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WALLENPAUPACK PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
JUNE 9,
2007 The June 9, 2007 Annual Property Owners Association Meeting
began with the pledge allegiance to the American flag. Ed Weidler inquired of the staff at the front door who were signing members in to the
meeting, if there was a quorum present. The answer was yes. Ed also queried as
to the number of proxy votes. There were 186. President Ed Weidler, presiding,
introduced those sitting at the dais. Present were, Vice-President Steve Sollenne, Secretary Paula Whitney, Treasurer Copies
of the June 2006 minutes were made available to the membership prior to and at
this meeting. The minutes were not read at this meeting. Motion to accept the minutes was made by Max
Watkins and seconded by Sandi Boyer. The minutes were passed as presented. General
Managers Report-
John Carney John
explained that WLE was one of the few communities in John
said he was pleased to be able to say that the Another project underway is the campgrounds. Some of the end
sites are still be dressed up. We seen a rise in requests for seasonal sites,
we have done our best to answer the demand. More water and electric sites are
being fashioned. The U-Dock down below the Main Clubhouse has been installed.
Additional stair casing is being installed. That whole area in itself is being
refurbished; however, we must obtain permits and approval from PPL, the DEP and
the Army Corp of Engineers which hinders the process. Beaver pool has a handicap ramp ready for installation and
we are looking to created additional parking alongside Furthermore, John reported that at the site of the old
skating rink in Section 4, shuffle board courts will be set up. John began discussing the new Kasper Lodge. He explained
that the process began last November when they contact an architect, builders
and the Township regarding permits. It is now June and we are still in
discussions but the plans are in and we are just awaiting final approval. With
the new building codes, the originally proposed pole building was no longer a
possibility. When we first submitted the plans, they were returned to us with
some minor items to be addressed. John explained that we would be acting as the
general contractor with regards to the building. That is, we would sub out the
different facets of the job, such as hiring one contractor to do the excavating
and another to do the electrical etc. Some of the plumbing will be done in
house. The excavator is ready for us, he is just
waiting for the final go ahead. Another projected venture that was approved by the Board of
Directors is the new John then touched on the topic of 911 signs and pressure
reducing valves. The pressure reducing valves will be addressed later in the
Sewer & Water report. As far as the 911 signs, Chief Kizer
is inspecting the erected signs to see if they meet the mandatory criteria. If
it doesn’t, a letter will be mailed to the property owner giving them 30 days to install a proper sign. John then addressed the road work being performed. Again,
due to weather restrictions, the road work began later then what we hoped for.
Extensive road patching was done, improving road edges and tar and chipping all
took place. In recent years, more budgeted money has gone to drainage then to
roads, but that has proven to be very helpful. If funds allow and Board
approval John said that he would like to initiate another, less expensive road
program in the Fall. John started to explain that many times as a community
grows, it tends to disassociate itself from the outside communities and vise
versa. However, Wallenpaupack Lake Estates is quite
involved. Brian Schan, Director of Sewer & Water
is on the Wallenpaupack Watershed District. This all
began because there was a time when the communities with central sewers were
perceived as problematic. There were people who believed that sewage was being
pumped into John mentioned that during the recent primary election,
Jerry Bradley along with Alice Marz and the
Women’s’ Luncheon Club, held a Meet the Candidates in the Main
Clubhouse. WLE held the biggest audience the candidates addressed and they
expressed their gratitude to our residents for their presence and
respectfulness. After the meeting John had a chance to speak with Mr. Zimmer, a
candidate for Wayne County Judge. Mr. Zimmer claimed that he was impressed with
our operations, form the issuance of a citation, to the Citation Review
Committee and the appeal process from CRC to the Board of Directors. We have
basically set up our own judicial system which helps minimize the need to
escalate instances to the Magisterial or County level. Lastly, John mentioned the progress with regards the
Lakeville Fire Substation. WLE has held various meetings with the fire
department. In past years a lack of volunteer firefighters proved to be a
