Minutes of September 2, 2007 Meeting
Stuart Island Airway Park Owner’s Association
Board of Trustees
Trustees in Attendance:
John Bunton Craig Campbell Candice Mauseth
Fritz Bright Greg Bruce Diane Noble
Members in Attendance:
Mike Noble Patt Swirtz Denny Swirtz
Jim Keithly Warren Jones Scott Munro
Ted Zimmerman Bill Shivers
The meeting was called to order by President, John Bunton at 9:35 a.m. John asked for changes/additions to the agenda. Craig added a discussion of the Mail Shack to New Business.
Diane noted a clarification that had been made since the draft copy was circulated. Greg asked for clarifications regarding the language about the tree removal authorization and also concerning donations by Howard Berman from use of the dump truck. Craig made a motion to approve the corrected minutes of July 5, 2007; Fritz second. No further discussion. Motion approved.
Prevost Dock Anchor – Craig reported that dock anchor materials have been purchased but not yet installed. He recommends that we re-anchor both sides of the dock. He will be purchasing additional chain & rope for the project that entails splitting one of the old ramp concrete slabs in half and installing eye bolts for connecting the chain & rope. Craig will install the new anchors in the spring. John reported that he had spoken with Bruce Keithly whose son will be here and will dive the area and re-inspect the area to make sure we haven’t missed anything. The dock is presently shifting 20 ft. north to south and John would like to reconsider a line attached to the large rock on the north side.
Roads & Gravel - Craig reiterated the plan to save road funding from this year’s budget and combine with next year’s funding in order to get an adequate amount of gravel delivered on the barge for the project.
Runway trees at east end – John said we will work on cleaning up the mess this winter. He reported that the Association received a bill for the tree removal and recommends that the bill be paid out of donated funds rather than maintenance funds. Greg asked if additional costs would be incurred for the clean up. John responded that he believes we can burn most of the debris in place. The board expressed approval of this resolution.
Mail Shack location - Craig distributed a hand drawn map of the location of the mail shack that is the result of a “survey” he and John conducted. (A copy of the map is attached to the original minutes and available for review.) A portion of the building is on the 60 ft. road allowance, but it does not appear that we can move it because of a tree and the ground drops off behind it. Craig suggests we write a letter to Steve Knopp explaining the situation. Steve is also using a portion of the right-of-way when he parks his plane and could remove trees on his property. Following a discussion of the issue, John suggested that he, Fritz, Greg & Craig walk down to the area following the meeting to explore possible options. No action was taken; the matter will come back to the board.
Diane read a letter from a Stuart Island west neighbor who had sent the Assn. a $100 check to thank the Association for emergency landings she and her family had made when their west airstrip was not available. Diane had held the check and brought the issue to the board to make sure we did not set a precedent that was inconsistent with the wishes of our community. Diane asked the board if there is interest in developing a policy for airstrip use, do we want to keep the check? John expressed concern that if we keep the donation check it may be construed as “payment” for airstrip use and could open the door for others outside of Association members & their guests who would wish to use the airstrip. Candy said that the policy already exists that the airstrip is “for private use – permission required before landing.” The commercial airlines serving Stuart Is. have been given the names of Association members. Diane will return the check with a letter of explanation.
Diane asked if there is interest from the board to develop a policy for proceeding with maintenance projects so the incident at the SE end of the runway is not repeated in the future. Candy thinks we can effectively communicate the board member’s area of responsibility to all members with a request that they take up maintenance issues with the appropriate member of the board. Fritz said that the tree removal at the SE end was a safety issue not maintenance. Fritz thinks a safety committee may be an effective way to deal with individuals’ safety concerns. There was general agreement on this method to address safety issues. There is no interest in creating a special policy for maintenance projects.
Burn Pile – Fritz said the pile will be burned in the spring.
Mail forwarding – Diane said she will have the Association mail forwarded to her unless any of the board members would prefer to pick up the Association mail from the Roche Harbor PO box and distribute it through the fall/winter. Diane will file a forwarding order.
Fire Wagons/Dock Pump – Greg said the dock pump isn’t running and he will have to buy a new tank and will take care of it this month. John suggested we may need to replace the pump. Greg described the simple winter maintenance for the fire wagons. Fritz will take care of the wagons before the first freeze.
Airstrip Closure – Diane asked Fritz for the dates of last years closure for the records of the Assn. Fritz will provide copies of the letters he sent to the commercial carriers documenting the 1-day closure which is required to maintain the private status of the airstrip. Denny had placed a big X on the airstrip. Fritz said the requirement is not from the FAA. Greg said he will post the annual closure on our web site and suggested we notify the WPA also. Candy asked if we can establish the date now. Patt Swirtz said that in the past the closure had been set for the second Tuesday in December, but this past winter the closure was in February. The Association will stick with the second Tuesday of December in the future and will notify members.
Scott Munro suggested that the Association provide Denny with some “poly-type” material with which to mark the big Xs on each end of the field so he won’t have to cut up old sheets! John has a roll of Tyvek that may work—if not, Fritz will get something.
Diane used the phased hangar project that Howard Berman had presented at the annual meeting and “plugged” his description/costs into the new submittal form Candy had developed. Candy said the estimate of $4100 for 3 bays of concrete and roll-up doors, a solar panel and rough plumbing requires estimates and actual costs broken down before we can consider the project at the board level. She hopes the proponents of projects will be responsible for submitting fully cost estimate-supported projects, along with the “purpose” of the project, not handing off the responsibility to board members. John said we need some firm costs on concrete and doors for Howard’s submittal before we can send it off to Assn. members. Diane will communicate this requirement to Howard.
