Annual Meeting 2022
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
BROOKRIDGE CONDOMINIUM AND HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION
https://sites.google.com/site/brookridgehoa/Home
The annual meeting of the Brookridge Condominium and Homeowners' Board of Directors was held on June 30, 2022 at Bonnie Briar Country Club. Present at the meeting were: Paul Spindel (Unit #1), 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. Monica Teuscher (Unit #43), Vice President, was unable to attend.
Also present were Tom Pallman, Property Manager, Dawn Lombardo, Comptroller, Tara Riordan, Assistant Controller, and owner representatives from the following units: #3, #4, #5, #7, #8, #9, #10, #13, #14, #15, #21, #29, #39, #40, #42, #46, #44, #47, #48, #49, #51, #52, #53, #54 and #55.
Paul Spindel acted as Chair of the meeting and Leslie Molinoff took the minutes.
CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 PM.
The President introduced the Board, the Ferrara Management representatives, and new residents, Marcia & Joseph Endzweig (Unit #9) and Kathleen Widowski (Unit #13).
President’s Report – Paul Spindel:
The Board opened the pool early this year and, on a humorous note, Paul S. awarded Mark Aaron the 2022 Polar Bear Award for his endurance for cold water swimming!!
Pool - Covid restrictions have been lifted for attendance at the pool but unit owners should have to no more than a group of 6 guests (including themselves) at any one time to continue to be mindful of social distancing and to avoid general overcrowding, especially on weekends. Please observe this rule and please remember to close umbrellas and return lounges and chairs to pool deck before leaving.
Roads- Last summer we resealed our roads but we continue to see more and more pot holes developing. It is time for the Board to start considering a more comprehensive road repair. We will keep the community advised of any progress on this front. Please stop complaining about the speed bumps being too rough on your cars and your backs. They are fulfilling their purpose of slowing vehicles down.
Landscaping - Trimming of plantings inside and outside our main gate and landscaping of common areas continues on an ongoing basis. Our gardeners, Nancy and Margaret, with input from Monica and Paul S., have created a rock garden on the right outer-side of the pool, which definitely enhances the aesthetics of our property.
Community Garden - The community garden has been planted and we will soon be seeing the fruits of the labors of our garden workers, headed up by Monica. Weeding continues to need tending. If you’d like to become part of the gardening team, please contact Monica.
Tennis/Pickle Ball Court - The tennis/pickle ball court, happily, is getting more and more use. Our sign-up process seems to be working well. Thanks to Elliot Jacobs for introducing us to pickle ball and teaching the original group the rules of the sport. Elliot would like to see us to permanently convert our tennis court to two pickle ball courts, but many members of our community object to that idea.
Concerts - Our Peter Clark concerts have started up again this summer and continue to delight the community. After a hiatus during the months of July and August when Peter will be out of town, they will be scheduled again when he returns. Ellen Dungan gave a glowing review of the concerts and encouraged everyone to avail themselves of this wonderful gift! Thank you, Peter..... (and Ellen for the "plug")!!!!
Treasurer’s Report – Paul Roberts:
Cash balances as of 5/31/2022:
NCB Operating Account - $ 53,419
NCB Reserve Account - $156,423
Signature Bank MM Account (1893) - $264,283
Signature Securities Brokerage Account (6703) - $392,231
(Note: $400,000 T-Bills matures May 2023)
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Total cash - $866,356
We are ahead of budget by about $22,000 and should end the year about $20,000 in the black. After the painting project has been completely paid for, we will still have $530,000 in reserves with about $8,000 a month in revenue coming in from resident maintenance fees. We have converted about $400,000 of our reserve funds into treasury bills to take advantage of higher interest rates. We have not had to raise common charges for the last 3 ½ years nor did we need to do any special assessment for the road resealing or the community-wide exterior paint job now underway.
Some projects being contemplated for 2023, are new mailboxes and/or new street lights. Several residents made suggestions about the mailboxes, but those comments were tabled until the Board is ready to have more comprehensive discussions, at which time, all community suggestions and ideas will be welcome.
When a question arose about the status of Unit #6 arrears, Paul Spindel explained the history of that situation for new residents but said the bottom line is that Wells Fargo Bank, the mortgage holder, is owed more than a million dollars, and, as creditors, we are secondary to the Bank, on top of which, the Bank is not being proactive in pushing litigation to collect.
