Candidates Matthew Kennedy, William Smith and Martin Wild are running for LRAA Trustee for the first time. Matt O’Brian and Jon Moore are seeking re-election. Get to know them by reading their bios prior to the Annual Membership Meeting on May 25, 2025.

MATTHEW KENNEDY
Seeking first 3-year term.
Matthew Kennedy is excited to run for a position on the LRAA board. He and his wife have lived on Buck Circle in LRAA since 2019 and he feels it is time to be active on the HOA board. Matthew has been involved with other boards including the Bellingham Technical College Automotive Technology advisory committee so he understands how these systems work.

Matthew is currently the automotive and welding instructor for the Methow Valley School District Career and Technical Education department. Before that he spent 20 years in the automotive industry as a master certified technician. He is a full time LRAA resident and loves our community.

WILLIAM SMITH
Seeking first 3-year term.

My family has been coming to Lost River with Walt Mauldin and his family for 10 years. We loved it so much that in 2021, we bought the old Burdo place on the runway, so we always had a place to bring our kids and create memories as a family.

I have a professional background in Procurement and Supply Chain management for major telecom companies, and a long history of volunteering for my community, including a 3-year term on the Board of Directors of a 200 unit community in Bothell, WA.

MATT O’BRIAN
Current LRAA Trustee seeking another 3-year term.
Matt has faithfully served on our board managing the grading, plowing and other items related to keeping the roads functioning.

JON MOORE
Current LRAA Trustee seeking another 3-year term.

Currently serving as LRAA President and seeks re-election. In my first 3-year Board term I served as LRAA Secretary and led the Water Committee prior to assuming the role of President. Jon also serves on the Lost River Sewer Association board, and Secretary of the Mazama Community Church. Jon operates Comprehensive Financial Strategies in Winthrop and continues to work for a US Dept of Defense (DoD) contractor.

Jon has been a full-time LRAA resident since 2019. When not at home, you can find Jon walking the LRAA loop, riding motorcycle, hiking various trails, bird watching, or snowmobiling up Yellow Jacket or Harts Pass. Jon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE), licensed Professional Engineer (PE), Project Management Professional (PMP), licensed Financial Planner and Amateur Radio Operator.

Please join us for the Annual Membership Meeting on Sunday, May 25th over Memorial Day weekend at the Firehall on Mink Road.

Set-up will begin at 9 AM, where members can ask questions, meet your current trustees, get registered and visit with your neighbors. We will start the meeting promptly at 10 AM. When the meeting is over (usually around noon) we will provide hamburgers with all the fixings, as well as paper plates, silverware, and refreshments. Please bring a dish to pass and chairs.

Enclosed in this packet is the Agenda for the meeting, which covers all of the major points of discussion. A few highlights that we look forward to presenting are:

• Overview of what has been accomplished in the Association in 2024/2025.

• Update on past member dues collections.

• Vote on the 2026 Budget.

• Election of Trustees - We have two new positions that we would like to fill, along with two encumbants running for re-election. The membership elects Trustees, and the Board then elects the officers and committee chair positions. ( Bios can be found on the website and in the Annual Member Meeting Packet on the Annual Meeting Documents page.)

Dues and Fees for 2026:

Annual Membership Fee: $335.00
Annual Water Fee (per water right): $922.00
Total Dues for 2026 (for members with one water right): $1257.00

Come to the meeting, stay for the picnic!

We look forward to seeing you on May 25th. If you have any questions please contact our Business Manager, Bahia Rowan, at lraa.business@gmail.com.

View 2025 Annual Meeting Documents

Tired of people speeding in LRAA? Come to the Work Party to make traffic slowing barriers!

These will be large cans that have our 15 MPH signs on them. They will be weighted down so that they are hard to move from where they are placed unlike the smaller 5 gallon buckets that were tried in the past. We are making 6 of them and will be placing them in some of our busier intersections. If we think they are helping to slow traffic we may make more of them in the future.

Where? Meet at the Firehall

When? 10 AM on Saturday May 10th

Why? Because we want this to be a safe, walking neighborhood and we don’t like dust!

For more information, please contact the Business Manager at lraa.business@gmail.com.

Every year we must replace board members who rotate off the board or who have moved out of the community. This year we have 2 open seats to fill in May 2025. If you love the Lost River Airport Community and want to contribute to seeing it thrive, this is your chance!

If elected you would fulfill a 3-year term, attending board meetings on the third Sunday of every month, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. You would help decide and execute policy regarding our roads, water systems, garbage service, and legal obligations as a HOA. Meetings are held over the phone so it is not necessary to be a full time resident to be on the LRAA board.

