MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION OF ARUNDEL ON THE BAY. TUESDAY, February 12, 2019, AT 7 P.M.

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1 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION OF ARUNDEL ON THE BAY TUESDAY, February 12, 2019, AT 7 P.M. At the home of Board Member David Delia, 1375 Walnut Ave Attendees: Board: Chair Lori Strum, Mike Adams, Aris T. Allen, Jr., David Delia, Brigid Haragan, Alan Hinman, Richard Peyton. Officers: President Dawn Davis, Vice President Donna Watts-Lamont, Treasurer Roxanne Veal, Bookkeeper Gail Adams, Secretary Susan Cook. Pier Editor Tim Hamilton; Marc Apter on behalf of the History Book Project. A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. Approval of the Minutes The Minutes of the Board Meeting of January 8, 2019, were reviewed with the addition regarding Tee Allen s committee report. David Delia moved the Minutes be approved. The motion was seconded and adopted. Report on the History Book Project Marc Apter The Board had requested that Marc Apter attend the meeting to report to the Board on the History Book project now that the book has been published and took his presentation out of order for his convenience. Marc reported that the text of the book was finished in 2017 and was published in The committee has held 10 different events to promote the book and prepared a Powerpoint presentation for the Maryland Archives. The book received positive reviews and is being nominated for an award. To date, almost 400 books have been sold. He noted that a number of costs of producing the book, direct and indirect, were borne by members of the History Project committee. Efforts to promote sales of the book continue. The following figures were provided: 395 books sold, 112 of those on Amazon for a profit of $6.60, 283 of them were direct sales. Originally, there was a loan from the Association for $3500. Expenses total $5,443; sales have produced $4,000. He anticipates that by October 2019 the committee should be able to pay back the Association s loan and the Association will get future profits from that point. 1

2 Officers Reports Secretary s Report Susan Cook The Secretary reported on a proposal to streamline the duties of the Editor of the Pier Newsletter and to publish the Pier more regularly. Issues will now be published 4 times per year, timed to be received 30 days in advance of each meeting. By contrast in 2017 there were only 3 issues of the Pier, and in 2018, only 2. To streamline the duties of our hard-working volunteer Pier Editor, the Pier will now be mailed to all AOTB property owners using the official mailing list provided by the County and the practice of sending the Pier by to some property owners will cease. It was noted that doing so created unnecessary work for the Editor with only minimal savings. The Board agreed with this proposal and thanked Pier Editor Tim Hamilton for his efforts. For those who prefer electronic copies, the Pier can be easily retrieved from the AOTB website. The Secretary also reported on updates to the Website. There is an ongoing clean up and reorganization of the website both in its appearance and contents, as well as in its improved security and correction of ownership. It turns out the website is still in the name of former AOTB Secretary Helene McConnell and we are working on getting it changed over to be owned by AOTB (no, the current secretary does not want it in her name either). The various website service accounts are being changed so that they are all directly billed to the Association rather than to various members or to our webmistress Elvia. The Secretary also provided an updated schedule of Association meetings for 2019 and provided a reminder and clarification of the new Pier publication schedule. It is designed, again, to help lessen the load on our Editor (not due to any complaints on his part) but because things are always easier when they are organized. The cutoff date for articles for the March Pier is March 1 st. Finally, the dates for the fall General Membership Meetings have been set. The meeting for budget input has been set for Saturday, October 12 at 10 am. The meeting for voting on the budget will be held Saturday, December 7 at 10 a.m. Plans are to have both meetings at the Pip Moyer Center; reservations will be made and the meeting location confirmed once we are within the six month window when reservations can be made. President s Report Dawn Davis 1. Dawn reported that her father died recently so things have been a bit hectic. 2. Since the last meeting, there has been a problem with some dead trees at risk of falling. David Delia assisted in resolving the problem, many thanks to Dave. 3. Dawn reported that she spoke to our attorney Tucker Meneely and confirmed that we had affixed the sticker to the community sign as required as part of the 2

