Meeting Minutes
Special Meeting of Trabue Woods HOA
Monday, April 24, 2007 7:00 pm
Marantha Church of Christ

The meeting was called to Order at 7:00 pm. with 48 homeowners, as well as all-3 members of the HOA Board and Drew Baker, Attorney at Law, attending the meeting.

The first order of business raised was for the Trabue Woods HOA to adopt the Board Members recommendation of ”Proxies no longer be used when votes are being made during a special meeting of the HOA.” The proposal was made by Judi Murphy and seconded by Kevin Cross. All 48 homeowners attending voted unanimously to adopt the proposal.

Mindy Crawford made a comment the notice of this meeting was not done properly. Drew stated the Special Meeting notice complies with Article II, Section 3.02, which states the pertinent part the Board of Trustees may call special meetings after providing proper notice. In compliance with Section 3.04 of the Code of Regulations, this notice was delivered not less than 10 days or more than 60 days prior to the meeting.
(actually later in the meeting Mindy again brought up the meeting was not a Proper Meeting because the notice was not proper and Drew again pointed out the notice requirements)

Drew brought us up to date on the legal fees incurred and on the legal action taken to recover funds and documents from Allison Lyons. At the present time, his total fees are $7,237, which has been paid in full.

Since Allison did not voluntarily turn over any money or documents we requested after the new HOA Board was elected, the HOA Board agreed to file a Civil Complaint with the Court, which was filed in January 2007. Kevin Cross, on behalf of the HOA, filed a Criminal Complaint with the City of Columbus Police Department and the investigation continues. She has been charged in 10 counts of theft and extortion and a Detective is assigned to the case and keeps in touch with Kevin periodically.

As a result of the Civil Complaint being filed, the Criminal Complaint being filed and negotiations that took place between Drew and 2 different attorneys’ hired by Allison, we were finally able to recover all the documents belonging to the HOA along with 2 printers, various office supplies and most importantly a check for $16,000.00 in March 2007!!!!

After reviewing the records, we found records of the HOA account with a balance of $35,000 for the period of February 2004 to July 2005. The records then show in July 2005, Allison established the “Carmichael Management Company” and assigned herself as the agent & officer of CMC. This is the account where the 2006 HOA dues were made payable to and sent to a PO that was also controlled by Allison.
She endorsed all the checks as an Officer of the CMC and deposited them in the CMC account. As of June 2006, when she was notified she had been removed from the HOA Board, the records reflect a balance of $17,000 in that account.

We found a resignation letter dated June 2005 by Dan Ankeny (Allison’s’ fiancé’ at the time they were officers on the HOA Board) who had been elected Treasurer by the HOA in 2004.

There was also a contract Allison wrote for herself, allowing her to be paid $35,000 for being the President of the HOA and Board Member for 2004 & 2005. There is language in the Bylaws, which state each Board Member can be paid a ”reasonable sum” for their service to the HOA. We do not think $35,000 was a reasonable sum but there was no amount listed in the Bylaws so she was able to pay herself the money.

What duties she did perform for the money? She was to pay the electric bill, water bill and taxes during part of 2005 –2006 but then she stopped paying the bills. When the new Board took over, the electric bill, water bill and taxes had not been paid for months and in fact, there were penalties that had to be paid as well.

The floor was then opened for Q & A session.

1. How much money did we lose? $20,000
2. Are the Bylaws being reviewed for changes and corrections? Yes, they are being reviewed and recommendations being made by the HOA Board.
3. Of the $16,000 we received, how much will be paid to Drew? Drew refused to answer the question but he did state that he had been paid $7,237 up to this time.
4. Who has the authority to change the Bylaws? The HOA Board has that authority.
5. A recommendation was made to disband the HOA by Russ Schupert and Drew stated to him the only way that could occur is if 100% of the HOA members voted to disband the HOA.

Drew made a motion according to Section 3.07 regarding “Order of the Day” was accepted and a voice vote was taken which unanimously accepted. A motion was also made that the notice of Special Meeting was proper and was an Annual Meeting to hold Elections. That motion was accepted and seconded and voted unanimously. The following candidates are currently members of the Trabue Woods HOA and agree to remain Board Members, if they are re-elected:

Kevin Cross
Judi Murphy
Tamara Fickell

Drew restated the language indicated in the Bylaws pertaining to the “Article of the Board of Trustees.” (See the Bylaws)

The floor was then opened for discussion and further nominations to be made by the floor. The floor made nominations for the following candidates:

1. Mindy Crawford (proposed and seconded)
2. Kevin Cross (proposed and seconded)
3. Beth Lintz (she requested her name be removed)
4. Judi Murphy (proposed and seconded)
5. Tamara Fickell (proposed and seconded)

A motion was made by Drew to accept these 4 candidates as nominees for Board Members of the Trabue Woods HOA. The motion was seconded and unanimously voted approving the candidates.

A motion was then made by Drew at 8:10 pm to take a 5-minute break in order to allow the HOA to complete their votes.

The meeting was called back to order at 8:23 pm under Section 3.08 of the bylaws.

The results of the voting were announced. The HOA made 29 votes for the Board to remain the same and 12 votes for it to change. As a result the Board Members remain the same for 2007 and are as follows:

Kevin Cross
Judi Murphy
Tamara Fickell

The Board Members will now accept nominations from the HOA for Officer Positions, which are President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The job duties for each position will be placed on the Neighborhood Link website. The Board Members will appoint the officer positions.

Discussions then were made of some committees to assist the Board and Officers in their positions. The following committees were suggested:

1. Community Events Committee-Pam Johnson volunteered for this position
2. Communication Committee-Mindy Crawford volunteered for this position
3. Traffic/Safety/ Block Watch Committee-Kevin Cross volunteered for this position
4. Maintenance/Landscaping

Drew then turned over the meeting to Tamara Fickell for the Treasurers’ report

Tamara reported effective 1/1/07 the HOA annual dues will be $53.42. This is a significant reduction from $100 charged in 2006. This amount is now in line with the amounts indicated in the Bylaws of the HOA. There are other HOA in the area that charge as much as $155 dues, so ours are reasonable.
She indicated if any homeowners paid $28 (or more) in the special assessment for legal fees in 2006, you may deduct that amount from your current HOA due payment. There will be no late fees accessed in 2007, if you pay your dues. Drew has a Collection Agency that can provide a Collection Service for the HOA, if needed.

Invoices have been paid for taxes, attorney fees, landscaping and supplies needed by the HOA Board members. A Budget is being prepared as well as Profit & Loss statements.

A motion was then made to accept the treasurer’s report as accurate. The motion was seconded and unanimously voted to accept.

Drew then made a motion to adjourn the Special Meeting; the motion was seconded and voted unanimously. The meeting ended at 8:50 pm.

Judi Murphy, appointed as temporary Secretary, recorded the minutes.

Judi Murphy