Category: Villages

Below is an update from the FV Council regarding Village projects:

Pebble board repairs are complete.  Please notify your Architectural Zone Leader if yours is incomplete.

Garage stucco is now being addressed.  Curt will repair the stucco and return at a later date to paint it.

Village signs have been updated.

The first phase of tree removal has been completed by AC Tree Experts.  By going out to bid we saved approximately 1/3 the cost.

A rough cut out of the walkway has been completed.  The original plan was to direct walkers into the street at the corner of Mill and Chandler.  We all know this is a busy intersection, so for the safety of walkers it was redirected to behind the wall.  A committee has been selected to oversee the plantings along the walkway.

Our Village is 37 years old and our original plantings are in need of attention.  Please be patient during this rejuvenation.

HML is far behind in their contractual maintenance of our Village and other villages.  HML will be doing the pruning, rejuvenation and removal of some plants in the colder months.  Green ribbons represent rejuvenation and white ribbons removal of plants.

As a reminder, if you have annuals and/or perennials planted, such as hostas and day lilies, it is time to maintain them.  Also ground covers are the responsibility of the homeowner and must be kept away from the base of bushes and trees by 2’ and are not allowed to grow up the exterior of structures.

This ongoing work will keep our Village looking great for years to come.

Franklin Village Council

Meeting called to order at 4:00pm

In Attendance:  Dom Aleardi, Michael Pincus, Jay Harter, Sandy Ogletree, Judy Jurgan and Janet Burgess

Reading of the August minutes was waived.

Master Association Minutes will be on the hersheysmill.org website

Franklin Village

Financial:  Three units are behind on Quarterly fees.  FV insurance has increased by 4%, HML has increased 4+% and Trash has also increased their fees. We are awaiting Verizon’s contract to see their increase.

Architectural:  The committee will be checking decks to see if any of them are original to the unit.  They may need repair or replacement due to age. A recent purchase was delayed by the township due to the condition of the deck.

An approval has been granted for a stick built porch at unit 593. Council approved this, pending specs and drawing from the contractor.  Unit 583 will replace the retaining wall next to the shed and the owner is paying for it. This has been approved. Unit 539 requested a railing on their walkway. Architecture and Council have approved the Architectural request.  We are waiting for the contractor’s insurance information.

Maintenance:  The village is in dire need of a maintenance committee to handle minor issues that we would otherwise have to pay to have done. This does not require professionals.  It would include things like painting trim around garage doors, replacing garage and street lamp bulbs, replacing missing numbers from mailboxes, etc. Materials will be provided or reimbursed by CSK.

Landscaping:  598 has requested to have 3 shrubs moved, paid for by the owner. Unit 541 has had water entering the window well.  They requested to have a holly and an azalea removed. The azalea roots have been damaged due to putting in a trench for drainage, so it will be removed.  The Holly is not near the trench, so the village will not pay for its removal.

The walk-around done by Dom, Maggie Thompson and Chris from HML to review the rejuvenation of some of the plants, did not get too far before realizing that this is a HUGE undertaking. The rejuvenation will involve cutting older shrubs down to their nub and allowing them to grow back. After some discussion, it was decided to get a quote from HML to do the fronts of all units.

Then council will decide how to proceed and whether or not a special assessment will be necessary.

Pool committee: The new cover will go on this week. A tarp will be purchased to cover the some of the furniture outside for the winter. Dom advised we will need a Chairperson and Co-Chair to head the pool committee next year. The current Chair and Co-Chair will assist the new volunteers to get them started. Council is looking for volunteers. The pool can’t open without a committee and new volunteers.  Financial planning is required to handle the replacement of the apron around the pool and the fencing, which will be needed soon.

New Business:  Unit 570 has had water settling on the patio up against the rear of the house.  An end cap was put on the diverter to resolve this.  There is a tree in front of the unit that is diseased but not in any danger of falling. Unit 550 – we have 3 estimates for repairs to the top flag stone and riser of the stoop.

Walking Trail: Binding agreement for the Walking Trail has been signed. Work should start this week.

Storm Damage:

524, 541, 595, 598 and 602 have water issues from all the recent storms. These problems have been turned over to HML and will be addressed. The storm drains were unable to handle the huge amount of water runoff.  Mulch and debris blocked some of the drains causing even more problems.

