To access the references imbedded in my discussion below, you will need a copy of the free Adobe Acrobat reader, available here:

  It has been just over a year since I began the Wildflower II website; it was borne out of a sense that I was not adequately informed about decisions that were being made regarding my Wildflower property. I believed that there were other owners who were as frustrated as I, but we suffered, not only from lack of information, but from a lack of communication amongst ourselves as well. This website was an instrument to encourage communication among the membership, using the internet.

  I like to think this has been a successful experiment. Wildflower II owners are interested in maintaining their properties, and do want to be involved in making intelligent decisions about it. However, most of us lead busy lives, only visiting Sunriver for a portion of each year. We prefer to be given sufficient information well in advance of the owner's meeting so that we can study the issues carefully, then decide whether to attend the meeting, or to delegate our proxy vote to someone who represents our views on the issues before the membership.

  At the 1996 Annual Meeting, the owners in attendance (ten in all, including board members) considered the need to replace our roofs. Even four years ago, everyone agreed that the project was needed. Then, as now, there were strong preferences expressed over the choice of materials to be used, and opinions were divided. Among those present at the 1996 meeting, the vote cast was 6 to 4 to replace our existing shake roofs with metal. Click here to read the 1996 Annual Meeting minutes in their entirety.

  Now, four years later, our board is revisiting the topic of roof materials. Different board, same problems. We are deeply divided in our opinions of the best material to use. This board, I think correctly, has decided to refer the matter to the entire ownership, requesting their opinion by ballot. The board has agreed to implement the selection that is the preference of the majority of the ownership.

  The minutes of the February board meeting, posted here in the right hand column, summarize, among other things, the boards discussions of roofing alternativess. The minutes of the May meeting, which I'll post in next-month's newsletter, explore the topic further.

   I strongly encourage each owner to begin now to educate him- or her- self on the options available, so that when we are asked to choose a roofing replacement material we will be able to make informed and intelligent decisions.

  One of our owners found a web site that reviews construction materials. Click here to visit this web site. From that web site I purchased two articles, one reviewing roofing material in general, and one reviewing metal roofing in particular. In addition there is an article recommending the use of metal roofing. You may read these articles by clicking on the hyperlinks.