Category: Meeting Minutes

Smith Trust Owners Association
www.southshoreowners.com
Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2020

Opening Meeting:
The meeting opened at 6:31 PM. There were 22 attendees and three Trustees (Leanne Withrow, John Picard, Steve Morin) present. Agenda and detailed proposals can be found in a slide presentation ~ Available upon request.

Thank You’s:
 Bruce & Susan McDougall – painting the mailbox
 Mark Wolfendale – patching the road and fixing the ice dam
 Phil Kane – road digging and cones
 Chris Waterworth – digging the trench
 Craig Erikson – digging the trench by hand
 John Picard – road and ice dam repair, digging the trench, loaning equipment
 Steve Morin – road repair and filling the puddle
 Rick McNeill – creating Right of Way signs
 Rick Caldwell – managing our website
 Carolyn & Rob Dustin – road clean-up & alerting the police about drug paraphernalia
 Al Campbell – clearing the road of brush and grass and beach wall repair
 Joe DiNicolzolo – Donating cones
 Scott Godin – Enormous undertaking of the road repair, cutting down fallen trees and patching the road
 Angela Harkins- tracking and reporting financials and setting up Zoom meetings
 Adrienne Keane – taking minutes
 Community members that built the walkway behind the Withrow’s house and dock helpers Welcome New Families to the Lake
 David Hyman
 Proulx Family
 Not mentioned at the meeting, but also new:
o Brenda & Mark Godin
o David & Mary Kay Tanner

Reminders
 Website (www.southshoreowners.com) and our private Facebook group (Smith Trust Owners at LIP)

Approval of Previous Year’s Minutes
 The attendees accepted the minutes from June 14, 2019 without any changes.
Road Sign
 Rick McNeill created a new “Smith Road to South Shore Drive” road sign. Will replace the temporary
green town Smith Road sign.

Road Repair
 Successfully completed updating of the corner of South Shore & Smith in Oct 2019 by EJ Paving.
 Addressed drainage issues on Smith Road earlier in year for an approved $2500 cost.
 Emergency repair near the mailbox will be done by Scott Godin beginning 7/17/2020. Will pave full width of road – 170 feet length x 20 ft. Equipment and labor are donated, so we will save money. Scott is experimenting with a new approach that we will continue to use if proven successful.

Capped expense for materials at 7,000. Process is:

 Cut asphalt full length
 Remove asphalt will be discarded for free
 Scott to pave each side so we will have an area to drive. We may need to drive on a section of dirt gravel/while repair underway.
 Need volunteers during asphalt
 Expect delays during this time
 Second phase to remove large rocks will follow the upper road repair. Will use removed dirt and gravel to fill each hole, then cold patch.

Plowing
 During 2019, we contracted for $5200 flat rate with Boyden Landscaping after reviewing multiple bids, some over $10,000. Boyden Landscaping offered the least risk and best services for the most competitive price.
 Trustees are in the process of securing our plowing contract for 2020-2021 winter.
 Thank you to Phil Kane for his excellent plowing of the road during the last several years.

Volunteer Opportunities
 Continue Volunteer Day on second Saturday of the month April – October. Meet at 8:00AM at the
beach.
 We have many things we need to maintain and improve and need community volunteers to pitch in.

Future Goals
 Assess and streamline insurance expenses – research better rates.
 Culvert repair – identify and prioritize repairs. Unclog where possible.
 Homogenize our name – we are referring to our Trust in several different ways which can be confusing.
 Identify and implement committees so we can accomplish more. We need more help.

Questions, Concerns & Suggestions
 Concern: Money collected should go to road. Not all home owners may be part of Smith Trust beach.
o Road was originally all Smith road, created by George Smith in 20’s. Trust grants us road use and access to our homes – including access to the beach and Right of Ways.
o Engineering map on website shows Trust and there is a 1924 map of the Trust that is referenced in the Trust Deed.

 Question: Are there any wetlands issues to consider with culvert repair? We had engineering completed and we have permits done.
 Question: Have we considered doing a wetlands assessment? Town never identified the vernal pool that was removed when the house on Smith Road was built. Town has not assayed wetlands on or near private roads.
 Suggestion: Julia Steed Mawson has a County Forester comes to assess the health of her trees. Other community members can have him assess their trees at same time. Could consider for Smith
Road, but would need to include the Smith Road land owners in the discussion.
 Question about offering a proxy vote for any homeowner who cannot attend meeting. Discussion around how to educate homeowner on topics being voted on, if homeowner is not present at meeting.

