April 2004

Activities Announcements

Fun Wine Tasting
Many great wines were sampled at the wine tasting event on March 20. Arista Wine Cellars helped select the wines to suit various tastes and price points. The food catered by Your Table is Ready Catering Company located in Edmonds was well worth the price of admission! Many thanks go to the people who helped bring this fun event together. Shelly Watson, Dave Fosmire, Pam Smit, Kathy and Ian Malarky, Jane Lowell, Sylvia Moren, Marc Weinberg, Jeff Jacobsen, and Randy Holbrook were volunteers who helped set up the clubhouse, or provided and arranged floral cuttings from their gardens, helped during the event or with clean up after. (Sorry if we missed anyone). It is not only the event, but also this community participation that makes this wine tasting worthwhile to host. Hope to see you next year!
--Jan Holbrook and Jeri Jacobsen

The Activities Committee would also like to thank Jan Holbrook and Jeri Jacobsen for planning and hosting this event. This is the second year these ladies have chaired this event and we appreciate all of their time and talents. We would like to thank all of those who contributed flowers and greenery for the decorations and to Sherri Miller for arranging them so beautifully.
Thank you ladies!

THE HUNT WAS A SUCCESS!
The Annual Egg Hunt was great fun for many little folks. The children enjoyed finding hundreds of eggs hidden on the playground. The Easter Bunny showed up creating a world of excitement for the little ones. Thank you goes to Ingrid Gerbino and Patti Austin for chairing this event and to Rachel O'Hanlon for supplying the bunny!

FOR INNIS ARDEN WOMEN WHO JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!
The Activities Committee is sponsoring a 'TGIF Happy Hour' for women only on May 7th at 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Complimentary cocktails (alcohol and non-alcohol) will be offered with light hors d'oeuvres. This will be a relaxing and fun opportunity to meet new women in IA and reconnect with familiar faces. We will not be providing any formal program which means lots of time to chat and visit! Won't it be great to have time with the gals with no interruptions?

We would like to encourage all IA women to come. If you don't know many women, come. If you know lots of women, come. If you just wanna have fun, come. Join us!

The AC would appreciate a head count for this event for planning purposes. Please call Pam Smit at 533-0240 to register by May 5th.

Our next meeting will be May 4th at 7:00 p.m. at Johanna Warness's home at 17010 12th NW. Please RSVP Pam at 533-0240 if you would like to attend. We welcome new and familiar residents.

Agenda for the May 5, 2004, 7:00 PM
Special meeting
of the Board of Directors

Agenda for the May 11, 2004
7:00 PM Board Meeting

Garden Club Announcement

The Garden Club would like to invite all members and residents to a Plant Exchange on May 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Clubhouse parking lot. Bring your extra seedlings, divisions or unwanted plants and trade with fellow gardeners for new and interesting specimens. Questions? Call Shelley Watson at 542-4369.

Blockwatch Reminder

Please report criminal activity to policy at 911 (emergency) or 296-3311 (non-emergency) as well as to your Blockwatch captain.

3/27: Some relatively new neighbors reported that all of their car windows were smashed out (near Springdale and 14th NW).
4/2: A home was burglarized sometime between 1:30 and 6 in the afternoon. The window in the backdoor of a residence was broken, which provided entry. The home was ransacked, and items stolen. Be alert for people who might be casing houses as possible targets.
4/12: Windows were smashed out in a van parked at the end of a driveway on Innis Arden Drive.

Even though we have a blockwatch in our neighborhood, no one can stay up to keep an eye out for this kind of problem, apparently even the police. Shelley Watson has called Officier Obstler, our CSO, but perhaps we need to demand more patrols in the neighborhood on weekend nights.

Junior Tennis Registration Form

Let's make this an Annual Event!
Thanks Again!
Stacey Pederson

Chris Franco, who is President of the Greenwich Point Conservancy in Connecticut, emailed some information regarding the origin of the name "Innis Arden".

Greenwich Point (a town/park beach on a peninsula) was purchased by the town of Greenwich in 1945, from the estate of Mrs. J. Kennedy Tod (Maria Howard Potter). The Tods purchased the property in the 1880s, and named their estate "Innis Arden", which meant "high meadow" in Scottish (Mr. Tod was raised in Scotland), and which described the topography of this beautiful site. He had a golf course on the property, which became the Innis Arden Golf Club, still in existence today, but at a different site.

