The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by
President Kelly. Present were: John
Horn, Robert English, Kelly Wilson, Craig Cowles, Ed Conn, and Keith Moes. Guests present: Carole Gabel, Andy Andersen,
Harry Bladow, Mark and Kelly Matthews, and Bill Ester.
SECRETARY: The April
meeting lacked a quorum, and minutes were not taken.
TREASURER:
Keith passed out a report for the six month period ending
June 30. There's a slight decrease over
last year's bottom-line figure. The
taxiway maintenance hasn't been finished yet so the bill is not reflected in
the balance. One lot owner has not paid
their homeowner's dues so a lien has been placed on that property for the
amount owed.
ARCHITECTURE:
Dave Martin could not attend this evening, but wrote up a summary of the
committee's decisions since the last meeting.
Two projects, one on Cessna and the other on Aeronca, were detailed in
the report. Some questions came up
about the lot on Cessna being over the center-line of the taxiway, and it was
explained that the lot lines were drawn when Cessna was the furthest street
north.
OLD
BUSINESS: Craig described the mowing and spraying that he
and Lynn have been doing for the last few months. Some weed whacking around the hangars, even though that is on
state property, has also been done to eliminate the obvious fire hazard. The state crews are supposed to mow the
grass around the rented hangars, but no one is doing the work. The new ODA representative has been told but
the state crews haven't started their work yet. Craig and Lynn have kept the grass short in the meantime. Some gravel has been spread in troublesome
areas where wheelpants could get stuck should a plane veer off of the
taxiway. This Saturday, at 9:00 AM,
there will be IAHA work party to take care of the multiple problems with the
main drainage ditch including the buildup of silt at various places. Craig also thanked Keith Moes for the timely
reimbursements of the expenses incurred while maintaining the grounds.
Ed asked if there had been any further
discussion about combining efforts with the North End. Kelly answered that there needed to be a
steering committee formed to look into it.
Despite the inevitable personality conflicts that crop up when this
issue is raised, meeting future challenges with one voice instead of two or
three separate groups is the primary reason that such a union would be a good
idea.
Kelly passed around a letter that he had written
to enforce various aspects of the CC&Rs.
The responses were cordial from each of the three property owners to
whom he had sent letters. Two have said
they will comply, and one had said they will not. There was much discussion as to what the actual requirements are
in this case, specifically a tie-down area in back for an aircraft, and the
answer was that this cement pad needs to be there when the house changes
hands. John Horn made the motion that
those homeowners not in compliance be told what they need to do, and if they
refuse then a lien can be placed on their property in order to make sure that
the work be performed when the property changes hands. Ed Conn seconded. All approved by voice vote.
NEW
BUSINESS: Radio controlled model planes are being flown
around and some residents are concerned about the legal ramifications if there
is a collision between a real plane and a model; i.e. could the airpark be
sued? Kelly told the concerned parties
to check the state law to see what the actual liability issues are.
Some residents have received letters stating
that their grass needs to be kept at a certain height or a fine would be levied
against the property owner. Keith said
that it sounded like the City of Independence had sent the letters, and he saw
an enforcement vehicle going up and down the streets recently. In years past, the City has left the
enforcement of ordinances like this to the Homeowner's Association, but there
appears to be a new guy holding the office who may not be aware of the old
arrangement.
FOR
THE GOOD OF THE ORDER: Andy passed around copies of a draft of
a letter suggesting the possibility of a Cessna factory built on the 40 acres
to the west (to build their new "Skycatcher") to take advantage of
the planned expansion of the urban growth boundary. Craig asked what kind of increased traffic and noise would result
from having a factory to the west, and Andy explained that this would be better
than high-density housing. Lots of
discussion ensued on this point. All
agreed it was a long shot but a good idea.
Andy also passed around a bulletin concerning the Flying Farmers' draft
of a bill for an Airport Planning Area (the new, more PC, name for boundary) to
shield airports from urban sprawl. He
also passed around copies of the City's "2020 Vision Plan," i.e. what
the City should look like in the year 2020.
Andy suggested that these forms be used to tell the City what we would
like to see around the airport in order to keep it an airport in perpetuity. A golf course along the north end was
suggested, and while nothing is definite that was also greeted positively.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 PM. The next meeting will be on October 23rd.
Respectfully submitted by Robert English,
secretary.
Meeting0724.doc