Meeting adjourned at 5:20PM

The next Council meeting is 10/4/21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 quarter 2017 update

(Much of this was covered at the 5/23 meeting

that was attended by almost 80 owners. I’ll just recap

the meeting notes and add any new items since then.)

Master Association:

Bob Bonner, Priscilla Burt and Rick Herschel re-elected to board

 

• Center is completed and meetings are being scheduled in the new meeting room. Pool is open for the season.
• Walking Trail completed to Devonshire. The next phase to Zephyr should be completed this year. A small portion may be added from Inverness to Sullivan House to complete the 360 degree trail.
• Clickers/swipers will be a thing of the past soon. Letter from security sent out with explanations. Each home will be called to determine how many of the new “Proximity Cards” they get based on number of clickers and swipe cards they have listed now. When completed, automobile built-in openers will not work. All this is being done for better security.
• A wall and fence combination will be built soon to replace the current chain-link fence from the East gate to Inverness. Also the current fence/wall along Greenhill will be spruced up and have the shingles on top replaced.
• An update on the Sunoco pipeline project from Joe Bove, president of Quaker was sent out. You can visit the East Goshen web page for additional info, including traffic updates.
• The changeover to Verizon is moving ahead. The infrastructure plans have been in the works for a few months since the contract was awarded, and now signed. Early plans have the fiber optics coming in from the North gate so preliminary plans have Heatherton and Glenwood being the first two villages outfitted with fiber optics and Franklin Our installation should start on July 5^th.

The meetings by the telecom committee spokespeople, the Kanes, have been well attended and informative. For anyone missing their village meeting the committee has scheduled 2 open meetings at the Community Center June 15^th at 7pm and June 22d at 2pm.

• The June concert has been postponed until June 25 because of potential rain.

 

Franklin Village

• Mulch replenishment should start wk of 6-11.
• Mildew power washing scheduled for summer
• Gutter cleaning budgeted for Summer and Fall
• The fill and grass seed around the new asphalt is complete. Please water daily any areas near your unit, if you can. If not, please contact a council member so we can try to arrange for alternate watering if we get a dry spell.
• The Franklin sign on Mill will be relocated for better viewing.
• Stop signs from the 3 cul-de-sacs to the main road are on order.
• Moyer termite control will be testing each residence and the village will pay for any remediation if termites are found. From now on the inspections will be the owner’s responsibility. It is suggested for owners to schedule an inspection every year or two since the village pays for termite removal, but not any damage caused by termites.
• The garage door exterior trim program is finalized. Owners will pay just $55 to have it done and will be billed the $55 along with the next quarterly bill.
• We will be replacing all the mail boxes soon and will be removing the extra mail box for printed info as most owners now utilize e mail.
• New Architectural and Maintenance regulations were handed out at the meeting. If you didn’t get a copy contact any of your council members for
• The pool is now open and some get-togethers have been planned by Eileen Rackover and her Social Committee. The pool has been cleaned up and new furniture ordered. Thanks to Dom and Jeanette and the cleaning volunteers for a job well done.
• With our major expenses now behind us our reserves should be in good shape for the foreseeable future per Jay Harter. We are currently conducting a survey as to the shape of our 15 year old roofs (40 year warrantee) and hopefully they will be good for at least another 5-10 years or more. With the shape of our roofs, vinyl coated siding, concrete walkways, new garage doors and newly asphalted street and new mail boxes we look great and still have one of the lowest quarterly fees of all our peer villages.

Meeting called to order at 4:05pm

In Attendance:  Dom Aleardi, Jay Harter, Michael Pincus, Judy Jurgan Sandy Ogletreeand Janet Burgess

Reading of the July minutes waived.

Financial:  Jay reported that we were about $4000 over budget for June. Two water bills were paid instead of one and we were about $3000 over because of the pebble board and signs.

Architectural:  556 is sold.  The deck needs to be replaced.  The township denied a Certificate of Occupancy until the deck is replaced and some electrical issues are resolved.