Being a board member is a great way to get to know your community and make sure it is running smoothly. If you are interested or if you would like to recommend someone, please contact the LRAA Business Manager at lraa.business@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Our annual Winter eNewsletter went out today. If you didn’t receive it, please check your spam/junk folder or let us know if you’ve had an email address change. If you’re new to LRAA and haven’t subscribed yet, please visit our Communication page and click “Subscribe to Email List.”

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September 2024, V4

Now that we are officially a Firewise USA community, a nationally recognized site, we have our signs displayed at both entrances of the LRAA for neighborhood recognition.

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SAVE THE DATE!
Community Chipping "Air Care" Event and FREE Soft Organic Material Dumpster Days

We heard your feedback from the Spring Chipping Event and it’s back on the schedule! 
Through the Okanogan Conservation District and the LRAA Firewise Committee partnership, an industrial chipper is being provided for LRAA on October 7th, 2024, and a soft organic material dumpster from October 4th - 10th, 2024.

• Chipping Day Details:
Get your yard work done and build piles by the side of the road/driveway for easy access. For chipping, logs/branches must be no longer than 6.5 feet and no wider than 12 inches. They also must be natural woody material, no lumber or treated wood. Additional instructions are in the sign-up form. Please READ to ensure you are staging correctly. There is now no requirement for homeowners to be home to have chipping completed. Just have yard waste ready and staged by 8 AM on the morning of October 7th.

• Soft Organic Material Dumpster Days Details: 
Only soft organic materials can be accepted, including pine needles, leaves, grass, weeds, or other non-woody material. Things not accepted are tree branches, firewood, stumps, lumber, or other woody material. WasteWise says no to any bags, plastic or paper. They need ALL material to be loose in the dumpster, in order to properly steam and treat it. Bring your soft organic materials to the dumpster in a bag(s), dump it into the dumpster and take your bag(s) home.

The dumpster will be located on Meek Road at the LRAA Fire Hall October 4th - 10th

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MICROGRANT UPDATE
We were awarded another $4,000 Firewise USA Micro grant this spring that is allowing us to spread gravel around the pump house so it stays clear and accessible in case of a fire. A work party will be coordinated soon if you are interested in helping!

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GOOD REMINDERS AS WE CONTINUE TO FIREWISE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

• Pick up/rake all flammable vegetation (dead branches, brush, stumps, logs) on your property.

• Trim your trees lower limbs 15’ up off the ground

• Trim tree branches within 15’ within a chimney or stovepipe

• Trees close to your home are a risk, consider creating a 30’ defensible space around your home without trees.

• Order blue reflective address signs so emergency vehicles can locate you quickly.

• Now is a great time to do a chimney sweep after a COLD winter! This should be done every 1-2 years to prevent chimney fires in the spring and fall that could easily spread.

• Please share how many hours you have put into making your property more fire resilient. We get to use these hours towards our Lost River Airport Firewise community hours. These hours give us access to neighborhood micro-grants and free programs, such as the chipping day in October. If two or more people worked, than add everyone hours separately so we record all total hours. Please email all your hours to LRAA.business@gmail.com

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FREE MONEY FOR DOING FIRE MITIGATION WORK ON YOUR PROPERTY

We are now Firewise Certified Site and the benefit to becoming a Firewise neighborhood is we have an opportunity to receive funding to help make our neighborhood safe from fire from your individual contributions. And you as property owners can earn money doing the mitigation work. See the program details at https://www.dnr.wa.gov/cost-share.

Please note that nothing will ever be done to private property without the consent from the owner. It is your personal choice to participate.

Also you can schedule a FREE IN PERSON FIREWISE HOME ASSESSMENTS with Okanogan Conservation District and Department of Natural Resources. To schedule an assessment, email Eli Loftis at eli@okanogancd.org.

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HOW TO STAY INFORMED ON FIRES & SMOKE IN THE AREA
Firewise resources for the upcoming summer…
If you’d like to stay informed on when fires are near us and evacuation levels you can sign up for Okanogan County alerts. It’s great to know whether you’re a part-time or full-time resident. Links can also be found on the LRAA Home page.

Okanogan County Emergency Management

WA Smoke - Smoke tracking

AirNow - Air Quality Monitor App

Purple Air - Air Quality Monitor App (There’s a Purple Air monitor at LRAA.)

Inciweb - Up to date fire reports

National Interagency Fire Center - Fire tracking map

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Facebook

From Your LRAA Firewise Committee