IAHA ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
WELCOME AND APPRECIATION – President Gary Van Horn opened the meeting at 2:00
p.m. All board members were in attendance except secretary Robert English who
was working and could not attend. About 97 residents were also in attendance.
Gary is retiring after 14 years (this time) as President of the Board and a
total of about 30 years on the board of the 47 years of the life of this
community. His report is attached.
BUSIINESS MEETING:
Approval of the OCTOBER MINUTES – Approved
by Al Cleveland and Seconded by Herb Jolliff, passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT – Margaret Cleveland reported
that all but one homeowner is current on the Special Assessment for Taxiway
Improvements and that one in on Lien Status. There is enough money in the
special account to proceed with the Taxiway Improvement Project. This will be
addressed later in the meeting.
All have received the billing for 2023. Please note
that this is the year the rates increase from $100 to $300 for HOA dues. This
with the ODA Egress fees, the total owing on January 1 is $510. The $300 will
be split between the taxiway maintenance fund and the administrative expense
fund. In years past we have spent $21,300 under general fund categories and
$25,200 under taxiway maintenance categories. Your vote is 2017 raised the dues
to cover the increased dues to cover the increased expenses of this HOA. This
last year we were at a loss of almost $30,000. For more specific information,
please contact Margaret at 503-910-7796 for a one-on-one review of current budget
information.
MAINTENANCE COMMITTEE REPORT – Al Cleveland reported that the Taxiway Repair/Replacement
Subcommittee is in place and has met with Ron Singh as project lead. A
contractor has been selected and the contract is under review. Work will start
in the spring, weather permitting. There is a lot of work to be done by the
homeowners prior to the contractor’s arrival. All residents will be receiving
notifications of removal of landscaping materials, ie shrubbery, fencing, etc.,
that are too close to the taxiways as designated by a map provided in the
Bi-Laws and also forwarded to each homeowner. Discussion was held as to where
the measurements were to be made from to determine the line of correction for
each property. The answer is the center of the taxiway blacktop is
the base measuring point for all to use. All questions should be forwarded to
Al Cleveland at 503-910-7786.
All
homeowners should make sure their drainage line are free and clear of debris as
we approach the rainy season. This includes the culverts under the ramps from
the taxiway to your hangar. There are several that continue to cause flooding
and need attention. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to keep these
passageways clear.
ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE – David Ullman reported there are currently 5 homes
or hangars under construction or waiting to start construction.
PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT – what follows is a full text of what President Gary
Van Horn stated to the membership during this meeting:
Welcome to the
IAHA Annual Meeting. There are a lot of
volunteers who help our community to function.
We want to recognize those folks right up front – In the broadest sense,
those who manage our primary tasks are:
·
The Block Herald Network, by Shirley Horn and her crew – The individual
Block heralds who support the system are listed at the bottom of the first page
of the Airpark Roster – please look them up for your street and let them know
you appreciate their efforts;
·
Our Maintenance Chairman, Al Cleveland and his crew who spend long hours
keeping our Taxiway Property functional and clear of weeds, gophers and other
potential obstructions. Al will thank them personally when he comes to the
podium;
·
The Board of Directors, specifically the Secretary of the Board Robert
English; & Treasurer, Margaret Cleveland; along with r Vice
President, Herb Jolliff who stepped in as interm Chairman of the
Architectural Committee, prior to David Ullman who accepted the role upon
the passing of Dave Martin They will personally recognize those who have
supported their responsibilities, such as the panel of the Architectural
Committee volunteers.
·
There are also other volunteers who suppport other activities for the
good of our community but are not specifically tied to Association
responsibilities being directly named in the CC&R's. We want to thank you
for your support. Please know you are sincerely appreciated.
·
We also wish to recognize those who have passed away recently, including Ed Conn, Amy and
Denny Jackson, Phyllis Upright and Gwen Boer who have been long time residents.
·
The Board of Directors, in
caring for the Association's business interests has the primary
responsibilities of Maintaining the Access Agreement with ODA; Maintenance of
the Taxiways; and Maintaining the Architectural Standards of the Association.
The documents which provide the sideboards for our
Association include:
·
The “Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R's for short) included as part of our deeds to the
properties we own; are registered with the county and provide for the standards
within our Airpark – which we are
all obligated to abide by. The CC&R's also provide for establishment of
the Homeowners Association and establish set the primary purpose of the
Association – which is to maintain the Taxiways (AKA The Common Properties);
·
The Bylaws of the Association establish the Board and set the guidelines for
operation of the IAHA; and
·
The ODA Access Agreement. Which secures our right to access 7s5 AND, by the
way, was used by as a model by the U.S. Congress in rewriting the FAA's
Statutes to assure other Airparks in the United States could be recognized as
legitimate communities adjacent to a Federally supported airports.
And, here it needs to be emphasized that the
requirements set forth in that agreement with the state are personal responsibilities
for each and every one of us and our guests.
There are specific requirements and the IAHA website provides several
videos to help folks understand those responsibilities.
PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES
BECAUSE FAILURE TO DO THAT COULD AFFECT OUR ACCESS TO THE STATE AIRPORT AND THE
VALUE OF OUR PROPERTIES.
Along with documents, IAHA Website, provides a lot of other
information, including helpful policy guidelines, including the Dispute
Resolution Policy – which is required by State Law; and the Minutes of
Board meetings – which are usually published within a week or two
of any Board meeting in DRAFT form to make sure our membership is kept up
to date on what's happening without needing to wait for 3 months or so to see
an “approved” Minutes document.
Our scheduled Board meetings are the fourth
Thursday in January (which is primarily for any organizational issues of
a new board along with Association Budget approval); April; July; and
October. THESE MEETINGS ARE ALL
OPEN TO THE MEMBERSHIP AND YOUR ATTENDANCE IS ENCOURAGED AND CERTAINLY
APPRECIATED.
