Lola Lauri

After approval of the minutes from last month, Dan Glasgow reported that he has inspected the Community Center renovations and is pleased with the progress he has seen. He then turned the meeting to Buz Whelan with the treasurer’s report.
Whelan said that the big story is in collections. Our dues collections are $11k over the same period as last year, and our delinquent account collections are already $59.5k over the amount collected for all of last year, and there is still one month left to this year. This is a significant increase and due largely to the Board and the collections attorney using all possible means to extract payment from those account holders.

Judy Kennedy gave the manager’s report. She reported that the membership review has been completed and that 25 properties will be selected at random for the abstract company to examine deeds. Scalping will begin on Monday, April 27th at Glade and Clearview, and notifications will go out to members in the affected areas as the work continues. Maintenance is working on road patching every day, and they are hoping to catch up soon.

The Community Center is scheduled for a “soft” opening on May 23, with the Grand Opening celebration set for May 30th. All permits and inspections have been secured and work has resumed. The pool area and bingo room construction have entered the finishing stages, the saunas are being repaired and the cosmetic work has begun. Email blasts will resume as the work is completed.

Speaking for the Events Committee, Melanie Balzano reports that the CC Grand Opening will begin at 11 am with a ribbon cutting and a carnival theme. In the evening there will be dancing and dinner and activities for the children. The committee asked the Board to consider sending out postcards to all members announcing the Grand Opening. They also requested the purchase of magnets with the events calendar printed on them, to distribute to the membership.

Balzano continued, this time for Parent’s club and reported a small showing for the last meeting. She will hold one more meeting to see if there is enough interest to continue. She is hoping to gather enough interested families to be able to create an after-school program for the children of the community.

Lola Lauri reported that the furniture, paint and some equipment has been delivered to the Community Center and that the committee continues to work on the renovations. Connie Simpson stated that the Crimewatch group is unable to hold meetings until the CC reopens. Kennedy stated that she could find room in the schedule for a meeting at the Administration building. Earl Frank said that F&P is working on setting up a meeting with Edward Jones to discuss the community’s stock and bond holdings. He also said that the committee has discussed a recommendation to the Board to dedicate the transfer fees collected by the association to new paving of roads.

Speaking for the Real Estate committee, Diane Caldwell said they have recommendations for changes to our Rules and Regulations that include an increase in fines. They are also working on completing the list of landlords within the community and taking measures to make sure that all are paying registration fees for renting their homes. She stressed the need to balance the needs of landlords and fulltime residents to preserve safety and quality of life for all.

In New Business, the board approved a measure to authorize management to accept bids for the painting of the indoor pool room for up to $2,500. Six directors voted yes, and Diane Caldwell abstained from the vote because her husband’s company is one of the bidders in the process.

In a unanimous vote, the Board agreed to authorize the collections attorney to accept offers that re at least 80% of the amount owed from delinquent account holders without Board approval. These offers are often time sensitive and this measure will allow the lawyer to work quickly when necessary and appropriate.

Finally, the board unanimously approved the 2015/2016 budget.

Public Comments
Several members stated their dissatisfaction with the name choices given for the Community Center bar and grill. One member stated that the word “Joint” was a drug reference and inappropriate for the name. Another was unsure if we were naming the whole building or just the bar and grill. Kathy Leach asked if the “ugly” sign will be replaced when the name is decided upon.

Margaret Fitzgerald questioned why Ms. Caldwell abstained from the vote on the funds for the pool room bids. Ms. Caldwell explained that it would be a conflict for her to vote on a matter that involved her husband’s company. Fitzgerald opined that she believed that no bid should be accepted from Caldwell’s husband’s company. Buz Whelan interjected that it would be irresponsible for the Board to NOT accept the lowest bid, no matter who it comes from, and that this was common and acceptable business practice. Kathy Whelan stated that the attorneys and ethics committee of the Port Authority of New York deemed this practice acceptable as well. Linda Shuey stated that she believed that as long as there is a bid process, then this was handled just fine.

Fitzgerald then asked Judy Kennedy if the boiler and the HVAC systems would be in place for the CC opening. Kennedy said it would be done. Joseph Olall asked what adjustments were required from the inspectors. Kennedy replied that there needs to be an handicapped accessible walkway leading to the back of the pool, and some minor changes to the indoor work.

A member complained that she had not gotten proper notice of a violation charged to her property and said that the compliance officer was not following procedure. Kennedy directed her to the Appeals committee for discussion of this matter. This same member stated that there were needles left on Community property and that there was a significant drug problem in our community. She told the Board that she has called the police and has been told that she needs to contact our Public Safety as well. Ms. Kennedy said that members should not touch any materials that are dumped in the community, but should contact the office or Public Safety to remove them instead. She also assured everyone that the police have been involved in the matter, but that they would (obviously) not be informing us of what measures they are taking to address the problem.