3 settlement of the Atterbeary/Coble litigation. She also confirmed that the tax bill that plaintiffs were requesting that the Association pay early had already been paid. 4. There have been some inquiries concerning persons wanting to have a wedding at our beach property. For future reference, such inquiries should be referred to Roxanne Veal. Should anyone be contacted by someone interested in using the beach property, note that there are regulations regarding its use in our Constitution document (see Policies). Persons wanting to have a party (including a wedding) at the beach should expect to need to contact Roxanne by telephone to learn the requirements and restrictions. 5. The President gave thanks to David Delia for his work on coordinating donations to the Coast Guard made by individual community members during the recent federal government shutdown. David noted that Christine Crosby and Kinley Bray assisted in the effort. Treasurer s Report Roxanne Veal Treasurer Roxanne Veal reported on the current financial status of AOTB; please see the attached pages. Committee Reports Landscaping, Special Fundraising, and Drainage Committees David Delia 1. A damaged tree (on Association property) ready to fall over was taken down by Davey, a registered arborist. The County agreed the tree needed to come down and that no trees had to be replaced. 2. David reported that the money has been collected and deposited from the Paladar fund raiser. The next dinner with the neighbors fund raiser will be at Union Jack s on March 18. On May 6, there will be a dinner fundraiser at Caliente Grill. 3. David noted the landscaping contracts for next year have been renewed. 4. David noted he has purchased a projector for the Association which can be borrowed. It was used at the last General Meeting to project pictures from the Beach project work. 5. David next reported on community drainage matters. A meeting was held at his house on January 29; please see notes from that meeting attached to these Minutes. The overall drainage plan as discussed at the last General Meeting continues in place. The Association is well aware of the need for drainage work in the 3

4 community we all live here too. When the first houses were built in AOTB back around the turn of the century, there was no thought of a need for drainage. This was a summer community at the beach. There was no engineering of lots so that they would drain such as is required by the County now. The community is also too flat you need slope to have really effective drains. Regardless, the County is currently working on drainage improvements on the streets it owns. Once we see how much the County fixes, the community will then be in a position to analyze what needs to be done in other impacted areas. Residents are reminded that neither the County nor the Association will be undertaking drainage work on individual properties that is the responsibility of the property owner. Constitution & Bylaws Revision Committee Richard Peyton Dick reported that the Constitution Committee will be meeting in March to continue its work. To date, Sections I-V of the Constitution have been reviewed. When the work is completed, the suggested changes will be presented to the community for approval. Roads Alan Hinman Alan reported on the recent snow plowing efforts. Playground Lori Strum Lori reported on her efforts to acquire a shed for placement in the playground area. She also discussed a project to acquire three benches to place on street ends around the community. She also intends to replace a deteriorating bench at the end of Chestnut. Finally, she is planning on a survey to determine whether the community is interested in constructing a community center. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:08 p.m. /s Susan Cook Susan Cook, Secretary, POA-AOTB Finalized 4/5/2019 4

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7 POA-AOTB Drainage Meeting Notes 9:00 am, January 29, Walnut Avenue County Attendance: Kevin Brown, Urban Roads Superintendent, Southern District Roads Joe Shenton, Supervisor, Southern Roads Lee Greenwald, P.E., Project Manger, Sewage Pump Station (SPS) recapitalization Janice Hayes-Williams, County Executive s Office Community Attendance: David Delia, Walnut Avenue, Board Member, POA-AOTB, Drainage Committee Ed Conaway, Linden Avenue, Drainage Committee Donna Watts-Lamont, Cohassett Avenue, Vice President, POA-AOTB Mike Adams, Magnolia Avenue, Board Member, POA-AOTB Richard Peyton, Newport Avenue, Board Member, POA-AOTB Steve Sapirie, Cohassett Avenue David Osias, Saratoga Avenue Chris Wien, Myrtle Avenue The following issues were discussed: The County is responsible for major portions of North/South roads in the Community (Green signs) The Community is responsible for most of the East/West roads with some exceptions (Blue signs). We are a POA, not an HOA, so that limits the control we have over what owners do on and to their property. Some of the actions taken by property owners over the years (filling in swales, removing pipes, building structures) have added to individual and collective drainage problems inches of rain in our community in 2018; the hundred-year storm happens almost every year now. Our community has been working on drainage problems for several years; eight years ago we paid 33K for a Coastal Erosion study that Julie Winters later used to leverage an almost half-million dollar grant for the Newport/Chestnut Avenue project. A similar Drainage study will cost about 35K. Reviewed Newport/Chestnut Project completed in Through the years we have worked well with Jim Small (DPW/Roads) and Andy Watcher (DPW/Infrastructure). The County is very responsive to ours needs and requests. They have always gone the extra mile for us; however, they are working with limited manpower. 7

