IRISH BEACH IMPROVEMENT CLUB

42nd ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Saturday, May 2, 2009 – 1:00 P.M.

Greenwood Community Center

DRAFT MINUTES

I CALL TO ORDER

President Drolet called the meeting to order at 1:10pm.

Directors present: President Leon Drolet, Vice President RJ Dial, Secretary Pam Harley, Treasurer Paula Gann, Directors Gene Cady and Jerry Trujillo.

Director Harley reported that IBIC has 169 current members. Fifty-five members are registered either in person or by proxy and a quorum is present.

II APPROVE MINUTES

Director Gann moved to approve the minutes of last year’s Annual Meeting held on May 3, 2008. Director Cady seconded and the motion passed 7-0.

III REPORTS

Maintenance: Director Drolet reported that Pomo Lake is now 40 years old and has begun the process of becoming a marsh area. In an attempt to control the spread of cattails, IBIC applied EPA approved chemicals, with a permit from the County Department of Agriculture. IBIC was subsequently ordered by the County Planning Department to stop all activity, including stocking the lake with fish, because the area is considered an Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA). Permits will have to be obtained from five agencies to do any kind of work. IBIC has formed a Pomo Lake committee that is looking into hiring a consultant to create a maintenance plan that can be used in perpetuity and assist in obtaining the needed permits. Director Cady reported that the port-a-potties at the parks have been screened, the gazebo platform rebuilt, the beach gate was replaced, and the usual mowing and fence repair was accomplished over the past year. Portions of the beach road will be resurfaced in June. Director Drolet explained that a “For members only” sign is needed at the beach road for liability protection.

Membership: Director Harley reported that IBIC currently has 169 paid members of which 142 pay $200 per year and 27 pay the additional $75 surcharge because they rent their home out as a business. Of the total membership, 148 members own houses and 21 own undeveloped lots. There have been nine recent new memberships. Six of these were members in the past and have rejoined. Sixteen members have not yet renewed their memberships. She explained that the gate card fee was modified at the April board meeting. IBIC currently provides one free card with a new membership and charges $15 each for additional cards. In the new fee schedule, one free card will be provided and two additional cards can be purchased for $15 each. Members that pay the $75 rental surcharge can purchase up to four additional cards at $15 each. Additional cards are $40 each. A $5 refund will be given for cards returned in good condition. IBIC is in the process of updating the records for beach gate passes.

Architectural Design Committee: Director Drolet said that he would include a report under New Business. He reminded everyone that exterior lighting should be shielded and downcast.

Road Improvement Ad Hoc Committee: Director Dial reported that he is picking up where Margaret Ballou left off in the effort to get the County to budget money for road work in Irish Beach, particularly in unit 3. He spoke with Ken Stevens, the County manager for this area. Road repair money is already budgeted for this year and with the County budget problems, more funding is not available. Director Dial stated that individual letters to the County are needed to influence next year’s budget. Mr. Stevens contact information will be posted on the web site along with a sample letter. Director Dial reported that Mr. Stevens explained that the roads within Irish Beach are not County deeded roads but rather are owned by the Irish Beach residents. He further said that the County could pursue action to make that effective, although there are no plans to do so at this time.

Trail Development Ad Hoc Committee: Director Drolet reported that after doing research, he has concluded that the costs of the proposed trail make the project prohibitive. The proposed trail would cross many properties, each of which must have a recorded easement, which requires a survey. He has recommended to the Board that the money and effort instead be put toward the Pomo Lake.

Water Board: Steve Whitaker presented the report. He explained that the Irish Beach Water Board (IBWB) is owned by the community and that meetings are held at the Fire Station on the second Saturday of every odd month. Although the IBWB lost the rights to Mallo Pass water due to lack of development, Irish Beach has plenty of water and is in the process of developing more wells.

NEST: Vera Lee Carter reported that the Neighborhood Emergency Service Team has 45 members and needs more CERT trained people. They continue to buy and replace supplies that can be used in the event of an emergency. They have sufficient funds and will not collect the annual membership fee for this year. She urges everyone to keep a two-week supply of food and water on hand and to provide the same for renters.

Treasurer’s Report 2008-09 Fiscal Year: Director Gann explained that she used a budget format that compares the actual finances for the year against the budget. She reported that the Operating Budget is in the negative by more than $1700. Income is down due to fewer memberships than projected but they have also cut some expenses to mitigate the impact. The Capital Budget is positive because money budgeted for beach roadwork was not spent. (It will be spent in the 2009-10 fiscal year.)

IV NEW BUSINESS

Budget for 2009-10 Fiscal Year: Director Gann stated that she projects 10% fewer members in the 2009-10 fiscal year due to the economy. There is money in the reserves to cover the projected $7,000 loss. Eighty percent of the membership dues go to into the Operating Fund and twenty percent to the Capital Improvement Fund. Director Gann suggested that IBIC might want to consider diverting more money into the Operating Fund in the future. The Fence Fund is funded from a solicitation of the members made last year. Another solicitation was sent with the membership notice and the fund has enough money at this time. IBIC won’t do another solicitation until the fund runs low.

Consideration of options available to meet IBIC’s obligations under the CC&R's for an Architectural Design Committee: Director Drolet explained that the Architectural Design Committee (ADC) is solely funded by the fees collected in relation to construction. Recently, there are not enough fees being collected to cover the Committee’s daily operating cost. The Committee ran out of funds in early February and has been operating on an IBIC loan. He asked several questions of the community including, should IBIC fund the ADC? Should the ADC go into hibernation? Should a different application fee structured be initiated so that IBIC members pay less for construction applications than non-members do? Should the ADC pursue penalty fees in small claims court? During the ensuing discussion, community members expressed support for the ADC and many members agreed that the ADC should be treated as a subcommittee of IBIC. Several options for raising revenue were discussed including: raising application fees for more complicated projects, funding the ADC with a percentage of membership fees, determining the base amount the ADC needs to operate and funding it at that level and of particular interest to the membership, a tiered system in which construction application fees would be less for IBIC members than nonmembers. No objections were raised to the idea of combining the ADC and IBIC books, as long as income and expenses are reported separately. Walt Rush noted that the ADC usually can pay its bills and that this is a temporary slump time. Karl Taylor noted that IBIC absorbed the ADC in the mid 90’s and that IBIC should either shut it down, fund it or turn it back to the developer. On a different subject, Director Drolet asked the community about ADC enforcement of CC&R violations beyond construction issues, such as tree height, equipment parked in yards, etc. The response was tepid with several people stating that talking with people is preferable to enforcement.

Election of Board of Directors: Bettye Winters nominated Paula Gann, RJ Dial, and Gene Cady to a two-year term on the Board. Diane Taylor seconded the motion. No one opposed the slate, there were no abstentions and the slate is elected.

V ANY OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE MEETING

Director Drolet provided an update on the abandoned home at 14800 S. Hwy 1. Over the past year, he has contacted CalFire and Mendocino County several times to address the fire hazard posed by the house and trees on the property. He recently received an email from the County stating that there are no building code violations on the property. CalFire found violations and issued warnings to the owners, but has not followed-up.

Walt Rush presented a letter to the Point Arena Light Station asking that the light be made visible to the Irish Beach community. He asked anyone interested to sign the letter.

VI ADJOURNMENT

Director Gann moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:15pm. Director Cady seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Minutes submitted by Jean Selk