MINUTES- 5th Rhode Harbor Homeowners Meeting October 6, 2009
at John Latuperissa’s house. 7pm.
In Attendence:
John Latuperissa
Carrie Zambrana
Joe Zambrana
Johnny Messineo
Greg Whitesell
Beth Whitesell
Mary Dadone
Joe Redsenzky
Meeting Agenda:
-To continue on with the work in progress, much of the same.
-To report on progress and findings in both the covenant/bylaw committee and the pier committee.
-RHHA officers to discuss process in application for non-profit/tax exempt status
-To discuss future action within committees.
-To set date and agenda for next meeting.
Specific Tasks assigned between last meeting and now.
1- Continue with bylaws
2- Clean up brush down near pier area
3- Put up signs stating private property
4- Get drawings started on pier, and have county tell us what they think
JOHN L- We can kick it off with Joe…the last time we talked, we were going to go back to the county and talk to them about the pier. Jan and Jo were going to do plans for a new pier.
JOE Z- Here’s the drawing they came up with.
Carrie- That’s not 100% complete because it’s not the exact dimensions. It’s a preliminary drawing.
People pass around the drawing. (posted on web for all to see at http://home.comcast.net/~RhodeHarbor/pierplans.html)
JOE Z- I’m not sure if that’s enough for the county or not. (It’s doesn’t include the plot.)
John L- I think it is. I have a program I can put it in.
John L- Is this enough for everyone to have a slip.
Joe Z- No we are one slip short. It has 10, we need 11.
John L- I think we need to get an estimate on the table. Then once we have that baseline estimate, then we can see about who is on board. I’m home for the next 6 weeks and can work with you, Joe. I’ll help you do whatever. I have the contact info. If I can’t find it before I leave, I’ll get it to you tomorrow. I would like to know too (how much it may cost)
Joe Z- I think the next step is to contact the county.
John L- What I want to do is to say (to the County) …can you come out here, walk the property and ask them to get a feel for what we can get. We’ll go into the office, get them to come out, and have them come check it out. They’re in the office on Riva Road.
John L-Anything to add on the pier? (no additions)
John L- Okay, so we are going to have the county pier inspector come out and look at what we have and see what we can do. Then we are going to get 3 estimates based on that.
Carrie Z-Also, Joe put in for a work order to have the county come out and redo the gravel road.
Joe Z- I called one person and then called someone else who said they’ll put it on the books…..they said they’ll have it done.
John L- You have to stay on top of them. If you do, they’ll get it done. If not, they’ll forget about you. I know a lot of the faces that work down there.
Joe Z- I’ll stay on top of it. They said that it’ll get done.
John L- I know Don wanted to ask about signage at the end of the road before you head down to the pier.
Joe z- I talked to Ray, who got a guy to do the sign, and he spelled it wrong, Road not Rhode. So now they have to re-do it. I talked to Ray, who said that he needs to contact the guy. But Ray’s back is hurt again.
John L- We’ll give it a little time. If something doesn’t happen in two weeks, we’ll take it upon ourselves to get something done. That’s something that needs to be done soon.
John L- What was the status of the bylaws?
Greg W- I think the last word was that there is a lot more work to be done them.
Carrie Z- To me it would be good to look at a model, but we would have to change it for us. We have our original covenants, and have what we have so far.
John L- I’ll take it as a n action to get a hold of Jackie—and if she doesn’t want to take it anymore, I’ll take it on myself. Unless anyone disagrees, I think that that single issue got everyone riled up the most. So whatever is in there, it has to be a consensus. I was under the understanding that most of the bylaws would be oriented towards the pier. No one wants to be told they have to mow their lawns twice a week or anything.
Carrie- The bylaws are how the organization is run. The covenants are for the community.
Carrie Z- (Treasury Report) Since our last report, we collected 2 more initial dues from homeowners in the community which brought in $400 of additional funds. We paid expenses of insurance for $300, for liability on common areas. We also ordered checks that cost $31 approximately. That leaves a balance of $2,339.26 which covers $300 for insurance, but not the checks. I received one additional check the day before yesterday from the final homeowner that owed in the amount of $200. But it has not been deposited yet and is not included in the balance. The balance does not include the cost of the sign either.
