PRESENT

Rachel Dretzin, Susan Krim, Miri Navasky, Alfred Souza from the board. Also present: Debra Adamsons, Wendy Lidell, Anne and Bruno Navasky, Noah Reibel, Michael Rosenberg.

ROAD WORK

We have almost three estimates on road work. the board will  ultimately make the decision on who will do the road work, but called this meeting to update the committee and solicit feedback. 

Estimates:

1. Burfein’s: 45k (written)
2. Erik Schnackenberg: 60k (oral. Eva will ask for a written estimate, broken out into similar categories to Burfein’s). Erik’s estimate was for over a three to five year period and Erik can’t guarantee what will happen to his prices over time. Eva thinks he will be out of the running if we decide to do this in one to two years because he’s a one- man operation. 
3. Brothers: We’re still waiting on an estimate from Brothers. Susan met with someone from Brothers who says he could do the plowing as well as the road work. He is supposed to get us an estimate for both. 

We discuss whether only to take bids from people who can do both. We agree that it’s premature to make that decision since we need to crowdsource the wisdom we’re getting from multiple companies. Ultimately it probably would be best to go with someone who can do both, but no one wants to let go of Carmen until we have to. 

There aren’t many people that can take this on. We need them more than they need us. We agree that our priority is the road first, and getting someone to replace Carmen second. 

We also agree we need each of the estimates to break out exactly what the road work will involve. Burfein’s estimate included digging ditches so the water doesn’t run down the road but is directed into the ditches. The ditches will be filled with material that slows down the water. Hel was thinking of using the same ditches that are currently there but improving them. Susan says some of those ditches are shale so can’t be dug further down even if we crowned them.  

Timeline: After much discussion, we all agree that it doesn’t make sense to spread the project out over five years, but to try and do it as fast as we can, probably in one to two years. We’re already spending quite a lot of money on road maintenance (Susan will try to get a number.) If we spread it out, the costs may go up substantially. 

Deb: didn’t discuss spreading it out with Burfein. Giving an estimate for three years from now would have to be an open ended contract because of labor shortages, salaries etc. 

Board will also send out a letter to the whole community about doing this in 1-2 years and find out how people feel about an assessment. 

Availability:

Schnackenberg could start this spring. 

Deb will ask Burfein if they will be available this season

Susan didn’t ask Brothers if they will be available either. 

Will the plowing damage the roadwork?

Eva discussed this issue with Erik. She asked Erik about Carmen’s equipment. He says he hasn’t seen Carmen’s equipment, but presumably he uses a plow attached to a pickup. Says our worries are not unfounded.  He says it’s not the equipment that makes the difference, it’s the skill of the operator and how much they care about your crowning. You can’t just scrape off the top, you need to tip in one way and then the other. 

Erik also said its best to have the same person crown and plow it. It’s then in their interest to plow it better. 

We discuss whether it makes sense to get a flat combined estimate for both so it’s in their interest to take care of the road. Or some kind of guarantee built into the contract in case the work doesn’t hole up. 

Financing: 

Eva polls the non-board members in the group about what they’d be willing to pay. The consensus is that everyone sees the road as a necessary expense and would be willing to put up the money. 

We discuss the idea of having those who can afford it pay up front right away and those who can’t, to amortize it  Everyone is paying the same amount its just about how long it takes. 

We discuss the idea of Eva sending out a letter to all community members informing them and finding out if people can handle the assessment before sending out a hypothetical question about whether they’d be willing to front the money for others. 

Susan points out that since we do this in phases, there will probably also still be a six month break between payments- two six month assessments. 

We won’t pay it all up front. Usually 25-50% up top. 

Defraying these costs with the capital fund won’t be easy. There is only 4600 in the capital fund at the moment. We get not quite 7000 a year in capital funds which we put aside. We could put aside the whole thing for two years which is 14k, but we have capital expenses other than the road. 

A few more general  concerns are raised: 

Annie says she has historically  has never dealt with the road and has never had a problem getting up the road. 

Bruno’s observation with the last round when Carmen and Tom filled in the ditches was that in practice the ditches seemed to get very quickly filled with leaves and debris and stopped working. He’s inclined to trust more any proposal that involved some kind of a warranty or included a commitment to keep roads up,

Deb: says the leaves have to be blown out in November. It’s a system that needs to be maintained. 

Noah: Asks how much its costing the community to do what we’re doing now which is to have Barbados fill it in and have it not work. Also wonders about similar roads and who is doing such a good job with those roads. Suggests we see if they have any thoughts about our road. 

Wendy:  Wants to make sure that a big truck coming up the road with heavy equipment won’t ruin the work we’re doing. 

