****SEE ATTACHMENTS***
Cowlitz Falls, L.L.C.
March 27, 2009
Dear Extended MacDonald Family,
This information is pertinent to every member of the MacDonald family present and future!
We are very happy to announce that the Cowlitz Falls, LLC has made some milestone accomplishments towards forming a physical segregation of property for the MacDonald Family Preserve. This letter is to inform you of events and recent changes that have taken place.
The CFLLC's #1 objective is to make Family Preserve acreage sub-divided and legally ready to be owned in perpetuity by the MacDonald Family organization.
What at first seemed like a wonderful and simple idea in 2003, that we could just go to the Lewis County offices in Chehalis and file an permit application for, has turned out to be much more complicated and expensive than we knew at the outset-!
Brief Overview:
• 2003 CFLLC takes a land loan from Security State Bank and begins to make monthly payments.
• Soon after obtaining ownership, we learned that our neighbor, John Linder is using the "grandfathered in" spring for all of his water use. This is the same spring that granddad and dad improved for their water use back in the 1950’s and improved again in 1969. Since then there have been no improvements or any significant maintenance. The Linder’s water is poor and at times completely dries up. They need a well and cannot get a permit to build one on less than 2 acres of land. So we agreed to sell John 1.8 acres, after our survey was complete. So he has been waiting for a long time for this to complete.
• 2004 CFLLC decides to log about 10 acres to help pay for the necessary survey and fund the permitting process to subdivide the land in the four parcels: one for each of Fred, Amy, and Gordon, and one for the “Family Preserve.
• Late 2004, hire Butler Surveying. We had many meetings with the surveyor to discuss our goals and wants. Subsequently, Butler surveyed the entire property, found all previous survey markers, did title search, etc. The process turned up the whole history of ownership and changes of the acres. There have been numerous changes out there over the last century. The Survey required 2-3 different trips to The Falls by a crew of surveyors. The end product of the survey included, new parcel descriptions, survey markers, and survey maps, all delivered to us and to our lawyer, then filed with Lewis County. The entire survey process took 4 YEARS
Important Distinction: **The current moratorium on growth will allow for only 3 parcels of land on our 87 acres. So, in order to pave the way for a legal segregation of property at some future date, the survey has delineated and described 5 separate parcels.**
• Many consultations with planners at Lewis County - have revealed that a small portion of our property is affected by a moratorium for segregation, which was placed on protected land use areas. Washington State's Growth Management Act http://www.gmhb.wa.gov/gma/index.html. The GMA requires that the three boards meet jointly at least annually to share information that promotes the goals and purposes of the GMA. Over the past 5 years that we have been following the situation, the moratorium has been lifted in some areas but not all, and we still have a small sliver of land along the river that falls under their protected area.
•2008 Hire Scott Blinks, Attorney. Consultations with Mr. Blinks to determine the best case scenario towards our goals for The Falls. With the new survey filed at the county, we were now able to file for a "Boundary Line Agreement ". This is not the final solution, but a very necessary step in the process.
• February 2, 2009: “Red Letter Day”
Filed the completed survey at Lewis County.
Filed an amendment to the survey; a Boundary Line Agreement with John Linder, allowing us to sell 1.8 acres to him.
• March 9, 2009. Sell 1.8 acres to John Linder giving him his deed and new legal description.
• March 9, 2009. Signed a new land loan contract with the bank, using most of the proceeds from the Linder sale towards our principle loan. Our monthly payments will pay the mortgage in about 10 years, unless we pay it off early.
So, what CAN we do with The Family Preserve while we wait for the legal segregation of property?
Almost anything we want to do. The attorney has written "easements" into the legal description. The CFLLC still owns and pays taxes for that land but the Family Organization has easement to "MacDonald Road" and to the 11 acres along the river. See the maps attached. The family can improve the road, bring in power, water, build cabins, tent sites etc, etc... The only restriction is that we do not build a place with a permanent plumbing (like a bathroom), because that is when the county requires a residential building permit. We need to have that acreage sub-divided before the final property sub-division. It is now time for the Family organization to rise up and get busy... no need to wait for the LLC at this point.
What Happens when the moratorium is lifted?
The CFLLC will follow through with it's #1 goal to segregate and gift the property to the family organization. Fortunately it will not require 5 years of legal and survey work to get it ready. Those things are already done and paid for. The CFLLC will do what the county requires at that time, for a subdivision of property. When complete, the family can take legal ownership and build it up further. A family lodge, etc. There are implications of maintenance, property taxes and land designation that will become issues that the family organization will assume at that time.
