Minutes: MPCA BOARD MEETING

Monday, May 9^th, 2005

7:00 PM

The Board of Directors of the MPCA met on Monday, May 9^th, 2005 at Judi Carr’s home. Present were Fern Bouthot, Judi Carr, Darby Johnson, Jeanne Ormrod, Val Shelton, Russ Simon and Jim Fitzpatrick, presiding. Guests included Don MacKinnon, MPCA Treasurer and MJ Searfoorce of Great North Property Management.

The meeting was called to order at 7:04 PM.

1. Minutes of the April 11^th, 2005 MPCA Board meeting:

· Motion to approve minutes as written was made by Judi Carr, seconded by Val Shelton - approved unanimously.

2. Treasurer’s Report :

• Presented by Don MacKinnon.
• No significant financial items to report.
• Expect to start using the monies budgeted for Lot 4 maintenance shortly, under the plan approved by and supervision of Earle Chase.
• Don will be having the initial meeting with the budget committee, comprised of all the association treasurers’ and M.J. Searfoorce on May 12th, and develop a preliminary MPCA budget by 6/15/05 (both operating and capital).
• Reminder - Members are encouraged to communicate any budget ideas or issues to their local association treasurer’s or Don by 6/1/05.
• The issue of the timely billing and collection of water tie in fees on new construction was discussed. Builders should notify the MPCA (or Water Systems Committee) of their intent to tie into our water system. That notification would allow us to monitor that the tie in was made appropriately, as well as be the trigger to notify Great North to bill the builder for the water tie in fee and create an accounts receivable that can be tracked. If the builder failed to notify the MPCA however, we did not have a clear procedure. To remedy this, a motion was made by Russ Simon, seconded by Jeanne Ormrod, that once a new building appeared completed, if we hadn’t yet been notified of a water tie in, the Board would request Great North to bill the builder for the fee. Once billed, the fee, if unpaid, would go through the standard late fee and lien process as approved earlier this year. The motion was approved unanimously.

3. Committee Reports

Water Systems Committee

• Presented by Jim Fitzpatrick.
• Well #4 is still not working properly and is not in service currently. This should be fixed shortly.
• In addition, the new water monitoring system has identified a leak in the water system. This leak is a high priority and will have to be traced to its origin and then fixed.
• In light of the above, the Board decided to delay the hook up of the irrigation system until the beginning of June so these problems could be addressed without stressing the system any further. The status will be reviewed at the beginning of June to determine if the irrigation hook up should be turned on or delayed further.

• The WSC continues to work with Eckman Engineering for the testing of the proposed water capacity solution. The testing may not be completed until mid-summer. Once the testing is completed, the recommendations on increasing non-potable water capacity for irrigation should be finalized.

Environmental Committee:

• Presented by Fern Bouthot.
• The new additional boat rack has been assembled and is ready for use in the dock area.
• We are acquiring “cost-free” used Greenhead boxes from the town (Newmarket’s budget no longer has funds to install or maintain the Greenhead boxes). A group of volunteers organized by Lynn Raeburn is planning a work party at 11am on May 14^th to repair and install these greenhead boxes along the shoreline. This came about as a result of our meeting with the Town of Newmarket (see Other Business section below for more details on our meeting with the Town).

Community Life Committee:

• Presented by Jeanne Ormrod.

• The recent Quarterly Moody Point Community Get Together (the Spring Fling) was held on April 30^th and was well-attended success. Many thanks to Gisela von Hanstein's for hosting this event.
• This Summer’s Quarterly Moody Point Community Get Together is scheduled for 6/26/05 from 4pm to 7pm at the screen house. Mark your calendars!!
• All canoes, kayaks, etc. stored in the screen house were removed as requested by April 30^th. Thanks to all for following the new policy.
• The CLC should be presenting an updated screen house policy to the MPCA Board for review at the June or July Board meeting.

By-Laws Review Committee:

• Presented by Val Shelton.
• Work continues. The re-drafting of the By-laws and any recommended changes will be ready for approval at our next annual meeting in September 2005.

