MINUTES. Stephanie Quick Communications & Marketing Manager Amy Campbell Information Center Director

Transcription

1 SURREY GRAND CROWNE RESORT OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERS Chateau on the Lake Convention Center Tuesday, Branson, Missouri 11:00 A.M. (CST) MINUTES I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER The annual meeting of the members of the Surrey Grand Crowne Resort Owners Association, Inc. was called to order at 11:13 a.m. (CST) on Tuesday,, at the Chateau on the Lake Convention Center in Branson, Missouri. Board members and guests in attendance were: Grand Crowne Board Members: Tom Barlow President Bonnie Nannen Vice President Steve Beckler Secretary/Treasurer Trading Places International: Douglas L. Wilcox Sr. Vice President of Resort Operations Luis Moran Assistant VP of HOA Accounting Jason Conway Rental Marketing Casey Clayson Administrative Assistant Resort Team Members / Staff: Smith Toussaint Resort General Manager Robin Neal Assistant General Manager Mark Smith Director of Operations Lisa Inahara Director of Front Services Stephanie Quick Communications & Marketing Manager Amy Campbell Information Center Director Guests: Russ Schenewerk Christopher McGill Attorney, Schenewerk & Finkenbinder, LLC Director, RSS Western Region, Interval International Resort General Manager, Smith Toussaint introduced himself as well as Steve Beckler, Secretary/Treasurer of the board. Mr. Beckler then introduced the board members, Tom Barlow and Bonnie Nannen, Trading Places staff, resort staff and other guests in attendance. Mr. Beckler greeted owners on behalf of the board and thanked them for supporting their association. Page 1 of 7

2 II. PROOF OF NOTICE OF MEETING The Proof of Notice of Meeting was acknowledged with it having been placed in the mail on February 5, III. ESTABLISH QUORUM In accordance with the bylaws of the Surrey Grand Crowne Resort Owners Association, Inc., a quorum of 10% or greater is required. To establish a quorum, 10% of the total ownership is needed, either in attendance or represented by written proxy. As of March 6, 2018, there were 48,674 odd/even intervals with 36,620 active and qualified accounts. There were 12,860 odd/even interval owners who were represented by proxy, and 951 odd/even interval owners represented in person, with 13,811 total odd/even intervals represented, which constitutes a 37.77% eligible ownership representation. Therefore, a quorum was established and the 2018 annual meeting was duly held. IV. LEGAL UPDATE Russ Schenewerk thanked the ownership and board of directors for having given him the opportunity to represent the board since He reported to owners on two actions in which the Association is the defendant in both lawsuits: Mr. Schenewerk reminded the ownership that their Association is a defendant in this lawsuit that was brought before the court by Capital Resorts Group ( CRG ) Club Trust, and Surrey Vacation Resorts ( SVR ) challenging the composition of the Surrey Phase IV Association, Inc. s Board of Directors. He reported that the trial date was set for April 23, 2018 and that the Capital Resorts Group has offered the resorts a settlement offer. He reported that in the beginning of the lawsuit, the Judge, Laura Johnson, put a restraining order in place for Townhouses and Grand Crowne to maintain the status quo of the board. The Judge has further extended that restraining order to apply to Carriage Place to keep the current composition of the board, therefore no election can be held until after trial. V. BALLOT COUNT Appointment of Inspectors of the Ballot Count Smith Toussaint asked for two volunteers from the audience to serve as Inspectors of the Ballot Count. Evonne Holloway and Philip Kudron volunteered and were subsequently selected to serve as the Inspectors of the 2018 Ballot Count. Page 2 of 7

