RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - Fire safety concerns and increased fines for intimidating employees were key topics at the Rancho Murieta Association Board meeting on Feb. 18.

General Manager Ron Hart and two audience members discussed fire concerns that included recent fuel reduction efforts to lower wildfire risk, inadequate fire coverage due to water tank and hydrant shortfalls, and the need to automate Escuela Gate for evacuation.

The board’s primary discussion was about a rule prohibiting residents, guests, and vendors from interfering with Rancho Murieta Association and Rancho Murieta Community Services employees. While they did not increase the fine for verbal abuse, they approved a significant increase in fines for assaulting or intimidating employees.

The directors also considered many other issues, including pest control at Laguna Joaquin – geese and midge flies.

Hart devoted his general manager’s report to thanking everyone responsible for the recent ladder fuel reduction work funded by a $4.4 million California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) grant. 

Hart said that a fuel buildup in the community’s common areas and on some ranch land behind Rancho Murieta “posed a really, large threat regarding a fire heading our way.” He praised the Rancho Murieta Fire Safe Council for securing the grant, Sacramento Regional Parks for administering it, and Cal Fire for funding it.

Hart also acknowledged Rancho Murieta resident Phyllis Banducci, the licensed forester managing the work. “She was boots on the group throughout this entire process,” he said.

Hart praised the “absolutely amazing” fuel reduction work at Greens Park, noting that while Rancho Murieta Association crews would have taken “years and years” to clear the overgrowth, a large, well-equipped contracting crew completed the job in just over two weeks.

“It is important to publicly recognize all of the people were involved,” Hart said.

Longtime community activist Janis Eckard spoke during public comments to express her concerns about fire coverage shortfalls. She began by thanking the association for securing a FireWise designation for the community, then reiterated the worries from her Feb. 2 email, which none of the directors had received. She sent the email to alert the board about potential fire dangers they might not be aware of.

Eckard said when she reviewed the draft Integrated Water Master Plan submitted to the Rancho Murieta Community Services District last fall, she identified five items that “I think are really, really important.”

The first is the insufficient storage capacity of the community’s two water tanks. “This was found out when a car hit one of the fire hydrants, and the Rio Oso tank emptied in five hours,” she said.

Another concern is the fire hydrant system.  She said the community is missing 13 hydrants, and many existing ones lack sufficient water pressure.

Eckard said the Integrated Water Master Plan consultants also found that the current arrangement between the two water tanks made their storage capacity “vulnerable to catastrophic failure.”

The Van Vleck Tank also does not comply with regulations because it has a connection that serves as an inlet and an outlet.

Eckard said her research shows that the community would not have sufficient water during a severe drought. “Now that we have these fire shortfalls, I think that Rancho Murieta could very easily become another Lahaina, Paradise, or LA,” she said. “I am hoping that the RMA Board will pressure the CSD Board to rectify these shortfalls before something catastrophic happens.”

As per standard practice for public comments, none of the board directors responded.

However, when Eckard reprised the same email at the CSD Board meeting the following night, President Steve Booth responded. He informed her that the Improvements Committee would address her concerns about the water tanks at the March 11 meeting. He also directed Operations Manager Eric Houston to evaluate the fire hydrants and provide a report at the same meeting.

Audience member Marcel Horowitz spoke about automating the Escuela Gate for use in an emergency evacuation. As a community health advisor for the University of California, she regularly evaluates public health, safety, risk, and liability issues. She expressed her concerns about the liabilities the association is facing.

Horowitz said her PG&E employee brother-in-law began installing new lines after the Paradise Fire. “He had to drive by a row of burned-out cars every day where people had died.”

She said his experience was seared into her memory as she listened to estimates of how long it would take to evacuate through the front gate in the event of a fire. She also recalled a fire that ignited at Lake Clementia last summer, which had to be extinguished.

Horowitz said she weighs two liability issues related to the automation of Escuela. “If you open that gate and there’s a car accident, are you liable because you didn’t have someone there controlling traffic? But then I weigh it against the fact that there is a line of cars trying to get out of the gates and the people who burn up in their cars and die, the liability on us is so much greater.”

