09/29/05, 8:00 A.M.

Pursuant to the e-mail notification dated September 19, 2005, the September Heartland Apartment Association Board of Directors meeting was held at the above stated date and time at the HAA offices, 2405 Grand, Suite 106, Kansas City, MO 64108.

Board members present were: Doug Price, Lee Harris, Chris Erdley, Jim Adams, Bill Charcut, and Ralph Lewis. Also present were Scott Buescher, Jim Bowers, Randy Robinson, and Sam Alpert. (Jim Beverlin, Jerry Miller, Ward Katz, Rick Oddo, Ken Riedemann, and Dennis Watts were absent.)

Doug price called the meeting to order.

The minutes of the last meeting on 08/25/05, which had been previously circulated, were reviewed by those present

JOCO WASTEWATER - After a brief introduction by Sam Alpert, Randy Robinson, the JOCO Wastewater Administrator, engaged the Board in a discussion on the utility's annual rate setting and billing practices. He began with a brief summary of the essence of the recent settlement of "disputed" accounts with those who had brought their delinquent principal balances current; and then he proceeded to address a number of issues on which the HAA has continued to advocate for a more efficient and equitable treatment of multifamily properties. In addition to the expressed concern over an extravagant operating reserve, the matters discussed included: 1.) Consolidated water and wastewater billings, 2.) Discounted annual pre-payments, 3.) Including EDU capital charges (now on the annual property tax bill) with operating charges on the same billing, and 4.) Limiting the AWWU calculation to only January and February to more accurately reflect the stated intent. Mr. Robinson agreed to take all suggestions under advisement, and encouraged the group to stay in close communication with his office. Lee Harris recommended that in an attempt to encourage more consolidation of basic services, that the HAA and other JOCO industry stakeholders communicate their concerns regarding existing administrative and billing inefficiencies to all respective water and wastewater service providers. Further, all agreed that wherever possible it would be beneficial to work toward the election of accountable officials with solid business understanding to both public and quasi-public oversight boards. Upon completion of this discussion, Mr. Robinson departed the meeting.

KCMO FIRE INSPECTION FEE SCHEDULE - Sam Alpert reported that the trial proceeded on schedule before Judge Del Muro in Jackson County Circuit Court on September 6th. Post trial briefs were submitted to the court on September 26th, and it isn’t known at this time how long it might take to obtain a ruling. In a related matter, it was noted that additional legal fund contributions in the amount of $5,000 from IREM had been obtained as the result Chris Erdley’s efforts. Further, it was noted that an additional $1,500 contribution from KC Landlords Inc. was also pending.

KCMO RENTAL UNIT REGULATION TASK FORCE - Sam Alpert reported that the KCMO Rental Unit Regulatory Task Force, which was discussed at the August Board meeting, had now met on two occasions. There had been some dissention among some small landlords regarding the motivation and general agenda of the task force. However, there appears to be agreement among the participants that rental unit licensing and routine frequent codes inspections should not be the primary focus of the task force. They (both the city staff and the task force) are generally in favor of taking a more global approach to neighborhood preservation and the most efficient utilization of available resources to address "blight" resulting from neglect of both occupied home owners and absentee landlords. This is in addition to ensuring that minimum habitational codes standards are being properly enforced.

KCMO BUSINESS LICENSE - Jim Bowers reported that as a follow-up to last month's report that the city was seeking his assistance in updating the century old "archaic" occupational license statute, he and Sam Alpert were scheduled to meet on September 30th with Donovan Mouton, from the Mayor’s office, to discuss how best to facilitate a cooperative engagement.

KANSAS CORPORATION COMMISSION (KCC) - Sam Alpert reported that he had been in contact with Falise Platte, a 3rd party utility billing service provider, who had taken a lead in providing an industry response to the KCC. Falise had indicated her frustration at the technical hurdles she was encountering in the process of just submitting comments to KCC's motion of record. Meanwhile, Sam Alpert repeated his earlier concern that everyone provide timely comment as outlined in the model letters that were circulated several weeks ago.

KANSAS HB 2321 - Sam Alpert again requested that members contact KS Rep. Jene Vickrey in support of HB 2321, now in interim committee.

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY (AFP) - Sam Alpert reported that he had met with local representatives from AFP, who are working diligently on a Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) Amendment in Kansas. The Board agreed that the basic principles of indexing growth of government, while making it far more accountable to the taxpayer, are entirely consistent with the HAA’s core philosophy; and that a strategic alliance could be mutually beneficial. Sam Alpert pointed out that if the HAA chooses to publicly align itself with the AFP, we will be immediately at odds with the Johnson County Chamber of Commerce, which constitutes the primary local opposition to TABOR.

Sam Alpert reminded those present that he had circulated a form letter to be used to solicit vendor associate financial support for the HAA. Lee Harris reported that he was in the process of mailing out more than 2000 vendor solicitations on the Cohen-Esrey letterhead.

The next regular meeting of the HAA Board of Directors is scheduled to be held on Thursday, October 27, 2005, 8:00 a.m. at the HAA offices, 2405 Grand, Suite 106, KCMO.

There being no further business to come before the Board of Directors, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30 a.m.