Washington’s Headquarters Homeowners Association
Board of Managers Meeting
April 13, 2010
Present
Eli Cohn, Mick Cartwright, Toni Schoen, Ann Tannenbaum, Sabin Meyer, Gary Zimmerman
Apologies
Bernice Giscombe, Rob Parke
Visitors
Christina Bloise – Impact Management
All issues for the board or the management company can be emailed to board@washingtonshq.com, or telephone 914 512 8129.
The next meeting is scheduled for May 18th, 8pm and will be held at unit 18.
Previous Minutes:
The Board approved the minutes of the last meeting.
Board Changes
Rob Parke has resigned from the board due to outside commitments.  We would like to thank him for all of his work and contributions over the years.
Gary Zimmerman volunteered, and has been appointed pro tem in Rob’s place.
Financials
Eli presented the latest statements. We remain in a good position financially.
Insurance Audit
Our insurance cover was audited and the initial report assessed us for $8,800.  Eli undertook to investigate and contest this and believes that we do not actually owe anything. (There was appropriate workers compensation insurance in place whenever we had work done.) We are now waiting on the result of his submissions.
By Laws Review
The purpose of the by laws review is to clarify the maintenance responsibilities of the home owners versus the responsibilities of the Homeowners Association. We will draft an addition to the by laws for review at this year’s AGM.
Swimming Pool
- We have the permits from Westchester County and From Dobbs Ferry and have completed the electrical inspection.
- The pool can therefore be used as from April 14th
- The thermostat control is broken (but just useable). Sabe will have this repaired or replaced as needed.
- Gary noted that some of the drain covers around the pool are showing signs of their age. Sabe will check these and we will replace them as needed.
Tennis Court
- The tennis court should be open on May 15th
Snow Removal
- The various areas of curbstones damaged during the winter by the plows have been repaired.
Gardening
Sabe and Gray will investigate new furniture for the communal garden to replace or supplement the existing benches.
Anne and Toni will conduct a walk through with Carlos to ensure that he is attending to all areas of the communal garden and to look for solutions to a number of issues. These include:
- The area between the tennis court and the drive to unit 1 should be included in the mulching and planting
- The area in front of unit 2 should be included in the mulching and planting
- The box hedges in the central area of the garden suffered in the recent storms. Some are leaning over and others have the roots exposed posing a trip hazard
- The hedge behind unit 5 suffered damage to the middle of the three bushes during the storms. The hedge itself is old and was not trimmed to shape when it was put in and growing and may warrant replacement.
- The area to the North of the tennis court (where the tree fell last year) is now bare earth. We need some form of ground cover to improve the appearance and to prevent erosion
- The tree beside unit 14 is leaning over – it used to be secured to unit 14. (If Carlos cannot attend to this we will ask Rayal Tree Care to visit.)
- The area beside unit 9 under the rhododendrons is often muddy. Some form of ground cover may help this and improve the appearance.
- The plants in front of unit 5 were removed last year and never replaced. The Japanese Maple in front of unit 16 may not have survived the winter. During the walk through we will check the beds in front of all of the units.
Outside Lighting
We have a number of issues with the outside lighting – the lights around the first circle do not seem to be reliable, one of the lights by unit 1 does not work, the light outside the pool is not on at the right times and there is no light in the second circle. Gary volunteered to pursue solutions to this. Initially:
- Mick will show Gary where existing/known timers are
- Mick and Gary will investigate where power is run outside
- Gary can check with the previous electricians, switch electrical for additional details before seeking quotes for work to resolve the issues.
Garden Dumpsters
The garden dumpsters are in a poor state of repair. (The bottom of one is rusted through; the other is not far behind).  Similarly the fence surrounding these has deteriorated recently.  Dobbs Ferry public works confirmed that they pick up gardening waste (in brown sacks or for larger items, tied in bundles, with the Thursday trash pick up. With this in mind:
- The dumpsters will be donated to the Dobbs Ferry Fire department who said they would be happy to take them away.
- The green fence will be removed.
- The concrete stand that the dumpsters are on will be left in place for the short term while we see how things go.
- All residents should put any garden waste out with their normal Thursday trash collection.  Please do not use the dumpsters going forward, or leave anything in the dumpsters area.
- The landscaping contractor removes all debris as part of their contract and so no change is necessary with Carlos.
Oil Contract For Swimming Pool Heating
We will address this in September for the 2011 season when prices are more conducive to negotiating savings. For the time being we will keep the existing arrangements with Robison.
Front Wall Repairs
We do not yet have adequate quotes for the repair work and this is held over until the next meeting.  Gary pointed out that there is currently no provision for drainage through or from the wall. We will include this in the repairs.
Driveway Repairs
We do not yet have adequate quotes for the repair work and this is held over until the next meeting.
While discussing the driveway repairs we also identified the need for a better solution for speed control than the old removable speed humps. The board is looking at various options that can be implemented at the same time as the driveway repairs.
Other Business
- The concrete apron in front of unit 16’s garage needs repair. We have one quote and are seeking others before having the work done.
- Gary has contacts for a number of contractors that may be useful for the condominium’s projects. These will be added to the directory on the website
Respectfully Submitted,
Mick Cartwright