Meetings Recapped June 2011

WATCHDOG © 2011

Community Relations Committee -- 0900

The Chair was absent but the committee actually conducted business with brisk decisive discussion including all in attendance. The agenda had the following items for discussion:

•  HSCA Blog--Tabled
• Park Use for Maikoiko St. Park
• The suggestions for usage for the Maikoiko Park
• Dog park
• Cell Tower
• Dog Training Groups
• Hula
• Extreme Fight Camp
• Youth Sports Camps
• Yoga
• Fund Raiser -- Tabled
• Papio Ocean Park Blessing -- In August; details to be determined later. [Papio Ocean Park has not been adopted formally by the Board.]
• Swap Meet -- 1st week of August; details to follow
• Marquee -- Assigned to a committee member
• Grievance Committee -- Suggested because people who did not feel comfortable to bring their complaints about staff to the office could bring them to a committee.-- Committee did not think the Community Relations Committee was the right venue.
• Guest Fees -- Currently the fee for guests: $2.00. Discussion is gearing up for possible 'facility charge' dollar amount unknown but a per hour use is being considered.
• Pool Memberships -- Memberships for renters is under discussion. <-- It is important for anyone who has a thought about this to be present at the next meeting. This may be added to the Member Survey that is tentatively being discussed for release to members.

During the Board Meeting [Details on that to follow in a different post] the Architect Committee's Report from their last meeting was considered. It was decided to return the entire report back to the committee for more detail. Unfortunately, the only individual present -- who is part of the Architect Committee -- and who serves on the Board, was woefully unable to articulate most of the ideas that were discussed nor to expound clearly on the issues/questions that concerned members. For instance: Neighbor Notification [proposed new procedure that would require anyone who is intending to begin construction on their home to notify the office and this would be via an application. Within 45 days of that application neighbors within 150 feet in any direction from the lot owner would be notified (notification procedure not yet approved) of the next Architect Committee Meeting so they can come and see the plans and register any comments/concerns, etc.,]..When Members in the audience asked 'why?' some Directors chimed in thinking it was merely a 'courtesy' notification or "neighborly" thing to do. When asked what the "45 period of time" had to do with notifying one's neighbors as to the imminent construction on a neighboring lot the consternation READ: CONFUSION began. Why would someone need to come to a meeting, fill out an application, just to tell one's neighbors construction is afoot? THEN! The ONLY member of the Architect Committee present to share information made this statement: 'Well, if someone is going to build a home and their window lines up with your bathroom window then you'd want to know so you could hang curtains.' The audible confusion of all, audience and board members, was palpable. Then the discussion turned to someone telling you what you can build on your lot, etc.. Needless to say, being returned to the Committee is the appropriate thing. The next Architect Committee Meeting is 6P on Thursday, June 30, 2011. If you have input you wish to contribute please plan to attend. [There are supposed to be 2 Directors on each committee. Only one attended the Committee Meeting. If the two that were assigned were active on the committee the second one may have been able to articulate the committee's intent/wishes.]If you cannot attend please forward your thoughts via email to the Board and the letter should be routed to the Committee Chair to add to the discussion that evening. The email address: hsca_bod@hawaiianshores.org

The By Laws/Policy Committee also saw their report sent back for further discussion. It was submitted as a 'report' for 'information only'.

The Finance Committee Report:

This was an informative report for the Board. It clearly set out what the Directors should already know but often are confused about on every board, the 3 different accounts and their purpose. The Board took action on a couple of things:

1. Allocate $45K to tent and re-roof the Community Center [commonly called 'The Stables']
2. Allocated an additional $2K for the Ocean Park. [This will be discussed more fully in a separate post here]

Lastly, the Infrastructure Committee met yesterday and discussed the following topics:

• Road Maintenance
• Assess each road to prioritize
• Speed Bumps; especially on Papio Street
• Uses of Parks
• Proposed change to CCR # 8:.  [EASEMENTS – Owners are responsible for keeping easements clear of obstructions.  Any obstructions on easements will be removed at the expense of the owner.] the proposed change in discussion would remove the responsibility from the owner to maintain the water easement and put it under the HSCA area of responsibility.
• Water System Upgrade, particularly discussion about the aging tank and its ability to continue to serve the community. Discussion about whether or not to have a Preliminary Engineer provide an engineer's report for the system or for just the tank was discussed briefly. 
• Safety Discussion. One of the Directors will be doing a walk through of the maintenance building to inventory equipment.
• Pool repairs. Last year's estimate of around $60K was to high, alternative options will be researched. 

The Good News? The Board ONCE AGAIN showed great constraint and wisdom in not merely forging ahead on some of the issues that could have proven problematic for the community and Association. They opted to return some topics to the discussion table for further definition. The bones are being constructed and the fleshing out is a matter of time. A number of Members were in attendance and some participated with straightforward questions sharing their thoughts and suggestions and the Board received them professionally. The Board Members themselves are still learning to work with each others different personalities.