March 18, 2019 Board Meeting Minutes
The meeting was brought to order at 7:13 by Jeff Miller with a welcome to our guests.
The meeting was interrupted by general discussion regarding the injury accident that occurred just hours prior on Covington Way near the Costco, involving a School Bus and small red car. Several board members were impacted by the rerouted traffic.
Keith Hendrickson reported on an incident last night involving 6 adults and 6-8 youths driving golf balls down the runway near the office and climbing on an Amphibious airplane. They were all from off-airport. Keith called the police, but they did not arrive until after the group left the scene. No further action was taken.
A few homeowners have complained that a non-homeowner has been walking dogs through their yards to get to access the runway walking path. Although he has been told that the proper entrance to the walk is through the fence at the north end, he has ignored the advice, and still goes through homeowner yards.
The minutes of the last Board meeting, November 19, 2018, were included as an attachment to the email reminder for tonight’s meeting. A motion to approve the previous minutes was made and accepted.
Motion Proposed by: Andy Karmy Seconded by: Janet Gundlach Motion made: To accept the minutes of November 19, 2018 Board meeting. Approved: Yes, unanimous
On February 2, 2019 the following motion was presented by email to all of the board members:
Motion Proposed by: John Tomlinson Seconded by: Robbi Broussard Motion made: Assess a special assessment of $100 with the objective of maintaining at least $20,000 in the general fund. Approved: No, unanimous
The general consensus after the “No” vote was that the current level of the general fund would be adequate to carry us through this year. An addition of an assessment will likely be necessary for next year if there is still a desire to maintain a minimum balance of $20,000 in the general fund.
Treasurer’s Report: Janet reported that so far in 2019 she has paid $77 to the Post Office, $275 to the CPA, $6.52 to Office Depot, $50 to Ledger Square, and received dues amounting to $4,220, leaving a balance of $27,118.15.
On February 22, 2019 John, Jeff, and Andy met with Ledger Square Law for a review and update of the Association Agreement draft. The committee feels that the document is now close to being presentable. An additional task identified to the committee was the need to prepare a Prospectus prior to presenting airport purchase terms to participating members. The prospectus will highlight expectations and risks for the purchase of the airport by our members. The prospectus will be prepared by a different lawyer or group, and Ledger Square Law has given a recommendation. The Attorneys at Ledger Square Law have also recommended an appraiser for us. The thought is that a pre-appraisal estimate could be helpful in membership confidence in committing to the Association Agreement. Also stated: Early momentum is the key!
The State recently had a WSDOT review of airports and it shows that Norm Grier Field is in sad shape. So much deferred maintenance could reduce the value of the airport. There is an interest with some members of the board to create a pre-appraisal cost estimation that would include deferred maintenance in a valuation estimate.
The King County Surface Water Management recently assessed the airport with a huge jump, from $4,800 the last two years to $28,000+ this year. Rikki Birge notified Jeff that she was delaying the annual Homeowner Airport Assessment until she has had a chance to challenge the increase. John researched the figures and concluded they are correct based on the King County formula for setting fees. This is an unresolved issue at this time awaiting further information from Rikki Birge.
On June 8th, Normandy Aircraft (Logan Shelton) is planning to once again host a fly-in BBQ at the airport. Last year, Logan said 250 guests participated in the event. John has suggested (and the Board concurs) that it would be good to participate through loaning tables and chairs, coordinating parking of aircraft, and other small duties. The local EAA has already committed to providing the ice cream. The Washington Pilots Association has put this event on their Fly-for-Fun calendar (https://wpaflys.org/fly-for-fun/) to advertise the time and location. Any participation by the FAHA board members will be as volunteers. There will be no money spent or allocated from the FAHA general funds.
John wanted to correct terminology that has been previously used: “First right of refusal” does not properly characterize our legal agreement to purchase the airport. We have a “Purchase and Sale Agreement” (per the settlement) with two contingencies. FAHA can 1) elect not to proceed with the purchase when presented by Crest Airpark; and 2) abandon the purchase if the appraised price is not acceptable.
General discussion was begun regarding a “failure to perform clause”. When we start to have homeowners commit to the airport purchase, we need to have a clear statement that escrow fees collected will be returned if for any reason the airport purchase is unsuccessful. Also, in the event of an unsuccessful airport purchase we need to include verbiage that allows FAHA to continue to represent the homeowners regarding the airport property into the future.
The Sequim Airport is for sale although it is not a good comparison. The price is $4,250,000 for 35 acres and all the improvements on it. It was noted that it has not sold and has been on the market for some time now. Some of the key differences are:
Very complex configuration: multiple parcels with confusing ownership
The pavement, building and other facilities are in much better physical shape
Has an airport overlay district with zoning to protect it
26 lots with legal access (Discovery Trails), $50,000 guarantees access
Motion Proposed by: Andy Karmy Seconded by: John Tomlinson Motion made: To adjourn Approved by: Yes
Respectfully submitted,
Robbi Broussard
13 in attendance at Broussard’s Home
Board Members present: Jeff Miller (2012), President Telephone 253-639-1915 John Tomlinson (2013), VP Janet Gundlach (even year), Treasurer Robbi Broussard (2012), Secretary Keith Hendrickson (2017) Andy Karmy (2017) Mark Owen (2017) Mike Warner (2018) Rex MacLean (2018)
Guests: Dick Broussard Teresa White Leone Tomlinson Lynn (Rex’s friend)