POENB Meeting Minutes of May 6th, 2022
Our POENB meeting was held in person at the Fire House. The meeting began at approximately 7:40 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Roll Call of Officers:
Ryan Cote, President; Frank Pasquale, Vice President; Nora Beck, Treasurer (absent); Steven Neuf, Assistant Vice President; Anthony Fusaro, Assistant Vice President; Yvonne Lambertson, Recording Secretary; Ryan Schaefer-Walker, Corresponding Secretary (absent).
Minutes (Readings and Update):
Eight (8) members attended the meeting.
A motion was raised to accept the minutes of our April meeting as posted to our website and in the Changing Tides. The motion was seconded and approved.
Correspondence:
Ryan Cote provided the Correspondence Report.
April 4th, we received a request for a temporary dinghy spot from a member with a boat in the water early; the board accommodated the request. April 9th, the ENFD asked POENB to e-blast the membership about flower sale; which we did. April 14th, we were questioned about the discounted oil delivery rates & if we are using Sweezy again; we are. Ryan received a message about a loose stair board at Valley Grove, Ryan went down and fixed the step & Essex resident Joe Cartolano and returned later of his own accord to tighten a bunch of other steps (thank you). April 21st, a member asked about reserving Prices Bend for a party. April 22nd, a member asked us to confirm receipt of their application. April 23rd, a member asked for assistance accessing the kayak spot request form. April 25th, a member asked if a description of their kayak would suffice for the spot application since their craft was still wrapped up for the winter. We indicated we prefer a picture. April 27th, Suffolk County Health department asked us who should receive updates from their office when our beaches are ordered closed. April 30th, we received an estimate to clean-up & replaced the aging electric equipment at PB.
Presidents Report:
Ryan Cote thanked the board for all of their efforts throughout this busy April. We started the month with a work session at Prices Bend on April 2nd to overhaul and improve the POENB dinghy area. We re-leveled tired, bent racks, removed and replaced broken racks, added new racks and spaces and cleaned up the area by leveling sand and cutting back brush. New color coding with tape was added as were number stickers to help keep the area organized. The board thanks all members who gave of their day to make it a success with a special shout out to Greg Hodges who, once again, ordered all the material, masterminded the work to be done and instructed the crew when we arrived. The recent improvements to our watercraft system over the years have spanned several boards and many volunteers, but the one constant has been each administration’s ability to rely on Mr. Hodges for his expertise and willingness to continually give back to make the watercraft system more organized. Ryan went on to comment that these types of improvements are why we ask folks to remove their craft. Shoring up our system must occur in the off season to keep it running.
Another example of this was the tightening of the Valley Grove rack undertaken by Greg Hodges, Frank Pasquale and Ryan Cote a week later. Constant wash outs from the Town’s backed up pipe had scoured sand under the VG rack, causing it to list to the side. The guys spent a few hours leveling the footings and re tightening it so that it would be ready for use by late May. We still need to add fill below it to better stabilize it, but for the short run, the rack is sound and useable. Some derelict broken boards that had been left at VG for years were brought to the curb for removal.
After the early month repairs, the sun came out to and so did tons of new and old Neck face to enjoy the annual POENB Easter Egg hunt on April 16. Ryan thanked Jean Marie Mansfield for organizing another great egg hunt, all the teen volunteers named last issue as well as the stuffers who took over the Cote and Mansfield houses. He also offered an apology to Sophie Smith who spent hours stuffing and was inadvertently left off last month’s thank you list. Ryan applauded all parents and kids who participated, it was great to see so many new faces.
By month’s end, the Board shifted its focus to fine tuning the watercraft assignment system. Ryan thanked the previous board for building our current craft storage capacity and indicated that we are now working to make the assignment system as fair and automated as possible.
The person doing the lion share of the work to upgrade the watercraft system is board member board member Yvonne Lambertson. Ryan thanked her for her tireless efforts in building a better system and turned the meeting over to her for more explanation. Yvonne indicated that we started by creating a google form that allowed folks to select four spots. POENB would do its best to get members their first choice or close to it. Spots were released in waves, based on rank order of when membership forms were received. Yvonne indicated that on April 22nd, we sent out our 1st wave to request. and on April 29th we sent the 2nd wave. So far requested spots have been accommodated.
