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CHCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Board Members Present: Elaine Aiello, Anne Anderson, AnnMarie Arment, Robert Bacino, Jane Board Members Excused: Joanne Dhody, Marianne Dwyer, Kathleen Jones, and Jonathan Sternberg Board Members Absent: Karen Ampomah and Fran O’Donnell Others Present: Louis Aiello (former Board member), Mary Anna Ross Cowper (former Board
Tolis Vardakis called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM and asked for a moment of silence. Noreen Spota conducted the roll call. In the absence of Kathy Jones, Tolis requested that the Board appoint Stewart Graham to serve as this meeting’s parliamentary advisor. A motion to this effect was seconded and passed. Approval of Agenda. There was a motion to approve the agenda; this motion was seconded and passed. Approval of Minutes. Tolis Vardakis submitted an amendment to the Board meeting minutes from March 27, 2008. There was a motion to approve the minutes as amended; this motion was seconded and passed. Election of Officers and Executive Committee Members. Ron Recko, Nominating Committee Chair, circulated the committee’s list of nominations for 2008-2009: President, Tolis Vardakis; Vice President of Operations, Dina Hitchcock; Vice President of Physical Division, Ned Mitinger; Vice President of Social Division, Jane Piotrowski; Secretary, Kristina Sullivan; Treasurer, Mark Keintz; Executive Committee Members Edward Berg, Thomas Fleming, Anne McNally, Patrick Moran, and Robert Rossman. In addition Ron submitted his nomination of David Skolnick for Treasurer. Several Board members expressed the opinion that it is worthwhile to have new people volunteering to serve the organization. Both David Skolnick and Mark Keintz briefly described their qualifications to serve as CHCA Treasurer. Moss Disston described the responsibilities of the position and Tom Fleming stated that David Skolnick should become a member of the Budget and Finance Committee if he is not elected Treasurer. Stewart Graham distributed ballots to all of the current Board members; these were tallied by Ron Recko and Anne McNally. While the votes were being tallied, Tolis directed some comments to the new Board members regarding Robert’s Rules of Order and how conflicts of interest will be handled at Board meetings. (Conflicts of interest will be identified for the record, and those with conflicts of interest regarding a particular issue under consideration will not participate in the debate or vote about that issue.) Ron Recko announced that the Nominating Committee’s slate was elected; Mark Keintz received 26 votes and David Skolnick received 10 votes for Treasurer. At this point every Board member introduced himself or herself and said a few words about their background and interest in serving on the Board. Tolis thanked the outgoing Board members for their service. Approval of New LUPZ Committee Members. Ned Mitinger offered a motion to approve the following two new members of the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee: Allison Schapker, a senior landscape designer with Andropogon Associates, and Alfred Dragani, an architect with Bohlin Cwyinski Jackson Architects. This motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Approval of New Awards Committee Member. Tolis Vardakis proposed that Jane Piotrowski be appointed to serve as a member of the Awards Committee; there was a motion to this effect which was seconded and passed unanimously. Reappointment of Fund Trustees. Jean Hemphill explained that the CHCA Board appoints the Chestnut Hill Community Fund Trustees. There are currently six Trustees and they are now in the process of staggering the 3-year terms. There was a motion to appoint Trustees Susan Bray and William McGuckin for 3-year terms to expire in May 2011; this motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Report of Community Manager Search Committee. Janice Manzi, Search Committee Chair, reported that 19 resumes were received for this position, 8 candidates were interviewed, and 2 candidates were brought back as finalists. She introduced the committee’s recommended candidate, Philip LeCalsey; copies of his resume were circulated. Philip described his background and answered questions from Board members. Ann Spaeth stated that no one should be offered a position without a job description that has been approved by the Board. After additional discussion, Mark Keintz offered a motion to hire Philip LeCalsey as the new Community Manager; this motion was seconded and passed with one