Painting Project Report – Ann Gittelman:
After going through a judicious process to select a new color palette for the exterior of our units, we came to a consensus on a color scheme and it seems that most residents are happy with it. (This announcement got a round of applause from the meeting attendees!!) The project is progressing nicely, although a bit slower than we had anticipated because of all the rain and extremely hot weather we experienced in June. The Cert Pro crew is respectful, accommodating and not intrusive.
Residents have been coming to agreement with Certa Pro on wood repairs which Ann and Paul S. have been overseeing. The process is that Certa Pro power washes first and then does a repair estimate. If anyone is dissatisfied with their estimate after reviewing with Certa Pro, don’t sign off on it but rather contact Ann and/or Paul to help resolve it. If a unit owner is not willing to absorb any estimated cost over $1,250, Certa Pro will prioritize the need for repairs and make the ones that are the most egregious.
Certa Pro will paint and repair decks as well as interiors for a price, but these projects will be scheduled after the completion of the exterior painting project.
Parking in our own garages and driveways is essential since the paint crew needs 3 guest spots for their trucks, dumpster, etc. With the need to reserve spots for these workers, we can’t afford to have residents using what few guest spots remain. The exception is when the painters are painting your unit. Unless you have a long driveway and can park sufficiently far away from your home, then you should use the guest parking.
The dumpster is NOT for community use. Please do not dispose of any of your discarded items in it.
While the painters are painting, they will remove your unit numbers. If you are expecting deliveries, please put a temporary sign on your home with you unit number for the delivery folks. Andi Stix suggested changing the housing numbers to a uniform look. Some of the residents did not wish to participate.
Miscellaneous:
As a reminder, parking in the circles is not permitted because fire trucks and sanitation trucks cannot get by.
Dog poop also remains an issue, especially in the lower circle, where our concerts are held. Please pick up after your dog and dispose the waste in your own garbage, NOT the community receptacles at the pool and tennis court. Additionally, please dispose of swim and regular diapers at home as well.
Tax Grievance Report – Leslie Molinoff:
After giving some history of our conversion from an HOA to a condo community for the benefit of new unit owners, Leslie reported that The Landing litigation has been settled with a favorable outcome for the residents. Our grievance had been put on hold by NR until the outcome of that case and now that it has, our attorney, Bill Sulzer, is pushing New Rochelle for a decision. Since the City is dragging its feet with a response, Bill has filed a petition for a hearing date on the matter, but has not yet gotten a Court date. The Courts are extremely backed up due to the Covid hiatus. He will let us know as soon as he has anything substantive to report. The State has passed a law (not yet signed by the Governor) stating that condominium communities breaking ground in 2023 and going forward, will be treated as HOA’s, thereby closing the loophole that we have been able to utilize for our situation. Kathy Conroy asked if it would be helpful for the community to write a letter to The NR City Manager and/or the Tax Assessor to ask them to move the process forward. Leslie checked with our attorney and was advised this is not a good idea. It would only serve to antagonize them.
Results of Election of 2 Board Members:
Two Board members were up for re-election: Monica Teuscher and Ann Gittelman. Since no one else indicated they would like to stand for the Board. Monica and Ann were reelected by acclamation. Congratulations!!!
New Business:
Kathy Conroy and Andi Stix would like to explore the possibility of installing solar panels on our units. Paul S.'s previous research found that the flat part of our roofs isn't big enough to accommodate enough solar panels to be worth the investment, but we remain open to any new developments in this technology.
Arielle Churba asked if we could have a community wide tag sale open to the public. Many residents objected to having so many outside people wandering our premises and cited parking and management issues as well.
Debra Malki suggested we have a group G-mail account for the purposes of residents sharing vender resources and other useful information. Interested residents could opt in, if they wanted to participate. Paul S. encouraged Debra to set it up. He reminded us that we already have a Brookridge G-mail account that he administers but many residents find it difficult to navigate that one. Andi Stix reminded us that she set up a Brookridge Facebook page that could be utilized for this.
The next Board meeting will be held on August 10th at 5:30 PM at Leslie’s house.
There being no further business before the Board, upon motion made and duly seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 8:26 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Leslie Molinoff, Secretary