Minutes of the General Membership Meeting Property Owners Association of Arundel on the Bay 11:45 am Saturday, June 18 th, 2016 at the West Street Library Attendees: Board members: Ed Conaway, Aris T. Allen, Jr., Lori Strum, Mike Adams Officers: Dawn Davis, Donna Watts-Lamont, Roxanne Veal, Dave Delia Committee Members: Dick Peyton; Alan Hinman Residents: Margaret Delia, Susan Allen, Kathy Conaway, Pamela Bennett, Josefa O Malley, Neil Rubin, Bayinnah Shabazz, David Osias, Peggy Peyton, Charlie Dolberg, Irving McConnell, Bill Semenuk Absent: Alison Buckler; Kinley Bray (resigned), Dave Zeman Meeting called to order at 11:50am by Dave Delia. Number of Residents Forming Quorum at 11:50am: 18 Discussions Administrative At 11:50am Dave Delia called the meeting to order and requested that attendees review the minutes of the April 23 rd, 2016 General Membership Meeting. Phillip Allen made a motion to accept the minutes and Kathy Conaway seconded. All were in favor. President s Report Dave Delia reported that Donna Watts-Lamont completed the ballots and mailed them on time to residents. A notice regarding ballot distribution and the election was posted in The Pier and sent via email blast. Mr. Delia requested volunteers to assist in counting the ballots. Dave Zeman and Mike Adams volunteered. Mr. Delia reported that Kinley Bray resigned with thanks from the community for her service. Ms. Bray s board position must be appointed by Mr. Delia and approved by the Board of Directors. Mr. Delia sent an email requesting volunteers to more than thirty residents and received two replies. Mr. Delia committed to making a decision by July 5 th, 2016. Alison Buckler s 5K event went well as did Marc Apter s Wine and Jazz party, with about seventy guests. Mr. Delia reported that it looked as if we broke even on the two events with $1300 in and $1300 out. Mr. Apter has indicated that he will likely need assistance to plan the end of summer party. Mr. Delia will be scheduling a street lamp walk on either the 13 th, 14 th, or 15 th of July with the purpose of identifying dark areas in the neighborhood that need additional lighting. The Maryland Department of Agriculture has begun mosquito spraying on Monday evenings. The job description of AOTB s Special Security Officer has been posted on the website. The Officer s hours have been adjusted to twelve hours per week in winter and twenty hours per week in summer. The playground is to be remulched soon using a special type of state-approved mulch. The pump station is to be rehabbed and backed up with a generator.
Mr. Delia received about 75 names for the AOTB Public Service Recognition Day list. He will reblast this list just before August 26 th, 2016. Four aprons and several potholes have been patched along Cohasset by Anne Arundel County. Alan Hinman also arranged for Samco to repave Redwood. Metropolitan is the chosen vendor for repairing the Newport pier FD pipe. Aris T. Allen, Jr. secured a quote of $9,500 and it was installed last week. The pump-out pipes also require work and Mr. Allen is managing that process as well. The Gullabyes (seagull deflectors) have been replaced on the pier and Mr. Delia asked that residents help to protect them. The boards on the Newport and crabbing piers are scheduled to be replaced. Signs on Cedar and the boat ramp signs are also scheduled for installation or replacement. Mr. Delia spoke with Brad of Total Lawn about the permits needed for the paper road path on Myrtle; the latter pledged to seek county guidance as to the necessity of a permit. Mr. Delia also emphasized the need for more consistent emptying and replacing of bags at the dog waste stations and received a reply that Total Lawn would comply. Mr. Delia spoke to the realtor about the drainage pipe at the renovated home on Newport near Myrtle. The realtor promised to redirect the pipe away from AOTB s right of way. Residents Larry and Nina wrote a Pier article and email blast regarding rescue dogs. Residents Martha and Bob have also been considering writing an article on the ASPCA. Martha further is committed to developing a neighborhood service list, similar to Angie s List, working with our webmistress. Alan Hinman managed the installation of electrical power to the beach. The boat ramp is still being left unlocked; please lock after use. Keys are obtainable from Lori Strum. The boat ramp pier is to be repaired by resident James Reno as part of his Eagle Scout project. It is another great example of volunteerism. The community needs a replacement for bookkeeper Sheila Keating by fall. Ms. Keating will probably be leaving the community in late 2016. Mr. Delia solicited more volunteers for a variety of tasks and reminded that if residents would like to see something happen they can make it happen. There is an ongoing review of the AOTB Constitution. Phillip Allen, Mike Lord, and Mr. Delia will send their findings to the Board of Directors for review and approval, and then to the general membership for approval at a future General Membership Meeting. Attorney Sue Ford is still taking depositions. The insurance company continues to pay fees but reserves the right of refusal. Residents should contact Donna Watts-Lamont to participate. Secretary Dawn Davis has committed to arranging the 2017 meeting venues in October 2016.
