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

MINUTES

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

Executive Committee Members Excused: Lou Aiello (At-Large), Jane Becker (At-Large), and
Moss Disston (Treasurer)

Board Members Present: Meredith Sonderskov 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.

Approval of Minutes. There were motions to approve the Executive Committee meeting minutes from October 11, 2007 and November 8, 2007 as submitted. These motions were seconded and passed.

Report from Treasurer. Due to the absence of Moss Disston and the fact that the financial statements as of 11/30/07 for the CHCA/Local and Fund were not yet prepared, there was no Treasurer’s report. However, Tolis reported that a draft of the 2007 audit report was presented by the St. Clair firm’s accountants at the Budget and Finance Committee meeting on December 11. They will attend the Board meeting on December 27 to present the final audit report.

Report from Vice President of Social Division. Jane Piotrowski reported that the Holiday House Tour had a terrific showing and that although final figures were not yet available, the event appears to have been even more successful than budgeted. A new aspect of the event this year was the securing of sponsorships to underwrite the designers’ expenses. Jane noted that more advertising and media partner CN8 coverage helped to promote the tour, with people coming from the Reading area, Delaware County, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Anne McNally mentioned that she heard very positive feedback about the tour from lunch guests at her tavern. Noting that many of the Chestnut Hill restaurants offered a 10 percent discount to those who attended the tour, Anne suggested that next year restaurants could donate the 10 percent back to the CHCA. Lastly, Jane emphasized that a volunteer must be found quickly to organize the Pastorius Park summer concert series.

Ad Hoc 401(k) Committee Motion. Tolis reported that this committee met today and drafted the following motion, copies of which were distributed to the Executive Committee:

“That the CHCA Board approve the payment of the 401(k) discretionary employer contribution from November 2006 through November 2007 in the amount of $28,155.40. This amount will be funded by seeking a bank loan in the amount of $25,000 and having the Board of Directors of the CHCA personally fund the remaining $3,155.40 in a sign of good faith. We ask that this motion not be amended.”

Dina Hitchcock seconded this motion in order to begin discussion about the 401(k) issue. Ned Mitinger asked whether we are still pursuing the “discretionary” financial support from the Fund. Ron Recko stated that the CHCA should ask the Fund to subsidize the 401(k) during the period in question instead of obtaining a bank loan. Tolis, and later Ed Berg, noted that the Fund Trustees will not be sure that they can legally support the CHCA until the issue of whether the CHCA can be considered a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organization is resolved. Ed reported that almost all of the $3,155 has been pledged by Board members. Tom Fleming stated that the Local needs to support itself and that it is not the responsibility of the CHCA Board to subsidize the Local. Dina, citing the other debts currently facing the Local, said that she was very concerned about adding additional debt. She noted that the employer contributions to the 401(k) were not paid because if they were, we could not meet payroll. She also reported that $10,000 is due on Monday, December 17, to pay for the November 2006 through March 2007 period, and that this payment could be made with enough funds remaining to meet the payroll due next week. Ed Berg, who is exploring the 501(c)(3) / 501(c)(4) issue, stated that the CHCA currently has neither classification. The 501(c)(4) classification seems to make the most sense, but the approval process can take months.

After some additional discussion, Tom Fleming offered a motion to defeat the ad hoc committee’s motion; i.e., that the Executive Committee vote not to recommend approval of the motion by the Board. Tom’s motion passed unanimously. Walter Sullivan clarified that since the ad hoc 401(k) committee is a committee of the Board, the Executive Committee does not have the power to defeat its motion; only the Board has that power.

Discussion then focused on a proposal for the revised employee manual pertaining to retirement plan vesting; copies were distributed to the Executive Committee:

“The plan allows employees to select the amount of income they wish to save and offers a number of fund options in which they can invest up to 25 percent of their pay per paycheck. The employee’s share is deducted from his or her paycheck (every two weeks).

The employer (CHCA/CHL) MAY make a discretionary matching contribution to the 401(k) plan of 50% of the employee’s contribution up to a maximum of a 3% employer contribution (6% employee contribution). AND/OR The employer may make a profit sharing contribution to all eligible employees of up to 5% of salary. Please consult the Plan Document for details.

Vesting schedule for the plan is as follows: Less than 2 years of service – 0%; 2 years – 40%; 3 years – 60%; 4 years – 80%; 5 or more – 100%.

A complete description of the…”

Dina stated that this plan would be available to employees working a minimum of 1000 hours (26 weeks) per year and Tolis noted that the employer contributions would be made on an annual basis. The Budget and Finance Committee will review the financial status of the Local in order to make the contributions by the December 15 deadline. Ed Berg inquired whether this new arrangement is proactive (for new employees only). The answer is yes, so current employees with less than 5 years of service would still be covered. It was established that all of the Executive Committee members were in favor of this new arrangement. The revised plan must be signed prior to January 1, 2008.

Report from Vice President of Physical Division. Ned Mitinger reported than a Development Review Committee application from the owners of 7841 Germantown Avenue (rear) is pending because they still need to contact the neighbors to solicit support for their plans to set up a mini-mart. A zoning variance will be required. Anne McNally suggested that we contact them to make sure that they are aware of the regulations. Ned also intends to meet with Joanne Dhody (Aesthetics Committee Chair) and Patrick Moran (Traffic, Transportation, and Parking Committee Chair) in the coming weeks to discuss various issues. Ned suggested that the role of the Aesthetics Committee should be discussed at the January Board meeting. Martha Sharkey stated that the Treehouse Play Café applicants were not ready to attend last week’s Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee meeting.

Report from Vice President of Operations. Dina Hitchcock reported that over $14,000 has been raised so far in the Fund Drive. She urged every Executive Committee member to donate to the Fund. Tom Fleming, Fund Drive Chair, stated that he is still pursuing a $10,000 matching grant from the Chestnut Hill Health System, which donated last year.

Report from Community Manager. Martha Sharkey distributed and reviewed her report, which covered the following topics: 1) Holiday House Tour; 2) Fund Drive; and 3) community relations, including the Wissahickon Hospice “Light up a Life” event and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission study. Martha also provided an “up to the minute” report on the Fund Drive: almost $23,000 has been raised as of today, and we are ahead of last year’s figure. A public thermometer illustrating our progress is in the works.

New Business. Tom Fleming offered to distribute Lloyd Wells’ description of the history of Chestnut Hill to the entire Board, and also offered to approach him to contribute the $10,000 needed for the employees’ 401(k). Anne McNally provided an update on the holiday tree lights along Germantown Avenue. She also asked Pete Mazzaccaro for a clarification of how stories are prioritized for publication in the Local, citing the example of the Holiday House Tour. Ron Recko stated that such matters are at Pete’s discretion and that we pay him to produce the newspaper. Jane Piotrowski pointed out that Martha and Pete worked out an arrangement to print items from the CHCA on page 2, which uses color. A brief discussion ensued about the desirability of having some form of “Publisher’s Committee” of experts that could assist Pete in his efforts to produce a more successful paper. On another subject, Tom Fleming stated his view that we must get younger people to serve on the Board and possibly institute term and age limits.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristina Sullivan
CHCA Secretary

Minutes prepared by Noreen Spota, CHCA Administrative Coordinator, and approved by the Executive Committee on 1/10/08.