abstention (Patrick Moran). Report from Treasurer.Moss Disston reported that the financial statements for the CHCA, Local, and Fund for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 are still being prepared by bookkeeper Sue Kowert. Report from Vice President of Social Division. Jane Piotrowski reported on plans for this summer’s Pastorius Park concert series and mentioned the need for volunteers at the concerts and for maintenance of Buckley Park. Meredith Sonderskov provided an update on the Life and Learning Center (in the process of merging with the Chestnut Hill Senior Center) and Jane Becker provided an update on the activities of Teenagers, Inc. Report from Vice President of Physical Division. Ned Mitinger provided brief updates about the Street Tree Committee, the Aesthetic Committee, and the Traffic, Transportation, and Parking Committee. In addition, he reported that the Development Review Committee at its meeting on Tuesday, May 20 considered an application from Diamond Spa to approve the provision of therapeutic massage services as part of their existing business. A use variance is not required; at issue is approval of a license for massage therapy. Diamond Spa owner Roy Miyahara provided clarification. Ned Mitinger offered a motion to accept the unanimous recommendation of the DRC to approve the license and provision of massage therapy at Diamond Spa; this motion was seconded and passed with 1 vote opposed and 1 abstention. Ned then asked for the Board’s approval of a letter in opposition to Act 193, which limits “taxpayer standing” (the right to be heard at zoning hearings) only to citizens who can demonstrate that they have been harmed by the actions taken by developers. Marie Lachat stated that many other neighborhoods have expressed their opposition to Act 193. Ned offered a motion to send a letter from the CHCA to “SCRUB” [Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight] in support of their protest of Act 193; this motion was seconded and passed. Report from Vice President of Operations. A motion to recommend the following policy for Board approval was passed unanimously by the Executive Committee at its meeting on May 8, 2008. Copies of this statement were circulated to the Board. “CHCA Executive Meeting 1. The Editor of the Chestnut Hill Local has full authority to exclude any individual Board member 2. The Community Manager of the Chestnut Hill Community Association has full authority to 3. The Business Manager, in the absence of the Community Manager of the Chestnut Hill 4. To facilitate efficient use of the CHCA staff time, all members of the Association and its Board of 5. To facilitate efficient use of the CHCA staff time, all members of the Association and its Board of Ann Spaeth distributed copies of the minutes from the Executive Committee meeting of December 8, 2005 and pointed out that there is no mention of the above statement in the minutes. In the ensuing discussion, Ann expressed her concern about Item 5 and felt it should be eliminated because it is the responsibility of CHCA staff to provide information to Board members and to the public. The following points were also raised: CHCA committees can meet in locations other than Town Hall; the Town Hall office space can be rearranged; these regulations will discourage the gathering of people in Town Hall; there should be a procedure to request items from the CHCA staff; it is worthwhile for such requests to go through the Community Manager so that he can learn what is involved; a work order form can be put online; the purpose of these rules is to minimize distractions in the office so that work can be done more efficiently; these procedures are to grant authority to the Editor and Community Manager as needed. Dina Hitchcock suggested that in Item 4 “CHCA Treasurer” be replaced by “Community Manager” and in Item 5 “CHCA Secretary” be replaced by “Community Manager.” There was a motion to call the question (end discussion); this motion passed with 2 votes opposed and 1 abstention. There was a motion to approve the above policy as amended by Dina; this motion was seconded and passed with 23 votes in favor, 8 votes opposed, and 3 abstentions. Dina then provided an update about the work of the Personnel Committee to revise the CHCA/Local employee manual. Committee members include Walter Sullivan, chair; Bob Bacino, Ed Berg, and Kathy Jones. Editor Pete Mazzaccaro and the Community Manager will also provide input. Ann Spaeth expressed her concern that notice of all CHCA committee meetings, including those of the Personnel Committee, should