February Board Meeting 2/9/16
Present: Mike Gilmore, Bob Papp, Mike McLaughlin, Pat Holoob, Lisa Kutchaver, Chris Lelli, Diane Adams, Harshal Limaye, Kari O’Connell
Absent: Jill and Keri Graef
Meeting began 7:40pm
Motions: January meeting minutes were reviewed and approved by the board members to be distributed to the membership via email, FaceBook and website.
President – Mike McLaughlin
Private Party forms – Mike M. is working on updating the private party forms with a “hold harmless clause”. He said once completed he would like to post the new form on our website and have members click on the “Acknowledge button”.
Website update – George Biking has developed our new website. The website portal has multiple sections. The front page is public and open to all. The member portal requires members to create an account and login. The board portal is available only to board members. George is working on password protecting the website after which the site will be rolled out to the membership.
Vandalism – Mike reported that he received complaints of vandalism around the trees at the lake. Cops were called and trees were sanded remove the graffiti.
Legal Entity changes – Mike reported he’s working on converting the lake association legal entity from 501c-7 to 501c-3. With this change the membership dues will be completely tax deductible and the association will be allowed to take donations and grants. Mike G asked if we still have to pay property taxes and Bob Papp responded saying we may not have to.
Vice President/Membership – Pat Holoob
The “New membership packet” is outdated and Pat Holoob is redoing it. She said she will add a cover sheet with board information and overall make changes to make it short and simple.
Pat said she has received a list from Patty Driscoll of 5 families who may be prospects for new membership.
New applications – The board voted in Magdalina and Michael Chinea, living on Blossom drive, to the membership subject to receiving the required initiation fees and the annual membership dues from them. The Chinea family has three children – Marissa age 4 and twins Nolan and Nathan 6 months.
Pat said she would need to order new badges for this year and also discussed some alternatives to them. The board decided to stick with the badges and order double quantity to cover for 2 years if its cheaper.
Pat is working on a “Welcome to the neighborhood” card that can be sent to people who have recently moved in the area. Open house is on the calendar.
Video – Pat created a video of the lake that she wanted to distribute on YouTube and FaceBook. She has used a couple of record label songs as the background music for the video and therefore she was concerned about any copyright infringements. YouTube allowed her to upload the video, but would run ads on the video. Mike said it doesn’t matter if there are ads and asked her to go live and distribute it to the public. It was decided that any any personal information like names or phone numbers for event RSVPs will be blacked out in the video.
Clubhouse – Chris Lelli
Chris said he met with Pat Holoob to discuss clubhouse improvements for this year. The top priority items are replacing or fixing the hot water heater and finishing the painting job. He said his wife is interested in doing an art mural on the side of the building. She has a few ideas and the board can vote on them.
Chris is working on updating the music system at the clubhouse with SONOS. TV service will stay and it is paid from the utility budget. Bob Paap requested Chris to check the landline phone at the clubhouse and said most likely it’s an issue with the equipment and not the service.
Treasury – Bob Papp
Bob Papp went over the financials for the prior month. He said we now have about $6000 in the bank. Membership dues payments are coming in and many people are paying in full. Bob said this year, 2016 is the last year of Advance dues.
Corresponding Secretary – Lisa Kutchaver
Lisa said she’s gearing up to do the newsletter. Mike M. will send her the newsletter format. Lisa is planning to do 4 newsletters one each quarter and said she will mail them in along with the event flyers for that quarter. The newsletter will include a feature article for example a history lesson or something similar.
Recording Secretary – Harshal Limaye
Nothing to report.
Environmental – open position
Grounds – Mike Gilmore
Mike G reported the computer and database for the parking lot gate is fixed, but the gate itself was knocked out. He’s working on fixing this.
He’s getting new street closing barriers, the old ones have worn out. May 7th is set as the cleanup day and he plans to get the logs split.
He has installed a chain and a “Private Property, Keep Out” sign blocking access to the ball fields for trucks and other vehicles. There’s still room underneath for kids who want to use that space for sledding.
Lifeguards – Kari O’Connell
Nothing to report
Social – Jill and Keri Graef
Jill and Keri were absent at the meeting.
Water Quality – Diane Adams
Matthew Perez wants to do an Eagle Scout project on the lake, which would include a fishing derby. On his behalf, Diane Adams asked for permission from the board. The board said it was ok and Bob Papp add that the Boys Scout are insured, so there’s no issue of exposure.
Diane reported that Garden State is contracted for regular water quality tests. They will do the weekly fecal coliform inspection to ensure water safety.
We received a quote from Aquatic Technologies for $5,500 for controlling algae and other aquatic plants. This will include regular monitoring of the lake and all herbicide and algal treatments as and when needed. The herbicide included is Sonar which is applied directly to the plants. Last year we paid for 2 herbicide treatments and 2 algal treatments for $4100 from Garden State (now Solitude). While algae were largely under control, the aquatic plants did not respond to the herbicide and took over parts of the inlet and the beach. Aquatic Technologies can start in March but they will need an improvement to the boat launch area like a ramp under the water.
Mike M said he will reach out to people for recommendations on building the ramp.
New Business
Bob Papp spoke to Mayor Hayes regarding the no parking ordinance and the missing signs around the lake. He said the Mayor is going to direct his department to install the signs.
He also talked to the Mayor to take action and remind the Bridgewater residents that it its against the law to dump leaves and branches into the stream even if the stream runs through your property.
Pat H. said Ann Perry’s mother passed away and the sunshine club sent a condolences card.
Lake sign – Bob Papp has called 3 companies to get a ballpark estimate on the sign and based on that he has budgeted $3000. Lisa Kutchaver volunteered to take this up and get designs and detailed bids for the job. It was suggested to look into signs made from wood or composite material that will hold up good in the weather.
Meeting was adjourned 8:46pm.