POENB Minutes for Friday July 12, 2024

The meeting was held in person at the Eaton’s Neck Firehouse from

7:05 pm to 8:09 pm.  Zoom was unavailable at this meeting.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by a roll call of officers.

Officer Roll Call

• Tom Kehoe – President
• Ryan Schaefer-Walker – Vice President and Treasurer
• Yvonne Lambertson – Assistant Vice President (Technology, Web and Communications) – ABSENT
• Steve Neuf – Assistant Vice President (Engineering and Special Projects)
• Sally Neal – Recording Secretary
• Nancy Regan – Corresponding Secretary – ABSENT
• Anthony Fusaro – Assistant Vice President – ABSENT

Attendance 

There were 11 members physically in attendance, not including four officers.

Tom Kehoe’s motion to accept last month’s minutes as published on the POENB Website was accepted.  

Correspondence –  Tom Kehoe (for Nancy Regan)

During the last month, the Board received a significant number of emails and letters on a wide variety of subjects.  An asterisk identifies a topic that is covered in greater detail in a separate section. 

1. Fourth of July Parade
   1. Members expressed their disappointment with the decision to ban water balloons and questioned the rationale for the ban
   2. Board received RSVP responses from elected officials and others invited to the parade

2. Storm drain runoff and water basin clean up by TOH – Members inquired about the status of TOH progress on permanently fixing areas in EN that are subject to flooding.

3. Non-receipt of beach parking passes – Members inquired why they had not yet received parking passes for PB.  Historically, POENB issued parking passes to members.  However, these stickers were costly to produce and the Association had no consistent means of monitoring their usage. That said, one of the security cameras at PB faces the parking lot so the Board can determine if cars are parking in the lot overnight. 

4. Clarification of beach rules –  Members continued discussions about the beach rules that initially surfaced in May/June.  Specifically, members observed that persons occasionally engaged in activities that were contrary to the beach rules (as published on the POENB website).  These members:
   1. Stated that they were unclear if “violators” were POENB members, EN residents but non-members or visitors (non-EN residents)
   2. Wondered if members and residents were violating the rules because they were not familiar with them and suggested that the beach rights and privileges of POENB members and EN residents needed to be better communicated
   3. Suggested clarifying and/or updating selected defined terms used in one or more rules (e.g., immediate family)
   4. Questioned the overall structure of the rules – number, type, length and organization – and wondered if the rules could be made more intuitive and principles based
   5. Inquired as to whether the rules, taken as a whole, were internally consistent and were aligned with current TOH and SC laws (especially regarding the permissibility of fires and fishing) 
   6. Stated they were unclear as to why a particular rule existed and requested that the rationale and/or need for the rule be provided (e.g., insurance or liability concerns)
   7. Opined that modifications to the structure, word choice, and rationale for the rules were irrelevant unless and until it was clear who was authorized to enforce the rules and how (process and consequences) the rules would be enforced.  A related but tangential issue to rule enforcement was the need to improve physical security at the beaches. 

As discussed previously, the Board does not plan to “reconfigure” the rules but rather will propose modest changes to selected rules so that an amended rule is clearer, more intuitive, and more consistent.   

Given the interest in this topic and the time required to reach consensus, it may take several months to (1) identify the “high priority” rules potentially in need of modification, (2) propose modifications to these high priority rules – along with the rationale for the change, (3) communicate the proposed revision and allow members to publicly comment, (4) modify the proposed revision based on member feedback, (5) allow members to vote on the final modification and (6) communicate the approved revisions to the high priority rules.  

Historically, the beach rules were “enforced” by the members and residents individually and collectively acting in a respectful and considerate manner with their neighbors, the EN community and the environment.   The Board believes that this civility and courtesy will continue. 

However, to identify potential alternative actions, a subset of the Board is contacting other local beach associations to better understand the tools they use (e.g., by-laws and operations) to enforce their beach rules. 

5. Watercraft assignments – Routine inquiries about watercraft assignments

6. Scheduling of the Tick expert – There was significant interest in Bob Pisacani’s suggestion during the June meeting to invite Moses Cúcura (entomologist) at the SC, Dept of Public Works, Division of Vector Control to talk about the mice, mosquito and tick population in EN and actions residents can take to avoid tick bites.  The Board is coordinating our future meeting dates with Moses’ schedule.  We hope that Moses will speak at our August meeting. 