Eva: Eric explained that because of climate and heavy use, there is more wear and tear on the road and we will have to continue to maintain it. 

Deb: not having the log harvesting on the road will make a big difference too.  

Susan: one thing we could do is put some bumps on the road. Maintenance people, UPS and FedEx whiz up that road. If we can slow down the traffic it will make the damage a bit less of a problem. 

Deb: those will also help direct the water because they are put at an angle. 

Michael: Speed bumps are a very effective pain in the butt thing to deal with. Help preserve a road. Plows have to know where they are and lift the blade up. Usually put a post up to signal where they are. Or put them up for most of the year and take them up for the worst part of the winter. 

The meeting was held remotely by video. Minutes submitted by Rachel Dretzin.

A special meeting of the Members and Board of Directors of Hillsdale Neighbors, Inc, was held via Zoom on January 16, 2022 at 11am.  The purpose was to vote on the application currently pending before the Town of Hillsdale Planning Board for a boundary line adjustment whereby Lot 3 (Tax map # 145.-1-12) will be merged with and become part of the common area (Tax map # 145.-1-5), and a new Lot 3 be formed as depicted on the attached survey map in the Town of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York. All members were represented either in person or by proxy.*

Eva made the following motion:

Resolved, that the members, directors and officers of Hillsdale Neighbors, Inc. hereby approve the application currently pending before the Town of Hillsdale Planning Board for a boundary line adjustment whereby Lot 3 (Tax map # 145.-1-12) will be merged with and become part of the common area (Tax map # 145.-1-5), and a new Lot 3 be formed as depicted on the attached survey map in the Town of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York.

It is further resolved that the members, directors and officers of Hillsdale Neighbors, Inc. authorize Debra Adamsons to appear on behalf of said corporation before the Town of Hillsdale Planning Board to seek and obtain said approval.”

Bruno seconded the motion.

The vote in support of the motion was unanimous. 

Eva also updated the community on the state of the road.   We have one estimate from Eric Schnakenberg for 60K to crown the entire road (he could start as early as this spring and we could do it over time).  Eva is planning to get a 2nd estimate from Brothers and Deb suggested getting a 3rd estimate from the people that did her road – will forward the name to Eva.

* Eva is obtaining proxy from Debbie Meier.

The meeting was held remotely by video. Minutes submitted by Miri Navasky.

PRESENT

Rachel Dretzin, Susan Krim, Miri Navasky, Alfred Souza, Eva Thaddeus

FINANCES

Susan Krim reported on the community finances as follows:

On deposit in bank	$24,585.20
Dues to be paid	$2,400.00
Total	$26,985.20
Outstanding bills
Tom – barn management	$12,000.00
Tom – septic management	$1,514.70
Bill Bradway (?)	$1,362.00
Total	$14,876.70
Septic system expense
Bill Baldwin	$1,944.00
Bill Bradway	$1,362.00
Tom – septic management	$1,514.70
Total	$4,820.70

NOTES : Bradway had close to 1500 bill that Debbie paid. We need to clarify who is reponsible for that bill. Also we owe Carmen 1200 monthly now because of snowplowing.

SUMMARY: we have about 14,000 after everything is paid.  We’re paying close to $2000 a month for Carmen plus any additional funds for sanding. So essentially, the capital fund is at zero. We don’t get income till June again. Susan usually assigns money to thecapital fund as a percentage of what comes in in Jan and July. But at this point we’re spending it, so she can’t assign it. We’ve spent it on the sewage and the barn.  Susan is anticipating we’ll be able to start spending again after this half of the year. 

SEPTIC

Debbie had to leave her house because the septic was backing up. Tom got people in very quickly to deal with it.  The ground wasn’t frozen and they were able to take care of it in about three days, but it was a lot of work because they couldn’t locate the blockage. Finally they found the blockage right outside the kitchen: shrubs planted right outside the house had gotten into the pipes. Its fine now but we’ll need to get shrubs removed in the spring. Tom also found that one pipe was pointing up instead of down, and they’ve replaced that pipe at another angle. He told Eva the septic system is fine now and we won’t need to spend any more on it. Susan says the issue is that we had a whole new septic system put in about 7-8 years ago. The septic system itself is fine, the issue was the pipe from the house to the septic system. One thing Tom feels we should still do is pop out the septic system which you should be doing every 5-10 years and it hasn’t been done. That would be 300-500 dollars and should be done soon. The other thing is around the barn its very wet. The reason is that there is a hidden stream just near the barn. Apparently, the year before last we were 7 inches below the water table and last year we were 16 inches above the water table, which is why there was so much water. At some point in the near future we should put in a drain around the barn, otherwise the foundations of the barn may have a problem. Dig deep, put in some stones and a pipe system as Wendy and Susan did in their houses. The figure for that is $5-6k. Tom feels Carmen has the equipment and can do it for closer to $3k. Tom will get a price for us. We’ll need to do that in the next year or two., Susan thinks it’s prudent to keep it on the front burner and deal with it sooner rather than later. Susan’s going to put a diagram of the septic system up on the website.