4. MPCA Managers Report:

• Presented by MJ Searfoorce
• No significant new issues to report.
• The trash pick up day for the dumpsters was moved from Saturday to Monday (without our being notified). We will be investigating why this was done. In addition, we will be looking to expand dumpster capacity for the late spring thru the fall.

5. West Environmental Proposal

• At the Boards request, Earle Chase, from West Environmental has developed a detailed plan for maintaining Lot #4 going forward and to supervise the implementation of the maintenance plan for at least the first year. This plan includes the removal of new, unwanted sapling growth, dead limbs and windfall, remediation the white pine thickets, removal/suppression of invasive species and continued trimming of limbs for view maintenance. A motion was made by Jim Fitzpatrick, seconded by Val Shelton to approve the implementation of the maintenance plan with four days of cutting and trimming under Earle’s supervision. The motion was passed unanimously. The cost of this maintenance is within the approved budget. Implementation will start shortly. The results will be reviewed by the Board and a determination will be made at that time as to whether additional maintenance work would be required this year.

6. Other Business

Dumpster Area

• Based on Board approval, the dumpsters were temporarily moved closer to the entrance area to test the location for easier access in the wet season and less wear and tear on the surface area. The dumpsters were then moved further back from the entrance area to allow access for storage of boats, etc. and still minimize the wear and tear on the surface area. Based on the results of these tests, Jim Fitzpatrick and Val Shelton will now work on developing a recommendation for a permanent solution.

Ridge Water Hook-ups

• The Board became aware that the irrigation connections of some of the new construction on the Ridge had been hooked-up to the potable water in error. This needs to be corrected by the Ridge and the builder ASAP. The Board reaffirmed the policy that any new construction irrigation should not be hooked-up to potable water sources.

Meeting with the Town of Newmarket

On 4/19/05 at 8:30am, Jim Fitzpatrick, Don MacKinnon and Russ Simon met with Al Dixon, the Newmarket Town Administrator.  The following are the minutes of this 1^st meeting:

• Purpose: Wanted to begin a regular dialogue between MPCA and Newmarket.

• Shared the recent MPCA Survey results related to the town of Newmarket and the MPCA priorities with Al. 

• Complimented Al on the overall level of satisfaction with the town services, with the notable exception of the drainage, culverts and related road issues.

• Began the discussion/exploration on what the town could do to work with us on this problem area. 

• After some discussion (which confirmed that the town was responsible for the road and drainage within the right of way -  50 to 66 feet including the road itself), Al agreed:

· that it was an issue that needed to be addressed,

· that he would check all the records to see if there was a drainage plan for our sub-division on file (we didn't think so),

· to look at the remaining build out planned

· and then get back to us with a next meeting date to review the results of his investigation.  This next meeting should happen no later than the end of May.

• We invited Al to attend our next annual meeting and perhaps speak & take some questions.  He agreed it was a good idea.  We need to follow-up and confirm with Al.

• We also discussed the ongoing damage that the plows did to the roadside, especially since the roadside had no curbs or sidewalks as clear markers.  Also brought up the catch basins.  Al said curbs and sidewalks for Cushing were not being contemplated, but he would look at the issue and see what could be done to better mark the road beds to reduce plow damage. 

• Jim brought up the possibility of using a "Betterment Assessment" approach to financing the installation of curbs and/or sidewalks in the Moody Point area.  This would allow the members to agree to temporarily increase the assessment on our properties to pay for the installation by the town and at "cost".  Al said this was possible and something that could be discussed further if we wanted to pursue.

• We also discussed insect control (mosquito spraying & greenhead boxes).  Al confirmed that neither of these items were in the Town budget any longer.  We asked if the town had the greenhead boxes stored and whether we could get our hands on some to repair & put up ourselves.  Al said that was possible & to follow-up with him.

• Al suggested that if we wanted to get more involved, we should certainly have our members start to attend the various budget and budget committee workshops being schedule in mid July to see what the issues were and to have our voices heard.

• Al mentioned that the next Newmarket Annual report should be ready shortly.

• We all agreed it was a very useful first discussion and had several follow-ups to pursue.

The Board Meeting was adjourned at 9:00PM.

The Next Board Meeting will be at 7PM on 6/13 at Darby Johnson’s home.

Respectfully submitted,

Russ Simon

Secretary