Going forward, owners will obtain information, specifications and photos for replacements of windows and doors and present the information to the committee. They must look the same and conform to the standards already in place. The committee will review the information presented for approval.  Requests will be presented to Council for final approval. Council has approved the replacements at 552. Unit 522 may need a new downspout. Council is looking into it.

Landscaping:  Sandy, Dom and Mike met with Chris from HML. They discussed the ground cover issue.  HML covers that in our contract. Ground cover that grows up to trees and shrubs will eventually kill the trees and shrubs and must be cut back. That is why we have many dying trees and shrubs. We have informed HML not to put mulch up against the trees and shrubs. Another problem we have is that the work being done by HML is not checked afterwards by a supervisor. Rejuvenation projects will be estimated and put into next year’s budget.

Our insurance agent advised us to trim trees at the corners of the 527 and 548 cul de sac for safety reasons. These trees will be limbed up to provide visibility for vehicles turning into the cul de sac and for people walking there.

Pool:  The pool will close 9/13/21. Social events may still take place until the end of September, weather permitting.

Work being done: Curt is patching the missing stucco at the bottoms of garages. The cul de sac address signs are done and will be installed by Curt Varallo. He is also painting the Speed Limit Signs.

Walking Trail:  Ed McFalls has not responded to our proposal on the walking trail yet but has  indicated that the proposal appears to be in order.

Parking:  One issue that was presented to council has been resolved. If you do not own a vehicle, you may rent your garage. If you own one vehicle, you must park your vehicle in your garage according to the Village Rules

Documents:  Mike reported that his research and conversations with Attorneys support the position taken at the open meeting on June 24th that absentee voting pursuant to By-Law Section 11.1 Amendments will not be accepted. Every homeowner should have the opportunity to participate in an open discussion for or against the By-Law Amendment before casting their vote. By-Laws were crafted as the governing documents relating to the operation of HOA and Community Associations and as Legal opinions indicate in By-Law Section 5.4 permitting Absentee Voting does not apply pursuant to By-Law Section 11.1 Amendments. Mike Pincus spoke to a real estate Attorney who represents 2 of the largest Real Estate entities in the 5 County Areas in Southeast PA. His legal fee is $375 per hour with a minimum requirement of 10 hours to issue an opinion letter to state what I just reported and what I tried to explain at the June 24th meeting. In my opinion spending $3750 on a legal fee regarding this matter is not fiscally responsible. We are in the process of rejuvenating our village landscape where the $3750 would be best applied.

The Rules Committee will be meeting to review the Parking Regulations.

The meeting adjourned at 5:50 PM. The next meeting will be September 13 at 4PM

Meeting commenced at 4:02PM

In attendance: Dom Aleardi, Mike Pincus, Jay Harter, Sandy Ogletree, Judy Jurgan and Janet Burgess

Reading of June 14^th minutes waived.

President’s Report: The Master Association’s meeting notes are on the internet.

Republic Trash: They are still dropping oil in our village when they collect trash. Dom called Ed Mc Falls and the MA and neither has gotten back to him with any information.  Janet suggested having a rep from Republic come to meet with us at the village. She will send an email asking for an on site meeting with a rep. Republic covers all the villages. After their truck left Franklin they went to Princeton and left oil and green paint on the roadway there.

The lighting on Mill Road from Chandler to Franklin has been out for over 2 weeks. We don’t know if it’s related to the outage of lights from 521 to 526 in Franklin. Ed McFalls notified Janet that the lighting problem on Mill was turned over to Steve Converse who is the MA electrician.  We also have 2 lights that are leaning. That was included in the message Janet sent to Ed.

Dom sent the proposal for the walking trail to Ed McFalls and we have not heard from him. They were in a hurry to get started on the trail but they have not gotten back to us.

Financial: Jay reported that the gutter cleaning charge, $2268, was booked to the wrong account. It should have gone to gutter cleaning.  The $1640 for signage was for moving the sign on Mill Rd. near the North Gate. We had money in the reserve for new signage but I don’t think it will cover for the restoration. We have a $24,000 budget for landscaping and we haven’t spent anything yet but $1000. He had one tree vendor come in with prices: we had another 2 that didn’t show up and one more coming next week. The tree removal may come to over $10K but that still leaves us with money.  Dom said we will have limb-up to do and planting.

