to us now. That is our responsibility as Directors, to make these difficult decisions. I am convinced we made the right one.

Douglas N Brower

President, ARCMA

"Long Strange Trip"

23 June, 2022

NEWS from the President

Greetings to my fellow members of ARCMA!

On August 18, 1977, the rock band Grateful Dead released an album titled “What a Long Strange Trip It's Been”. I was never really a fan of the Dead, but I always liked that title. If someone had told me a year ago that I would be here today as your ARCMA President I would have thought them mad. And yet here we are today. Long Strange Trip. So, how DID we get here?

First, as I'm sure you noticed, there was some confusion over the Annual Meeting of the Members (Covid restrictions, etc) as well as the annual election of Directors, with the result that the Annual Meeting and Election scheduled for January was delayed until April 25 (via Zoom), and the Organizational Meeting delayed until May 4. Let me put in a bit of personal philosophy here: It is inevitable in this world and this life that “Stuff happens.” I am completely uninterested in searching for scapegoats or seeking to assign blame. Stuff happened. We deal with it, fix the problem, try to make sure it doesn't reoccur, and move on. Done.

Second, I was convinced on May 4 that the single biggest problem ARCMA faced was that the Board had not yet authorized our landscape contractor to purchase the “bark” (mulch, chips, whatever you call it) necessary to conserve water and protect our beautiful Parkway. Now, normally we schedule a Board of Directors meeting about every 3 months, and in fact the next one had already been scheduled for July. Obviously that would not do, so with a lot of help (special thanks to Amber Vargas at AMC) we got a meeting scheduled and done on May 11, and our landscape contractor now assures me they have the authorization they need to do their job.

Third, as long as we needed a meeting we put some other projects besides bark on the agenda. Getting the pass throughs rebuilt. Taking out a few redwoods which are wrecking our fence. Looking into the possibility that some companies might provide us free wood chips. A few other diverse efforts. These are now all in work, almost 3 months sooner than if we had waited for the July meeting

I will conclude by openly telling you that not everything on this Long Strange Trip has been smooth or easy, but that is not unexpected when you try new things with new people in a compressed time frame. Some of these projects will have to be revisited in the July meeting, but progress is being made

Thank you for your interest We can always use more help!

Douglas N Brower

President, ARCMA