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 January minutes was waived.

MASTER ASSOCIATION

Community Center: A survey was taken to determine the items residents are interested having in the Community Center addition.  The most requested item was a fitness center.

Covid Update: HM is following the guidelines of the State.  The Paoli Room holds 12 people and the maximum number allowed is 10%, which is 1.2 people! There are a few villages still holding meetings at the Community Center and they are doing them in the 1^st floor main room.

Drainage Problems:  There are several villages having drainage problems, Springton, Devonshire, Chatham and Merrifeld. The MA is getting proposals to repair the problems of water going into villages from the golf course.

Sports Group:  The MA approved moving the Bocce and Shuffleboard courts over to the grassy area next to the Wood Shop. The area where the Bocce courts were previously located may be used for a outdoor restroom. They are also planning to put some bushes and trees there on Chandler by the sports area to provide some privacy from traffic.

Sunoco Pipeline:  They are done by Quaker and working with the MA to get the area where Quaker abuts Boot Rd. redone to provide privacy. They can only have 6 feet of dirt on top of the pipes.  The MA would like an earthen berm between Quaker and Boot so this may be a problem.

Treatment Plant & Lagoon: The studies are done and they are waiting for the results. They are going to try to prevent the odor that comes from both areas in the summer when it is warm. Primarily it is a matter algae and getting air into the water. They don’t know what it will cost and they are waiting for the results

Dog Park: There was a discussion about a dog park. There isn’t a large enough area that would allow use by a large number of dogs. They are looking at the area to the left of the Stop sign after driving into the Mill from the main gate, near the golf tee. It would only allow 1 dog there for 15 minutes. A reservation would be needed. The request was considered due to a number of inquires from dog owners, but was not found to be viable,

Community Center:  The preliminary plans are not yet complete. They will be in the next couple of weeks and we may have copies by the next meeting.

Financial:  We did have income of $4,100 but were short of our $10,000 goal. We had two surprises: The utility company AQUA gave us a bill for $3,200 because one of our meters was not functioning. It apparently did not function for 18 months. I reviewed charges for this meter and we were charged minimum charges of $50 for those 18 months. The meter in question is located outside of unit 602. The other surprise was snow expense. We were billed over $7,000 and did have $4,000 budgeted. Therefore instead of 10,000 income we had $4,100 as noted. I do not believe we have to make any adjustments or assessments for this small amount. Mike Pincus knows someone at the water company and he will call him to discuss the $3,800 bill and see if we can get a reduction.

2019 Audit: There were no big problems but there were several bills that did not get paid on time, so we made an adjustment for them.

Architectural:  We will be having a meeting with the committee and I should have a report at the next meeting. Jeanette contacted Jack to let him know that she will be needing a new awning this year. We had chosen a new color for awnings but the awning company told her that the one we chose shows dirt very quickly.  He proposed a number of other colors. She is getting samples from him and maybe we can take a look at them at the next meeting.

Welcome Committee:  Unit 525 was sold, going to settlement in March. We have no information on the buyer. Units 538 and 556 will be on the market soon.

Pool Committee:   Dom received a proposal from Curt Varallo for a new gate and latch. The amount is $1,100. The gate will be aluminum with a magnetic lock. He will put support posts into cement. The proposal was approved by council.

Updating of security boxes: We are okay for now. The problems in our village are mostly due to dead batteries.

Monthly Digest & Guide:  Wednesday a decision will be made as to whether we deliver the March Guides or trust the PO to deliver them.

Walking Path:  There will be a discussion on Channel 970 or 971 regarding the trail. They are still looking at taking 3 feet from each side and making a “walking lane” on Franklin’s side of Chandler. The MA promised us a proposal. They never provided any proof that they are legally able to proceed with the trail on Franklin’s side without our permission. They need to prove that the walking trail is an improvement. Unfortunately the attorney representing the insurance has recommended a walking trail as walking in the street past Franklin is a hazard.

Snow removal:  Jack advised HML not to come back after they have plowed and shoveled for the purpose of moving the snow. They will come by in the evening and spread salt so the snow runoff doesn’t all freeze.

Annual meeting will be done on Zoom. Mike and Jack are running for council this year. Next council meeting is scheduled for 3/8/21.

Meeting adjourned at 4:45PM

Meeting called to order at 4:05pm

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

Reading of the December minutes was waived.

