At 7:00 p.m., the President excused the Election Committee to adjourn to count the votes of the Special Election.
The meeting was called to order by President Mary Johnson at 7:00 p.m. The president led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
Present: Mary Johnson, Joe Musumeci, Richard Barrett, Kathy Morgan, Mary Hurst, John Castiglia, and Paul Bredlau.
The Secretary read the minutes of the meeting of November 10, 2008. As there were no additions or corrections, the minutes were approved as read.
Financial Report
Treasurer, Rich Barrett gave the financial report. As of November 30, 2008, the balance on hand in the operating account is $10,048.76 and $75,826.59 in the reserve account.
The President read a letter from Jack Fair resigning from the Architectural/Code Enforcement Committee, as well as the RV Storage Area Committee. The President asked that anyone wishing to volunteer to serve on either of the above committees please contact her.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Welcoming: No report at this time
Code Enforcement/Architectural Committee: John Castiglia reported the approval of one project: Bob and Mary Johnson to paint their home.
Maintenance: Mary Johnson reported that the Disco Ball has been repaired
RV Area: No report at this time.
Pool: Joe Musumeci reported that the contractor will be here on Thursday to repair the spa.
Social Club: The President noted that a schedule of coming events is posted on the board. She also reminded residents of the Christmas Party to be held on Wednesday, December 10, If anyone else wishes to attend, please contact a member of the Committee.
Documents: No report at this time.
Crime Watch: John Castiglia reported that we had 2 break-ins in the RV storage area during the past month. Police were called in both instances. Val Stauder will draft a letter to Commissioner Jack Mariano asking him to contact the owner of the land behind the homes on Olivaud in an effort to force the owner to take legal action against those making illegal entry onto Great Cypress Village property.
Brenda Cloukey stated that she is currently canvassing owners of property being stored in the area to obtain permission to purchase 4 sensor lights which will be purchased and installed at the owners’ expense. Brenda will report on the status of this project at the next meeting.
Election Committee: Chad Reid gave the results of the election as follows:
107 Residents voted. On the question of making Great Cypress Village a 55 or over park – 89 (83%) voted YES, 18 (17%) voted NO .
On the question to approve the Park Documents – 77 (72%) voted YES, 30 (28%) voted NO. Both proposals passed.
The President said that she will contact the Attorney tomorrow to arrange the next steps.
OLD BUSINESS:
SBA response: Joe Musumeci had no report at this time.
Chad Reid reported that the steel tank currently stored in the RV area is listed on Craig’s list but no interest has been shown. We shall continue to look at ways to get rid of the tank.
Joe Musumeci reported that he is currently obtaining quotes for replacing damaged sidewalks in the park as well as a quote on replacing the sidewalk leading from Harley to the pool area.
With regard to the request to place an item on the March ballot to amend the Park Documents to include details regarding the RV storage area, the President reported that the Attorney has advised that such details are normally included in the rules for the RV storage area and not made a part of the documents.
With regard to the request to place an item on the March ballot authorizing Great Cypress Village to accept the cost of approximately $3,000 - $4,000 for completion of the Bocce Court, the President asked for a vote from the members of the Board and they responded by voting unanimously to place this item on the ballot.
Mary Hurst reiterated her plan to install a fence on two sides of the newspaper dumpster at a cost of approximately $730. Park Resident Armand Blum has agreed to sign a waiver prior to performing the labor to install the fence. The President asked for a vote as to whether or not to contract with Armand: Rich Barrett Yes, Joe Musumeci No, Kathy Morgan Yes, Mary Hurst Yes, John Castiglia No, Paul Bredlau Yes. The motion passed by majority voice vote.
The President once again outlined a plan to hire 1 or 2 part time persons to perform general maintenance around the park. Rich Barrett moved, and Joe Musumeci seconded that we hire 1 or 2 part time employees to perform general routine maintenance around the park to be supervised by the Chairperson of the Maintenance Committee. The wages would be $8.00 per hour not to exceed a total expenditure of $100 per week. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
Val Stauder reported that he has been following up on the status of the house adjacent to the RV Storage area. The County has taken the owner to court and he has 6 months from November 19, 2008 to bring the house up to code. If not, a lien will be placed against the property.
NEW BUSINESS:
With regard to trimming the trees on common ground, John Castiglia will contact Pasco Tree Trimming to obtain a price for trimming both the deciduous trees as well as the palm trees.
The President stated that there has been controversy regarding the temperature in the club house. There are three thermostats – one for each air conditioner in the building. These have been synchronized and should not be individually adjusted. However, some residents have gone so far as to rip the covers off the thermostats to adjust the temperature. She proposed that at a cost of approximately $68.00 each, we purchase specific thermostats which can be set to automatically alternate between air and heat and once set, never have to be adjusted. These thermostats are code locked. The President asked the Board to vote and all members voted unanimously in favor of purchasing the thermostats.
On the subject of the water cooler, the President noted that she felt the cost of $50.00 each month for water cooler service is not worth the price. She asked the Board to vote to discontinue the contract to purchase bottled water: Rich Barrett YES, Joe Musumeci YES, Kathy Morgan YES, Mary Hurst, YES, John Castiglia NO, Paul Bredlau NO. The motion passed by majority voice vote.
The President announced that she has been notified that our insurance carrier will cancel our policy effective March 31, 2009, the reason being that they no longer cover communities such as ours. Our agent is currently getting quotes from other companies and Mary will report his findings at the next meeting.
As there was no further business to come before the Board, Rich Barrett moved and Joe Musumeci seconded that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was passed by unanimous voice vote and adjournment prevailed at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Morgan
Secretary