November/December 2005 Issue
Page 7

Larry Bontrager presented information on the proposed 2006 Comprehensive Land Use Plan that the county will be voting on next month. The plan has some conflict with private property rights and needs to be monitored by the Board as the ordinance is developed. The Board will appoint a task force made up of Larry Bontrager, Dean Slabach, Brad Hooley, Tom Canarecci and a couple other members. Julie was asked to submit the 2006 Growth Plan to NAR for review and guidance.

The Status change audit results were discussed. The Board reviewed several options and decided to wait until the December meeting to make any decisions. However, the Board did suggest adding to the Audit letter - Failure to comply with this audit may result in additional fines and/or regulations being added.

The letter from the Attorney General's office requesting access to the MLS was discussed. Motion and second to write a letter indicating Elkhart County supports the State's efforts to mitigate predatory lending and we will be happy to cooperate with any investigation of actual complaints with or without a subpoena. Motion passed. One opposed.

Julie gave the Board an update on moving to Alpha Drive and the current office. The move is tentatively scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving, an office layout design is being developed, new signs have been ordered etc.

Dave Myers presented the Board with a proposed site plan from the buyer for the sale of a portion of Alpha Drive land. The site plan will be submitted to the Facilities Task Force to work on and then submitted back to the Board for final approval. The Board felt it was important to order a survey and site design for the Board's land and building that would include the location of all necessary components and placement of future expansion areas before making any decisions. The Board discussed the timing of selling the additional land and thought it may be better to wait and see what we need and how the area would be utilized after we moved into the building. The Board would like the task force to review the plan regarding the leasing of space. This may not be the best thing for us to do at this time. The Board was reminded the task force felt it was a positive step to sell some of the land and therefore lower our overall costs, however, they will report the issues to the task force at the next meeting.

Revised changes to the Purchase Agreement and Seller Disclosure as submitted by the combined task force were discussed. Ecbor motion passed to accept the changes as presented with amendments as stated.

The Board also adopted the motion from the Forms Policy task force as follows:

Ecbor motion passed to adopt the changes to the current forms and to move to State forms by July 1, 2006. The Board will continue to offer the current Board forms until the change to State forms in July and then they will offer paper forms for the Purchase Agreement, Listing Agreement, Seller Disclosure and Counter Offer Form. ECBOR will work with the State Association to offer training sessions to the members prior to the July 1, 2006 cutover. Members will be encouraged to use ZipForms as often as possible.

MLS motion passed to approve MLS office application for Fisher Appraisal, LLC, Peggy Fisher Participant and application from Kosciusko Reciprocity office, Dutchgirl Realty, Danielle Miller Participant.

The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on December 8, 2005 at 8:30 AM at the Board Office.

SYMPATHY:

Our deepest sympathies and prayers to Dean Slabach, Re/Max Realty Marketing, in the loss of his aunt, Anna Sylvester, on October 11th.

Our sympathies and prayers to Dick Etner, A Progressive Realty, in the loss of his mother, Ruth Etner, on October 4th.

RECENT INACTIVE AGENTS:

Amos Bontrager - Troyer & Associates
Frank Cassella - Coldwell Banker Anchor
Brooke Ross - Stewart Realty
Fritz Wagoner - Coldwell Banker Anchor

NEW OFFICES:

Fisher Appraisal, LLC - Peggy Fisher, Participant

DESIGNATIONS:

Jim Lauer, Vite Realty, recently completed the ePRO Course. The ePRO course is sponsored by NAR and is specifically designed to help real estate professionals thrive in the competitive world of online real estate. The e-PRO Certification Course is geared to ensure continued success in online real estate after the course has been completed and certification earned, by online participation in the e-PRO Community and the e-PRO Referral Network.

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