Board members present, acknowledgment of Carolyn, Mike Patterson and Jarod Cox (PK Land Project Manager). County officials present included Judge Mike Smiddy and Commissioner Ed Laney.
II. A. As in the past, donations of $500 each will be
made to both East and West Side Fire and Rescue Services.
B. Two seats on the board are
expiring. Since the organization has managed to get a lot off its
plate, the board decided there is no need to fill these positions at
this
time. There is a need to improve the election process, as the one
currently being used is antiquated. We are looking into a formal
and official election
process for next year. Sue
Cathey of the PK Water Supply Corporation was appointed chairperson of
a Credentials Committee. This committee will
develop a new election process which will be similar
to the one currently used by the water department. Three director
positions expiring next year will be
elected using
this process. Any member wanting to be a part of the Credentials
Committee should contact Sue Cathey.
III. Tax Case
The 2006 tax case went to trial last
year and Judge Ray ruled in favor of the Appraisal District. An
appeal has been filed with the Court of Appeals in
Eastland. Oral arguments are expected this
summer. Discussion about current tax assessments concluded with
agreement that anyone unhappy with values
should protest their taxes.
IV. HB 3031 passed by the Legislature instructs BRA to sell
directly to lessees or a third party. (Patterson)
A. Watchword right now is
"patience". Pay close attention to timelines because some are
specific as outlined in HB 3031. A timeline handout was provided
for membership.
B. Big thank you goes to Senator
Craig Estes and Representative Jim Keffer, Paula Pierson and Jim
Jackson. Membership was also thanked for all the work
that was done
in each district in communication with their elected
officials. PK issues were well known in Austin.
C. FERC request written by BRA to
exchange 25' buffer for land adjacent to State Park was filed this
spring. The Association has filed supporting
paperwork. There is no timeline on when a decision will be made
by FERC.
D. Lessees who are at the end of
the 5 year lease cycle, their new 2010 lease rate adjustment was
supposed to be calculated using "appraisal values". BRA
staff has advised that no appraisal values have been
determined. Consideration of those lease rates will be made at
the BRA board meeting on July 27,
2009.
E. Surveys needing to be done for
each individual lot may cause issues to arise between neighbors.
The Association encourages neighbors to work out
differences that might arise.
BRA has hired survey crews that have begun working on the Master survey
that will determine the 1000' . Each lessee that
chooses to purchase will be
responsible for their individual survey.
F. Financing options to purchase
the property include cash, loans from lender of your choice, using a
preferred lender bank from Patterson list or seller financed
(Patterson) at
6% for 30 years no points.
V. Mike Patterson and Jarod Cox were introduced. The
remainder of the meeting included comments from Patterson and
question/answerers from membership
. Samples of some of the discussion included:
1. He advised
membership that he has a limited time to sign a contract with
BRA. This contract must be approved by BRA board hopefully at
their July 27,
2009 board meeting.
2. Survey process is
the next step for Patterson. He said he had until June 30 to
define roads and FERC area (25'). DO NOT buy an individual survey
now.
Individual survey must fit inside the Master survey. Individual
survey information will be posted on Patterson web-site as it becomes
available.
3. Patterson's
web-site is www.pklandpartnership.com. Each BRA leaseholder has a
page with their information. Each leaseholder was asked to check
their information for accuracy. Timelines and
updates can be found on this web-site.
4. HB 3031 mandates
that Patterson's drop deadline is December 31, 2010 to close with
BRA. Basic sale price to leaseholders will be 90% of 2008 Palo
Pinto County Appraisal values. Simultaneous closing is outlined
so that lessee can close on the same day Patterson closes with BRA
5. In Patterson's
comments about preferred lender, he stated that each leaseholder will
purchase at 85% (not 90%) if you use one of the preferred banks
and simultaneous closing. First National in Graham will be the
lead bank. A list of preferred banks will soon be listed on
Patterson's web-site.
VI. Adjourn
Monte Land assured membership that the
web-site and newsletters would continue to be updated and sent as
information becomes available.
Monte also stated "Let me say
this-our Association is committed-is committed-to help this man, to
help BRA, to help you out there to get this thing done."
Although the meeting adjourned about
noon, many members remained to ask individual questions.