VILLAGE AT IZATYS ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
January 7, 2004
Call to Order
A regular meting of the Board of Directors of The Village at Izatys Association was held on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 at 6600 France Avenue South. The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by President Dick Beyer and the following Board Members were present: Ron Zappa, Ervin Lentz, Kristie Lacey-Hause, John Eggers and Tom Kraus. Betsy Neff was absent. The Ad Hoc Committee Member present was DeAnn Grimmius. Diane Peplinski, Mike Peplinski and Debra Lind were absent. Also present was Tom Baltz, Executive Resort General Manager. Sandra Westerdahl was the Recording Secretary.
Approve Minutes of December 7, 2003 Board Meeting
The Minutes of the December 7, 2003 meeting were read and discussed. Richard asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Tom Kraus moved to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Ervin Lentz and passed.
Pre-approve minutes of December 7, 2003 Annual Owners Meeting.
The minutes of the December 7, 2003 Annual Owners Meeting were discussed and John Eggers made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Richard Beyer seconded the motion and the motion was passed.
Interview Ad Hoc Committee Nominee
Dick Beyer introduced Duane George as an applicant for the vacant Ad Hoc Committee position. After an extensive interview, the Board informed Duane that one more person was to be interviewed by the Board and that he would be informed of the Board’s decision after February 1, 2004.
Schedule 2004 Board of Directors Meeting and Annual Meeting Dates.
The Board of Directors Meetings will be held on the following dates:
Thursday, May 6, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. at Midwest Resorts.
Saturday, July 24, 2004 at 10:00 at Izatys Resort.
2005 Budget Approval Meeting
Wednesday, November 3, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. at Midwest Resorts.
Sunday, December 5, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. at Izatys Resort.
2004 Annual Owners Meeting
Sunday, December 5, 2004 at 1:00 p.m. at Izatys Resort.
2004 Annual Owners Appreciation Picnic
Saturday, July 24, 2004 at 12:00 p.m. at Izatys Resort.
Committee Reports
Finance – Tom Kraus, Chairperson
NOTES:
Quarterly financial reports should be reviewed at each Board of Directors meeting. The Management Company will provide quarterly reports for each Board meeting.
2005 Maintenance fees will be mailed by December 1, 2004.
Tom presented the November 2003 year-to-date financial report. Ron noted that the total net income was ahead of the year-to-date budget by $53,000 and indicated this was due to everyone’s dedication to maintaining a prudent use of Association funds.
Tom indicated that the ClubMidwest billings were on the Association’s financial statement and that any ClubMidwest billings should be entirely separate from Association financial activities. The amount included with the Association maintenance fee billing is $34,398.
Ron made a motion, effective January 8, 2004, that Midwest Resorts write a check to Izatys Association in the amount of the balance ClubMidwest billings and then deduct the amount from our account as the overdue monies come in. (This motion was later rescinded.)
The board discussed the ClubMidwest dues and delinquencies. Kristie stated that it was done the same way the previous year and suggested only making a memo entry in 2004. Ron raised a question as to how this should be handled so that it could be rectified and not handled this way again. Kristie stated that the balance of all outstanding ClubMidwest dues as of March 1, 2004 will be credited to the Association and charged to Midwest Resorts.
Kristie made a motion that all ClubMidwest dues be billed as a memo entry on all future annual billings. Tom Kraus seconded the motion and the motion passed. Ron withdrew his previous motion in favor of Kristie’s motion.
Tom requested that the delinquency report be provided to him on a monthly basis and that the Board would be provided a copy only on a quarterly basis.
Kristie asked Tom Baltz to get an annual delinquency amount percentage by taking all annual billings for 2003 and all outstanding amounts, divide the outstanding amounts into the total billings to get a percentage. She indicated this would tell us if the delinquency rate is growing. She also indicated that the same thing should be done for the last three to five years.
Kristie mentioned that the legal process for past due accounts and repossessions needed to be enhanced. She also informed the Board that the developer was still in the process of developing a resale program to assist clients but a final plan had not been finalized.
House and Grounds – John Eggers - Chairperson
John presented the 2004 House/Grounds Committee goals as follows:
1) Follow-up of 2003 goals and accomplishments with Mike Peplinski.
2) Clarify the role of the House and Grounds Committee based on the Board’s policy.
3) Coordinate with Tom Baltz communication guidelines between the House and Grounds Committee and Resort Management.
Communications Committee
Ron Zappa talked about how important communication to the owners was and how the newsletter was the best way to get information out. He stated that the newsletter was initially developed, written and put out by the Communication Committee. With the substantial growth of the owner base, the task and cost of providing a newsletter to all owners has increased dramatically. Ron asked the board if the Association has a website do we still need a separate Association newsletter. He stated that management offered the association the opportunity to put their information into the quarterly newsletter the previous year and the Board declined. The Board indicated that one Association newsletter per year was adequate and that the Communications Committee would work with the Resort staff in developing the 2004 newsletter. It was also requested that the website be kept current at all times.
