POENB Minutes

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

The meeting was held in person at the Eaton’s Neck Firehouse from 7:35 pm to 8:50 pm and was also available via Zoom.

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

Officer Roll Call

• Tom Kehoe – President
• Steve Neuf – Vice President
• Sally Neal – Treasurer and Recording Secretary
• Nancy Regan – Corresponding Secretary (via Zoom)
• Paul Dippolito – Assistant Vice President
• Michael Ien Cohen – Assistant Vice President (ABSENT)
• Heather Warrington – Assistant Vice President

Attendance

There were 11 members physically in attendance, not including six officers. One member attended via Zoom.

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

Correspondence – Tom Kehoe (for Nancy Regan)

1. Bevin Seawall  
   1. John Ballow emailed the Board regarding updates received from the Village of Asharoken (VOA) Mayor Greg Letica regarding the 40 five-ton stones that were installed at the weakest section of the Bevin Seawall and a series of bi-lateral communications between the VOA and NYS DOT, NYS DEC and Governor Hochul regarding the best approach to permanently fixing the Wall.  Full details of the Mayor’s updates were published in the March Issue of the Changing Tides.
   1. NYS Senator Mario Mattera called John Ballow to tell him that FEMA turned down the Senator’s request for $25K to further study the “raise and relocate Asharoken Avenue” proposal given that the Asharoken Avenue abuts a sensitive environmental area.  Sen. Mattera plans to challenge this decision.  John Ballow also briefed Sen. Mattera on recent discussions he has had with USACE Col. Young about making “environmental remediation” an “allowable operating cost” of the power plant that caused the beach erosion along the Bevin Seawall.
   1. Philip Quarles (VOA and Bevin Road resident) emailed the POENB, Inc. Board that on Wednesday March 26, the VOA’s Emergency Manager Bill Raisch, VOA Police Officer in Charge, Ray Mahdesian, and VOA Mayor Letica hosted a meeting to discuss   evacuations from Eaton’s Neck and parts of VOA past the Seawall should parts of Asharoken Avenue become impassible.  Joining the VOA three leads were members of the ENFD, NFD, NPD, Huntington Marine Department, the Operations Officer from the USCG, and the Huntington Fire Marshall.  The meeting was very productive and set the stage for a comprehensive response to medical emergencies in the event of a severe storm.

2. Repair of the Eaton’s Neck sign located near Winkle Point Road.  Bonnie Schalle noted that the sign was leaning over, has mold, and needs to be painted.  She noted that it would also be nice to plant flowers around the sign. At the meeting, several members agreed with Bonnie’s observation and one member suggested illuminating the sign using  solar lights.  The Board thanked Bonnie for bringing the sign’s disrepair to their attention.  Steve Neuf stated he would investigate the type and cost of repairs needed.  Given that POENB’s total capital budget for 2025 is $6K, Steve said that POENB will need to be creative in how the sign can be improved given competing maintenance and repair priorities. 

3. Update on TOH Actions at VG – Tom Kehoe and Steve Neuf stated that POENB has not received any new information / communication from the TOH regarding repairs tothe non-functioning drain pipe at VG.

Board and Committee Reports – Tom Kehoe moderating

1. Beach Committee
   1. Steve Neuf stated that the dilapidated bench at VG will be replaced as soon as it is feasible.  However, to save costs, he is investigating moving a bench from PB to VG.  Relocating one of the PB benches to VG is a good idea because the PB bench is in decent shape and is not needed at PB.  The PB bench is not routinely used given its remote and weedy location.
   1. Steve also said that he met with a local architect to obtain some very preliminary design, cost, and implementation ideas to upgrade the existing port-o-pot and shower facilities at PB (e.g., build more permanent infrastructure).  Given POENB’s total 2025 capital budget for both beaches is $6,000, once Steve has completed his initial investigation, significantly more work will be required to determine how to pay for the additional facilities – if the plan seems feasible and is deemed to be a higher priority than other potential capital expenses that would be used to (1) replace a grill at PB, (2) repair the kayak rack at VG, and (3) complete the fence at PB.  Finally, approving this effort would require a key member vote since a key vote is mandated (per the By-Laws) if (1) the expenditure is more than $5K and (2) a building would permanently alter the appearance of the PB beach property. 

• Social Committee
  • Heather Warrington –is taking the lead on planning the Easter Egg Hunt at PB on April 12 at 12 noon.  The event is open to all residents in the POENB region and is free of charge.  This fun social event is extremely well attended so arriving a bit early may be prudent.  Please bring your cameras since, like last year, the Easter Bunny will be making an appearance.The rain date is April 19.

• Paul Dippolito – stated that he, Michael Ien Cohen and Heather Warrington recently met to finalize POENB’s 2025 social calendar.  The purpose of POENB, Inc. social events is to foster a greater sense of community, have fun and raise funds for capital improvement projects.   

As was done in prior years, some events are open to all POENB residents while others are open only to members and their non-resident guests.  Some events are free while others are ticketed and the events will be held at various locations – PB, VG, and the Firehouse – depending on the season and weather conditions. 

The events listed below have not yet been finalized and may be modified based on member feedback and other factors.  Please consult POENB website’s (eatonsneck.org) for additional details on each event.

