August 26, 2018 Meeting Minutes
Elk Forest Civic Association Annual Meeting/Elections Picnic - August 26, 2018
Alzos Residence – 12 p.m.-3 p.m
We had a great turnout of approximately 50 community members at the event. We were each given a name tag upon arrival which made it easy for attendees to introduce themselves and enjoy conversation. In summary, we enjoyed good food, good company, and a beautiful sunny day with a lovely breeze coming off the water.
Many thanks to the Alzos for hosting the annual event and to everyone who helped with the set up/clean up. Thank you also for the delicious food dishes that were provided by attendees. For the record, this is the first year we had ice cream from Sweet Cowoline’s which was yummy.
The Annual Meeting was called to order by President Kathy Alzos at 1:45 p.m. Minutes of the meeting are provided as follows:
Kathy reviewed the proposed agenda:
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Little Library Update
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Website Update
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Treasurer’s Report
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Officer/Board Elections
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Little Free Library
In our October 2017 meeting, the Board agreed that our community would benefit by having a “Little Free Library”. Little Free Library is a nonprofit global organization that aims to inspire a love of reading, build community, and spark creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges.
David Silverman volunteered to build the library structure at minimal cost using his own personal material. The structure is now complete, is in the attractive shape of a lighthouse, and can accommodate 20-25 books. The lighthouse was recently painted by Sherri Mitchell, Judy Leshner, and Dave Mitchell and is ready to be installed. Jeff and June Estock, 98 South Shore Drive, have kindly agreed for the structure to be placed on their property.
The Board will notify the community when the Little Free Library is in place and ready for use.
Sherri Mitchell will register our library.
Many thanks to Sherri Mitchell who initiated this project and brought it to fruition with the help of Board Members and the Community.
Website Update
Website Master, Dave Mitchell, provided an update on our community website, elkforest.com. Our website now contains tide charts and real time weather. Currently our website has 225 views per day, not unique visitors.
General discussion from a couple attendees indicated they would like to put notices on the website. Dave agreed to accommodate the requests as our website has an area designated for notices. The attendees will forward their notices to Dave for posting. Dave will post them on our website under the Community, Help Wanted tab.
Specifically, these are the two items that were discussed:
(1) Deb Koehler requested old towels, old sheets, newspapers, and financial donations for a local animal shelter.
(2) The Leone’s requested old computers/laptops.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Dick Guttendorf presented the detailed Treasurer’s report for the fiscal year August 1, 2017 thru July 31, 2018. Dick said it is very similar to last year’s annual treasurer report.
Cris Brookmyer recently performed an annual review of the financials to assure the residents of the accuracy of the Treasurer’s Report.
In summary:
For the fiscal year just ended, 7/31/18, the finances are as follows:
Beginning Funds $34,310 in checking and CD accounts
Ending Funds $33,871 in checking and CD accounts
TOTAL RECEIPTS $ 7,064 member dues/
cd interest
As our cd’s mature, Dick moves the monies to CD’s of a higher rate.
Dues Collection - Dick stated that we have currently collected dues from 76 out of 109 property owners. Last year 67 had paid to date. A follow-up letter will soon be sent by our new treasurer, Cris Brookmyer, to those who haven’t paid.
Dick’s treasurer’s report was accepted and all are in favor.
Mosquito Spraying – Dick reported that through July 31 that APM has sprayed the same number of sprays as last year. The sequence has been different due to the weather. We are scheduled to be sprayed twice a week. Dick monitors their spraying. Sprayings will continue thru September so we will have additional billings to pay for mosquito spraying.
We pay $230/spray. APM has not changed their price since 2014.
We pay approximately $3 per property for the service which is a very economical price.
Sprayings will continue thru September so we will have additional billings to pay for mosquito spraying.
Kathy Alzos commented that our July 2018 Newsletter indicated that one of the EFCA board members did a ride along with one of the APM drivers during one of the sprays. Some properties had closed gates preventing spray access, extensive vegetation overhanging the driveway, safety cones restricting access, equipment in the driveways, etc. Removing impediments will enable us to have a more effective spray program.
Community member, Jerry Truitt, who works for the Cecil County Health Dept., communicated that the West Niles virus is active in MD. A number of tips were provided by Jerry and meeting attendees: for example, keep rain gutters clean of water, remove any standing water on our properties, wear long sleeved clothing, use repellant (spray your clothes, not your body), use low voltage mosquito zappers, etc.
Officer/Board Elections
Outgoing President – Kathy Alzos
Incoming President – June Estock
Outgoing Treasurer – Dick Guttendorf
Incoming Treasurer – Cris Brookmyer
Outgoing Board Member – Troy Gunden
Incoming Board Member – Kathy Alzos
All attending the meeting were in favor of the changes.
Kathy and Dick were both recognized and thanked for the many contributions/achievements they gave to our community during their tenure and give to us on an on-going basis.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Curran, EFCA Secretary