2011 ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES

The Annual Meeting of the North Sandwich Community Association was held September 10, 2011, at Clark Hall.  Twenty-five (25) members attended with seventeen (17) properties represented. 

Presiding: Jim Langenbach, President.

The President called the meeting to order at 9:08M.

The President then called for the Secretary’s report.

Secretary’s Report:

The Secretary, Terry Patterson, submitted the minutes of the 2010 annual meeting for consideration.  They were unanimously accepted  as written.

Massachusetts law requires that all corporations identify their officers and address annually.  Our 2011 filing was rejected because a  PO box is not an acceptable address.  I have resubmitted the paperwork using  my home address in Plympton.  The resubmission seems to have been accepted, however the check for the filing fee remains uncashed.

A portion of the interest earned on our NSCA bank accounts is withheld by the bank in accordance with IRS rules.  However, because we have no employees and very little income from our savings accounts we have no tax obligation.  To obtain access to those with-holdings we need to file a  U.S. Income Tax Return for Homeowners Associations (FORM 1120-H) with the IRS.  It is a goal to complete that filing and free up those funds.

Treasurer’s Report:

The Treasurer, Alan DeCew, reported the balance in the NSCA Accounts was $57,882.10.  His analysis suggests the growth of the accounts is slightly below the ideal growth rate primarily because the return on investments is currently very low, and outflow has been higher than anticipated because of snowy winters and several road maintenance projects.  The goal is to have $160,000 in the bank by 2022 for Phillips Road resurfacing.  Alan suggested that corrective action was not needed at this time, but if the fund continues to experience anemic growth we might need to increase our annual $60 per year annual road assessment at some time in the future.  As of today, 91 of the 111 properties in the association have paid their 2011 road assessment. 

Entertainment Committee:

Judi Rubin (#231) reported that the site of the evenings Pot Luck Dinner was being moved from the Swift Center to Clark Hall because of rain damage to the Swift building.  A donation of $100 to the Clark Hall foundation by NSCA was voted as a token of our appreciation for their positive response to our short notice request to use the Hall for our Pot Luck Dinner.  About twenty-five (25) people are signed up to attend the Pot Luck.

Judi  thanked those who participated in the raffles at both the Summer Picnic and Fall Fling.  Proceeds of the raffles pay for the Sunshine Fund, the Summer Picnic and the Fall Fling.  A drawing was held as part of the Summer Picnic at the home of Dick Miller (#298) on 30 July 2011.  About 60 people attended.  Good weather, good food, good company and great fun.  Raffle winners were:

            Paul Julian (#268) and Martha Hancock (#262) won $25 gift certificates.

            Art Moshier (#273) won the TV.

Judi reminded everyone about the Pot Luck Dinner at 6pm and last minute guests are most welcome.

General Announcements:

Jim Langenbach reported that a contractor was hired to fill the cracks in the road.  Periodic crack filling may be required to obtain maximum life out of our last resurfacing.

He also reported that we had partial success removing sand from the road  via a “sand sweeping party”.  He estimated that about 10% of property owners made some effort to remove sand from the road in front of their properties.  He is open to suggestions of ways to mitigate the cost and effort to deal with the problem of sand buildup on the road.  The sweepers gathered at the Langenbach cottage after the work detail for some afternoon socializing. 

Linda Carrier reported a “NO ACCESS TO SCUSSET BEACH” sign is on order for installation at the entrance to the association area to alert GPS and online mapping users that Phillips road won't get them to the state park.

Linda Carrier (#321) recently experience a situation where someone was sent directly to the hospital from a scheduled doctor's visit.  That person had a pet at home that instantly became unattended.  Linda would like to create a list of association members who would be willing to “come to the rescue” in similar situations.  Please contact Linda Sheldon (#321) if you can help.

The association web site is www.northsagamore.blogspot.com.  Members are encouraged to obtain Association information at the site.  Information available includes reports like this annual report, social activities like the Fall Fling and Summer Picnic, and membership data.  If anyone desires to delete specific data, such as a telephone number, from the site, please contact Jim Langenbach,  He is the webmaster.

Elections of Officers

Nominations or volunteers were solicited from the floor.  None were forthcoming.  After a discussion, the current officers agreed to serve another year.  Jim Langenbach announced that 2012 would be his last year a president.  The association will need to recruit and elect a new president at the fall 2012 annual meeting.

The elected officers are:

Jim Langenbach (#327) as president.

Lou Julian (#268) as Vice President.

Alan Decew (#339) as treasurer

Terry Patterson (#318/320) as secretary

Other Discussions:

There was a rather extensive discussion about vehicles operating at speeds greater than the posted 20 mph speed limit on Phillips Road.  Association members seem to be uniformly aware of and concerned about the dangers inherent in the mix of pedestrians of all ages and capabilities who use the roadway and speeding vehicles.  However there seems to be little the association or  individual property owners can do about it.  The current 20 MPH speed limit signs were posted by the association and are not sanctioned by any legal jurisdiction.  Consequently, violations of the posted limit are unlikely to trigger very much action by local authorities.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:15AM

Respectfully submitted,

Terry J. Patterson, Secretary