ROAD

The road issues seem to be quite acute. Susan says at the bottom of the road, we’re down to bedrock by the barn. Eva says there’s a deep gully in the road that’s only going to get worse. This could be a bigger problem during the muddy season than it is during the frozen months. Paving the road is cost prohibitive.

Eva went back to Erik Schnackenberg for a better estimate to crown the road and also snowplow. (we assessed it was a good idea to have the same person do both.) Erik says he can’t be the person to pick up our snowplowing job since it’s too big. He stood by his original estimate of 60k to crown our entire road, which could be done over several years with him starting at the top of the road and working his way down. He says the time of year to do this May or June, and he could start this spring, but we’re not in a position to do that financially. 

We discussed getting another estimate. Erik suggested we talk to Brothers in Craryville about doing both snowplowing and plowing. Eva says she will ask Brothers for an estimate. Miri suggested we also talk to the guy who does work for Megan and Dmitri. He can’t do the road but can do the plowing, but he gave a much higher estimate. She is going to discuss the road work with him. 

While Carmen is much cheaper than anyone else we will find for plowing and we want to keep him as long as we can, here is concern about whether Carmen might undo the road work with his snowplowing, since his equipment is old. Also, there is concern that if we hire Eric to crown the road, we might offend Carmen and he might not want to plow for us anymore.  Eva will call Eric again and ask him if he knows about Carmen’s equipment specifically or if it’s just a problem with snowplowing in general.. 

Financing the road work: Funding a 60k project will mean an assessment over two years or a making this a three to five year project. That would be five years at 12k, which is 1k from everyone for five years. 

-We discuss starting the work with Judy’s hill to buy some good will. 

-Everyone agrees we have to present this to the whole community

-Alfred thinks spreading this over five years seems too much of a spread. Feels like a long time to have ongoing construction. The good thing is if you start small,  and there is damage, we’ve only spent 10k or so before we know we have a problem. 

OTHER NOTES 

Rachel suggests we gather community wide resources like plumbers and electrical to cleaning people and exterminators and put them up on the website for all to share. We discuss getting a volunteer to head that effort up. 

Eva mentions that we don’t have a plan in writing for expenditures into the future. What’s going to need doing when and rough amounts to budget for these things. Like remembering you need to clean out a septic tank every five years or repaint a barn every 25 years etc. We need to find a way to record that somewhere. 

The meeting was held remotely by video. Minutes submitted by Rachel Dretzin and Miri Navasky.

PRESENT

Rachel Dretzin, Susan Krim, Miri Navasky, Alfred Souza, Eva Thaddeus

FINANCIAL REPORT

Susan gave the financial report. We have $8500 in the capital fund, $22,307 in the operating fund, and the barn account, which was opened with a balance of $95,500 to start with, is down to $16,109 now.

BARN RESTORATION

Eva updated the board on the barn restoration. Tom Shepherd says that if we are to overrun the budget at all, it will be by $3,000 or less. The board agree to hold off on altering any windows, but to replace or otherwise put the current windows in working order. Tom is ready to bring in the painter. The color of the barn will be barn red. Tom says we are definitely in need of a new roof. The current roof will not last even a year, and if we don’t do the restoration there will be damage to the barn from moisture.

The board discussed the options and agreed on a corrugated metal roof,
which costs about $10,000 and has a 30-year guarantee. The board discussed how to pay for the new roof. Originally, the board had determined that up to 16k in additional costs would constitute a reasonable community assessment, given the alternative costs of taking down the barn. However, since a new roof wasn’t part of the original plan, the board agreed to fundraise for the roof and assess for any
remainder after voluntary contributions. Susan suggested the possibility of covering the costs out of the capital fund, since it’s a capital project. Eva thought it would be better to reserve those funds for the road. The board agreed to combine fundraising for the roof with fundraising for electricity, which two projects would cost approximately $20,000 together. If the whole amount can’t be raised immediately, the board determined to replace the roof and wait on the electricity.

The board resolved that once the barn roof and the flooring are complete, the barn would be a shared resource of the community. At this point, the barn will be solely for our community’s use and not opened up to other purposes. Community members will be able to sign up to use the barn for parties/ meetings/gatherings. Eva will put out a call for people to sign up to be part of the barn usage community.