Master Association:

PECO:  A two-hour meeting was held with Michelle Truitt, the Township Supervisor who has an “in” with PECO. PECO is buying 3 or 4 new switches by spring for $250K. They will also spend $4M on surveying the neighborhood for trees that need to come down due to proximity to their wires.

GENERATORS:

• Putting a generator at the Community Center for when power in the Mill is off was discussed. This would be especially important for those with disabilities requiring the use of oxygen or other medical equipment.
• Set up an HM medical team of resident volunteers to assist those who require help was also brought up.

COMMUNITY CENTER:  The consensus is that more are in favor of the Community Center addition than against it. Troon Village is against it. 8 Villages did not circulate the request for suggestions regarding the activity rooms to be established in the addition.

• The Bocce Court and Shuffleboard will be moved in the spring

Sewer System:  The smell is gone. A study was done and procedures were recommended for   the sewer system and the lagoon.

Architecture:

Landscaping:

Another tree fell in front of 584 and tree branches were blown down on 597.

Janet Burgess of CSK attending a meeting with Hershey’s’ Mill Landscaping.  A lot of excuses were made for not trimming the Rhododendrons.

They do not have enough crew. They go to a “pool” to find workers for landscaping and snow removal. Due to virtual learning there are no high school or college students available for landscaping or snow removal. There were not a lot of positive responses from HML. The snow removal was not great during the most recent storm.

Unit 571 is experiencing issues with mud in their garage.

Pool:  The new pool company is doing a good job so far.

Documents:

Mike Pincus reported that the specs for the “sunrooms” has to be removed as the 1986 specs no longer apply.

Dom will do specs for the proper paint applications.

Walking Trail:  The Master Association will present a firm proposal for the walking trail. A meeting will be held, including the residents who reside on Chandler to determine if and how we move forward.

Lift Master:

Franklin Village will purchase the batteries for the garage doors, figure out the labor for installing them and sell them to residents.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:45PM

Meeting called to order at 3:30PM

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

Reading of the November minutes was waived.

• Garage Doors – Since Dom’s last inspection, more garage doors are showing damage at the bottom. There has been no snow plowing, so that wasn’t the cause. A lot of the plastic trim moldings were ripped when he first looked at them, before they were repaired. A portion of them were replaced by the homeowners and landscaping. Once the coming storm is over, he will check them again to see if the plows damaged them. We don’t know how the bottoms can be damaged by the homeowners. Dom will take photos of the ones that are damaged. If the damage is at fender height, there will be no question about the cause. We should check with Curt as to his opinion of the cause. We are waiting to hear from Curt about the minimum number of garages needing repair to see if it is worth his time to come in and do it.
• Sunoco did not put in any trees at the shopping center, just shrubs.       Regarding the Adelphia pipeline 2 residents heard hissing noises by the corner of Chandler and Franklin and they saw a spout of water shooting out of the ground. We don’t know the cause. Ed McFalls was notified.
• Landscaping: The tree hanging over the street in the 580-596 cul-de-sac still has not been trimmed. Janet Burgess is also having problems with HML with non-responses to phone calls and emails. Chris Morris has to start acknowledging inquiries. There are multiple issues everyday at various villages and no response. Chris’ administrative assistant is receiving all the emails sent to Chris and there is no response from her either. Janet has scheduled a meeting with both of them and with Jarrod, their boss. Janet will bring up some of the contract issues at her meeting. We have an out if landscaping is not meeting their contract conditions with us.
• Pool: Curt is working up an estimate for the gate and shoring up of the pool deck. We received the pool cover and the check was sent out by Janet Burgess.
• Rules: A new form for new owners spelling out the HOA rules and items they can and cannot due will be incorporated in to the handout forms from the Welcoming Committee

• Solar power: This was looked into by various villages but the biggest problem is that they won’t install the panels unless the roofs are brand new, due to the weight of the panels.
• Walking Trail: The MA advised the walking trail has to stay on the Franklin side because it continues on the same side as Kennett.
• They didn’t think putting a yellow line through Franklin Way would solve the problem. He reiterated that if we agree to the trail on our side they will replace the trees and shrubs that are removed. Otherwise, due to the cost of the trail being put in the street, they will not provide any landscape privacy screening.. Mike and Judy said the MA cannot remove privacy barriers that affect residents without replacing them. Mike noted that the By Laws and Covenants state that the MA cannot invoke eminent domain without allowing the residents to oppose them. They can’t “bully” our village to get our approval. The common area behind Franklin on Chandler has been in place since 1984 and they cannot just declare eminent domain. The MA still has not provided proof that they can take this step. Jack also talked to the MA about not going behind the North Gate wall which grossly affects Weber’s property. Mike Pincus stated that we have already turned down the offer to the MA more than once. We own the property. They have to prove this trail is an improvement to the Mill and that they have a right to invoke eminent domain.
• Signs: Our signs are showing a lot of wear. Dom will upgrade the colors, sand the signs down and repaint them. The one on Mill near the North Gate has to be moved 20 feet so that it can be seen by drivers. The new signs for Eaton and Springton are a little too contemporary. Dom will start with the sign on Mill Rd.
• Covid vaccine: The MA is working on trying to get Paoli Hospital to send people to the Mill and administrate the Covid vaccine at some point.
• Next Meeting on Zoom 1/11/21
• Meeting adjourned at 4:45PM