3 The owners of the association were asked to complete the ballot forms they received upon registering and turn them into the Inspectors of the Ballot Count and employees who circulated around the conference room to collect them. The Inspectors of the Ballot Count with TPI staff supervising the vote count recessed into a private room to complete the count. VI. FINANCIAL REPORT Luis Moran, Assistant Vice President of HOA Accounting from TPI, introduced himself to the attendees and reported on the association s audit report for the year ended 12/31/17. The association ended the year with an operating surplus in the amount of $26,203. During the year, $1,117,692 was spent on refurbishments. The operating fund balance at 12/31/17 was $328,169. The replacement fund balance at 12/31/17 was $31,180. VII OVERVIEW / UPDATES Jason Conway Rentals Jason Conway thanked Grand Crowne for giving TPI the opportunity to serve them. Mr. Conway reported that for a management company, there are two key objectives for Association Rental Marketing: 1. Create and increase sources of revenue and cash flow for the Owners Association by monetizing distressed inventory through nightly rentals. 2. Provide your Owners Association with additional financial resources to help keep downward pressure on maintenance fees. Jason Conway reported that 2018 has the potential to surpass 2017 in rental rates and for any owners with questions about their timeshare, please attend the additional Owners workshops being held this week. Christopher McGill Interval International Exchange Christopher McGill, Director for the Western Region for Interval International, introduced himself and requested that anyone with any questions regarding Interval International to please stop by there table. Robin Neal Robin Neal, Assistant General Manager, reported on the completed refurbishment of building 6. Ms. Neal also reported on community and employee relations including the annual MDA, Adopt-a-Street cleanup, food drive, and donations to local charities as well as the many employee appreciation and recognition activities conducted throughout the year. She also informed the ownership about the Association s new relationship with local partners including Silver Dollar City, Showboat, White Water, Dolly Parton s Stampede and Page 3 of 7

4 Thousand Hills. The Association works hard to keep owners updated through newsletters, e- updates, seasonal call room/telecommunications, Facebook pages, Instagram, in-room directory, website updates, and e-blasts. Amy Campbell Amy Campbell, Director of the Information Center, announced the relocation of the Information Center next to the Grand Crowne check-in area and also provided an overview of the services they provide which includes the assistance with deed transfers, purchases, upgrades, and retrievals. Ms. Campbell reported that the Information Center also offers the Branson Breaks program, the leisure time passport program, and offers on-site owner and guest workshops. Lisa Inahara Lisa Inahara, Director of Front Desk Services, reported on front desk enhancements and refurbishments including the addition of an ATM in the Grand Crowne Resort check-in lobby. Ms. Inahara also informed owners about new activities being offered: Swim with the Mermaids, magnabilities, frisbee golf, Halloween haunted house, fan blade art, canvas painting and more. She also reported that there were several local Branson entertainers on staff, new Monday night party caterers, and new off-site venues for Monday Night Parties during peak season. Mark Smith Mark Smith, Director of Operations, reported on housekeeping improvements including the building 6 refurbishment, mid-weeks and towel exchange services, and deep cleaning. He also reported on IT systems including Wi-Fi enhancements, upgrades to the fire alarm system, and HDTV cable box installation. Several other enhancements and refurbishments have taken place including balcony point repair, major exterior building repairs, additional luggage carts, and the continued install of LED lighting and security lighting. VIII. GENERAL DISCUSSION / OPEN FORUM The members in attendance were given the opportunity to ask questions of the board of directors and/or the management company. Among their questions were the following: Q. What are the plans for building more on property? A. At the present time due to legal issues all building on property has been put on hold. The association has been focused on improvements to buildings and interiors. Q. Where are certified responders located at the resort? A. There are several certified responders in Mark Smith s office. Always call security if there is an emergency. Page 4 of 7

