INCOMING MESSAGE
I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome the members of our Board of Directors for the 2024-25 fiscal year. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve this community as your chair and look forward to a very challenging year. I trust in the passion of each board member and their desire to do the right thing for Pine Mountain Club and its residents.
The board members attended three days of orientation and training and have each volunteered to perform as liaison to standing committees along with Fire Safe Council. There are several committees that need more members. Please consider joining a committee; it’s never too late to be involved. In fact, some committees have not had their first meeting for this year.
The project manager for the clubhouse remodel met with the board to answer any questions they had regarding the project. While there were eight general contractors solicited to bid, four came forward with their proposals. The board has requested to meet with each contractor, in person if possible.
To be clear, the project has not been approved to move past the construction bidding phase, therefore, viable construction and funding options have not been discussed.
One of the urgent goals for this board is to approve a reserve specialist to perform a full detailed physical reserve study. We need to understand the current state of the PMCPOA assets, their remaining useful life and estimated cost of replacement. This study will include all components of the clubhouse. This analysis will be vital input to all remodel decisions.
I met with the Equestrian Center (EQ) Manager. She provided a very detailed analysis of her tenure as manager over the past eight years. A key takeaway was her discovery that other boarding ranches in our area provide employee housing, allowing them to pay minimum wages with little overhead while we strive to pay our staff a living wage. We will continue to discuss options for additional income streams and we’re hopeful to bring the EQ closer to break even.
I’m frequently asked, “What is the board doing about the bears?” This is a huge problem that has resulted from several sources but the most concerning are generational habituation and higher requirements to issue depredation permits. The PMCPOA Patrol is taking proactive measures to haze bears off of residential home sites, working with California Dept Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and maintaining bear attempts and break-in location log, uploaded up to the official PMCPOA Facebook page. It’s important for residents to always haze bears off of their property, follow the recommendations to remove all attractants and bear proof your home as much as possible. I intend to start a Task Force to provide more information to the members and looking for volunteers. For more information, sign up for the email blast and refer to our bear information page: https://www.pinemountainclub.org/
Fire season is in full swing as we experienced smoky skies for several days. The maintenance crew will continue to clear dead trees, shrubs and cut back foliage as time permits.
I look forward to a challenging yet fulfilling year as your board chair, be safe and prepared for emergencies.
Thank you.
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