The board agreed that the enclosed bay (the first one, on the far left) will be reserved for storage of items for common community use (e.g. pond furniture, toys, grills, etc). It will not be used for community members’ personal possessions. Bicycle storage will be allowed, with a
limit for each member, so the number doesn’t get out of hand. The three open bays (on the right side) will kept open for general recreational uses. Some possibilities were discussed (ping pong table, pool table, sitting area, hammock, projector for movie nights, appropriate furniture, and if we have electricity, a small fridge for beverages). Shelving for towel storage, bug spray and other communally items would be useful. The board agreed that community members can donate furniture, but that the board would set certain controls and guidelines for the donations. The board will designate a barn committee of two to propose and monitor guidelines, pending board approval.

Anything left in the barn will be available for community use, which will restrict what is left there.

INTERNET

Alfred noted that the farmhouse has internet and if the community takes over the farmhouse internet or any additional expense and improves it we could have internet on the barn. Debbie is on a 25mbps connection and we’d probably want to increase that to 100mbps. We can create a guest on the same router.

ROAD

Eva reported that she spoke to Eric Schnackenberg (who crowned her
driveway). Eric walked the road with Eva and estimated that it is probably a 50-60k job to do the whole road not including the side roads. Right now, the way Carmen fixes it, we are putting band-aids on it, but the road is getting lower and lower each time. According to Eric, what we have to do is bring it substantial pieces of crushed shale and build the road to crown it so the water flows off. We’d still need upkeep since snowplowing scrapes roads. He says we will know we’re running out of time if we need more and more bandaids, and we’re there.

Eva suggested a road committee to think about long-term planning especially since Carmen is in his eighties and has been giving us a sweetheart deal. Eric says he cant take on our road for snowplowing. We got some estimates a year ago but not for Eric. Eva likes dealing with
Eric. He’s easy to deal with. Susan thinks we need someone to do both the road and plowing because Carmen would get upset. His ego would be affected. Eric says we don’t have to do the whole road all at once, can start with the parts uphill.

The board decided to ask Eric to give us a formal estimate for fixing the
road. It would be great if he included the plowing, but it’s not a
precondition. If Eric is planning on doing it in stages the board needs to know how many stages. $15,000 a year is in the ballpark. We also need the estimate to include the extra parts off the main road.

NEW LOT

Following the meeting, the motion to approve Deb Adamsons’ lot change was approved unanimously by the board.

The meeting was held at the home of Eva Thaddeus. Minutes submitted by Rachel Dretzin.

PRESENT

Rachel Dretzin (remote), Susan Krim, Miri Navasky (remote), Alfred Souza, and Eva Thaddeus from the Board. Dmitri Cavender, Megan Gelstein, and Bruno Navasky from the community.

BOARD OFFICERS

The board determined to maintain their current offices, with Eva as president, Alfred as Vice President, Susan as Treasurer, and Miri and Rachel sharing the roles of Assistant Treasurer and Secretary.

BARN RESTORATION

Bruno reported in detail on the barn restoration. Apparently Tom Shepherd had built his original estimate with the intention of pouring three bays worth of concrete, but discovered that there would need to be four bays, which would have resulted in a cost overrun. Instead tom recommended the following, along with recommendations for other choices that the board needs to make:

• Tom proposes to omit the concrete and use a vinyl subfloor envelope instead. He says it’s better protection from rodents, and a more effective vapor barrier to protect the wood in the barn. It’s a relatively new technology and the oldest installation that Tom has done is about 20 years now, with no problems, but if we do run into issues it’s patchable. If we follow Tom’s recommendation we can complete the project within our budget; otherwise there will be significant additional costs for the extra concrete bay.

•  The wall separating the far left bay from the rest of the barn can be either removed or retained and restored within our budget. Tom recommends that we keep the wall.

• There are a number of original ceiling beams that might form a base structure for a loft. Although the loft itself isn’t a part of our plan, Tom recommends that we consolidate any unused beams in that area for aesthetics and possible future use, but we could also ask them to remove them and haul them off without affecting the budget. 

• Tom recommends that we leave the remaining three bays open, and that we pressure wash and treat the entire barn interior. In addition to cleaning, this may help straighten some of the original wood that has warped with moisture over the years.

• The windows can be either left as is, removed and sided over, or replaced with aesthetically appropriate barn sash at an additional cost. Tom recommends removing the windows and adding what we want at a later date after full consideration of the lighting and space in the restored barn.

Eva moved that the board approve Tom’s recommended modifications to his original barn renovation proposal. Alfred seconded the motion and the board unanimously approved it. The board also agreed to ask Tom to explore options for insect screens so that we can have light through the doors during the interim without a lot of insects, and dig a hole for an environmentally friendly outhouse behind the barn. [Note: a majority of the board subsequently voted by email to retain the original windows 3-0, with 2 abstentions.]

