October 13, 2018
Mt. Index Riversites Community Club, Inc.
Board of Directors Meeting
Board members present: Mark Bollman, Carrie Byrne, Lora Cox, Kathleen EckartLove, CJ Holmes, Gary Johnson, Don Larsen, Dave MacFarlane, Mat Williams
Absent: Brent Corey, Rebecca Davis, Earl Van Buskirk
Owners and guests: Dan Harrison, Darcy Niedermeyer
Committee Reports and Information
Executive Committee
Executive committee members worked with SLK Accounting to deposit checks and pay the bills. Earl Van Buskirk provided budget status reports to Carrie Byrne, who will review them with us today. We also completed our annual report to the WA Secretary of State to renew our corporation status for another year.
Budget & Finance
Carrie Byrne shared the September financial statement. She stated that we saw a lot of payments come in from owners who have not paid in recent months; this is likely due to the notice that was sent with the last account statements indicating that the Board will begin filing liens.
Following are the highlights from the financial review:
Byrne also noted that while we are accepting credit card payment from owners, we have not yet passed on the credit card processing fees onto them. We should look to add this going forward to the total amount due from owners.
Darcy Niedermeyer said that Paypal now offers a pay by check feature that may be an attractive option. She said that credit card processing fees are usually 2.9% and it is a standard business practice to charge customers to accommodate the fees. She believes MIRCC should do the same. We will be looking into this.
Collections
Mark Bollman reported that we received a check from First American Title Company for $17,899 to pay off Ryan Peterson’s debt. This includes over $4,000 in interest and $7,000 in legal fees and costs recovered. Thanks to Lora Cox for hosting our meeting last night where Carrie Byrne briefed us on recommendations from attorneys.
Carrie Byrne reported that the Board has begun a process to learn more about key issues affecting our collections efforts to date and to find a better fit with a collections attorney. We have met as a group, refined our strategy, and are ready to proceed with foreclosures at this time. We will discuss this more under New Business.
There are over $286k in past due assessments from A-Section and E-Section owed to MIRCC at this time.
Legal/Ethics/Bylaws
Gary Johnson said he has two motions for later in the meeting.
E-Section Roads
Dave MacFarlane said that Paul Hery is doing a very good job. The roads are in great shape. There’s nothing else to report.
Canyon Falls to Highway 2 Roads
Mark Bollman said Paul Hery’s blue brush-whacker machine came, then the dump truck spread gravel and the yellow grader touched it up. The Excavator cut back the corner at the top of the hill and also filled inside the curve at the first bridge. The green gate also got a new keypad device.
A-Section and USFS 6020 Roads
Mat Williams reported that roads are in pretty good shape. Finally after much work, Williams said that we got our gravel from the USFS and fixed a couple problem spots - particularly Swamp Road and the archway.
We are looking at normal maintenance at this time, and particularly whenever we get good weather.
Priority Business
September Meeting Minutes
Carrie Byrne circulated the minutes from the last meeting via email.
Carrie Byrne: “Move to approve the meeting minutes for September.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No – 0
September Expenditures
Carrie Byrne: “Move to approve the Check Detail report for September expenditures.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No - 0
Invoices detail
Charges and Invoices to be paid:
A-Section Checks:
E-Section Checks:
New Business
Accept Gift of Parcel No. 00525900307100
Shawn Hawker will give us Lot C-71. Hawker agreed to sign a statutory warranty deed. Debt to MIRCC was about $2231 and assessed value in 2018 is $7k. It’s a net financial positive for MIRCC. The lot is located on the right in C-Section as soon as you get off the Canyon Falls Bridge.
Mark Bollman volunteered to do the paperwork but would like to be reimbursed for the excise tax and filing fee.
Gary Johnson:“Move to accept gift of Parcel No. 00525900307100 and pay the excise and filing fee.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No - 0
Collections: Liens & Foreclosures
Dave MacFarlane asked if we are going to be able to go after Greg Parks. MIRCC has a stipulated judgment against him, and he continues to accumulate past due assessments and interest. His account is currently at $8,735. Carrie Byrne said that a different collections attorney may have a different strategy to approach this case.
