Minutes of IAHA Meeting
The meeting was called to order by vice-president John Horn at 7:06 PM. Present were: Phyllis Upright, Greg Smith, Dennis Widby, Craig Cowles, Robert English, and John Horn. Guests present included: John Sedey, Norm and Rita Farb, John Conley, Karen Brown, Andy and Connie Andersen, Harry Bladow, Fred Krieg, Dave Martin, Ted and Gwen Boer, Carole Gabel, Jim Kirkendahl, and Denny Jackson.
Secretary: the minutes were sent to the Board members by email before the meeting, and there were no additions or corrections. Phyllis moved to approve the minutes, and Craig Cowles seconded. All approved by voice vote.
Treasurer: John McCoy could not be at the meeting, but he published the most recent balance sheet in the local newsletter. Phyllis made the motion to approve the balance sheet as presented, and Dennis Widby seconded. All approved by voice vote. There was some concern voiced about the publication of the balance sheet for all to see (including those outside the community who had no business knowing how much we have). John Horn said that its appearance in the newsletter took him by surprise as well.
Architecture: The architectural committee, consisting of chair Greg Smith, Jon Husser, Larry Kruljac, Carole Gabel and Jim Kirkendall (Linda Woodley has withdrawn since she is leaving the area), has met four times since the last report and has approved three projects: a fence at 799 Airport Way, a hangar at 790 Airport Way, and a hangar at 783 Cessna St. No projects are pending at this time. Robert English added that the walkway adjacent to his house would be blocked by a hydraulic lift on Friday and Saturday.
Maintenance: other than the budget issue, which was moved to new business, there was nothing new to report.
Directors at large: Phyllis and Dennis had items to be brought up under new business.
Unfinished business: the committee to review Richard Juve’s suggested changes to the governing documents are going to meet and prepare an initial presentation, which should be ready for a meeting to be held in August or shortly thereafter.
New Business: Item 1: The ODA has announced its intention to assess the homeowners here for bringing in new water for the hangars under construction. Mr. Hidley, the new director of the ODA, also wants to re-open the access fees for negotiation. The consensus was that, if this were to be assessed, it would set a very dangerous precedent - moreover, that this seems to be an attempt by the ODA to cover for a lack of proper planning. Since Mr. Hidley’s ideas are preliminary, and not final, it is difficult to know exactly where he is going at this stage. Dennis Widby asked if it was understood by Mr. Hidley that this was a “through-the-fence” operation rather than the residents being part of the airport. Greg Ellis, Independence City Manager, got up to speak about what options the ODA had for acquiring water. The county gave the permits without the benefit of approval from the fire department. John Conley reminded Greg about the discussion they had earlier about the property to the west of the airport, and he extrapolated on that to say that the City’s growth plans are toward the south-west, and there are no development plans for the north. When asked about the cost to provide the hangars with fire water, the answer was $4.50 per $1,000.00 of value (which is $120.00 per year for the hangars which are worth about $40,000.00). In 1979, the urban growth boundaries were designed to contain sprawl but it has been used since then to contain resources such as water from going outside these growth boundaries. A map at City Hall shows the current hydrant and sewer layout. The current hangars would require water lines around 8” to 10” around, and not the 6” that is currently serving the area (guest Mark Prince, formerly of the Polk County Fire Department, said that the required flow is 3,000 gallons per minute and the smaller line allows only about 700 gpm). Andy Andersen stated that Senate Bill 71 would provide the funding necessary to put this water system in without charging the homeowners anything. John Horn added that if anyone had a way to acquire a copy of the measure that they scrutinize the language carefully to see if it would in fact do what it purports to do. He went on to say that IAHA’s priorities should be: #1, see what the ODA actually winds up wanting to do to us, rather than reacting to rumor; and #2, give them a fight if need be. The existing agreement with the ODA allows the State lots of latitude to do what they need to do. Mark Prince read a letter written earlier in the year by ex-ODA director Darren Griffin which detailed their plans for the hangars, which included the utilities. John asked for a copy of this letter, and the reply was in the affirmative. John further said that if the ODA can successfully dip into the resident’s pockets this time, then they will keep coming back.
There was also mention about the perpetual subtle pressure toward passing the management of the airport to the City rather than have it be a State airport, though there has been absolutely no local interest in taking this on.
Item 2: John McCoy had a proposal in absentia to move several accounts into the Sterling Savings Bank in order to access higher interest rates. Greg Smith moved that the accounts be moved, and Phyllis Upright seconded. All approved by voice vote.
Item 3: The maintenance budget was next on the agenda. The main item under contention is the budgetary allowances for tractor maintenance and possible repair expenditure. Craig made a presentation about the various needs of the maintenance crew in doing what needs to be done from year to year, and how difficult it is to anticipate how much will be needed since the expenditures will vary widely. The calendar for the budget is easily changed and is not a bone of contention. John clarified that Craig was in fact asking for an additional $2,000.00, and that this discussion was to air any possible grievances about that. Dennis chimed in by saying that a budget is just a guess as to how much will be spent, and the only problem was the originally proposed June-to-June timeframe. Carole asked about whether all expenses had accompanying receipts, and Craig said yes. John asked for a motion to approve the amount that Craig was asking for. Dennis made the motion to change the dates to January-to-January and keep the numbers. Phyllis Upright seconded. All approved by voice vote. Some discussion after this centered around the maintenance checks-and-balances.
Item 4: Dennis Widby had an item about the cars parked at the end of Mooney along Hoffmann in the turn-around section with “For Sale” signs in them, requesting that the Board put an announcement in the newsletter requesting that people not park their cars. The City has jurisdiction over that part of the street, so the police do have the job of marking the tires of those cars and requesting that the owners move the car. Phyllis made a point that since the chain was removed many people have been using Mooney as a bypass from Hoffmann. Dennis asked that the Board support the Mooney people by encouraging people to not park their car there, and then take it to the City if there is no compliance. Craig brought up the “Knock and Talk” program that the Independence Police has, which could be used in this situation. The Board has limited authority to demand that people not park their cars there. Greg asked about whether a sign can be posted, but no action was taken.
Item 5: the ODA has asked that the IAHA Treasurer also collect the funds from the Stearman Street people, and didn’t leave much room to negotiate – it is basically an addendum to the existing Stearman agreement. John said that the Stearman Street people are the ones who should make the decision about whether the language should be changed in accordance with the ODA’s request. This started a discussion, and the consensus was the central fee collection was not so much a problem as the language in the amendment that allowed the ODA to increase the fees each year as they may see fit. Jim Kirkendahl said he had the original Stearman contract and that John should see it. John offered to send an announcement to the ODA by email that the amendment as written is unacceptable to the Board, and there was general agreement to this. There was also some discussion about what the Northern Annex does, which was forwarded. The consensus was that the recommendation be passed to the Stearman Street people that they do nothing with the letter that the ODA will send them, and that the Board be the responsible party to answer for the residents of Stearman Street.
Item 6 (other): Andy Andersen announced that Commissioner Tom Ritchie is the new chairman for the annual Memorial Day Fly-By event, and there have been some changes suggested including a community barbeque with more than one line possible. The discussion about this last point was largely negative, as the larger community attends this event and the Health Department could get involved. Phyllis moved that this item be put on the agenda for the next meeting, and that Tom Ritchie be invited to attend that meeting. Dennis Widby seconded. All approved by voice vote.
Phyllis Upright made the motion to adjourn the meeting, and Craig Cowles seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 8:51 PM. Next scheduled meeting is to be sometime in August.
Respectfully submitted by Robert English, secretary.
Meeting0713.doc