PRESENT

Debra Adamsons, Dmitri Cavander/Megan Gelstein, Joanna/Rachel Dretzin, Susan Krim, Wendy Lidell, Debbie Meier, Anne/Victor Navasky, Bruno/Miri/Jenny Navasky, Judy/Noah Reibel, Marty Bone & Michael Rosenberg, Alfred Souza & Fabiana Viso, Eva Thaddeus.

NEW MEMBER

Eva welcomed new community member Debra Adamsons. Eva moved that membership certificates be created for new members with the official community seal and Bruno volunteered to make them. All approved.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Susan reported that we have $6080 in our capital fund account and $9400 in our operating fund. She anticipates additional charges from Carmen for road fixes.

ROAD REPAIRS

After damage subsequent to a recent severe rainstorm, Carmen fixed the road quickly. [Additional minor damage has been done in subsequent storms, so this looks to be an ongoing issue.]  

BARN RESTORATION

Bruno reported on barn work, which is proceeding on schedule and close to budget. The barn team reports that they estimate they will complete restoration of the structural elements and siding within the month of July, but that leaves painting, any roofwork and touch-ups that will likely go well into August.  Right now the plan is to keep the barn sash window in place on the end facing the pond – the board has yet to deciding about the four storm windows in the back. 

ORCHARD

Eva reported that a number of trees are fruiting this year, and that 10 trees are healthy with a couple of apples struggling, and we may have lost another apple. Eva invites people to care for the orchard on a volunteer basis, and will send out an email inviting members to adopt a specific pair of trees for weeding.  

GENERAL UPDATES

Dmitri noted that he is planning on building a painting studio, and will work with the board for all necessary approvals. Rachel noted that she will also be doing some home renovations, and will submit plans to board. Wendy noted that she will have a landscape architect doing work on her land, and based on the description Eva stated that such work does not require board approval. 

UNOCCUPIED LOTS

Rachel enquired about available lots within the community for purchase by a friend. At present, the community has decided its one unoccupied lot is not for sale. 

POND

Debbie Meier noted that it was becoming difficult for her to enter the Pond on foot. She reported that the ground there is very uneven with many holes.  Annie suggested that we rake over them and try to fix them ourselves.  

LAND MANAGEMENT

Eva reported on the spiky water chestnuts that are increasing in numbers in the pond.  She asked all community members to pull them up when spotted and place them in the trash, and to consider making preventive runs around the pond perimeter. Will is continuing to mow the stilt grass along the roadsides. We are planning to mow the orchard meadow in halves, in alternate years, to preserve habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. There was some discussion about the current surge in the gypsy moth population, but there is little we can do on the community level, and good evidence that healthy trees can survive an infestation. For help identifying invasive plants see this page on our website.

RECYCLING AND TRASH

Trash is picked up every Monday but recycling is picked up only on request, for a $125 fee.  If the recycling bin is too full to add your items and COMPLETELY close the lid, please call Carmen Barbato to request a pickup, and retain your items until they can fit properly in the bin.

ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS

Miri, Rachel, Alfred, Eva, and Susan stood for the board with no opposition, and were unanimously elected by the membership.

The meeting was held at the house of Anne Navasky and on video. Minutes submitted by Miri Navasky.

Present

Rachel Dretzin, Susan Krim, Miri Navasky, Alfred Souza, and Eva Thaddeus.

BARN RESTORATION

Following a community discussion with Tom Shepherd, Eva moved to approve Tom Sheppard’s proposal to renovate and restore the barn to working condition including the pieces listed below.   The Board’s approval comes with the following condition:  That $95,625 is received in voluntary donations to a Hillsdale Neighbors “Save the Barn” fund by April 1, 2021. If this full amount is not received by April 1, the collected donations will be returned and the project will not move forward. [Eva reported on 3/15 that $97,000 was pledged to the project. Susan opened a separate bank account for the funds at KeyBank in Copake with Bruno Navasky as the second signatory.] The work listed below will restore the barn to its original condition, with the exception of a new roof (existing roof will be patched).   Electricity, plumbing, and insulation are not included in this price.

Jack, straighten, and plumb barn (option 1)	$38,700.00
Remove and replace siding (option 1b)	$23,480.00
Masonry	$6,500.00
Flooring	$7,700.00
Miscellaneous	$3,500.00
Paint and Stain	$5,500.00
12% coordination fee	$10,245
TOTAL	$95,625

The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

NEXT MEETING

The date of the Annual Meeting was set for June 20, 2021, with the board meeting to follow immediately afterward.