Ryan briefly described the very positive feedback the Board has received. He also indicated that a few had politely expressed some concerns with the system, saying that, in their view, there is a seniority system where you work your way to the front. Ryan explained that the POENB has to treat old and new members with equal fairness. New members would have no way of receiving fair treatment under such a seniority system. Plus, such a system mistakenly grants authority over spaces to the individual versus the membership. Basing selection waves on when one joins POENB (effective midnight on April 1, when a new membership year begins) was the one way we found where everyone would be able to start the process on the same level playing field. It may not be a perfect system, but it serves to incentive early membership and provide a way for all members to be subject to the same rules.
Ryan briefly touched on sail craft and explained that smaller sailboats like sunfish or larger sail craft like a hobie cat are are not part of our regular watercraft allotment system. These are considered premium spots because of the size of the craft involved, their larger visual profile on the beach and the fact they are not stackable, thus taking up more beach real estate per vessel. Such boats should be trailed down to the beach but in this case, owners are paying extra for the convenience of not having to trail them. We presently have 10 sailboat spots and 5 hobie spots to allot by lottery. The 2022 fees will remain the same as last year – $100 for a standard sunfish and $225 for larger Hobie Cats. An email on this will go out soon.
The POENB Beach clean-up was announced for May 14th and we ask everyone to come down and contribute. Ryan noted that Vice President Frank Pasquale has been actively cleaning up Valley Grove already and turned the meeting over to him. Frank indicated that saplings, scrub brush and reeds have been removed. Further clean-up will continue on May 14th. Frank went on to describe the work required to level the area at the bottom of the stairs and more permanently shore-up the kayak rack. He has been researching free fill materials and solutions to mitigate trip hazards which exist because of the different elevations of the bottom of our stairs and the new wall platform. We will continue to address these issues and will keep the membership apprised. Frank continued the discussion to include some block replacements and the need to address the breach at the towns outflow pipe.
Ryan noted that one of the unexpected beach expenses we have encountered was our very out of date electrical box down at Price’s Bend. The box was old, unsafe and difficult to use. Ryan turned the meeting over to Assistant Vice President Steve Neuf who, at meeting time was in the process of seeking out electrical contractors to fix it. Steve described the electrical work planned — An old wooden box & the electrical equipment contained therein will be replaced with new. We also plan to install new led flood lights at a raised spot on our utility pole. We plan to award this project in early May.
Committee Reports:
Membership:
Gene provided a membership update as of May 6th of 217 members. He described the nuances of acquiring a total since we have various means of sending them in. They also need to be logged upon receipt since that affects the kayak request wave system. Special thanks to Gene for his detailed work and efforts. Automatic invoicing was briefly discussed.
Phil Cuiffo offered the contact info for our representatives at the Town of Huntington in charge of beach and maritime. Phil expressed his concern over people using Hobart beach without having the appropriate stickers. The town advised him to call security.
Treasurers Report:
Nora was out so Assistant Vice President Anthony Fusaro was read the Treasurer’s Report.
As of our April meeting we had a year-to-date total operating income of $47,155.47 and year-to-date total operating expenses of $7,203.01. As of 5/6/22 this left an operating surplus of $39,952.56.
Membership receipts were $17,514.75 for senior and $27,320.11 for standard totaling $44,834.86 and 4th of July Parade donations made in conjunction with membership total $1,140. Beach rental reservations have begun and we have collected $700 income so far this year.
During the month we paid beach improvement expenses of $2,704.55 for the dinghy racks. Year to date, we have paid $1,104.96 in bond repayments. Other expenses for Changing Tides, utilities, Egg Hunt and the membership beach passes were also paid during the month.
We are starting off with a strong membership season to replenish our income. We thank existing members and appeal to non-members to please join.
Income Statement below provided by Nora was not read but was summarized above.