Motions
 Raise the road dues by $50 to $400 beginning with next year’s billing by Scott Godin, second by Bruce McDougall. Motion tabled to next meeting via Zoom by Julia, second Tim. Motion to table until September passed unanimously.
Actions
 Add Smith Trust 1924 Smith Trust map to website.
 Determine if the town has an updated wetland assay that includes private roads.
 For next meeting, add a “Dues Amount and Reapportionment” topic to the Agenda. Consider having “Dues” as a standing agenda item.
 Schedule a February meeting for a mid-year Zoom update.
 Talk to neighbors to make sure everyone has access to Zoom.
 Schedule a September meeting to discuss options to raise dues and apportionment, motion and vote. Anyone whose dues are paid in full can vote per the Trust.
 Explore best way to do a virtual vote via Zoom for next meeting.

Adjourn:
Adjourned meeting at 8:16 PM.
Minutes written by: Adrienne Keane
Minutes Reviewed by 3 Trustees & approved: 9/28/2020

Meeting Minutes – June 14, 2019 

Opening Meeting: The meeting opened at 6:32 PM. There were 13 households and three Trustees present. Agenda and detailed proposals can be found in a slide presentation ~ Available upon request. 

Thank You’s: 

• Al Campbell for continual cleaning and maintaining of the beach 

• McNeils, Adam Michalik, Teddy Choate and neighbors for beach cleaning 

• Scott Godin for culvert repair by the Doucot’s house. John Picard, Phil Kane & Mark Wolfendale on spreading the stone and clean up. 

• Steve Morin, Mark Wolfendale, Mark Walsh and Adam Michalik for doing the cold patch road repair. Thank you to John Picard for use of the backhoe. 

• Rick Caldwell for maintaining our website. 

• Steve Pieslak for cleaning the passageways. 

• And everyone else that helps to keep up the Smith Trust road, passageways and the beach. 

Reminders 

• Website (www.southshoreowners.com) and Facebook group (Smith Trust Owners at LIP) 

Beach 

• Dock Slip Lottery was held last July 2018 and all dock slips have been awarded and a waiting list established. 

• Permitted work at beach to fix wall and drainage quotes. 

o Wall and drainage repair estimate is $10,000. Work is not done yet due to weather and funding availability.

o Need to re-consider estimates, funding options and volunteers.

o Need to coincide work with Girl Scouts lowering the water level. 

Road & Culverts 

• Paving Recommendation 

o Funds available to pave $8,700.00 ($5,000 allocated + 3,700 collected in 2018) o Road sections: A at top of Smith Road (800 Sq yds) & B at intersection of Smith & South Shore (450 sq yds). Recommend we begin with section B using EJ Paving for $11,700 estimated cost.

o We will need to raise significantly more funds to pave the rest of the road.

o Any work to be done will be posted in advance on the website, Facebook group and at the mailboxes. 

• Doucot culvert repairs were completed. 

• NH State Senate Bill 39 

o Work on a bill to provide a statutory requirement that states that each property owner on a private road without a formal maintenance agreement must pay their share of the cost of maintenance of the road. The bill further states that an owner is responsible for damage done by them to the road abutting their property.

o This bill will help prospective owners meet the private road maintenance requirement to receive VA and Fannie Mae mortgages, as well as allow civil action to be taken against those owners who do not contribute.

o The bill has passed the Senate and an amended bill has passed the House. The amended bill is expected to be passed by the Senate and forwarded to the Governor shortly. 

Volunteer Opportunities 

• Volunteer Day on second Saturday of the month April – October. Meet at 8:00AM at the beach. 

Questions & Concerns 

• Do we need to hold a road closure to protect the private status of the road? If so, how do we do it? 

• Are the two new properties being built part of the Smith Trust? According to the Trustees, the properties are in the Trust parcel. 

• Concerns raised about parking on both sides along the road for parties on 3^rd of July, creating dangerous conditions on road! Pelham PD can be called if parked cars are an issue. 

Motions 

• None 

Actions 

• Add time of meeting to Annual Meeting Announcement in the invoices. 

• Research and report out on private road closure. 

• Contact the police about putting out cones / do not park signs during the holiday weekends. 

