CHCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
Dixon House, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Thursday, June 12, 2008

MINUTES

Executive Committee Members Present: Ed Berg (At-Large), Tom Fleming (At-Large), Dina
Hitchcock (VP Operations), Mark Keintz (Treasurer), Anne McNally (At-Large), Ned Mitinger (VP Physical Division), Patrick Moran (At-Large), Jane Piotrowski (VP Social Division), Ron Recko (Immediate Past President), Robert Rossman (At-Large), Kristina Sullivan (Secretary), and Tolis Vardakis (President)

Executive Committee Members Excused or Absent: None

Board Members Present: Pamela Learned, Christopher Padova, Marilyn Paucker, Rob Remus, Meredith
Sonderskov, and Ann Spaeth

Others Present: Philip LeCalsey (Community Manager), Pete Mazzaccaro (CH Local Editor), and
Noreen Spota (Administrative Director)

Tolis Vardakis called the meeting to order at 7:31 PM. Noreen Spota conducted the roll call.

Approval of Agenda. Ron Recko inquired about whether there would be an executive session held at the end of the meeting for the purpose of conducting an employee evaluation, and if so, why was this item not included on the agenda. Tolis confirmed that there would be an executive session. Ron offered a motion that the employee evaluation form should be approved by the Executive Committee and Board prior to discussion of Pete Mazzaccaro’s performance review; this motion was seconded. In the ensuing discussion, the following points were mentioned: that having an evaluation form is preferable to what was often done previously, which was asking employees to do their own self-evaluation without a form; that even when an evaluation form was used, it was not approved in advance by the Board; that employers often do not use evaluation forms; and that the self-evaluation process provides an opportunity for employees to emphasize the positive aspects of their job performance. Ron’s motion was defeated.

Approval of Minutes. There was a motion to approve the Executive Committee meeting minutes from May 8, 2008 as submitted. This motion was seconded and passed with two abstentions (Anne McNally and Ron Recko).

Report from Treasurer. Mark Keintz reported that bookkeeper Sue Kowert has been spending much of her time since returning to the office in March re-doing and correcting the work of the temporary bookkeeper who filled in during Sue’s extended medical leave. The financial statements for the CHCA will be ready for review in time for the June Board meeting and those for the Local will be ready shortly after that. Mark also stated that the audits for the CHCA/Local and Fund for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 have begun; the audit for the Fund is being done first. Ron expressed his concern about the lack of financial reports from the Fund since last fall; Mark stated that he will ask the Trustees for a financial report. Ned Mitinger expressed his concern about the vacancy of 8436 Germantown Avenue, because of the lack of rental income since December 2007 and its contribution to the blight on the Avenue. Tolis responded that real estate agent Pat Gallagher is working pro-bono to find a tenant. Rob Remus stated that he has many years experience in real estate and would volunteer to help find a tenant. Kristina Sullivan pointed out that the Community Manager serves as property manager for the Fund. Philip mentioned that a prospective tenant with a new business recently visited the office; Anne McNally mentioned that she knows of an established business that is also interested, and she will share the information with Philip.

Regarding financial practices, Tolis pointed out that the CHCA, Local, and Fund are now utilizing a system of using checks to document “inter-company” transfers. Mark stated that he would attempt to secure a loan to pay off the Local’s line of credit, which was obtained in 2004 to pay for Baseview software; he will see if the Fund Trustees would be willing to loan the money to the Local. Mark then mentioned his goal of moving the bookkeeping functions to a secure website (in other words, out of the office). There was some discussion about the employer’s contribution to the employees’ 401(k): the obligation for April through November 2007, which has been included in the Local’s budget for the current fiscal year, must be paid in December 2008.

Report from Vice President, Social Division. Jane Piotrowski distributed and reviewed her report, which covered the following topics: the Pastorius Park concert series, which will begin on June 18, and the need for volunteers; the picnic honoring Police and Firefighters to be held on July 30; the Holiday House Tour, which needs co-chairs; “Let’s Get Lit!” fundraiser to be held on July 24 for Chestnut Hill’s holiday tree lighting program sponsored by the Chestnut Hill District; CHCA membership efforts; and Buckley Park maintenance issues. In the ensuing discussion, the following points were mentioned: that volunteers for our various events and projects be solicited via the Local; that students from Teenagers Inc. be asked to help at the summer concerts; that using the J.S. Jenks school as a rain location for the concerts will likely result in increased attendance compared to using the Springside School; and that the holiday tree lights will be on the Avenue from November 24 through April 1 and should last for three years. So as not to conflict with the “Let’s Get Lit!” fundraiser on July 24, Jane offered a motion to recommend to the Board that the July Board meeting be moved to Thursday, July 31. This motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Noreen will check with the Chestnut Hill Library to make sure meeting space is available on that date.

Report from Vice President, Physical Division. Ned Mitinger reported that two letters were mailed this week from the CHCA: one in opposition to Act 193, which limits “taxpayer standing” on zoning issues; and the other in support of Diamond Spa’s request to obtain a license to provide therapeutic massage services. Ned also mentioned the article on page 2 of this week’s issue of the Local regarding traffic concerns and asking for input from the community. Patrick Moran, chair of the Traffic, Transportation, and Parking Committee, stated that the police will begin to identify speeding cars and this information will be forwarded to the 14th District office to delineate problem areas. Ned stated that Patrick McGranaghan will resign as co-chair of the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee. Jean McCoubrey wishes to serve in this position for the next two years, and this will be considered by the Board at its meeting on June 26. There was some discussion about the “green book” (Chestnut Hill Land Use Guidelines) and the need to update it.

