April 20, 2020 Minutes

River Hill Board of Directors
Meeting Minutes
April 20, 2020

Opening (Agenda 1):
Tony Miceli, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. The meeting was held virtually via conference call using Zoom and was being recorded. The following members were in attendance: Matthew Levine, Angela Ling, John Wan, and Adam White. Jeff Du, Student Member, Renee DuBois, Council Representative, Susan Smith, Village Manager, and Ron Alper and Trinity Cheng, residents, were in attendance. Harjeet Jandu joined the meeting at 7:19 pm. Tarek Marsour joined the meeting at 7:55pm.

Approval of the Agenda (Agenda 3):
Mr. Wan made a motion to approve the agenda. Mr. Levine seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0-0). Student Advisory Vote – in favor.

Administrative Items (Agenda 4):
Mr. Miceli made a motion to approve the April 6, 2020 Minutes. Mr. Levine seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0-0). Student Advisory Vote – in favor.

Resident Speak Out (Agenda 5):
Mr. Alper was attending the meeting and had no questions or comments. Ms. Cheng was observing the meeting.

Development Advisory Committee (Agenda 6Ai):
Mr. Levine asked Ms. Smith to send him the contact information for the developer of the Cedar Creek community.

Teen Advisory Committee (Agenda 6Aii):
Mr. Du reported that the Virtual Trivia Night reschedule for May 1 had been advertised in the April/May newsletter and via other methods. The TAC will meet via Zoom to practice and work out the kinks in advance of the event.

Traffic & Safety Committee (Agenda 6Aiii):
Mr. Miceli will provide Ms. Cheng with the information for the new State Highway Administration points of contact.

Watershed Committee (Agenda 6Aiv):
Mr. White shared there was no feedback from other committee members to his email about a Tip of the Month and therefore no information was included in the April/May newsletter.

Manager’s Report (Agenda 6B):
A written report is on file with the original minutes.

Ms. Smith reported she had shared the costs associated with mailing ballots with Ms. DuBois, Election Committee Chairperson. Ms. DuBois recommended that based on the costs, the ballot be included in the June newsletter and residents should be asked to return them. It was the consensus of the Board that due to the unique circumstances caused by COVID-19 that the usual absentee ballot procedures of providing evidence of person, residence, and age be dispensed with for this year.

Mr. Levine made a motion that, due to COVID-19 and because Mr. Jandu is running unopposed for his seat, an exception be made to print the absentee ballot in the newsletter and permit residents to return the ballot by dropping it off at Claret Hall, scanning and emailing it, or by mailing through the US Post Office. Mr. White seconded. The motion passed (6-0-0). Student Advisory Vote – in favor.

Ms. DuBois noted that in-person voting will occur on June 27. Ms. Smith will coordinate with Ms. DuBois to develop the absentee ballot and to develop plans for in-person voting that will comply with any State and County COVID-19 orders in place at the time and which will maintain social distancing and minimize interpersonal contact. It is envisioned that polling will be conducted outdoors, in front of Claret Hall.

Mr. White made a motion to cancel the association’s annual Independence Day Parade due to COVID-19. Mr. Miceli seconded. The motion failed (2-4-0). Student Advisory Vote – not in favor.

Council Representative Report (Agenda 6C):
Ms. DuBois reported that she had no information on which to decide on the Columbia Association’s revisions to the FY21 budget which are to be discussed at their Board meeting on April 24.

Mr. Levine made a motion to draft a letter to the CA Board strongly requesting additional information to allow River Hill’s Council Representative to make decisions on financial matters. Mr. Wan seconded. The motion passed (6-0-0). Student Advisory Vote – in favor.

Mr. Miceli will coordinate with Ms. DuBois to draft the letter.

Board Chairperson Report (Agenda 6D):
Mr. Miceli thanked Ms. Smith and Ms. Lynott for the parade at Giant of River Hill. It was awesome. Ms. Smith explained that the parade was organized by a River Hill resident and that the association supported the idea by getting the word out via our communication tools. The association also took videos and photos to share afterward.

Student Member Committee (Agenda 7A):
Mr. Du shared his thoughts on the Teen Advisory Committee (TAC) terms. He recommended leaving the terms as is. Mr. White suggested all members should be from River Hill and that residents should receive preference when being appointed.

Mr. Wan made a motion to table a decision until some point in the future. Mr. Levine seconded. The motion failed (3-3-0). Student Advisory Vote – not in favor.

Mr. Jandu made a motion that all Student Members of the Board and TAC members must be residents of the Village of River Hill. Ms. Ling seconded. The motion failed (3-3-0). Student Advisory Vote – not in favor.

Mr. Miceli asked members to consider serving on Committee. The TAC/SM Committee item will be moved to the May 18, 2020 meeting agenda.

Volunteer of the Year (Agenda 7B):
Ms. Smith informed the Board that a Volunteer of the Year nomination had been received from a resident. She outlined the process the association has utilized to select a Volunteer of the Year. It was the consensus of the Board to expand the selection process to include nominations from the community. Nominees should be village residents or groups of River Hill residents who have contributed to the greater good of the residents of the Village of River Hill during the period of April 2019 – April 2020. The Board set June 30, 2020 as the deadline for nominations.

FY21 Budget (Agenda 8A):
Ms. Smith provided the Board with an updated draft FY21 budget. She shared an estimate of fixed monthly expenses that considered the closure of Claret Hall due to COVID-19 (copies on file with original minutes). She and Ms. DuBois discussed their estimate of the association’s cash on hand.

Executive Session – Personnel Matters (Agenda 9):
Mr. Levine made a motion to move into Executive Session at 9:29 p.m. Mr. Wan seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0-0). Mr. Wan and resident observers left the Zoom meeting and recording was stopped.

Mr. Levine made a motion to end the Executive Session at 10:05 p.m. Mr. Miceli seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0-0).

Board Speak Out (Agenda 10):
Mr. Levine shared it was likely the pools are not opening this summer. He inquired about the association allowing above ground pools. Ms. Smith stated that residents would need to apply through the Exterior Alteration Application process for consideration by the Resident Architectural Committee and the Architectural Committee.

Mr. Levine inquired about Hudson Coastal restaurant’s use of the parking lot at the River Hill Meeting Room for distribution of meals. Ms. Smith reported that a complaint had been received and was forwarded to the Columbia Association. The parking lot is private property and permission must be obtained from CA in advance.

Adjournment (Agenda 11):
Mr. Wan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:14 p.m. Mr. Levine seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0-0).

Submitted: Susan M. Smith, Village Manager

Minutes Approved: May 18, 2020