Annual Meeting Minutes
CALL TO ORDER
President Marv Richardson
called the Annual Meeting of the Membership to order at
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND A
PRAYER was made
by the membership.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
The minutes of the Annual Meeting
were presented for approval All were in favor of
approval. Motion Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT
For the fiscal year ended
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Marv Richardson and
Manager Gail White presented the following Certificates of Appreciation to the
volunteers who have contributed so much time and effort for the betterment of
White Birch Lakes:
Bill
Ferrell, Birch Bark Editor of the month
Chick
Witchell, EPC Chairperson
Tina
Hayer, For your great contribution for the children’s
and adult activities
Georgia
Romine, volunteer wherever she is needed
Greg
and Linda Hernden, caring for the front entrance
Shirley
Brandt, Activities Chairperson
Dick
Brandt, many years of service on the Board as President sand Director
and
VOLUNTEER
OF THE YEAR - Anne Hobart for her many years of service in chairing various
committees and for her help as historian and parliamentarian.
This year we are losing 2 of our current Directors. Larry Franklin, after many, many
faithful years as Board President and Director has chosen not to seek
re-election this year. President Richardson expressed appreciation for Larry’s
many years of dedication and presented him with a plaque. Chuck Bailey has also
chosen not to seek re-election. Chuck, who is a minister, is taking his
ministry on the road and felt that he would not have the time to dedicate to
the Association. Chuck was also presented a plaque for
his service.
NOMINATING REPORT AND
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Chairman Brian Kozlowski
stated that all members should hold their ballots until all candidates have had
a chance to speak and it has been determined there are no nominations from the
floor. After all candidates have made their presentation, the tellers will
retire to the pavilion by the fire pit to count the votes. He asked the
candidates to come forward and make a short presentation about themselves. As to the two proposals on the ballot they will be explained in detail by Anne Hobart.
He introduced the candidates: 1. Marvin Frayer
2.
Scott Hayer
3.
Al Issac
4.
Mart Lucas
5.
Marty Perkins
Al Issac
introduced himself as owner of
Marty Perkins stated he is fairly new here, about 2 1/2 years, and he would like to be
on the Board as he likes to volunteer. I feel we have a great community here
and rather than trying to initiate new programs we
need to take care of what we have. Everyone should look out for his neighbor. I
do enjoy volunteering and that is why I want to be on the board.
Marvin Frayer,
Scott Hayer agrees with what has been said so far. He has been on the board for the past
2 years. It is my way of volunteering. He just wants to continue to support the
community to keep making good choices and to make us a more financially secure
community and for all to have fun..
Matt Lucas stated they have
been in White Birch since about 1999 and known as owners of the round house. He is volunteering because he feels that we
have a definite opportunity for improvement in organizational matters and the
bio diversity of the area. Some people feel that no change is good but change
is upon us whether we like it or not. We have outside pressures from surrounding
areas. We have emerald birch borers, oak rust, gypsy moths
and other things and those forte changes. We have to be in the forefront
of maintaining our diversity and our park like atmosphere here and it will not
happen by itself. Other influences will prevail if we do not take action to
improve. There is a tremendous amount of talent here in White Birch and a
tremendous opportunity for improving things - not necessarily for spending a
lot of money but for improving. With the talent that is here and the
willingness to do things as a community, we can achieve some really
outstanding things for our future generations.
At this point Brian Kozlowski
called three times for nominations from the floor for the Board of Directors’
positions. Their being no response he announced the nominations closed.
Questions from the audience -
Ms Tyrell,
Response - all home owners
Scott Hayer requested
clarification as to why the question was asked. Do you
feel we are more biased toward homeowners. He asked
for specific instances as to why she feels there is bias. She feels the boards sides toward the homeowners.
Marty Perkins stated that he
loved the campers and they are just as much a part of his life as the next door neighbor. Marvin Frayer stated that he felt the
campers are most important and we need them. I have no problem with the
campers. I don’t feel it’s a big issue.
Matt Lucas stated that he and
his family have camped all over the country for the last several years and we
camped here when we first started clearing our land. The community is not made
up of all the same types and kinds and distinctions of
individuals. It is a diverse community and in diversity
there is a great lesson in tolerance and understanding for all.
Sue Franklin,
Gary Farnham,
Lot 637, it seems that for the last couple of years we have had this
camper-homeowner thing and we are not campers, we are not homeowners, we are
all member and we are all looking for a common goal. Putting labels on each
other is not right.