Mrs. Tod's brother was Howard Cranston Potter, who with his wife, Alice, had several children, one of whom was Bertha Potter, born in 1891. The Potters (from Tacoma) spent many vacations with the Tods at their estate, Innis Arden, in Greenwich. Bertha went on in life, after a first marriage to a Mr. Paschall, to marry William E. Boeing, founder of Boeing aircraft, and later became the mother of William E. Boeing, Jr. Later, it was Bertha Boeing who named our neighborhood "Innis Arden", after her aunt and uncle's beautiful estate that she had spent many years at during her youth.

Neighborhood Struggles-A Summary

Note: A byproduct of Eglick's legal opinion--our bylaws conflict with state statute:

Another issue uncovered was that because our Articles of Incorporation are silent, Innis Arden Club, Inc. is bound by RCW23b.07.280(1) to entitle shareholders to use cumulative voting. For example if there are four director positions open, a shareholder may cast all four votes for the same person or in any manner s/he wishes. Cumulative voting is more complicated when removing directors. The Board would like to amend the Articles of Incorporation to disallow cumulative voting. This requires a 2/3 majority.

Letter of Resignation
from President Michael Rasch

Dear Friends and Neighbors:
By now many of you have heard that I am resigning from the Board. I am doing this in the hope that the community will come together to find solutions to the problems that have been brought to light during my tenure as president of the Board. Clearly, view issues are still a hot button issue in this community. Innis Arden is and always has been a view community. Many people feel deeply about this issue. And we, as a community, need to find a way to restore and maintain views, with lawsuits as a last option.

Past and current lawsuits still divide this community. Many people hold on to the belief that they are not violating the covenants even though their trees are clearly blocking views. During my tenure I have heard people cling to past rulings that their trees only block a de minimis portion of a persons views. Since the 1984-1992 lawsuit which divided the community, trees have grown. There are more trees blocking views now then there were during that time period. People cannot cling to the past. We need to move forward and restore views that have been lost and create a mechanism that will resolve these disputes without the divisiveness that has been continually tearing our community apart.

We also need to address the issue of the reserves. In the past few days I have spoken with one member of the community, who believes, as I do, that the reserves should be more like an arboretum, rather than a dangerous place that has hazardous trees and provides a place for transients to live in and threaten our children. I believe that it is time for the community to come together and transform our reserves into a park like asset that families in our neighborhood will want to visit and spend time in with their children and loved ones. In order to undertake this task, we need to allocate more money to our reserves and replant them. I believe that this should be done through community funds and private funds. Those people who want trees cut in the reserve for a view should pay for the process. However, the community as a whole needs to be involved in a comprehensive plan to transform our reserves. And this does not mean that we should debate this issue ad nauseaum and never getting around to doing anything. We need to get a plan in place and do something about it now.

There still are a few people in this community who are bitter about past losses and oppose any of the changes that I have been advocating. Anyone who comes to a Board meeting knows who those people are. I believe that the views that they express are not shared by the majority of the residents in Innis Arden. If you are in favor of preserving and restoring views, I ask you to make sure you come to Board meeting and make sure your voice is heard.

I want to thank everyone who has supported the Board and me for the past sixteen months. I will continue to work on traffic safety issues in our community as a private resident. I still believe we need to do more to stop speeding and slow down traffic. While I cannot say it has been a pleasure serving as Board president, it has been an honor. I hope the community will continue to work to resolve the issues that we have raised during my tenure on the Board. My resignation will be tendered before the May 5, 2004, Board meeting to select my replacement.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Rasch
President

You will find a covenant amendment form by clicking on Innis Arden I, Innis Arden II, or Innis Arden III. (Your subdivision, block and lot number is printed the address label of the Bulletin.) The purpose of the amendment is to remove the racial restriction clause, which is unlawful and repugnant.

Please have all owners of your property sign and notarize this document, and then mail it to:

Innis Arden Club, Inc.
P.O. Box 77738
Seattle, WA 98177-0738

Mike Jacobs (our Vice President) is a notary and his services will be available at Board meetings. He will be at the Clubhouse at 6:30 PM, May 11th.

Innis Arden Club, Inc.
Board of Directors Meeting
April 13th, 2004 7:00 PM
Summary of Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m.
Board members present: Michael Rasch (President), Mike Jacobs (Vice President), R.L. Smith (Treasurer), Carol Solle (Secretary), Wendy Higgins (Buildings and Remodels), Maggie Taber (Reserves), Al Wagar (Clubhouse), and Ewa Sledziewski (Grounds). Excused, Shelley Watson (Activities). Community members attending: about 100+.

Action: A motion to approve the March 2004 meeting minutes was passed 7 yes, 1 abstention.

