CHCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
Dixon House, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Thursday, October 11, 2007

MINUTES

(revised 1/10/08)

Executive Committee Members Present:

Lou Aiello (At-Large), Ed Berg (At-Large), Moss Disston (Treasurer), Tom Fleming (At-Large),
Jeremy Heep (VP Physical Division), Anne McNally (At-Large), Jane Piotrowski (VP Social Division), Ron Recko (Immediate Past President), and Tolis Vardakis (President)

Executive Committee Members Excused: Jane Becker (At-Large) and Dina Hitchcock (VP Operations)

Board Members Present: Mark Keintz, Ann Spaeth, Jonathan Sternberg, Kristina Sullivan, and
Walter Sullivan

Others Present: Pete Mazzaccaro (CH Local Editor), Martha Sharkey (Community Manager), and
Noreen Spota (Administrative Coordinator)

Tolis Vardakis called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM. Noreen Spota conducted the roll call. Tolis announced that Kristina Sullivan will replace Nancy Hutter as CHCA Secretary, pending Board approval.

Approval of Minutes. There was a motion to approve the Executive Committee meeting minutes from September 13, 2007 as submitted. This motion was seconded and passed.

Report from Treasurer. Moss Disston stated that financial statements as of 9/30/07 for the CHCA and Fund were not yet ready for distribution. The financial statement for the Local will be revised to reflect the updated budget for the current fiscal year. Moss noted various trends, including the fact that income from display advertising is significantly below budget due to: 1) the “Fall for the Arts” supplement was published in September last year and in October this year; 2) there was advertising revenue from AbZoolutely last year and not this year; and 3) last year’s display advertising revenue was over-reported due to a software glitch that was fixed several months ago. (Classified advertising revenue was counted twice.) It is estimated that last year’s display advertising revenue was actually $92,000 less than originally reported, and that therefore the Local incurred a $40,000 loss in the last fiscal year. Footnotes will be added to this year’s reports to indicate the adjustments. Moss stated that the final bookkeeping for the Black and White Gala is being done. CHCA will receive all ticket sale income and will incur no costs, since the Fund will cover all of the Gala’s expenses.

A discussion ensued about the financial status of the Local. Moss stated that for the time being (in the absence of having a Business Manager), the Budget and Finance Committee will assist the Editor with financial management. A suggestion was made that perhaps the Fund could reduce the amount of rent paid by the Local. Tolis stated that we should wait until the 2007 audit is complete before considering any such adjustments. Tom Fleming noted that each entity should now stand on its own; he also stated that as the publisher of the Local, it is the CHCA’s responsibility to make sure that the newspaper produces a profit. Mark Keintz recommended that someone with experience in newspaper publishing be enlisted to assist with financial management of the Local. Moss stated that the Budget and Finance Committee is examining staff salaries and benefits. For the 401(k), the CHCA currently contributes 5 percent of the employee’s salary, even during years in which there is no profit. It was noted that the current trustees of the 401(k) are Pete Mazzaccaro and former Community Manager Betty Brady (the original rationale was that staff would not change as often as officers). The general consensus of the Executive Committee was that CHCA officers, rather than staff members who are plan participants, should serve as trustees of the 401(k). As there is a fee of several hundred dollars to make changes to the 401(k), it was suggested that all changes be made at the same time. Lou Aiello suggested that an ongoing record of monthly net income for the Local be prepared in order to clarify its financial status.

Report from Vice President of Social Division. Jane Piotrowski reported on plans for the CHCA Blood Drive, which will be held on Monday, November 12 from 2:00 to 8:30 PM at St. Martins Church. The Holiday House Tour Committee has been working on the arrangements, and all five houses have been selected. Jane noted that volunteers worked very hard at the CHCA membership table at last Sunday’s Fall for the Arts Festival, resulting in 47 memberships. A discussion ensued about various ways to recruit new members. Tolis mentioned that former CHCA President Maurice McCarthy arranged for membership tables outside of various polling places on Election Day and got over 200 new members. Jane is working on an idea of offering reflective house numbers as a benefit of membership, and Ron Recko suggested that a banner (“Join the CHCA!”) be placed across Germantown Avenue. Anne McNally suggested that Chestnut Hill restaurants offer 10 percent off the diner’s tab when they join the CHCA; Pete offered to help with this. Tolis suggested that a CHCA flag be given to those who bring in 100 new members, and the flags can be sold to raise funds for the CHCA.