Todd Graham,
Marty Perkins supports one
vote per member rather than one vote per assessment. On the issue of 3 year terms he supports this issue.
Marv Frayer supports one vote
per member rather one vote per assessment. On the
issue of 3 year terms he supports this issue.
Al Issac
states there is an important consideration that needs to be
addressed.
If you have 10 lots it’s the same as any corporation. You would be voting
for each assessment paid.
The second issue makes sense
and he supports the issue.
Scott Hayer agrees that White
Birch is a corporation. He believe that the persons
with the most shares run the corporation. Unfortunately
there are very few that own a majority share in a corporation and that is also
true in this corporation. Most of us own one lot and that would give the people
who own multiple lots an unfair advantage. He supports the term limits of three
years for the Board.
Matt Lucas feels the term of
office is straight forward and it is a good issue. He
feels that the one vote per assessment is something that should
be addressed by future Boards as to how it affects the future density of
the population.
Ron Schwesing
of lots 1014, 1015, 1016, 1039 asked if there should be one vote per member
does that mean he would need to pay only one assessment.
Marty Perkins replied that he
pays his assessment not for a vote but for the privilege of living here, to
have his roads taken care of and to have a manager who takes care of all the
business.
Al Issac
states it’s a good point to bring up in the future.
When we are talking about the votes per member - if a member has many lots it
is necessary to look at the viability of White Birch. The reason we are able to
exist and the reason we are able to keep our parks and our lakes etc is because
we have these assessments. If someone has multiple lots what is their incentive
to own these lots if their votes counts the same as a person who owns one lot.
We try to encourage the purchase of multiple lots. If we don’t
have the incentive for people to buy these multiple lots we don’t have the
operating budget so be careful when you are thinking about this issue. You have
to look at the viability of the organization as a whole and you have to make
sure you have incentives in place to have as many lots developing assessments
as possible. Keep this all in mind.
Marv Frayer agrees the
assessments are here to help benefit the community. The fact that some people
have 6 or 7 lots will have to be dealt with in the
future.
Tom Crook, Lots 517, 518,
asked what are the views of the candidates as to what they
would like to see in the short term and long term for White Birch.
Marv Frayer thinks our
greatest asset is our lakes and we need to improve them. This park here needs a
lot of improvement.
Marty Perkins feels we should
take care of what we have.
Scott Hayer thinks we are headed in the right direction. We are more financially
stable and - we are paying off our debts. We have great committees. We have a
good Future Planning Committee that is looking to the future.
Al Isaac states our lakes and
forests are a great asset and we need to take good care of those. Looking 5 or
10 years down the road a lot of people are here so
they can feel secure. We can do a few more things with our security to insure
that we have a safe area for our homes, campers and belongings.
Matt Lucas states the
ambience of the area, the lakes, the trees, the quiet nature of things is why
most people are here. It is our challenge in the next 5 or 10 years to make
sure that we don’t destroy ourselves and that the board looks forward to the 5
year development. Looking at the curve of building over the last 10 to 15 years
you realize what the onslaught of a tremendous amount of people will bring to
this area and how that will change the area. Those issues have to be brought to the people who live here and decisions have to
be made by all of us as to what will happen. Do we want to encourage multiple
lots so there is space for trees and air between us or do we want to encourage
building on every lot and a camper on every lot every weekend in the campground. If you don’t do
anything to prepare your own destiny by allowing the board to make rules to
create an environment that will continue with what we have, it will surely be
lost. That’s what we are here to do - to insure the
security and the nature of what we have and to preserve that.
Barb Adair,
Marty Perkins worked on the
Bylaws Committee this year, he planned the
installation of the dining room floor and installed the floor along with helper
Ken Passage of lot 163. He also did the repair to the floor after it was damaged by water. He volunteered for cooking breakfast
for Mother’s Day.
Scott Hayer has volunteered
on the Board for the past two years. We have work group sessions usually at
Al Isaac is currently serving
on the Futures Committee.
Mart Lucas is currently on
the Planning Committee.