be published in the Local. During the course of this discussion, Pat Moran suggested that someone bring previous meeting minutes for reference; Kristina Sullivan suggested that Board members should bring their binders containing copies of the minutes; Tolis Vardakis suggested that Noreen bring her laptop computer to search for whatever minutes may be needed. Letter from Montgomery, McCracken Law Firm. Tolis Vardakis initiated a discussion about the letter received from Montgomery, McCracken, Walker and Rhodes dated April 21, 2008 regarding financial and management issues and his response dated May 6, 2008. Joe Pizzano offered a motion to table the discussion because Jim Foster was not present; this motion was seconded but did not pass. Jean Hemphill stated that a response from the Fund Trustees was sent in a letter dated May 9, 2008. Tolis circulated and reviewed the following document: “To the directors at the CHCA board meeting, 5/22/2008 DCED CLOSE-OUT CHRONOLOGY 5/22/06 Grant Closeout Report sent to the DCED by Betty Brady –Community Manager 5/25/06 The Ron Recko administration takes over. 5/31/06 The DCED requested the invoices (It appears the invoices were not sent with the Report). 8/10/06 The Oversight Committee report on the DCED Grant was presented to the Executive Committee by Jim Foster: “While a last minute set of documents was sent, any audit of those documents and careful comparison with the specific previously approved uses would find inconsistencies in application, but not in dollar amount”. Recommendation to approve the O/S Committee report on the DCED Grant was approved by the Executive Committee and approved by the board at the September 2006 meeting. 9/12/06 Betty Brady –Community Manager, resigns. 9/16/06 Ron Recko appoints Ed Budnick as Interim Community Manager (Ed Budnick was until then an elected board member and a member of the Recko administration). 1/30/07 The DCED sent “NOTICE OF REJECTION OF CLOSEOUT REPORT” requesting $5,293 worth of invoices. 2/28/07 The DCED sent a blank AFFIDAVIT to be filled out to Ed Budnick –Community Manager. 3/2/07 The DCED sent “NOTICE OF NON-COMPLIANCE” referencing the above letter of 1/30/07. 3/7/07 Ed Budnick sent an email to the DCED stating that he faxed the invoices “last evening”. 3/7/07 The DCED acknowledged receipt of the invoices. It appears from the above chronology of communications that the Recko administration, of which Jim Foster was a member, had the opportunity on several occasions but failed to inform the DCED of its own concerns. It also failed to exclude or withdraw those invoices for the work done on 8431 Germantown Ave. The DCED grant was for 8434 Germantown Ave. –Town Hall. Not only that, but the Recko administration signed a sworn affidavit (six months after the Oversight Committee Report was issued on the DCED) that “all terms and conditions of the grant agreement were satisfied. All funds were received and spent in accordance with the attached Grant Close-Out Report. This includes copies of all available invoices for approved grant expenditures. All grant expenditures expended within the grant period and for goods and/or services which were expended within the grant period and for goods and/or services which were expressly permitted under the terms and conditions of the forgoing grant/loan agreement”. 5/24/07 Tolis Vardakis administration begins.” Jean Hemphill briefly described the history of the $10,000 DCED grant, which was made to the Fund to improve operations at Town Hall (8434 Germantown Avenue). About $2,500 of this grant was used to repair the building at 8431 Germantown Avenue (then owned by the Fund) instead of Town Hall. At 10:07 PM there was a motion to extend the meeting for 15 minutes; this motion was seconded and passed. Ed Berg clarified that the Board is considering its response to Montgomery, McCracken’s list of recommended actions by the CHCA. Tolis then read from his letter dated January 29, 2008 to the St. Clair accounting firm regarding improvement of the CHCA’s financial procedures; this letter was sent to the Board via e-mail on May 6. At this point George Spaeth stated that these important issues cannot be discussed adequately given the late hour. He offered a motion to adjourn; this motion was seconded and passed. Having run out of time, the meeting was adjourned at 10:15 PM. Minutes prepared by Noreen Spota, CHCA Administrative Coordinator, on 6/2/08. Respectfully submitted on 6/6/08 by: Kristina Sullivan Approved by the Board of Directors as amended on 6/26/08. |
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