CHCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
Dixon House, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Thursday, September 13, 2007

MINUTES

Executive Committee Members Present:

Lou Aiello (At-Large), Ed Berg (At-Large), Moss Disston (Treasurer), Tom Fleming (At-Large), Jeremy Heep (VP Physical Division), Dina Hitchcock (VP Operations), Nancy Hutter (Secretary), Anne McNally (At-Large), Ron Recko (Immediate Past President), and Tolis Vardakis (President)

Executive Committee Members Excused:

Jane Becker (At-Large) and Jane Piotrowski (VP Social Division)

Board Members Present:

Bob Bacino, Howard Lesnick, Meredith Sonderskov, and Jonathan Sternberg

Others Present:

Richard Maloumian, Pete Mazzaccaro (CH Local Editor), Martha Sharkey (Community Manager), and Noreen Spota (Administrative Coordinator)

Tolis Vardakis called the meeting to order at 7:42 PM. Noreen Spota conducted the roll call.

Approval of Minutes. The Executive Committee meeting minutes from August 9, 2007 were approved as submitted.

Report from Treasurer. Financial statements as of 8/31/07 for the CHCA, Local, and Fund were distributed. Moss Disston noted various trends in the reports. Net loss for the CHCA after five months in the current fiscal year (2008) is $11,982, but it was pointed out that the $10,000 Pastorius Park concert series grant promised by the Chestnut Hill Healthcare Foundation has not yet been received. In addition, the Association’s two major fundraisers (the Black and White Gala and Holiday House Tour) have not yet occurred. Net income for the CHCA during FY 2008 is budgeted to be $4,750. Net loss for the Local after five months is $16,292, but it was pointed out that income during the summer months is typically lower than average. Net income for the Local during FY 2008 is budgeted to be $2,934, but this budget is being revised by the Budget and Finance Committee. Pete Mazzaccaro will e-mail the revised budget to Tolis and Moss this week. Jeremy Heep asked about the trend in circulation; Pete’s response was that circulation is slowly decreasing, that the retention program is not particularly effective, and that single copy sales dropped after the closing of Wawa. Pete went on to suggest that perhaps some of the promotional budget ($9,600 for the FY) can be used to purchase newspaper boxes. Anne McNally cited the problem of the boxes “disappearing” and stated that she has some ideas about increasing circulation (for example, how many businesses have the Local delivered to them?). Tolis suggested that Cheryl Massaro, Circulation Manager, prepare a proposal on how to spend the funds budgeted for promotion and be invited to share her ideas at next month’s Executive Committee meeting. Nancy Hutter inquired about the status of the committee that was to be formed to help Pete with business matters. The response was that the committee has not yet been formed. Nancy stated that she had attended the recent Budget and Finance Committee meeting and was concerned that certain entries in the spreadsheet appeared to be inaccurate. Tolis responded that the Budget and Finance Committee is also working to ensure that the bookkeeping/reporting process is accurate. Nancy then mentioned that the Budget and Finance Committee had also discussed the status of the Aspinwall Fund money ($5,470), which is a restricted CHCA fund. The stocks purchased with this money had to be cashed out. Moss explained that the money will be given to the Water Tower Recreation Center, as required by the original donor, after it has been determined whether the principal as well as the earnings from the stocks may be allocated.

Report from Vice President of Social Division. In Jane Piotrowski’s absence, information about plans for the Black and White Gala to be held on Saturday, September 15 was provided by Dina Hitchcock and Martha Sharkey. To date, 245 people have made reservations and more are expected to sign up prior to the event.

Report from Vice President of Physical Division. Jeremy Heep provided an update on the Development Review Committee (DRC) applications of Strasburg Cellars (Twin Brook Winery) for 7920 Germantown Avenue and the “tree house café” for 8524 Germantown Avenue. The Land Use, Planning, and Zoning Committee (LUPZ) approved the request of BnB Cigars to partner with Strasburg Cellars to sell closed bottles of Pennsylvania wine. No liquor consumption will be allowed in public areas. LUPZ’s recommendation now goes to the DRC and then (assuming it passes) to the full Board at this month’s meeting. The “tree house café” applicants will present to LUPZ at its October meeting. Discussion ensued about the cobblestone repair project near Mermaid Lane and Germantown Avenue. The trolley tracks will also be restored and maintained, but there are no plans to reactivate the trolley. SEPTA may listen to an appeal from the CHCA/BID/Business Association to restore trolley service; Jeremy feels that now is the time to start this process, with the help of a re-activated Traffic, Transportation, and Parking Committee. Tolis noted that the idea of having free trolley service between the “top of the Hill” and the “bottom of the Hill” was discussed during the CHCA presidency of Maurice McCarthy. In addition to the Parking Foundation lots at the top of the Hill, there is also a large parking lot on the United Cerebral Palsy property at the bottom of the Hill. A free trolley would encourage tourism and increase business along the entire length of Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill.

