BOARD MEETING MINUTES

Unapproved Board Meeting Minutes of

March 8, 2003

CALL TO ORDER

President Todd Graham called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM. Present were 1st Vice President Tom Dorcey, 2nd Vice President Mary Richardson, Directors Bob Adair, Chuck Bailey and Scott Hayer. Director Larry Franklin was excused. The meeting opened with a salute to the flag and a prayer.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mary Richardson moved to approve the January minutes as written. Seconded by Bob Adair. Motion carried.

TREASURERS REPORT

For the month of February 2003 the Treasurer reported income of $9,008.74 and expenses of $25,747.26. Cash on Hand at February 28, 2003 was $24,717.98. Chuck Bailey moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Seconded by Tom Dorcey. Motion carried.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Application for Manager withdrawn:

Four years ago I joined the White Birch community because I believe in what White Birch is and more importantly what White Birch can become. For these same reasons I decided to get involved by petitioning to be a member of the Environmental Protection Committee, then ran for election to our Board of Director’s in July of 2001 and then President of the Board July of last year. This community has the potential to become something truly great and be set apart as a special place we can all be proud to be part of. The future stability of our community is more important to me than any one individual’s desires, including my own. It is with this statement that I am notifying the White Birch Manager Search Committee that I am withdrawing my app1icati for Manager of White Birch Lakes. I thank all of you who had so genuinely supported me becoming your next Manager and look forward to continuing to serve you as a member of the Board of Directors through elections this July.

Entrance Update:

As I ‘m sure you’ve noticed, our gate at the entrance has not been operational for the last couple of weeks. On February 2l in employee for one of the contractors working on a new home in White Birch accidentally ran down our entry code control pad panel and knocked it off it’s pedestal. This completely took out all gate control function. The gate manufacturer was notified of the damage and sent a repair team out this past Thursday March 6 Unfortunately, the damage is more extensive than believed and they will be returning in another week to complete repairs. The person who did the damage has spoken with us and will be turning the cost of repair into his insurance carrier and paying any amount not covered by his insurance himself.

Dues vs. Assessments:

Priscilla has had some members come in the office to express their concern over our Annual Lot Assessments being increased by $25.00 for this year. I would like to remind our members that the proposed increase and budget was advertised and posted in the Birch Bark for members to respond to prior to the Board voting on the budget. We received only one correspondence regarding the proposed budget and that question wasn’t related to the assessment increase. Since there was no opposition to the budget presented, it was adopted by the Board. There has also been some confusion over the difference between “dues” and “assessments”. Dues are a voluntary contribution to part of a group while assessments are not voluntary and run with ownership of the property. Our community is based on lot assessments and not dues and each member is responsible for paying the annual lot assessment and can not simply choose to opt out of doing so.

End of Year Audit:

Our annual end of year audit has begun and is being conducted by our accountant. H has been instructed to complete a full audit of accounts to insure everything is properly documented before our new manager assumes office.

CORRESPONDENCE

One letter was received from a camper and was replied to.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

The President announced he is forming a by-laws committee of 5 members. A sign up sheet will be posted for 30 days in the lobby for volunteers to sign up.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION COMMITTEE - Ron Tagg reported approval of 3 contiguous lot applications and some tree removals. He is sending out violation notices for trailers and vehicles on properties. He has requested that the welcome sign at the entrance be moved from the speed limit sign and placed on the guard house where it may be more visible.

FUTURE PLANNING COMMITTEE - A meeting is planned for today, the first with the new chairman, Merle Harmon.

CAMPGROUND COMMITTEE - Fred Witchell inquired about guidelines for duties of various committees. He is also asking about the purposes for which certain White Birch owned parcels can be used i.e. recreational purposes etc.

ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE - The President reminded everyone of the upcoming St Patrick’s Day dinner on Sat Mar. 15th from 5 to 7 PM.

SEARCH COMMITTEE - Friday eve, March 7, the committee interviewed 2 of the candidates. Two more interviews are scheduled following this board meeting. Interviews are scheduled for next Friday. It is hoped that by the 21st the committee will have a tentative decision for a new manager.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

Payables were reviewed and discussed. Bob Adair moved to pay the payables. Seconded by Chuck Bailey.

