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3rd
Feb 2020

Homeowners Meeting - January 9, 2020

 
OPENING:
The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a special thank you to all the Veterans who have served and are currently serving.  We would also like to recognize the first responders who actively serve our community daily.  Thank you to all for the freedom and safety we all enjoy today. 
 
Today is Law Enforcement Day.  Please pray for our Police Officers who serve the public and keep our communities safe.
 
Please take a moment of silence for all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our freedom and safety.  
 
Please keep John Falzone in your prayers who is in the hospital and remember Evelyn McCarthy who passed away on 1/5/2020.
 
Please also keep in your thoughts and prayers, any of our members dealing with illness or who have passed away that we have not been made aware of.
 
ROLL CALL – BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
Michael Signorile, President; Vincent Dechiaro, Vice President; Gail Ziemski, Secretary; Vivian Benner, Treasurer; Elizabeth Higgins, and Joe Bushey.  George Mason (was absent for the afternoon meeting and present for the evening meeting).
 
Meeting will be recorded and transcribed by Doris Vilardo for submission to “The Southwind”.
After the business portion of the meeting, the floor will be open to the membership for comments.  Each member will be allowed five (5) minutes to address the Board.  Anyone who wishes to speak must address the Board in a civil manner or they will not be entertained.
 
TREASURER’S REPORT AS OF JANUARY 6, 2020
 
Operating: $195,690.49
Replacements: $165,428.38
A Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report was made by Vincent Dechiaro and seconded by Joe Bushey. All were in favor.\
 
SOUTHWIND:
This is the first month the magazine was delivered by the USPS via Bulk Mail.  There was a problem with delivery by the Post Office.  Our magazine was delivered to the Post Office on December 31, 2019 (New Year’s Eve morning).  This was the first attempt using this delivery service through the Post Office.  Other sister communities use this service and their publication was delivered on time.  We will be addressing this matter with the delivery company as well as the Postmaster.
 
SOLAR PROJECT:
The solar project has started but has been stalled.  The township is sitting on the permits that are required to move the installation along.  All engineering studies and reports have been finalized. We are now waiting for the permits to be issued so we can move forward.
 
RESERVE STUDY:
The Reserve Study and the budget have been forwarded to the corporation’s CPA for review and adjustments.
 
SMOKING SITUATION:
The Board obtained legal advice and have adopted a smoking policy.  This facility will no longer permit smoking or vaping near or around any entrances to the buildings.  There are designated smoking areas and the Board request that everyone who smokes/vapes adheres to the policy that is in line with the NJ Statute.  After the first few weeks of the new smoking policy, we have found that it is not only difficult to enforce, it has also created a hazard in the way of cigarette butts on the grounds and in garbage cans.  To adhere to the State statute and prevent the current situation concerning trash, the Board will be moving the designated smoking areas near Building A& C closer but in a distance within the existing law.  If this does not work and people do not comply, the Board will move to make the clubhouse a no-smoking facility.  Security has been instructed to speak with violators and advise them of the policy.  If they persist and do not comply, Security has been instructed to contact the legal authorities and have individuals who are not in compliance removed from the premises.  Compliance is very important and must be adhered to or the Association can be exposed to fines.
 
EMAIL LIST:
The list is growing, but not as fast as we would like.  This is an important tool for us to have.  If you haven’t submitted your email address, please provide it to the office.
 
SWALES:
The cleanup has been completed from San Carlos to Orlando (the swale between Selkirk and Freeport).  We are looking at other swales that may require remediation.
 
ENTERTAINMENT:
The Trustees are planning a trip to the Count Basie Theater to see John Tarangelo and the Edward Twins on April 29, 2020.  Seating will be limited to 100 people. Tickets are priced at $65 per person.  We are only taking deposits at this time in the amount of $30 to hold your seat.  You can hold your seat at Friday Ticket Sales.
 
NEW YEAR’S EVE:
This event was a great success and plans are in the works for next year with some changes. There was some food left over and it was donated to the local women’s shelter.
 
S2425:
This Bill is still looming over us.  We were told the wording in the Bill would have changes.  The Bill will be presented some time during the month of January for further review by the legislature.  The coalition of all the associations has invited the author of the Bill to our next meeting to discuss the Bill and future Bills that might influence those in Trenton and hopefully through cooperation make changes to our benefit.
 
VETWORKS:
Last month, it was brought up that VetWorks was losing its funding and were discontinuing the service.    We recently found out they are restructuring the program and will continue this much needed program for our Veterans who live in Ocean County.  
 
ASSOCIATION’S ATTORNEYS:
We received proposals from two HOA attorneys.  The Board voted to retain the firm of Becker & Poliakoff, LLP of Morristown who also have offices in Ocean County. Their proposal was in line with our association needs and their proposal gave us the best pricing. 
 
TRUSTEE UPDATES:
Joe Bushey advised that we currently do not have enough people interested in the Community Garden.  Unless we get more people interested, we cannot go forward.  We will try one more time asking those who are interested, to please contact Joe Bushey by email at [email protected] .
BETTY HIGGINS: Thanked all those who attended the New Year’s Eve event.  The Trustee Volunteers are having a $15 dance on February 22.  The music will be by “Who Are You Guys”.  Tickets are now on sale on Friday mornings.
 
Please note that there will not be a Homeowner’s Meeting during the month of February.
 
