DCC to remove broken playground equipment

At its regular meeting Monday night, Deltana Community Corporation reviewed the condition of the playground equipment on the land it owns next to the Cleawater Fire Station on Clearwater Road.

Fire Department Training and Recreation Area Committee Chairperson Lena Barladyan expressed her concern over the dangers of the broken playground equipment that is standing on the site.

“The committee is still in discussion of what could possibly be done for that,” Barladyan said, adding that she would have a full report for the board on the situation at the next meeting.

Board members Pamela Goode, James Squyres, Steve Hilton, and Kurt Schmidt (present by telephone) agreed that something needs to be done before the snow flies, and waiting until the October meeting might well be too late.

Goode made a motion to authorize Barladyan and the committee to remove hazardous items from the DCC-owned land on Clearwater Road as soon as possible. The motion carried. Community member Sherman Stebbins volunteered to assist in hauling away the broken equipment.

According to the DCC agenda, the committee members are Barladyan, Goode, Don Hannan, Dean Bean, and Flower Cole.

In other business, the nearly three-hour meeting included a lengthy discussion to craft two motions to amend the amendments to the group’s bylaws concerning the section dealing with certifying the election. Monday night was the second reading of the amendments that ended up being amended.

Treasurer Squyres also told the board during the treasurer’s report that the FY 27 budget and appropriations process is underway. Squyres said it’s looking like the appropriations will be in the neighborhood of $60,000 according to his early calculations. He noted that his calculations are based on the August statements from the group’s investment accounts. After September 30, he will have a precise amount, which should be presented at the October annual meeting.

During the finance committee report, Squyres touted the successful Souhrada Road snow removal fundraising project. He noted that Grizzly Construction had been keeping Souhrada Road plowed for many years without recompense. DCC’s option for residents to donate to a fund administered by DCC netted more than $1,000 last year, which was given directly to Grizzly Construction. A motion carried to continue the Souhrada Road fundraising project.

Squyres noted that the fundraising project for the road maintenance was a beta test of sorts for the later effort to fund emergency medical services by donations to stand up a nonprofit EMS provider, which ended up being Big Delta Rescue. DCC put $75,000 on the table as matching funds for donations from the community. The entire matching amount was used. In all, $247,611.96 was given by DCC to stand up BDR ($75,000 was matching funds from the community).

In old business, Goode noted that DCC is working with Delta News Web to add a tab on the DNW website giving information about DCC such as meeting times and contact information. It would be similar to what the Lions Club has on DNW’s site, Goode explained. Currently, DCC does not have any online presence beyond its Facebook page. 

Of the six candidates for the DCC board in the upcoming October 6 election, five were present at the meeting. Barbara Parker, Chris Jepsen, and Justin Harris were in the audience, while incumbents Squyres and Schmidt were present on the board.

At various times during the meeting, sitting board members appeared to be speaking directly to the candidates in the audience, pointing out the high number of volunteer hours that it takes to successfully run the corporation, asking why the challengers were hoping to unseat sitting board members who are working hard, and admonishing the candidates that, if elected, they will need to attend meetings and actually do some work.

“After attending the DCC meeting on September 14, I came away with a new appreciation for the hard work that current board members have invested in this corporation,” Parker said. “However, as a current candidate for a seat on the board, I was disheartened that at a public meeting, a couple members of the board expressed surprise that candidates would run against a sitting board member. The implication that replacing a current board member would be damaging to the corporation is vastly inaccurate. Change in the board brings in new ideas and actions for serving the community. It might not be business as usual, but it will be done with respect for others (on the board and in the community), with integrity, with honesty, and transparency. I look forward to learning the ropes from those who have gone before but also look forward to working with new board members if elected.”

Chris Jepsen found it primarily humorous that sitting board members spoke directly to candidates.

“I could pretend that I didn’t understand their remarks were directed at me, since I was running unopposed until Mr. Squyres switched seats to run against me,” Jepsen said. “However, I think it was obvious their intention was to make me and other candidates uncomfortable. That being said, there is value in the experience and knowledge they shared, and I do not approach this lightly. I believe that we can accomplish the most by working together.”

Though the date has passed for candidates to declare, write-in candidates have until October 1 at 5 p.m. to submit a write-in application, which must be hand delivered or emailed by the candidate. DCC’s email is deltanacommunitycorporation@outlook.com.

‍