Here is the link to the 2026 Winter Newsletter
2026 Winter Letter to Owners
BDR Property Owners,
Is Winter really here? It’s hard to believe with the little snow we have received so far. As I am writing
this, the skies are clear and the sun is shining brightly. I decided it was safe to plant some seeds for
greenhouse germination, and I know I am going to regret it. Speaking of thinking about Spring, the
BDRPOA Board and community volunteers have been doing just that. There are many Spring events
lining up on the calendar, so don’t forget to look at the www.bulldomingoranch.org website for
information.
If you missed the last few property owners’ meetings, let me tell you what has been happening.
BOARD OPPORTUNITIES
Board Seat Nominations – I encourage the community to apply for board positions. If you are interested
in an opportunity to contribute to the BDR community by running for a Board seat, submit a short bio
including your past experiences and a goal you would like to bring to the community to
bdrpoa@yahoo.com. If you would like to include a photo, please do. We will collect submissions for the
Board seats through May 15th so that we can provide a ballot to the property owners for voting
purposes if we have more submissions than seats available.
There are 3 seats whose 2-year terms are expiring: David Tolar, Road Manager; Karen Genneken,
President and Pam Carpman, Board member currently holds those seats. Karen and David are
interested in running again. Pam is reserving her decision. There also is a vacant seat available.
NEWS
• In continuing the Board’s goal to increase transparency and engagement, we created a
page on the www.bulldomingoranch.org website to post meeting Agendas and
supporting documentation ahead of the property owners’ meetings. This should give
property owners the ability to see the topics planned for discussion at the upcoming
meetings and help you determine if you would like to attend. I enjoy seeing the regular
attendees and getting to know them even better. We are also looking for tech support.
There has been consideration to running virtual meetings, but we need someone who
can help support that. If you are interested, email bdrpoa@yahoo.com and I can tell
you more about what we are looking to do and the challenges we need to overcome to
offer this as an option.
• Three governing policies were voted on for adoption at the January property owners’
meeting. All three policies are existing policies that require updating. Two policies:
Article 1 Collection Policy and Article 2 Phone and Email Policy had changes required by
CCIOA and Colorado Statue. The third policy Article 13 Roads was updated to align
language in the policy with language being used in the road plan. Our legal firm is in the
process of updating the overall Governing Policies document to include the changes
that were adopted. Once they have finalized those changes, the updated document
will be posted to the BDR website and will reflect the new adoption date. Until then,
you can look at the new page that was created and see the three individual policies and
the summary of changes.
• Bonnie Chipman, Treasurer presented the Treasurer’s report through the end of the
year. The association has collected approximately 90% of its budgeted revenue and
has currently spent about 19.4% of its budgeted expenses. These expenses have
primarily been driven by operation expenses such as insurance, attorney and
accounting fees, as well as road maintenance, road improvements and snow plowing.
We expect more expenses over the winter months and into Spring as much of the
budget is allocated to road work.
• David Tolar, Road Manager, has been busy keeping an eye on the weather, providing
winter weather warnings when appropriate and using any moisture through snowfall
or rain to activate road grading and maintenance. David tries to leverage nature-
provided moisture to avoid the expense of hauling water in as that can get extremely
expensive. He is aware of some areas on Mitchell Mountain and S. Oak Grove that will
need repair work including potential installation of culverts. David will be better able
to assess when and which work can commence in those areas once we are through
Spring and see what funds remain to do that work. David welcomes property owners
to text or call him if they see areas that he needs to address. He would rather be
proactive in looking at those spots than wait until property owners are unhappy. He
has a full-time job so appreciates additional eyes on the 50 miles of roads within the
community.
• The “Great Gate Debate”: While not required to get a vote from the community, the Board is
interested in community feedback regarding the gates. The Board will be sending out a survey
for that feedback (THIS IS NOT A VOTE). The survey will run through February 20, 2026, and be
available online and through email/hard copy if requested. The survey will ask for reasons the
property owners support gates or oppose gates and will provide the estimated cost for the six
options including per lot special assessments and ongoing increases to annual dues. It will ask
the respondents to indicate if they support or don’t support an option (or if they don’t care
either way). Survey results will be reviewed prior to the board setting the budget. The gate
presentation with all this information is posted to the www.bulldomingoranch.org website
under the Agenda and Presentation tab. The board encourages property owners to read the
presentation and become familiar with the costs associated with each option. At the last
property owners meeting, I reviewed the legal steps required to make a gate decision based on
our governing documents and legal counsel. I also went through the budget process as it
related to gates, so property owners have full transparency on impact to annual dues and / or
special assessments. As part of this process, again, no vote is required from the community on a
gate decision, rather, the board sets the budget and then the entire budget is sent out to the
community for consideration. If property owners do not VETO the budget in other words if
they vote “Yes” or ignore the ballot, those two actions are considered a “Yes” vote. It takes 50%
plus 1 lot to VETO the budget. If the budget is vetoed, then the budget reverts to the prior
budget. When the budget is sent out it will reflect line-item transparency during the process
that highlights any areas that cause an increase to dues. We hope this process will put the
“Great Gate Debate” conversation to bed. The last board promised to bring resolution to this
topic and the current board agreed to help finalize it.