Adjourn: Adjourned meeting at 7:59 PM. Minutes written by: Adrienne Keane

Smith Trust Owners Association
www.southshoreowners.com

Meeting Minutes – June 21, 2018

Opening Meeting:

The meeting opened at 6:31 PM. There were 23 households and three Trustees present.
Agenda and detailed proposals can be found in a slide presentation ~ Available upon request.

Thank You’s:

• Al Campbell for continual cleaning and maintaining of the beach
• John McNeil and neighbors for beach cleaning
• Scott Godin and John Picard for doing the cold patch road repair
• Angela Harkins, Rick Caldwell, Adrienne Keane for helping Trustees look at road options and plan for the annual meeting
• Adrienne Keane for acting as secretary and taking minutes
• And everyone else that helps to keep up the Smith Trust road, right of ways and the beach

Welcome

• Joe DiCuzolo – purchased the Odrina house
• Teddy Choate – purchased the Downs house
• Tim Sullivan – purchased the Willett house

Secretary’s Report:

2017 minutes are posted on the website and were mailed with the bills. We will no longer reread previous year’s minutes. Instead we will mail them with the bills and accept the minutes at the meeting.

Old Business:

Beach

• 3 docks with 6 potential slips have been installed. Currently there are 2 openings which will be awarded by lottery.
• Mailing was sent regarding the Lottery for the 2 slips. Need form returned by July 15, 2018 at 5:00P. If more than 2 folks apply, the lottery will be drawn, and a waiting list started.
• DES has approved permits for building the beach wall, docks and culvert work. We had to get a variance to get a 3^rd

Road

Reviewed options for longer term repair of the road. Options considered included engaging the town to make the road public and have the town maintain the road going forward and keep the road private and manage the road maintenance ourselves. We also looked at three different funding proposals for private repair of the road. Options and discussion is highlighted below. Proposal details can be found in the slide presentation (Available upon request).

• Option 1: Town (not recommended)
  • Betterment fee ~ Equal or more than taxes for 10 years
  • Widen the Road ~ Need 52ft – we are 18 wide. Can apply for variance for 22ft. Will take 2 ft on each side for road
  • Potential add of Cul-de-sac / Hammerhead ~ For emergency vehicles adding turn arounds OR cul-de-sac or hammerhead at each end of South Shore Drive
  • Must meet “Town Standards” before the town will take it over and maintain it
• Option 2: Private Repair Full Road – $200K ++
• Option 3: Private Repair Smith Road Only – $78K ++
  ++ Plus engineering, culvert repair, state & town permitting, police detail & other unknown costs
• To fund Options 2 & 3 would require significant investment by owners over time to raise the needed funds
  • 1 Year Plan / Smith Road Only – $2,700 per household
  • 3 Year Plan / Entire Road – $3,000 per household (Repairs would not be made for 3 years)
  • 10 Year Plan / Entire Road – $1,000 per household (Repairs would not be made for 10 years)
    

Discussion

• Not a complete reconstruction of the road
• Do we really need a new road?
• Has the town or state said we need a road?
• Major risks
• Quote is old, we don’t have a real cost proposal to base these estimates on
• Fund collections
• Who would sign a contract with a paving company?
• We don’t have the expertise to manage a project of this size and expense
• Major construction project – who would manage this? Many risks – construction risks, legal risks, change orders, budget risk
• Need inspector and engineering
• We live on a country road
• The road is fine the way it is. Slows people down

New Proposal

After considering all the options at hand, a more conservative proposal was raised and discussed.

• Fully repair in small sections rather than try to fix whole road. Bring in a professional to prioritize the road improvements and make recommendations
• Establish a separate road improvement fund.
• Raise the annual dues by $100 – from $250 to $350.
• Establish a Road Working Committee to select a paving company and prioritize initial improvements

Actions

• Road Working Committee established to explore working on the road in segments – Susan Hopkins, Joe Dicunzolo, Steve Pieslak
  • Joe Dicunzolo – contact his paving connections
  • Susan Hopkins – talk to her paver Tate Bros and Chris LaFrance for road ideas

Motions
Motions were passed to establish and fund the Road Improvement Fund. The account will be funded from increased annual dues, as well as an initial transfer of $5,000 from our existing general operating account. Repairs will be prioritized annually based on greatest need and the monies available in the Road Improvement Fund.

Motion: Raise the dues from $250 to $350. Raised by John McNeil. Seconded by Lisa Lafontaine. Vote: In favor 23, Opposed 0. Motion passes.