Report from Vice President of Operations. Dina Hitchcock reported that the Fair Housing Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania is going forward with its lawsuit seeking $30,000 in damages from the Local in response to several classified ads deemed discriminatory to families. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission decided that this was a valid complaint. The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association will conduct a class for the staff of the Local regarding the proper wording of classified ads, and the Local’s attorney will attempt to mitigate the $30,000 penalty. Dina is unsure about whether the Local’s liability insurance will cover this cost; she will review the policy in conjunction with Philip LeCalsey.

Report from Community Manager. Philip LeCalsey distributed and reviewed his report, which covered the following topics: 1) the need to re-schedule the November and December Board meetings due to conflicts with Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, respectively; 2) updating the CHCA website; 3) free concert at the Fountain Plaza on June 15; 4) DRC, LUPZ, and TTP issues; 5) advertising opportunities in the City Paper; 6) picnic honoring police, firefighters, and postal workers; 7) Business Improvement District (BID) presentation; 8) Pastorius Park concert series; and 9) “Run for the Hill of It” annual fundraiser to be held on Saturday, July 26. There was a motion to recommend to the Board that the November Board meeting be held on Thursday, November 20 and the December Board meeting be held on Thursday, December 18; this motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Other issues discussed included the formation of a CHCA Website Committee; cell phones for bike patrol police officers; and the possibility of putting e-mail addresses of Board members on the CHCA website.

Old Business.

CHCA Election. Tolis Vardakis distributed copies of a memorandum addressed to him written by Caroline Haussermann, who served as one of this year’s Judges of Election. The memo, regarding the 2008 CHCA election, was dated June 12, 2008 and described Caroline’s response to “the articles and letters of the past three weeks in the Local.” The memo concludes with the statement, “The Judges of Election are working on re-doing the procedures, using many excellent suggestions in the Local and by word-of-mouth. They will be presented to the Executive Committee when completed.” Caroline’s memo is an attachment to these minutes.

A discussion ensued regarding this year’s election. Ron reiterated that according to the procedures approved by the Board, the ballots must be kept in the CHCA office for 30 days after the election. He stated that he was not interested in seeing who voted for whom, but rather wanted to determine the validity of the ballots. Ron questioned whether the Judges received his e-mail asking that the ballots be returned to the CHCA office, since he never received a response. Tolis stated that Ron was told at the May Executive Committee meeting to send his concern to the Judges, who would investigate and get back to him. Ann Spaeth voiced her concern that Tolis and Dina said they wanted to follow the procedures but at the same time did not follow the procedures. Ann also stated that the voters’ names should have been cut off from the ballots after verifying membership and that the bylaws require that members vote by secret ballot to ensure the confidentiality of the voters. Ann further stated that no officer should be involved with administering the election. Rob Rossman asked whether we want to invalidate the election results and what is the purpose of this discussion. Ron stated that the intent of keeping the ballots in the office for 30 days is that they can be examined by any interested member of the community. Pete Mazzaccaro stated that he sent a written request to examine the signatures on the ballots due to the concerns about new member irregularities (a large number of new memberships paid in cash on the last day of the election). He never received a response to his request and then he heard that the ballots were destroyed 31 days after the election. Ed Berg stated that if someone submits a written complaint, it deserves a response and noted that we should improve our election procedures. There was some discussion about membership rules vis-à-vis eligibility to vote. Several people suggested that a committee should be appointed to clarify and improve the election procedures. Tolis repeated Caroline Haussermann’s statement that the Judges of Election will come up with recommendations.

New Business.

Ad Hoc Ethics and Disciplinary Committee. Christopher Padova, Bylaws Committee co-chair, distributed written copies of a proposal to form an ad hoc Ethics and Disciplinary Committee. (This proposal was discussed and tabled at the Board meeting held on March 27, 2008.) To open the current discussion, Dina Hitchcock offered a motion to recommend to the Board that a 1-year ad hoc Ethics and Disciplinary Committee be formed; this motion was seconded. In the ensuing discussion, the following points were mentioned: that an extensive e-mail written by George Spaeth about this issue was distributed to the Board in March; that Ann Spaeth offered to forward this e-mail to Christopher; that this proposal is too general and “inward looking”; that there is no discernible need for such a committee; and that this issue should not be pursued until Christopher is able to discuss it with George Spaeth. Dina withdrew her motion.

Crime/Quality of Life Issues. Anne McNally stated her concern about the issue of crime in Chestnut Hill; she felt that this is an important quality of life issue that is not being addressed by the CHCA Board. She asked whether our community has the police protection it needs. Several Executive Committee members stated that too much time has been wasted on unimportant issues, that the Board should focus on moving forward, and that the Board is too fractured.

An executive session was called to discuss an employee evaluation. Except for Pete Mazzaccaro, all of the people at the meeting who are not members of the Executive Committee were asked to leave the room. After the executive session, there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:15 PM.

Minutes prepared by Noreen Spota, CHCA Administrative Coordinator, on 6/16/08.

Respectfully submitted on 6/20/08 by:

Kristina Sullivan
CHCA Secretary

Approved by the Executive Committee as amended on 7/10/08.