Minutes: MPCA BOARD MEETING

Monday, July 17^th, 2006

7:30 PM

The Board of Directors of the MPCA met on Monday, July 17^th, 2006 at Judi Carr’s home. Present were Fred England, newly appointed representative from the Meadows Association (replacing Ann Adams), Judi Carr, Darby Johnson, Don MacKinnon, Jeanne Ormrod, Peter Roy, Russ Simon and Jim Fitzpatrick, presiding. Dimitri Chernyshov was absent. Guests included Erin Surprenant of Great North Property Management.

The meeting was called to order at 7:33 PM.

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

• Motion to approve minutes was made by Darby Johnson, seconded by Judi Carr - approved unanimously.

2. Treasurer’s Report

• Presented by Don MacKinnon.
• June year-to-date we are running about $3,000 over budget primarily due to the increased cost for legal and engineering services related to trying to resolve the drainage issues, partially offset by under spending in a number of other categories. To date these additional unplanned expenses have been covered by our operating reserve.
• Don MacKinnon presented the preliminary 2006-2007 MPCA budget for the Board to review. The budget was developed in conjunction with input from the Treasurer’s of the local associations. Currently, overall budgeted expenses are expected to increase slightly over the 2005-2006 budget with additional expenses needed to maintain our aging water and sewer system. MPCA member fees, including operating, capital and water usage are expected to increase by about 3%. The operating and capital budget will be finalized at the next MPCA Board meeting on 8/7/06 and will include any adjustments related to results from the planned sewer system tests and implementation of drainage fixes being developed with the Moody Point Company.
• 3^rd Quarter MPCA financial reports are available upon request (as per our new By-Laws) and 4^th Quarter reports should be available by mid-August. Requests for these financial reports should be directed to Erin Surprenant at Great North.
• The $250 Special Assessment, approved by the membership at the Special Meeting on June 10^th will be billed in August and payable by September.

3. Committee Reports

Water Systems Committee

• Presented by Jim Fitzpatrick.
• During recent testing of our generator, the battery blew up. There were no injuries, but the battery will need to be replaced. In addition, the air compressor for the pressurized tank on our potable water system failed and has been replaced.
• Recent testing of the sewer system has uncovered two problems. The first is that there is a significant increase in the quantity of water in the system when it rains. This should not occur as the sewer is a closed system and should not be impacted by rain events. The second problem is that rocks have been discovered under various sewer manhole covers. Again, this should not occur in a closed system. Both of these problems are being addressed by the WSC.
• The WSC is also working to locate and map all the Water System curb stops (the valves that connect the water system to each of our homes) around Moody Point. We do not have accurate “As Built” plans of the Water or Sewer System and mapping the systems is becoming increasingly important as our aging system is requiring more repairs, maintenance and replacement.
• The reason for the increased cost of electricity in the Water Pump station has been finally identified and is due to increased usage of the water heater and dehumidifier. We hope to reduce electric usage though better day to day management and possibly replacing some equipment to increase efficiency.

• The WSC is still researching using the Fire Pond for some of our irrigation needs, with the goal of reducing the use of potable water for irrigation.

Environmental Committee:

• Presented by Jeanne Ormrod.
• Six new Greenhead boxes, at a cost of $50/box, were purchased and should be installed shortly to test their effectiveness in reducing the Greenhead population. If successful, it is estimated that we would need about 40 boxes to control the population at the shoreline throughout Moody Point.
• The annual Lot #4 maintenance has begun to remove dead trees, invasives and saplings, as well as maintain view windows. The annual maintenance is under the supervision of Earl Chase.
• We have been asked by the Environmental Committee and the Marine Docents to be able to use a small portion of the area under our dock to help in redeveloping the oyster population in Great Bay. The oyster beds will not interfere with our use of the dock for recreational purposes. Motion by Russ Simon, seconded by Jeanne Ormrod to approve the use of our dock area to support the Oyster Redevelopment effort in Great Bay – motion was unanimously approved.

