Christ Ascension Lutheran Church
Thursday, November 9, 2006

Executive Committee Members Present:

Lou Aiello (VP Operations), Janine Dwyer (At-Large), Tom Fleming (At-Large), Jim Foster
(At-Large), Tom Hemphill (At-Large), Nancy Hutter (At-Large), Ned Mitinger (Treasurer),
Jane Piotrowski (VP Social Division), Susan Pizzano (VP Physical Division), Ron Recko (President), and Ann Spaeth (Secretary)

Executive Committee Member Absent: Maxine Dornemann

CHCA Board Members Present: Ed Feldman, Howard Lesnick, John Levitties, Joe Pizzano,
and Jonathan Sternberg

Others Present: Ed Budnick (Interim Community Manager), Richard Maloumian, Kristin Pazulski
(CH Local Staff Writer), and Noreen Spota (CHCA Administrative Coordinator)

Ron Recko called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM. Ann Spaeth conducted the roll call.

Approval of Meeting Minutes. The minutes of the Executive Committee meeting held on October 12, 2006 were approved with one abstention.

Community Fund Drive. Ron Recko reported that to date we have received slightly over $5,000 from the Executive Committee and other Board members. Only two Board members who are not on the Executive Committee have contributed thus far. Ron feels it is imperative that we reach the $10,000 mark by November 30, 2006 or we may lose the matching contribution from Chestnut Hill Hospital and other potential donors. Ron said he would call those who had not given. Nancy Hutter said she thought that a personal letter from Ron to all Board members who had not given would be effective. While Ron felt a phone call was more personal, Nancy felt that a letter would be more professional and perhaps less threatening than a phone call. Tom Fleming said he would send a letter to the Board members not yet donating to the Fund Drive. A brochure is being prepared that will be mailed to everyone.

Bowman Property Signs. Ron Recko mentioned the ad-hoc committee which was approved by the Board and charged with ascertaining the facts about what has disturbed Richard Snowden. The committee’s members are Dick Doyle (Chair), Jim Albrecht, Tom Fleming, Kathy Jones, Seth Rosenfeld, and Dottie Sheffield. Mr. Snowden feels that he has been disrespected by the Local, but he does not want to file a lawsuit. Ron said that the November 9th issue of the Local showed that there was a discrepancy between Bowman Properties and the CHCA President in understanding the purpose of the ad-hoc committee. According to the article “The Signs Go Back Up,” Bowman Properties described the purpose of the committee to be that of “reviewing what the Chestnut Hill Community Association Board unanimously agrees are serious and credible concerns about the Chestnut Hill Local.” Ron said that there was nothing in the agreement that he and Richard Snowden signed that said that the “CHCA Board agrees that there are serious and credible concerns about the Local.” There will be a correction in next week’s Local. Ron went on to say there was a sub-committee including himself, John Capoferri, Richard Maloumian, and Dick Doyle. As a result of these efforts, after about six or seven months, Ron was able to meet with Mr. Snowden. Ron had suggested that Ed Feldman come to the meeting as well, which he did. Following the publication of Ed’s article subsequent to that meeting, the Bowman Property signs went up again because, in Mr. Snowden’s opinion, Ed had violated the confidentiality of that meeting. On the other hand, Ed said that he had been careful to eliminate from the article anything he thought was confidential. A lengthy discussion followed after which a motion was made by Ed Feldman to disband the ad-hoc committee; this motion was defeated unanimously. It was voted that the committee should proceed as planned.

Report from Treasurer. Ned Mitinger asked the Executive Committee several questions: 1) Is the Publisher’s Committee aware that they should be involved in the budget process for the Local? Ron thought it would be useful to have the Publisher’s Committee involved with personnel management and the budget process, and offered to speak with Bill Stroud, the committee chair. 2) Are we planning to host a wine tasting party this year to raise funds for the Association? (We have projected $4,500 net income from this event.) 3) Will the sale of 8431 Germantown Avenue be advertised in the Local? Ned reported that we are paying our bills, but it is unclear whether we can continue to pay our bills, or meet other demands that were not anticipated in the budget. Net income from AbZOOlutely was originally projected to be $7,000; that figure is now projected to be closer to $15,000. Net income from the Holiday House Tour is projected to be $11,500 and membership income is projected to be $40,500 based on 2700 members; we currently have about 2400 or 2500 members.

Report from Vice President of Social Division. Jane Piotrowski reported on the work being done in the planning of AbZOOlutely regarding the auction (to be held on November 18) and sponsorship of the animals. The first 10 percent of the proceeds will go to the Philadelphia Zoo; after that the first $15,000 will go to the Chestnut Hill Community Fund and the second $15,000 will go to the Chestnut Hill District. Additional income will be divided between the Fund and the District. Jane also reported that ad income for the Holiday House Tour program guide is higher than anticipated.

