Meetings: are held on Zoom, on the first Friday of, each month with the exception of July and August in which we do not have a meeting.
The Trustees of your community understands your frustrations. Remember, we too are residents in our community feeling the same frustrations. The Board members that you have voted in to office take their fiduciary responsibility to you very seriously. Regulations that the Governor has put into place does not provide immunity protection against lawsuits your HOAs and its Trustees, could encounter, nor does our HOA insurance policies, should someone contract COVID-19.
Covid-19 Committee: Coalition President, Mike Signorile and Vice President Vince DeChiaro queried HOAs across the US for ideas on how they were handling these same problems. In addition to that, Vince constantly researches for reopening up-to-date guidelines and ways to cut the costs for the required equipment and personnel needed. For many of our HOAs the cost would be a $100,000 minimum. The Covid-19 Committee, consisting of two members from each community was formed to assure that everyone is knowledgeable of the required changes and safety procedures. Members have brain-stormed on ways they could cost-effectively implement these changes in preparation to reopen on a moment’s notice.
The Senior Coalition of Berkeley Township has focused on two major issues that continues to dramatically impacted our adult communities since March 2020: 1) Safely reopening our facilities, pools and activities and 2) Vaccinating our residents.
S2695/A4390: These concurrent pieces of legislation, establishes immunity for senior planned real estate development associations relating to COVID-19. Meaning age-restricted associations, its members, employees, and agents thereof, cannot be held liable for any civil damages, for injury, or death caused by an exposure to COVID-19. Passage of S2695/A4390 is pertinent to our reopening our clubhouses, amenities, pools and offices. Immunity provided through these bills would allow our adult communities to open and operate as before the Pandemic. Without immunity the safety risk factor and the cost for the required changes in equipment and personnel is far too absorbent.
Vaccines: Governor Murphy had designated two mobile van units and 3,000 vaccines dispatched each week until all of the residents living in the Ocean County adult communities were vaccinated. This promise was never kept. Our seniors were now forced to try and schedule appointments on-line. Many seniors are not tech savvy. However, on more than one occasion, seniors who were able to get appointments, stood in long lines, out in the cold, sometime rain for one-two hours to be turned away when vaccines ran out.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Petitioning Our Mayor and Berkeley Township Council:
By now your Trustees have reached out to you to sign two pertinent petitions. If you have NOT done so, please, contact your HOA and sign the petitions that read as follows:
P E T I T I O N
We the residents of the Holiday City, Silver Ridge Park and Sonata Bay adult communities, request that you as our Berkeley Township Mayor and Council show your support through Resolution to our 9th District State Legislators, requesting they take every action necessary to move S2695/A4390 out of the Judicial Committee to full Assembly and full Senate for vote and then to Governor Philip Murphy for signing into law.
Passage of S2695/A4390, which establishes immunity for senior planned real estate development associations relating to COVID-19, would grant the needed immunity for adult communities to safely reopen our clubhouses, amenities, pools and to return to normal operations in our communities. It is not acceptable that these bills have sat in the Judicial Committee since July 16, 2020 without any action. We are requesting that our voices be heard in Trenton through your actions.
P E T I T I O N
We the residents of the Holiday City, Silver Ridge Park and Sonata Bay adult communities request intervention from you Mayor Amato and Berkeley Township Council by:
• establishing additional opportunities for our senior to receive the vaccine, either from a mobile unit to be deployed to adult communities or authorizing vaccines to be administered directly at our ten community clubhouses or another location within the community
In many areas throughout the United States medical mobile units have been successful in administering vaccines to their seniors, especially to those who are considered “shut-ins”.
Ocean County needs to prioritize their senior population as well. We are requesting you to take the lead in this unique opportunity to provide mobile units to deploy to adult communities and/or the ability to vaccinate on site. We must act now. We need to stay ahead of this pandemic. We cannot do this without support from our elected officials.
The Senior Coalition of Berkeley Township is ready to do whatever it will take to introduce the life-saving vaccine to the members of our communities. Please assist us with having our voices heard through your Resolution to Governor Murphy and the Legislators. You are our hope.