High Desert Estates

Mark and Juanita Fleming began work on 400 acres they owned Southeast of Prineville in 1991.  They envisioned a residential community suitable for retired and working folks and named the community "High Desert Estates" (HDE).

The property was plotted and platted into 172 roughly equally sized 2 acre lots.  The plan was to develop the property for home sites in phases; and a total of 6 phases would eventually complete the construction.  Crook County required that all roadways be constructed to county specifications.  Development work began to provide electricity, water, telephone and cable TV to all home sites.  At the same time the By-Laws and CC&R (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions) documents were prepared by knowledgeable legal staff to describe how the developers envisioned the community to be used and governed.

General:

Eventually, Crook County informed the Flemings that the County would not be taking responsibility for road maintenance, so plans were made for HDE to maintain the roadways.  This unexpected turn of events had a positive consequence for HDE property owners.  Since the County was not and would not be maintaining the roadways, their legal status became “Private with Public Access”.  This permits residents to use the roads as if they are entirely private, a distinct advantage for all of us.  An exit gate, locked and controlled entirely by County emergency personnel, is installed at the South end of Jerry Drive to act as a south exit in the event of fire blocking the north exits.

At this point, there are 163 homes built on the 172 lots originally available. The association owns two lots with the HDE office recently being relocated from 4488 Jerry Dr. to the second lot at 5980 Jerry Dr.  The long term construction plans on remaining undeveloped properties is not known.

Water System Maintenance:

By far the highest priority here in HDE is the quality of our water and the maintenance of the water system.  Our water system consists of 3 separate cisterns, currently 4 wells and about 5 miles of underground supply lines.

Generally speaking the system is operating smoothly.  There is of course wear and tear on the system and occasional breakdowns.   Our water committee team members are able to redirect water to homes supplied by a cistern in need of repair.

Water Testing

The quality and safety of our water is regulated by Federal law.   Water quality is tested monthly, yearly and every third year in accordance with this law by outside vendors.   Coliform testing is done monthly and our cisterns are generally treated twice a year to prevent coliform growth.  .

Water Related:

All the water in Oregon belongs to the state.  Citizens only have the right to use it.  The board expects continued and added regulation by the state in terms of what they will be asking, or requiring, from the Association.   Any added requirements will demand additional time and involvement from board members and other homeowners.

Revenue Related:

In 2017 the board engaged an outside company, Regenesis, to perform what is called a Reserve Study.   The Reserve Study identified those components within HDE which will require maintenance, repair or replacement in more than one and less than thirty years along with the projected cost of repair or replacement of each at recommended intervals.  The board is using the study as a budget planning tool.

As of July, 2022 the base fee per household is $50.  The monies collected go into a General Fund with $20 of the fee automatically transferred into a Reserve Fund.  Some recent major expenses are associated with the cost of relocating the HDE office and a drilled well.

All homes are connected to our community water system.  It is every homeowner's responsibility to ensure the system is not  contaminated.  All homes are required at their own expense to have an installed Oregon certified backflow prevention device unless their home does not present a source of potential contamination!  Contact the water committee if you are not sure if you have a backflow preventer installed or know if one is needed.  The water committee pays the cost of annual backflow device testing.

Roadways:

The board expects that most of our roadway expenses will be for maintenance like crack or shoulder repair, sign replacement and occasional snow removal.

30 year plan:

The Planned Community Act dictates we establish a 30 year plan that identifies expectations for long term maintenance and accordingly, a reserve account to support the anticipated costs of such a plan.   As previously noted, we completed a Reserve Study in 2017.  Our 30 year plan consists primarily of recognizing that our underground water supply system, and perhaps our cisterns as well, will in time need replacing.  Of significant benefit is the fact that the supply system was not installed all at once so replacement should not be required all at once.

 Volunteers:

To date roughly 2 dozen people have contributed at various times and in various capacities bringing their dedication, past experiences and knowledge to making HDE a better place.  To a person, these people have selflessly given their expertise and their time.

Moving ahead:

The residents of High Desert Estates enjoy life relatively free of intrusion and troubles that are known to be present, and often troublesome, in other planned communities. It's up to all of us to keep it that way.