HML gave him a price of $5600 for some of the tree removal, those deemed to be the most dangerous. There’s another $1500 to limb up some of the trees and for some other landscaping issues. We’re waiting for Jay’s tree proposals so we can move forward.

Regarding the Capital increase some villages are proposing. If times get a little tough, we’re asking people to put up $5000 before they even buy a house. Janet reported that you can go up to a years worth of quarterly fees. Most villages charge 2 quarters and we charge one. The Mill charge is around $2300.  Everyone thought it was a good idea to raise the Capital increase.  Janet suggested doing it in January. We should send out a notice about the increase. It becomes a negotiable item between seller and buyer.

No one thought it would negatively affect sales. The vote was 4 to 1 for raising the quarterly contribution fee to 2 months effective 1/1/2022.

Architectural: Sandy advised a resident wants to paint her storm door.  Dom looked at the door and it is in bad shape. She was willing to pay Curt to paint it. Curt has done doors in the past and they look nice. As long as the doors are painted professionally, it should be allowed.  The architectural committee will have to insure the architectural request form is within the guidelines and advise the resident if so. Everyone voted in favor of approving.

A resident wants a patio enclosure in a new color that matches the siding. Going forward Architectural will only approve colors that match the siding as close as possible. The deck cannot exceed the property’s metes and bounds. Motion to approve the new color was made and seconded.

The Architectural Committee is considering privacy screens.  Council wants to allow this on a case to case basis. The resident should have samples of the material being used when they present their architectural request.

The Committee is looking at less expensive requirements for windows and doors. If we allow vinyl or composite materials, it would be a lot less expensive. This should determined on a case by case basis which puts the onus on the homeowner to get the information and then the committee can review the architectural request form info to see if it meets quality specs, matches our style and is the proper color.  This item is tabled for further investigation.

When a committee sends a list of things that residents must do and they don’t comply, the issues are sent to council for disposition.

A resident wants to replace the rotted railroad ties along the edge of their patio. It forms a bank and it needs to be replaced.  We should get an estimate on the cost from Curt. If the estimate over $500, Council should review and vote on it.

Landscaping:   We were notified by HML on 2 occasions that many residents have ground cover growing into their shrubs and trees. This will have a negative effect on the shrubs and trees, eventually killing them. A letter will be sent to homeowners who have groundcover growing up to shrubs and trees advising they must remove the groundcover. One unit has ivy growing up onto the garage. They have to cut it back from the shrubs and trees. If they fail to comply by the end of August, we will have HML do it and send them the bill. They will be directed to call Dom Aleardi if they don’t understand this directive.

Welcome committee: Patti George advised 561 went to settlement on 7/15. The new owner is Patricia Uphoffss.  Unit 539 – 2 ladies are moving in. Margaret Dolan and Mary Curran

Pool Committee: The weather has been better for swimming and the exercise classes. The volunteers and the pool company are doing a good job.

Dom requested that anyone sending information to him regarding unit/s should send separate emails for each address since they are stored in different folders.

New Business: Proposal for the spring walkabout: $5600 estimate received for the work HML proposes to do. This is for limbing up trees, removing dead branches, cleaning around the pool, trimming things that are hanging over the roadways.

The tree proposal is for taking down: A White Pine behind 556 and grinding the stump, a Norway spruce located down the first cul de sac from Mill, and a Maple tree on the left side of the Norway spruce should come down but 583 residents are asking us to leave it. HML will only cut down the dead branches. On the other side of the street, 593 has a Spruce tree and the roots are pulling up, creating a water issue for the unit, so we will take that down instead of the Maple at 583. We are waiting for Jay’s tree proposals on all of this work to see if they are comparable to HML’s.

In the fall we will do another walk-around to see what other trees should come down. There is a tree between 596 and 598.  598 would like to have it taken down and will pay 50% of the cost.

Termite Inspection: $4600 – The vendor walked around the village and did not notify anyone they were going to do the inspections. $4600 seems to be exorbitant. They never went into the houses. Moyer always went into the basements before. This time they came around outside, no one knew they were even there. All they did was check around the outside with a screwdriver. Janet said they would only check exteriors and if there was no infestation evidence they would not go inside. Back in 2019 it was made the responsibility of the homeowner to pay for termite inspection if they wanted one.  Then it was decided that the homeowner pays one year and the village the next year.