5 Q. Will maintenance fees go up in 2018? A. No, maintenance fees for 2018 have already been determined as shown in the 2018 budget. Work on the 2019 budget will begin in July and it will not be determined if fees need to go up until November. Once the 2019 budget is approved by the board it will be posted to the website. Q. How do we take advantage of TPI promotions? A. Please contact the TPI number on the or call the resort for more information. Q. Are attorney fees in the budget? A. Yes, attorney fees are included in the budget and will continue to be included in the foreseeable future. Q. Was the agreement between TPI and the Association originally between the Developer and TPI? A. No, TPI assisted the Owners Associations to become whole. The original agreement was between each association and the developer. The management contract was just assigned to TPI. Q. Whatever the legal outcome of the lawsuits, will TPI still manage the resorts? A. Yes, TPI has a long-term contract with the associations. Q. What properties does TPI manage in Branson? A. Grand Crowne, Carriage Place and Townhouses. Q. Does working with groups like Ballparks of America affect owner bookings? A. Working with these groups does not affect owner bookings. Owners will always come first. Q. Why is Capital Resorts Group proposing a settlement Grand Crowne must accept? A. The association does not have to settle and accept their proposal. However, there are some benefits to settling because it can aid the association with controling the outcome through negotiation. Q. Can Capital resorts Group continue to represent themselves as Grand Crowne? A. Please reach out to your association with the name, time, and group who is misrepresenting your association. Q. What is the goal of the Capital Resorts Group? A. Capital Resorts Group wants to grow their Club to have more inventory to offer their owners. They would like to offer multiple sites for their owners to book. Q. Are there any new laws affecting timeshare corporations? A. There are Missouri laws in place, one of them called the MMPA is used to undue fraud deeds and if you prevail, the judge can award attorney fees. Please go to the Missouri Attorney General s website for more information. Page 5 of 7

6 Q. Why does Building 2 not have any handicap rooms? A. Building 2 was built without handicap accessible rooms. We are working hard to try to make them more handicap accessible. All rooms have doors that are wide enough to fit a wheelchair through them. Q. What is the cost of Owners Week and who pays for it? A. It s difficult to determine the cost. Owners pay for tickets and all other expenses are split between the three associations if the cost is not recouped from ticket sales. Q. Are Capital Owners allowed to attend the annual meeting? A. Only those owners who may own with Capital and also hold a deed with the association. Q. Who voted against approving the 2017 minutes and ratifying the 2017 budget? A. A large bulk owner voted against approval and ratification. Q. When will you improve housekeeping? A. Your resort is always looking for a better way to do things, but staffing is a difficult issue. Q. Who do I contact about selling my timeshare? A. Please contact the Information Center about options regarding selling your timeshare. Q. What happened to the Lodges? A. The three associations contracted with TPI for management. The other associations built by the developer including the Lodges, went to Capital for management. You are still able to exchange into these other associations for free since they were developed by Surrey Vacation Resorts and are still affiliated. Smith Toussaint closed the Open Forum portion of the meeting. IX. APPROVAL OF THE 2017 MEETING MINUTES The inspectors of election concluded their count and determined that the minutes of the 2017 annual meeting have been approved. There were 468-unit votes in favor of approving the 2017 annual meeting minutes with no units opposing. X. BUDGET RATIFICATION The inspectors of election examined the ballots and proxy count and determined that the majority of unit votes would be a yes count. Following the annual meeting, the 2018 budget was confirmed to be ratified with 468-unit votes in favor of budget ratification and no votes opposed. Page 6 of 7

7 XI. DRAWINGS FOR PRIZES The following prizes were given to the attendees holding the winning ticket number: 1. Experience TPI Week Paulette Smith 2. GC Resorts Week Jimie Kendall 3. II Dream Week Dennis & Marilyn Monroe Robin Neal announced the winner of the 2018 proxy drawing as David J. Comstock. XII. ADJOURNMENT Robin Neal reminded owners to mark their calendars for next year s annual meeting and owners week. Owners week will be March 4-8, 2018 and the annual meeting will be held on March 5, With no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was made by Barb Eggert and seconded by Mikail El. The meeting adjourned at 12:34 p.m. (CST). Submitted by: Trading Places International Its: Managing Agent Accepted by: Surrey Grand Crowne Resort Owners Assoc., Inc. Casey Clayson Administrative Assistant Steve Beckler Secretary Page 7 of 7