The meeting was held remotely by video. Minutes courtesy of Miri Navasky.

Present

Rachel Dretzin, Susan Krim, Miri Navasky, Alfred Souza, and Eva Thaddeus from the Board, as well as additional community members Wendy Lidell, Debbie Meier, Jenny Navasky, and Michael Rosenberg. Debra Adamsons for an introduction to the board.

Financial Report

Susan presented the financial report. We have $14,186 in our Operating Account, $5460 in the Capital Account, and approximately $3000 in outstanding bills still to be paid ($2500 to Carmen and $500 to Tom).

Sale of Jane Rose Site and Membership

Jane Rose has agreed to sell her site and membership in the community to Debra Adamson. The community has the right to specify an alternate buyer, should it choose to exercise it. The board determined to send an email out to all community members and make sure that nobody objects, with a week to respond.

Debra joined the meeting to introduce herself. She intends to put up a prefab or other modest house in keeping with the location and keep site damage to a minimum. She intends to relocate Jane’s site to the former Finkelstein site between Judy’s house and the stream. If the town doesn’t allow the relocation she would build on Jane Rose’s current site which is across from Wendy. The sale would leave two unbuilt lots remaining, Debbie Meier’s and one additional lot owned by the community. 

Miri moved that the board unanimously approve the sale of Jane’s site to Debra Adamsons pending a review by the community membership. Susan seconded the motion. Susan seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously by the board.

Barn Restoration

Rachel presented Tom’s proposal for restoration of the barn. There were a number of different options, but the work coule be completed for about 85,300 with everything included except Tom’s general contractor fee, roofing, and electricity.  Wendy and Alfred and Susan attested to Tom’s work.  They said he has sometimes completed projects under budget but has never gone over budget without discussion and approval. 

Estimate is attached.   Does not include Roof, does not include Tom, does not include electric.

Rachel suggested the board set up a time to bring Tom in to answer any questions from community members.  Eva moved to pay Tom’s bill of $550 which was 50 over the original budget.  Susan seconded the motion, and it was approved by the board four votes to none with with Rachel absent.

Next Meeting

A date was set for a full community meeting with Tom on March 6, with a meeting of the board to follow.

The meeting was held remotely by video. Minutes courtesy of Miri Navasky.

Present

Rachel Dretzin, Susan Krim, Miri Navasky, Alfred Souza, and Eva Thaddeus

Barn Renovations

We have yet to receive any additional bids on the renovation of the barn.

Rachel presented on Tom Shepard:  She has been working with Tom, who knows the community and the barn quite well (he did the earlier work on it and has worked on the farmhouse), to come up with a bid for the barn renovation whereby he would oversee the work and act as project manager.  He has come by a number of times to look at the barn and knows the contractors he would work with (Wes), but – despite some badgering – Rachel has yet to receive anything in paper from Tom that she can present to the community.  She asked if the Board could authorize some form of payment for Tom with the hope that it might expedite the process.

Eva proposed that the board authorize up to $500 to pay Tom for a written bid on the barn.  Susan seconded the motion.  Board unanimously agreed to pay up to $500 to Tom for a proper bid on the renovation of the barn (as well as summary of the work done to date). 

Miri will follow up with Megan/Dmitri to see about whether a bid from Phil/Paul is still forthcoming.  Paul & Phil have not requested for payment for a bid.

There was a discussion of timing of the renovation. Eva notes that there are still a number of reasons to get going on it quickly: the anonymous pledges from community members will not be there forever, and the ongoing worry that the barn might collapse.  While it seems possible/likely that we might have to put off the renovation until next fall, if we can get the bids by December/January and the contractors have availability, the renovation could still begin as early as Spring 2021. 

Fiber-Optic Installation

Miri gave a quick update on fiber-optic internet: installation is in progress or complete on the majority of homes in the community.  Bruno has been helping on site as Consolidated works their way down the road.  He reports there are a few outstanding issues:  Alfred, Michael and Debbie’s installation are all yet to be done (Alfred rescheduled because he had renters, and we are unsure why Michael’s and Debbie’s have not been done yet). Miri and Bruno will follow up. While they have buried many of the lines, the temporary lines are still in place, so Consolidated has to return to rid of the temporary lines and connect to the underground ones. [Note: Debbie’s installation is now complete and Michael’s work has been scheduled for Nov. 16. Consolidated is in the community this week replacing most of the temporary lines with the permanent ones.] 