challenge that has since changed. There are approximately 50 people on their
roster, 12 of which are WLE residents. Lakeville is looking to purchase a new
fire truck, if that transpires, we would hopefully inherit the old engine which
will be housed in WLE at the Maintenance building or possibly on a WLE owned
lot on Goose Pond Road. Of course there is no final approval for this yet. As
far as the available funds for this project, Lakeville is looking into possible
grants. We are also considering various fund raisers. If any property owners
have ideas for generating money for this project, the association is open to
suggestions. At this time John thanked outgoing Board members Anne Marie
Madison and Jack McIntyre for their services. Ed Weidler resumed officiating the
meeting and gave his thanks to John Carney for the great job he does, reminding
people it is not easy to run the Association. Next Ed stated that department reports would be reviewed,
beginning with financial matters. Treasurers Report – Ted Couillou The meeting was turned over to Ted Couillou,
Treasurer. Ted in turn introduced Debbie Borger of our accounting firm, Riley
& Company. Debbie started by saying that the firm she represents has been
working with community associations in the Poconos
and northeast Ed thanked Debbie for all of her hard work with the
Association. Sewer and Water Report – Steve Sollenne Then Ed explained that Brian was out on property working on
a water leak and would not be able to attend the meeting. In his place, Steve Sollenne read Brian’s report. The Sewer & Water
Department is working on several projects this summer. They will begin working
on the headwork’s building and constructing a pavilion to house two
portable generators to protect them from the weather. A new sewer pump is being
installed at Pump Station 3. There were some water flow issues over the
Memorial Day Weekend, that were quickly resolved. Two
new booster pumps are scheduled to be installed before July 4th at
the Maintenance – Jack McIntyre The meeting was now turned over to Jack McIntyre for the
Maintenance report. Jack exclaimed that Maintenance hands in a comprehensive
report each month and he is happy to report that they are doing their job. Security Report – Anne Marie Madison Next, Ed introduced Anne Marie Madison for the Security
report. Anne Marie introduced Rocky, who would speak on Security’s
behalf. Rocky started by breaking down all calls to Security varying on the
following issues. 58 ambulance calls
16 domestic calls
45 police assists 174 alarm calls
15 auto
accidents
8 RV accidents 33
thefts
49 vandalism acts
5 unlawful entries (1 false) 11 fire calls
8 unlawful vehicle entries In addition, 489 citations have been issued in the past
year. Rocky claimed that they were cracking down on underage drinking and drug
use. He then commended his hard working officers. Ed once again took the floor and reiterated the rules on
fireworks use with a cautionary reminder that a $500 fine would be issued to
anyone caught lighting fireworks. Legal and Administration – Gina Florio At this time the meeting was turned over to Gina Florio to
report on legal and administration. Gina stated that with the exception of
Section 6 and Bill Spillane, the legal department has been relatively quiet.
She then introduced our Attorney, Howard Terreri Esq.
Howard agreed with Gina in regards to it being a quiet year which he attests to
the work of the Board and the Association staff. On the matter of Section 6, we
are in negotiations to provide sewage service. We are required by law to
provide the sewage facility being as it was approved for the entire community. Howard also informed the audience that collection activity
has heated up. The Board is cracking down on chronic delinquents. Other than
those 2 items to report, Howard said all other matters are routine. On another
note, Howard explained that the township generates considerable revenue from
WLE and we are entitled to more services. The association should not hesitate
to demand more services from the township and we should utilize our political
force. Property Owner – Would you clarify the Section 6
situation. Some people may be confused. We are responsible for their sewer
system but they have no other entitlements to this development be it the use of
our amenities or use of our roads, docks or anything else? Howard responded
by saying that was correct. Jim Clark (7-031) – I just want to know how you
plan on collecting sewer fees because you’re going to have to be doing it
as individuals. Howard explained that we were not proceeding in an
individual fashion. We will be dealing with the developer as a single entity or
the successor property owners association. Since we have no idea how the
community will be run, it makes negotiating difficult. More discussion on the possible sewage service to Section 6