• Community: The Board would like to thank all the property owners who have made
suggestions and contributed to community improvement. Volunteered time includes
support for events such as community trash days, fire mitigation awareness, and
initiatives like the community slash chipping day, entrance sign repair, installing and
repairing mailboxes, weed eating the entrances, administrating the Facebook page,
leading committees and monitoring the website. As a reminder the Bull Domingo
Facebook page is NOT an official POA page, however it is used to communicate
community events, road closures and/or repairs, and weather events. The Bull
Domingo website bulldomingoranch.org is the official site for Bull Domingo Ranch and
is updated on a regular basis and includes a calendar with Board meeting dates and
events in the community.
CLOSING
I continue to enjoy meeting so many of you at the property owners’ meetings, through
phone calls, texts and emails and grabbing a coffee. Bull Domingo Ranch is such a great
community and part of another great community within Westcliffe / Silver Cliff. My wish for
everyone is to get enjoyment out of this lifestyle as much as I do.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Genneken – President BDRPOA and,
Your Current BDRPOA Board Members
Here is the link to the 2025 Fall Newsletter
2025 Fall Letter to Owners
BDR Property Owners,
I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and the beautiful Fall weather we have had to date. Bull
Domingo Ranch is a great place to call home. As we prepare for Winter, here are some
reminders and updates.
Gates:
The Gate Committee gave an update at the November property owners’ meeting. You can find
much of the information presented in the minutes that are posted on the BDR website. The
Gate Committee is planning to make a recommendation to the board prior to the January
property owners’ meeting so that the Board can inform property owners at the January
meeting of the estimated cost of the 5 options discussed plus one new option and the impact to
budget and/or special assessments depending on the option selected. I want to thank Scott
Williams and Richard Hartman for all the work and thorough research they have done on this
project.
Governing Document Changes:
Once again, the Colorado State Legislators have made some legal changes to CCIOA Laws. The
Board is working with our legal counsel to align our documents with these changes and comply with
the new CCIOA requirements.
Covenants:
As a reminder, please be sure to read the Declaration of Protective Covenants (posted on the BDR
website for your convenience) before making any property improvements or using your property
for non-residential purposesto make sure you follow the covenants.
Traffic Reminder:
The speed limit in BDR is 30 mph. Please make note of that and lead by example. We have way too
many folks driving way too fast.
Annual dues:
The annual dues payment was due November 1st, if you have not made your dues payment yet,
please send your payment in to:
Bull Domingo Ranch
Property Owners Association
PO Box 248
Westcliffe, CO 81252
Roads:
The road manager, David Tolar was able to take advantage of the snowfall received last week to get
the roads graded in preparation for Winter. David gave a presentation at the last two property
owners’ meetings discussing the road preparation schedule. You can find most of the information
from that discussion in the minutes posted for the September property owners’ meeting. As a
reminder, we do not plow BDR roads until there is at least 6” of snow on the ground. Because we
have dirt roads, we leave about 2.5” since we can’t scrape down to the surface without damaging
the roads. As always, if you have an area of concern, please call or text David at (678) 943-3169
and he will review the area for any potential adjustments.
Winter weather:
From now until May, look for winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings on FB and the
BDR website. David put together a winter weather informational letter that can be found on the
BDR website.
Our next BDR Property Owners’ meeting is January 13th, 2026 at Cliff Lanes Bowling Center. We
look forward to seeing you there.
Best Regards,
Karen Genneken
BDRPOA President
Here is the link to the 2025 Summer Newsletter
BDR Property Owners,
Summer is upon us in beautiful Bull Domingo Ranch. I hope everyone is loving the ranch
community lifestyle and outdoor living as much as I am (although this week’s hail put a hurting
on my outside garden.)
Now, let me tell you what is going on with the BDRPOA.
BOARD CHANGES
The July 8th BDR annual meeting had a great turnout of property owners. During this year’s board meeting we said goodbye to two of our board members who fulfilled their terms. Scott Williams, who held the role of President and Rick Meckstroth, who held the role of Treasurer. Additionally, we accepted the resignation of Corrigan Kardatzke, who will be leaving BDR upon the sale of his property. I wanted to thank each of them for the service they have provided to
the BDRPOA, all of which was volunteered time. Due to their leadership, efforts and professionalism, they are handing off a solid foundation of board efficiency, transparency and accomplishments.