The next Board of Directors meeting is July 12 th, 2016, at Margaret and Dave Delia s house from 7pm to 9pm. The next General Membership Meeting is November 19 th. The venue is to be determined. Treasurer s Report Roxanne Veal reviewed the Treasurer s Report with residents. Ms. Veal recapped that the bank balance is $181,448, that the wine and jazz party brought in $1,330.00 with a net expense of $827.55, and that the 5K netted $1,108.76 after expenses. Aris T. Allen, Jr., shared that the history book project is nearing completion. Ms. Veal stated that she hoped every resident will purchase a book to offset the investment of $2,500 from the community, which is to be repaid from sales. Ms. Veal reminded that if something is seen in the community, it can be asked about. Every resident has input on expenditures. A resident asked if the community had paid for the resurfacing of Redwood. Ms. Veal responded no. The community paid for the initial paving and the vendor, Samco, corrected it free of charge due to the first application consisting of faulty asphalt. A resident asked if, when the initial asphalt crumbled, Samco removed it. Ms. Veal answered yes, she believed Samco did. A resident reported that the pier boards had come loose and noted that he had planned to use his drill to put them back in place. He asked if it was necessary to replace them. This resident also noted that more ladders were needed at the pier because children have been swimming near it. He noted a plan to build a 2X4 lid for the box as well, and sucking out any existing water with a wet vac. Lori Strum noted that the broken ladder had already been repaired. Dave Delia confirmed that if the pier boards could be screwed into place the community would not have to replace them. Mr. Delia directed residents to Mr. Allen, who manages pier maintenance. A resident asked about the hole near the pier and was assured by Mr. Delia that Mr. Hinman was purchasing sand to fill it. A resident requested a trash can be placed near the pier. Mr. Delia requested that the suggestion be directed to Mr. Allen. Shoreline Ed Conaway reported that the Shoreline Erosion Control Project had been approved by the state Board of Public Works. This approval qualifies AOTB for funding support to our special erosion control taxing district on a long-term, no-interest basis once we find out what the costs will be. During April and early May, Mr. Conaway and his committee vetted about eight or nine engineering design firms that specialize in marine construction and shorelines. They also worked closely with the DNR to come up with the contract scope of work, the actual specification for the work, and the RFQ packages.
In 2014, the committee and the Board of Directors assembled and overall design concept. The committee worked from that point until just recently with the Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources staff to modify that concept to a preliminary design that will meet the environment and regulatory requirements. The committee sent out bid packages to five qualified firms. The firms visited the site. On May 27 th, the committee received four fixed price quotes for the engineering and design labor to come up with the final design package and the permits that will be necessary. There will be no add-ons for the permits we will be billed directly from the agency for the actual cost of the permits. The committee met with DNR and reviewed the quotes, and selected Bray Hill LLC, who teamed with another firm, Sustainable Science. DNR has experience with both of these companies and think highly of them. We have a second company as backup: Bayland Consulting and Design. The winning quote was $23K and the second place quote was $28K. The committee laid out the project to the AOTB Board of Directors and the board concurred that based on DNR s recommendation either firm would be good. Our special taxing district will have to work with the county. Our project was included in the county s capital budget for FY201. This week the county s budget was approved by the council. If we receive the balance of necessary approvals, we will be ready to get underway in early 2017. The engineering contract was signed on June 16 th. On June 27 th the work will begin. Final design will be ready for review by the November General Membership Meeting. That final design will be used to send requests for quotes to the marine construction firms. The selection of a firm to provide QA services is pending. Our goal is to have the park and beach accessible for use by July 4 th 2017 weekend, permit process pending. We do not expect delays to hinder completion by at least Labor Day Weekend 2017. Dave Delia noted that the cost will be $300-$500K, but will not cost us anything over what we currently pay in property taxes. Mr. Conaway confirmed that he thinks we ll be in the range of $425K. A resident queried if there will be maintenance of the sustainable shoreline, and Mr. Conaway responded that it will be part of the landscape construction aspect. If anything fails, the provider will come back to take care of it in the first couple of years. Litigation, Committee Reports, General Discussion Pam Bennett suggested that the community provide a plaque commemorating James Reno s Eagle Scout project. Dave Delia thought it was a good idea for the community to do so. Another resident noted that the recent construction of a house on Cohasset had left damage to the road in front of it. Mr. Delia stated he would speak to the county about it. Election Results As reported by Mike Adams with elected parties in bold:
Vice President: Donna Watts-Lamont (104 votes); Alison Buckler (2 votes); Marc Apter 1 vote) Secretary: Dawn Davis (105 votes) Treasurer: Roxanne Veal (100 votes) Board Members: Alan Hinman (99 votes); Richard Peyton (96 votes); Neil Rubin (96 votes); Karen Neale (2 votes) Adjournment At 1:00pm Bill Semenuk made a motion to adjourn. Josefa O Malley seconded. All were in favor. Recorded and submitted by Dawn M. Davis, Secretary, Property Owners Association of Arundel on the Bay. June 18 th, 2016.