IAHA Board Meeting

7 August, 2023

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION: President Alan opened the Executive Session at 6:00PM and stated the purpose according to ORS 192.660(2)(h), to consult with our attorney regarding current litigation or litigation that is more likely than not to be filed.

 

MEETING: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 by President Alan. Present were: John Horn, Keith Moes, Bob Spencer, Dave Ullman, Gary Van Horn, Herb Jolliff, Robert English, Alan Wright, and Al & Margaret Cleveland. There were several guests in attendance, among them (in alphabetical order): Jeff Burns, Ken & Laveta Day, Gary Evans, Rich Harrison, David & Ann Heusser, Kathleen Hill, Vince & Sandy Homer, Victoria Kruljak, Kasia Marsten, Randy & Elizabeth Mongenel, Sherrie & Lee Nielson, Rich & Paulette Paulson, Curt Richmond, Greg Robl, Stephen Scheck, Ron & Michelle Singh, Richard Webb, Roger Weber, and David Wright.

 

CONCERNS FROM RESIDENTS IN ATTENDANCE: Those in attendance deferred their questions until Ron Singh's presentation about the taxiway project was done.

 

SECRETARY: The minutes for the April meeting in addition to the work session in May have been posted on the IAHA website. John Horn made the motion to approve the minutes of the April meeting as well as the special session. Gary Van Horn seconded. All approved by voice vote.

 

MAINTENANCE: Al activated the big screen in the meeting room to go over the summary of the taxiway project, in addition to the normal ongoing maintenance of the airpark grounds (spraying has been done, Lynn McDonald has helped, and there will be ongoing maintenance of the equipment in the coming months). Al stated there may be a storage facility available for the IAHA tractor and other maintenance equipment, and more details will be forthcoming.

 

Al thanked the volunteers who pitched in to assist with the paving project, and singled out Ron Singh for spearheading the project. President Alan added his thanks and there was applause from the assembled community members who were here to view Ron's presentation about the paving process. The following indented section is Ron’s own summary about his presentation:

 

Schedule:  Started on time and completed in 7 days – 30% ahead of schedule

 

My Analysis of the Original Taxiway Construction:  Taxiway substructure was very poor, damp clay subgrade, bad aggregate base, inconsistent asphalt thickness, dry crumbling asphalt. Consistent pattern of paving cold joints.

 

Remedies:  Dug out soft areas and installed fabric membrane and aggregate base.  Reduced the depth of grinding.  Reduced truck loads from 15 tons to 10 tons.  Managed the anticipated damage (caused by a lot of truck traffic on the old taxiways) by laying wooden planks and steel sheets for weight distribution.

 

Cost:  Overran original quote by $72,727 for a total of $447,015.  This amounts to 12% more than collected ($400,000) by the special assessment.

 

Proposed Funding:  I reminded everyone that I had previously suggested the IAHA apply $200 of the $300 collected for 2023 towards this project.  Doing so gave the project a 15% contingency fund and would reduce the shortfall to $15,015.

I offered 3 options to pay for the $15,015 shortfall.  1) Accept a no-interest loan from several homeowners and repay them early next year, 2) Get 50 volunteers from the airpark to pay their dues early (now), or 3) assess each homeowner $100 to be paid now.

 

Taxiway Use Restrictions:  I mentioned that the substructure under the new taxiways needs time to heal and the asphalt time to cure.  Because of that we need to be especially concerned about heavy vehicles driving/maneuvering on the new pavement.  I proposed that IAHA develop temporary rules for taxiway use prior to the new CC&Rs being developed.  I suggested that only aircraft, pedestrians, bicycles, and other similar light vehicles be allowed on the taxiway and fines levied for violations.

 

Taxiway Maintenance:  I mentioned that we need to add shoulder rock once the weather cools and that anyone using the taxiways be especially careful due to the abrupt edges.  I suggested that the Board seek advice and discuss pros and cons of crack sealing and/or seal coating before doing so – these techniques could be doing more harm than good.  I also suggested that we need to design and install new taxiway signage.

 

Ron included lots of pictures and video in his presentation along with statistics showing the cost, the linear footage covered as well as the tonnage of material used during the restoration of our taxiways. The effort was very well choreographed by the contractor. The crack mitigation part of the project was performed with no additional cost, though it was more labor intensive than originally planned. Ron met with the contractor to discuss the cost overruns: as a result, the extra amount the Board will be paying is less than it would have been.