Committee Reports
Treasurer: Smith reported that we have a balance of $155,209.87, with $30,912 payable. That is the good news. The bad news is, it is earning from 0 to .82 percent interest. We pay 30% of interest earned to the IRS, so that is good news. Smith said that our money is spent primarily on the grounds and insurance. A fair amount is paid in legal fees, in fact $16K so far this year. We will be moving funds into our reserve account which is to replace the retaining wall and clubhouse roof.

President/Vice President: Rasch reported on the March 22nd executive meeting with Club Counsel, Peter Eglick, to discuss the Hollinrake matter, a complaint from the city, a letter sent to our insurance company from Gene Maddox, and the shareholder petition to amend the bylaws, remove and replace directors.

Building and Remodels:
Buescher-- 18024 13th NW: Replacing siding and enclosing carport. All neighbors have signed off.
Action: A motion to approve Buescher's application passed 8-0.
Money--17097 10th Avenue NW: Garden Shed. All but one neighbor has signed off. Many attempts have been made to contact this neighbor with no success.
Action: A motion to approve the Money application passed 8-0 subject to sending a registered letter to the neighbor and giving him/her 10 days to respond. We will deem that they waived their right to object if there is no response. If they do object we will give them an opportunity to respond.

Activities: (By Roger Lowell in Shelley Watson's absence). The Activities Committee (AC) has given $6,000 for the removal of a large poplar and to repair the track on the playground. The Wine Taste had 75 people attending. Next year, post card invitations will be sent. Rasch mentioned that if signs are used next year, they should indicate that the Wine Taste is not a public event (for neighbors and guests only). This was a request from the Liquor Control Board officer. The Egg Hunt was great. Regarding criminal activity, apparently police are not being notified. Lowell urged residents to report criminal activity to the Police. This might encourage more police patrols. The Clubhouse will be painted between 4-23 and 5-2 and volunteers are needed. Chairs are needed for the Salmon BBQ and Holiday Party.

Grounds: A large poplar has been taken down because its roots were damaging the surface of the parking lot and track. There is one round left, free firewood for the taking. Other trees need to be taken down because they are pushing the track up and compromising the retaining wall. A huge hole developed in the northwest corner of the playfield and Mr. Sledziewski filled it with gravel. However, the wall is crumbling and just a design would be $2,000-$4,000. The cheapest solution would be to create a slope. A stonewall could cost $80,000. Sledziewski found a replacement for Gary and Greg Barckert who have been mowing the playfield for twenty years. The playfield needs to be treated for moss. New resident Brian Dodd will recommend a structural engineer to look at the wall.

Clubhouse: Al Wagar reported the following: One rental fee was collected for the clubhouse last month, $60 for the meeting held last night. However, the clubhouse was used for the rummage sale and wine-tasting party. Manager Susan Lundli suggests we advertise locally to see if we can increase rentals, helping to offset our fixed costs. She notes that nonresidents now learn of our clubhouse primarily by word of mouth and that nonresidents have caused very few problems.

The Activities Committee needs volunteers to paint the interior of the clubhouse, from April 24 through May 2. Saturday work will begin at 10 am, Sunday work at noon. Weekday hours are negotiable. Please contact Tracy Landboe or Pam Smit to volunteer.

To complement the interior painting, paid for by the Activities Committee, the Committee would like the Club to pay for re-carpeting the foyer. A ball-park estimate for commercial-grade carpet, pad, installation, and removal and disposal of old carpet is $1,000.

We also need office space, and it has been suggested that we build an 8- by 10-foot office in the southwest corner of the main room of the clubhouse. Materials would cost $100 to $200, and a permit $120. But I'm told that we should plan roughly $1,000 for rewiring of the wall switches and thermostat and lighting for the office.

Our budget lists $2,000 for repairs and maintenance. But even this may not be available because of our legal expenses.

Action: A motion was passed that we advertise in the Richmond Beach paper, that our Clubhouse is available for rental passed 8-0.
Action: A motion to authorize spending up to $1,000 for replacing the carpeting in the foyer, with the AC selecting the material to be used, passed 7-1.

Reserves: April 22nd is Earthday and Stacy Pederson is organizing a group to pick up litter in our reserves. Meet at the Clubhouse at 3:30 to pick up supplies. The keys to Boeing Creek Reserve are not working. A number of people have been requesting that the reserves be trimmed. A proposed request form will be put onto the website. To trim reserve vegetation requires:

Requesters would be required to bear all costs

Board Agenda
Covenant Amendments:
Jacobs has drafted three covenant amendments for community consideration:
1) Removal of the racial restriction 2) Removal of the 'one cat, one dog' rule. 3) Add ''and exclusive of garden sheds which are not to be inhabited and which shall be subject to approval by the Grantor (Board)" to paragraph 3, BUILDING LIMITS. In addition Jacobs suggested removing the restrictions against wells.

