Download Candidate Statement for Steve Miller Tahoe Donner`s Strategic Plan

Candidate Statement for Steve Miller
Tahoe Donner’s Strategic Plan
Vision
May 7, 2014
“Tahoe Donner is a vibrant and desirable mountain community, with modern recreational
facilities, events, programs, and leading customer service, surrounded by accessible and healthy
natural resources.”
I am Steve Miller and I am running for a second term as your Tahoe Donner Board
representative. I placed the above quote as the heading for my candidate statement since it
has been, and will continue to be, the guiding principle behind the decisions I am asked to make
as your Board Member. I hope you can support me in this vision by voting.
This vision, backed by the beliefs of other Board members and a highly professional senior staff,
has led to significant updates including modernization of facilities, improvements of amenities,
and member focused customer service during my first three years in office. We have
consistently directed staff to stress quality amenity service and offerings during the budget
process. I personally was highly involved in the writing of TD’s first Trails Master Plan. The
T.M.P. is our blueprint for the maintenance and continuing improvements you have seen in the
trails of our 4,300 acres+ of open space that we own. (One of my first duties on the Board was
to help negotiate the sales terms and vote to finalize the purchase of the Euer Valley.)
A second important driver for me has been focusing on ensuring a secure financial future for
the association. I am proud of the work our Finance Committee has accomplished. As Board
Treasurer for the last two years I have participated in the rewriting of all our financial policy
directives. In our rewritten Reserve Replacement Policy the association is now committed to
saving the appropriate levels of funds required to maintain all $41,000,000 replacement cost of
our identified assets over the next 30 years. The new Operating Fund Policy now has an
increased minimum and peg balance to allow us more cushion and flexibility regarding the
variability of our weather. We are vigilant in our oversight of operations on a monthly basis
and realize that the resort nature of our amenity revenue and expenses requires great
flexibility. We are a financially healthy association and we are conservatively planning for the
future.
In my second term as a Board member, I look forward to working with the General Planning
Committee, the Finance Committee and Senior Staff to analyze and update (if necessary) Tahoe
Donner’s Strategic Plan last looked at in 2010. Are the values, guiding principles and core
competencies outlined there still relevant to our current goals? As we enter a new capital
investment cycle, what are the newly prioritized needs of the association, and how do we
finance them? I will continue to be watchful of the Association’s finances. I will continue to
support modernization of all our assets. I will continue to work closely with staff on the
implementation of our Trails Master Plan. I am a supporter of the paved Trail to Truckee (Trout
Creek Trail) but, defending Tahoe Donner’s interests, how can we interact with the Town of
Truckee to get the best alignment and funding methods. I want to begin planning for the
remediation of our Euer Valley property once the cattle are banned after summer 2014. I
believe that the more reasons we can give our members to own property, visit and recreate in a
modern, and relevant Tahoe Donner, the more enhanced our property values become.
BIO
My wife Andrea, my son Christopher and I have been full time residents of Tahoe Donner for the past 12
years. I have worked in the financial services industry for 34 years of which 32 have been with Wells
Fargo Securities as a senior portfolio manager. My retirement, at age 60, is planned for Oct. 1 of this
year. We are passionate Nordic skiers. We love to hike, run and mountain bike. We use Trout Creek,
Tennis and the Marina amenities. Check out the TD Hiking Club’s calendar for the long hikes I will be
leading in Aug. and Sept. of this year and come join us. I truly believe that Tahoe Donner is a wonderful
and unique place to live with tremendous assets. I am proud of the direction TD is heading in and I
have been well rewarded by the achievements we have made in the past several years. Please make
sure and vote in this election if you believe we can continue to achieve the progress I outlined above. I
can be reached at [email protected] if you have questions. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Steve Miller