Special Board Meeting Minutes for October 2, 2022 Meeting
News & Notices
Introducing Don Skakie, our new president for Cascade River Community Club
Hello Park Owners, Park Staff and other interested parties!
As the incoming Board President I want to introduce myself and give everyone a quick update.
My name is Don Skakie and I have owned my lot in the Park since 2004. I love the Park and intend to work with the other Board Members to attend to the business of the Park by consensus and vote so that the Park is able to operate and be maintained both in the short term and in the years to come.
I was installed as President at a time when the Park is facing some challenges in addition to its day to day operations, but in talking with the other Board Members I can say that we all share a commitment to working together in the best interests of the Park, its Members and to do so in a manner that is consistent with State law, our Governing documents and in a manner that is without preference or prejudice to or against any person, property or situation.
The Board now consists of 4 of its 5 members so we are well able to conduct the business of the Park. We have received some notices from other Park members of their willingness to step up to fill the last vacant position, but I encourage anyone willing to join the Board to email the Board for equal consideration for this spot to make sure our roads and gates, water system and bridges, restrooms and all of the Park property and assets are kept in good order so that the Members can enjoy their property with peace of mind.
As with my appointment to the Board, the next newly installed Board Member will serve out the remainder of the term from the departing Board Member they replace until their respective election cycles require a vote of the General Membership.
There will most likely be a Special Meeting in September to bring the Board up to 5 members so please do let us know if you are willing to serve. Email the Board at boardofdirectors@cascaderiverpark.com to let us know.
Although there have been some minor changes to better communicate, day to day operations will continue as they have. Tammy in the Park office will still be in on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-3pm and the caretakers will continue to do their work directed by James and overseen by your Park Board.
Some email addresses have changed and others will be phased out, but you can continue to communicate as you have in the past. You may see redirection notices so please note these as you see them for your future communications.
Please do not email individual Board Members as it will simply cause them more time to forward your message on the others. Using the above email address will get your message to all the Board at the same time and will shorten the time to respond to your questions or concerns.
Park staff cannot help you with Board matters, so please say hi and be friendly, but reserve Park matters for discussion to the Board. Your message will be acknowledged and then followed up on after it has been discussed as a Board, so please be patient while waiting for an answer.
I look forward to seeing and meeting you all as time permits and intend to be at all future Board meetings in person so please do introduce yourself when you have time. Thank you!
CRCC Legal Update
A lawsuit was filed on July 5, 2022 by an owner in the community, Wayne Carter. The suit was filed in Skagit County Superior Court under cause number 22-22-00523-29. Mr. Carter named as defendants in the lawsuit the Cascade River Community Club and its individual board directors. Mr. Carter requests as relief an amount “in excess of $208,000” and other damages. His claims include allegations of harassment, stalking and defamation, breach of board duties, and fraud.
The board notified its insurance carrier of this legal claim and arranged to tender the legal defense of the lawsuit to the insurance company. The insurance company for CRCC, CNA, has retained the law firm of Lee Smart, P.S. to defend all defendants in the lawsuit—both the Club as an entity association, and the individual board directors. This means, thankfully, that the legal costs, including attorney fees, to defend against the lawsuit claims will be paid by our insurance company and will not need to come out of Club accounts and funds. The senior attorney on the Lee Smart defense team is Jeffrey Downer, who will be assisted on the case by Associate attorney Karen Griffith. These attorneys anticipate filing a formal responsive pleading to the complaint soon. Lee Smart is a very reputable, long established law firm with deep experience in insurance defense cases. Mr. Downer is a senior lawyer with the firm and works out of Lee Smart’s Seattle office. We are in good hands with our legal tea
We have been instructed by your attorneys to say very little about the specific allegations and content of Mr. Carter’s complaint. In an active lawsuit, the Board Directors as parties are all witnesses and must be extremely careful about commenting on the matter and must also preserve the attorney-client privilege at all costs. However, owners are welcome to review for themselves the complaint filed by Mr. Carter at the Skagit County Superior Court records and generally follow other pleadings—including our answer to the complaint—that will be filed with the Court because these documents are all part of the public record. We will also be posting a copy of the complaint on the Club’s website for your review.
What we can say is that the defendants will be formally denying and defending against the claims alleged by Mr. Carter and disagree strongly with his depiction of facts and events in his complaint. More than that we cannot say at this point in time. We will be periodically updating the community on the status of the lawsuit as it progresses.
Jeff Crapper
CRCC Board President
Associa EMB Management of Cascade River Park
Welcome to Associa EMB! Your Board of Directors has chosen Associa EMB Management to manage Cascade River Community Club effective July 1, 2022.
Associa EMB is a full-service management company specializing in association management. Listed below are notable details about our management of Cascade River Community Club.
