We are holding our next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at the Wasatch County Sr. Citizens Center in Heber City at 7:00 p.m. We appreciate input from our property owners and invite your attendance and participation.

We are pleased to announce that after working with the Association members since September 2008, we have received sufficient approval forms from our owners to authorize the Association to deed land to Wasatch County upon which a fire station can be built. We reported to the Wasatch County Fire Board last week that we have the approval of our members to move the project forward. The next step is for the Fire Chief to ascertain the cost to build the fire station. The Fire Board has stated their intention to comply with the Timber Lakes CC&Rs in the external appearance of the building. Our Board would like to thank each of the more than 1,000 property owners that responded with an approval form for the fire station. We also express appreciation to the County Fire Board for their support in working to have a fire station in Timber Lakes. We will keep you informed of our progress.

One of our board members, Charlie Richards, is in the process of selling his cabin and is going to resign from the board. Charlie has been serving as our Treasurer and we appreciate his service to the property owners in Timber Lakes. We wish him well. We are now accepting applications from property owners to fill the vacancy on the board. Obviously, we need a Treasurer. We outsource the Association’s accounting functions; the Treasurer oversees the accounting outsourcing and helps us with our budgeting and finance issues. The ideal candidate for this board position will have a finance, accounting or bookkeeping background. We invite and encourage you to get involved with our board. The primary requirement is that you be a Timber Lakes lot owner. If you are interested in talking to us about this board opening, please contact Connie in the office and obtain our very short candidate application form. Please feel free to contact any member of the board if you have questions.

Our neighbors at Heber Valley Camp opened the snowmobile gate today. Please stay between the trail markers when you ride through their property. They allow us to access the National Forest through their property, conditional on our not trespassing outside the trail markers. Also, you must have a current year Timber Lakes snowmobile sticker for each machine you are using. The office will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day so get your stickers now. We have approximately 15 inches of snow on the ground up on top and our road crew is doing an outstanding job of plowing the roads. If you come to snowmobile, please remember these things:

1. You must have a current Timber Lakes snowmobile sticker
2. Do NOT try to pull a trailer up or down Blue Spruce. It is too slick and you will endanger other drivers.
3. The only parking in Timber Lakes is in your own driveway, in the parking lot by the office, and at Duck Lake. If you are parked anywhere else, your vehicle will be towed. We have towed vehicles every weekend since the snow came. Do yourself a favor and don’t park on the road.
4. Once the parking areas are full, you must park somewhere legal in Heber Valley.
5. Please do not try to drive in Timber Lakes in a 2-wheel drive vehicle when the roads are snow packed or icy.

I know this may sound like the Grinch is running the show here. Let me take this opportunity to thank the vast majority of owners who follow the rules and never cause a problem. This is a great place to live and/or recreate. Thanks for making it fun to be here, sharing the mountain.

John Blickenstaff

We thank everyone who suggested a slogan for Timber Lakes. Some were pretty funny and we thank you for your humor. All the suggestions were appreciated. Here are your finalists:

• Timber Lakes – Above It All
• Timber Lakes – Four Seasons of Splendor
• Timber Lakes – Minutes Away. A World Apart.
• Timber Lakes – Welcome Home

Click on my name to send an email with your final selection.

John Blickenstaff

As of Wednesday, December 10, 2008, we have received approval forms from the owners of 1,006 lots. We are still 24 approvals short of being able to proceed with this project. We continue to call owners from whom we have not heard. Some of you have been helping by contacting your friends and neighbors. Please contact anyone else you know who owns property in Timber Lakes and remind them of the importance of the Fire Station to our subdivision. If we haven’t heard from you, please send your approval form in today. This is very important and we request your quick response in getting it to the next stage. Please contact John Blickenstaff, Ole Smith or Mike Durr if you have questions.

Fellow owners, there are some important things to know about life in Timber Lakes. While these are all posted elsewhere on the website, I would like to remind you again of some critical things that contribute to the quality of life on the mountain.