7. POENB’s beach umbrellas – Members inquired about using the umbrellas

8. Bevin Seawall * – John Ballow emails the Board updates on the Seawall 

9. Update on road paving and safety considerations –  John Ballow and Bob Dennis, co-chairs of the Infrastructure Committee, have consolidated and synthesized feedback from members and residents and have submitted these requests in writing to the TOH.  While there is “strength” in POENB’s numbers, all taxpayers can petition Andre Sorrentino’s office directly.  The infrastructure Committee focuses on Roads, the Seawall, Flooding/Catch Basins, and PSEG (electrical reliability and resilience).

10. Watercraft – Various emails regarding stickers and spots for watercraft

11. Beach Closures- On June 4th, the SC Health Department issued an advisory against bathing at VG given that potential bacteria levels exceeded NYS standards.  The advisory was lifted on June 8th. 

Membership – Gene Caputo

As of July 12, 2024, 243 EN (out of 419 or 58%) homeowners have chosen to become POENB members. The total number of members is slightly less than prior years when the number of members ranged from 252 to 258.  Included in 243 number are persons who responded to Gene’s recent outreach email.  Gene contacted approximately 30 households who were members in 2023 but had not yet renewed for 2024 to remind them of the benefits of membership.  Please consider joining if you have not done so already. 

Treasurer’s Report – Ryan Schaefer-Walker

The Treasurer’s Report (see details on page 2includes the Income Statement for the period January 1, 2024 to July 12, 2024 and a partial Balance Sheet as of July 12, 2024.

Revenues for the period were $64.4K of which $55K was from membership dues, The remaining revenue was attributed to watercraft fees, Changing Tides ads, social fees, and beach rentals.  Expenses were approximately $34.3 K. The majority of these expenses were spent to clean and maintain the beaches.  Net income for the period was approximately $30K

As of July 12, POENB had roughly $57K in all of its bank accounts. 

Social Committee – Tom Kehoe and Sara Coddington

• Fourth of July Parade  

POENB and the ENFD jointly sponsored a 4th of July parade.  The weather was picture perfect and the event was well attended.  The parade included a cavalcade of antique cars and old and new fire trucks and speeches by ENFD firefighters, the USGC Commandant, selected NYS, SC, and TOH politicians and the President of the POENB Board.  The event concluded with a BBQ.  

• Community Fund Raising Dinner 

On Saturday, October 19, 2024, there will be a multi-course dinner with beer, wine and sangria at Britannia Yachting Center.  The cost will be $75 per person and will also include raffle and other donation baskets from local vendors.  Space is limited to 70 people and tickets are on-sale now.  The net profit from this event will be donated to maintaining and improving the POENB beaches.  See the call-out in the CT for further details. 

Beach Report – Steve Neuf

VG – stairs

As discussed during prior meetings, the VG stairs are in need of repair. Steve Neuf reviewed bids from multiple vendors. Each vendor suggested a different solution (see list below) at relatively different price points. 

• Option 1: repair the compromised boards
• Option 2: replace the existing stairs with Grade 3, Ground Contact, pressure treated (PT), kiln-dried after treatment (KDAT) lumber.  
• Option 3: move the existing location of the stairs and then install stairs made of stone
• Option 4: use Trex, a composite material made of recycled plastic and wood to replace the existing stairs

Given POENB’s financial status and cost-benefit considerations, the board elected to hire Lombardi Construction to execute Option 1. The repairs should be completed by mid-August.

Public Safety – Tom Kehoe 

The VOA recently announced that it approved a $344K contract with a TOH based engineering firm to create a comprehensive plan to build a new protective Seawall.  The plan is scheduled to be completed by January 2026.  

Recently articles published by Newsday, the Northport Observer, and the Smithtown News have highlighted the impending public safety issues for the 2,100 residents who live at or above the Seawall.    

While there is some progress, there is also significant frustration on the part of the ENCWG and many VOA and EN residents regarding the lack of urgency and importance given to permanently fixing the Bevin Seawall.  Many fear that the wall will be compromised far sooner than the comprehensive plan will be completed. 

Next Meeting

Next month’s meeting is scheduled for Wednesday August 7, 2024 at 7:00 pm.