Running Man Recreation Association

Minutes of the General Membership Meeting

March 5, 2002

President Phil Comstock called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM. Board members present were: Phil Comstock, Liz Rowe, Steve Barneyback, Sam Motley, Kathey Tapfer, Bryan McCormack, Hank Mohrmann, and Liz Bryant. A total of 46 memberships were represented at the meeting, which included 32 members in attendance and 14 proxies.

Welcome: Phil Comstock, President of the Running Man Recreation Association (RMRA) 2000 & 2001, welcomed all attendees to the annual membership meeting held to discuss affairs of the RMRA. After introducing the current board, Phil acknowledged the tremendous support provided by Alex Costen and Helen Janele who helped with facility repairs and landscaping. Additional mention was made of Steve Kortz, Dan Murri and Rob Learn who continued to help where needed. The volunteer aspect is what got us started and will continue to keep us going.

Phil Comstock then outlined highlights of the year:

Future plans we have reviewed and endorsed for the coming year:

Approval of 2001 Meeting Minutes: A motion was made that the minutes of the 2001 annual meeting be accepted as presented. (They are posted on the Website and copies were available at the meeting.) The motion was seconded. There was no discussion and a vote was taken on the motion, and approved with a show of hands. There were no opposed votes.

Committee Reports:

Membership Report:

Pool Operations: Last year we switched from a contracted pool management to an internal management organization headed by our director for pool operations, Hank Mohrmann, who made it possible to reduce management costs from the previous year of over $20,000 to just under $16,000 last year. The prudent management by Hank Mohrmann and the board allowed for the following improvements within budget constraints:

Facilities and Grounds:

Social and Swim Team:

Clubhouse Operations:

Budget: The Vice-President, Liz Rowe, presented the budget and discussed selected line items. See attached budget: Year 2001 Actual Budget and Year 2002 Proposed Budget

New Business:

Budget: A motion to accept the 2002 budget as presented was made and seconded. A question was raised concerning why the income from attendance fees was consolidated with fees from food concessions. Last year it was consolidated for ease of collection by the lifeguards; however with a little additional effort and attention (using the sign in list) the revenues can be tracked separately this year. A vote was then called and the 2002 budget was approved with no dissenting votes. (Note: this included the increase in dues to $325.00 per year as recommended by the Board to offset the increased costs and the expectation of only 4 new memberships purchased from the RMRA.)

By-law Review:

Amendments to the By-laws proposed by the Board of Directors were presented. The proposed "administrative/housekeeping" or "typographic" changes were presented first. These affect Sections 2, 3, and 8. The changes follow with additions underlined and deletions struck out.

SECTION 2. MEMBERSHIP: In the last sentence in first paragraph delete the words "Board of Directors by 2/3 vote of the directors the" and add in their place "membership (as provided in section 30)". Rationale: this accurately reflects the fact that the membership must approve amendments to the RMRA By-laws. In the same section, subparagraph C, delete "of $300 per year" and add "as determined by the membership (as provided in section 30) at the annual meeting." Rationale: this reflects the fact that over the lifetime of the pool it would be unreasonable to expect the annual dues not to increase, if for no other reason than inflation, thus the mechanism should be in place for the membership to approve a change to the annual dues without changing the By-laws.

SECTION 3. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERS: In the first sentence delete "in the principal office of the Corporation". Rationale: there is no corporate office as such, so the annual meeting will be at a place designated by the board.

SECTION 8. NUMBER OF DIRECTORS, TENURE, VACANCIES: At the end of the first sentence delete "annually by the members". Rationale, these four words are redundant considering the final words "at the annual meeting". In the second sentence, add an "s" to the word "director" since the usage is plural.

A motion was made to approve the administrative changes as presented, it was seconded, and was passed by a show of hands with no dissenting votes..

The primary issue with the By-laws concerned Section 2 (Membership), Paragraph 4. The issue stemmed from a request by a resident, and a member in good standing of RMRA requesting to retain membership after moving to another development in the local area. The member's request was eventually turned down last summer; however some members of the community and the RMRA wanted clarification to the membership paragraph in the By-laws. There were three options presented regarding the existing paragraph, which follows

"Once membership has been extended, membership shall continue until the member fails or refuses to pay their annual membership fees or their membership is terminated for cause, including but not limited to violation of one or more rules or regulations governing the operation of the facilities."

