May 31, 2025

By Kathy Leslie-Whelan

          The meeting was called to order at 9:35 am. All board members were present.  General Manager Darryl Gamble and Assistant General Manager Nicole Clemens were also
present.  After the Pledge of Allegiance,
Chris Claude, President, called for a motion to approve April’s board meeting
minutes.  A motion was made by Maria
Tirado-Quinones and seconded by Connie Simpson. 
It passed unanimously.

Claude started his President’s opening
statement, stating that with the start of summer and school being out, there
will be more people walking dogs, biking or just walking or running on the
roads.  He asked the membership to be
cautious while driving around the community. 
He stated that road work will begin this week and both the contractor
and our maintenance staff will be out in the roads.  He cautioned people not to drive through
areas that are blocked or coned off.  Please
take another route to not interfere with the road repairs.  Claude stated that the outdoor pool will
officially open on Saturday, June 7th. Two new heaters were
installed in the pool.  Claude encouraged
the membership to come out to the Lodge for upcoming events and promised to
share some of those events later on in the meeting.

Claude turned the floor over to the Treasurer,
Michael Camino for his report.  Camino
stated that he will report on numbers from April. The numbers are as follows:
Under income our monthly due’s income $32,389.30; dues interest fees $6,308.33;
dues late fees total $4,573.22; Public Safety revenue $0; Rental revenue $30,347.43;
Code Enforcement revenue $4,856.01; Boating/Fishing $2,640.00; Bar and Grill revenue
$10,527.48; Income totals are $135,840.40. 


On the expense side: Computer Expense
$3,174.15; General and Professional Services $2,173.45; Amenity repairs $6,402.48;
Refuse Garbage collections $26,056.63; Bar and Grill $14,852.61; Total expenses
$219,305.07; Cash Assets $538,033.05; Reserve fund $923,245.23; Investment
Account $250,004.70.  Camino also stated
that we have a new investment portfolio and told people to join F&P. Claude
accepted a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report from Bob Leon.  It was seconded by Connie Simpson.  It passed unanimously.

 

Under Old Business

·      Darryl Gamble reported that road equipment is
being brought in this week.  We are waiting
for material to be available since Penn Dot has dibs on all the material,
however, maintenance has been filling pot holes.  In the meantime they are starting to work on
culverts where pipes need replacement. 
This work will commence on West Emerald. 


·      The ship is coming in (or has come in) for
Main Beach.  Once this is installed, a
fence will be put in place and the landscaping finished.  Pine Tree Beach is open with new ground level
boat racks that are easier to use for the attendants and are closer to the
water.  A deck around the boat house will
be installed and will have vending machines available to the membership.  The bathrooms are in good shape at both
beaches.

·      The main entrance will be redone.  Currently a plan is being formulated.

·      Tables and seating was added to the butterfly
garden and the grass will be mowed shortly.

·      The indoor pool will be closed at the end of
July, beginning of August.  The pool will
be drained, sandblasted and repainted before being refilled.  This work should take between 2 to 3
weeks.  Members can use the outdoor pool
at this time, weather permitting. 

·      The compactor area is the same.  They are shopping around for new flooring for
the salt shed.  Warehouse flaps will also
be installed for protection from the elements.  
The gas tanks will be moved further away from the buildings.  Shakes for the front of the Administration
building will be installed and the facility needs a roof repair.  This work will be completed in house. 

·      The Clover Bridge project is moving along
smoothly.  There was red tape with the
permit process   Permits have been
approved and bidding for a contractor will begin shortly.

·      Signs have been repaired or replaced
throughout the community.

·      The boat launch at Arbor received attention
and will have some drainage work dome on the left side.

·      Please make sure your homeowners file is up to
date at the administration office with all your current information. 

 

Under New Business:

·     
Upcoming events
were discussed.

o 
June 5th
– Kid’s Kraft Night

o 
June 12th
and 26th – Music Bingo

o 
June 14th
– Fishing Rodeo

o 
June 19th
– Book Club

o 
June 20th
– Trivia

o 
June 21st
– Karaoke

o 
June 22nd
Dungeons and Dragons

o 
June 28th
Rock Painting for rock dragons at the Lodge

o 
June 28th
– Live Music

o 
July 5th
– Red, White and Glow Party – DJ

o 
July 6th,
August 2nd and August 30th – Community Day at the Ball
Park

o 
July 10th
and 31st – Music Bingo

o 
July 12th
– Karaoke

o 
July 13th
–  Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation
-Presentation