Trees at Pond

Eva updated the Board on the trees for shade at the pond.  Eva and Rachel purchased two Great Birches which were to be planted by the pond.  Rachel and Bruno were present for the installation of the trees and then Bruno continued to water them over the next month. Susan’s gardener, Tim, also dug 3 holes along the field in which we can plant the slower growing Red Maples.  Eva plans to plant them in the spring. While the board had approved up to $3000 in spending for this project they were able to accomplish it all for much less.  Wards charged $782 for the Birches, Tim charged $75 for digging the holes and Eva estimated an additional $100 for the Red Maples which she will purchase in the spring.  What remains is the cost to take down the dying trees that are there – but we do not need to do that now.

Community Ecology

Eva updated the Board members on the ecology of the property. 

Stiltgrass:  Will came and mowed the stiltgrass around the pond.  Eva says it will not eliminate it, but it will definitely slow its progress and Eva thinks is very important that he keeps doing it. Will charged us $300.  Eva is targeting the stiltgrass plants that will eventually take over the woods. 

Barberry & burning bush:  Both barberry and burning bush are invasive plants that are spread by birds who eat their berries, and so they tend to spread below phone lines (where birds hang out).  Eva has been pulling out any barberry plants that have popped up.  She notes that there are beautiful burning bushes along Joanna’s deck.  She should continue to prune them all back before they make berries.  Eva also notes they are starting to spread along road between Rachel’s house and the Cavanders so anyone who can, should pull them out.

The Meadow:  The Meadow has always been mowed once a year in the fall.  However, Eva recently learned that the meadow provides a lot of protection to wildlife habitat and there are many good reasons to keep the meadow up – so she proposes we mow each half of the meadow every other year, alternating between halves each year.  The Board agrees.

Financial Report

Susan has received all the dues.  We have about $10,439 in the operating account and $2,420 in the capital account. However, there is still one remaining bill from Carmen that he has yet to send (he charges $1,000/month for snow as a retainer and then he puts down sand as necessary on top of it).  She just paid the school taxes ($6,000 plus $600 for the lot HN still owns) and in January we will receive the town tax bill ($4,500 plus $460 for the HN lot). Also, Susan has not yet received an invoice from Will for mowing.  So pending those debits we have only about $4,000-$5,000 in the operating account.

Annual Dues

The board previously discussed raising the annual fee by $400 a year.  Eva noted that many members had written in support of raising the dues.  Members of the board noted that although it would be a 20% increase, the dues have not been increased since 2013-2014.  The Board also discussed whether there should be predictable increases (i.e. regular annual increases that we could count on) – however it was decided to table that for now with the fear that the dues would become too much.

Eva noted that Wendy had written in suggesting that quarterly payments rather than biannual might help with cash flow for members and the community bank account.  Board took up this issue and determined that the treasurer will accept quarterly payments, but only invoice twice a year for simplicity sake, and so as not to make the treasurer’s job more onerous.

There was then discussion about Section 6 of community dues and whether a raising of the annual dues required a majority vote or a three-fourths vote.  The Board felt we should have a three-fourths vote from the community. [Note: In Article VII, Section 6 of the By-Laws, a 3/4 majority vote is required only for the Improvement Fund. Therefore, according to Article III, Section 6, Maintenance fees should only be subject to a majority vote, but the board is still within its rights as per the by-laws to make this decision contingent on the will of a 3/4 majority.]

Eva made the motion to propose to the community that we raise the dues by $200 twice a year starting in January 2021.  Susan seconded the motion, and the board voted unanimously in favor. Eva plans to send out an email to the community with a deadline for voting.   [Note: the email was sent and the dues increase was approved by membership on 11/14/2020 with 10 voting in favor, 1 against.]

Hillsdale Lots

Eva presented a map of the property that showed the remaining vacant lots.  Eva’s friend, Deb, is interested in purchasing Jane Rose’s property.  However, the lot is not great for her.  She thought it was unbuildable or expensive to build on and would be interested in moving the plot.  This led to a discussion about the remaining undeveloped lots in the community. 

The plots as they stand are as follows: (1) Jane Rose’s (across from Alfred’s house), (2) Debbie Meier’s (closer to Wendy’s house), (3) The remaining Hillsdale Neighbors lot, which presents building challenges and would be immediately adjacent to Alfred’s backyard. There is an additional potential location that was previously considered for a site (Finkelstein’s Folly, the dead end road right before the hill). Also, Eva noted that there was additional community land across the road from the old tenant cottage, but she also did not know how “buildable” it was.

After much discussion it was decided that we do not want to put the Hillsdale lot up for sale at present. We would be more interested in selling it within the community, and it is also not in an ideal buildable location right now.  The board is very open to the possibility of Deb and Jane identifying a substitute site (i.e moving Jane’s present one), provided they do the necessary surveying and legal work required to change the tax map.

The meeting was held remotely by video. Minutes courtesy of Miri Navasky.

