Meadow Lake Airport Association Inc.
"Colorado’s Largest Pilot Owned Airport" www.MeadowLakeAirport.org
Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
President Lynn French called the Meeting to order at 5:45 PM. Present were Members, Jack Dhooghe, Richard Martin, Mark Shook and Lee Wolford. Also in attendance, Dan Fisher and Greg Johnson. Absent: Dave Elliott, and Mark Robinson.
OFFICER REPORTS
Secretary/ Acting Secretary Mark Shook:
Treasurer/Dave Elliott:
Dave Elliott was not present. T-Report tabled until next meeting. Lynn French relayed that Dave Elliott will have a budget worksheet for each board member this week. (Dave previously asked for a budget estimate from the maintenance committee chairman.)
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Vehicles/Maintenance/ Richard Martin:
Richard reported that when he came into the MLAA building this evening, there was a swimming pool in the mens bathroom from a burst water pipe. The MLA homeowners had met on a previous night, and apparently since that time the pipe had frozen and burst. Richard will ask an EAA member to volunteer to repair the leak.
Richard gave receipts for Diesel fuel($752.10), pump($391.00) and Team Chevrolet (Labor $305.00) to Mark Shook to be relayed to the Treasurer. Richard reported DIA paid $900.00 bill for the parts.
Richard reported he spent approximately $600.00 on the MLAA credit card for the taxiway lights. The 45 amp bulbs explode in the taxi light sockets. Richard will use the 30 amp bulbs in future. We are not getting power on the east side near Dave Bennett's hangar. There are underground wiring and connection issues that the board has discussed before that will be solved when the runway is moved and a new lighting system is installed.
PLANNING/ Dan Fischer:
Dan gave a detailed report from the Jan 2nd Planning committee meeting. Planning committee has discussed what area of the new airport property to develop first and in what ways to develop them. Including Main Ramp, Roads, taxiways, etc.
Dan asked for direction and if the board had any items that the board wanted the planning committee to be working on.
PRESIDENTS REPORT/ Lynn French
President French gave a report on discussions with the county about options for the Blue Gill/ Judge Orr intersection. He outlined one proposal that would curve Judge Orr south onto Airport property just north of the north end of the main runway. President French will attempt to get a diagram of the multiple Judge Orr proposals for the planning committee to look at. If the DOT condemns and takes this property, this would accelerate the need for the new (main) runway. President French asked that the planning committee start the process to determine what the Airport Association should charge for airport owned land that is to be leased, as he is getting requests not only from Airport related users, but also not airport related commercial type businesses. President French provided a copy of the airspace plan maps. After explanation and discussion, questions were answered. President French informed the board that a full ILS system may be available (at no charge) from COS. The idea would be to get the equipment, and store it until the new runway is ready. By unanimous consent, the President was directed to pursue the matter.
ACC/Richard Martin & Greg Johnson
Richard had nothing to report.
Mark Shook informed the board that he had met with a new MLAA member (Lankford-Fulton,LLC) as a courtesy to explain the ACC process, and directed them to submit their future building plan to the ACC rather than the board.
Greg Johnson informed the board that a children's tumbling Gym had opened in a hangar on the F taxiway on Meadow Lake Airport. ACC was directed to contact both the land owner and the business and report back to the board.
Lee Wolford expressed his concern that "contrary to how we were originally briefed" Dave Elliott and Lee Lesher had their property plan approved by the County planning commission to bring the auto traffic out onto Cessna Drive without informing or getting approval of the MLAA board. Mark Shook asked if Lee had spoken to Dave Elliott about his concerns as Dave was not present today to answer Lee's concern. Lee stated he had not. Lee alleged that this approval was given without objection (or comment) from the association. Lee wants the traffic to exit onto Aerostar. Mark Shook reminded the board that that was not possible. Greg Johnson informed the board that that parcel is a land locked AIRPORT filing lot, and its legal access is and always has been Cessna drive. Sandra Martin stated that the county approval was given with the statement that the airport association had no objection, and she would like to know who gave them that information. President French wanted to hear Dave Elliott's side of the issue and find out who had given the letter of approval to the county. Jack Dhooghe offered no recollection or information on this matter. (NOTE: Association records subsequently showed, Jack Dhooghe as MLAA President signed the letter of approval with no objections over one year ago.)
OLD BUSINESS
The wooden stairway behind the MLAA building was tabled until next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Greg Johnson gave a detailed Report, and presented all board members with a copy (below).
Gregory L. Johnson
Po Box 26614
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80936
January 8, 2006
Meadow Lake Airport Association Board of Directors and ACC.
1 Cessna Drive
Peyton, Colorado 80831
As a Meadow Lake Airport Association Architectural Control Committee Member, I need to inform you of a property subdivision that has negatively affected some new land owners at MLA, and could have a negative effect on the Meadow Lake Airport Association in general.
In 2005 a portion of a property at the south end of Cessna Drive owned by Keith Strickland / Comanche Express Enterprises LLC was subdivided into twenty seven small parcels by use of meets and bounds description, for the purpose of selling "Condo Hangars" without going through the time and expense of creating a legal condo subdivision. This subdivision did not receive review or approval by the MLAA Architectural Control Committee.