Social:
Party Gras is back! Heather Kennedy, Ryan Shaffer-Walker and Ryan Cote met with Bethany to review social events typically had by the POENB. Gene provided a list of volunteers from years past to Heather; we hope some and others will help our new social chairs pull off some great events this year. Reminder: Party-Gras is open to members & their guests. 3PM Sunday ay 29th. BYOB. $20 per head for those over 12; Under 12, $8. After May 20th prices will go up. Use the ad on the back of the changing tides as your rsvp form.
New Business:
POENB member John Ballow has done extensive work in understanding the problems of the Asharoken seawall project, reading the entire report and summarizing the information into digestible form for the POENB and its members. As John was in attendance, Ryan asked John to brief the meeting. John alerted the room that he had written to the Village of Asharoken after he noticed the Bevin seawall has further deteriorated. He was informed that the Village has serval requests for funding grants submitted. A writing campaign was requested to summon the attention of Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressmen Thomas Suozzi. John passed this request along to Eaton’s Harbor Corporation, North Creek, Old Orchard HOA, ENFD and the POENB.
His & Ed Carr’s email exchange was summarized by John & pasted in here:
The Seawall continues to fall into disrepair, with a recent failure noticed in a horizontal beam support. I wrote to Mayor Letica and who indicated “ that Asharoken was applying for grants and that everyone on the Neck should write to Schumer and Suozzi and ask them to make sure they come through with the funds. That is the only way it’s going to happen”.
John went on to outline that Asharoken has 300 homes, 200 of which are east of the seawall and 100 of which are located with us on Eaton’s Neck. POENB has 419 homes, Eaton Harbors Corporation has 168, North Creek Association has 40, and Old Orchard HOA has 3, plus a significant number of families at the USCG. The ENFD provides Medical Emergency and Fire Protection to this entire community.
Mayor Letica is asking for our help in securing grant funding for the seawall repairs. May I impose on the ENFD, POENB, EHC, North Creek, Old Orchard, and USCG to write to Schumer and Suozzi in support of Mayor Letica’s Grant Applications. Contact info where people can write or call are as follows:
Sen Charles E. Schumer 145 Pine Lawn Road, #300, Melville NY 11747 (631 753 0978)
Congressman Thomas Suozzi 478A Park Ave Huntington NY 11743 (631 923 4100)
John went on to provide additional history on the issue: The Army corps has acknowledged causing the deteriorating sand condition at the wall when in 1934 they allowed a temporary jetty of 100Ft to be constructed for sand mining for the power plant. When LILCO came in to take over the property they allowed a 200-foot jetty to allow barges to come in to fuel the plant. Subsequent dredging caused a large hole in the sound floor which further impeded the natural flow of sand. Furthermore, the temporary jetties have never been removed.
The Army Corps recent response was that without public access to the beaches they can not get involved in corrective measures. (Public access, Neck residents will recall, was voted down by Asharoken.) The present wall, John said, was constructed to be a temporary measure until a permanent solution is designed. A discussion ensued about infrastructure money that may be available for these specific projects. Now is likely a good time to aggressively seek funding. John committed to producing a white paper for us to distribute.
Anthony Fusaro suggested alerting local news to attract attention to the issue.
New Business:
Anthony Fusaro has been brainstorming about how to create a reserve fund should emergency beach repairs be needed. Ryan invited Anthony to speak about his ideas. Anthony indicated he is exploring the creation of an intergenerational endowment trust. This could attract the generosity of people interested in preserving the integrity of beaches – specifically Eaton’s Neck Beaches. Says Anthony, the POENB could be trustees of such a fund and dispose of the monies only when absolutely necessary to continue the mission of our charter which is to preserve our beaches. Sometimes, Anthony indicated, people leave a fraction of their accumulated wealth to charitable foundations. This fund would reside off the POENB’s operating books, but would be managed by the sitting boards. Its use would be solely to beautify and protect the beaches of Eaton’s Neck. The room was very interested in Anthony’s idea and will be exploring it further.
We adjured at 8:45 PM. Our next meeting is scheduled for June 3rd