Report from Vice President of Operations. Dina Hitchcock reported on plans for the following: 1) the Black and White Gala to be held on Saturday, September 15; 2) the Fund Drive kickoff to be held on Friday, October 26; 3) the Holiday House Tour to be held on Saturday, December 8; and 4) a new CHCA/Fund database. Dina also reported on the status of her letters to the IRS and the PA Attorney General regarding concerns about the CHCA/Local’s finances. She has not heard back from the IRS, but has heard from Mr. Mark Pacella, State Assistant Attorney General. According to Mr. Pacella, most complaints from community associations are with respect to their elections. There is a website that can be used to submit concerns.

Report from Community Manager. Martha Sharkey distributed and reviewed her report, which covered the following topics: 1) the Black and White Gala; 2) community relations (Jenks School, Project Home, and Chestnut Hill Village); 3) CHCA page in the Local; and 4) office issues (repair work in Fabrics on the Hill, telephone system bids, and Baseview software concerns). Various Executive Committee members donated money for the Lutheran Church, which provided meeting space to the CHCA for over a year.

Old Business: Voting Rights on Other Chestnut Hill Boards. Tolis reported on his research regarding voting rights on various organization boards including the Chestnut Hill Business Association, the Business Improvement District, and the Historical Society. According to Tolis, CHCA representatives on these other boards do in fact have the right to vote at their meetings. Concern was expressed in the past that CHCA representatives do not have the right to vote on the other boards even though their representatives do have the right to vote at CHCA Board meetings.

New Business: Action Items/Agenda Notices. Nancy Hutter distributed the following written statement, “For the Record”:

“On August 23, 2007, the Board of the Chestnut Hill Community Association voted to approve the expenditure of up to $37,500.00 over the next three years for auditing services for the Association and the Local.

“There was no notice to the public, Association members or Board members that this vote was scheduled. The vote was not listed on the Agenda for the meeting under ‘Action Items’ nor did it appear on the Agendas published in the Local on August 16 and 23. Also, no motion was made at the beginning of the Board meeting to add the vote to the Agenda.

“The CHCA Bylaws require the following notice prior to Board meetings:

C 3 Notice of Meetings (Page 19)

“The President or designee must give written notice of the date, time, location, and agenda of all meetings of the Board. The agenda shall provide such information as is necessary to understand the agenda item to be discussed, as reasonably determined by the President or designee. Where possible, notice shall be given at least seven days prior to the meeting. Notice may be given by e-mail or regular mail. In addition, posting of meetings shall be printed in the issue of the Chestnut Hill Local the week prior to the meeting, as well as the week of the meeting.”

In response, Dina stated that in the past, the particular auditor has never been approved by the Board. However, Nancy felt that this decision should be made by the Board. Ron Recko added that if selection of the auditor was on the agenda published in the Local, it is possible that more people would have attended the meeting. Tolis stated that such notice was not possible in this instance; he also pointed out that CHCA contracts over $2,500 must be signed by two officers. Dina clarified that about $700 will be spent on the CHCA/Local audit in 2007 over the budgeted amount but that the Fund’s audit will cost significantly more than its budget.

Executive Session. Ron Recko expressed his opinion that CHCA Board members should be permitted to attend executive sessions of the Executive Committee and that nothing in the bylaws prevents this. At this point there was a motion to go into executive session to discuss personnel matters. This motion was seconded and passed, and all non-Board members except for Noreen Spota were asked to leave.

After the executive session, the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Hutter
CHCA Secretary

Minutes prepared by Noreen Spota, CHCA Administrative Coordinator, and approved by the Executive Committee on 10/11/07.