Tuesday September 13, 2005 Minutes

Board Members present:  Albert McCormick, Pam Ley, Jeannette Goodwin, Thane Tagg, Bob Older
Homeowners present:  Jennifer Roynan, Lynn Barajas, Fran Tendall
Meeting location:  Bob Older’s home

• Reviewed and accepted last meeting’s minutes.

• Jeannette noted that Providence Landscaping is billing Skippack Ridge an additional $25 surcharge per month for increase in fuel costs. This amount seems unreasonable and Albert will contact them to contest this surcharge.  The Board will review bids for next year’s landscaping service, and any recommendations of landscapers from neighbors are welcome.

• After a brief comment from Jim Klementisz at the June 7, 2005 Board meeting about the potential to charge realtors for a Homeowner’s Resale Packet, the Board evaluated its time and expenses relating to the preparation and submission of the Homeowner's Resale Packet and available information relating to other homeowners association and/or management company’s fees.  Based on those evaluations, the Board unanimously approved the institution of a $150.00 fee to provide the Homeowner's Resale Packet.

• Former Board President Barb Hallman has passed along information to the current Board about continuing to work with the Delaware Valley Deer Management Association.  Our community worked with this group last year; they archery hunt for deer and also prevent illegal gun hunting in areas that could be considered dangerous to our community. They bow hunt for deer only on the adjacent area behind Skippack Ridge below the PECO power lines, far behind homeowner’s properties on the Mountain Laurel Circle side only, 2-3 times a year, in order to control the deer population.

• Deer/vehicle collisions, landscape damage, lack of forest regeneration, and Lyme disease are very real concerns to Skippack Ridge neighbors, and the Board agreed to continue working with this deer management group. For protecting our areas, the group compensates Skippack Ridge $500 per hunt (which is deposited into our General Funds Account), and will hunt only 2-3 times per year during designated PA hunting seasons. They also frequently offer our community their season tickets to Philly sporting events as gratitude. In the past these tickets have been given to SR residents who have dedicated and volunteered their time to better our neighborhood.

• The members of this group are very experienced in hunting sensitive urban areas; expert marksmen; seasoned professional archers; and abide by PA state hunting and safety regulations.  Skippack Ridge receives a $1,000,000.00 general liability insurance certificate 30 days prior to the hunting season.

• Lynn Barajas, Jennifer Roynan, and Fran Tendall had concern about this issue as they were unaware of it completely, and noted it was never published in any past meeting minutes. They wanted the community to be notified of the dates and times of the hunts. The Board will contact the deer management representative for further information to inform our community.

Update since the Board meeting:  Pam has spoken to Mr. Scott Sciarra, our representative for the Delaware Valley Deer Management Association. 

• Scott stated that bow-hunting season begins on Oct 1 and runs for six weeks, then closes for two weeks with the next hunting season starting on the Monday after Thanksgiving for two weeks. The last hunting season is two weeks after Christmas.

• There are 15 hunters who belong to this group; only 4 or 5 hunt at one time, usually two hunters at a time.  Scott cannot provide to us in advance the exact dates or times during the season that hunters will be here; he said it depends mostly on weather and wind conditions, which affects if the deer move or not, and also said that he and the other hunters have families, commitments, and full-time jobs, so they hunt when their schedules permit (during the designated seasons).  He said they usually hunt for 2-3 days at a time, and hunt for the first two hours in the morning, and the last two hours in the evening.

• Last year Scott’s group had posted “No Trespassing” signs for us along Buck Hollow Road and other areas to deter illegal hunters, which they have had problems with in the past.  He has spoken to some illegal hunters to inform them of his group’s effort, and hasn’t encountered any problems; however, he has called the police to try to catch them if he does not see the hunters. 

• Scott said that he and his hunters will never park in our neighborhood, but only along Perkiomen Creek Rd.  They also have laminated yellow stickers displayed in their car windows that show they are Delaware Valley Deer Management Members, and that we should look for those stickers if we see a parked car.

• The group has been doing these deer-managing hunts for ten years now and also hunts along the Morris Arboretum, among other properties.  They donate all venison to Philabundance and the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank, but also will offer it to anyone in our neighborhood who would like any.

• Scott mentioned that his group plants a food source (ground covering) for the deer to eat all winter, to keep away from our landscaping and properties.  His other major concern was Lyme disease carried by deer ticks, and was adamant about controlling this epidemic through the hunts as well.

• He assured us that the hunters are nowhere near the homes or properties along Mountain Laurel Circle; hunt only from tree stands; shoot only at a downward angle; carry bows which are never loaded until ready to shoot; never enter our neighborhood, even to remove killed deer (they stay along Perkiomen Creek Rd, below the PECO power lines only).  If a resident is having an event or party and does not want any hunters on that date, we just need to phone Scott to let him know not to hunt on that date.

• As for protecting our landscaping, Scott mentioned his group would be happy to wrap trees on our lots (at no charge), and on any common-area trees to protect them from deer damage. Please contact the Board at Board@SkippackRidge.com if you are interested in having your trees protected this fall.

• Albert also noted that the Graterford Deer Hunt is due to occur in 2006. The Graterford Prison lotteries one hundred local registered hunters to hunt on Graterford prison property (some of which is adjacent to Skippack Ridge) on a designated date to control the deer population.

• Update since the Board meeting:  Albert has been informed that the Graterford Deer Hunt is bi-annual (every other year) and usually occurs the first week of January.  In July of the “off” year, Graterford determines whether or not they will have a deer hunt.  Notification of the deer hunt is published in local newspapers in November.  For 2006, Graterford has determined there will NOT be a deer hunt.

• A Skippack Ridge Community Yard Sale will be held on Saturday, October 1, from 8 AM until 4 PM.  Please contact Mike Gempp at Mike.Gempp@SkippackRidge.com or by phone at 610.831.9204 if interested in participating. There is a $5 fee to cover advertising costs of the sale.

• In the future these meeting minutes will not be distributed in each resident’s mailbox any longer.  All minutes are published on our community website, www.SkippackRidge.com for viewing. The Board concurs that it is a waste of paper to distribute the minutes individually when the majority of us are online frequently. A community-wide email will be sent out following each Board meeting to notify residents when the minutes have been posted on the Skippack Ridge website.  However, if anyone does not have internet access and would like to continue receiving a printed copy of future meeting minutes, please notify a Board member or email Board@SkippackRidge.com.

• Pam is working on an updated Skippack Ridge community phone/address/email flyer to distribute to all SR residents.

• If you have any changes in phone numbers, email addresses, or would like to create a free Skippack Ridge email address, please contact our neighborhood webmaster, Bill Turner, at bill.turner@SkippackRidge.com.

• Please update your Skippack Ridge email address if it has changed or is no longer valid as posted on the SR website, www.SkippackRidge.com

• Thane had an inquiry from a neighbor to install park benches in the large grassy common area between Mountain Laurel Circle and Mountaintop Drive. The Board does not want to set a precedent for benches to be installed throughout each and every common area in Skippack Ridge, and so declines the request at this time.

• The next Skippack Ridge Community Association Board of Directors meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 13, at 7 PM, at the home of Thane Tagg, 4432 Mountain Laurel Circle.  All Skippack Ridge neighbors are always welcome to attend. 

• Conngratulations to Cynthia Vandermeys who received two Phillies tickets courtesy of the Delaware Valley Deer Management Group.  She was chosen randomly from a list of Skippack Ridge neighborhood volunteers.