John L- The sign isn’t going to be that much.
Joe Redzensky- Is there anyway to call the county about a sign that says that it is not a though Street? (talk about people coming down our street in search of Holiday Hill Marina. Consensus that a sign most likely would not solve the problem)
Greg W- I just wanted to see if there are any thoughts about the County wharf?
It’s gotten to the point where I’m afraid to even go down there. At any point in the day there are about 8 to a doze turkey vultures down there spread garbage all around the parking lot, 8-12 cars and trailers parked, and people out on the pier from 6am til 8pm. I used to use the access to launch my little sailboat down there, but now I don’t feel like it is safe for me to leave my car down there or any room to park.
Carrie- I’d see what the other homeowner associations have to say. I think that Mr. Greenbaum had some problems with that issue.
John- I’d take some pictures and bring it to the attention of the people who can do something about it. You’d be surprised what you can get done. I’ve had to do something similar to that in the past.
Carrie Z- As for our Tax Exempt Status. We are just about complete with the application and I need to talk to our accountant about that because I have a couple of questions.
John L- Whatever the costs…….
Carrie Z- I am hoping he’ll do it for free.
Greg W- Well, that’s the right price. You may want to see if he’ll sign it.
Carrie Z- There’s a box to check if you filled it out yourself or if you have a professional prepare the forms for you. I went ahead and checked the box, because I filled them out myself. But I’m not sure what is better.
Greg W- You may want to ask him what would be better. If there is any advantage going either way.
Carrie Z- I noticed that the clean up was completed—Joe Z and Joe R took care of it……(A big thanks!)
JohnL- Did we have someone who is spearheading the shrubbery at the entrance of the community?
Carrie Z- I think it just needs to be cleaned up aside from just cutting it all down.
Johnny M-The other issue is that that the branches harbor a lot of trash.
Carrie Z- Other than that, there is really nothing. The bushes probably need to be trimmed, but not necessarily chopped down.
John L- Does anyone want to volunteer to take care and come up with plan of a redesign for the bushes out front?
Mary D- Yes, I’ll volunteer.
John L- Anything else?
Greg W- I think that Mary D wanted to see if there was any feedback or reaction from last weekend’s yard sale.
(crowd reacted, saying so and so sold a bunch….there were a lot of people and traffic coming…..that it was a good idea to time it with the church’s flea market down the street)
Mary D- Yes, the yard sale. Next year we could have one in the spring in conjunction with the church down the street’s springtime flea market. But the next step is…. there are things that I didn’t sell. I’ll get a truck to come out from purple heart. If others are interested, I’ll let everyone know when they’ll come.
(people agreed that is a good idea)
Mary D- And also, I have some stuff that needs to go to the dump. Some of it is rather large. Perhaps we could rent a truck.
Johnny M, John L, and Greg W- (all chimed in saying…..) we have trucks and trailers that could probably do the job.
Greg W- I’m not sure that you can rent a truck and get into the dump. Can you.
(Some answered no, you can’t. They’d charge you. No commercial trucks allowed)
Carrie Z- The gazeebo area still has a lot of stuff that needs to be cleaned up. Built in barbecue grill area with trash piled up. Some exposed nails. Debris, etc.
Greg W-There’s also stuff in the shed that probably needs to go to the dump.
John L- Anything else?
Agenda for next meeting….
Specific Tasks assigned
-Mary D- plan for shrubbery out front
Joe Z and John L – get inspector out fro county to review plans, and get estimates on pier
John L- Signage- If not done in 2 weeks, John L will take care of
John L- Bylaws/Covs – Need to get done- Contact Jackie to see how its going and what to do next.
Next Meeting:
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at Mary D’s House at 7pm
John L- Anything else? Meeting adjourned. 8:05 PM