1. We have posted speed limits in Timber Lakes. These are maximums, not minimums. Weather and road conditions often make it unsafe to drive at the posted level. Please slow down and be careful. Severe injuries and loss of life have occurred here by driving too fast for the conditions.
2. If you are building, and your contractor or subs are caught speeding, they will not be allowed to drive into the subdivision. Please tell them you expect them to slow down and obey the rules.
3. There is no parking along any road in Timber Lakes. If you park along the road, we will tow your vehicle. You may park on a first-come, first-served basis in the lot on the side of the TLPOA office. You may also park at Duck Lake. These spaces are not adequate for heavy use weekends or holidays. If there is no place to park, you will have to arrange to park somewhere else (that is legal) in Wasatch County. If you do park in the office parking lot, you need to get a parking pass from security at the gate.
4. If you get stuck or have some kind of emergency where you park on the road, write your lot number and cabin phone on a paper visible on your dashboard. This allows us to contact you before we tow your vehicle. However, remember that we usually tow first and ask questions later. Our primary concern is safety and we must keep the roads clear of parked vehicles.
5. There are times when the roads are not safely passable. If you choose to drive during these times, you are putting yourself, your passengers and anyone else you encounter at risk.
6. We do not allow trailers to be pulled up or down on Blue Spruce during the winter. The roads are often too narrow for two vehicles to pass in opposite directions. All roads on the upper mountain are often icy and very slick. Every year, traffic is blocked and vehicles wreck because someone believes they can pull a trailer up (or down) Blue Spruce. Blue Spruce is too steep and too dangerous for trailers in the winter. Don’t do it.
7. Wasatch County prohibits short-term rentals in Timber Lakes. You cannot rent your cabin out unless it is a long-term rental (more than 30 days). We are cooperating with Wasatch County’s efforts to prosecute owners who allow overnight rentals. If you are renting your cabin on an overnight basis, you are on the list of owners who will be prosecuted.
8. The State of Utah considers Timber Lakes Estates one of the most at-risk fire locations in the state. Next spring and summer, please clear the undergrowth and dead timber from your lot. You may not have an open fire or flame of any kind for any reason outside your cabin, even on your own property.
9. We no longer have a place where you can dump your dead brush for chipping. It has become increasingly difficult to arrange for a chipper, we have not had adequate volunteer help from the owners to use a mobile chipper and many owners and their contractors used the chipping site as a place to dump construction trash. Each owner must now take care of the dead brush and trees on your property. (We are chipping the current pile at Duck Lake as soon as the weather permits this month.)
10. Please do not tailgate through the gate behind someone else. You do not have to let the gate close all the way, but stop and use your remote opener to reverse the gate direction when another vehicle has passed ahead of you. Almost every month we spend money to repair the gate because someone tags along to run the entrance before the gate closes. Let’s save our money for fixing the roads or some other good cause. When we have a security person in the gate house, your remote will not work. Slow down and identify yourself so they can let you in.
11. If you are building, please be aware that we have to close the roads to heavy construction vehicles during the winter. This means that you cannot have materials delivered to your lot when the roads are closed to construction traffic. If temperate weather allows an emergency exception to this policy, you must obtain permission in advance from the Vice President of Operations (the Road Guy). The Road Guy is a member of our board of directors and contact information is provided on our website. However, when the roads are closed to large construction vehicles and trailers, they are CLOSED! Please do not ask for routine exceptions. It is not an emergency just because it is your construction project.
12. Our agreement with the Heber Valley Camp for snowmobile access through their property provides access only for Timber Lakes Owners and their accompanied guests. You cannot send your guests to snowmobile; you must take them with you. All snowmobiles inside Timber Lakes must exhibit a Timber Lakes snowmobile sticker. Only owners may purchase stickers. We do not allow snowmobiles without current stickers into the subdivision.
13. If an owner is renting a snowmobile, the owner must purchase a Timber Lakes snowmobile sticker and show it in person at the gate in order to get the snowmobile into the subdivision. If you are renting multiple snowmobiles, you will need one sticker for each machine you want to bring past the gate.
14. We have received approval from the owners of 995 lots for the fire station project. We need an additional 75 approval forms. We are calling owners from whom we have not heard. If you are opposed to the fire station, please be nice to the person who calls you. You do not need to justify your decision or yell at the volunteer. Some of you are mad at the water company and President Bush and so you are opposing the Timber Lakes fire station. While these reasons provide us with a good laugh, you are not required to be unkind on the telephone.  Just tell them you are opposed and they will thank you for your time. If you are one of many owners who have told the telephone volunteer you will send in the approval form, please follow through by mailing us your signed form.
15. Your Board of Directors is trying very hard to address the quality of life issues that affect every member of the TLPOA. We are all volunteers, doing our best. Thanks for being patient with us. We welcome and desire your input on issues. Contact us and we will try to help.