FINANCIALS:  Jay showed the village’s budget for 2020, which included information on the water leak which cost $2K or 3K in water bills but over $20K to fix.

Pest Control: We did not pay for inspections this year but we did pay for 2 remediations, so we’re about $1K over budget.

Maintenance: We had 2 or 3 water problems in the beginning of the year along with the water leak mentioned above.

Alarm Update:  Back in January and February we found out that everyone had to update their alarm system due to FIOS. We were the first village to do it, however it wasn’t in the budget so we were over budget $5K.

Power Washing:  We were going to power wash homes only but ended up doing the homes, garages and walkways so we were over budget.

We were about $14K over budget. The above items are the reason for being over budget.  We knew back in March or April we would have this problem so we came up with an assessment in April which was due in July. The assessment was $300 for homes which came to $26K.  This left us with a surplus of $11K.

Budget:  Fixed expenses were mostly the same as last year.  There were some increases from vendors. We are still budgeting $30K for snow.

The Master Association gave us an increase of $5 per month per home, which is a $15 quarterly increase. Our insurance went up and Management went up slightly but the new amount is good for 3 years.

Power Washing won’t be done next year. Pest Control will be done in 2021. Pool expense remains about the same. Landscaping was increased due to a number of trees that had to come down. Gutter Cleaning is done twice a year, $2K. So in essence, our expenses will go up about $10K and the village fee will go up $15 a quarter for a total increase of $30 per quarter, including the MA increase.

Reserves: Our reserve fund is $596,000 and by the time we get to 2025 we will be well over $1M. The roofs will be done sometime between 2025 and 2028.  Brighton was recently assessed $5K for their roofs. We have one of the lesser quarterly fees, at $1680.  A lot of people want to know how much of that amount goes to the Master Association.  The total we pay is $191 a month or $575 a quarter, 34% of our quarterly assessment of $1680 for 2021.   34% of the MA’s budget goes to telecommunications, phone, internet and cable, as per the contract we have with Verizon. A lot of people moving into Hershey’s Mill say that their reasons are the grounds, the maintenance, and the openness of villages. The grounds maintenance is $461K and #2 Security, $627K.

Upgrades:  Elevator up and running to all 3 floors.

Technology Committee:  They have secured the PECO energy audit for us for free.  You get light bulbs and power strips from PECO. Kanes are updating our dot.com marketing page and our dot.org web page. One of the things we will be able to do is set up our own village web page and not have to pay for it.

Pipeline:  They are done in front of the shopping center.  The MA is going to get the parking lot back to the way it was without the top 2 rows cut off.

The Adelphia pipeline was on hold for some issues but it will start to work again.  No drilling or digging will be done by us. They are merely changing the direction of the product movement.

No open houses until further notice.  There are only 10 homes available right now.

MA has been circulating the COVID updates from the governor. The new issues that came out a couple of days ago will be implemented soon.

PECO outages: We had another outage and the MA was in touch with PECO.  Some of it was due to trees and some due to transformers. 2 weeks ago they were working on both the lines and transformers on Greenhill.

If you drive past Devonshire you will see the new road there. It’s an emergency road from Cornwallis which had only one access. It won’t be used except for emergencies.

Painting and paving: The West Gate and North Gate are done. The Community Center parking has been re-configured and a number of additional spots added. The speed bump on Mill Rd. is going to be enlarged,

Tech Group has had a number of calls about phone scams.

Sports Group: They may be moving the 2 bocce courts to the grass area by the shuffleboard courts, adding a 3^rd bocce court and moving the shuffleboard courts to grass area near the wood shop. They are also adding a fire pit and outdoor bathroom.

