CHCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
Dixon House, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Thursday, March 13, 2008

MINUTES

Executive Committee Members Present: Lou Aiello (At-Large), Ed Berg (At-Large), Moss Disston
(Treasurer), Tom Fleming (At-Large), Dina Hitchcock (VP Operations), Anne McNally (At-Large), Ned Mitinger (VP Physical Division), Jane Piotrowski (VP Social Division), Ron Recko (Immediate Past President), and Kristina Sullivan (Secretary)

Executive Committee Members Excused: Jane Becker (At-Large) and Tolis Vardakis (President)

Board Members Present: Meredith Sonderskov, Ann Ward Spaeth, and Walter Sullivan

Others Present: Pete Mazzaccaro (CH Local Editor), Martha Sharkey (Community Manager), Noreen
Spota (Administrative Coordinator), and Sandra Thomas (Associate Minister at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill)

Dina Hitchcock called the meeting to order at 7:36 PM. Noreen Spota conducted the roll call.

Approval of Minutes. There was a motion to approve the Executive Committee meeting minutes from February 13, 2008 as submitted. This motion was seconded and passed with one abstention (Dina Hitchcock).

Report from Sandra Thomas. The Reverend Dr. Sandra Thomas, together with Meredith Sonderskov, gave a presentation about the formation of the Chestnut Hill Life and Learning Center, to be located at the Presbyterian Church. The plan is to merge the new Life and Learning Center with the Chestnut Hill Adult Activities Center (formerly known as the Senior Services Center) in the fall of 2008, thereby providing a larger space for the Adult Activities Center and enabling it to expand its programs. A letter and flier describing the plans were distributed to members of the Executive Committee. The letter states, “If CHCA is willing to enter into this process, we will request that all legal relationships, insurance policies, personnel policies, contracts, agreements and affiliations, encumbrances, current or potential liabilities, debts, and assets of the Adult Activity Center be made known. It is not our intention to take on responsibility for past debts, liabilities or the current lease.” As the Adult Activities Center is an “activity” of the CHCA, the new Life and Learning Center is seeking to obtain approval from the CHCA Board for the transition. Ron Recko offered a motion to recommend support for this plan to the CHCA Board. This motion was seconded. After further discussion, there was a motion to table this issue until the March 27 Board meeting so that the information requested in the letter can be compiled. This motion was approved.

Report from Treasurer. The following documents were distributed to the Executive Committee: 1) a proposed budget for the Local for fiscal year ending 3/31/09; 2) a proposed budget for the CHCA for fiscal year ending 3/31/09; 3) the income statement and balance sheet for the Local as of 1/31/08; and 4) the income statement and balance sheet for the CHCA as of 1/31/08. The proposed budget for the Local was reviewed and discussed. The following issues were mentioned: 1) this budget includes no salary increases for the Local’s staff; 2) the question of where payment of the $31,000 loan should be recorded (income statement vs. balance sheet); 3) the Local’s 80 percent share of the audit/tax preparation fees reflecting the time actually spent by the accountants; 4) shared operating expenses allocated for the Community Manager’s salary for “business manager” activities for the Local or anything that pertains to the staff as a whole (e.g. health insurance, phone system, etc.); 5) the desirability of hiring a Business Manager for the Local if funds are available, to make operations more profitable and efficient; and 6) the idea that because the Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization and the Local is not, the Fund cannot give money to the Local. The possibility of the Local joining with other Chestnut Hill businesses in order to negotiate lower credit card fees was also mentioned; Martha Sharkey will contact the Business Association about this issue. A motion was offered by Dina Hitchcock to recommend this budget to the Board; this motion was seconded and passed.

The proposed budget for the CHCA was then reviewed and discussed. The following issues were mentioned: 1) allocation of the increased membership dues, with $30 being retained by the CHCA and $20 being given to the Local; 2) the fact that “extra membership income” will decrease as a result of the dues increase; 3) anticipating a decrease in the membership as a result of the dues increase, the budget reflects approximately 2100 members rather than the current 2300 members; and 4) the Black and White Gala will not be held this year due to the slower business climate and a lack of volunteers agreeing to chair the event. Dina Hitchcock stated that the Board will be told the final grant allocations from the Fund in time for the March 27 meeting. Ron Recko expressed his concern that the Board has not seen financial reports from the Fund since October. Martha Sharkey explained that this was because the temporary bookkeeper was concentrating on preparing reports for the CHCA and Local; financial reports for the Fund will be available at the next Board meeting. A motion was offered by Dina Hitchcock to recommend this budget to the Board, pending adjustments for the Fund grant allocations. This motion was seconded and passed.

Financial reports for the Local and CHCA as of 1/31/08 were reviewed and overall trends were highlighted.

Report from Vice President, Social Division. Jane Piotrowski stated that she had nothing to report from the Social Division.

Report from Vice President, Physical Division. Ned Mitinger expressed his appreciation for the excellent front-page article in this week’s issue of the Local about two Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee issues. At its meeting on March 6, the LUPZ approved plans for three new antennas to be placed on top of Chestnut Hill Towers at Mermaid Lane and Stenton Avenue. Also, two architects were nominated for seats on the LUPZ Committee. Since Ned will be unable to attend the Board meeting on March 27, Dina Hitchcock will present these motions for Board approval. Ned also reported that the Traffic, Transportation, and Parking Committee was well-represented at last night’s public meeting held at Chestnut Hill College to discuss the Chestnut Hill Regional Area Study.

Report from Vice President of Operations. Dina Hitchcock stated that she had nothing to report from the Operations Division.

Report from Community Manager. Martha Sharkey distributed and reviewed her report, which covered the following topics: 1) Fund Drive and database (570 donors have contributed $78,762, and so far we have 83 more donors than we did last year); 2) CHCA page in the Local; 3) various office issues, including the fact that bookkeeper Sue Kowert has returned to the office on a part-time basis; and 4) community relations. Ned Mitinger pointed out that it is time to start publicizing the CHCA Annual Meeting. Dina Hitchcock reported that Brooks Turkel, CEO of Chestnut Hill Health System, will be the keynote speaker at that meeting.

Old Business. Ned Mitinger inquired about the status of the lawsuits against the CHCA.

Housing Discrimination Lawsuit. Dina Hitchcock reported that we have heard nothing regarding the action filed against the Local regarding alleged housing discrimination in its classified advertisements.

Montgomery, McCracken Law Firm Matter. Ron Recko stated that he assumes that all of the submitted documents for fiscal year ending March 31, 2006 will be turned over to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office. A discussion ensued about the activities of that time period that are being examined by the auditors. This led to a discussion about the column written by Jim Foster that appeared in this week’s issue of the Local and the desirability of encouraging younger people to run for the Board.

List of Chestnut Hill Area Non-Profit Organizations. Ron Recko (serving as Chair of this year’s Nominating Committee) asked for clarification about the 501(c)(3) status of organizations appearing on the list that was approved by the Board in January. Moss Disston explained that the organizations may not have 501(c)(3) status but still may be considered non-profit if they are permitted to have surplus income and not be required to pay taxes. This list will be used by the Nominating Committee to select Institutional Directors on the CHCA Board.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:28 PM.

Minutes prepared by Noreen Spota, CHCA Administrative Coordinator, on 3/17/08.

Respectfully submitted on 3/19/08 by:

Kristina Sullivan
CHCA Secretary

Approved by the Executive Committee as amended on 4/10/08.