What about the rest of the acreage?
The LLC will continue to own the balance of the land. Members of the LLC will have the opportunity for individual ownership of one of the parcels after the balance of the mortgage is paid off and the family preserve is gifted to the family organization. Members of the CFLLC have unanimously agreed that these properties will remain in CFLLC ownership until them. Thereafter, it is our intent to keep the other parcels in the family.
The CFLLC as a group have kept our eye on the prize throughout this whole process. We know that our ultimate goal has not yet been met, but that the groundwork has been laid. Amazingly, the resources have been there, through the harvesting of granddad's over-grown Christmas trees, and our individual monthly loan payments. The fuel behind it all is the family's recent resurgent support towards gaining a MacDonald Family Preserve & Dad and Mom's constant hospitality providing our home base at The Falls.
See the attachment showing The Falls property in 2 phases:
Phase #1 – 3 parcels with easements for The MacDonald Family Preserve.
Phase #2 – 5 subdivided parcels - MacDonald Family Preserve ready for the family organization to take legal ownership.
Friday, April 3, 2009
new family blogspot
Brad said we should move to the living room of the net so I hope this blog works.
Question 2: what do I want to DO at the Falls
Camp in the campground on tent platforms or stay in one of the several shipping container cabins
Fish
Family reunions
Family campfires in/on/ around the amphitheater
Have a music festival
Have a talent show
Have a big outdoor screen to show family videos on
Canoe or go rafting off a seasonal /portable dock
Store my raft or canoe in a boat house made out of a shipping container situated below the amphitheater or by the first trail
Eat in a big dining hall that will seat 100 people with solar power to eat at made from shipping containers that overlooks the river at the 1 acre spot at the end of the fish hook
A grill a big grill
Go on a picnic and eat at the picnic tables in the 1 acre spot by the dining hall in a little park like setting
Have a nice compost toilet to go potty in the dining hall
Shower with a solar powered water heater in the dining hall
Have water to drink from a water fountain by the fire pit by the amphitheater
Have a nice 2 seater outhouse set off but near the amphitheater
Have a safe place to park and turn the car around by widening the dirt road at the North or sloped side between the fishing trail and the fishhook
Have a baseball diamond by the Falls road and play ball
Have a Frisbee or disk golf course with a disk-net
Have a volleyball court by the dining hall
Play basketball in a half basketball court spot
Have a hop scotch spot
Have a zip line start on top of Amy’s knoll to the top of the hill and back also from the top of the hill to the dining hall to the campground ending at the amphitheater return the back to the top of the hill zip-line
Build a rock climbing wall on the rock wall by the amphitheatre with climbing harnesses, helmets, safety gear
Swings big and little
Have a climbing course for little kids
Go hiking or biking on trails throughout the 84 acres
What did I miss?
Janice
Secret trail to a secret meadow to the artesian well
Outdoor squash court by the baseball diamond or the dining hall
a fenced in area for the dogs to be at night
I think the shipping container idea is pretty good for storing things, but I'm not so sure that would fit in very well in the surroundings. I think we should have a lodge-type structure where we all could gather underneath one roof. The structure would have an woodsy outdoor-sy lodge feel
I think the best place for a baseball field would be in the triangular easement area across the street from Dad’s place. Refer to the figure that Amy sent out with her initial email. This is a 10 acre "lot" and it is very flat. The LLC owns it, although I am not authorized to throw it out on the table. One option would be for the Family Association to offer to buy it from the CFLLC. Now you have 20 acres that would belong to the Family Association. You would have two different parcels, each with a different fell and purpose. One is private and secluded and the other is in the open and is available for bigger, more inclusive gatherings.
Century old Barn and Houses
Tree house or ewok house as part of the zip lines
http://www.tamarackidaho.com/about/index.php click on the 'about' tab and then click on the forth picture which is about the zipline
...after I went to this web site and sent the zip line video to you all I went back and read the unbelievable part that this beautiful and huge resort had gone the way of this recession... bankrupt. We can take many lessons from this; How to build a zip line and how to not over extend ourselves in our family adventure.
We ought to think out of the box and see what cash we have. IE. What If each family put in $1000, into the family fund and that could be our seed money to build from. Right now we have nothing in the bank.