Community Center:  They are contemplating a 2 story addition on the library side to add more rooms for meetings, pool, ping pong, Pilates, yoga, a cash bar area and a fitness center. It is in the preliminary stages right now. Funding will come from the CIF funds – when someone purchases a home here there is an entrance fee of $1650 and it will now be $1680 for Franklin and the MA gets $2280 in their CIF fund.

That money will finance the Community Center for the people who moved here in the last few years and those moving in here in the future. They are talking about taking out a ten year mortgage. They get $2280 for every new sale and they budget for 80 sales a year for $182K. Since this started in 2014, every year has averaged at least 110 homes for sale. So they are pulling in 250K. There is currently $350,478 in the CIF fund and that is what they are using the for the CS addition. On a monthly basis, if they were to borrow 2M they estimate the monthly bill would be about 11K and they are pulling in $15K.  There would be plenty to pay off the loan and have a surplus. The drawings aren’t done yet but they wanted more work on the fitness center. About 3000 SF would be added n each floor. It would take out some of the parking, so they would get additional parking by cutting into the hill by Sullivan House. They wouldn’t lose any parking spots.

This is pretty preliminary. They just approved the architect and we’ll be getting some schematics in a month or two. This is a project that will not be built if the presidents don’t approve it. If they feel that any of the money going to this project would have to be charged to the quarterlies it won’t be built. They are very adamant that they can get this done without affecting any fees that we pay the MA.

Upcoming:  Gutter cleaning will be done in late fall, when most of the leaves are down. We get mulched every other year and we are due in 2021. Termite testing is paid for by the village every other year. If remediation is needed, the village pays for that. We didn’t pay for testing this year but we did pay for 2 remediations. Franklin Security boxes have been updated.  The new ones in the future will be wireless and less maintenance.

Signs:  Some of the villages have upgraded their signs. We thought we should upgrade ours, but we found that Eaton got 2 new signs and they were $5400. Since we need 3 signs, it would cost over 7K.  Dom and I looked at all the signs. Dom is a former paint company owner. We think we will upgrade our signs, taking them down, sanding them,  cleaning them and repainting them in the HM colors of red and gold. The one sign on Mill by the North Gate will be moved about 20 feet south so it can be seen by people entering from the gate.

Homes for sales:  None are currently for sale in FV but we do know that 525, a Donegal will be up for sale soon. In the entire Mill there are only 10 houses for sale, prices are going up. A Marlboro in Eaton just sold for $550K.

Social Committee:  Plans all our events. Hopefully, we will be able to look forward to better days. We had an Ice Cream Social and an Oktoberfest and Bocce on Thursday. We still do not have a chair person but we have some new people on the committee.  We are talking about the possibility of having an event in the spring. We had to cancel our yearly Holiday Party. Social Committee members:  Peggy Covatto, Mary Ann DiNunzio, Louise Harter, Carolyn Hinckin, Lynn Kocher, Kathy Kroos, Martha Marshalak, Linda Tordone, Jackie Welle and Hope Wood. Many of them are new residents. We could use a few more people on our committee. If you are interested, please contact any of the people list.

FV Volunteers – We have always been one of the better villages in the Mill due to our residents volunteering for committees.

Pool:  The pool is closed unless you feel like ice skating. It was a disappointing turnout this summer, due to health worries. The exercise classes took place in spite of small turnout. The new pool cover was not delivered. They re-installed the old cover, patching it up so it survives the winter. We have not paid them for the new cover and won’t until it’s installed. The water at the pool is now turned off. The pool cost to residents is about $20 a quarter. If you don’t use the pool, you may still attend the social events held there.

Communications:  About 14 people are still not receiving the HM Technology emails so Judy is sending them out to these people individually and trying to get them posted on HMTV.

Architectural: We’re doing well trying to get the village to the point that our decks and patios, etc look the same. Again, anything done to the outside of your unit, front or back needs an architectural request form to be submitted to the committee.

Landscaping: We cancelled our walk-around due to the virus. We took down 12 trees, removing the stumps and putting down grass and mulch. We had 2 large trees come down at the end of summer, so we were just slightly over budget.  We met with Chris Morris, who replaced Mike Neale. Mike left rather abruptly, so Chris is not up to par on what is waiting to be done. They will be trimming some of our shrubs that are growing up above windows. If they don’t get this done, we will expect a credit towards our spring work.

