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Minutes of the General Membership Meeting of the Westmoreland Association

November 18, 2013

Minutes of the November 18, 2013 General Membership Meeting of the Westmoreland Homeowners Association

Officers Present:
President – Walter Mugdan
Vice President--Sheldon Rosenblum
Treasurer – Gary Savage
Secretary – Charles Manna

Board Members Present
Bob Timmerman

President Walter Mugdan called the meeting to order at 8:05 P.M. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously adopted to waive reading of the minutes. (Mr. Mugdan noted that the minutes were available for review on the Westmoreland website.) Gary Savage gave the Treasurer’s Report indicating that the balance-on-hand was $18,813.67 as of November 18, 2013. A motion was made to accept the Treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded and the report was unanimously approved.

Also present:
• Steven Masillo – from Assemblyman Bronstein’s office

Old Business
A question was raised that continued the conversation that was held the last meeting: “Who is responsible for informing potential homeowners the property that they may be purchasing has deed restrictions attached to the deed?" The answer is the Title Insurance Companies. We reminded the Title companies in writing several years ago that we have the deed restrictions. We probably should do it again.

NEW Business
A motion was made and carried to send a request to the Department of Transportation to have speed bumps installed on Glenwood between 41st Drive and Northern Boulevard. (The DOT is reluctant to install them and needs to be prodded.) One member wondered if a “Children at Play” sign could be installed in addition to the speed bumps, or as an alternative if speed bumps are not approved.

We applied for a 20 mph zone to be established in our neighborhood. It is currently 30 mph. The DOT turned down our request on October 15th. There have not been enough crashes and not enough traffic-related fatalities.

Current violations of the covenants by our neighbors. On Nassau Road, there are two properties that are separated by a fence that extends too far in front towards the curb. We originally wrote to the owner on one side, believing the fence belonged to that property. After many months we finally heard from that owner that the other neighbor owns the fence. We have now written to the appropriate owner, but so far have not received a reply.

Scobie Diner Property – Citibank will build there.

STAR – there is a December 31 deadline for owners to submit a request for reduction in property taxes for the upcoming year. Even if an owner is already getting STAR reductions they must resubmit the application in order to continue the benefit. Once the application is submitted, the reduction will continue automatically in the future.

Members once again complained about the terrible condition of the house and the surrounding property located at 254-17 40 Ave. It is difficult to contact the homeowner. No one lives in the house at this time. We have made repeated complaints through the 3-1-1 system, but the deplorable situation remains.

David Rubinton, a Westmoreland resident, asked for the organization’s support of a bike path to be created on Northern Blvd that would extend from the Cross Island running and biking path to the City line at Great Neck Road or to Little Neck Parkway (or, at least, to Douglaston Parkway). The vote to support such a measure was nine Yeas and five Nays. Motion passed. [A letter supporting this idea was sent to the DOT in early December, 2013.]

An older, Craftsman-style house was just sold. It is located at 40-11 Westmoreland Street. A second house will be built on the adjoining lot. The association sent a print-out of the deed restrictions and asked to review the plans. The plans showed that the two houses to be built there looked identical. The Association wrote again to the developer urging that at a minimum different facades be used for the two houses; the developer said he would consider our suggestion.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted

Charles Manna, Secretary

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