News and Updates:
The annual election meeting was held on June 9th. In accordance with Article IV, Section 3 of the Association's By-Laws: “If at any meeting for election of Directors to the Board more than twice the number of candidates to be elected at such meeting are nominated, then and in such event there shall be two ballots for membership on the Board. At the end of the first ballot, the field of nominees shall be reduced so that there are twice as many candidates as there are positions to be filled, with the persons receiving the fewest votes being eliminated from the ensuing ballot. A second ballot shall be held, and on the second ballot, the persons receiving the most votes will be deemed to be elected in order to the vacant positions”. As there are four people running for one seat, we will have to follow this By-Law provision. The two people receiving the most votes are Karen Manista and Ernie Racz. A second ballot will be sent to all owners with a deadline to return of July 7th at 3PM, and the Board will hold a meeting on July 7th to count the ballots and announce the results.
6/9: The Board is happy to report that the tennis court is now open. If you are not vaccinated, please adhere to any social distance and masking requirements that may be in effect. There will be a hand sanitizing station at the court for your use.
As a reminder, the tennis court is for tennis play only. Hours are 9AM- Dusk. Players must wear tennis shoes and court time is limited for one hour for singles and two hours for doubles.
We are hoping to hear good news about the pool shortly!! In the meantime, opening preparations continue.
5/3/21: In an effort to keep everyone informed, on Wednesday afternoon, about half of your Board members participated with counterparts from several associations in a call with NJ Senator Declan O’Scanlon. Discussions centered on the liability and lack of insurance coverage related to potential COVID19 lawsuits. There were also discussions on the complexity of the requirements set forth by the state in order to open amenities such as pools and tennis courts. In some cases the CDC guidance and NJ State guidance are contradictory, making the requirements unclear.
Of the Associations present, only one was considering opening amenities, including swimming pools. There is proposed legislation that, if passed and signed into law by Governor Murphy, would partially mitigate the liability exposure. The host Association included their lawyer on the call who outlined the potential adverse effects of legal action, even if an action were deemed frivolous and ultimately dismissed.
Senator O’Scanlon encouraged members to write to our elected officials to urge them to support the proposed legislation and to support revisiting the NJ Department of Health guidelines regarding operating and maintaining public pools. The pool and tennis court at Breakwater Cove falls under those guidelines. The Board will be reaching out to the legislators in our district. We encourage every resident to do the same. We will be drafting a sample letter that each of you can use to contact them. More information will come on that soon.
As of now the pool will remained closed as previously communicated. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed.
The Board met several times to discuss requirements and have again consulted with the Association’s attorney, insurance agent, and pool management company. As of now, there has been no change from last year regarding requirements for pools to open. There also has been no change in that there is no insurance coverage for any issues that could arise due to COVID-19; however there is legislation pending.
It is the Board’s hope that with the Governor’s recent announcement that as of April 19th, all NJ residents 16 and above will be eligible for vaccination and IF numbers of cases go down, and IF legislation passes regarding liability, that the pool will be open in some capacity this summer. IF it is possible to open the pool, it will not open before the Fourth of July weekend.
In the meantime, the Board will be approving the renewal contract with the pool management company to prepare the pool so it will be ready if the pool can open. The Board is also soliciting costs on hiring a social distance ambassador, a requirement for opening the pool this season.
There are still many questions that need answers before making a final decision regarding the pool opening. We do not know if guests will be allowed, or if it will be residents only. We do not know what the season will look like; perhaps, a modified schedule, but we will continue to work towards coming to a resolution. We will continue to keep you updated.
The Board has renewed the contract with Absolute Quality Lawn Care to provide landscaping services for the 2021-2022 season.
The Board has renewed the contract with Green Touch for trimming shrubs and trees in the community for the 2021 season.
The Board has renewed the contract with CK Landscape Construction to provide snow removal services for the 2020-21 snow season.
If you have something that you want to bring to the Board’s attention, please email Kathy Winch. Management and the Board have had several conference calls and will continue with conference calls to assure that our property is maintained. We will continue posting notices as needed at the pool house, email, and on our website.
The maintenance and grounds keeping contractors will continue uninterrupted.
Be safe, and stay well during this difficult time!
There will be a change in format for our meetings, beginning with the May 2017 meeting. There will be only one open session, which will be held at the end of each meeting. Each owner will be recognized one time only.