Bill Ferrell,
Marv Frayer states there are
plans whereby we can save the trees. Marty Perkins states we have an Environmental
Protection Committee and there are rules regarding saving the trees. Al Isaac
states that as a member of the Planning Committee this issue is
being addressed. We would like to get some people in who are experts in
the field of forestry to give seminars on programs to keep and enhance our
trees. Scott Hayer states that since trees have to be removed
for building then maybe we should look at replacing the lost trees. Matt Lucas
states that the National Arboretum recommends a minimum often
different varieties of trees in any particular woodlot. The reason being is to quell the spread of
various tree diseases. The tree policy here at White Birch is
not tuned in to these facts. We need a tree program.
Director Koslowski announced
that questions from the floor are closed and the candidates will once again
come up and introduce themselves.
Candidates
are: 1. Marvin Frayer
2.
Marty Perkins
3.
Scott Hayer
4.
Al Issac
5.
Matt Lucas
President Marv Richardson
stated that he would change the agenda in order to answer questions concerning
the By-Laws prior to voting and prior to lunch. We will now have a presentation
of the Bylaws by Chairperson Anne Hobart.
The Chairperson stated she
had eight people on the Committee and she thanks each of them for their dedication
and input. We started in January and we met every two weeks. We went through
the old Bylaws - we did a lot of changes and a lot of
cleanup. We added a section on open meetings, we added Robert’s Rules and as
part of a required procedure we added the audit. There
are copies of the Bylaws on the table. Someone has pointed out these copies are
not complete. Article II, Sections M & N and Article III, Sections 1
through 5 which contain that part about what is a member
are all missing. She suggests a complete copy be sent
in the Birch Bark. To answer the question of what is a member “A member is
defined as each owner by reason of owning a lot shall be a member of the
Association and no other person or entity shall be entitle to membership”. So if you own a lot you are a member but only one of any
number of co-owners of a lot shall be the member. All other members become
Associate Members. Membership shall be determined by the
co-owners upon the request of the Association or Board. Owners or
co-owners may be required to produce legal documents showing ownership.
Ballot Item #1 -Voting now is
that if you own a lot, one of you is a member and any other members are
Associate members. Only the Member can vote and you get one vote per every lot
you own. We do have a policy that says you may have a contiguous lot, not have
to pay an assessment on it if you have a home on that lot. If you ask for a
contiguous status and it is granted to you then those
two lots are treated as one lot. Therefore, you now have one lot even though
the plat shows two lots. The proposal on the ballot is to change that so that
there is one vote per member instead of one vote per lot. The Committee was divided on this issue but it did pass by one vote. It
was a controversial item and that is why the Committee
requested and the Board agreed that we put this p for a vote to see
whether you wanted to change this part of the Bylaws. You must however
understand that the status of a member does not change. If you are a man and wife only one of you will have a vote.
Discussion followed as to the
pros and cons of voting for or against the proposal.
Ballot #2 - Changes the term
of office of the Board Members. Right now each member
serves two years and there are seven members on the Board. Four members are up
one year and three members are up the next. For the continuity of the Board it would be better not to have a lot of new people at
one time, but better to have two or three replaced each year so that business
would continue on. Changing to three years gives the new board members a chance
to understand what’s going on. Should you approve this
issue it will take effect next year.
Jim Neal,
More discussion followed as
to the validity of the amendments.
The President announced it
was time to cast your vote and to have lunch.
MANAGER’S REPORT
I report every month to the
Board and everything is reported in the Birch Bark. I’m available for comments, I appreciate calls from anyone
at anytime during business hours. Just to remind you that with the annual meeting
there will be new officers and starting Monday I will have committee sign-up
sheets available at the clubhouse. Those of you who
are interested in serving, please sign up as committees are re-appointed each
time. The sheets will be up for about 30 days. Frank Zakalowski,
COMMITTEE REPORTS
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
COMMITTEE - Chairperson Chick Witchell introduced the
members of the EPC Committee. They are Tom Forman, Shirley Ferrell, Phyllis Willoughby,
Charles Hastings, Tina Hayer, Barb Adair and Ryan Racine. For June/July 2004,
approval was granted for the removal of 6 trees, 1
residence, 3 drives, 1 addition, 1 garage and I deck. For the period July 2003
to July 2004 approvals were granted for 9 campsites, 11 contiguous lots, 15
driveways, 44 tree removals, 36 decks, fences, docks and porches, 5 garages, 6
sheds, 3 kennels, 3 residence additions and 8 residences. With 8 new residences
this year the total number of homes in White Birch is 286 with 2 pending, Since
July 2000 there have been 57 new residences. Just a reminder
that campers have to register. For the sake of security
we need to know your phone number in case of emergency.
ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE -
Shirley Brandt announced this was her last year as
Activities Chairman. In August there was a rock and
roll dance and cookout with a turnout of over 300 persons. There will be
another coming up this year on Labor Day weekend Saturday night and on Sunday there will be a pancake breakfast to raise fund for
playground equipment. In October we had a Halloween
Party, November we had a dinner at the Embers. The U of M-Ohio State Party at
which we sold 50-50 tickets raised enough money to pay for the new floor in the
dining room. December we had a Christmas party, January was the super bowl
party, February we had a old fashioned Valentine box social, March we had the
St Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage dinner. In April the Easter Egg hunt, May the Mother’s Day breakfast, the annual garage
sales. The Seedlings and Saplings sold hot dogs, donuts, coffee and lemonade at
the clubhouse. They earned enough money to pay for all the prizes at the 4th of July picnic. She congratulated Tina Hayer and Joe
Romine for the wonderful job they are doing with the Seedlings-Saplings. June was a Father’s Day breakfast served by the Red Hat Madams.
She thanks all the volunteers for all their help in making the activities
successful.
CAMPGROUND AND SECURITY -
Chairman Fred Witchell reminded all campers who want
to store their trailer to be sure they are signed up
for the coming season. First he thanks everyone who
has contacted him, the office or other security personnel when unusual and
suspicious happenings are sighted. We will be having a new phone line
designated for security only. With this new phone and when the clubhouse is
closed, the calls will directed to security personnel
at homes. Last year at this time we had 38 B& E’s,
mostly trailers. So far this year we have had only five. More ATV drivers are
complying with the required helmet, stickers and flags. If you don’t have these you will probably be stopped. We are now
patrolling residences, vacation homes and campers. We need to be able to
identify the trailer owners in case of break-ins or storm damage. We found 2 residences unlocked, 3 open garage doors, 3 residences
with storm damage and 1 residence invaded by raccoons. We recovered 3 stolen ATV’s and we have stopped many ATV’s for speeding
and driving on private property. There are problems with dogs barking and
running loose in the area. One person was taken to court for reckless driving.
We tracked down a couple of persons who have dropped off trash in the area.
Three different times we have caught non-members fishing our stocked lakes. We
helped find two lost children. Last winter we had to rescue one dog from the
lake. We had one bear sighted on Spruce Hill. Security will continue to improve
and protect you and your families here at White Birch.
The President explained that
White Birch is looking at purchasing a communications system so that security
will have ready access to each other. He and the Manager have been looking at
the idea of setting up some sort of an emergency response or a fan out system
should there be a lost child or other emergency.
SEEDLING-SAPLINGS - Joe
Romine stated that a year ago he had an idea to get kids together and to plan
activities for them. Older kids were not interested but younger ones are. He
and Tina Hayer have worked to together to plan various activities for the kids.
Tina Hayer came forward to thank all the mom’s and
grandma’s and grandpa’s who have helped out during the year with all the
activities. She loves working with the kids and would like to get more kids
involved. Please read the Birch Bark. She’s trying to
have a Seedling-Sapling meeting after the Board Meeting. She’ll
will try to get them to make a bird feeder, get them out into nature and
promote volunteerism.
The President announced the
last call to cast your ballots.
The President announced that
earlier in the year an entrance committee was formed.
Greg Hernden has agreed to chair the committee. Barb
Adair commented that they are planning a new bus stop which
will eliminate the kids running around in front of vehicles. They hope to redo
the apron at the entrance and to move the parking lot to get the congestion off
the road. They are hoping to drill a 2 inch well to make water available.
Cheryl Costantino
requested donations for the hot tub project. She is here to help raise money
for some more playground equipment We will be having a
pancake breakfast on Sunday September 5th here at the pavilion. We will be
taking donations and all the donations will be used to
purchase new equipment.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Election Results - Those person elected to the Board are:
Marti
Perkins
Al
Isaac
Scott
Hayer
Marvin
Frayer
- Questions on the Ballot:
Article
VI Yes 72 No 91
Article
VII Yes 130 No 33
A motion was made from the
floor to destroy last years ballots. Seconded by Anne Hobart. Motion carried.