continued. When a property owner inquired about our collection procedures,
Howard took some time to explain the steps involved leading all the way up to a
Sheriff’s Ed thanked Howard for his time. John expanded on the information regarding the Section 6
sewage service hook up. He explained that yes, if we needed to expand to feed
the other area with our services, that they indeed would be financially
responsible. However, it is feasible that as our community grows, we may have
to expand to suit our own needs. This was calculated during the 1992 expansion
when two phases were planned. It has always been the intent that someday we
would have to go to the next phase. If we were to break ground immediately for
another plant expansion, the funds are already in place. Recreation – Paula Whitney Ed now introduced Paula Whitney to report on Recreation and
the new scholarship fund. Paula began by thanking Pat Mongalieri
and Vincent Settepani, the co-chairpersons of Recreation. Paula listed the many
events taking place this summer. Regarding the scholarship fund, John Rechinda
had proposed making a scholarship available to children and grandchildren of
property owners. The Board of Directors took it a bit further by deciding to
grant 4 $1,000 scholarships each year. Paula and John will put together an
application. The first scholarships will be awarded at next years Annual
Meeting. The applications will be available in the fall, with a deadline for
submission sometime in April. A Scholarship Committee will be set up. Henry Cowen was introduced to announce the election results
for the candidates running for the Board of Directors. Henry reported the
following results: Jack Vetter - 290 ½ votes Elvin Quinones - 283 ½ votes Jerry Beskovoyne - 195 votes Conrad Zabransky - 130 votes Henry then thanked Steve Sollenne,
Judge of Elections and the Election Committee. The resolution results would be
read later, after the voting was complete. At this time the new Board Members were sworn in. Ed once again thanked outgoing Board Members Anne Marie and
Jack. There was a short break as the last of the resolution
ballots were counted. Ed repeated what John stated earlier about volunteerism in
WLE. He claimed that there are many, many property owners and committees in the
Estates that help both inside and outside of WLE. He thanked everyone who
volunteers their time. Henry again took over the meeting with the resolution
results. The Transfer of Funds Resolution passed 347 ½ for and
3 against. The Address Change Resolution passed 371 for and 11 against.
The floor was now opened to the membership. Diane Kitchell (1-508) –
questioned as to whether citations were issued to unsightly lots specifically
pertaining to junk cars. John answered that Rocky gave citations for this
problem and if the situation is not rectified by a certain date we can have the
vehicle towed out. Ken Stopsky (5-193) –
questioned how the Board was going to address the cutting down and replacement
of trees. Ted Couillou, Board liaison to the
Building Committee stated that the Board, as well as the Building Committee and
the Building Compliance Officer are aware that there is a problem and they are
looking into ways to resolve it. Karen Zanelli (5-236) –
inquired about the sign on the strret for Bob Assenheimer (4-290) –
was wondering how next winter, more specifically during February, March and
April, we will enforce the road ban. John explained that through Act 180 we
are allowed to close the roads for so many days within the Spring/Fall period.
We can’t just close it for a certain time; we have to abide by the actual
allotted time period. We have a sign that indicates when the roads are open or
not. However, between utility vehicles, emergency vehicles, propane trucks and
PPL trucks, they cause more damage then any contractors. Who determines when
the roads are closed? John stated that between himself, the Building
Compliance Officer and the Maintenance Supervisor, they make the decision
together. More discussion on this topic ensued. Ed Nagel (7-070) – asked why the long range
planning states that there have been provisions made for an addition to Kasper
Lodge, a building that has not even been erected yet. Ed explained that the
building was designed for possible future expansion in needed. Lois Kuehnapfel (4-023) –
complained of teenagers hanging around outside of the Adult Lodge until late at
night making a lot of noise. Ed asked Rocky to look into it. Diane Kitchell (1-508) –
Going back to roads, are all of the roads going to be tarred and chipped?
John said no, the process of deciding what roads get done is formulated between
what is budgeted and what is most in need of repairs. Ed Weidler asked for a motion to
close the meeting. Motion to adjourn was made by Paul Cuskley
and seconded by Max Watkins. Meeting adjourned at 12:25 PM. |