by Kathy Leslie-Whelan

The meeting was called to order at 9:35 AM. Six board members were present.  Ange Noonan was absent for personal reasons. Following the pledge of allegiance, Buz Whelan started his President’s message, stating that the minutes in the Call to Meeting are in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order.  The purpose of the minutes is to document what was done, not what everyone said. The board is looking to streamline the process for the annual meeting.  More discussion on this topic is under Old Business.

Under the Treasurer’s report, Steve Kavanagh stated that in June we were $4,600 under budget in the Community Center; $7,000 over budget in Administration due to legal filings: $12,000 over budget in Recreation due to pool maintenance.  Dues income is $45K over last year. Bob Leon made the motion to accept the treasurer’s report.  Dave Borsos seconded it.  It was approved unanimously.

Whelan called for a motion to accept June’s board minutes. Borsos made the motion which was seconded by Leon.  Passed unanimously.

Under Old Business it was reported:

• According to our bylaws all voting on issues will be done at the onset of the meeting.  Whelan stated that since he has lived here, that was never followed.  The cut off time for getting in line for registration is 11:00 AM where the meeting will be called to order at approximately 11:10 AM.  The first item of business will be proxy voting and will hopefully be completed by 11:30 AM.  At the special meeting in May, 16 ballots were not turned in and the board believes that some of the members did not stay for the voting.  In addition, there are too many people present when the votes are counted.  The accountant will be present for the counting along with two counters and two witnesses.  Ballots will not be disqualified where the intent of the ballot is clear.  Last year the membership was told that ballots will be disqualified for misspelling of the candidates names.  That will not be the case this year.  Dave Borsos, who is the Judge of Elections stated that it is his intention to have a clean, smooth and quick count of the ballots.

          Amenities Update

• Indoor pool has been drained.  ServPro will start the mold remediation on Monday, July 29th. Strand Pool will be completing some of their contracted work while ServPro is working.  A fuller schedule on this work will be forthcoming once the work commences but it is anticipated that the mold removal will be 21 days, resurfacing the pool will be 3 to 5 days and sandblasting will be 3 to 5 days.  PPL needs to do some final work on the dehumidification system before it can be started up.
• The dog park and walking areas are pending but still slated to be completed.
• Due to budgetary reasons the purchase of a vehicle for the Code Enforcement Officer will be put off.  He will temporarily use a Public Safety vehicle.

Save the Date Reminders:

• Meet the Candidates – August 10th at 10:00 AM in the Community Center.
• Saturday Night Karaoke – August 10th at 8:00 PM at the Community Center.
• Annual Meeting – August 17th Pocono Mountain West High School. Registration begins at 9:30 AM.
• 50’s Dance Party – August 17th at 8:00 PM in the Community Center.
• Bill Henry Send Off – August 25th at 1:00 PM in the Community Center.
• Community-Wide Yard Sale – September 6th, 7th and 8th.
• Comedy Show – October 26th at 8:00 PM in the Community Center.
• Trunk or Treat – October 31st in the Community Center parking Lot.

Under New Business:

• Since the rules are not clearly defined for issuing member IDs and guest passes the following was proposed and accepted unanimously by the board:
• Homeowner (except landlords) will be issued 10 personal/general passes. If a member owns more than one property he will only be issued 10.
• Landlords will be issued 2 personal IDs. {EDIT: Landlords will get picture ids for immediate family members only, and no guest passes}
• Long Term Renters who pay $400 annually will be issued up to 6 personal  IDs.  Any passes for guests will have to be purchased.
• Short term renters can purchase passes ($10 per person for a daily pass; $25 per person for a three day pass; $40 per person for at 7 day pass.)
• Children 6 and under do not require a pass but must be accompanied by an adult with a pass.
• Homeowner may purchase as many passes as they want at the above cited rates.
• Owner’s Ids cannot be shared.  If there is a violation of this the member will forfeit their pass for a period of time as well as be fined.  Rules and Regulations will be tasked with determining the amount for the fine.
• Short term renters who buy passes will be considered short term associate members and will be able to use the bar and grill.
• Owner’s guest passes can be used without the member present at the outdoor amenities.
• Owners must accompany guests at the Community Center and indoor pool.
• Long term renters get picture IDs for family members only.

(A motion was made by Borsos to accept the above rules which were seconded by Leon.  It passed unanimously.)

• Outdoor Pool Behavior – Pool attendants will have the authority to stop bad behavior and have an individual removed from the pool area. There were incidents of children jumping into the pool with the chairs that are provided for the membership.  The members should also dress appropriately since there are children at the pool.
• Additional Speed Bumps will be purchased.  Management will control where these bumps are installed.
• Mountain Top Lake dam will go up for a tax sale on September 11th if the owner doesn’t pay his taxes by that time. The Association lost control of the property 10 years ago. The Association could buy that property back for $7K or buy it for $800 out of repository later if it does not sell.  Discussions will be held with the attorney.

Director’s Comments

Al Leslie stated that this will be his last open meeting on the board and it was an honor for him to serve.  He has served the community for 11 years.

Bob Leon stated that he is a regular visitor at the outdoor pool and he recommends that the parking area be paved and expanded in the future.

Whelan thanked Al Leslie for his 11 years on the board and stated that for 3 years Al served as President.  In addition, he thanked him for his dedication to Saturday night bingo.  Whelan said that since he has lived in Emerald Lakes, Leslie has hosted at least 600 bingo nights, an incredible record.

Dave Borsos announced that he is judge of elections and that we currently gave five declared candidates for three positions.  Two of the positions are for three year terms, while one is for a one year term.

Committee Reports

Earl Frank of Finance and Planning stated that he hopes the Auditor is making progress on the annual audit of the Association.  He requested that in the future either the Manager or Assistant Manager sit in on the meeting to address any questions that the committee may have. Frank stated that out of the $313K collected in dues for current and delinquent members, 75% was collected in-house.   Frank stated that more porta-potties are required at the outdoor pool and that an article should be written to inform the membership of Public Safety’s duties.

Cookie Litwienski of the Nomination/Election committee stated that she had two members on her committee and she planned on letting people ask questions from the floor.  In addition, Nicole Clemons was sending an email blast to the membership to submit questions by a certain deadline.

Linda Shuey of the Maintenance committee stated that they discussed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) be prepared for lake maintenance. She also felt that we should not be moving forward with adding another amenity (dog park) that needs to be maintained. 

Public Comments

Linda Shuey asked about the valve on Mountain Top Lake.

Bill Henry stated that the committees are getting smaller.  Linda Shuey stated that is because the board doesn’t pay attention to their recommendations so they feel they are wasting their time.  Earl Frank stated he disagreed with Linda and that the board has taken action on many of Finance and Planning’s recommendations.

Mary Kavanagh stated that she has been in the community for 17 years and she feels that this past year has been fantastic.  She has seen improvements and she is hopeful that improvements will continue next year with a newly seated board.

Cookie Litwienski asked if someone could weed the front entrance.

No new members were welcomed to the Community.

Borsos made a motion to adjourn. It was seconded by Kavanagh.  Meeting adjourned at 11:52 AM.

Reporters Note: I write these reports based on notes taken during the meeting.  I get no special consideration or cooperation from the board.  I try my best to report accurately, but occasionally mistakes will be made.  I invite correction and have no desire to intentionally mischaracterize any comments or actions.