Minutes: MPCA BOARD MEETING

Monday, April 9^th, 2007

7:30 PM

The Board of Directors of the MPCA met on Monday, April 9^th at Frank Sokol’s home. Present were Dimitri Chernyshov, Fred England, Darby Johnson, Don MacKinnon, Peter Roy, Russ Simon, Frank Sokol and Jim Fitzpatrick, presiding. Guests included Erin Surprenant of Great North Property Management.

The meeting was called to order at 7:36 PM.

1. Minutes of the March 5^th MPCA Board meeting:

• Motion to approve minutes was made by Fred England, seconded by Peter Roy - approved unanimously.

2. Treasurer’s Report

• Presented by Don MacKinnon
• The Board reviewed the March YTD financials. Year-to-date expenses are as expected. Including the Special Assessment funds, we are under the year-to-date budget by about $12,000, primarily due to lower expenses related to the Water System and common property maintenance. Expenses are expected to pick up in the spring and summer, as usual, for overall repairs and maintenance with better weather.
• As requested by the Board, the Treasurer and Great North will move our General Capital Reserves from a bank account to a Vanguard Money Market account to gain the improved interest rates. This is the last of our Reserve Accounts to transfer to Vanguard where we are earning more than 1.5% higher than the Bank interest rates.

3. Committee Reports

Water Systems Committee

• Presented by Jim Fitzpatrick.
• The WSC determined that we have to develop a plan to improve the access to the Pump Station allowing for trucks to access the Pump House for both cleaning and/or replacing equipment over time. Current access is by the unpaved trail, which will not support the weight of the required heavy trucks. The WSC will research alternatives and make recommendations for the Board.
• The computerized water monitoring system is still not working properly since it was hit by lightning last September. WSC tekkies are continuing to try to fix the system with some outside consultant help.

Environmental Committee:

• Presented by Dimitri Chernyshov.
• The Annual Spring Shore Line Clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, April 21^st at 11 AM (low tide). Volunteers are needed for this community project and are asked to meet at the Screenhouse (recommend you bring work gloves and rubber boots). Rain date will be April 22^nd at 12 PM.
• The EC’s hasn’t met since the last Board meeting, so there was nothing additional to report.

Community Life Committee:

• Presented by Darby Johnson.
• The next Quarterly Community Life Get Together is scheduled for April 21^st, from 5 PM to 7 PM at Gisela von Hanstein’s home (141 Cushing Rd.). Mark your calendars.
• “Timely Topics”: Many thanks to Tod Rodger for his excellent presentation on the Lewis and Clark Expedition Revisited and Gisela von Hanstein for hosting. The remaining Timely Topic sessions are:

• April 25^th (rescheduled from April 15^th): Karen Brammer: Sustainability (at Chernyshov’s, 117 Cushing Rd.)
• April 29th: Colleen Fitzpatrick: Pandemic Planning (at Chernyshov’s, 117 Cushing Rd.)
• For the above, the CLC will provide cups, napkins and seltzer beginning at 6:30 PM; the lectures will begin at 7:00 PM.

• The Winter Casual Happy Hour Friday Night get-togethers continue to be a success. There have been 15 to 35 people attending. Many thanks to Jan & Ken Geremia, Cari Moorhead & Cyn Wyman, Anna-Lisa Gotschlich, and Dimitri & Lorelei Chernyshov for hosting the last four Winter Happy Hours. Though the official Winter Casual Happy Hours ended the last Friday in March, they have been so successful that several members have volunteered to extend them on a week to week basis during April and May. Stay tuned for announcements on future dates and locations.
• The Summer Friday Night Happy Hours will begin again at the Screenhouse on Friday, June 1^st.

4. MPCA Managers Report:

• Presented by Erin Surprenant

• The three year MPCA contract for Lawn Mowing and Snow Removal is expiring this year. Discussions have been held with Blanchette to review and renew the contract for three years. The Board authorized Erin to finalize the renewal of the contract.

• Though we have no specific dates for our dock yet, we expect our dock and ramp to be in by the end of April.
• Complaints on dog violations have started to be received by Great North. As per the MPCA Policy, first time letters will be sent by Great North to the dog owners notifying them of the violations and requesting them to adhere to Town and MPCA ordinances. The letter will also notify them that if there is a second occurrence, fines will be levied as per policy. The Board will do what it can to also inform non-Moody Point members who walk their dogs on our streets and property to adhere to Town and MPCA rules.

5. Drainage Issue Report and Update

• Presented by Russ Simon.
• We have been notified that the Moody Point Company has withdrawn their application to build on their three wetlands lots. No building can occur on any wetlands lots unless applications are specifically approved by DES. It is our understanding that they have the right to reapply in the future.
• We are expecting that DES, by the end of April, will document the required drainage fixes to be done by the Moody Point Company to get into compliance with the approved drainage plan.

6. Other Business

• View Maintenance Committee: Recommendations of the View Maintenance Committee should be completed by the end of April.
• MPCA Website Security: At the request of a member, the Board has been asked to consider making the Board Minutes, posted on the website, to be accessible only by use of a password. Today, our website information is open and accessible to both members and the public. Though the Board’s initial reaction was to maintain the website as originally designed – open and accessible to all – the Board tabled the question until the next meeting to allow for additional research into the question.
• Potential Funding for Wetlands Maintenance: The Board has become aware that the National Resource Conservation Service NRCS) provides grants/funds to communities and citizens who qualify for assisting in the maintenance of Wetlands. There also may be other organizations who provide grants. The Board is looking for volunteers who would be willing to research these grants to see if our community’s Wetlands qualify. If you are interested, please contact Jim Fitzpatrick or another Board member.

The Board Meeting was adjourned at 8:52 PM.

The next Regular MPCA Board Meeting will be held again at Jim Fitzpatrick’s home on Monday, May 7^th, 2007 at 7:30 PM. 

Respectfully submitted,

Russ Simon

Secretary