The Collections Committee met the night before the Board meeting to discuss progress on collecting past due assessments. At last month’s meeting, we approved a motion to file liens against property of owners who are well past 90 days due, with Executive Committee approval. Many payments have been received, however the aging summary continues to include about 25% of owners in MIRCC.
Mark Bollman said that in his absence, Earl Van Buskirk asked that the Board not vote on any motion regarding Collections until the November Board meeting. Mark asked if anyone was interested in making a motion to postpone this action? No motion was made.
Kathleen EckartLove, seconded by CJ Holmes: “Move to encumber $10,000 for Executive Committee to retain an attorney to file lawsuits and begin foreclosure proceedings.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No - 0
Gary Johnson said that in order for the Board to move forward with collections, we have agreed to find a new attorney. There has been some dissatisfaction with our legal counsel to date, so we are working to solve this problem.
Two new attorneys have been interviewed by Board members; a third attorney will be interviewed in the coming week. After Board members meet with the third attorney, information about what we learned will be shared and the Board would like to cast a vote electronically to contract a new collections attorney.
Johnson reiterated that a majority of board members have indicated that they don’t want to wait until the November meeting to select an attorney and would like to keep things moving.
Gary Johnson: “Move to decide by electronic vote by the Board which attorney will be contracted for Collections.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No - 0
Discussion Topics
Gate Camera Pictures
There has been discussion among community members about who has access to gate cameras and their content. Carrie Byrne said that the Board reviewed a recent concern and reiterated that according to our policy, only Board members have access to gate camera photos and video and content is only turned over to law enforcement upon request.
Lora Cox said she had once seen photos from an MIRCC gate that had been published on Facebook. Mark Bollman said that was an instance of a photo being circulated when the Board was asked if they could help identify an unknown person in an MIRCC gate image. In the future, any assistance in identifying individuals will be managed differently to avoid the potential of gate content being published outside the Board.
Dan Harrison inquired about a picture of Mike Kelly that he believes was from the yellow gate camera that appears on bwguardian.wordpress.com.
Mat Williams said that only Board members have access to gate cameras and we do not know the person behind the website in question. Carrie Byrne said that photo manipulation and image capture with mobile devices makes it easy to believe that content is from a particular source, when it may not be the case. Further, she added that she has reviewed content on the website and would suggest that targeted individuals file a case with law enforcement, as much of the content appears to meet the statutory definition of harassment.
Letter to Rudolf Mueller re: Decree Affecting Title
Mark Bollman said that he sent a letter to Mueller, who believes he is exempt from MIRCC assessments. The letter summarizes why the Board is authorized to charge assessments and they must be paid.
Letter to Kristin Kosiewicz re: Fence on Mt Index Road
Mark Bollman said that he sent a letter to Kosiewicz regarding her fence encroaching MIRCC’s roadways.
Closing Remarks
The next Board meeting will be at 9am on November 10th, 2018.
Respectfully submitted by Carrie Byrne
MIRCC Treasurer
Absent: Brent Corey, Rebecca Davis, Earl Van Buskirk
Owners and guests: Dan Harrison, Darcy Niedermeyer
Committee Reports and Information
Executive Committee
Executive committee members worked with SLK Accounting to deposit checks and pay the bills. Earl Van Buskirk provided budget status reports to Carrie Byrne, who will review them with us today. We also completed our annual report to the WA Secretary of State to renew our corporation status for another year.
Budget & Finance
Carrie Byrne shared the September financial statement. She stated that we saw a lot of payments come in from owners who have not paid in recent months; this is likely due to the notice that was sent with the last account statements indicating that the Board will begin filing liens.