 

Ron also talked about proper care of this new taxiway system which is still in the process of "curing" which will take a while longer. Shoulder rock still needs to be placed along the taxiway edge, which can happen sometime in the Winter when the pavement is firmer. Proper drainage is vital as moisture can seep under the asphalt roadbed from adjacent ditches and/or porous land.

 

Questions followed from the community members in attendance, about how long the pavement will last and whether heavier vehicles will damage it, which both Al and Ron were able to answer.

 

TREASURER: Margaret used the same big screen to help illustrate her report regarding the taxiway project, saying that the balance of the taxiway project bill has been paid with only the cost overruns left to pay on that. All homeowners pitched in including those who had liens applied for previous year's dues, so all of the planned money was available for the project. The contractor is allowing IAHA time to pay the cost overrun which helps. Margaret suggested a few different ways for the money to be generated, saying it was up to the Board to decide which method was preferable. She added that the State will not allow IAHA to have a zero balance available. Questions followed to clarify the methods the IAHA has available to assess what is needed to fill the accounts again. President Alan stated the Board would have to deliberate the best method to generate the needed revenue.

 

There is some money remaining in the taxiway maintenance fund which can be applied, though there needs to be some money left for the ongoing operations and maintenance of the equipment. Questions continued about how much time IAHA has to generate the needed funds to pay the remainder for the taxiway project, President Alan saying it should be paid sooner rather than later rather than taking all of the time allowed by the contractor. There was further discussion about how much a special assessment would be per household, as well as the mechanism to propose it to the entire community membership for a 2/3 majority vote to approve. There was an earlier offer from certain community members to provide a share of the money needed to cover the overrun, though going to the local homeowners for a special assessment seemed time-sensitive since the taxiway project was just completed. Al Cleveland proposed going to the few members first who offered to front the money for the overrun, then start working immediately on the special assessment to pay back those who provided the loan money. Ron Singh added a proviso that he himself could provide the needed funds to pay off the contractor debt now since he didn't want the contractor to wait any longer than necessary. Dave Ullman presented a modified version of Al's proposal, to pay off the contractor's debt with money borrowed from willing community members, and the special assessment will be worked out later ($31,400 to be gathered from the willing, and $15,000 from the taxiway maintenance fund). John Horn seconded Dave's proposal. All approved by voice vote.

 

ARCHITECTURE: The Whites replaced their taxiway apron and the taxiway walkway got destroyed in the process - the replacement walkway that was put in is narrower than the one that was there before, and Dave has sent a letter to tell them to put it back the way it was. The Lancasters on Stinson are putting up a fence along Stryker in compliance with City limitations on fence height. A hangar plan for the Nutsch lot on Cessna is in negotiation at the moment. A complaint from Wayne Nutsch regarding taxiway lighting was discussed, and the consensus is that Wayne needs to talk to his neighbor and find a solution.

 

UPDATE ON LEGAL ACTION: The Board is still not at liberty to discuss the current legal action, and also any change to the CC&Rs are delayed for that reason. President Alan did state that there is an appeal process going on but that is all we can say.

 

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS / COMMENTS: President Alan started by saying the Through-The-Fence access agreement with the ODA is our greatest community asset, and the Board needs to be able to assess fines for community members in violation of access agreement provisions. He further stated that the access agreement comes up for review in 2024 and the ODA may want to place some new restrictions - all of that remains to be seen.

 

Ron Singh, due to his experience with State government agreement processes and a god relationship with the new ODA Director, offered to take on the Through-The-Fence agreement renewal. He felt that we did not need to spend large sums of money for an attorney to prepare for a tough fight with ODA. He asked that he be given a chance to do this project, and would hand it back to IAHA if, in the early stages, he concluded that it was going to be a difficult task that needed legal backing throughout.

 

Dave Ullman read some Oregon statutes allowing organizations such as ours to assess penalty fees, making a proposal saying the Board adopt a schedule of fines for illegal use of the taxiways - $500 for the first offense, $1000 for the second and $2500 for the third. John Horn seconded. Discussion followed refining the scope and purpose of those fines and how best to enforce them. Al recommended that this be tabled until the next meeting. Dave withdrew his proposal & said he would send an email further refining this idea.

 

GOOD OF THE ORDER: Herb Jolliff suggested that a separate legal line item be incorporated into the yearly IAHA budget, and Alan & Margaret both stated that is in the works. The ice cream social for this month is going to be on Aeronca St and Margaret will help coordinate.

 

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 9:51PM. The next scheduled meeting is on Thursday, 26 October at 7:00PM at the EAA hangar. Respectfully submitted by Robert English, IAHA secretary.

 

 

Meeting080723.doc