o 
July 18th
– Trivia

Committee Reports

Buz Whelan spoke on behalf of Finance
and Planning (F&P). He stated that he is reporting on the end of our fiscal
year number and with the annual audit coming up, these numbers may be
changed.  He also didn’t want to repeat
the treasurer’s report numbers so he would report on the Year to Date (YTD)
numbers.  Our total income for the fiscal
year was $3,283,266 while our total dues collection was $1,889,833.  He stated that on April 30Th we
had a 79.52% compliance rate.  Effectively
this is an 80% rate where we matched the compliance rate for property taxes.  We budgeted a compliance rate of 77% so we
were $111K over budget.  In addition, we
were 1.65% over last year’s collection rate. 
Our in house collections were at 97.3% thanks to Nicole Clemens and her
staff.  She did a spectacular job this
year.  As to short term rental income we
were at $895K which is $152K over thee predicted budget.  This income allows us to maintain our
amenities. Bar and Grill income for the year was $189,917.  This number includes income, access cards and
inventory.  Our expenses were $181,562
which gives us $8,355 in increased revenue. 
Whelan further stated that F&P is recommending that a minimum of $50K
be set aside in the 2026/2027 budget for the new Administration building.  An increase is due in this fiscal year which
will conservatively add another $112,560 over what we are collecting now.  At a minimum $50K should be set aside for
this much needed project which will give our staff a safe and comfortable
environment to work in.  To create
detailed plans on the project at this time would be futile since the pricing on
construction is so volatile.  This
project will most likely start within the next 3 to 5 years.

 

Diane DuCharme spoke on behalf of
Rules and Regulations.  The committee met
on May 15th.  She stated that discussions
were held on two problem areas.   The first issue was that homeowners were not
completing the status update forms.  In
some cases, security has no way of contacting the homeowner in the event of a
fire or other catastrophe.  The
committee would like to make it a requirement to fill out the form within 15
days of any changes.  If a member is not
in compliance amenity passes could be suspended.  The second issue dealt with people
trespassing on Emerald Lake property. 
They want this offense classified as a disorderly conduct offense.

 

Bill Baehr spoke on behalf of the Real
Estate committee meeting.  This committee
met on May 17th and discussed the following topics:

o 
Challenges with
the compactor

o 
Compactor not
open on Mondays

o 
There should be
just one person working at the compactor, not two

o 
They wanted an
update on the January 24th incident.

o 
They inquired
about fishing passes to use at the STR houses

o 
They would like
to see food to go.  On Friday night there
was a 1 to 1 ½ hour wait for food.  Can
renters pay to eat at Lodge without getting an amenity pass?

o 
Policy for age
restrictions on renting STRs.

These items will be discussed at a
board workshop.  The next scheduled meeting
is July 19th.

Maria Tirado-Quinones stated that the Appeals
Committee met on April 26th. 
There were 3 appeals scheduled. 
One fine was reduced, one fine was dismissed and one appellant was a no
show so fine was upheld.

Director’s Comments

Bill Baehr stated that the events at the Lodge
bring in people and acknowledged the Recreation Club.  He likes the special menus and stated that
the food was delicious.  He also stated
his concerns for pet owners walking their dogs on hot asphalt.  Walking dogs on the hot asphalt can cause
skin destruction.  If it is too hot for
your feet, it is too hot for your pet’s feet.

Dave Borsos recognized the improvements by
staff and making the community look good and operate safer.   He stated that if someone’s branches are on
your property, you can cut them down. 
Also the incident that happened on January 12th is under
police investigation and the individuals involved were taken into police
custody and are awaiting a court date. 
He also thanked Cathy Borsos for the beautiful work she did at the
butterfly garden with the cut out wings. 
Folks are welcomed to visit the site and take their pictures with the
wings.

Maria Tirado-Quinones also thanked Cathy
Borsos for the cut out wings and Chris Claude for the Memorial Day
function.  She stated it was a labor of
love and thanked Chris, Bill and Buz for their service. 

Mike Camino gave kudos to Darryl Gamble and
Nicole Clemens.  He stated that the road
paving is completed and only need repairing. The new Vetter phone system is
easier to use and should save money.  He
encouraged staff to leverage more technology.

 Connie
Simpson stated that the Arbor boat launch has been fixed and shouldn’t crack
any more.

Bob Leon reminded folks to walk on the side of
the road facing traffic and to wear reflective clothing.

Chris Claude stated that on June 13th,
movie night will be Minecraft.

Public Comments

                    Diane
Shedlock stated that her parents bought their home in ’92.  Main Beach is a beautiful lake and she feels
the new fencing will take away the view. 
She also inquired what our HOA was doing about the January 12th
incident.  She asked if there were there
any changes being made to Short Term rental policies.  She was told that if there is a major
incident at an STR, the owner has to meet with the General Manager and come up
with a solution to the problem.  The
meeting with the GM will also occur if there are two minor incidents.  The owners are at risk of losing their STR
privileges’. 

Louise Leon of Clover Rd stated that a
youngster came out of a driveway without looking for traffic.  There could have been a catastrophe.  She also thanked everyone profusely. 

          Linda Shuey of Mountain Top asked why
her response to her comments on the preliminary budget stated that she could
not share the response without written consent. 
She was told that it was written boilerplate recommended by our
attorney.  She also had concerns about
the height of the retaining wall at Main Beach. 
She was told that planter boxes or something to that effect will be
placed there to deter the members from climbing there.

          Buz Whelan of Beaver Dam Rd stated
that he read complaints on FaceBook about how the Appeals committee and the
Board are squeezing money out of people. 
Whelan said that the board doesn’t get involved.  Many fines are issued based on neighbor
complaints on firework, dogs and trash. 

          Eleven (11) new members were welcomed
to the Community.

          A motion was made by Bill Baehr to
adjourn.  It was seconded by Mike Camino.  Meeting adjourned at 11:14 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.