The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Present were Craig Cowles, Patsy Billiar, Lynn McDonald, Gary Van Horn, Alan Wright, Dewey Erlwein, Phyllis Upright, Gail Hill, Gregg Smith, and Robert English.
Secretary Robert English read the minutes of the November 21 of 2003. Gary Van Horn approved the minutes as read, and Gail Hill seconded.
Dewey Erlwein outlined the current plans for the community meeting and storage building. Phyllis Upright read the points that would be covered in his presentation. After this, she passed out copies of the written proposal (dated today) for all to read. Outlining the written proposal, Dewey stated that some changes in the by-laws would have to be effected and also that a new position be made on the board for a facilities manager. The current estimate for building this facility will be in the neighborhood of $55,000.00 which will take most of the money that has been saved for taxiway repair. Dewey listed in this report a schedule of when the taxiways would be due for repair (the first ones will not be due until 2017) and included some inflation in the factoring of projected costs. There is a schedule on page 3 of his report that outlines projected taxiway maintenance and repair.
Besides the quarterly meetings that the IAHA board will hold, there were other possible uses such as the ODA, ISAS, Flying Farmers, the Christmas dinner, the 99s, and weekly coffee clatches were the possible groups that could be interested in using this facility.
Phyllis related an idea that Harry Malette had about the possible use of the buiding, i.e. that it could be made available to the City of Independence as a public meeting place and that the city would help in the form of insurance coverage. Objections were raised at this point about possible disasterous consequences about opening this building up for non-airpark usage, i.e. that it would be used irresponsibly and that the airpark community would be responsible for cleanup afterward. That issue was dropped for the moment. Dewey went on to outline possible income for facility rental as well as expenses for its operation (some of which were provided by Mike Pongracz).
Gary Van Horn brought up some history here by saying that the Association owned two lots which were sold some years ago, and that the money from the sale of those lots was in the current IAHA balance. His point was that it would be easy to re-claim this money for the purpose of a re-investment in a lot for the proposed building.
Alan Wright read a letter from Ron Carroll that was solidly against the proposed meeting hall. Besides raising the spectre of possible legal action, he recalled that the IAHA board used to rent a meeting hall in Monmouth before using the Gabel’s hangar. The main point of his letter was this action needed to be brought to a vote of the general membership and not simply approved by the current board of directors. Alan phone Ron personally to assure him that if this idea is at all feasible it would be brought to a general vote. It was the only negative letter, though there were also some negative comments that various board members have heard (as well as positive ones). Gail Hill said that there would be lots of people being hot under the collar about this thing. Craig Cowles spoke up saying that the worst case scenario was that a few people would hire lawyers and block it even though the rest of the community approved the expenditure. Gail spoke again about previous situations that she had heard about where money, which had been allocated for some specific issue, was funneled toward something else and heads rolled as a result. The money that has been collected for the purpose of taxiway maintenance needed to be used for that purpose, and if it was redirected then it could get the Association into a genuine legal bind.
Some great appreciation was expressed to the Gabels for letting the Association use their hangar for meeting purposes, to say nothing about the costs they must be absorbing for electricity and gas usage, and that it was thoroughly understandable that they would want their hangar back. The point was also brought up that this lot was the last possible place for such a facility in this entire airpark.
For the purpose of packaging this as a saleable idea, it was suggested that a list of all the uses that the Gabel’s hangar currently enjoys be compiled and presented as possible events to be held in this new facility. There was some discussion about who could spearhead the sales pitch, and Alan said it should be someone else besides himself as he should be seen as a neutral party on this issue. There was no clear idea as to who could do this, but there was time before all of the facts and figures would be ready. Gary Van Horn had been approached about taking over the spearheading of this agenda, and Gary said he needed to finish some things before he could even consider something of this magnitude. Ron Gabel’s name was brought up as a possibility, and as he has worked as a salesman it was considered a viable suggestion.
To finish, Dewey read the list of things to do before completion which was on page 4 of his handout. Gary suggested that the new post of facility manager would be better if it was a board-appointed position rather than being up for general ballot approval. A committee with a chairperson was also forwarded as a suggestion. Alan suggested that the next step would be to continue courting the approval of the ODA for this facility, as it is to be built on the slice of land that they own, and that steps one through four on this list be approved as an agenda for action. Gary seconded. All approved by voice vote.