Following are the highlights from the financial review:
- A-Section is at 81% collection rate; E-Section is at 83%; these percentages also include income from recent sale of land by MIRCC
- Net income after expenses to date for E-Section is $81,753; for A-Section is $55,011
- We see a negative number under General/Admin for E-Section in September (-$7212); this is due to property sales where MIRCC gets collections attorney fees paid back to the Admin account
- Through September, E-Section has $154,118 in the checking account; A-Section has $78,339 in checking; combined balances are ~$55k greater than last year at this time
- A-Section collected $9,358 in September and has $99,840 in arrears; E-Section collected $17,151 for the same period and has $186,359 in arrears; many payments were made this month that included significant amounts of interest that could have been avoided by prompt payment
- Gary Hubbard paid for a yellow gate expense that exceeded his past due assessment amount; instead of reimbursing him, the expense amount has been applied to his account, which has been updated to reflect this
Byrne also noted that while we are accepting credit card payment from owners, we have not yet passed on the credit card processing fees onto them. We should look to add this going forward to the total amount due from owners.
Darcy Niedermeyer said that Paypal now offers a pay by check feature that may be an attractive option. She said that credit card processing fees are usually 2.9% and it is a standard business practice to charge customers to accommodate the fees. She believes MIRCC should do the same. We will be looking into this.
Collections
Mark Bollman reported that we received a check from First American Title Company for $17,899 to pay off Ryan Peterson’s debt. This includes over $4,000 in interest and $7,000 in legal fees and costs recovered. Thanks to Lora Cox for hosting our meeting last night where Carrie Byrne briefed us on recommendations from attorneys.
Carrie Byrne reported that the Board has begun a process to learn more about key issues affecting our collections efforts to date and to find a better fit with a collections attorney. We have met as a group, refined our strategy, and are ready to proceed with foreclosures at this time. We will discuss this more under New Business.
There are over $286k in past due assessments from A-Section and E-Section owed to MIRCC at this time.
Legal/Ethics/Bylaws
Gary Johnson said he has two motions for later in the meeting.
E-Section Roads
Dave MacFarlane said that Paul Hery is doing a very good job. The roads are in great shape. There’s nothing else to report.
Canyon Falls to Highway 2 Roads
Mark Bollman said Paul Hery’s blue brush-whacker machine came, then the dump truck spread gravel and the yellow grader touched it up. The Excavator cut back the corner at the top of the hill and also filled inside the curve at the first bridge. The green gate also got a new keypad device.
A-Section and USFS 6020 Roads
Mat Williams reported that roads are in pretty good shape. Finally after much work, Williams said that we got our gravel from the USFS and fixed a couple problem spots - particularly Swamp Road and the archway.
We are looking at normal maintenance at this time, and particularly whenever we get good weather.
Priority Business
September Meeting Minutes
Carrie Byrne circulated the minutes from the last meeting via email.
Carrie Byrne: “Move to approve the meeting minutes for September.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No – 0
September Expenditures
Carrie Byrne: “Move to approve the Check Detail report for September expenditures.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No - 0
Invoices detail
Charges and Invoices to be paid:
A-Section Checks:
- $35.86 – Bank of America (bank/merchant fees)
- $60.90 – Swizznet (office supplies)
- $160.77 – Office Depot (office supplies)
- $33.62 – Verizon Wireless – (office supplies)
- -$354.96 – Gary Hubbard (yellow gate materials expense applied to account)
- $55.70 – PUD (utilities/street lights)
- $120.00 – SLK Accounting (accounting)
- $49.90 – Credit Card Processing (bank/merchant fees)
- $36.98 – Frontier Communications (office supplies)
- $40.95 – PayPal (yellow gate)
- $152.06 – Snohomish Equipment (equipment maintenance)
E-Section Checks:
- $53.80 – Bank of America (bank/merchant fees)
- $91.34 – Swizznet (office supplies)
- $8.10 – PUD (utilities/street lights)
- $522.35 – Gatehouse (green gate)
- $54.01 – Office Depot (office supplies)
- $25.55 – Premier Wireless (office supplies)
- $180.00 – SLK Accounting (accounting)
- $74.85 – Credit Card Processing (bank/merchant fees)
New Business
Accept Gift of Parcel No. 00525900307100
Shawn Hawker will give us Lot C-71. Hawker agreed to sign a statutory warranty deed. Debt to MIRCC was about $2231 and assessed value in 2018 is $7k. It’s a net financial positive for MIRCC. The lot is located on the right in C-Section as soon as you get off the Canyon Falls Bridge.
