IRISH BEACH IMPROVEMENT CLUB

PO Box 237  Manchester, CA 95459

40th ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

 Saturday, May 5, 2007 – 1:00 P.M.

Greenwood Community Center, Elk, CA

DRAFT MINUTES

 

I           CALL TO ORDER

 

President RJ Dial called the meeting to order at 1:10PM.  He introduced Board members Gene Cady, Brian Carter, Leon Drolet, Sandra Moores, Kathleen Poling and Susan Rush. 

Of a total of 177 memberships eligible to vote, 94 have registered either in person or by proxy and a quorum is present.  

 

II          APPROVE MINUTES

The minutes of May 6, 2006 were distributed to the membership and are posted on the IBIC web site.  President Dial moved to approve the minutes.  Director Rush seconded and the motion passed unanimously by a show of shamrocks. 

 

III        REPORTS      

Maintenance:  Director Cady reported that in the past year IBIC has repaved part of the beach road, removed fallen trees in the parks, treated the beach gate for rust, continued repairs on the Highway 1 fence and maintained the landscaping in the parks and Highway 1 area.  There is one remaining down tree in Pond Park that will be limbed and left in place and one more tree that may be removed.  Francisco Gonzalez of Gonzalez Maintenance is under a new contract for this year and will mow about five times to keep the grass under five inches.  IBIC is planning to contract with RCX Construction to repave the portion of the down road from the S curve to the intersection of the up and down roads.  Director Dial added that the work done on the beach road included laying petromat under the asphalt, which ties the road together and should make it more durable.  He added that maintenance costs were considerably less than the previous year and that members’ contributions to the Fence Fund have resulted in the good condition of the Highway 1 fence. 

Membership:  Susan Rush reported that IBIC currently has 177 members in good standing, which is 28 less than last year at this time.  Some people have yet to renew their memberships for the year.  126 members own homes and 51 own undeveloped lots.  New members for the year are John and Benita Allred, Steve and Michelle Azevedo, Ward and Tonja Carlisle, Peter Edgelow, Dan Glenn, Mark Di Lorenzo, Bill and Marcia McConnell, Shervin Tajbaksh and Robert Powell, Guillermo Rivas and Stephanie Graham.  New members since April 1st are Kit and Carol Cleland, Gregory Leathem and Ron and Shirley Whitney, et al. 

Architectural Design Committee:  Director Drolet reported that the ADC has about $3,000 in assets and treasurer’s reports are posted on the web site.  The Committee has closed about 45 outstanding permits, some from several years ago, revised some of the building procedures for clarity and completeness and implemented a policy by which residents can rebuild their garbage enclosures to fit the new, larger cans without obtaining an ADC permit.  The enclosure must remain in the same location, have the same general appearance and the Committee must be notified of the project.  An end date for the policy has not been set.  The Committee is also addressing the issue of unshielded exterior lights that shine onto neighboring properties.(CC&R 5.12)  In general, if the bulb can be seen it is not in compliance and examples of compliant and non-compliant fixtures can be found on the IBIC web site.  New permit applications must address exterior lighting, if needed.  The ADC is reviewing the mediation process that was established in 2002, looking at the issues of longer construction time for owner/builders, a performance bond for permit compliance, establishing and publishing steps that will be taken to enforce permit compliance, establishing an appeals process, and whether political signs are allowed and if so, with what restrictions.  Director Drolet encourages people to contact the Committee if they have comments, questions or need assistance.  Anyone interested in serving on the Committee should contact Leon Drolet or the Committee secretary at the IBIC phone number. 

Water Board:  Russell Pasqualetti presented the report.  He explained that the water district was annexed by the Redwood Coast Fire Protection District (RCFPD) effective 1/1/07.  Irish Beach now has a class 5 fire rating and home owners can contact their insurance carrier to ensure they are getting the best rate possible.  Water tank #5 was replaced in the last year and tanks #1 and #3 need repair.   Leaks are an ongoing issue and some pipes need replacement.  There are currently four seats up for election on the Water District Board of Directors.  An application packet can be picked up in Ukiah and must be submitted by June 1st for the election on August 28th.  The Board meets on the second Saturday of every odd month at the Irish Beach Firehouse on Forest View Road.  

NEST:  Vera-Lee Kaiser explained that the Neighborhood Emergency Services Team is a volunteer organization whose purpose is to perform light search and rescue and provide assistance in the event of a major emergency, such as an earthquake.  Information about NEST will be posted on the IBIC web site. 

Treasurer’s Report:  Director Sandra Moores presented the report for the last fiscal year, 4/1/06 to 3/31/07.  The Operating Fund income was $33,239.14 and expenses $32,460.02 for an ending balance of $15,436.10.  Inflows to the Capital Improvement Fund were $19,100.27, outflows were $39,201.64 with an ending balance of $50,114.96.  The Capital Improvement Fund inflows equal 20% of the membership dues and income from Initiation Fees, Enterprise Fund and interest.  Total IBIC funds were $65,551.06 as of March 31.  Director Poling moved to approve the treasurer’s report.  Director Cady seconded and the motion passed with one opposed. 

