November 7, 2023 Board Minutes
Minutes
Ginger Quill Ranch Board of Directors Meeting
November 7, 2023, 6:oo p.m. MST
Meeting held via Zoom.
Board Members Present: Doug Antczak, Chip Bates, Chad Cox, Adam Jaspers, Betty Stewart
Others Present: Daryl Billings, Brenna Francy-Cox, Mary Harpold, Kyle Pettine
Approval of Agenda: The Agenda was approved by the Board.
Comments to the Board: Stockholder Bob Warner asked if the Agenda had been distributed before the meeting. It had not. The Agenda was emailed to Zoom participants who requested it.
Consent Agenda Items:
· Caretaker’s Report: The Board recognized that there is a lot of stress on Glen and his family at this time. Glen’s current work schedule is 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday – Thursday. Jackson County is short-handed, so Glen is also on call on weekends for plowing. He has been working day and night. Diana had to have a hip replacement from three years ago redone. The surgery was complex in that the surgeon had to break her pelvic bone to extricate the failed part from the previous surgery. She has had a lot of pain and is moving slowly. Diana receives a small amount of compensation for operating the tractor/snowplow. She is covered for this work under the Ranch’s Workman’s’ Compensation Insurance. The cattle left the ranch on October 10th. The Big House was closed on October 21st.
· Treasurer’s Report: See Attached Income – Expense Report
Ø Our annual insurance premium for the Rod & Gun Club package + additional liability coverage is $17,544.16 for 23-24 year. This premium is similar to last year’s. However, due to the cost of the lawsuit, we set up a monthly payment plan rather than paying the premium in full. We have paid 25% down ($4,343.50) and will make 11 monthly payments of $1,200.66 beginning 11/20/23.
Ø Cattle grazing fees have not been paid at the time of this meeting.
Ø The ranch is changing to a fiscal year that will run from September 1st to August 31st each year, beginning in September of 2024. Annual Assessments for January 1 thru August 31, 2024, will be $1,033. This assessment will be due 2/1/24 in full. If stockholders choose a payment plan, a fee of 8.13% APR will be charged. Three payments of $372 will be due on February 1st, April 1st, and June 1st. Invoices will be emailed in early January 2024. The Board will develop a budget for the new fiscal year and present it to stockholders in early summer.
· New Website: The cost of creating our new website and purchasing the domain name has been paid for with generous donations from a couple of stockholders. As of November 1st, 2023, the new website (including reservations calendar) is live at https://www.gingerquillranch.com/ The password is platte. Please take some time to go to the new website and explore all of the tabs. Be sure to take some time practicing making and canceling reservations. On January 1st, your practices will be cleared, and the reservations calendar will be ready for you to book your summer reservations. The cost to maintain this website will be about $1.53 per share per month. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.
· GQR Newsletters: Due to the loss of a willing and reliable volunteer to produce quarterly newsletters, this service is discontinued for the time being. Information from the Board and Caretaker will be posted in the Events and Blog sections on the new website.
· GQR Board Agendas & Minutes: Due to the loss of a willing and qualified volunteer, Board Agendas and Minutes will be published in a different manner for now. Agendas will be posted to the new website in the Events section. Minutes will be posted in the Blog section.
Unfinished Business:
1. Update on Pettine, et al vs. GQR. This update was not completed by the meeting time but was subsequently emailed to stockholders on November 10, 2023. The update will be posted to the Blog tab on the new website.
New Business:
1. River Cattle Guard: Board President Chip Bates reviewed the history of his purchase of a used cattle guard from the Ranch in 2020. Chip recognized that the Ranch may have undervalued the cattle guard, and he has offered to pay an additional $400 to the Ranch. (This payment was made on 11/28/23.)
Discussion followed regarding installation of a cattle guard at the site of the gate leading to the river. It was agreed that a lockable gate and cattle guard would provide the best security and safety to keep non-stockholders from entering Ranch property from the river without permission, to keep Silver Spur cattle from entering the Ranch, and finally to keep our cattle on the ranch.
Chip Bates was adamant that this work cannot proceed using Ranch funds at this time. However, there may be other ways to fund this project. Adam Jaspers reported that stockholder Al White has offered to pay half the cost of a new cattle guard, and Adam volunteered to donate steel for a custom-made guard. John Harpold reminded that in the past North Park High School students made a cattle guard for the Ranch for a very reasonable cost, about $600 for materials and labor. No timetable for this project was established, but it is a project that is supported by both the Board and stockholders.
2. Stockholder Outreach: Adam Jaspers led a discussion about how we can encourage a sense of community among all stockholders and how to involve stockholders more in ranch operations. This included the need for stockholders to use the new website. Adam brought up the good point that stockholders who do not have exclusive-use cabins sometimes find it difficult to arrange trips to the Ranch if they need to transport a lot of gear. Chip Bates suggested that stockholder Seth Bates could make good contributions to this initiative.
3. Secretary/Treasurer Duties: Chip Bates and Betty Stewart have been discussing ways to make the workload of the Board less onerous, BUT DEFINITIVE PLANS ARE YET TO BE ESTABLISHED. Compound management, restocking supplies, cleaning, bookkeeping, staff management, cattle grazing leases, and other issues may require professional management in the future. Adam Jaspers and Betty Stewart will meet with RLR (our accounting firm) to discuss accounting needs early in 2024. Doug Antczak will assume responsibility for compiling the Board Meeting Minutes beginning with these minutes.
4. 2024 Rules and Regulations & Use Fees: There was a good discussion about fees for compound cabin use and cleaning. Betty Stewart reported that ranch income from use fees for compound facilities was reduced in 2023 compared to 2022. The reasons for this decrease are unclear. Betty proposed to raise the daily fee for the Big House from $125 to $130 per day. No decision was made. Raising the daily fee would increase income per day, but also might decrease the number of days the Big House is used.
It was reported that some stockholders with exclusive-use cabins do not pay fees for their guests and do not submit liability waivers. This is a serious issue, and the Board is considering reasonable solutions. Some were discussed, but none were adopted. Discussion focused on the dirty and unacceptable state in which compound units and the Big House were left by some stockholders. Part of the problem has been the unreliability of the cleaning services that were engaged. Keeping the compound units clean between stockholders’ use had been a perpetual problem for the Ranch. The Board will continue to discuss and work on problem solving this important issue.
Additional Comments to the Board: None
Executive Session – In executive session, the Board approved a cost-of-living increase for Glen Hurt in the amount of 3.2% for 2024.
Meeting Adjourned at 7:45 p.m. MST.
Next Board of Directors Meeting: No specific meeting time has been scheduled, but it will be held in January.
Income Expense Report will be emailed to stockholders.