With their departure, we welcomed three new board members:
Bonnie Chipman will act as Secretary/Treasurer. Bonnie has recently purchased property in
BDR. She is Lead Drafter at Uniq Steel, a steel subcontractor out of CA and ID. She works
closely with teams of dozens per job to build commercial businesses, hotels, groceries,
restaurants etc. On weekends, she likes to be in the middle of no place, camping, jeeping or
hunting for mushrooms.
Richard Smith will be a board member at large. Rick moved to Westcliffe with his wife, Susan,
and built a home in BDR in 2019. They have a son in Denver and a daughter in Pueblo west.
They are both retired from the USPS. Rick enjoys the volunteer work he performs for BDR. He
hopes to continue these efforts in an official board capacity and looks forward to joining the
board.
Bull Domingo Ranch
Property Owners Association
PO Box 248
Westcliffe, CO 81252
www.bulldomingoranch.org
Pam Carpman will be a board member at large, filling in for the remainder of Corrigan’s two-year term. Pam and her husband moved to BDR three years ago and they have two boys. She enjoys riding horses and loves the Bull Domingo Ranch as a place to call home.
The exact number of property owners seeking a board position filled the exact number of vacant seats, so no election was needed.
Remaining on the board is
Karen Genneken, who has taken on the role of President for the remainder of her two-year term.
John Decker will remain as Vice President for the remainder of his two-year term.
David Tolar will continue to be the point of contact for BDR’s road management for the remainder of his two-year term.
Richard Hartman will be a board member at large under a renewed two-year term.
NEWS
There are several things to report. • The prior Treasurer did an excellent job of managing the 24/25 budget. At the June 30th reporting, 99.4% of all expenses have been realized and paid. We are expecting a few more expenses to come through in July and expect to be at 100% of budget. At the end of June, $37.7k remains in the checking account as well as $101.5K in the money market account designated for emergency reserves.
• Dues for the 2025-2026 budget will remain at $360.00. The budget year is August 1, 2025, to July 30, 2026. The budget was ratified by the property owners with votes from 124 lot owners. 119 voted to ratify the budget, while 5 voted to reject it.
• The dues letter is expected to be mailed out by August 1st
.
• Roads: Roads will continue to be a focus. David Tolar will continue as the primary contact. He has a constant vision of improvement which can be seen by the work done over the past year. David has 82% of the budget and manages 100% of the roads. There are more than 50 miles of road in BDR, so it continues to be a forward-looking mission. David has asked the property owners to call him if they see a road-related problem and he will respond as soon as possible.
• Gates: Gates remain a topic of discussion. A gate committee was formed last year but with the departure of the committee head, it has been delayed in providing recommendations. Scott Williams has volunteered to step in and spearhead the committee. With his leadership, the board hopes to finalize a presentation on the situation, with a recommendation that reflects on the data that informed it, including historical context, cost analysis with long term expenses such as parts and service, and challenges such as lack of support from property owners to be gate managers, high wind, snow drifts etc.
• Community: The board would like to thank all the property owners who have made suggestions and contributed to community improvement. Volunteered time includes support for events such as community trash days, fire mitigation awareness, and initiatives like the community slash chipping day, entrance sign repair, installing and repairing mailboxes, administrating the Facebook page and monitoring the website. As a reminder the Bull Domingo Facebook page is NOT an official board page, however it is used to communicate community events, road closures and/or repairs, and weather events. The Bull Domingo website bulldomingoranch.org is also updated on a regular basis and includes a calendar with board meeting dates and events in the community
CLOSING
As the new president, I am looking forward to serving this community. I am so appreciative of the contributions made by past board members, current board members and all the property owner volunteers. I encourage property owners to consider the amount of time these volunteers have given towards making BDR an outstanding community; and to be respectful in our interactions with each other.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Genneken – President BDRPOA and,
Your Current BDRPOA Board Members
Here is a link to the BDRPOA 2025 Spring Newsletter: BDRPOA 2025 Spring Newsletter
Below is the letter printed in its entirety:
Hello Neighbors!
Spring is just around the corner, and it is time for an update on happenings within the BDR community.
In preparation for the upcoming annual meeting, which will happen in July, we will cover several orders of business and a couple of announcements pertaining to BDRPOA Leadership.