Airport – Fritz reported that he will fertilize again this year. Denny will assist him in October or November. There is still 50 – 100 lbs. grass seed that they’ll put down with the spreader. Candy gave Fritz the four airport crossing signs and gave John the parking lot sign. Greg reported that he has not yet met with Larry Woodall and Fritz to move the “private” signs to the ends of the airfield.
Finance – Diane reported that she had opened the ING Direct account with an initial deposit of $7500. She will be submitting the Articles of Incorporation/Bylaws and board signatures, etc. and once that’s completed she will transfer the balance of $5500 to fund the $13,000 in special accounts. Diane will close the general savings acct. and the ramp account, leaving the checking acct. and donations acct at our local Islander’s Bank. Diane noted that the Association is not a “non-profit” organization for purposes of the IRS. Diane filed the 1120H form in August—the Assn. paid $2, a 30% tax rate. Sally Linwick helped Diane fill out the form. Diane thanked Candy for contacting the County Tax Assessor and requesting a refund of the “Fire Patrol” portion of the tax assessment. We received our $14 refund. Diane summarized the budget report she handed out (a copy attached to these minutes). She distributed two Quickbooks reports: Customer Balance Summary (receivables); and Sales Summary that states what we have received. Diane can easily order statements for open accounts as owner’s second notice. Diane reported that she had distributed a letter from Patt Swirtz to the board members and Candy will make the letter available to the Bylaws Committee when they meet. Diane reported that the Turnpoint Lighthouse Open House was a big success with over 100 attending. The Association, Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society, and the Little Wolf PTA shared in fundraising efforts. Thanks to many of our Association ladies that baked for this fundraiser, and the Bensons who fried up corndogs/fries and donated $335.75 net to our Association. Diane also reported that the airstrip insurance costs had not gone up in over 5 years. The Association sent Howard Horn Insurance Agency a very nice box of Sees Candy and received a note of thanks.
Diane also reported on correspondence to three Association members and a letter documenting a meeting with the San Juan County Public Works Director, Jon Shannon (Jon Shannon letter posted on the web site). Craig reported on the meeting with Mr. Shannon concerning vehicle parking and boat docking at Roche Harbor. There are ongoing efforts by the County to obtain additional public parking at Roche Harbor and proposed funding for a new County dock beside the ramp. The County issues 85 permit for vehicles at Roche Harbor and there are only 13 spaces, though vehicles may also be able to park up the hill in the grass parking area. Mr. Shannon appreciates the position of the North Islanders and asks for patience.
Candy reported that the County burn ban is still in effect, but outdoor recreational fires are permitted. Per John a recreational fire is limited to: 2 ft. diameter, metal/masonry container, 4 ft. cleared around. The State Dept. of Natural Resources enforces the our burn ban though the status is established and communicated by San Juan County.
Greg reported that he had uploaded the New Project Form on the web as well as the Public Works letter. He asked if he should put the board member’s contact/e-mail info on the web site too. The board approved; a hard copy of trustee contact info. was also provided to members. Greg and Candy do not recommend members’ contact info. be provided on-line.
Mail Shack - Craig reported that Loie Benson suggested that the whole bank of mail slots be torn out and re-organized. Loie said Chris Pack had volunteered to re-build the slots this winter—the materials would likely costs about $100. Craig asked if the board would like to authorize this work. Patt Swirtz would like to see Stuart Islanders put pressure on the Postal Service to add the sorting of the mail to the delivery contract. Patt explained that formerly the Friday Harbor office sorted the mail and the contracted pilots delivering the mail put the mail into the boxes. Recently the Postmaster told Patt that the residents have the responsibility to sort the mail yet contradicts the statement by saying it is a federal offense for individuals to handle others’ mail. Candy offered to assume responsibility on behalf of the board to look into the contract and seek a better system, though there is a risk that the Postal Service could simply stop offering mail service at Stuart altogether. Diane added that the current 4-yr mail contract was sub-contracted and we also want to urge the Postal Service to cancel that contract as well as add sorting to a new contract. There was additional discussion about access to mail from all parts of Stuart Island since our Assn. mail shack is the only delivery spot.
John suggested we wait for the outcome of Candy’s inquiries with the Postal Service in case they decide to provide lockable boxes and collect box rent, etc. Craig is amenable to waiting for Candy to do the research.
Craig canceled his motion.
John announced the concrete for the hangar maintenance project is on order and solicited help for later in the month.
Ted Zimmerman made several comments: 1) His in the first bay of the hangar is sufficient—leave the rest of the bays with dirt. He would like to see doors added to keep the weather out of the hangar. 2) WPA used to swap camping time at Stuart Is. with the California WPA but were asked not to and now use seems to be limited to the Bellingham group from WPA. 3) He understands there are no burn barrels allowed in San Juan County. 4) He would be willing to work on nice new mail slots in the Mail Shack. He has had good mail delivery at Stuart and thinks the current system works fairly well.
Scott Munro applauded Candy’s efforts to develop the New Project Form which represents the first time the board has required actual costs/bids be made a part of a proposed project, thus avoiding “guesstimates” and unknown actual costs.
Ted Zimmerman added that there is a pickup truck on the airfield property and the board may want to ask the owner to move the truck. Greg said they gray truck belongs to someone who is not an owner. Fritz will handle this.
Greg said the propane delivery is being made soon. Greg was told that the cost of propane was going to be going up because the Nordland is not in service anymore and the Pintail is more costly. Patt Swirtz said there is another option in Friday Harbor—Vander Yachts—they have their own barge and they would be willing to bid the propane service to Stuart Is. (they serve the Lighthouse), and may be willing to “buy back” the propane tanks that belong to San Juan Propane. Candy said she would contact San Juan Propane and ask about rumored increases in costs due to transportation and tell them we would be looking at other options.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:40.
Final0508/dn