AMERICAN TOWERS OWNERS ASSOCIATION
Minutes of the Board of Trustees Meeting
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
5:00 P.M.
Norman Salisbury called the meeting, convened in the Community Room, to order at 5:00 p.m.
Residential Trustees present and participating: Norman Salisbury, Irene Link, John Patton and Sandra Lee Sterns
Commercial Trustees present and participating: Larry Shelton, Donna Boes and Steve Tester.
Management present and participating: Joe Toronto
Approval of Previous Minutes: January 29, 2004
The Minutes of the January 29, 2004 Board of Trustees Meeting, upon motion duly made and seconded
was unanimously approved.
Finance Committee, Budget Approval
It was reported that the Finance committee had met extensively over the past two months reviewing and
discussing a 2004-2005 proposed budget and other potential financial obligations the Association may be facing
in coming years. One of these obligations discussed is a refurbishment of the plaza which the parking board
has begun to discuss for 2005 or 2006. Although the proposed budget included a modest increase in the
operating fund assessment to help cover substantial increases in utilities and insurance, the committee could
not agree on whether or how to address these costs with an air conditioning assessment having just taken place.
The committee submitted many written recommendations from each of its members, but in the absence of
a recommendation from the committee as a whole, several Trustees were uncomfortable with approving a budget
without scrutinizing the details of the budget, our detailed costs and projections, and our overall
budgeting strategy. Several Trustees acknowledged that even though some of our costs are rising such as insurance and
utilities, which we have little control over, they are not willing to approve an increase in the operating
assessement without an equivalent decrease in other costs over which we do have control. After lengthy
discussion the issue was also raised regarding last years audit report and prior years operating deficits. A motion
was made and seconded to table approval of the proposed budget. The motion was unanimously approved.
The Board proposed to meet with the Finance Committee and other interested owners the following day, Wednesday,
March 24, 2004 in the Community Room to address the issues and further discuss and analyze the budget in order
to come up with a plan on how to proceed to achieve a budget proposal that will address not only assessments
but also our financial situation and costs. Another meeting of the Board is to be scheduled as soon as possible
following resolution of these issues so that a budget can be approved.
The Board thanked the Finance Committee for their many hours of work recognizing the difficulty of their task.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandra Lee Sterns
Secretary