The
Board of Directors for Hawthorn Park had their regular
monthly meeting on
December 15, 2005.
Here are the
topics
and
highlights of the meeting. Reminder: All association
members are invited to attend these regular Board meetings.
Please note:
These
are not the official
meeting minutes.
The official minutes are recorded by Patti Wasil, Property Manager,
and are archived at the offices of Harmony Management. Claudia
Quehl, Director - Assistant Secretary, also maintains a file of the
official minutes.
Planned
Attendees
Board of Directors: Jeanine Balsis, Art Stadlin, Nancy Maloney (absent), Mike Theoret, Claudia
Quehl, Pat Whitesel, George Sinclair
Harmony Management: Patti Wasil
Other interested residents of Hawthorn Park
AGENDA
1. Call for a quorum of directors
2. Reading of minutes of November 17, 2005 meeting [P.
Wasil]
3. Review of Financial Statements [M. Theoret] -- As of 11/30/05, the surplus in the
operations budget is $4,100. As communicated to the Association
in the Proxy mailing, the surplus will be rolled over to 2006 to cover
an increase in the 2006 operations budget.
4. Property Manager's Report [P. Wasil]
- Pet Problems:
- Barking Dogs -- In response
to numerous complaints about unattended dogs barking for extended
periods, Patti investigated local law. In summary, any dog
disturbing the peace by barking (or growling, yelping, whining, or
howling) more than 10-minutes is in violation of the law.
Residents who are disturbed by such a dog should call 742-5933. The County
Sheriff will dispatch an officer. Fine: $100 (1st offense), $200
(2nd).
- Dogs Not in Direct Control on
Owner's Property -- This is also against the law.
Residents chased or attacked by a dog while walking the sidewalk or
street should call 742-5933.
Fine: Courtesy Notice (1st), $50 (2nd)
- Dogs Left Unattended for Long
Periods -- Abandonment and cruelty to animals are also against
the law. Residents who are aware of these situations should call 742-5933.
Fine: $200 (1st), mandatory court appearance (2nd).
- Cats Defecating on Private Property
-- Residents who observe a cat leaving a deposit on their property
should also call 742-5933.
- Residents who are unable to
get through to 742-5933 should follow the recorded instructions,
and also call the County
Sheriff Department on 747-3011. Explain that you were
unable to get through to Manatee County Animal Services on 742-5933, and ask that the Sheriff please log the
report for the record.
- Lawns:
- Lawns must be
maintained. St. Augustine lawns in Florida require water, mowing,
and chemical treatments. Please see Tony Chadsey's article in the
recent Hawthorn Herald for more information.
- Lawns must be repaired.
Sparse, diseased, or dead areas of lawn require resodding with St.
Augustine grass.
- Patti reported that action is
being taking on three lawns at this time.
5. Committee Reports
- Activities Fund [G.
Sinclair; M. Theoret] --
The Board thanked Len Lesjak, Fred Baumgratz, Mark Quehl, and Art
Stadlin for the holiday lighting at the front entrance and the
electrical work to support it. The purchases will be covered by
the Activities Fund.
- Holiday Party [G.
Sinclair, K. Lesjak] --
Claudia Quehl reported on Kathy Lesjak's behalf. The Party was
festive and enjoyed by 67 residents and 7 guests. Ticket sales
and seed money from the Activities Fund exceeded expenses, so
approximately $500 is being returned to the Activities Fund. Beer
was left over and will be deployed at the Festival of Lights event on
December 16th. A lessons-learned summary was also documented and
provided to the Board as part of the itemized expense accounting.
The Board thanked Kathy Lesjak and her committee for a wonderful
function!
- Festival of Lights, Hayride
[G. Sinclair] -- George
Sinclair reported that everything is in place for a fun event.
Tom Falcone reported that the hay for the hay ride is ready.
- ARC [G. Sinclair] -- No new requests have come in.
6. Unfinished Business
- Action Items Update [A.
Stadlin]
- Storm
Grate Replacement -- Jeanine Balsis invited concerned residents to join
her at 1:00pm Dec. 19th to meet with County and look at the grates in
question.
- Fence
Encroachment -- Pat Whitesel will contact Dr. Bellino to discuss.
In the meantime, Patti Wasil will contact County to verify that proper
permits were obtained for the fence and the shed he erected on Hawthorn
Park property.
- Tree and Shrub Clean-Up at West Pond --
Board decided to delegate planning and action to the 2006 Board.
- Beautification grant [C.
Quehl] -- Claudia Quehl described
the planned landscaping work on the front entry island, and the Board
approved it. McGiver will begin work approximately mid-January.
- Proposed street sign -- A "Dead End" sign and a "No Turn
Around" sign for the entrance to 93rd Street were discussed and debated
at length. A motion was made to purchase a "No Turn Around" sign
to add to the existing "No Outlet" sign, but the motion did not
pass. Here is a partial list of concerns and comments. It
was a lively discussion:
- "Dead
End" is not politically correct. Looks low class.
- "Dead
End" is the only sign that would clearly say you can't get out that way.
- "No
Outlet" is not the same as "Dead End" because 13th Ave. Circle is No
Outlet, but not Dead Ended.
- The
beep-beep-beep of trucks backing up 93rd St. can be heard all the way
over on the north end of Phase 1.
- Lots
of truck traffic right now because of the construction at the Lesjak
home.
- The
"No Outlet" sign was recently painted red. Can't tell if that is
working until the construction is completed.
- You
can't stop UPS and Fed-X trucks from going down 93rd St.
- If
we discourage people from entering 93rd Street with a Dead End sign, it
could keep home buyers away.
- People
on 93rd Street might consider placing a chain or barrier in their
driveways to prevent turn arounds.
- Nobody reads the signs anyway, so why
bother.
- Annual Meeting -- Another lively discussion ensued
about the voting process. Patti Wasil explained that Florida
statute declares that the slate of candidates is not completed until
the vote is called at the Annual Meeting, and without a complete slate,
absentee ballots cannot be taken. The list of candidates
submitted in the Proxy mailing is only a courtesy, and may not
represent the full ballot of candidates, since nominations are allowed
right up to the moment that the vote is called at the Annual
Meeting. This is why we have the Proxy process for homeowners who
know they will miss the Annual Meeting. Also by law, all Proxies
returned in advance of the meeting will be voted as the President votes
(Jeanine Balsis) unless the Proxy was signed over to another
homeowner. Also, if a homeowner turns in their Proxy but then
finds themselves able to attend the Annual Meeting after all, they may
revoke their Proxy at the meeting and cast their personal ballot at the
meeting. Welcome to Florida!
7. New Business
Holiday Luminaries -- The Zeppi
family has proposed this idea and donated the luminary bags and
candles. Len Lesjak is organizing the volunteers and the response
so far has been good. This may become another annual event for
Hawthorn Park!
8. Comments from residents
+ The Board recognized Kathy
Lesjak for another fantastic and professionally looking Hawthorn
Herald. Between her hard work with the Bradenton Herald on photo
quality, and the contributions of content from neighbors, and the
support of our advertisers, the newsletter looks great!!
9. Adjourn
