Bacon Hill Homeowners' Asssociation

Bacon Hill Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 8, 2024
Zoom meeting run by Roger Stackpoole

Directors present: Roger Stackpoole, Michael Foor-Pessin, Kathy Adams, Chris Adams, Chris Sedlack, Chris Fesko, Tyler Wainwright, Pat Gannon, Brian Davis, Jim Colling, Robert Hole; Terry Foor-Pessin, Secretary.  Absent: Jim Richardson.

The meeting was called to order at 6:19 PM.

President’s report: Roger notes that the changes to the Covenant and the By-laws have been much more extensive than first anticipated.  He regrets that we did not have an annual meeting in 2023.  He cites that there has been good progress on the roads, the waterfront and the Association’s financial sustainability. 
               Roads: there has been some exploration of possible new solutions, with the formation of a task force which had hoped to try some experiments, but there are no changes so far.
               Waterfront: Roger has gotten feedback that members are looking for improvements and repairs to the waterfront, and that there is enthusiasm for this and a growing list of volunteers.
The goals remain for both the roads and the waterfront: sustainability, lower cost, fostering community, and maintaining a higher standard.
Dues have been raised from $450 to $550 per lot.  We need to demonstrate the immediate benefits of this increase to the membership.  We will need to have more Board meetings, and they need to be action oriented.  He asks that members be concise, brief and respectful.

The minutes of the December 14, 2023 Board meeting have been posted on the website.  Mike Foor-Pessin makes a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Kathy Adams and passed unanimously. 

Documents Revision: The focus of the revision has been on being in compliance with not-for-profit agency law and recent NYS case law.  Other objectives have been to reduce redundancy and to move content to the proper document (Declaration or By-laws), to improve clarity and to add “teeth” to our rules and regulations. 

Kathy Adams presents the work done on our documents:
               Name changes: Declaration instead of Covenant, Amended By-laws for By-laws
               No rentals shorter than 30 days, clarification of what constitutes commercial activity in BHHA
               Home offices/working from home are permitted, no signage or customer traffic
               Provides a managed process to expand the physical area of BHHA or increase the number of properties. No provision for this previously existed.
                Removes references to original partners and to different levels of membership/voting
                Greater enforcement capacity for violations of the covenants or by-laws
                 Technical updates for the documents—language is more legally sound and defensible
                  Changes voting rights to be consistent with recent case law regarding HOAs in NYS
                 Reduces duplication of language between by-laws and convenants and clarifies where the Board can act, and when decisions must be made by the membership as a whole
                  Reduces the number of Directors to an odd number between 7 and 11 (which will be achieved through attrition) 
                 Strengthens the enforceability of all covenants and by-laws
                 Conforms to NYS Not for Profit Corporation Law

 

 

 

Once the documents are reviewed and approved by the Board, there remains final proofreading, a Table of Contents will be automatically generated in the printing, and there will be an easier to read page design.  Kathy begins the process of going through the Declaration section by section, eliciting comments from the Board, correcting the few typos, and noting areas of concern to review with the attorney.  Chris Sedlack states we must be specific about what we are responsible for maintaining (e.g., which parts of Precipice Road) as the insurance company is scrutinizing our By-laws in determining what they will cover.  The process stops on page 6 for tonight’s meeting and will continue at the next meeting.

Tyler Wainwright presents the 2024 road work estimate from Borotek.  Tyler notes that we have already had some minor repairs this year, including leaf cleanouts at $378 and repair of a hole over the culvert on Wavelength for $162.  The current quote, for routine maintenance, is $2754.
In addition, there is a quote for recommended work to improve water drainage on Winslip Circle, for $2376.  This work involves ditching from the homeowner’s driveway, and they will need to be informed and give permission for the work. The total requested is $5130.00. Tyler notes the weather forecast for tomorrow, August 9th, when the remains of Hurricane Debby are supposed to pass through the area and produce up to five inches of rain.  He asks permission to make some of this money available to use if storm damage occurs.  There is discussion.

Mike Foor-Pessin makes a motion to approve $5130.00 for the maintenance/Winslip projects.  Chris Adams seconds, and the motion is unanimously passed.

Mike Foor-Pessin makes a motion to set aside an additional $5,000.00 (upper limit) for emergency contingent expenses.  Pat Gannon seconds, and the motion is unanimously passed.

Roger proposes a meeting schedule for the year:

Board meetings:
August 28th 6:00-7:30PM
November 13th 6:00-7:00PM
February 26th 6:00-7:00PM
April 9th 6:00-7:00PM
June 11th 6:00-7:00PMz

As the Secretary has a conflict for the August 28th meeting, it is agreed that the next meeting will
take place on Tuesday, August 27th at 7:00PM.

Chris Adams makes motion to adjourn, seconded by Pat Gannon.  Meeting is adjourned at 8:40PM.
 

Respectfully submitted,

Terry Foor-Pessin
Secretary