Motion: Establish a Road Improvement Fund dedicated for capital road repairs consisting of $100 per household per year. Raised by John McNeil. Seconded by Julia Mawson.
Vote: In favor 22. Opposed 1. Motion passes.

Motion: Take $5,000 this year only out of the General Operating Fund and add it to the Road Improvement Fund. Raised by John McNeil. Seconded by Julia Mawson.

Vote: In favor 23, Opposed 0. Motion passes.

Appointed Angela Harkins as new treasurer upon resignation of Steven Pieslak.

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Trustee assistants: Adrienne Keane, Angela Harkins, Rick Caldwell, Steve Pieslak
• Clean right of ways periodically: Craig Erickson, Rick, Bob Keane
• Steps into Right of Ways: Natural rocks as steps
• Clear out culverts: Rototiller the culverts from leaves and debris
• Facebook Group: Adrienne to set up
• Notice of volunteer opportunities will be posted at mailboxes, email, Facebook and website

Adjourn:

Motion to adjourn. Seconded and accepted at 8:25 PM

Minutes written by: Adrienne Keane

Smith Trust – Little Island Pond Road Association
Meeting Minutes – July 13, 2017

Opening Meeting:
The meeting opened at 6:05 PM. There were 27 neighbors present.

Thank You’s:
Steve thanked everyone for helping clear the far right away. Many neighbors helped out

Thanks to all the neighbors who helped clear the beach

Thanks to Scott Godin for doing the cold patch road repair, for the most part by himself

Thanks for Rick McNeil for making up the signs with the rules and regulations for using the beach discussed at last year’s meeting.

Thanks to John for installed the signs

Thanks to Al for continual cleaning and maintaining of the beach.

Welcome To our new neighbors. Ted purchased Mac Downs house. Welcome as well to Angela.

Secretary’s Report:
Steve read the meeting minutes from last year, which were a combined effort from 2 neighbors and included the minutes from 2 separate meetings last summer.

John added that at last year’s meeting the neighbors agreed to the setup of a website

The minutes from the meeting were accepted and seconded.

Financial Report:

The financial report was read by Leanne, accepted and seconded.

Existing Business
Website – Leanne informed everyone that the name of the website is www.southshoreowners.com.

She elaborated on the content of the website and thanked Rick setting it up. Rick informed the neighbors that if anyone would like to add any content to reach out. Neighbors do need to register to add to the website.

Dock Removal – A lot of effort, physical and legal went into the removal of the dock at the 2 nd right of way

Accomplishments – There were many accomplished over the last year. Signs were made and installed, plowing was performed by Phil, annual road repairs and cleanup was performed.

New Business

Beach docks:
The trustees are working to get the beach and beach docks improved and up to DES standards.

This year is a transition year. 2 home owner docks are in place with 4 boats.

The ultimate goal is to have 3 4ft x 30ft docks owned by the association to accommodate 6 boats.

The ultimate goal is the association would) purchase aluminum docks and the neighbors who would like to have one of the 6 spots would pay a slip fee.

Part of DES compliance the docks have to be seasonal, this is why new aluminum docks is the right choice as they are easier to take in and out of the water and can be stored on the beach off season.

All of this is dependent on DES approval for docks and wetland repair. And the Trustees can’t promise something we don’t have yet.

Current State of the Beach: Much work is needed to improve the beach. The retaining walls are in dis-repair, culverts need to be installed/repaired, the beach and surrounding grass is very wet and mushy.The Beach will be a focus for this year.

Additional Culvert repair:

There is a culvert down by Paul Picard’s house that also needs repair.

The Improvement Plan:

The trustees are working with Dan Geiger of Oak Hill Environmental Services on the culvert repairs and improvements to the beach.

Steve passed out a drawing of the proposed plan for the beach improvements.

A neighbor asked if copies of the plan, the agenda and other documents can be put on the website.

The 9k on the financial report is for engineering and permitting.

Dan’s estimate for additional work is around 7K if his team does it all.

The estimate includes bringing in fabric, crushed stone, installing a wall along the edge of the water, etc. Grass will be rolled back, work done including installing 2 culverts and then rolling the grass back over.

The intent is NOT to have Dan’s team do all the work, but to have neighbors assist to reduce the out of pocket costs.

The plan is to not purchase what we do not have to. The trustees plan to use rocks from around the neighborhood as an example to build up the rock wall

The beach will be leveled off, but will be no higher.

