BOARD MEETING MINUTES

February 10, 2007

 

CALL TO ORDER

President Al Isaac called the meeting to order at 9:01am. Board members present were President Al Isaac, 1st Vice President Marvin Frayer, 2nd Vice President Greg Hernden, Director Don Papesh, Director Sharon Bridges and Director Brian Kozlowski. Also present were Manager Gail White, Treasurer Priscilla Moore and Secretary Todd Graham. President Al Isaac opened the meeting with The Pledge of Allegiance. Director Brian Kozlowski followed with prayer.

 

ADDITIONS TO AGENDA

Manager Gail White requests that the By-Laws Committee proposal review be deleted from the agenda, as the committee has not turned in any new proposed changes.

 

AGENDA APPROVAL

President Al Isaac calls for approval of the agenda as amended.  All in favor, motion carried.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1st Vice President Marvin Frayer moved to approve the minutes from the January 2007 Board. 2nd by Director Sharon Bridges. All in favor, motion carried.

 

TREASURER'S REPORT

For the month of January 2007 Treasurer Priscilla Moore reported income of $8,103.51 and expenses of $26,125.47. Cash on Hand at January 31, 2007 was $99,506.03.  Motion made by 1st Vice President Marvin Frayer to accept the Treasurers report. Seconded by Director Don Papesh. All in favor, motion carried.

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Al Isaac reported:

 

President Al Isaac apologizes for the way comments from the floor were handled at last months meeting. Many were personal in nature and as a Board we agreed we were not going to allow that to happen. Comments must be germane to the business of the meeting agenda or items of safety and maintenance for the community. Comments will stick to the business of the Association. President Al Isaac also apologizes for not moving quickly enough on various issues that were talked about during last year’s elections such as upkeep and care of our lakes and facilities. Are we maintaining them properly? Do we need new equipment to better care for them? Comprehensive documentation of all White Birch rules and policies will be generated in a format that all White Birch members can view. It is the intent of the Board to have all rules be clear and available. And all White Birch members will be treated equally. This Board will no longer focus on petty items or be distracted by unnecessary comments and focus on the business of this Association.

 

CORRESPONDENCE

None.

 

MANAGER'S REPORT AND APPROVAL OF PAYABLES

Manager Gail White reported:

 

The installation of our new gate should be completed this next week. We are still having campers using the facilities on weekends. There have been only a few isolated incidences regarding abuse by snowmobilers. Lincoln Township Supervisor is willing to meet with the Board to clarify township ordinances regarding sheds on vacant lots.

 

1st Vice President Marvin Frayer moves to approve payables. Seconded by Director Bob Adair. All in favor, motion carried.

 

SECURITY REPORT

President Al Isaac reported that the problems with the White Birch security contact number have been corrected. More training was needed on transferring the security number to the security personnel on duty.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

Activities Committee – Report by Pat Graham. The committee is returning $167.00 to the Association. A St. Patrick’s Day dinner is being planned for March 17th. Tickets will be $5.00 advance, $6.00 at the door.

 

By-Laws Committee – Report by Jerry White. Committee has been meeting weekly and is progressing well. Complete recommendations should be presented in April.

 

Campground Committee – Report by Les Sidell. All is pretty quiet. There have been a few campers using the campground. The White Birch security number is working well as he has received a few calls regarding snowmobiler abuse.

 

Communications Committee – Report by Todd Graham. Quote has been requested from the original developer of our Web Site for repair to the email code. At some point the code has been corrupted or deleted as the option to email members from the Web Site database no longer works. This could be a valuable tool when communicating with members. Quote should be received in time for March Board meeting.  The January Birch Bark was in the hands of the Directors Jan. 20 and mailed Jan. 23.  A big thank-you to Georgia Romine and Mary Alice Harrington for folding, taping, labeling, and stamping the Birch Bark so all that had to be done was to carry them to the Post Office. That was a nice surprise!  The print quality was poor on the January issue and will be much better in February as we have new parts for the office printer installed at no cost to the association.  We published an 8 page Birch Bark to include the proposed budget for White Birch Lakes Recreational Association 2007-2008.  There were 5 ads; costs of the January Birch Bark were approximately $511.00.  The February issue will include an article about signing up for a password to access the "Members Only" features of Whitebirch.org and benefits of having total access to the website. As always, the deadline for articles and announcements for the Birch Bark is the 15th of the month.   Thank you.

