. Here are the
topics
and
highlights of the meeting. Reminder: All association
members are invited to attend these regular Board meetings.
Land
Swap for King Middle School -- The Board of Directors listened
to
Michele Hall, Attorney At
Law, advise on the possible strategies and tactics to organize and
mobilize to fight the relocation of the school to the vacant land next
door to Hawthorn Park on 9th Ave. NW. Among other actions, it was
decided that Hawthorn Park residents will attend the
Manatee County School
Board meeting on Monday, November 1, 2004, at 7:00 p.m. at the School
Boards Administration Building at 215 Manatee Ave. W. to show
our collective concern over this land-swap proposal.
Joe Sloss, long time resident of
the area, was appointed to be our community spokesperson at the
meeting. All residents of Hawthorn Park are encouraged to attend
this meeting. Car pools will be coordinated by
Donna Falcone and
George Sinclair.
Trees
--
The Directors voted in favor of a
motion to trim the remaining trees in all common areas, with a
not-to-exceed budget of $5,000 to be taken from reserve funds.
The trimming involves pruning and
raising the canopy of the trees. The work will take up to 4 days
and will be done by Bradenton Tree Service. Once completed, all
common area trees in Hawthorn Park will have been trimmed in
2004. Going forward, the goal is to trim a fraction of the trees
each year on a rotation basis, with the cost built into the operational
budget. The budget requirement will be determined
with the preparation of the 2005 budget.
As mentioned last
month, this may involve an
increase in Association dues in 2005.
Annual Picnic --
Peg Mazza reported that the
picnic was a big success. 91 people representing 61 homes
attended. The total cost of the picnic was $490 (not including
the venue). The Directors thanked
Peg and all the picnic committee
members for a magnificent achievement.
Tom Falcone was recognized for his
highly successful 50/50 raffle, with supporting sales from
George Sinclair, which raised $500
for use to offset costs of the Annual Holiday Party.
Storm Shutters --
Jeanine Balsis reported that 22
homeowners in Hawthorn Park have expressed interest in hearing
proposals
from storm shutter vendors.
So
far three vendors are lined up to review their product lines and prices
with Hawthorn Park. Please watch your e-mail for dates and times.
Application Fee and Process
--
Jerry Lemerise
(Harmony Management) explained that their office is using a new tickler
file to help avoid glitches in the processes around real estate
closings and new homeowner notifications and bills
. This issue is closed for now.
Developer Loan -- Due to
storms and other reasons, this item has not been worked and will be
continued to the next
meeting.
Entry Landscaping Project --
Peg Mazza asked that the Directors
raise their expectations for the beautification of the plants and
general appearance of the entry drive. Peg explained that the
not-to-exceed budget of $350 would
be insufficient to fund the extensive planting and mulching she had in
mind. The Board tabled further discussion.
Election Process and Terms --
Jeanine Balsis explained how the new
election process might work, and how we might transition to it.
Mike Hogan offered a few
twists.
Jerry
Lemerise (Harmony Management) explained that moving to 2-year
(or 3-year) terms for Directors will require a 75-percent favorable
vote of membership and legal work to update the By-Laws, which may not
be in the budget. This triggered discussion of the existing
election By-Laws, which led to the suggestion that we
change from a 5-member
Board of Directors to a 7-member Board. This was voted in
unanimously, and will have the effect, we believe, of
encouraging Director overlapping, which has always been the goal.
At least one current Director is not planning to run for re-election,
therefore at least three new homeowners need to be encouraged to run
for office.
Jeanine
expressed a concern, shared by the Board, that the election process
needs to be better organized and planned, such that a slate of
candidates is identified early enough so that candidate biographies can
be included in an official mailing prior to the Annual Meeting.
In this way, the Association membership can make an informed decision
about whom to vote for at the meeting.
The Annual Meeting will
be held Sunday, January 16, 2005 at 1:00 p.m.
Phase
1 Water Flow Blockage --
A
homeowner on the east side of 91st St. NW had requested action earlier
in the month to unblock the swail behind their property.
Mike Hogan, who lives on that side
of the street, was unaware of any problem, so the Board tabled further
discussion.
Community Garage Sale --
George Sinclair explained that
everything is planned. The committee members are all assigned,
and the flyers announcing the sale will be delivered to all homeowners
next week.
The
Garage Sale Day is Saturday, November 13, 2004, starting at 8:00 a.m.
The famous Hot Dog Stand will again be run by
Vince Meli.
Annual Holiday Party --
Tom Falcone is the chief organizer
of this event.
Tom
explained that the food will be catered by Carrabba's. Food will
be served buffet style, with table linens and nicer arrangements.
All tables will be set up inside the Palma Sola Botannical Park's large
room. Tables will need to be rented. There will be a small
cover charge.
The date for the party
is Sunday, December 12, 2004, at 5:00 p.m. Volunteers to
help with planning are asked to join the committee.
2005 Dates --
George Sinclair reviewed the dates
for the meetings and events for 2005.
Click here to see the latest dates for 2005.
Liens for Unpaid Dues --
Jerry Lemerise (Harmony Management)
reviewed the procedure and timeline of events that lead to legal action
toward homeowners who do not pay their association dues. The
Board requested that
Jerry
advise them as to any particulars or extenuating circumstances that
might warrant Director intervention.