Report from Vice President of Operations. In Dina Hitchcock’s absence, Ed Berg presented her report. Copies were distributed to the Executive Committee. The report covered the following topics: 1) the Fund Drive Kick-Off, to be held on Friday, October 26; 2) the Bylaws Committee meeting, to be held on Monday, October 15; 3) the status of the complaint filed by the Fair Housing Council against the Local; 4) a telephone response from the IRS to Dina’s correspondence; 5) the ongoing telephone survey of people canceling their CHCA memberships; and 6) the replacement of Doug Knauer, Nancy Hutter, and Howard Lesnick, all of whom recently resigned from the Board, by Robert Rossman, Joseph Pizzano, and Mark Keintz.

Report from Vice President of Physical Division. There was a discussion about the parking lot behind the Hirshorn Company, which remains closed. Ron Recko pointed out that this situation is the result of an ongoing conflict between Richard Snowden, who owns the property, and Paul Roller, President of the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation. In an attempt to determine what must be done to resolve this situation and open the lot, Tom Fleming stated that he will report to the Board at its October 25 meeting. Ed Berg suggested that efforts to address this ongoing problem may get more people involved in reactivating the Traffic, Transportation, and Parking Committee.

Jeremy Heep then reported that the Tree House Café presented its revised proposal at the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee meeting held on October 4. There were numerous people in attendance; most of them were supporters of the plan. After a lengthy discussion, LUPZ voted to express its approval of the general concept, but asked the applicant to appear again next month with more detailed drawings of the architectural scheme. The proposal therefore will not be presented to the Board in October. Jeremy recommended that those interested in obtaining more detail about the meeting read the article about it in the Local. Ron Recko expressed his concern about the sign that is currently in the window of the property, which states that it is being leased to the Tree House Café. The applicant, Rachael Williams, is seeking a liquor license for the business; community members have expressed concern about this. There was some discussion about the perception of some businesses new to Chestnut Hill that our DRC/LUPZ approval process is too difficult. On the other hand, Jeremy stated his opinion that the DRC and LUPZ meetings are professional and efficient. He is impressed with how these committees operate and believes that most applicants are satisfied that they received a fair hearing.

Report from Community Manager. Martha Sharkey distributed and reviewed her report, which covered the following topics: 1) membership recruitment; 2) fund drive/membership database; 3) events during the month of October to raise awareness about domestic violence; 4) Philly Cares Day to be held on Saturday morning, October 20 at the Jenks School; 5) community relations; 6) Black and White Gala; 7) Holiday House Tour and Fund Drive Kick-Off; 8) proposals for a new office telephone system; and 9) the new CHCA information list serve.

Old Business.

Fund Drive Letters. Tom Fleming, Fund Drive Chair, stated that we will send a letter soon to all Board members soliciting contributions to the Fund. Chestnut Hill Hospital will be contacted about once again matching the Board’s first $10,000 in contributions.

Oversight Committee/Banking Issue. Ann Spaeth, referring to the August 9, 2007 Executive Committee meeting minutes, expressed her concern that the statements by Dina Hitchcock recorded in those minutes imply that Jim Foster, as Chair of the Oversight Committee, was not authorized to seek information from the bank regarding the CHCA’s line-of-credit since he did not provide the bank with written authorization from an officer of the Association. Ann said that such an implication is incorrect. The Oversight Committee was authorized by the Board to seek out all necessary information to inform the Board of the CHCA’s financial situation.

Mr. Foster acted entirely within his province in this matter. If the bank needed such written authorization, it should have requested such of Mr. Foster, and the appropriate officers would have signed such authorization. Denial of such authorization by any officer or officers would have been a violation of the Board’s charge to the Committee and of their own obligation as officers to honor Board decisions.

Concerns/Questions about the Local. Anne McNally expressed several of her concerns and questions directly to Pete Mazzaccaro. This led to further discussion about the financial management of the Local. Ed Berg expressed his opinion that the Local must at least break even, and the CHCA must reinvigorate the process of helping the paper succeed financially. Moss Disston stated that as the publisher, the CHCA must pay close attention to the business aspects of the Local; it should make a profit for the CHCA. Mark Keintz noted that we cannot sustain the Local financially if everything continues to operate as in the past. Tolis summarized that the Budget and Finance Committee will examine the current situation in detail and will prepare recommendations for Board approval.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristina Sullivan
Acting CHCA Secretary

Minutes prepared by Noreen Spota, CHCA Administrative Coordinator. Originally approved by the Executive Committee on 12/13/07, then approved again as revised on 1/10/08.