Treasurer’s report: the total for all accounts (including the pending deposit) was $108,952.02 but that this amount included the ingress/egress fee which would be taken out and paid to the ODA in June. Also, the Wade house is currently in escrow and a bank in Florida currently holds the deed for that house. Gail is forwarding the lein papers to that bank so that they can pay the fees to remove this lein. The new owner has been urged to thoroughly inspect the house for mold and animal urine going down to the subfloor. Also, when the ODA gets their money, that the information they will get is who deposited how much and when – that is all the information they will get.
Maintenance – Craig said that the regular maintenance schedule starts about June and that he’s been maintaining the tractor (sharpening blades, changing bearings, etc.) ahead of that time. Gary asked about the weed spraying, and Craig resonded that he’d wait until the ground is less saturated. Discussion turned to the drainage pipes, silting as well as the varying sizes that have been used under taxiway easements, but then discussion came back to spraying which would be done after the weather breaks significantly.
Architectural – Gregg Smith said that the committee met once already to approve plans for the James house, then later on this month to look at the plans for Buzz Thede’s hangar. The other items on the agenda were ones that Alan brought to the table to help Gregg ease in to his “new job”. The gas tank removal on the LaCrosse property was an issue as they wanted to bring heavy equipment onto the lot through the taxiways which is completely unacceptable. The next issue was the asphalt ballast rock, which must be the sharp-edged rock and not pea-gravel as that does not compact adequately. Drainage was the next point – the culvert that people put down needs to be at least as big as the next house downstream (or 8 inches whichever is bigger) plus a clean-out. Signage on the taxiways advising against driving on them during construction – there has been some minor damage done and it could get major unless there is some awareness. Encroachment on the rear lot line by outbuildings was the last point – certain lot owners that have outbuildings that are a little too close to the taxiway need to be censured adequately. The proper procedure for doing this was open to debate, and some discussion did ensue about these points.
Some discussions about survey descriptions in the existing CC&Rs, such as the Airpark North description (the description of which actually includes part of the State-owned runway), were discussed as needing to be reworded to be accurate. Alan had all the information necessary to reword this particular section, and had sent some communication to the lawyer about this one, and hadn’t heard anything back from the attorney at this time. Alan said that the sooner the changes in the CC&Rs are filed the sooner they can be accepted. The previously agreed-upon changes in these CC&Rs have not been filed yet and has not been forgotten.
Robert asked when it would be appropriate to have these proposed changes posted on the web for general membership viewing. Alan said that it would be a while before they were presentable, but that would be a good idea. As Robert currently administers the web site for the new FBO, “Independence Flyers Inc.”, it would be simple to include a web site for IAHA on that same domain.
The pending ODA access agreement has been redrafted, with a lot of IAHA’s suggestions implemented, but there are some new conditions (such as their suggested inclusion in the Independence Airpark’s CC&R handbook) that need to be hashed out with the ODA in person. Gail suggested that the negotiations be face-to-face from this point out rather than being by email or other written form. Page 11, condition 3.14, which specifically says that the CC&Rs will be amended to include the ODA agreement, states further that the Committee will be responsible for all damages. The insurance requirement, which was a sticking point in the November draft, has been removed but now this condition has been included. Alan stated that this condition was broad enough to make the Committee responsible for anything that happens. Gary suggested that we meet with the lawyer first and then bring the lawyer at our discretion to the meeting with Darren. Progress on taking some unworkable provisions out of previous drafts has been good without a lawyer, and Alan said he wanted to go one more round with Darren without bringing a lawyer into it. Besides, as Gary mentioned, the CC&Rs already include a reference to the ODA agreement which is recorded with the State separately.
The Stearman Street agreement was also brought up: Darren’s position is that the Stearman Street agreement be surrendered in favor of the single agreement for the entire airpark. Alan has maintained his position that he will leave it up to the Stearman Street people to decide on what they want to do – their current rate is locked in for another eight years. Gail moved that the decision be placed before the Stearman Street people as to which agreement they wanted to go with, and Lynn McDonald seconded. Gary Van Horn abstained, with the concern that the Association is in effect putting a gun to the head of the Stearman Street folks – asking them to make a decision before we know what all the options might be. Alan’s sole point was that whether to jump their old agreement or hold on to it is their decision.
To follow up the investigation that was promised in November: Gary had a letter with him that was the results of his query about the legality of the ingress/egress fee. The basic response was that the ODA is perfectly within their rights to ask for money. They are also not under any obligation to present accounting to show where the money is going, though there is some responsibility on the part of the State to use the money wisely.
Gail moved the meeting be adjourned, and Gary seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted by Robert English, secretary