COMMENTS/QUESTIONS FROM HOMEOWNERS
“Freecare Program:  Bill Holencsak and Mike Signorile attended a meeting at Carefree to see how their program works.  It’s a volunteer program to assist those in need to do minor repairs in homes.  They have been doing it for 19 years with volunteers and 8 telephone operators.  They answered over 17,000 calls.  Bill Holencsak would like to have this type of service in our community and he volunteered to head it up.  It could be as simple as changing a light bulb, putting away Christmas decorations, etc.   We would meet on a monthly basis to go over incoming calls and assign someone to the job.  This volunteer program is only in the planning stages as a policy must be set up first.
 
Linda Molinaro advised that as of today, she had not received her copy of the Southwind.  She did not know the Homeowners Meeting was at 2:30 pm today as previously the meetings were at 2:00 pm.  Because she didn’t get the Southwind, she was unaware of the time change.  
Celia asked how much it cost the association for delivering the Southwind.  She was told that we receive a stipend from the publisher who gets payment from the advertisers and this offsets the cost for the bulk mail delivery by the Post Office.  It was decided to have the Southwind delivered this way to avoid liability should a volunteer gets hurt.  Also, with a lack of volunteers, many people reported not receiving the Southwind.  By using this new delivery method, the Southwind will reach all residents through the postal delivery.  
 
Annette Collins mentioned that since we now have extra money, she would like to see the green curtains replaced.  She mentioned the NYE party was a disaster.  Food was not good.  It was cold.  Salad was wilted.  Service was ok.  Another matter of her concern was security.  There were more people from other communities attending events.  She feels that homeowners should get first preference.  Those who are selling tickets should get addresses of the purchasers, so they know if they are HCS residents.  This way residents have the first opportunity to buy tickets for events.  She felt the No Smoking/No Vaping signs indicate that it was for the building and not for outside the building.  The sign should be larger and say:  No Smoking in Front of The Buildings. She also noted that during the summer there were people at the pool who were not residents and we need volunteers to check badges.  In fact, she would volunteer to do this.
 
Regarding the Security Guards, we are the only community that has them.  We do not have them during the day, only in the evenings.  Guards come in from 5-10 pm.  Our main concern is at night when members, especially women, leave the buildings.  During the day, there are always people here.  
 
Al Engber asked how much it cost us to do the Reserve Study and he was advised that it cost $3,750 and its focus was the buildings and grounds of the clubhouse.  He asked why we paid for CPI information when it’s available as public information.  He was advised the CPI information was not provided by the Falcone Group, but was compiled by Mike Signorile and didn’t cost us anything.  He felt the Trustee Secretary should be taking the Minutes and not Doris. He also asked if we had a contract with the cleaning people as he didn’t see a line item for that.  He was told it was included in Office Administration.  In 2020, there will be a separate line item for this expense.  In fact, we relocated many expense items on the expense sheet.  
Rich Bohan said he heard that people were upset about having the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the same Day as Pearl Harbor Day.  Rich did take a moment of silence for those who lost their lives, as well as, having the audience sing “God Bless America”.  He also mentioned that there will be a dance in April.  If volunteers are again needed for the Southwind delivery, he has 15 people who can do this.  
 
Howie Joyce said that outsiders at the New Year’s Eve dance were mostly people from the Berkeley Community as they did not have a clubhouse because of their disaster and came to our event. Holiday Heights did not have a party and people came here for the celebration. He felt that it was one of the best parties we ever had.  Price was a bargain.  Girls did a great job!  Also, the outside Christmas decorations looked great.
 
Lorraine Kimball said that there were 46 houses who entered the Christmas Decorating Contest.  We had judges and these were the top 3 winners:  2 Zapata Court, 4 Togo and 73 San Carlos.  Next year, we will try to do this earlier so that we can publish the homes that entered the contest.  It was noted that Nettie donated her artistic abilities and painted ornaments and they were given out to all participants.  
 
As Lorraine is one of the girls in charge of doing the Southwind, she asked everyone to be patient with the delivery as this was the first go around and we have to iron out the kinks.  Hopefully, the February issue will be delivered on time.  In the past, we have always asked for volunteers and placed a notice for delivery volunteers in every Southwind, but no one ever comes forward.  Therefore, we have deferred to postal delivery. 
 
Elaine Stemmle advised that the law specifically states the size of the lettering and must designate a certain distance for smoking.  It was 25’ and now it is 15’ from an entrance to a building.  The signs we have do not have, this on them.  The CPI reflects that from 2010-2019 the amount should be $107.97 a quarter and we are being charged $120 which is approximately an overage of $12 per month or $48 a year. With over 2300 homes, this amounts to $117,000 over and above what the CPI has to be.
 
Cil asked if AARP will be coming to HCS for income tax preparation.  They have not contacted us, but will have the office check to see where they will be in the area.  
 
The Afternoon Business meeting opened at 2:30 pm with 121 members in attendance and closed at 2:50 pm.  The public portion of the meeting opened at 2:50 pm and closed at 3:45 pm.
The Evening Business meeting opened at 7:00 pm with 35 members in attendance and closed at 7:31 pm.  There were no questions for the public portion of the meeting.
 
Both afternoon and evening meetings presented identical information to the membership.
 
Submitted by Doris Vilardo
Minutes approved by Trustees