Present

Rachel Dretzin, Susan Krim, Miri Navasky, Alfred Souza, Eva Thaddeus

Fiberoptic update

The plans to install fiberoptic cable are moving forward. The Consolidated rep said they would aim for the second week of September, by the 21^st at latest. (That date could be delayed if the back and forth on the contracts drags out.) Bruno is designated our community monitor and will be able to supervise the work if needed.

A motion is made to allow Consolidated access to the community property and seconded.  Unanimous vote in favor by all five board members.

Note : Consolidated is keeping the copper landline but if something should happen to it its not realistic for them to fix it for only one person. Eva is aware her landline may be a casualty of this process and is fine if it stops working. Bruno thinks they are legally compelled to repair it. Susan suggests Bruno check with Todd Wolfarth on the town board. [Note from Bruno: I have confirmed with Todd that they are legally required to maintain landlines for individuals who don’t want to switch over.]

Financial Report

Susan reports that we have 16,500k in the bank but owe 1600 to Carmen, so in reality have only $14,900. We also have a savings account which is our rainy day fund capital account and there is $2400 in that. 

There’s a clear trend of overspending, and last year we overspent a lot between the tennis court and the road. Now that our buffer is only $2000 we have to be very careful about overspending. 

Recycling costs have exponentially increased. Susan thinks people are throwing stuff away that doesn’t belong in recycling, like Styrofoam. It’s suggested that it may be worth having Bruno and Annie recirculate the requirements and try putting a notice on the side of the bins where they might be less vulnerable to the elements, or having the camp kids make a wooden sign with a plastic sleeve we can replace.  [Note from Bruno: If someone can forward me the requirements I will post on the website.]

Dues: A raise in the dues will be discussed at the next meeting. The last raise was in 2014. Any raise has to be approved by ¾ of the community.

Snow Plowing and Tree Planting 

Snowplowing: There has been some unhappiness with Carmen and some concern about his age and whether he will be able to continue plowing for much longer. Susan got another estimate which was a lot higher than we are paying Carmen. The consensus is to get some more estimates and have a couple of options in our back pocket in case Carmen drops out. 

Trees at the pond: The original estimate—5k to plant two trees- seemed really high. A motion is made to approve 3k to spend on tree-planting around the pond and to have Eva and Rachel manage the project. The priority is shade and fast growing trees.

Alfred and Eva ask Susan if there’s a way to go to 4k, and Susan says we probably could by delaying a payment to Carmen and then having to delay it till Jan but she needs to take a closer look at our spending. 

Trimming and Removal of Trees

Wendy has been seeing the trees grow and block her view. We agree to invite Wendy to attend our next board meeting so we can talk about it more specifically. 

Unbuilt Lots

Eva has a friend who is very serious about purchasing one of the remaining lots and building a small house on it. There are three remaining lots: one is allotted to Debbie, one to Jane Rose, and one to the community. The community-owned lot is not ideal: it has no road access, is very close to Alfred’s, and is close to the dumpsters. Eva’s friend prefers Debbie’s lot to Jane’s, but Debbie can’t sell her membership if she wants to continue renting. Miri suggests buying the third lot from the community and then moving it, which costs 2-3K according to Annie.  Eva asks about Jane Rose and Debbie swapping lots, which Susan discourages. Alfred suggests one other option: Debbie buys the lot next to him and then sells hers to Eva’s friend. 

Barn

We have now shown the barn to several builders and the consensus is that in order to “save the barn,” we are going to have to take the structure down, and then rebuild it with new materials incorporating as much of the old barn material as can be saved. The structural beams, which are the most important part of the barn, would be saved as well as any pieces that can be saved from the outside. 

We have one bid in and are getting at least one or two more in the coming weeks. 

Lukas Schwartz has given us a bid for approximately $140k. 

Eva has completed her community survey. A majority of the community wants to preserve the barn and is willing to contribute but it is not a strong majority. There are some people who feel that saving the barn is not a good use of money, so we have a spectrum. 

The results are:

• if people contributed a lump sum and did it with cash we have $94k. 
• if we got a loan the lump sum would go down to $84k. Total yearly contributions to loan would be $5500 annually, probably for ten years. 

The plan is to complete the process of getting bids in the next few weeks and to get a range of bids, including one that would not involve financing.  Rachel and Miri will put together a summary of the bids and a proposal for what the end product of saving the barn would look like. They’ll circulate the proposal to the board before sending it out to the whole community. 

Schedule

It is resolved that we do another meeting before the end of the year. Once the bids for the barn come in and we have business to discuss, we can set a date. 

The meeting was held remotely by video. Minutes courtesy of Rachel Dretzin.