Option 1. No change to paragraph 4.
Rationale: no change required since the bylaws clearly convey the intent that only residents of Running Man may be members of the RMRA.

Option 2. "Once membership has been extended, membership shall continue until the member fails or refuses to pay their annual membership fees or their membership is terminated for cause, including but not limited to violation of one or more rules or regulations governing the operation of the facilities. Property owners who are members in good standing and subsequently sell their property may retain membership if desired."
Rationale: allows members to retain membership after selling and moving from Running Man.

Option 3. "Once membership has been extended, membership shall continue until the member fails or refuses to pay their annual membership fees, no longer owns (or rents) property in Running Man, or their membership is terminated for cause, including but not limited to violation of one or more rules or regulations governing the operation of the facilities."
Rationale: prevents any interpretation that would allow members to retain RMRA membership subsequent to the sale of their Running Man property. It complies with the strictest intent of the bylaws. Allows no interpretation. Prevents individuals no longer owning property within the community from belonging to the RMRA. Still allows renters in Running Man to be members.

Discussion of the issue regarding membership retention focused on four basic issues:

Discussion ensued from the floor with Dan Murri pointing out that the original intent of the RMRA founders and membership was that the facility would be for the use of Running Man residents only.

Impact of the tax-exempt status: We have said we are for residents only and represented ourselves in that manner when seeking tax exempt status with the county and state. It is speculative as to what would happen to our tax status if we let members moving from the neighborhood retain their memberships. There are different opinions, with no agreement on what might happen. Attorneys questioned had different opinions. The tax liability in question could be up to $4,000 per year. The county says they would want to be informed if we change anything, because being exclusive to the neighborhood was a key issue in determining the tax-exempt status. It has taken almost three years to gain this status.

Noel West presented the RMCA opinion that they are adamantly against allowing non-residents of Running Man to have or retain membership in the RMRA and listed three primary reasons (see below). He also stated that the "RMCA reserves the right to challenge the agreement".

A question was raised as to how an RMRA member who moves from Running Man can sell their membership. That situation is covered in the last paragraph of section 2 of the existing By-laws and the board has provided assistance in a number of membership transactions. These transactions have fallen into three categories. (1) Member conveys membership with the sale of home, (2) Member sells membership outright to another Running Man resident, or (3) the Board has connected the seller with a potential buyer to help them sell their membership.

A question was raised concerning status of renters. It was explained by paraphrasing the By-laws stating that as long as there is a certificate of membership for a residence in Running Man, a renter could swim as long as the owner or renter pays the annual dues. There is no discrimination toward renters and we have had three or four renter members in the last two years.

A motion made and seconded to adopt option three which adds the following underlined words to the existing paragraph; "Once membership has been extended, membership shall continue until the member fails or refuses to pay their annual membership fees, no longer owns (or rents) property in Running Man, or their membership is terminated for cause, including but not limited to violation of one or more rules or regulations governing the operation of the facilities".

Election of Officers:
The slate of board members was presented to the general membership. It included 4 new board members and four returning members. The ballots for the 2002 Board, recommended by the 2001 Board, were collected and the below nominees were voted in. The Board members for 2002 and the positions they have accepted are shown below. The year they leave the board is also shown (does not necessarily indicate the specific position is held until then).

Dan Murri President 2004
Mick Cowan Vice President 2004
Steve Barneyback Secretary 2003
Liz Rowe Treasurer (RMCA Liaison) 2003
Hank Mohrmann Pool Operations 2003
Paul Coffin Membership 2004
Jeff Yetter Clubhouse Coordinator 2004
Kathey Tapfer Social Activities (Swim Team Liaison) 2003

Adjournment:
Before adjourning, a call was made for any additional business. With no indication from the membership, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. It passed with no dissenting votes and the meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.

1 Attachment: Year 2001 Actual Budget and Year 2002 Proposed Budget

Respectfully Submitted,
Stephen Barneyback
Secretary, RMRA

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