 Community Life Committee:

• Presented by Darby Johnson.
• Mark your calendars - the next Quarterly Community Get-Together, an Oktoberfest being coordinated by Gisela von Hanstein, is scheduled for September 30^th from 5 to 7 PM. Location is still to be determined.
• The “Screenhouse Friday’s” program which began on Friday, June 16^th has proven to be a great success. Attendees have ranged from 15 to 60 people since inception. Many thanks to the CLC for developing another great community program. The concept: any and all members are invited each Friday evening during the summer, from 5 PM to 7 PM, to gather informally at the Screenhouse to enjoy each others company and the summer on Great Bay. Members attending are asked to bring their own beverages and snacks and be responsible to clean up their own trash. If needed, members requiring assistance to get to the Screenhouse may use cars on the trail for transportation.
• As a special bonus extra, on July 14^th and 15^th the Piscataqua Gundalow was docked at the MPCA dock, in time to be enjoyed by the residents and their families during Screenhouse Friday. Not only were people allowed to board and tour the Gundalow, but the Gundalow Company made a presentation to our group on the history and use of the Gundalow in developing the Great Bay area and it tributaries. Many thanks to Captain Mike Lavecchia, Molly Bolster, Bill & Julie Kath and the many others (marine docents included) who pitched-in to make this happen.

4. MPCA Managers Report:

• Presented by Erin Surprenant
• Mark your calendars - The MPCA Annual Meeting is being scheduled for Saturday, September 9^th, 2006 starting at 9 AM. Coffee will be available starting at 8:30 AM.
• Weather permitting; the Ridge Mailbox re-position and repair project will now be completed on August 14^th.
• The MPCA insurance policies are up for renewal. The Board asked Fred England, based on his knowledge and experience, to review policies to ensure appropriate coverage’s.

5. Drainage Issue Report and Update

• Walter Cheney provided a copy of his proposed comprehensive drainage plan fixes, at no cost to the MPCA or members, to the MPCA Board on Saturday July 1^st, as promised.
• The MPCA’s engineers, Haley & Aldrich, began their review of the planned fixes on July 3^rd and representatives of all parties completed a site walk on July 13^th, reviewing all the proposed changes and approaches. On an initial basis, all parties agreed that the proposed plan, with some modifications and alterations appeared sound.
• We are awaiting our engineers report to be finalized and delivered to Walter Cheney for review and incorporation into the final drainage fix plan.
• A motion was made by Don MacKinnon, seconded by Russ Simon that subject to the finalization of the plan with both engineers’ agreeing, the MPCA supports moving forward on implementing the drainage plan fixes proposed by the Moody Point Company as soon as possible. The motion passed unanimously.
• Once the drainage fix plan is finalized, it will have to be approved by all parties, including the MPCA, Moody Point Company, Newmarket, NH-DES and the various Moody Point local associations and property owners whose land will be affected by the proposed changes. A process for these approvals is being developed.

7. Other Business

· A request that the MPCA fund the purchase of a Yak-a-Launcher was presented. This was an alternative to a request made by some Moody Point Kayakers to purchase a Yak-a-Launcher at their own expense and attach it to the dock to make it easier to launch kayaks and canoes from the dock. Discussion centered on two issues: the liability to the Association, and the care and maintenance of this particular device. The Board felt this project was more appropriate for an owner (or owners) who would take responsibility to look after it. A motion was made by Jeanne Ormrod, seconded by Darby Johnson to approve the attaching of the Yak-a-Launcher to the dock, but that the ownership, maintenance and storage of the Yak-a-Launcher would remain with the group who purchased it. The motion passed unanimously. In addition, the Board agreed to revisit this issue in a year to reassess ownership and maintenance responsibility.

· The Board reviewed the settlement offer from Pierce Atwood (our prior DES related legal counsel) of reimbursement to the MPCA for expenses related to having to find new counsel for our DES representation. A motion was made by Jeanne Ormrod, seconded by Darby Johnson to approve the settlement as offered. The motion passed unanimously.

· All the approved changes to our old By-Laws and our new By-Laws have been signed off by all required parties and should be registered with Rockingham County next week.

· Annual Meeting – All Committees are reminded that there is now a By-Laws requirement for an annual report to be given at the MPCA annual Meeting. The report may be written or oral.

· One MPCA Member-at-Large Board position’s term will be expiring in September (Jim Fitzpatrick is the current incumbent). This will require an election for a Member-at-Large for a three year term at the Annual Meeting.

The Board Meeting was adjourned at 10:08 PM.

The Next Regular MPCA Board Meeting will be held at the Jim Fitzpatrick’s home on Monday, August 7^th at 7:30 PM. 

Respectfully submitted,

 Russ Simon

Secretary