Decorations:  Michelle Cohen put up the Halloween decorations with the help of Peg Wolcken. We got a nice response to our request for donations. I have already restrung 5 wreaths and bought lights for the snowman. I put lights on the trees on Chandler because of the nice weather. We have 3 volunteers right now.  We are going to spread the decorations around so people don’t have to go in Anne Fussell’s garage to get them. We will get some nice greens for the sleigh. There’s about $135 left for spring decorations. We have no committee, just volunteers. It would be nice to have a committee to meet and decide about decorations for the different yearly holidays. If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact me.  Please come out at 11/28 11AM to help. Thanks to everyone who donated.

Welcome:  We are up to date with one house remaining to be visited.

Michael Pincus:  Mike has handled the update of the rules for 2020 and reviewed the bylaws, covenants, easements. They were filed with the county.

Issues: Some people have had problems with rubber washer hoses.  They should be replaced with metal enforce ones. They are not expensive and they last forever. Rubber hoses wear out and can leak. If you leave your unit for any length of time, please turn off your hot water heater. Water heaters should be replaced every 10 years. Set light timers and let Security know.

If you have not removed your annuals, please do so before winter and cut back your perennials. If you have hoses outside and there is water in them, they will freeze up and burst. If you have an exterior bulb on your garage or one on the roadway that is unlit, please contact Rich Jurgan for replacement.

If you have a bathroom in the basement, flush it once a week. We had about $3K in extra water bills due to a leaking toilet in a basement.

If you have to leave home early during snow, you can obtain snow melt from the trash bin at 598, just bring a container and shovel or scooper.

Walking Trail:  Judy Jurgan attended the MA meeting in my absence. The MA wants to finish the portion of the trail behind Franklin. From our legal counsel we learned that the MA can approve this without a village vote. We turned them down twice. They are pressing us again, sending out a blog to all presidents from Glenwood regarding our reluctance to approve. The insurance committee is recommending a walkway for safety. I had some comments from a few presidents who already approved it. The pressure is on.

Some points against: The walking trail is miles long and there is more than 1 trail in the Mill, it doesn’t make sense that we need one to go all the way around.  (Over 5 miles)

Walkers that are currently walking through Franklin Way would use the trail behind Franklin:  probably not.

Walkers from Eaton, Kennett and Springton would walk up the hill to the new trail to get to the big pond, probably not.

Walkers that walk in through Franklin now would be safer with 24 feet wide streets than a six ft. trail, Yes

People passing each other on the 6 foot trail would still walk in the street to get by – probably.

Princeton folks currently walking through Franklin Way would switch to the walking trail.  Probably not.

The screening provided for Franklin would save the village money.  Probably

Would the screening provide more privacy for those on Chandler than currently exists. Yes

Are there residents on Chandler who do not object to the walking trail. Yes but they are in the minority.

Would striping a 6 foot walking trail on Franklin Way save our village and the MA $100K.  probably

The new proposal is to increase the width of Chandler from 26 to 33 feet wide, which they say they are allowed a 33 feet width on Chandler and that, technically they have a 3 foot easement on each side of the street. So they could take 3 feet from Franklin and 3 feet from Glenwood and establish a 6 foot walking trail on the Franklin side for walkers.  They would provide striping for safety. They would not provide any screening for Franklin.

Council has discussed this.  This will not happen this year because asphalt companies close down for the winter. We are waiting to see the legal document stating they have the right to do this.

“Discussions” ensued but there was no resolution or agreement.

The meeting was adjourned.

Winter Prep

Be prepared for icy areas on stoops and walkways.

HML will apply Salt to the roadway. They will shovel the walkways and then apply Ice Melt only to the concrete.

If additional Ice Melt is necessary Residents should be prepared. Care must be taken not to put ANY Rock Salt or similar products on the concrete since they are relatively new.

The Village supplies Ice Melt, which is the ONLY acceptable product to apply on our concrete surfaces.  There is a bucket of Ice Melt in the recycle bin at 598. You must bring your own container and remember to put the lid back on the supply can so it doesn’t harden up.   Please use a sufficient amount of Ice Melt to keep your walkway safe by spreading it evenly. Avoid dropping small piles of Ice Melt along the walkway as this could be damaging to the concrete.  Keep a small container of Ice Melt at your front door so it is available to you for the times when Icy conditions may arise.

All residents with an awning covering their patio or deck MUST have their awnings removed by December 1^st of the year.  If the awning is severely dirty it must be cleaned or replaced before re-installing it in the spring.

A reminder also to shut off your outside water valves and drain the pipes so it doesn’t freeze and burst.