The Board does have Executive Sessions to deal with issues which
could be sensitive for individuals, so to respect and protect any personal or
privacy-related issues – such as with Dispute Resolution or Legal situations.
Note: General Membership Comments, and questions
from the members during those meetings are scheduled early in the agendas for
the regular meetings – answers are included when available. Everyone is encouraged to stay up to date
by following those Meeting Minutes on a quarterly basis.
LITIGATION:
This situation is ongoing at this time. As reported to the membership last year, the
Association was named in a dispute between two property owners. This has required
a legal defense of the Association's long-standing (40+ years) standards. We can't address specifics because of
litigation in process, however, there are things which may affect long term
Association business practices. This
much can be said:
Several
attempts at mediation/reconciliation have failed. Following an informal attempt
by the Board to encourage reconciliation, a Legal Complaint was filed with Polk
County. As an additional effort at
reconciliation two Formal Mediation sessions were held with the parties
involved. Those efforts also failed and
litigation has proceeded. When you're
named in a complaint, the Association is required to defend it's position with
attendant IAHA legal expenses necessary for IAHA to be appropriately
represented and defended against a summary judgment.
Initially,
they declined on a technicality, however, after a few months, our Insurance
company reversed it's position and decided to step in and it's now in their
hands and in front of the Polk County Courts.
That's about the limit of what we can say regarding the situation at this time.
The
probability is there will be a financial impact on Members. We have
historically avoided legal costs and have been able, up to this recent
experience, to keep that kind of cost to a minimum. One thing the litigation
has confirmed, however, is something everyone already knows – that in today's
world costs are not always subject to control as one would like to be able to
do.
The
membership may need to consider authorizing a special assessment, similar to
the Taxiway assessment, to establish and maintain a legal service cost fund
which would also likely be used for funding insurance costs. Membership protection for avoiding the
potential of having another uncontrollable event requires an assessment of the
risk and would be the primary purpose of such an assessment – having funds
available for contingencies.
Anticipated 2023 BOARD FOCUS:
·
June 2022 marked the completion of collection for the Taxiway Upgrade and
the last special assessment payment.
The original cost estimate for the Upgrade has turned out to be nearly
accurate and a Contractor has been identified and obligated for the job. Planning is now underway for implementation
in the spring of 2023.
·
Those plans include any surface
removal and repaving with a top layer as well as rocking the edges where
necessary. The Maintenance Chairman has
a Committee in place for the detail planning and implementation, but if you
have an interest in that effort, please let
Al Cleveland know. His email
address is available on the Website.
Your participation is encouraged.
·
In October of 2020 a Subcommittee of the Board was established to update
the CC&R's and Bylaws. It was
planned that ultimately the whole Board would review draft CC&R's and
Bylaws to bring them up to date based on experience from events of the last 20+
years since the “plain language” revision was approved by the membership at the
end of the last century.
·
Since then, both the Pandemic and the litigation situation has resulted
in a delay of any work on those documents, pending settlement of our legal
situation. Eventually the process is
expected to be that (1) the Subcommittee will develop proposed revisions. (2) The DRAFT will then be reviewed by
the Board and (3) screened by Legal Counsel.
And, (4) before asking the Membership for a vote it has been planned
that a Membership Review and feedback would be requested. Following that, (5) the final will
be submitted to the Membership for approval and (6) the approved updated documents will be filed with the
County to complete the process.
Please note, circumstances could result in alteration of that original
plan, so this is only as it stands before the next Board takes over and for
your information.
· In the meantime, if you
have thoughts or concerns to put on the table ahead of the process, please
submit them in writing to the Secretary so everyone can benefit starting at the
front-end and we'll get them in front of the Subcommittee so you can have early
input to the effort. Where your
suggestions or concerns are outlined be sure to identify which Article or
paragraph is involved and make sure any concern has a suggested solution.
Thanks
for listening --- Gary Van Horn, President, IAHA
OTHER BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS - John Horn offered accolades
to each of the board members for the extensive volunteer time they have put in
over the past year to make this homeowners’ association function. There is a
tremendous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to keep this size of
an organization running. Kudos to each and every one!
OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE
THE BOARD:
MEMBERSHIP COMMENTS, INTERESTS AND QUESTIONS OR
CONCERNS - Anne
Scheck presented a park bench for all residents to sign in memory of Ann and
Denny Jackson who tragically lost their lives in a plane accident this year.
She will take it and have it varnished and sealed. It will be placed on the
airpark for all to use.
OTHER ITEMS FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER - John Horn moved that Herb
Jolliff remain on the board as a Special Representative for legal discussions
as he has been one of the leads in the current litigation. This move was
seconded by Alan Wright and passed unanimously.
ELECTION RESULTS - Elections results were not unanimous. We did
have quite a few write-ins this year. We will be contacting those to see if
they want to take a more active role in the leadership of the association.
There were also several comments written on the ballots. We will take these
into consideration in the coming months.
Thank you for those who participated in the ballot process. We only received 42 of the 160 ballots that were sent out. Here are the final results:
President Alan Wright
Vice
President Keith
Moes
Treasurer Margaret
Cleveland
Maintenance
Chair Al Cleveland
Architectural
Char Dave Ullman
Member-At-Large John Horn
Member-At-Large Bob Spencer
Former
President Gary VanHorn
Special
Representative Herb Jolliff
Please support your Board of Directors and contact them if you have questions or need information. Their contact information is on the IAHA web page at http://www.isasg7s5.org/iaha
ADJOURNMENT AND SOCIAL TIME - Meeting adjourned at 3:47 p.m. Desserts were
plentiful and good. Minutes taken by Margaret Cleveland and edited by Robert
English, secretary.