Report from Vice President of Physical Division. Susan Pizzano reported that the LUPZ has been working on guidelines to be presented to the Board (changes will be highlighted so that the Board can see what's new and what's old). One of the proposed changes is expected to require a change in the bylaws. Susan also reported that the LUPZ approved the following motion regarding 24 West Willow Grove Avenue: “to support the deck as presented with the provision that applicant apply to the City for a fence permit. It is noted by the LUPZ Committee that the non-compliant existing fence installation as presented in photographs was supported by this Committee due to: 1) the special nature of applicant’s house location at head of Roanoke Street; 2) the existing hedge located between the fence and Willow Grove Avenue; 3) broad neighbor support; and 4) the fact that the fence does not block views of the house from Willow Grove Avenue.” The Board will vote on this variance request at its meeting on November 30.

Report from Vice President of Operations. Lou Aiello reported that of approximately $9,000 in damage related to the basement sewer pipe rupture, the insurance company had reimbursed $8,000. The pipes themselves are only temporarily stabilized, not permanently repaired. Four bids were solicited for these repairs and two were received, including one from the company which did the emergency repairs. That company offered to waive the fees for those preliminary repairs if they are awarded the contract for the pipe repair, which will be approximately $9,500 (the value of the emergency repairs was about $3,000). Therefore, this contractor's bid is effectively much lower than the other, and Lou recommended that we accept it. Of this $9,500 amount, Lou expects that approximately 50 percent will be reimbursed by the insurance company. There was some discussion about where the funds would come from, and Ron Recko said that this would be finalized during the executive session. It was noted that the building is the property of the Fund, and so normally such repairs would be the obligation of the Fund and not of the CHCA. A motion was offered by Ann Spaeth to accept the recommended bid for the permanent repair; this motion was seconded by Tom Fleming and passed.

CHCA Membership Dues. The question of whether to increase membership dues and the price of the Local was discussed. It was noted that the last dues increase was many years ago. Ann Spaeth suggested that household memberships be raised from $30 to $40 per year and simplified to eliminate the distinction between household and individual memberships. Under the proposed arrangement, $40 would make everyone in the subscriber's house a member and provide one Local subscription. Ann further proposed that the business membership dues be raised from $40 to $50. Some concern was expressed about whether this could have an adverse effect on membership or might be onerous to subscribers. Ann offered a motion to recommend these dues increases to the Membership Committee; this motion was seconded by Tom Fleming and passed.

Search Committee for Permanent Community Manager. Lou Aiello, Search Committee Chair, reported that many people have inquired about the status of this committee. Ron Recko said that this would be addressed during executive session.

Bylaws Committee. There appeared to be a conflict concerning a proposed November 27 Bylaws Committee meeting. A date was not finalized pending resolution of this possible conflict. Concern was expressed that the meeting should be well-publicized and transparent.

Oversight Committee Report. Jim Foster, Oversight Committee Chair, reported that since June, due to lack of continuity with the previous administration, the Association's management can be characterized as "learn-by-doing" and unexpected issues are showing up in the mail. The most important issues are related to financial management. While the CHCA already has many procedures to ensure careful management of funds, the policies have been widely sidestepped. Four general categories of safeguards include: 1) CHCA rules concerning who has authority to sign checks; 2) federal government rules concerning financial management that must be followed to maintain 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) status; 3) lending company regulations about who can access the money; and 4) supervision of Fund trustees. Trustees are supposed to report to the Board on a regular basis concerning the management of the Fund’s assets and debts, and make recommendations, but they have not been doing this.

Jim stated that the Oversight Committee urgently needs access to audited and certified financial statements of the CHCA, Fund, and Local so that it can review how routine financial procedures have been handled. Without the audits, the committee will be unable to make its policy recommendations. Ned Mitinger stated that the audit has begun for the Fund and he will do what he can to hasten the process. Jim Foster further noted that for an organization of its size, the CHCA does not have an adequate level of routine accounting/auditing supervision (our auditor is our accountant, but these functions should be separate). There was also some discussion about whether the position of CHCA Treasurer should be appointed rather than elected; this is an issue that should be addressed by the Bylaws Committee.

New Business/Appointment of New Trustees. Ron Recko reported that Fund trustee Patrick Gallagher has resigned, and noted that there should be six (instead of the current three) trustees. Ron proposed three candidates to be considered for these positions, but the Executive Committee felt that more time was needed to generate a list of potential candidates. It was noted that attention should be given to the appearance of undue influence (conflict of interest) by the selection of trustees with close relations to Board members. It was also noted that it is difficult to find qualified individuals who are willing to serve in this capacity on a volunteer basis. It was agreed that the issue of selecting new Fund trustees should be tabled until the December Executive Committee meeting.

An Executive Session of the committee followed the above discussions.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Ward Spaeth
Secretary

Approved by the Executive Committee on 2/8/07.