Open Board of Director Positions – there are 3 positions expiring this year and this is to serve as an open call for potential candidates. We want to thank the three members for their service over the last two years. If you are interested in an opportunity to give back to your community, we encourage you to submit a brief Bio on your past experiences and a goal that you would bring to the community. If you would like to include a picture, please do. We will collect submissions until May 12 at which point, we will put them out to the POA in a ballot format so they may select the new board members.
Policy Changes – The BDRPOA Governance Policies and Rules have been updated to reflect recent changes as decided by Colorado Legislature via Colorado Common Interests Ownership Association (CCIOA). And our Amended Bylaws have been updated to reflect the elimination of the Electric Tap Fee Program. Property owners now deal directly with the power providers that serve their respective lots.
Annual Meeting – The annual meeting will be held at 5:00 pm, July 8, 2025, at Cliff Lanes Bowling Center Meeting Room. A meeting agenda will be posted prior to the meeting but the first order of business will be to induct newly elected board members.
BDR General Update – In general things are going well! David Tolar, and his team, continue to make road and drainage improvements. They are currently replacing some culverts and building up some road elevations that have historically been insufficient. We continue to be diligent with budget compliance. Grievances have been very few and have been handled as soon as they have been received.
We’d like to also like to recognize Kim Tattle for arranging a community clean-up. An anonymous resident donor arranged for a 4 cubic yard dumpster to be provided for the event. The clean-up went well, and our roadways are looking better for the effort.
We’ll reach out again shortly with new board candidate ballots and look forward to seeing those of you that wish to attend our next board meeting at 5:00 pm, May 13, 2025, at Cliff Lanes Bowling Center.
On Behalf of the BDRPOA Board of Directors,
Scott Williams – BDRPOA – President
Here is a link to the BDRPOA 2025 Winter Newsletter: BDRPOA 2025 Winter Newsletter
Below is the letter printed in its entirety:
Hey BDRPOA Members, time for an update on the happenings within the BDR community. Winter has arrived! And it is mighty chilly out this week. Take care of yourselves, your animals, and your property!
Special Announcement: Open Board Positions – three board position terms will expire in 2025. If you are interested in serving as a BDRPOA Board Member, please indicate your interest via the BDRPOA email address at BDRPOA@yahoo.com. You will need to submit a brief biography on your professional background, a brief statement as to what you would like to accomplish as a board member and a recent head shot photograph. This will be used as your campaign to the membership for the election process prior to the next annual meeting in July 2025. Deadline for submissions is May 30, 2025.
Annual dues statements went out in August and collections have gone well. There are still a few outstanding so, If you have not made your annual dues payments, please do so soon to avoid any late fees. If you cannot find your dues statement email BDRPOA@yahoo.com for a duplicate.
Gates: The Gates Committee is making progress in their study of getting the two existing gates up to a reliable standard. The board is monitoring their progress along the way. A full report to the community will be developed and will be shared prior to the Spring thaw.
Governing Document Changes: The Board has granted our legal counsel to make some changes to the BDRPOA Governing Documents to update our collections process and policies in order to comply with legislative changes to Colorado HOA/POA laws in 2024.
Traffic Reminder: The speed limit in BDR is 30 mph. Please make note of that and lead by example. We have way too many folks driving way too fast.
Roads: Road management spent a good bit of time and money preparing the roads for the winter. Road conditions currently are pretty good. Additionally, 2 of the culverts scheduled for replacement were completed prior to winter setting in. Additional culverts will be replaced after the Spring thaw.
There are a number of POA members that have driveways that drain across BDR roads. We ask that you put in a diversion that sheds water to the ditch on your side of the BDR roads to mitigate flow over the BDR roadways. If you need help in understanding, of facilitating this modification, let us know. Additionally, please do not plow the snow from your driveways across BDR roads. This creates a cross flow of water that further damages BDR roads during a melt event.
Grievances: Two active grievances are being resolved. No other grievances have been formally reported.
Mailboxes: We have a damaged mailbox unit at South Oak Grove that requires replacement. A new unit has been secured and the boxholders in that unit have been identified. I will be reaching out to these individuals to inform and schedule new key assignments, and unit replacement. We are working with the Westcliffe Post Office to ensure that the change goes smoothly.
Our next BDRPOA Open Meeting is March 11, at 5:00pm at (TBD). Please make plans to attend, if you can.
That’s it for now! Scott Williams – BDRPOA President
Here is a link to the 2024 BDR POA Fall Newsletter: BDR POA 2024 Fall Newsletter
Here is a link to the 2024 Letter to Owners: BDR POA 2024 Letter to Owners
Here is a link to the BDR POA 2024 Annual Meeting Letter: BDR POA 2024 Annual Meeting Letter
Here is a link to the 2023 Dues Letter: BDR POA 2023 Dues Letter