John Blickenstaff

I know this is not an extrememly crucial topic, but I’d like to request your help as we update our image. In our board meeting last night, we selected a new, updated logo for the association. It’s not quite ready for prime time yet, but after a few tweaks we will roll it out. As part of this update, we’d like to select a new slogan for Timber Lakes. Some examples of slogans from other property developments in the area are:

• Wolf Creek Ranch – Your Land. Your Lifestyle. Your Legacy.
• Red Ledges – The nature of luxury.
• Victory Ranch Club – Welcome to Western Living.
• Maple Ridge Ranches – “The Experience Starts When You Cross The Bridge”
• Promontory Ranch Club – Four Seasons. One incomparable place to enjoy them.

Compare these with our current slogan:

• Timber Lakes Property Owners Association – a private non-profit Utah corporation.

Our slogan is informational but quite boring. Please assist us in selecting a new one. Email me your suggestion. Here are a few that we have kicked around:

• Timber Lakes: Welcome Home!
• Timber Lakes: Mountain Living, Comfortably Home
• Timber Lakes: A Utah splendor
• Timber Lakes: Where the mountain meets the sky

I think we can do better than Timber Lakes Property Owners Association – a private non-profit Utah corporation. Please let me know what you think.

John

Last night, Gary Hume and I attended the public budget hearing for the Timber Lakes Water Special Services District (the Water Company). There were four other property owners present. Part of the proceedings included an amendment to the Water Company’s 2008 budget to raise water rates by $15 per month per lot effective on the November 2008 bill. The Water Company Board explained that the purpose of the $15 rate increase is to pay off most or all of the construction loan interest that will be accruing between now and the time the construction project is completed. They estimate that this small increase now, will save us, the property owners, approximately $1 million over the life of the bond. This savings occurs because we will pay off the construction interest instead of rolling it into the bond and paying interest on interest for twenty years.

Even though none of us wants to pay a higher water bill, this rate increase makes sound economic sense. Anything that can be done to decrease the amount we will have to borrow when the bond is issued, will save money for every Timber Lakes property owner. The Water Company also discussed other ways they are working to decrease or hold down the cost of the construction project.

We appreciate their efforts to be careful with our money and will continue to work with them to find ways to help both entities. After all, all the money for both of our organizations comes from the same pockets, yours and mine.

We also encouraged and invited the Water Company to let us post public notices for their future rate hearings on our website. The turnout last night was disappointing. Perhaps more people will attend if their meetings are also posted on our website.

As a reminder, if you have questions about your water bill or the current pipeline construction project, please contact the Water Company, not the Timber Lakes Property Association. We are posting this information here, as a service to our owners, but we are not the Water Company.

A very sincere thanks to those who came to help us plant the evergreen trees at the Vehicle Storage Building last Saturday. A special thanks to Steve Drew and his crew who saved the day with manpower and expertise. I would also like to thank Ole Smith, who obtained, transported and planned for the trees to get planted. Lots of people made this happen and each of you is appreciated for pitching in.

As a non-related reminder, tonight is the monthly meeting of the Water Company. Their board meets at 6:00 pm in the Wasatch County Building on the corner of Main and Center in Heber City. The public is invited.

The next meeting for the Timber Lakes POA Board is Wednesday, November 5 at 6:00 pm in the Wasatch County Senior Citizens Center in Heber City.