 

IV        NEW BUSINESS

Budget for 2007-08 Fiscal Year:  After a short discussion, Rudy Beran moved to approve the budget proposal.  Paula Gann seconded and the motion passed by a show of shamrocks with none opposed. 

Election of Board of Directors:  The Board of Directors offers a slate of two candidates, current Board members Gene Cady and RJ Dial.  Bettye Winters nominated Paula Gann.  George Munson seconded and Ms. Gann accepted the nomination.  Ms. Gann introduced herself to the membership, stating that she bought a house in Irish Beach two years ago and plans to move here in October.  She is a co-founder of Parenting Magazine and currently is executive director of a non-profit organization.  No additional nominations were offered.  Diane Heinzer moved to accept the slate of candidates. Barbara Tonningsen seconded and the motion passed with none opposed.  A round of applause was given in appreciation of outgoing director Kathy Poling’s service on the Board during the past two years. 

Issue of investigating legal methodology to change vote structure to one person one vote per 2006 meeting. (Minutes 7-22-06):  Director Poling explained that the Board looked at the question and agreed that in order to investigate a legal methodology for changing the membership structure an attorney must be hired.  Home Owners Association votes are on a per lot basis and it is unlikely that the voting structure of IBIC could be changed without incurring significant expense in legal fees.

Bylaw Amendment-Executive sessions (minutes 10-28-06):  Director Poling explained that the Board proposes an amendment to address executive sessions of the Board, which is not provided for in the current bylaws.  The Board proposes the following:

 

“Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Directors may meet in executive session closed to the membership, either in person or by telephone, for any item of business that 70 percent of the duly acting members of the Board of Directors deem appropriate to private discussion because of its sensitive nature, including, but not limited to, personnel issues, potential insurance claims or potential or pending litigation.”

 

Diane Heinzer moved to amend the Board’s proposal to strike “70%” and replace with “majority”, and strike “. . . including, but not limited to . . .” and replace with “limited to”.  Diane Taylor seconded the motion.  After discussion Nik Epanchin moved to amend the motion by adding the words “time sensitive or sensitive” to the list of items that are appropriate for executive session.  Ed Tonningsen seconded the motion to amend.  Paula Gann proposed an additional motion which keeps the words “time sensitive” and strikes “sensitive”.  Kerby Ann Gleeson seconded the motion.  Ed Tonningsen called the question for Mr. Epanchin’s amended motion.  The vote was taken and defeated by a show of shamrocks.  A vote was taken on Ms. Gann’s motion which passed by a show of shamrocks with none opposed.  Section III paragraph C of the bylaws shall read: 

 

“The Board of Directors may meet in executive session closed to the membership, either in person or by telephone, for any item of business that a majority of the duly acting members of the Board of Directors deem appropriate to private discussion.  Subjects for discussion will be limited to time sensitive items, personnel issues, potential insurance claims or potential or pending litigation.”

 

County Road Maintenance Ad Hoc Committee: An attempt was made last year to form an ad hoc committee to encourage the County to repair roads within Irish Beach.  Donna Dell explained that she was successful in getting Mallo Pass Court repaved by writing to the County Board of Supervisors and appropriate State agencies.  She offered to share the information with anyone interested and Director Dial stated that members should contact the Board if they would like to work on this project. 

Volunteer recruitment for Maintenance, Membership and Social Committees:  Volunteers are needed to help with small maintenance projects, organizing the annual meeting and picnic and welcoming new members into IBIC. 

Labor Day Weekend Picnic:  After a short discussion Diane Taylor moved to change the annual Labor Day Weekend picnic to the first Saturday in October and rename it “Oktoberfest”.  The motion was seconded and passed unopposed.

 

                       

V         ANY OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE MEETING

 

Adopt-a-Highway program:  Director Cady announce that Caltrans requests that Adopt-a-Highway participants join in a litter pick up on Tuesday, May 8th.  Those interested can meet in Pomo Lake Park at 9:00AM.  Trash bags, orange vests, etc. will be provided. 

Lighthouse:  Donna Dell provided information about the Point Arena Lighthouse Keepers Society and encouraged people to support the historic lighthouse by joining.  Memberships are $35 for an individual and $50 for families. 

Thistle abatement:  Donna Dell asked if anything can be done to deal with thistles on empty lots.  No conclusion was reached.

Wireless internet in Irish Beach:  Esplanade is able to offer wireless internet service to anyone within line of sight of the lighthouse or water tank #3.  The Water District has authorized the placement of a repeater on the tank.  Esplanade can be reached at 800-711-3181 or www.esplanade.us

 

VII       ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:20PM.

The next Annual Meeting of the Membership will be on May 3rd, 2008.

 

 

Minutes submitted by Jean Selk