This subdivision did not receive review or approval from the El Paso County Planning Department or any other governing agency that has oversight over the property subdivision process. These new properties were created by simply describing each parcel by a meets and bounds description and then selling these new properties to second parties who filed the deed at the El Paso County Clerks Office. This has caused a number of County subdivision regulation violations, County Health Department violations, County Building Department violations, Colorado State Department of Water Resource violations, as well as MLAA Bylaw violations.
This subdivision has violated Article Six, Section Two of the MLAA Bylaws. Buildings shall be set back from property lines that do not occur at easement lines, a minimum of ten feet. Most of these hangar properties have common walls occurring at the common lot lines. Eleven of these newly created properties have no buildings constructed on them at this time so are not in violation of the set back Bylaw. However, these parcels are so small that no building could be constructed on them that would meet the set back regulations and be large enough to house an aircraft. All of these newly created properties are either in current violation of Article Six, Section Two or must violate this Bylaw to construct a building large enough to house an aircraft. In addition, these new property owners do not have the ability cure this bylaw violation. The only method to cure this bylaw violation would be to restructure the current form of property ownership and form a legal Condominium Subdivision to include their properties. They are powerless to do so, as they are not in control of the master parcel that is owned by Comanche Express Enterprises LLC.
Subdivision of property within MLAA, without the review and approval of MLAA and all other required governing agencies is not conducive to the intended beneficial use. Mr. Strickland subdivided his property in a manor beneficial to him, but not the intended beneficial use by him or its new owners. These owners are not likely to achieve beneficial use of their properties with the list of property and building violations they will have to cure. A few of those violations include:
Some may ask, why we should care if properties within MLAA are used for the intended beneficial use. Why should we the MLAA take any action? The Association is receiving more dues money from the property broken into small parcels than as one parcel. To answer that question you need go no further than the MLAA Bylaws. The entire structure of the MLAA Bylaws is based on property ownership and assessment. This requires that properties with in MLAA be used for the intended beneficial use of the ownership.
Using the privileges granted with MLAA Bylaws Article 3 section 1, Article 3 Section 6, Article 5 Section 5 and 6, a property owner could manipulate MLAA elections by using his property for something other than its intended use. My property for example is 78,400 square feet. By using a meets and bounds subdivision, my property could be divided into 100 square foot parcels. These 100 square foot lots would serve no intended beneficial use because they would be too small to be useful for aviation. However I could benefit greatly. I could file these property descriptions with the El Paso County Clerk and Assessor causing the El Paso County Assessor to assign 784 separate tax schedule numbers to my property. This in turn would allow me to pay 784 Minimum Assessments ($58,800.oo) to MLAA and receive 31,360 votes. With 31,360 votes, 219,520 accumulated votes for election of officers I could appoint four people to the MLAA Board of Directors that would arrange for me to receive work contracts, special property lease or sale conditions, and preferential treatment for one year. This is not the intended beneficial use of my property, just a beneficial use.
Subdivision of property for any reason other than the intended beneficial use by the owner can not be condoned by the Management of the Meadow Lake Airport Association. We have received legal opinions in the past that MLAA has little ability to control properties outside of its ownership because our Bylaws are not property covenants. Bylaws are designed to govern Membership behavior not control property. Accepting that as a limiting factor the Board could make a judgment that any MLAA member that subdivides property or builds on property in violation of MLAA Regulations will not enjoy the privileges of MLAA Membership until compliance with MLAA Regulations is achieved. We are not directly controlling property, just the actions of the ownership of that property to act with privilege on MLAA owned properties or attend MLAA official functions. We cannot allow a single land owner acting in a careless or fraudulent manor to bind or obligate the entire MLAA with out the representatives of the MLAA having a function of over site and control over that action. In simple terms, I believe that MLAA has no obligation to accept new members if that members property is created in violation of MLAA Regulations or El Paso County Regulations.
Greg Johnson recommended that a meeting with county planning, and regional building be set up to discuss this information and the associations concern at the consequences of this apparent illegal subdivision. In summary, it appears someone filed an illegal subdivision by taking the newly constructed multi-unit hangar building ,and by using meets and bounds descriptions, created individual lots for each hangar, resulting in setback violations, water and sewer lines unlawfully crossing lot lines and other violations Mark Shook asked the president to get a legal opinion on the question(s) "if the owners in an illegal subdivision (1). were members, and (2). If they had voting rights".
Lynn French stated "if the subdivision (not just the buildings) was approved by the county, then they would be a legal subdivision". If not, it’s a violation of not only county rules, but state law. If it’s a legal subdivision they may have voting rights, if not, they do not. If this is as it looks, it is a violation of Senate Bill 35, that carries criminal penalties for who ever created those deeds. Lee Wolford stated " The county did approve them". President Lynn French asked the ACC to get more information so we can look at the facts.
The meeting was Adjourned at 7:11 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________________________
Mark Shook/ Acting Secretary Meadow Lake Airport Association, Inc.