Signs: The $1600 bill was for Curt to move the sign on Mill Rd further down towards Franklin Way so it was more visible.  Goshen Signs gave Dom a price of $45 each to paint the 4 privacy/speed limit signs for our entrances. The 3 signs denoting the units located in each cul de sac are $45 each to paint, and $85 each for the new section of the signs which will be reflective and more visible.

Work Orders Log: Contractor contacted on 5/6 for weed whacker damage by HML to unit 604. This was fixed. Regarding 550, the flagstone issue, Janet found a mason who will do the work but he is behind in his schedule. He was the only person she found who would do the work. This is a big safety issue. Someone could easily fall off the slab. She will try to get back in touch to see how soon he can get to it.

570 had a grading issue in the rear. Water was getting onto her patio from the roof. Leroy installed a diverter on the roof and the problem appears to be resolved

601 had a roof leak in the bedroom. Leroy said he was caught up so this should have been taken care of. Dom will check.

Insurance:  Three units have not complied with submitting their insurance certificates to CSK.  Letters will be sent advising that they will be fined if the certificates are not received within 10 days of the date of the letter.

Next council meeting 8/9/21

Janet will set up our next meeting at Sullivan House in the dining room.

Meeting adjourned at 5:20PM

 

Meeting called to order at 4:00pm

In Attendance:  Dom Aleardi, Michael Pincus, Jay Harter, Sandy Ogletree, Judy Jurgan and Janet Burgess

Reading of the May minutes was waived.

Master Association Minutes will be on the hersheysmill.org website

Financial:  There are no outstanding owner payments due. The May results were reasonable. A couple of items have timing problems where we are under budget but haven’t spent the money yet. We’re okay until November, when we could get some snow.

Architectural:  Jeanette is chairing Architectural. There is a slider issue with one resident who had a sliding door installed. The color is okay. The door is not to FV guidelines but the construction is a material which is strong, doesn’t rot and looks the same as our current sliders. A request form was submitted after the work was done but has not yet been approved. Architectural is investigating the validity of updating the current requirements. If the installed doors are an acceptable replacement, the doors will be approved.

Landscaping:  Dom, Sandy Ogletree, and Maggie Thompson did a walk-around with Chris and Jason from HML. Chris will attend our general meeting on 6/24/21. He will explain the current condition of our village and what needs to be done going forward. He is suggesting we do rejuvenation: Cut down to the nubs and wait for everything to rejuvenate rather than tear things out and replace them. This would then be budgeted over several years.

We are still waiting for HML’s proposal following the walk-around noting items that are needed so we can prioritize what requires immediate action. It is in our contract that things that impede ingress and egress in our village need to be addressed immediately. There are a lot of walkways that are blocked by overgrown shrubs. Some of these items are clearly in our contract with HML but haven’t been done. There are quite a few trees that have to be taken down. We can obtain bids from other tree removal companies instead of having HML use their sub-contractor, Arader Tree, to do this work. The Landscaping committee’s zones are now coordinated with the Architectural Committee’s. HML trucks and equipment have been driving through Franklin in the early AM hours on their way to other villages. We have asked HML to tell their drivers not to cut through Franklin if not working in our village. They also need to stop discarding their trash near their work areas and putting cigarettes out in the mulch and roadways. We have a 90-day cancellation clause in our contract with HML if they are not performing to the contract specs. However, we would then need a new landscaper and snow removal service. We will look into vetting some contractors in the event we need to invoke the cancellation clause.

One request was received to plant a red maple tree to replace shrubs that were removed 2 years ago. The homeowner is paying for the tree and FV for the planting. This was approved by committee.

Welcome Committee:  One new resident has moved in.

Pool committee: Weather has not been great but the pool is open. The exercise group has started their weekly classes.

