Washington’s Headquarters Homeowners Association
Board Meeting
February 28, 2011
Present
Eli Cohn, Mick Cartwright, Bernice Giscombe, Ann Tannenbaum, Sabin Meyer
Apologies
Toni Schoen, Jeff Coyne
Visitors
Phyllis Feinberg (Owner), Cristina Bloise & Stuart Halper (Impact Management)
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 April 4th, 8.00pm and will be held at unit 6.
Previous Minutes:
The Board approved the minutes of the last meeting.
Financials
Eli presented the monthly summary balance sheet. We are in a good position financially, but need to remain conservative in order to build up reserves in anticipation of future projects.
Swimming Pool
We plan to open the pool on April 1st as in previous years.
ACTION Sabe/Cristina
The board continues to investigate the possibility and implications of converting the pool heating system from oil to gas.
ACTION Cristina
Tennis Court
We plan to open the tennis court on April 1st. This may be delayed if the weather does not cooperate.
ACTION Sabe/Cristina
Snow Clearing
With the exception of the last storm, when Civitano’s team was very late in clearing up at the end of the storm, the board felt that Civitano had done a good job through the season.
There remains the problem of ice forming in front of individual units on the days following the storms. Clearly this is a safety issue.  It should be noted that it is a joint liability shared between the homeowner and the Homeowners Association.
The board considered various solutions.  It would be cost prohibitive to have someone come through on a daily basis after every storm to throw down salt, chop and clear ice from in front of every unit.  Rather than spending large sums of the maintenance fees we are asking for your help:
- Please try and sweep snow off the ledge in front of your top floor windows during or immediately after any snow storm.  If you can keep this clear, you will avoid a lot of the problem.   (Experience shows that timeliness is key – if you leave it chances are you will end up with a large block of ice on the ledge. You do not want to chop away at this and risk damaging the copper sheeting.)
- An alternative solutions pursued by some homeowners at their own expense is to have a heated wire installed on the ledge. To quote their experience: “We have a second floor wire over the gutters.  We have found it to be useful in a moderate snowfall.  When we get a lot of it, the snow just piles up over it with a little tunnel of sorts underneath.  It is still better than nothing with heavy snow since it makes it easier to push off of the ledge (doesn’t stick as fast).  Also, we have had to reattach it a couple of times as it easily comes loose when we clean it off.  In short, it isn’t the great solution we hoped it would be but is some help.  I suspect that something with greater melting power might be too hot to have attached to the building but maybe they’ve now come up with something betterâ€
- We will investigate having a sack of salt delivered to every house. If you have a problem with ice in front of the house, please throw down salt
ACTION Mick
Gardening
Bernice kindly offered to join Anne overseeing our gardening contractor.  We expect to award the contract to Carlo Fraioli again this year. Although we had some concerns last year on balance we believe that we get good value from Carlo.  We are addressing these concerns by attaching a rider to his contract for this coming year.
ACTION Mick
As last year we expect there may be some plants in the beds in front of the houses damaged by the snow. The board will arrange for new plants as needed.  They may not be exact replacements of the existing or damaged plants. As the snow clears so we will assess needs and hope to provide homeowners with a choice of replacements. . If a homeowner has a desire for a specific plant, they will need to purchase the plant themselves.
We will arrange for the sprinkler system to be ready for use by May.
ACTION Cristina
We will investigate additional planting at the far end of the tennis court.
If you have any comments or concerns regarding the gardening please contact Anne (hindamotel@aol.com) or Bernice (blgiscombe@gmail.com)
Drains Repair & Cleaning
One of the main sewer drainage lines from the property became blocked and was cleared out.  The line in question is a town line that passes below our property. We will attempt to recover costs from the town.
ACTION Mick
Outside Lighting
We have a solar powered light that will be installed as a test on the lamppost beside the parking for units 6 – 14
Driveway
There are a number of frost heaves & other new cracks in the driveway that will require repair. We will seek quotes for this now, in preparation for the work when the weather improves.
ACTION Mick/Cristina
Any Other Business
1) Phyllis would like to plant some Arborvitae to screen the fence along Colonial Avenue.  These will be kept trimmed to no more than 10ft tall.  The board had no objection.
2) The village fire department will be asked to check our new fire hydrant.
ACTION Mick
3) Optimum has been asked to address the cables that have been left lying across the grounds.
4) The board continues to seek a resolution to the attempt by a homeowner to lease a portion of their unit.
5) Contact Details. Minutes are usually distributed by email only. These minutes are being hand delivered as well.  If any homeowner did not receive the emailed copy, would like to add an email, or would like to change the email in use, please contact board@washingtonshq.com.
Next Meeting
April 4th, 2011. 8pm at Unit 6
Respectfully Submitted,
Mick Cartwright