RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - An update about assuming security operations inside the gates, the approval of comedy night at the Lake Clementia Amphitheater and proposed rule changes were notable topics when the Rancho Murieta Association (RMA) Board met on May 21.

The board also approved four expenditures from reserve funds, including the purchase of 107 new street and stop signs and a contract to paint the exterior of the RMA Building. Additionally, the board approved an agreement to transfer the ownership of the wooden bridge from the Rancho Murieta Community Services District to the association.

Security inside gates

The board formed the Ad Hoc Security Committee in May 2023 to look at security options inside the gate after the Community Services District announced it would cut back on patrol funding following the rejection of Measure R by voters in November 2022. The Rancho Murieta Association board appointed director Chris Childs as the chair, director John Van Doren as the second board member and five residents. Community Services District director Linda Butler also participated in some meetings.

The committee met monthly until December when Childs told them that Community Services District Board President Tim Maybee had advised him that the district wouldn’t implement security changes until July 2025, which would extend their timeline to look at options. However, the committee stopped meeting several months ago and no public explanation was provided. 

Although a report from the Ad Hoc Security Committee wasn’t agendized at the May meeting, Childs provided an update. He reported that the committee was researching options and many legal issues arose. 

“So we requested legal opinions about whether or not we could use Measure J funding as a pass-through from CSD,” he said. “In the end, it became clear that if RMA accepts Measure J funding, we would be subject to the same legal codes as CSD.”

Or, as Childs explained after the meeting: the association (which is a type of nonprofit) would have to become a quasi-government agency to accept the Measure J tax funding. 

“I don’t think there is the appetite for that,” Childs said.

Childs told the board that he, Van Doren and General Manager Rod Hart met with Community Services District Manager Mimi Morris, their operations manager and their attorney on May 1 to discuss the security situation.

When they asked the Community Services District representatives what the future would look like, they were advised that the district would announce the addition of a fourth patrol position to the 2024/25 budget the following week.  

“The obvious question is if CSD is providing security next year, why do we need to have an RMA committee to discuss security,” Childs said. “I have requested, as the chair of this committee, that RMA receive a full year’s notice from CSD if they are in any way pulling back from security, which would provide RMA plenty of time to research funding options.”

In further discussion, Childs noted that several committee members had devoted many hours researching codes and history as well as reaching out to other associations and private security contractors. 

“I don’t think these efforts will be wasted in the future because it is my personal opinion that RMA will be called upon done the road to provide security,” Childs said.

Comedy night

Director Renee Bechtold, who chairs the Recreation Committee, said her group considered a proposal for an Aug. 10 comedy night at the Lake Clementia Amphitheater as a Cosumnes River Activities League fundraiser and it “was a delightful idea.”  She invited Matt Bigaman, the league’s co-founder, to the podium to answer questions.

Bigaman, a real estate agent who teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and his wife, Meagan, created the league to empower youth through enriching activities, according to their website.

Bigaman explained that “Comedy Under the Stars” would be an adults-only event with alcohol served and with ticket sales limited to 1,500 residents and guests. Following the ETC model for putting on concerts, the league will provide insurance, hire three off-duty deputies and an emergency medical technician. The league also will bring in food trucks.

Bigaman said the line-up would feature successful, well-known comedians from Sacramento who would offer “the type of humor that would fit with the community.” 

“There would be no vulgar or foul language because we don’t have any appetite for that ourselves,” Bigaman said.

The six board members unanimously voted in favor of Bechtold’s motion to approve comedy night. 

Rule changes

Director Pat O’Hern, who chairs the Architectural Review Committee, received unanimous approval to send proposed changes in the fine schedule and rules for fencing to the Governing Documents Committee for review. Per the schedule, the fine for starting or performing work on a project without written approval from the committee would increase from $1,000 to $1,500. O’Hern said his committee’s priority is ensuring compliance and “only people who completely ignore us” are fined.

Director Tom Reimers presented the report from the Governing Documents Committee because its chair, President Scott Adams, couldn’t attend the meeting. Reimers received unanimous consent to send a proposal for a rule designating no-parking areas for a 30-day community review.  Examples of illegal parking under the rule would be parking where the curbs are painted red or within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.

Reserve expenditures

At the request of the general manager, the board approved spending $9,971 for a new plotter for architectural manager Mark Parson and $3,350 for a three-year reserve study. The board also approved requests from director Danny Carillo, who chairs the maintenance committee, to spend $6,232 to replace 107 stop and street signs and to spend $6,223 to paint the exterior of the RMA building. The money will come from reserves.

In other business:   

The board approved an agreement to transfer the wooden bridge ownership from Community Services District to Rancho Murieta Association, in what Hart described as a formality. When the bridge was being constructed in the 2000s, the district took over its ownership to make it easier to go through the environmental process. By doing so, the district saved the association about $300,000, audience member Mike Martel pointed out. Transferring the ownership back to the association has been tied up in legalities for years.  

Van Doren, who is one of the two Rancho Murieta Association representatives on the Parks Committee, reported on the group’s last meeting on May 2. See the May 10 issue of the River Valley Times for a report about the meeting that included a heated dispute about constructing a pedestrian trail in the Residences East subdivision.

Bechtold reported that the Recreation Committee was asked to review the Sports Field Use Agreement. However, after her committee found some errors in the document, Bechtold received board approval to send it to the Governing Documents Committee for review.

In public comments, resident Dave Thomas commended the Rancho Murieta Association Board and Maintenance Department because the midge flies at Laguna Joaquin are nearly gone. “The next challenge is getting rid of the goose poop,” he said.  

The RMA's next board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. June 18.