Dear Kachess Community Property Owner,

As outgoing president of your Board of Directors, I felt it would be beneficial to give you a brief overview of the challenges that the Board has faced this year as well as some of the projects that have been completed and those that are still underway.  While this in no way is a complete account of everything we have accomplished, it is my attempt to keep you informed on some of the major events.

Perhaps the most valuable asset that we own as a community is the water system.  Without water, our properties are worthless.  Bob Angrisano has been in charge of the community water system this year.  Bob has been involved with several projects within the water system this year including conducting a study with the Department of Health to determine if our water system is in fact a groundwater system under the influence of surface water (GWI) with a hydraulic connection, or if it�s strictly a GWI system.  The distinction between these two systems is important, as there are different water treatment requirements between the two systems.  Also, surface water is controlled by a different set of water rights and is subjected to water rights rules of use and order.  This can be very important in years of drought, as we will be facing this year.

In addition to conducting this study with the Department of Health, Bob also changed our chlorination system from a gas system to a liquid system.  Bob performed much of this work himself and was able to complete the switch between the two systems for approximately $750 by donating his time and labor.  This was well lower than the estimated $2,000 cost that the change was anticipated to cost.  Changing these systems will help reduce the chlorine taste and smell that many residents complained of, allows more control over the amount of chlorine in the water, it will be cheaper to operate, and is much safer as chlorine gas is no longer stored in the pump house.  Bob also cleaned out the pump house and replaced the broken space heaters.

During late January and early February, Bob noticed that the water usage in the community was much higher than normal and it was believed to be due to a water leak.  Bob spent several hours walking around all the lots in the community looking for the water leak.  Around the middle of February, the water leak seemed to �fix� itself.  It is believed that a homeowner found a broken pipe in their home and fixed it.

In addition to being president, I was also in charge of snowplowing and parking this year.  With such a light snow year, snow removal was not much of a problem.  Necessary maintenance was performed on both the road grader and snowplow and they are ready for next year when we hopefully will receive more snow. 

With the light snow this year, parking has also not been much of a problem and the community members seem to be complying with the parking regulations rather well.

Mo Hanan has performed the job of community liaison.  That means Mo has to write those letters that no one likes to receive notifying people of violations of the CCR�s.  While no one likes to receive these letters, it is important to remember that Mo is acting at the direction of the board and that it is being done to help keep this community the place that we all love and enjoy.  Without someone reminding us of the rules and regulations from time to time, who knows what our community would look like.

Hugh Munro has been in charge of the roads and culverts.  The KCA finally received written confirmation from Kittitas County this year that Via Kachess is a county road and that all the other roads within the community are owned and controlled by the KCA.  This is an important distinction so that we all know which regulations apply to which areas.  Hugh has also been in the process of evaluating the condition of our roads, ditches and culverts to see what kind of shape they are in and what repairs need to be done.

Steve Hegge has been in charge of the clubhouse this past year.  Steve has performed maintenance on the clubhouse, has determined where several cracks and leaks are in the foundation and is in the process of developing a plan to fix these problems.  Steve has also developed a clubhouse reservation calendar that is now posted on the web site, at www.kachess.com, and the community notices bulletin board, which is hung on the front porch of the clubhouse.

Dick Landen has served as the chair of the Architectural Control Committee (ACC) this past year.  In May 2004 there were 9 active projects that had been approved by the ACC.  Through March 2005, a total of 26 additional projects were approved for the lot/home owners.  A total of 24 projects were approved and/or completed during the course of this year, leaving 11 projects still underway.

With Kittitas County reaffirming that they control and require permitting for all culverts on Via Kachess Road, all the culverts on the other roads within the community were the responsibility of the KCA.  The ACC has adopted the Kittitas County culvert guidelines for all other roadways within the community and established that the installation and requirements for them would be coordinated between the ACC and the KCA Board�s Roads and Culverts Committee. 

Also, the county has started to require that the KCA provide a letter to the county, during the permitting process, to verify that the Community�s water system is adequate to supply that particular residence.

Tony DiPangrazio joined the board in September 2004 when a previous Board Member resigned.  Tony has been a valuable asset to the board as he has extensive knowledge when it comes to land development and community issues.  Tony has assisted Hugh on the Roads and Culverts issues and Steve with clubhouse issues.

As you know, the KCA Board of Directors asked for the community to approve an increase in the annual assessment last year to allow for the formation of reserve capital funds.  The idea behind these reserve funds is to allow us a way to fund major projects in the future, such as water line replacements, without going to the community for a huge assessment at that time. 

The community did not approve this request and as such, the Board was forced to make due with the funding available to them.  During this year, the Board has been very successful in collecting money that has been past due for annual assessments and fines.  In addition to this, the KCA foreclosed on a lot that had a lien on it and was able to sell this lot for a profit.  With the funds from these collections, the Board was able to establish the reserve capital funds and to place initial funding into them.  The reserve funds currently have the following balances:

While this is a good start to the building of these funds, we still have a long way to go and future boards need to remain fiscally responsible by continuing to build these funds.  It is also very important to remember that the successful collection of such a large sum of money this year is something that we do not expect to happen again soon.

While Board actions are sometimes unpopular and may seem unfair, the Board is charged with the obligation of doing what is in the best interest of the community as a whole, while following the requirements of the CCR�s, the Association Bylaws, and the laws of the State of Washington.  This Board has worked hard to protect our community and to make it the best place possible within our means.  I am sure that future Boards will continue to do the same.

If you have any questions about the Board or anything that the Board has done, please feel free to contact me or any of the other Board members.

Sincerely,

Monty L. Moore
KCA President