The President advised that we
decided to keep the ballots for a year in case there is a challenge to the vote
count. Starting this year we decided to have a
ceremonial burning of a ghost of the past.
ADJOURNMENT
Gary Cheadle
moved for adjournment. Seconded by Brian Kozlowski.
Motion carried.
ANNUAL MEETING COMMENTS
Owner of lot 732 suggested
that beer cans and pop cans put out for disposal could be
picked up and returned and the money could be used for the purchase of
items for the Seedlings-Saplings. Cheryl Costantino
said she could put out containers for the cans so they could
be returned for the deposit.
Tina Hayer,
Joe Romine, Lot 542, 1 got
tired of looking at the carpets and I got this idea of using 1/2 of the amount
collected from the purchase of tickets for football scores for the
Ohio-Michigan football game and donated it for a new floor. I had looked at the
internet and found some kind of snap in floor and
thought a $1,000 bucks would do the job. I had just met Marty at the time and
he informed me that the flooring I had picked out would not last. Marty Perkins
and Ken Passage along with Fred Witchell’s help put
the new floor in and it is beautiful. They deserve a round of applause. Last
year I was presented with a Certificate for Volunteer
of the Year. I also got a plaque they gave me to put on the park bench outside
the office to replace the one that was stolen and it said
“Donated by Joe Romine, What Can I do for White Birch today”. Last year at this
time we were going through a period of dissent - some of the stuff was uncalled
for, nasty, swastikas, personal attacks etc. Fortunately it has
been stopped. On
Gary Cheadle,
Walter Sonnichson,
Theresa Parzych,
Lots 377, 378, asked why if a camper has two lots should they not be
contiguous. Why do only home owners get that
privilege? The President explained that qualification for contiguous lot status
is provided for in the Covenants and Restrictions.
Covenants and Restrictions were approved two years ago
by the membership. She responded that she originally had her property and had
camped on it for two years and was told she wasn’t
allowed to have her camper where she did so she had to get another piece for
her camper since she wasn’t able to use the property she originally bought.
Someone said they would look into it and make some kind of accommodation
because she is not allowed to use her camper because she’s
on a corner of two roads. Yet the laws were changed
after she purchased her lot. The President advised her that if she wants to
change the Covenants and Restrictions she would have to bring the issue before
the Board and have the Board consideration for a vote of the full membership
probably at the time of the next annual meeting.
Anne Hobart explained that
there are two documents - the Covenants and Restrictions
which are like deed restrictions if you live in a subdivision downstate.
Most deed restrictions run with the land forever. You can’t
change them unless a court orders you to change them. They address things like
how far back does your house have to set - in our case it’s how far back does
your house or trailer have to set from the street. If you are on a corner there are certain set-backs. Many times
there does need to be some excavation to do that. The Covenants and
Restrictions in our case have a clause at the end that said that they ran for
twenty years unless changed by a majority of the entire development. In order
to change the Covenants and Restrictions you cannot do it at this annual
meeting or any other meeting unless you have over half of the entire
membership. This means we have to have six hundred ninety votes to change the
Covenants and Restrictions. In the original Covenants and Restrictions there
were no provisions for people to camp like they are now. This
was a residential community that allowed camping on your lot for two weeks only
or if you were building a house. No other camping was allowed.
When the developer went bankrupt then there were lots sold as camping lots which shouldn’t have been sold as camping lots. Therefore there was a lawsuit and a consent judgment between
the people who bought lots for camping and homeowners. At that time the court ordered the camping rules that we have now.
The other deed restrictions were not changed in any
way. When they were revised two years ago we left all
that original wording in there and the original wording says “You may have a
contiguous lot if you have a dwelling. You may ask to have that second lot
waived”. Unless you have a dwelling on it you can’t do
it.
The President advised that it
would take a petition to the Board and we would have to send out ballots to
every member or every person who is eligible to vote in order to change that. I
know there are a lot of people in the past who felt
they didn’t have an opportunity to appeal a decision that may have been handed
down by Committees. Our Committee people work very hard to uphold the Covenants
and Restriction and the Board has taken on offering the opportunity to appeal
to the Board so you can get a second set of opinions on a decision. In the case
if there was a problem that it would be financially devastating to change your
lot so that you would be able to camp on it, you would have the opportunity to
appeal to the Board. Submit a letter of request to have a meeting with the
Board for the Board to consider any decisions.