Documents:  By now homeowners should have received the proposal regarding the 11^th Amendment to the By-Laws. The two areas to be discussed are repeal of Exhibit D which is the specifications for the installation of the patio enclosures and deck enclosures. We want to wipe that out and allow homeowners who wish to do something like that apply to the architectural committee. A vote will be taken on that issue. The 2^nd Amendment Article 6.4 regarding a vacancy to the village council should be filled temporarily until the next annual election is very vague. It should read: “If a vacancy to council should result from the death, resignation or removal of any member, even though less than a quorum is present, and by majority vote, a replacement should be appointed to complete the term of the council person who has died, resigned or was removed.

Mike received a certified copy of the 10^th Amendment and will send a copy to Janet Burgess.

Walking Trail:  Ed McFalls sent us a copy of the diagram of plantings to be put in by the HOA if approval is given by FV to put in the trail. The diagram includes numerous flowers, which FV does not want.  We want shrubbery and trees that will provide privacy for the unit owners on Chandler. We do not want any flowers.  We also want the HOA to maintain the plantings for at least 2 years so they can then become established and survive on their own with Mother Nature watering them. We should not have to make residents drag hoses up the hill to water new plantings. The HOA should also maintain trimming of the plantings. The area where the trail will go is very narrow. We want to know where the trail will go behind foliage that is already there. What will happen if after the trees are removed the area is a lot more open than previously thought?  Another question: Will HML be able to handle this monumental project and complete it, including putting in the plantings before winter?

General Meeting:  Dom would like council to meet before the general meeting to firm up an agenda.

Old Business:  Unit 550 has damage to the front facing and stoop at the entrance. CSK is waiting for a proposal.  Part of the work is the responsibility of the owner. We can possibly notify them that we are having a contractor do the work and then send them a bill for their portion of the work. We can provide the amount to them prior to the work being done.

New Business:  J B Contracting has started cleaning out the gutters and eaves.  The three-directional signs in the village denoting the house numbers in each cul-de-sac are in need of repair. Dom is waiting for a proposal on this work from Hogan Signs.

One unit has water pouring onto their patio due to grading. HML will take a look to see what the problem is and if it is part of the HML contract to repair it.

Pet Rules:  Village pet rules are established and will be sent by email to residents of Franklin.

Insurance: Copies of residents’ insurance policy Declarations Page, showing owners are covered for the Village’s policy deductible, are required every year.  Owners should inform their agents they should send a copy to CSK when their policy renews.

The meeting adjourned at 5:20PM

The next Council meeting is 7/12/21 – We can meet at the Ardmore upstairs at the Community Center. Janet will call to reserve the room.

Meeting called to order at 4:00pm

In Attendance:  Jack Keeley, Jay Harter, Dom Aleardi, Michael Pincus, Judy Jurgan and Janet Burgess

Reading of the April minutes was waived.

Financial:  1 unit has not paid their HOA fee.  We are $3000 over budget due to snow removal.  We won’t know until December if that amount increases.

Architectural:  Several decks are not in compliance with the allowed color and have to be painted. A letter will go out advising that all decks must be painted dark brown. The front of 550 has to be repaired and a letter will be sent advising owner to repair the step and mortar. After the step is repaired, the village will fix the bottom.  Moving the Franklin sign on Mill away from the trees was approved.

Landscaping:  We were supposed to walk with Chris from HML tomorrow and he is tied up for the week, so it won’t be done until next week. A couple of trees have to come down and there are bushes that need to be replaced.

Welcome:   Unit 525 is now occupied and 538 will be occupied after 5/24. Units 556, 539 and 561 will be going on the market soon,

Pool:  The pool is ready to go. The cover will be removed and the pool cleaned up on 5/24, weather permitting.  Tables and chairs are already out.  HML needs to pay attention to the landscaping around the entrance to the pool.  We have a full list of volunteers for the summer. We are waiting for the MA’s rules regarding the usage of the pool by guests and children.

Documents:  Mike is in the process of preparing to delete the section regarding the enclosures from the By-Laws. We have to bring that to a vote by the homeowners. A notice has to go out in the mail to homeowners.

Walking Trail:  A meeting of the residents on Chandler to walk the area of the proposed  trail was held on Saturday 5/8.  Ed McFalls and Chris from HML attended. The residents walked along Chandler and discussed planned removal and replacement of trees and shrubs.  After the walk, we agreed to have a meeting at the pool to go over the proposal submitted by Ed and Chris.  We will have the meeting on Wednesday 5/19/21 at the pool. Dom advised Ed and Chris that we want a 3 year guarantee of the plantings.  We also have to get everyone to sign off on the trail so we don’t run into issues later.