8 There is only an eight-person crew assigned to the communities from South Haven Truman Parks down Forest Drive. There are only 22 or 23 persons assigned for the communities from Route 50 to Calvert County. After years of trying to address our overall drainage problem piecemeal, last spring DPW Southern District Roads supervisor Jim Small said enough and put together a plan to address many of our biggest problems. That plan is what the County is working on now under Jim s successors Kevin Brown and Joe Shenton; however, it will take time due to limited manpower and other work that must be done in other the communities. The County has begun working this plan from North to South. The objective is to have as much water go to ground and not into the Bay as possible, with excess downpour runoff more effectively directed bayward. The community needs to understand that the County s work will improve the stormwater flow in the community, but we will never be water free. Also, the County will not be addressing any drainage problems on private property. Any grading that needs to be done on private property is the responsibility of the individual homeowners, with county permitting processes adhered to, of course. The County will be addressing the swales that are along the County right of ways. The silted-over and sun-hardened outflow pipe boots at the Magnolia shoreline between Newport and Cohassett will be replaced with flapper valves closer in that will open to let stormwater runoff out but not let tidal sea/bay water flow back in. Phragmites have already been removed along Magnolia at the under-road outflow points. After DPW work is completed, POA-AOTB will fund a professional contractor drainage study costing approximately $35,000 to better understand what remaining issues (roadside swales/pipes) can be addressed by POA and what must remain the responsibility of individual homeowners. Also present was Lee Greenwald, a DPW contractor who briefed us on the County s Sewer Pump Station (SPS) Recapitalization/Generator installation project: As part of a county-wide improvement plan for the over 50 emergency SPS facilities (for use during sustained power outages), a generator and fuel supply will be installed at the end of Cohasset (oriented North/South) and a generator connector is being installed at the SPS at the west end of Chestnut. The SPS facilities in the Oyster Harbor Community, including the one at Cedar near Niagara, are also being refurbished. All these SPS are backed up by the major SPS at the intersection of Thomas Point and Arundel On the Bay Roads (station 6), which pumps all the way to the Annapolis Treatment Plant off Edgewood Road. (Note: DPW was reminded that this vital SPS 6 and its generator are sometimes sitting in 2 to 4 inches of water.) Homeowners are cautioned that they must get a Right of Way Permit for any work done on a County Right of Way, which includes all AOTB streets. To do so without a permit is illegal. For example, the stone wall down at the south west end of Newport will probably need to be removed when that swale is improved. A list of the work DPW has accomplished thus far is attached and includes: 8

9 Rockaway, 205-man hours, regrading and pipe replacement Narragansett and Myrtle, 32-man hours, opening damaged pipes and blowing out clogged pipes Rockaway and Linden, 144-man hours, swale and pipe work. This is one of the East/West streets that is the County s responsibility. Upcoming county plans This Spring the County will restart the project of clearing the swales and opening or replacing pipes. They will pick back up on Cohasset and work south toward the water. They will not be able to devote the entire spring season to us as they must serve other communities having the same if not worse problems with water drainage. Community Priority List presented to DPW Cohasset at Oak, south to Magnolia Magnolia between Newport and Cohasset Linden between Narragansett and at least Newport Newport between Oak and Myrtle Janice Hayes-Williams, executive assistant to our new County Executive Steuart Pittman, was anxious to help us as always and also suggested that we contact Watershed Stewards Academy for possible help in our community. After the meeting was adjourned at 10:15 am, Kevin, Joe, Lee and David visited the above sites. Donna Watts-Lamont and David Delia 9

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION OF ARUNDEL ON THE BAY. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018, 7 p.m.

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION OF ARUNDEL ON THE BAY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018, 7 p.m. At the home of President Dawn Davis, 1344 Chestnut Ave Approved