 

Conservation Committee – Report by Tom Dorcey. Tom will bring the bird houses (as reported at the December Board meeting) to the April Board meeting for interested members to pick up.

 

Election Committee – Report Judy Gute. Judy turned in her personal recommendations regarding election policy change for White Birch to the Board for review. She has been in communication with the township clerk and has learned that the clerk is very willing to work with White Birch during election time.

 

Entrance Committee – None.

 

Environmental Protection Committee – Report by Dennis Karlson. One tree removal to relocate a driveway with an additional request for house improvements. Committee is not currently meeting regularly as most committee members have gone south for the winter.

 

Future Planning Committee – None.

 

Seedling and Sapling Committees – None.

 

COMMENTS FROM THE FLOOR

 

Pat Graham lot 1302 – Is there a Hospitality Committee? President Al Isaac explains that there is and those signed up to serve will be contacted soon.

 

Judy Gute lot 82 – Web Site states the audit report will be posted soon. When? President Al Isaac explains it should be posted shortly.

 

Andy Ochss lot 790 – Can the minutes from the Board meetings be posted to the Web Site sooner? Todd Graham explains that current policy is to post the minutes only after the Board approves them. Also asks if anything can be done regarding poor cell phone reception in White Birch. Several directors and Manager Gail White explain this issue has been addressed several times in the past and no cellular service providers are interested in placing towers in or near White Birch.

 

Matt Lucas lots 404, 405, 406 – The icicle problem on the clubhouse is due to poor insulation. Recommends the Board do research into solving this problem. 1st Vice President Marvin Frayer explains research is already underway.

 

Mike Turner lots 86, 87, 88 – Emailed a concern regarding number of lots in White Birch vs. contiguous lots vs. White Birch owned lots. Numbers given at last year’s election regarding the number of eligible voting lots and the number of lots voting in support of the shed issue don’t add up. Requests a report showing number of lots in good standing, unpaid and White Birch owned.

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Budget for 2007 – 2008: Manager Gail White explains a new line item has been added to break out propane use. Director Brian Kozlowski moves to accept the budget. Seconded by 1st Vice President Marvin Frayer. All in favor, motion carried.

 

NEW BUSINESS

Bank Resolution: Manager Gail White explains this is to have the President and 1st Vice President be authorized to sign accounts. This has not been updated at the bank since Marvin Frayer was appointed as 1st Vice President. Director Bob Adair moves to correct the Bank Resolution. Seconded by Director Don Papesh. All in favor, motion carried.

 

Election Procedures: President Al Isaac states we are still looking for a Chairman for the Election Committee. He has received the recommendations from Mrs. Gute and he will make sure each Board member receives a copy for review. Director Brian Kozlowski moves to table this issue so the Board can review Mrs. Gutes’ recommendations. Seconded by Director Sharon Bridges. All in favor, motion carried.

 

Motion by 1st Vice President Marvin Frayer to take a short recess then move into close session to cover a personnel issue and a pending law case. Seconded by Director Don Papesh. All in favor, motion carried.

 

Motion to return to open session by 1st Vice President Marvin Frayer. Seconded by 2nd Vice President Greg Hernden. All in favor, motion carried.

 

Motion by Brian Kozlowski to extend Manager Gail White’s contract to March 10th so it can be placed on the agenda for the March Board meeting. Seconded by Director Sharon Bridges. All in favor, motion carried.

 

President Al Isaac directs Manager Gail White to send response letter to our attorney regarding Bryant case.

 

Motion to adjourn by 2nd Vice President Greg Hernden, seconded by 1st Vice President Marvin Frayer. All in favor, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:38am.

 

Respectfully Submitted

 

Todd J. Graham

Secretary