Election:  Following the meeting, council took the annual vote of president and vice president.  Dom Aleardi was nominated and seconded as president and Mike Pincus as vice president.  Jack did not wish to remain on council and resigned.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM.

The next council meeting is 6/14. There will be an open general meeting on 6/24 at the Community Center.

 

MASTER ASSOCIATION and FRANKLIN VILLAGE – COUNCIL MEETING NOTES – April 12, 2021

Meeting called to order at 4:00pm

In Attendance:  Jack Keeley, Jay Harter, Dom Aleardi, Michael Pincus, Judy Jurgan and Janet Burgess

Reading of the March minutes was waived.

Master Association Meeting

Community Center:  The drawings are coming in from George but they are rudimentary sketches. There will be a portico over the steps, so people being dropped off won’t get wet if it’s raining.

Covid 19:  HM will proceed along with Governor Wolfe’s rules, 25% indoors and 150 people outdoors.  The pool will operate pretty much as it did last year.

Sports Group:  The bocce courts have been groomed so they can be used this year while they put 3 new ones down by the Wood Shop. When they do this work, they will try to put in an outdoor restroom. It appears they may approve a different kind of cover for the tennis court. The grass that they have now is about 7 or 8 years old. It’s supposed to last 10 years but every time they groom it, the sand takes up more and more space. They can rent a machine that can dig up some of the sand and make 2 of the courts back to where they were originally.  Then they will add 2 clay courts, with underground water.

Technology Committee:  The new website is close to being complete. It’s easier to handle and change the text and pictures ourselves. It also has a new section called “services” for info on our sewer system, landscape company and HMTV station. The new support company is also half of what we are paying now.”

Storm water Concerns:  They have proposals for Springton, Devonshire, Merrifield and Chatham. They will be spending money trying to keep the water out of these villages and into the golf course.

Sunoco:  They are pretty much done in front of Hershey’s Mill. As far as restoration is concerned, they won’t be putting in any trees but they are trying to get some berms put in. The problem is they won’t let us put them on top of or near the pipeline because they say the maximum amount of dirt is 6 feet and the berm would be too much. So they may put the berms in front of and behind the pipe line. The Adelphia pipeline that runs by Franklin is being worked on right now. They may be pumping oil up to Allentown in about 6 months. They had to change a few things because they are piping something different now. They did a lot of work on the treatment for the lagoons and besides adding chemicals they are adding aeration which would keep the smell down.

Dog Exercise Area:  Would be located at the corner of Chandler and the Stop sign behind the 13^th hole. It will have plastic picket fencing and screening inside. The rules are that you can bring your dog for exercise, but only 1 dog is allowed at a time for 15 minutes.  You have to sign a release and then call to schedule your dog’s appointment.

MA Election:  The candidates that have applied so far are the same ones we have now, Carol and Boyd.  If no one else applies, we won’t have to have an election.

 

Franklin Village Council Meeting

Financials: We only budgeted $19,000 for snow removal, but as we know, we have $30,000 in expenses.  We will see what the fall weather brings and hopefully there will be no snow until 2022. If the trail is approved by Franklin Village, we will be reimbursed the $9000 we spent in 2019 to remove the dead trees on Chandler.  That will help defray the snow removal expenses from 2021.

Architectural:  A resident wishes to tear their porch down to the ground and rebuild it and we are working with them to determine the different aspects of permits, insurance and see if the contractor is on file.  We have a question about the color. The committee believes we should find a vinyl siding type of color, something that will blend in with the siding.  The bronze color, when it fades, is horrible. So we think we should go with an off white color to match the siding if it’s a first floor addition.  We are talking about the patio enclosure made of aluminum frames with the sliding doors and windows.  The enclosure will match exactly what’s there now. They are not changing the roof line

Landscaping:  We are going to do a walk-around with Chris from HML.  Due to the poor job HML is doing and the many complaints that have been received, perhaps we should find a new landscaper and a new snow removal company. HML did not do a good job of snow plowing.  The workers have no supervision and phone calls are not returned. Workers are smoking on the job, which is prohibited and cigarette butts are put out on the ground. Ed McFalls is going on the walk-around, and hopefully Chris will be able to answer our questions at that time. Our current contract with HML is until 2023.  It can be terminated if they do not meet our contract requirements.

