Mammoth Creek Condominiums

Attached is the agenda for the upcoming board meeting starting at 5:30pm Pacific time.

As has been done in previous years, the HOA will replace batteries for smoke and Carbon Monoxide detectors. In addition, fire extinguishers be inspected. Once the dates are settled upon, owners will be to given 48 hours written notice (per 2.C.1 of current CC&Rs).

This meeting is in conjunction with the September 7 Homeowners meeting. We hope to see you there

The agenda has been posted in the front office and is also available here:

The web site is back up and running. You will need an account and password to access the private sections such as documents and meeting minutes if you don’t already have one. Also, let us know if your current account is out of date and you need it updated.

Sunday, May 5, the Board of Directors will gather at Mammoth Creek for its annual “Walk the Project” meeting. Members and management tour the property to review upcoming maintenance and repair projects, and to identify new damage or winter wear-and-tear that needs attention. In addition, a full agenda will be discussed.

Pretty much, this is an all-day affair, so homeowners are welcome to join anytime. If you have any questions please contact any Board member or the MCC office.

As a Mammoth Creek Homeowner, you received two pieces of certified mail in the past month regarding the Gap Bike Path Project proposal to replace the dirt path on the south edge of our property with a paved bike path.  As these documents have some short deadlines combined with the possibility of the town using eminent domain to acquire the property, here is an update from the Board regarding what is being done.

The HOA Board of Directors and several members had a conference call meeting with Town representatives on Wednesday night, December 13. The HOA’s attorney and a board member had a subsequent conference call with the Town representatives on Friday, December 15 to discuss the requirement to appear before the Town Council on December 20 to protect our rights to challenge the right of the Town to acquire our property by eminent domain. Our attorney will be drafting a letter and getting it to the Town by the deadline to protect us on this matter.

The Board and Town are anxious to start the formal negotiation process on this project. Our first meeting is scheduled for January 9, 2018 in Mammoth Lakes. The board has appointed Gary Drlik (gdrlik@gmail.com) and Tom Waller (trw2001@sbcglobal.net) to be the HOA’s representatives to negotiate with the Town on this project.

The Board plans to try to come up with a settlement package that addresses homeowner concerns, while simultaneously accumulating concrete reasons that will effectively challenge the eminent domain resolution of necessity should we be unable to reach a settlement, or the settlement does not receive the necessary votes for approval.

Since there is a very tight time line that the Town needs to adhere to for funding for this project (obtain the property by April 30, 2017) the board is requesting any owner that has information that they want the negotiation team to consider before we start the negotiations with the Town to contact either/or both Gary and Tom by December 27, 2017. This will allow the Board and the negotiation team to prepare our side for negotiations with the Town. It is the Board’s and the Town’s hope that acquisition of the property needed for the Gap Bike Path project can be successfully negotiated which would eliminate the need for the Town to obtain our property by eminent domain.

If we can reach a negotiated settlement with the Town, the agreement would need 2/3 approval by our HOA members. We hope to have a voting package out to all members before the middle of March, to meet the Town’s requirement of obtaining the property by April 30, 2017. Once you receive this package please vote ASAP.

We will try and keep updated info on this project on our HOA web site.

Any questions please contact Tom or Gary.

Thank you,

Your Mammoth Creek Board Members

Much has transpired regarding the Ice Rink/Multi-use Facility (MUF) in the past months. This post serves to catch up all homeowners on recent events, and to ask for comments that will help direct the how the Board can proceed as this process unfolds.

Town Council Certifies EIR

Monday, May 17, 2017, the Town Council certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) by a 4-1 vote, and now the MUF construction will start at Mammoth Creek Park West this summer. To litigate the validity or adequacy of the EIR, parties must file within 30 days of certification—that’s by June 16, 2017.

Contesting the EIR

If the HOA were to join our neighbors to contest the EIR, the estimated cost of our share would be $50,000 or more. Here’s where things get dicey: our bylaws state that homeowners must approve any expenditure that is over 5% of the Operating Budget—and MCC’s share of litigation costs exceeds that mark. Because we cannot proceed without a vote of all homeowners to spend this money, we would be hard-pressed to conduct a vote and secure a law firm to formally bring a lawsuit within the required 30-day window.

However, even without these time constraints, the board discussed this issue at our May 20 meeting and trended away from pursuing litigation, as its cost (if approved by the homeowners) would either significantly impact reserves or require a special assessment. Multiple board members doubt whether this expenditure would significantly reduce the odds of the MUF getting built. Litigation involving the EIR would pit the Town’s experts against our experts. Also, there are other forces in play that might ultimately prevent the MUF from being built: 1) the implausibility to publicly raise an additional $1.5 million of funding, 2) the opposition of the Mountain to the rink location, and 3) the possibility that other parties will submit litigation.

EIR Background: A brief update on the MUF EIR process to date.

The EIR addressed…

1. Water contamination from ice rink operation, both to the ground water and Mammoth Creek.
2. Traffic impact to the area, including the potential blind view of oncoming traffic from the west, particularly from snow build-up on Old Mammoth Road.
3. Noise and light pollution.

For further details, click here to access public comments to the EIR.

What’s Next:  Funding and Construction

Total estimated price tag for the MUF: $9.5 million. Funding sources:

1. Measure R and Measure U funds (sales taxes revenue to fund recreation projects)
   1. Measure R–$2,600,000 from fund balance/reserves.
   2. Measure R–$5 million bond to be paid back over 10 years at 3.5%.
   3. Measure U–$500,000 fund balance/reserves
   4. Public fund-raising–$1.5 million from unknown sources

The Council approved the funding plan 3-2. The 2 dissenting council members voiced concerns about the ability to raise $1.5 million through public funding, the additional costs excluded from the $9.5 million price tag, and diversion of Measure R and U funds from other activities.

Construction of the MUF will proceed regardless of whether litigation is submitted. Caveat: the project will halt if specific sources of public funding (to the tune of $1.5 million) cannot be identified by March of 2018–a motion made by Mayor Richardson and passed by Town Council.

Thursday December 22, 2016, the Board will meet discuss some current issues, along with additional agenda items (click here for agenda). This will be a conference call meeting at 7:00 pm; we will use a free conferencing service which charges callers according to each one’s long-distance plan. Please see the agenda for call-in number and PIN.