Nancy Rust didn't want to default to Shoreline animal code because properties over an acre would be allowed 7 animals. She added that getting a permit for wells from the Department of Ecology is nearly impossible, although Jacobs did not agree with this. Kate O'Neill wanted the language removing the racial restriction to reflect that Innis Arden has never recognized it as valid. Sledziewski felt that we needed to put more qualifications on sheds, such as size and material.

It was decided that removing the racial restriction would be pretty easy to pass, and the other proposed covenant amendments would need to be sponsored by community members to work out the issues. The amendment to remove the racial restriction will be mailed to people along with voting materials for the May 5th Special Shareholders' meeting. Volunteers will be sought to notarize signed amendments at that meeting.

Procedures and Agenda for the Special Shareholders' meeting:
Jacobs proposed the following:
1) A quorum would be required, meaning 50% +1 of 538=270
2) A vote would be taken on the removal of directors. Cumulative voting would be used.
3) A vote would be taken on the bylaw amendment to reduce the requirement for director removal from 2/3 to a simple majority. This is a moot point because the RCW states that a simple majority is all that is required to remove a director.
4) The proposed conflict of interest bylaw is unlawful, out of order, and will not be voted upon.

Many attendees were perplexed by cumulative voting. If there are four candidates for removal, then a shareholder may cast his/her votes for the same person, or spread out. If cumulative voting were used, then only one of the 4 candidates for removal could actually be removed.
However, according to RCW 23B.07.280(1) Voting for directors -- Cumulative voting.
Unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation, shareholders entitled to vote at any election of directors are entitled to cumulate votes by multiplying the number of votes they are entitled to cast by the number of directors for whom they are entitled to vote and to cast the product for a single candidate or distribute the product among two or more candidates.

and

RCW 23B.08.080(3) Removal of directors by shareholders.
If cumulative voting is authorized, and if less than the entire board is to be removed, no director may be removed if the number of votes sufficient to elect the director under cumulative voting is voted against the director's removal. If cumulative voting is not authorized, a director may be removed only if the number of votes cast to remove the director exceeds the number of votes cast not to remove the director.

Our articles of incorporation do not provide otherwise, so Innis Arden, as a corporation is bound to cumulative voting.

Because it was late, a decision was made to continue the discussion of the May 5th agenda and procedures on Saturday, April 17th 9:30 AM at the Clubhouse.

Action: A motion to adjourn at 9:45 was passed unanimously.

Innis Arden Club, Inc.
Board of Directors Meeting
April 17th, 2004 9:30 AM
Summary of Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 9:35 a.m.
Board members present: Michael Rasch (President), Mike Jacobs (Vice President), R.L. Smith (Treasurer), Carol Solle (Secretary), Wendy Higgins (Buildings and Remodels), Maggie Taber (Reserves), Al Wagar (Clubhouse), and Ewa Sledziewski (Grounds). Excused, Shelley Watson (Activities). Community members attending: about 40+.

The meeting was called to order to set the procedures and agenda for the Special Shareholders' meeting scheduled for May 5th, 2004. Fifty eight shareholders signed the petition and seven have withdrawn, subject to Michael Rasch's resignation, and replacement with one of the people selected during the unofficial meeting on April 12th. This brings the total to fifty one which is less than the 10% necessary to call a Special Shareholders' meeting. Rasch said that the Board would work on amending the articles of incorporation to do away with cumulative voting, and that there should be no more petitions until the cumulative voting issue is resolved.

Rasch is resigning to avoid further polarization and to tone down the rhetoric.

A list of questions for the candidates was presented by Harry Obedin. This list will be emailed to the candidates and if answers are completed by Monday, they will be included in the Bulletin. Answers will be posted on the clubhouse door and on the website.

Action: On May 5th, the Board will meet to accept the resignation of President Michael Rasch and to select a replacement from four candidates, Bill Crotteau, Steve Dunn, Tom Welsh and Josh West. The May 5th Special Shareholders' meeting shall be cancelled in light of a sufficient number of petitions having been withdrawn. This passed unanimously.

Action: A motion to adjourn at 10:40 passed unanimously.

Bulletin Board

Volunteers Needed:

Babysitter:
Experienced babysitter looking for work this summer. Please call Sarah Lundli at 546-3236.

House with Fabulous View for Rent:
4 bedroom 3 bath, fabulous view , large deck to enjoy view, unique white fossil fireplace, large backyard with fruit trees, $1995 negotiable. Call owner Tel: 617-277-4040

Learning Opportunity:

Did you know.....
The 2002 Survey Results are on the Web-- http://www.innisarden.com/survey.html