The wall will be a little higher than it is now but will be a “dry-stack” that will move with the ice and will require annual maintenance.
Steve made a Motion to spend $6000 to get all the permits for the culverts and docks in place.

Accepted and seconded. No neighbors were opposed.

The Dock Right Issue:
Adam who purchased Shirley’s house feels strongly that he purchased the house with a dock and dock rights.

The rule has always been that no owner can sell their house with docks rights.

Adam feels he has lost thousands of dollars in property value if he cannot sell his house with dock rights.

Shirley spoke up and shared that when she moved in 40 years ago, the house came with a dock.

When Shirley purchased a new aluminum dock, she thought it was hers.

Prior to purchasing the aluminum dock, she researched “grandfather rules” and noted that she had left a piece of the old dock to attach the new dock to, as per her understanding of the “grandfather rules”.

In the end it was a misunderstanding. The dock itself was indeed owned by Shirley. But the land the dock was on is association land and that land was not owned by her and therefore the “rights” to it could not be sold.

Adam will be allowed to lease one of the 6 spots on the new association docks. As long as Adam or his heirs owns his house and follows the lease rules, the association intends that he will have one of the spots to use.

There are 13 homes on the back row, but the beach cannot accommodate 13 boats.

The fair thing to do is what was decided. The existing neighbors who have had their boats on the docks at the beach will continue to be able to use those spots.

They will be required to pay a slip fee and sign an agreement annually, for the dock use. They will also have to be a neighbor in good standing with dues paid up to date.

When an owner sells their property, the dock spot will go to the next neighbor on a waiting list.

It is yet to be determined the exact fee and exact plan for how to manage the dock usage. It could be a one-time lottery based on the number of neighbors interested in a spot. Once the slips get assigned, due to the cost of purchasing and maintaining a boat that assignment will stay until that
person gives it up or sells their property.

The first step to making this all possible is to get the permits and approvals from the state. Again, all of this is pending approval of DES for the docks and the wetlands. Because we don’t have permits in hand.

Armond Drive Neighbor

An Armond Drive Owner is trying to put a driveway on our road to access the back 5 acres of their land that is not accessible. They asked our association for permission to do so and we declined. No additional funds will be spent on this issue unless the home owner pursues the issue.

The Road and the cost to repair: A few neighbors were willing to do some research on the availability of funds for assistance on paying for road repairs.

Delinquent Accounts:

Steve P investigated the use of a collections agency to try and capture funds due from neighbors in delinquency.

Steve M asked for volunteers who would be willing to call or look into collections agencies. Adrian mentioned she knows someone who works in collections and will reach out to them

The association does have the right to restrict use of association facilities if owners do not pay their dues.

Another neighbor suggested that when owners go to sell their home the listing sheet should state that there is an association and our association could provide account documentation for a fee.

Road Dues:
Needs to go up. The amount in place has been in place for far too long and this year the balance went negative.

John suggested we raise the dues to $250 per quarter ($1000 per year).

Another neighbor suggested a one-time special assessment to recoup the extra fees paid this last year ($27,000 –with roughly 50 homes that is $540 per home); and then, once the trustees have an actual quote to repair the road, then increase the dues.

Steve made a motion for the dues to be no less than $550 per year.

Another neighbor suggested that, on paper, the association put a portion of the budget aside for just the road to give owners a comfort level that a road capital improvement fund is in place.

A formal Motion was made to raise the dues to $250 per quarter or $1000. Seconded and third

11 In favor
9 Opposed

Due to the vote being so close, further discussion and ideas were discussed

Estimated numbers: The road will cost at least $500,000. With 50 homes that’s $10,000 per property. So if the dues increases to $1000 per year, it will be 10 years before we are able to pave the road.

A neighbor asked: Can we get a loan and the $1000 per family will pay off the loan?

An amended motion was made to raise the dues to $750 (or 3 payments of $250) and when the bills go out let everyone know that the dues will go up to $1000 next year. Seconded and third

13 in Favor
6 Opposed

Motion is passed

There was a suggestion to have another meeting to discuss future road dues and the boat slip fee.

Volunteer Requests:

To all neighbors: Please cut back the brush on your property that hangs over the road

Need volunteers to help build stairs to make the 2 other right of ways more accessible and easier for neighbors to launch a canoe or kayak.

Adrian volunteered to take meeting minutes at future meetings
Motion to adjourn. Seconded and accepted at 8:14 PM