12/04/03, 7:45 A.M.

Pursuant to the e-mail notification dated November 24, 2003, the November / December (special holiday schedule) Heartland Apartment Association Board of Directors meeting was held at the above stated date and time at the offices of Oddo Development Co., 8460 Nieman Road, Overland Park, KS.

Board members present were: Doug Price, Rick Oddo, Lee Harris, Chris Erdley, Bill Charcut, Nick Moos, Jim Beverlin, and Ralph Lewis. Also present were Dean Newton and Sam Alpert. (Ward Katz, Mike Cassin, Dennis Watts, Jim Adams, Ron Nolan, Ken Riedemann, and Jerry Miller were absent.)

While awaiting the arrival of Doug Price, Sam Alpert served as temporary chairman and called the meeting to order.

The minutes of the last meeting on 10/30/03, which had been previously circulated, were reviewed and approved by those present.

FHEO/ HUD - Sam Alpert reported that he had received notification from Senator Bond's office that an inquiry regarding the exchange of correspondence pertaining to frivolous fair housing claims between the HAA and HUD had been initiated with the Region VII HUD office. Jim Beverlin reported that he had initiated contact with Jay Harris at the NMHC, Washington, D.C. in an effort to facilitate a conference call as soon as possible.

KCMO FIRE INSPECTION FEE SCHEDULE - Sam Alpert and Lee Harris reported that a series of meetings with Councilwoman Deb Hermann and the Fire Dept. had resulted in an agreement to return to the City Council to reconsider the inspection fee schedule implemented last summer. While the Fire Dept. has been intent on negotiating a modified initial inspection fee, HAA and BOMA have insisted that the initial annual inspection should be a general fund expense (paid from tax revenues) without requiring owners to pay an additional user fee. Owners would rather the city increase "re-inspection" fees significantly. It is a better approach to fire prevention revenue shortfalls since re-inspections required to bring buildings into code compliance most directly contribute to enhancing public safety. To the extent that such a reallocation of charges is achieved, owners need to be assured that safeguards are put in place to protect against unwarranted codes citations meant simply to generate additional revenue.

DISCUSSION W/ DEAN NEWTON, KS REPRESENTATIVE, 21ST DISTRICT - Lee Harris introduced Dean Newton who briefed the Board on the priorities of the next legislative session. Topics raised by the Board for discussion included public education funding, economic development, telecommunications forced access, water sub-metering, work comp reform, tort reform, and attention to fiscal restraint and accountability. Mr. Newton offered to provide updates on the session as it progresses; and in turn, the HAA invited Representative Newton to utilize the talent and energy of the organization as a reliable resource. Ralph Lewis agreed to work with Sam Alpert to generate a list of concerns surrounding Kansas landlord / tenant law to submit to Mr. Newton for consideration. In conclusion, it was decided that it would be advantageous to have Mr. Newton return in April as the legislative session winds down.

Upon Dean Newton's departure, Lee Harris made a motion to refer a recommendation to the HAPAC to fund a $500.00 contribution to Newton's 2004 election campaign. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved by the Board.

OVERLAND PARK STORM WATER UTILITY - Doug Price and Sam Alpert reported that an unsuccessful appearance on November 24th before the Public Works Committee of the OP City Council may have been premature in not allowing time to properly educate key members of the committee. As it stands, the Public Works Committee is taking a position that in light of the potential of having to reconstruct the fee schedule to reflect fairness in the system, some inequity in the fee structure may be acceptable to avoid a possibly controversial reallocation of service charges to upper end residential constituents. Price and Alpert recommended in going forward that the OP Chamber of Commerce should be enlisted to support our position of equitable fee allocation. Efforts to meet with the Chamber's director in this regard will be made in the coming weeks. As the situation unravels it may be necessary to seek a legal remedy to obtain the desired relief.

JOHNSON COUNTY WASTE WATER - Sam Alpert reported that he had hoped to have information on the Springsted study of the county's rate setting methodology in time for the Board meeting. However, as of the meeting date, there was no new information with respect to progress of the study which was intended to be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners by year end.

JOCO ENVIRONMENTAL SWIMMING POOL INSPECTIONS - Sam Alpert reported that the Johnson County Environmental Department had notified him that the Board of County Commissioners will (probably) consider the proposed swimming pool inspection fee increase at their January 8th meeting. It will be important to get a number of people to that meeting to testify in opposition to the increase.

KCMO OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE FEES - There was discussion regarding the need to address the issue of KCMO occupational license fees. There will need to be an assessment of the cost impact to owners. In addition, to the extent a legal remedy is sought, the HAA needs to determine what legal research on the matter has already occurred so as not to "unnecessarily reinvent the wheel".

VOTER REGISTRATION UPDATE - Nick Moos reported on the development of a universal voter registration system. He distributed an informational package which is to be featured on the HAA web-site. After some discussion it was decided that it would be beneficial for a HAA delegation to appear at an AAKC Board meeting to present the voter registration program for their endorsement and active promotion. The HAA could also take the opportunity to brief the AAKC on several other pending issues requiring their active support.

2004 BUDGET APPROVAL - Doug Price and Sam Alpert distributed the 2004 HAA Operating Budget for final Board approval. The Board unanimously approved the budget as submitted.

There was discussion that it might be beneficial to contact a group of unaffiliated northland landlords to determine if there is some existing synergy with respect to some common issues such as fire inspections and occupational license fees.

The next meeting of the HAA Board of Directors is tentatively scheduled to be held on Thursday, January 29, 2004, 7:45 a.m. at the offices of Oddo Development Co., 8460 Nieman Road, Overland Park, KS.

There being no further business to come before the Board of Directors, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:10 a.m.