Mark Bollman volunteered to do the paperwork but would like to be reimbursed for the excise tax and filing fee.
Gary Johnson:“Move to accept gift of Parcel No. 00525900307100 and pay the excise and filing fee.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No - 0
Collections: Liens & Foreclosures
Dave MacFarlane asked if we are going to be able to go after Greg Parks. MIRCC has a stipulated judgment against him, and he continues to accumulate past due assessments and interest. His account is currently at $8,735. Carrie Byrne said that a different collections attorney may have a different strategy to approach this case.
The Collections Committee met the night before the Board meeting to discuss progress on collecting past due assessments. At last month’s meeting, we approved a motion to file liens against property of owners who are well past 90 days due, with Executive Committee approval. Many payments have been received, however the aging summary continues to include about 25% of owners in MIRCC.
Mark Bollman said that in his absence, Earl Van Buskirk asked that the Board not vote on any motion regarding Collections until the November Board meeting. Mark asked if anyone was interested in making a motion to postpone this action? No motion was made.
Kathleen EckartLove, seconded by CJ Holmes: “Move to encumber $10,000 for Executive Committee to retain an attorney to file lawsuits and begin foreclosure proceedings.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No - 0
Gary Johnson said that in order for the Board to move forward with collections, we have agreed to find a new attorney. There has been some dissatisfaction with our legal counsel to date, so we are working to solve this problem.
Two new attorneys have been interviewed by Board members; a third attorney will be interviewed in the coming week. After Board members meet with the third attorney, information about what we learned will be shared and the Board would like to cast a vote electronically to contract a new collections attorney.
Johnson reiterated that a majority of board members have indicated that they don’t want to wait until the November meeting to select an attorney and would like to keep things moving.
Gary Johnson: “Move to decide by electronic vote by the Board which attorney will be contracted for Collections.”
Approved: Yes – 8; No - 0
Discussion Topics
Gate Camera Pictures
There has been discussion among community members about who has access to gate cameras and their content. Carrie Byrne said that the Board reviewed a recent concern and reiterated that according to our policy, only Board members have access to gate camera photos and video and content is only turned over to law enforcement upon request.
Lora Cox said she had once seen photos from an MIRCC gate that had been published on Facebook. Mark Bollman said that was an instance of a photo being circulated when the Board was asked if they could help identify an unknown person in an MIRCC gate image. In the future, any assistance in identifying individuals will be managed differently to avoid the potential of gate content being published outside the Board.
Dan Harrison inquired about a picture of Mike Kelly that he believes was from the yellow gate camera that appears on bwguardian.wordpress.com.
Mat Williams said that only Board members have access to gate cameras and we do not know the person behind the website in question. Carrie Byrne said that photo manipulation and image capture with mobile devices makes it easy to believe that content is from a particular source, when it may not be the case. Further, she added that she has reviewed content on the website and would suggest that targeted individuals file a case with law enforcement, as much of the content appears to meet the statutory definition of harassment.
Letter to Rudolf Mueller re: Decree Affecting Title
Mark Bollman said that he sent a letter to Mueller, who believes he is exempt from MIRCC assessments. The letter summarizes why the Board is authorized to charge assessments and they must be paid.
Letter to Kristin Kosiewicz re: Fence on Mt Index Road
Mark Bollman said that he sent a letter to Kosiewicz regarding her fence encroaching MIRCC’s roadways.
Closing Remarks
The next Board meeting will be at 9am on November 10th, 2018.
Respectfully submitted by Carrie Byrne
MIRCC Treasurer