February Board meeting in action | photo by Larry Clinton
TO KEEP EVERYONE UP TO DATE ON WHAT THE FHA BOARD IS DOING, HERE ARE SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WERE DISCUSSED OR DECIDED AT THE FEBRUARY, 2017 BOARD MEETING:
With the dramatic increase in anchor-outs, the FHA is considering taking a stand on the profusion of derelict vessels and illegal moorings in Richardson’s Bay. The Board will do more research on the situation before considering a specific stand.
This year’s Open Homes Tour will be held on September 30. Docks surrounding Kappas Green will be on tour. The Gateway Center is not available for tour parking, so the Tour Committee is pursuing alternatives. Advanced price will be $50 with $55 at the door and $45/person for busses. The Tour Committee is almost fully staffed with the exception of someone to act as Tour meeting scribe. Anyone interested should contact Tour Co-chairs Larry Clinton at click@dipsymusic.com or Barbara Rycerski at barbararycerski@yahoo.com.
The new Floating Times debuted just before the March Annual Meeting. If you’re not already receiving weekly updates of the latest articles, go to the home page of this newsletter (by clicking on the little house icon at the top of this page). Then click on the vertical SUBSCRIBE tab to the left of the opening banner photograph. When a “Subscribe by email” window appears, enter your email address, and you will receive a confirming email, which you must respond to in order to complete your subscription. Then watch your email every Wednesday for a direct link to the latest Floating Times articles.
Fire and emergency plans are being developed for each dock. The Emergency Preparedness Committee plans to develop a map of the dock with the number of residents in each home. If you are aware of specific concerns in any home. (i.e. wheel chair, frail occupants, etc.), notify your dock rep. These maps will be shared with the Fire Department, so in a large emergency they know where to focus. More details to come.
The FHA has arranged to purchase Emergency Preparedness Survival Back Packs at a good discount and make them available to members at cost. Three-day Emergency Survival Packs with food, water, first aid, flash light, emergency blanket and sleeping bag that retail for $125 will be offered to each member for $55. Non-members of the FHA may purchase one for $75. The savings on the backpack offsets all but $5 of the annual FHA dues. These backpacks will be distributed at informative Get Ready FHA meetings on each dock. Check back for more details.
New Liberty Dock Rep Kathryn Soter is researching new shopping carts the FHA would provide to each dock, and better ways to keep them on the respective docks.
It was agreed to provide Dock Reps with presentation folders that can be used to welcome new people to the docks. Each folder will include information that is currently on the website, as well as safety tips. The dock reps will give these to new residents.
In November, 2016 the FHA lost $2350 in a sophisticated email scam which sent instructions from President Katherine Boschetto’s personal email to treasurer Joan Sheahan directing Joan to transfer these funds for a computer upgrade. Attempts to recover the transferred funds were unsuccessful, but the Board agreed not to send wire transfers again. For a look at the FHA’s financial condition as of the end of the year, click HERE.
The Board continues to seek volunteer interviewers and subjects from the community for a new Oral History program. Send suggestions to info@floatinghomes.org. For an example, look HERE