Motion carried.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The proposed office addition is on hold until we have a new manager on board. Another contractor is preparing a proposal and this will give time for the contractor to prepare his bid. Correspondence is in process regarding the no passing lanes on Old State Hwy.

COMMENTS FROM THE FLOOR

Tom Smith, Lot 317, expressed his concern about the speeders on Wolf Lane. His second concern is that he feels the assessments are too high.

Sal Scozzari, Lot 1375, congratulates the boards for addressing the need for a by-laws committee. He discussed his views of the rights of the board regarding the budget.

Joe Romine, Lot 542, stated his annual request that there be a requirement that all ORV operators be required to report to the clubhouse to obtain copies of the ORV rules. Also needed is the capability to check out the machines at least for the proper noise level. He referred to correspondence he had received from a Chief of Police in West Virginia which presented methods in which observers could report speeding violators without confrontation. He stated that he had reviewed a survey of like associations and his opinion is that our assessment system is very fair. He commends the board for doing the best job they can as did the previous boards.

Don Kuester, Lot 656, stated his agreement with the increase in this year’s assessments. He presented his rationale as to why the increases are necessary and the need to preserve our cash for future problems down the road.

Marv Frayer Lot 682, commented that it is a necessity to increase the assessments to keep up with the economic times. He also stated his concern about the speeders. Other concerns are about locked doors at the high school during special events and ball games. As a community we should be addressing the issue. A suggestion was made that for the employees of White Birch there should be a requirement that they be trained in first aid and CPR.

Terry Obrecht. Lot 251, presented a list of questions to which she wanted answers. I.e. - What is the fiscal year? What were actual expenses for 2002 year? Why significant increases in some line items? How many full time and how many part time employees? Is the electronic gate system cost effective? Address the high increases over $5,000 - $6,000. How much do we owe on the note - is the interest deductible? Why is the money in the development fund not being applied to the note in order to reduce the interest costs of the note? Pat Zakalowski, Lot 1305, requested that a notice be posted in the Birch Bark requiring all persons to carry their membership cards when coming to the clubhouse. There has been a resolution passed that pool guests be limited to 8 persons per member. She is researching the resolutions for the date.

Anne Hobart, Lot 454, in answer to Fred Witchell’s concern, that as for uses of properties owned by White Birch it is probably spelled out in the Covenants and Restrictions. She would be willing to work on clarifying the uses. She concurred that White Birch Assessments are reasonable and reminded that this is a self supporting private community and we have to maintain all our own roads. Most county services are not available to White Birch. She suggested that when income statement line items are particularly high there could be an explanation in the report.

Dave Obrecht, Lot 251, complains the assessments are going up too fast. He suggested that perhaps costs at the campgound could be decreased. His opinion is that property owners should have a say in any improvements that are being made.

NEW BUSINESS

How to handle the sale of lots returned to White Birch for past due assessments. Mary Richardson moved that these properties be offered to the members to the right and to the left for their opportunity to purchase or deny. Seconded by Bob Adair. Discussion followed as how to sell if adjacent owners are not interested. How do we set a price? An amendment was presented by Mary Richardson to direct the president or sec treas. to contact 1 or 2 realtors to obtain a valuation for each lot. Seconded by Bob Adair. Motion and amended motion carried.

Handicap signs and improved handicapped parking will be completed as soon as the weather breaks. The water heater at the campground needs to be replaced. Quotes have been furnished for standard water heaters. Research is being done on the possibility of tankless hot water on demand heaters. Decision will be postponed until next meeting when all quotes are available.

As for discussion of the school locked door problem, it was decided to verify if the information is correct and if so to draft a letter from the board of directors stating our concerns.

Fred Witchell presented several samples of trail signs for review. The decision was made to purchase the metal signs. Mary Richardson made a motion that we purchase 2 dozens signs. Seconded by Bob Adair. Motions carried.

ADJOURNMENT

Marv Richardson moved that this meeting be closed and the board will go into closed session immediately following for the purpose of conducting interviews with only the Search Committee and Boards Members to attend. Seconded by Tom Dorcey.

Respectfully Submitted

Priscilla Moore

Secretary-Treasurer