To match our dreams with reality we need to be creative. IE; we need to have a way of securing whatever we place in the area. Like, a strong secure place like from trees falling during a storm on our cabins, or other people entering our lands and messing with whatever they find.
If we used steel shipping container box and then added a log veneer and a pitched roof to make it look like a little log cabin, then we could bolt it safe and it might be a big savings in cash and number of logs needed. We could put up several wee cabins.
Maybe we could build a barn as the lodge
I like the idea of the land under the high wires across from Mom and Dad's place for the ball and squash b-ball, park
With so many having dogs, maybe a fenced in area for the dogs to be at night? KENNEL
Colleen MacDonald - Realtor
Question 2: what do I want to DO at the Falls
Camp in the campground on tent platforms or stay in one of the several shipping container cabins
Fish
Family reunions
Family campfires in/on/ around the amphitheater
Have a music festival
Have a talent show
Have a big outdoor screen to show family videos on
Canoe or go rafting off a seasonal /portable dock
Store my raft or canoe in a boat house made out of a shipping container situated below the amphitheater or by the first trail
Eat in a big dining hall that will seat 100 people with solar power to eat at made from shipping containers that overlooks the river at the 1 acre spot at the end of the fish hook
A grill a big grill
Go on a picnic and eat at the picnic tables in the 1 acre spot by the dining hall in a little park like setting
Have a nice compost toilet to go potty in the dining hall
Shower with a solar powered water heater in the dining hall
Have water to drink from a water fountain by the fire pit by the amphitheater
Have a nice 2 seater outhouse set off but near the amphitheater
Have a safe place to park and turn the car around by widening the dirt road at the North or sloped side between the fishing trail and the fishhook
Have a baseball diamond by the Falls road and play ball
Have a Frisbee or disk golf course with a disk-net
Have a volleyball court by the dining hall
Play basketball in a half basketball court spot
Have a hop scotch spot
Have a zip line start on top of Amy’s knoll to the top of the hill and back also from the top of the hill to the dining hall to the campground ending at the amphitheater return the back to the top of the hill zip-line
Build a rock climbing wall on the rock wall by the amphitheatre with climbing harnesses, helmets, safety gear
Swings big and little
Have a climbing course for little kids
Go hiking or biking on trails throughout the 84 acres
What did I miss?
Janice
Secret trail to a secret meadow to the artesian well
Outdoor squash court by the baseball diamond or the dining hall
a fenced in area for the dogs to be at night
I think the shipping container idea is pretty good for storing things, but I'm not so sure that would fit in very well in the surroundings. I think we should have a lodge-type structure where we all could gather underneath one roof. The structure would have an woodsy outdoor-sy lodge feel
I think the best place for a baseball field would be in the triangular easement area across the street from Dad’s place. Refer to the figure that Amy sent out with her initial email. This is a 10 acre "lot" and it is very flat. The LLC owns it, although I am not authorized to throw it out on the table. One option would be for the Family Association to offer to buy it from the CFLLC. Now you have 20 acres that would belong to the Family Association. You would have two different parcels, each with a different fell and purpose. One is private and secluded and the other is in the open and is available for bigger, more inclusive gatherings.
Century old Barn and Houses
Tree house or ewok house as part of the zip lines
http://www.tamarackidaho.com/about/index.php click on the 'about' tab and then click on the forth picture which is about the zipline
...after I went to this web site and sent the zip line video to you all I went back and read the unbelievable part that this beautiful and huge resort had gone the way of this recession... bankrupt. We can take many lessons from this; How to build a zip line and how to not over extend ourselves in our family adventure.
We ought to think out of the box and see what cash we have. IE. What If each family put in $1000, into the family fund and that could be our seed money to build from. Right now we have nothing in the bank.
To match our dreams with reality we need to be creative. IE; we need to have a way of securing whatever we place in the area. Like, a strong secure place like from trees falling during a storm on our cabins, or other people entering our lands and messing with whatever they find.
If we used steel shipping container box and then added a log veneer and a pitched roof to make it look like a little log cabin, then we could bolt it safe and it might be a big savings in cash and number of logs needed. We could put up several wee cabins.
Maybe we could build a barn as the lodge
I like the idea of the land under the high wires across from Mom and Dad's place for the ball and squash b-ball, park
With so many having dogs, maybe a fenced in area for the dogs to be at night? KENNEL
Colleen MacDonald - Realtor
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