Welcome Committee:  A new resident moved into 525, Joanne Galczenski.

Pool:  Curt installed the new gate. .The deck was sagging on the outer end and he raised the deck as best he could and replaced wood pilings and other wood that had dry rot.

Documents:  We have to square away the docs that specify the porches.  Jack said that a few people are looking to put in Blue Bird houses.  They have to go through the Master Association since the number of houses allowed is limited.

Termite inspections:  CSK had a call from Moyer about doing the termite inspections which are due this year.  They will start 4/24 through the beginning of June.  They will contact homeowners directly to set up the inspections.  The village will pay for them.

Power Washing:  Was done last year and paid for by the village.

Chimney Caps:  They were replaced 8 years ago and Jack will ask Leroy to check them to see if they are up to code. We’ve had no problems with them since they are stainless steel and many fireplaces aren’t even being used.

The next meeting is May 10^th.

The meeting was adjourned 5:10PM

Meeting called to order at 4:00pm

In Attendance:  Jack Keeley, Jay Harter, Dom Aleardi, Michael Pincus, Judy Jurgan and Janet Burgess

Reading of the February minutes was waived.

MASTER ASSOCIATION

PECO: 2 new switches have been installed to direct power to 2 different areas if one is out of power, which could reduce the time electricity is out in one of our 4 PECO areas. More trees will be removed or trimmed on Greenhill Rd.

HM Bus: The bus is not yet making trips but once it does, approximately 15 people will be allowed on the bus at one time. They are waiting on the Governor’s update.

Community Center Addition:  The drawings are not done but they have sketches that will be taken to the Township to see what E. Goshen will demand with regard to different construction regulations. There is a possibility that because it’s an addition to an original building they might require sprinklers. Preliminary drawings will be ready in a month.

Covid 19: Karl Gretz updated everyone’s concerns. Right now they are following Governor Wolf’s guidelines of 10 to 15% occupation. 150 are allowed at an outdoor activity. I brought up the concerts and if the governor increases the number above 400, we could have concerts. However, he is still calling for people to be 6 feet apart. They are looking into putting a generator in the Community Center so if the power goes out, people using oxygen can go there and heat will also be available. Another option would be solar panels that would allow for battery back-up for a while.

Technical Committee:  They are working with Paoli Hospital and Chester County Hospital to get a group vaccine here at HM. But we are not an assisted living facility. Since they are still working on inoculating occupants and workers at all the assisted care facilities first, by the time that is complete many of our owners will have already scheduled their shots.

Sports Group:  There is a problem with moving the bocce court over to near the Wood Shop because of impervious coverage issues with E. Goshen. There are 5 villages right now having problems with water. The villages have to build retention basins to hold the water so it doesn’t flood the villages which will offset the coverage issues with the new bocce courts. Several trees were removed by the current bocce courts in the area where they hope to be put a restroom.

SEWER & LAGOON:  They are going to treat the lagoon and the sewer system itself. Primarily it will be done with air dispensers and chemical treatments. New directors have been elected to the Greenhill Sewer Association.

 

FRANKLIN VILLAGE

FINANCIAL: We haven’t received the last snow removal bill but it appears that there may not be a need to have an assessment since we had sufficient money budgeted.

Architectural:  There will be no change in the awning that was previously approved.

Roadways: The seams in our road joints are starting to open up and need to be sealed. It will be scheduled this year. Janet Burgess made some recommendations of whom to use for this job.

Landscape:  HML is finally trimming the shrubs. Two units had trees removed and they will be replaced with shrubs. Our village will be mulched this year. It will probably be done in the next month or so.

Pool:  The pool was drained. Curt will be putting in the new gate and repairing the decking as weather permits.

Sales: Unit 525 has been sold.

The next council meeting is 4/12/21, also on Zoom.

Meeting adjourned at 4:55PM