1. Movie Nights – Four are planned, one for adults (July) and three for kids (May, September and Oct/Halloween)
   1. Memorial Day – a ticketed event, rebranded as “Salute to Summer” and will include upgraded food, games (corn hole, tug of war) and souvenir /collectible glasses and other merchandise for sale
   1. June – Cigar night with BYOB
   1. July 4^th Parade – in conjunction with the ENFD with a parade, local politicians, and traditional BBQ foods
   1. July – Casino Night
   1. August – Wine tasting
   1. September – Post Labor Day weekend, “Bash at the Beach”, is another ticketed event and will include “Olympic style” events – where members will compete against each other based on their street location. Medals and prizes will be awarded
   1. October – Oktoberfest
   1. November – 3K Turkey Trot followed by breakfast at the ENFD house
   1. December – TBD but might include a hot chocolate fun run and/or house decorating contest

Based on member requests, the Social Committee is also looking to (1) organize bingo and poker nights on a routine basis and (2) continue to sell high quality POENB merchandise (e.g., Carhartt sweatshirts).

The Social Committee is working on signing up sponsors for some events to (1) help defer the cost of the event, (2) continue to allow POENB, Inc to offer free events and (3) generate additional revenue for capital improvement projects.

These sponsorship packages will be tiered (gold, silver, bronze) and can be purchased by vendors on an a la carte (1 event only), several events or an all events basis. 

Ien Cohen is also trying to make POENB membership more valuable by signing up local vendors who would be willing to offer discounts on their products and services to POENB members.

Finally, the Social Committee is setting up a private Instagram page for the community. 

Treasurer’s Report – Sally Neal

The Treasurer’s Report (see page X) includes the Income Statement for the periodJanuary 1, 2025 to April 2, 2025 and a partial Balance Sheet as of April 2, 2025.  Please note, given space limitations in the Changing Tides, some revenue and expense line items have been aggregated.

During the period ended April 2, 2025, revenue was $57,030.09, expenses were $2,769.87 and net income was $54,260.22. Expenses for the first three months of the year were very low because vendors have not yet started their routine beach cleaning and maintenance activities. 

The increase in revenue and income was driven nearly exclusively by eligible residents electing to become members of POENB, Inc.   As of April 2, 2025, POENB Inc.’s asset balance was $77,737.52.  Nearly all of these assets were cash and cash equivalents (60-day CD).

As of March 31, the cut-off date for the “early bird special,” POENB Inc. has received and accepted membership dues from 190 property owners.  A unit of membership is a property lot in the POENB area, not an individual. 

Again, the Board is gratified to note the large number of residents who consistently have joined POENB, Inc. year after year.   We are especially heartened to see those you have served on the Board or been a Committee Chair in past years, are still loyal members.   To all long-standing members and volunteers in leadership positions, the current Board acknowledges and very, very much appreciates your devotion and faithfulness to POENB, Inc.

In terms of the profile of the membership to date, approximately 60% qualified for “special class” status (seniors and veterans) while 40% were “standard” class members.  Approximately 25% of the 190 members signed up online and paid their dues electronically while 75% mailed in their applications and paid by paper check. 

The Board is very pleased that the number of members is greater than the number at this time last year.  However, given there are 405 possible members in the POENB region, there are still owners who have not yet elected to join POENB. 

The Board encourages all residents to become members.  Our community is stronger, better and has more “clout” with governments and corporations when as many property owners as possible voluntarily join POENB.

Please consider joining soon – if you have not done so already – eatonsneck.org/membership

POENB, Inc. is a 501c4 organization so, unlike the ENFD, donations are not tax deductible.  Quite a few members made a voluntary contribution to POENB.  To date, approximately $1,600 have been received – of which ~$1,240 was directed to support the 4^th of July event and another ~$350 was provided for “general” support activities (to be used at the discretion of the Board). 

New Business – Tom Kehoe moderating

• Comments for the Beach Committee – Last year, POENB stopped issuing parking passes for the PB parking lot given cost/benefit and other logistical issues.  However, one member suggested that POENB, Inc. distribute “stickers” that members could display in their car windows.  These colorful stickers (perhaps a picture of the EN lighthouse and the words “Eaton’s Neck”) would allow anyone to easily determine if a car parked at PB belong to a member.  Additionally, the sticker could serve as “free advertising” for the great community of EN.  The Board said it would consider this idea.   
• Comments on Social Events – Paul Dippolito’s description of POENB, Inc. 2025 Social Calendar generated a lot of enthusiasm among members in attendance.  Several members offered additional ideas for events as well as some refinements to the current event ideas (e.g., more focus on floats for the 4^th of July, offer $100 gift certificates to best float contest winners). Multiple members commented that they appreciated that events were planned for both children and adults.  However, one or two members wondered out loud if the social calendar wasn’t too aggressive.  Paul stated that the calendar was “aspirational” but the Social Committee can and will scale back events depending on interest and attendance. 
• Comments on Membership and Finances – A member asked for more analysis (in addition to what has been provided by Sally Neal, Treasurer), on the membership. The member wanted to know more about retention.  Sally said she would do more analytics once the membership drive is virtually complete (around the beginning of June). 

Another member wondered why a large percentage of residents (x>80%) didn’t join POENB, Inc. given the fees were very reasonable and POENB’s successful public advocacy work (e.g., PSE&G burying the electrical lines, selected road paving, and pressure to permanently fixing the Bevin Seawall).  The member stated that the public advocacy was worth the price of membership alone – never mind the additional value provided by maintaining the two beaches and social activities.

Another recent resident asked – how many places on Long Island have this kind of “community”- plus one that’s been active 55 years?  It’s unique and one of the reasons I moved here.”

The Board agreed with these comments and said it would continue to broadly and frequently communicate the (1) three-fold mission (e.g., preserve/maintain the two beaches, public safety and welfare advocacy, and social), (2) the benefits and (3) the downside risk mitigation provided by membership in POENB, Inc.  The Board agrees that POENB is not ”just the beaches.”

Next Meeting

Next month’s meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 7:30 pm at the EN Firehouse.  The meeting will also be available via Zoom.  All members are encouraged to attend.