PineIslandRidge.org - 2017 PIRCA Annual Meeting Minutes

2017 PIRCA Annual Meeting Minutes

PINE ISLAND RIDGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEETING
OCTOBER 9, 2017


Attendance: 34 homeowners and 12 proxies.

Board Members: Josh Lawrence, Neal Kostelyk, Jim Onik, Yolla Blair, Elizabeth Sengupta, Bob Smith and Cheri Aleksic.

Town Guests: Attorney Tim Kuiper, SFD Chief Joe Kruzan, SPD Chief David Dowling and Town Manager Bob Volkmann.

The meeting was called to order at 7:15pm by President Josh Lawrence. He welcomed everyone for coming and proceeded to introducing the board members and town guests. The responsibilities of the PIRCA board were explained as well as the need for more individuals to volunteer their time on the board.

TOWN GUESTS
Attorney Tim Kuiper was introduced and there were no questions from the homeowners at that time.

Town Manager Bob Volkmann
• NIPSCO continues to change electrical lines which possibly could be completed by the end of this year.
• If any restoration issues, contact the town because they have contact with the subcontractors being used.
• 500 ash trees have been removed from public property.
• It is the responsibility of the homeowner to maintain their easement.
• The speedway racetrack on Rte. 41 is being developed for possible commercial and/or park development use.

Chief David Dowling
• Provided statistics on crime in the area which has decreased.
• The SPD is trying to tackle drug issues in the town. Individuals can come to the station for recovery information.
• Chief Dowling stated that he would make a note of increasing patrol in the subdivision after homeowners expressed seeing less of a presence of patrol cars in the area.
• The SPD website has available a site for crime mapping.

Chief Joe Kruzan
• There have been 3,600 incidences in the past year which entailed dispatching the firemen and paramedics to answer calls.
• The Springvale station is being upgraded in order to allow it to be a functional living situation for the firemen and EMT’s.
• The 911 call center is continually being upgraded to meet the needs of the town.
• The SFD is always made aware by the town when there are street closings in order to ensure the quickest route when responding to an emergency call.
• If possible, using a landline is more direct when calling the SFD because cell phones have to rely on connecting with the closest tower available.

TREASURER’S REPORT
• There are 543 lots and as of today, 27 have not paid. Our attorney has sent out late notices.
• The proposed budget shows an increase of $3,000 to the reserve for removal of the ash trees, $250 decrease in legal fees, bookkeeping fee was eliminated and $400 decrease for newsletters. This totaled to $1,250 less than last year’s budget.
• The budget has been recalculated so that each lot owner is paying the same amount which is $121.27.
• There were individual homeowners who disagreed with this new recalculation but Attorney Kuiper explained that according to the 1983 Covenants, 2/3 of the Board has the ability to adopt and change the way that assessments are calculated.
• Pamela Putzell made a motion to accept the 2018 budget and Richard Hochman seconded the motion. Motion passed to accept the 2018 budget.

President Lawrence asked for any nomination to the board from the floor and there were none.

PUBLIC COMMENT
• It was asked if newsletters can be paperless but this is not possible because not all homeowners are willing to give their email addresses and some individuals do not use computers.
• It was asked about adding more streetlights but this is an issue that needs to be addressed to the town of Schererville.
• Homeowners are asked to email any concerns they have to the PIRCA board website and it will be addressed.
• Ash trees that were a safety concern have been removed and the project is 50% completed at this time.
• There is a concern for the ducks that have been released into Timber Leaf pond because they are unable to fly and are prey to other animals during the winter.
• There are plantings on 85th and Hanley which appear to be dead. This will be addressed on our annual spring walk.

The meeting was adjourned by President Lawrence at 8:29pm.