. Here are the
topics
and
highlights of the meeting. Reminder: All association
members are invited to attend these regular Board meetings.
Action
Items -- Art Stadlin announced that from now on, the Board will
be tracking action items more rigorously.
Liens
and Foreclosures for Unpaid Dues -- We hope a foreclosure for
unpaid dues never comes to pass, however our first foreclosure action
appears likely. The Board decided to delay the action until after
the holidays.
Mr. Grinch
does not live in Hawthorn Park!
Developer
Loan -- Mike Hogan agreed to work with
Jerry Lemerise, Harmony Management,
to get this accomplished. Mike knows
Pat Neal. It will be wonderful
to see this long-standing open item resolved.
Thank
you Mike!
New Homeowner Application Form --
Jeanine Balsis and
Jerry Lemerise have revised the new
homeowner form to eliminate problems with the older form. The
revised form requires review by
Helen
at Harmony before it can be used.
Self-Nominations for 2005 Board of
Directors -- If approved, the 2005 Board will grow to seven
members from the current five members.
Jerry Lemerise informed the Board
that eight (8) association members have self-nominated for election to
the Board of Directors. The nominees are:
Jeanine Balsis, Nancy Maloney, Peg Mazza,
Claudia Quehl, George Sinclair, Art Stadlin, Mike Theoret, Pat
Whitesel. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE
NOMINEES!
Election
Process and Terms --
Jeanine
Balsis and
Jerry Lemerise
explained how the new
election process will work. First, we will vote on the Board
proposal to
change
from a 5-member
Board of Directors to a 7-member Board. With the
assumption that it passes, we will immediately elect 7 Directors to
fill the 2005 Board. Not all 2004 Board Directors plan to run for
office in 2005, so we may need as many as 4 or 5 new Directors. A
self-nomination form is being sent to homeowners. To nominate
yourself, simply complete the form, with your bio, and mail it to
Harmony Management by Friday, 12/10/2004. The bios will be mailed
with the pre-meeting materials so everyone 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. at Palma Sola Botannical
Park.
Annual Meeting Preparation --
Jerry Lemerise asked for two
volunteers to help with registration and with vote counting at the
meeting.
Hugh Schulte
and
Beate Kutchera were
nominated.
Storm Shutters --
Jeanine Balsis reported that 22
homeowners in Hawthorn Park attended the seminar.
Click here for photos.
Residents who talk to these suppliers should remember to ask for their
special discount. The Board thanked
Diane Balsis for helping Jeanine and
for the lovely coffee and treats.
Thank you Diane and
Jeanine!
Activities Fund -- The special
checking account will be set up in January. The Board authorized
an immediate $200 in starter money so the account may be opened.
Additionally, once the books close on 2004, any monies left in the
Activities line in the Harmony-managed account will be transferred to
the new checking account. The Activities Fund will be controlled
by the Activities Committee, which will be chaired by the Social
Director, which is currently
George
Sinclair.
Common Area Maintenance --
Vince Meli shared a letter that will
be going out to homeowners who border common areas. This letter
will inform the homeowner that the committee will be surveying the
common areas on January 8, 2005, and will encourage input from the
homeowner at that time about what action they desire on their common
area trees and shrubs/weeds. The Board thanked Vince for taking
on this difficult and involved task.
Thank you Vince!
Annual Holiday Party -- The
Board thanked
Tom Falcone and
the
Planning Committee for a fantasic community event. This event had
more community participation than any previous event, as far as we
know. The Board decided to send Tom a letter of commendation for
his contribution to Hawthorn Park. Also, Tom was tasked with
documenting a summary of things to remember for next year's Planning
Committee. The 50/50 raffles, led by
Tom Falcone, offset the cost of the
Holiday Party, and also allowed Hawthorn Park to donate money to
charity. The Board decided to send $100 each to these three
charities:
Season of Sharing
(local charity providing money directly to hurricane victims),
Seeing Eye Guide Dogs (another local
charity), and the
Salvation
Army. Thank you Tom!
Holiday Decorating Contest -- Sally
Ann Dines and
Michelle Jones
are organizing a
Holiday
Festival of Lights Contest, which should be fun for adults and
children alike. The annoucement for this event was
distributed.
Click here to see it. It
will be held on
Sunday,
December 19th, 6:00pm.
Rain date is December 20th.
Community Directory -- There
will be a meeting 12/17/04 with
Jeannie
Ladd to lay out the 2005 Community Directory. The
Directory needs to include the ads already purchased, as well as other
information.
Plama Sola Botannical Park --
The PSBP has informed us that they are seeking additional members of
their Board of Directors. They are especially interested in
someone from Hawthorn Park joining their Board. If interested,
please contact
Art Stadlin for
contact information.
Front Entry Holiday Lighting --
The Board thanked the rag-tag team of hot wire experts who donated and
installed the light strings at the front entrance:
Fred Baumgratz, Len Lesjak, Mark Quehl,
George Sinclair, Art Stadlin.
Jerry Lemerise, Harmony Management,
announced that he would donate about five 500-count strings of brand
new lights for 2005.
Thank you Jerry!
Community Beautification Grant
--
Vince Meli agreed to order
the application form and give it to
George Sinclair for follow-up and potential application into the
2005 Manatee County process.
Yard Crew Parking -- A
complaint was lodged regarding a lawn maintenance crew that parks in
the Hawthorn Park right-turn lane on 9th Ave. NW when they are tending
to the yard work on the property across the street. This creates
a hazardous situation.
Mike
Hogan and
Jerry Lemerise
will follow-up to address this matter.
First America Board Room --
Mike Hogan offered the Board room of
his bank on Manatee Avenue for Hawthorn Park Board meetings, at no
charge.
Thank
you Mike!
Truck Complaint -- A complaint
was lodged regarding a Bright House truck parking overnight for a
couple of weeks in a driveway on 13th Ave. Cir. NW.
Jerry Lemerise will check it out.
Community Maintenance -- The
Board renewed its endorsement of
Len
Lesjak as our community common-area maintenance director.
The Board renewed its authorization of Len to spend up to $300 on any
critical maintenance problem that requires immediate attention.
Thank you Len!