Horowitz said she believes it should be an easy decision and doesn’t understand the association’s hesitation. Board President Patrick O’Hern said Hart would be happy to meet with her to discuss the issue.

The board, represented by O’Hern and Hart, has been in a longstanding dispute with the Rancho Murieta Regional Fire Safe Council over gate automation. The council’s outspoken president is retired firefighter Greg Pryor.

The council believes Escuela should be automated to open alongside the two main gates during an emergency evacuation. Under the council’s proposal, the incident commander or their designee would use a cell phone to unlock the gates with a code stored at the interagency fire dispatch center. 

O’Hern and Hart believe Escuela Gate should remain closed until a fire responder is on-site to direct traffic. They warn that opening emergency gates prematurely could cause chaos, especially if a resident crashes while exiting onto the roadway.

Automating the gate was briefly discussed at the January board meeting after 14 residents sent emails or letters in support, while two others were opposed. Although none of the residents attended the meeting, O’Hern announced that he would refer the gate automation issue to the Perimeter Security Ad Hoc Committee for re-evaluation before bringing it back to the board.

Director Chris Childs, co-chair of the ad hoc committee, is currently exploring ways to reinforce gate security to prevent unauthorized access. When asked at the February meeting whether the committee had considered the gate automation issue, Childs said they had not yet addressed it.

The Fire Safe Council is now trying to collaborate with CSD to secure the automation of the Bent Grass Court gates for emergency evacuation on the south side. The issue is scheduled for discussion at the March 19 board meeting.

Director Scott Adams, who chairs the Governing Documents Committee, updated the board about three rules related to interference, park hours and real estate signs. 

Adams explained that the committee revised the interference rule due to increasingly aggressive interactions with compliance officers. The new rule splits the existing fine structure, creating substantial fines for physical threats to Rancho Murieta Association or CSD employees, agents, or volunteers. Specifically, the fines would be $1000 for the first offense, $1500 for the second, and $2000 for subsequent offenses. Verbal abuse or foul language would maintain the existing lower fine levels of $100-$300. The board voted 5:0 to send the interference rule for a 30-day community review.

Adams explained that the park hours rule, which previously went through a community review, was developed after the association installed lights at the pickleball courts at Stonehouse Park. The revised rule clarifies park hours for both Stonehouse and Riverview Parks. For unlighted areas, the hours are from dawn to dusk. For lighted areas, Stonehouse Park hours are until 10 p.m., and Riverview Park hours are until 9 p.m. He also cleaned up some minor typos in the rule.

The board approved this rule, which will be added to the non-ARC rules.

Adams also reported that the committee updated the real estate sign rule to align with new regulations from the state Department of Real Estate. The board approved sending this rule out for a 30-day community review.  

Director Danny Carrillo opposed approving the unaudited financial statements in the consent calendar, citing a lack of transparency. He motioned for discussion, but it failed without a second. The board then approved the statements, with Carrillo as the sole dissenter.

O’Hern reported that the MTI Association requested insurance-related landscape changes. The board voted to notify MTI that it won’t handle repairs suggested by insurers but will continue biennial trimming as usual.

Maintenance Manager Troy Shaffner reported that staff will add two extra midge fly treatments at Laguna Joaquin this season. He noted increasing issues with Canadian geese at Laguna Joaquin and dispatched a street cleaner weekly to sweep the path. He is also testing geese deterrents at Lake Clementia, focusing on the swimming beach and amphitheater.

Childs reported that the Perimeter Security Ad Hoc Committee has assessed the north and south gates and plans to survey Stonehouse Road and Jackson Highway to address access points.

After O’Hern appointed Director John Haviland as chair of the Recreation Committee, he received board approval to appoint Renee Bechthold to his committee. Bechthold, recently resigned from the board but wants to stay involved, Haviland noted.  He also announced a Bingo night on March 28 and a rattlesnake training for dogs on April 4.

The board will hold its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. on March 18.