Kristie asked the Board if they wanted to be included in the Midwest Resorts newsletter. The Board indicated they did. She asked the Board to communicate any major events to her so she could put it in the developer's newsletter. She also indicated that she would have copies of the newsletter at the check-in at the picnic.
Kristie told the Board that the Midwest Resorts newsletter is issued three to four times a year. The Board said they wished to have one Association newsletter a year. Kristie also indicated that Midwest Resorts will coordinate the printing, stuffing and mailing of the Association newsletter. There was discussion about whether all owners needed to be mailed newsletters. It was decided that, even with the Association website availability, one mailing to the entire ownership base was necessary. The Board indicated the importance of telling owners to visit the Village at Izatys website. Ron stated that the web site was checked today and all information was up to date.
Ron summarized the discussion. We as a Board wish to be included in the Developers newsletter. The Communication Committee will work with the Resort staff to develop one Association newsletter to be mailed by June 1, 2004. The management company will coordinate printing and distribution of the Association newsletter. Dick Beyer and Ron Zappa will coordinate what Association topics will be included in the Developer newsletter and provide that information to Kristie.
Policy Committee – Erv Lentz – Chairperson
Erv Lentz stated his goal for 2004 is to completely review the Policy Manual and recommend any changes or additions to the Policy Committee who in turn can review and make recommendations to the Board.
Resort Manager/Property Management Report
Ron Zappa indicated that the Interval International ratings were 94%. Our own in-house customer satisfaction ratings were as follows: Front Desk - 93.2%, Maintenance – 87.0%, Housekeeping - 90.2%, Activities – 80.0%. He indicated that some of these scores may seem low, but that all scores are higher than they were the previous year and all exceed industry averages. Ron added that the 2004 goal is 95% overall, and that when they reach that goal, they will strive to maintain it.
Kristie indicated that a score of over 90% is remarkable for the industry. Tom Baltz confirmed this.
Tom Baltz presented the Resort Management Report. He indicated both A1 and B1 with hot tub rooms were retiled and the wood under the tiles was replaced. He indicated the maintenance crew did a nice job. The heat duct problems in C2 and C3 were also corrected and there is better air flow now.
Tom also reported that Izatys Resort is now keeping their restaurant open every night. This has been well received by our guests. In the past, the previous owner of Izatys Resort opted to close all resort activities during the winter season.
Tom Baltz stated that the relocation and rebuilding of the trash building in Cottage Colony West has been completed. The relocation was recommended by the House and Grounds Committee to provide adequate parking and turnaround for units C-7 and C-8. There was discussion concerning responsibility of payment for relocating and rebuilding the trash building. Further discussion is needed to finalize payment.
Developer Report – Kristie Lacey-Hause
Kristie indicated that a Vice President of Finance has been hired and will starting January 19. 2004. Joe Cox has over 11 years experience in finance within the timeshare industry. She indicated they looked very hard for the right person and felt that the expanded Finance department will insure that all financial information is presented to the Board in a timely, accurate manner.
Kristie indicated that marketing postcards have been mailed out and has received a major response. Tom Kraus said he received the mailing and it looked excellent. She indicated they also had billboard signs on I-35. She said they were doing newspaper ads (metro, statewide and regional), billboards, and postcards at this time. They are also planning to open another sales center in another popular town. This will be the fourth sales center.
She told the board that Midwest Resorts stayed open for the holidays and they had several luncheons with approximately 100 people at each one. They had phenomenal response and it was a great success. She indicated that ClubMidwest WorldWide has been a great addition.
Kristie indicated that the goals were the same, to build profitability and to build the organization in its entirety. When the developing was done, the property management team would continue. Kristie indicated that the Midwest Resort’s commitment is to assist the Association to be successful, as well as growing the organization.
Kristie indicated that Midwest Resorts is setting its goals extremely high and higher growth plans means bringing more people in to help meet those goals. She reminded the Board that with all the growth, the Resort management and corporate staff may overlook some things and she encouraged them to bring those things to their attention.
Old Business
Tom Kraus indicated that in the December 7 meeting he asked for a report on how the collection agency was doing in collecting the delinquent fees. Kristie will be meeting with the collection agency in January or February and will put an update together summarizing all collection efforts.
Ron asked the Board if they thought the new highlighting of action items in the minutes were helpful. The board indicated they were and wanted this to be continued.
Ron stated that the management company’s primary goal in 2004 was to insure that everything was done accurately and on time. He also said he will be sending a copy of the minutes to all members of the resort staff and corporate staff who need to follow through on any action items to make sure they get done.
Tom Kraus said he will be coming in every two weeks to review the financial reports.
New Business
Dick stated, on behalf of the entire Board, that he felt the Property Management Company had done an excellent job the previous year and appreciated the work that had been accomplished on behalf of the Association in 2003. He also indicated there were no major concerns and appreciated all their help. Dick stated that he hopes to continue the relationship well into the future.
Adjournment
Tom Kraus made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded and passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Sandra Westerdahl, recording secretary.
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