Annual Meeting 2021

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE

BROOKRIDGE CONDOMINIUM BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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The annual meeting of the Brookridge Condominium Board of Directors was held on June 30, 2021 by Zoom. Present at the meeting were: Paul Spindel (Unit #1), President; Monica Teuscher (Unit # 43), Vice President; Leslie Molinoff (Unit #45), Secretary; Paul Roberts (Unit #40), Treasurer, and Ann Gittelman (Unit #31), Member at Large - all of whom are Directors constituting a quorum.

Also present were Tom Pallman, Property Manager, Alexis Ferrara, Assistant Property Manager, Tina Thiakodemitris, Senior Account Executive, William Sulzer, Esq. and owner representatives from the following units: #2, #4, #7, #11, #13, #14, #21, #35, #37, #39, #44, #46, #47, #48, #52, #53, #54 and #55.

Paul Spindel acted as Chair of the meeting and Leslie Molinoff took the minutes.

CALL TO ORDER AT 5:45 PM.

The President introduced the Board, the Ferrara Management representatives, William Sulzer, Esq., and new residents, Debra & Elliott Mali (Unit #47) and Sally & Michael Moran (Unit #2). He extended a warm welcome on behalf of the community to our new owners.

President’s Report:

The Board opened the pool last summer with strict limits as to who would be permitted to use it, tennis and pickle ball games continued un-abated and the community garden managed to withstand a small flood and supplied fresh veggies to all those who participated. Although some Covid concerns remain we have again opened the pool and have added the deck chairs.

Ordinarily, the entire community this year would have been painted this year, but instead, we had CertaPro do a touch-up that should last another year or two. There have been a number of requests to change the color of the community, a decision that requires a bit of time and effort to resolve. The delay in starting a full paint job will give us time to reach a consensus on how to handle these issues.

It’s been more than 5 years since we repaved the streets. Last winter we saw the beginnings of pot holes. It is time to reseal the roadway and stop further deterioration of the roadway. The Board sought and received proposals to fill the cracks in the pavement and apply a seal coat that will stop the spread of potholes. At the same time, we will be able to offer homeowners a discounted price for sealing or repaving their driveway. The proposed cost to reseal a driveway is $80. We hope to start work on the roadways later in July and will try to minimize the inconvenience this project will require.

If you would like to arrange to have your driveway sealed, please email Tom Pall at tpallman@ferraramngmt.com.

Results of Election of 3 Board Members: - Tom Pallman

3 Board members were up for re-election: Paul Spindel, Leslie Molinoff and Paul Roberts. No one else indicated they would like to stand for the Board. As was done last year, the election was held by e-mail. Paul Spindel (President), Leslie Molinoff (Secretary), and Paul Roberts (Treasurer) were all re-elected.

Treasurer’s Report: - Paul Roberts

The Condo Association’s financial position is in good shape. The May year-to-date actual results are ahead eof the budget even factoring in the painting touch-up expense. The cash reserves total a little over $750,000 and we have not had an increase in the monthly assessment fee in 2 ½ years.

Landscaping/Garden: - Monica Teuscher

All tree cutting, trimming and other Spring clean-up have been completed. We have a new landscaper, Nancy Nichols, who will be in charge of maintaining the two circles, the Gazebo plantings and any other common-area plantings. Various plantings have already been added to the Gazebo.

Residents may hire Nancy to do private landscaping and garden maintenance. Please do not interrupt her while she is working to discuss your private needs but feel free to call her at 914-706-5567 to schedule an appointment.

The community vegetable garden is progressing nicely. If you are interested in helping out with some weeding, please call Monica.

Tennis/Pickle Ball Courts and Pool Report: Ann Gittelman

Tennis/Pickle Ball:

Scheduling seems to be working well for use of the tennis and pickle court. Please remember:

  • Signups are for one hour at a time

  • Walk-ons are fine but it is recommended to sign up when you get there so you are not bumped by someone else

  • Residents should only have one “live” reservation at a time

  • Please clean up after yourselves, remove all tennis balls, cans, water bottles, etc.

  • If tennis balls go over the fence, please do not leave them on the lawn

Pool:

The pool has mostly returned to pre-Covid guidelines with the following reminders/restrictions:

  • Residents are asked to please restrict attendance to no more than 6 individuals per unit number

  • All guests and residents are required to sign in. There is a sign-in book at the front entrance to the pool

  • No food is allowed and only non-breakable beverage containers are allowed. Absolutely no glass/glass bottles are allowed in the pool area. If any glass winds up in the water, the pool company has advised us that they will have to drain the pool.

  • No water floats or other items are allowed in the pool, unless you are teaching a small child how to swim

  • Please clean up after yourselves, remove towels, sunblock, water bottles, etc., close umbrellas and bring lounges back onto the pool deck from the grassy area after use.

  • Guests are allowed but please be mindful that all residents do not have the same comfort level re safety in public so please socially distance.

    • Everyone who hasn’t signed a Covid waiver should sign and leave it in the sign-in book. Blank waivers are available in the side pocket of the book

    • No one should be at the pool if feeling unwell

    • Children under 12, while not vaccinated, are allowed

    • Adults who have chosen to not be vaccinated should not come to the pool, but, in any event, should socially distance and wear a mask on the Brookridge premises.

    • We are relying on the honor code with respect to all of the above.

Thanks to everyone who has volunteered to test the water each day. That is greatly appreciated! If you find extremely low chlorine levels, please alert Monica or Paul Spindel.

CONDO CONVERSION REPORT: - LESLIE MOLINOFF

A brief description of the genesis and history of the project was given for the benefit of the new residents. Our Offering Plan has been accepted by the NYS Attorney General’s Office and has been submitted to the N.R. Tax Assessor by William Sulzer, Esq., who has been grieving our taxes as a community. Ratifications of the Offering Plan have been signed by most unit owners but several are still outstanding. The Board is following up to obtain the few remaining forms. Mr. Sulzer gave us an update on his progress with the grievance. He is relatively confident that we will receive reduced assessments for the current tax year and going forward, the process for which is now underway, but getting retroactive reduced assessments for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 will be more complicated and the decision for those years may be delayed until the resolution of litigation being brought by another townhouse community in Dobbs Ferry that is attempting to achieve the same type of reduction that we are. He will keep us updated with any developments. Questions were raised about the amount of any anticipated reduction and the formulas used for allocation per unit of those reductions. Attached is the text of an email Mr. Sulzer sent to the Board on July 2nd to summarize what he reported to us at the meeting relevant to those issues.

One question that was raised at the meeting which Mr. Sulzer was not equipped to answer since it is not his area of responsibility, concerned the extent of the financial obligations of the condominium board for maintenance of the property and units versus the financial obligations of the HOA before the conversion. Please note that everything remains the same and is stated as such in the Offering Plan. Unit/Condominium owners are responsible for any repairs, upgrades and maintenance from the exterior wood of their units inward, for 5 feet of back and front yard property, and for their driveways. The HOA also provides limited repair of roof leaks.

There being no further business before the Board, upon motion made and duly seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Leslie Molinoff, Secretary