Contact Information
Associa EMB Management – Customer Service
Phone: 425.452.7330
Email: customerservice@embmanagement.com
Mailing address
15301 NE 90th St., Ste 170
Redmond, WA 98052
Office Hours
Monday- Thursday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Important Owner Information
BUILDING OR COMMON AREA EMERGENCIES: If you have an after-hours maintenance emergency, please call EMB, and your call will be forwarded to the after-hours answering service. Immediate assistance from the answering service will be offered for qualified emergent issues. All details will be reported to the community manager, and non-emergency items will be reviewed the next business day.
COMMUNITY WEBSITE: Please review your Welcome package with instructions to register on TownSq, the community’s online platform, for up-to-date information and helpful resources, including the review of your account.
COMMUNITY RULES & DOCUMENTS: Your associations specific governing documents, policies, meeting minutes, insurance certificates, and other association documents are available on TownSq for access and viewing any time.
PAYMENT OPTIONS & INFORMATION: (First assessment payment should be sent by check, regardless of option picked below, as each option takes time to implement):
- ACH (Auto withdrawal from your account to Association) – Please review, complete, and return the enclosed ACH form that was included in your Welcome Packet if you would like to pay your assessments electronically. ACH transactions occur between the 5th and 10th of each billing month. ACH forms may also be returned via email to csscdirectdebit@associa.us. Please include a copy of a voided check. The completed form must be received no later than 20th of the month to be processed in time for your next payment.
- ONLINE PAYMENTS: Payments are accepted online for a minor fee. Please visit TownSq and select the account tab to set up a one-time or recurring payment using your preferred payment method.
- PERSONAL BANK BILL PAY: Please allow 5-7 business days for bill pay payments to process. Make checks payable to Cascade River Community Club, include your last name and Account ID number that was included on your Welcome Packet on the memo line upon set up, and remit to the PO BOX address below.
- MAILING PAYMENTS: Please make checks payable to Cascade River Community Club, include your last name and Account ID number in the memo line, and remit to the PO Box address below. If your community auto-orders coupons, please include the provided coupon with your mailed payment.
Cascade River Community Club
c/o Associa EMB Management
PO BOX 45450
San Francisco, CA 94145-0450
LATE FEES: Please note late fees are applicable for unpaid assessments that occur after the association’s late fee date. Please refer to the associations specific policy regarding late assessments as outlined in the community documents section above.
MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS: If you own more than one home in your community please ensure you are sending individual payments for each lot/unit and include the account number on each payment.
Sincerely,
Associa EMB Management
customerservice@embmanagement.com
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Pincer Creek Fire Weekly Update for August 23, 2021 – No Immediate Danger
Please see the attached PDF file regarding the Pincer Creek Fire Update or read below:
Pincer Creek Fire Continues to Burn
Warmer Weather Expected This Week
Everett, WA, Aug. 23, 2021 – Fire managers report that the Pincer Creek Fire was relatively quiet this weekend due to the cloudier and cooler weather. The fire received periodic drizzle through the weekend. The fire continues to burn more actively in areas where there are pockets of dead and down material from the 2003 fire and smolders in other areas. Fire activity increased after the cloud cover lifted on Saturday afternoon, but resumed the creeping behavior later in the weekend. The fire is approximately 865 acres and continues to burn within the Mineral Park Fire scar.
Over the past several days, the weather has shifted to a more fall like pattern with cloudy, moist, cool weather. “We are thankful that the Pincer Creek Fire has slowed due to the change in weather, but this fire could still give us problems.” Said Kit Moffit, Acting Forest Fire Staff Officer for the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. “Sunny and warm weather are forecast during the first part of the week and we expect the fire to heat up again. We have received questions whether the recent change in weather will allow us to reopen the Cascade River Road past mile post 16. Unfortunately, we aren’t prepared to reopen the road at this time. There is too much fire season remaining. We understand that the closure is a major impact to the public, but we need to keep the public safe”.
Closures: Forest System Road #15 (Cascade River Road) from mile post 16.0 situated at the east boundary of Mineral Park Campground to mile post 18.1, situated at the boundary of North Cascades National Park. The closure is in place to manage recreation traffic east of Mineral Park in case the fire continues to grow. Fire managers predict that this fire closure will be in place until significant precipitation occurs over the fire area. They will continue to update their fire models to determine if changes can be made to the closure order. Mineral Park Campground remains open at this time and is not threatened by the fire.
The Mt. Baker Ranger District Cascade River Trail, the Middle Fork Cascade Trail and South Fork Cascade Trail are closed to the public due to their proximity to the Pincer Creek Fire. The Sibley Creek Road and Hidden Lake Trail are not currently threatened by the fire, but are closed to allow firefighters to staff the lookout to support fire operations. This closure order is effective Aug 13, 2021 until rescinded: www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mbs/alerts-notices.
Smoke: Air quality is currently good in the Puget Sound area. To learn more about changes in air quality in your region go to : wasmoke.blogspot.com/.
Fire Information Phone: 971-334-7674
Fire Information email address: 2021.pincercreek@firenet.gov
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7797/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MtBakerSnoqualmieNF
Twitter: twitter.com/MtBakerSnoNF
Hashtags: #PincerCreekFire #FireYear2021
