Notes from the Board Candidates Forum

In case you missed the Meet the Candidates Forum held Saturday morning, there were about 75-100 members in attendance, many of whom were past and present governance members plus your fearless reporter. The three incumbents are Beverly Austin, Andrea Sodano and Phil Webber. The new candidate is George Decker. It was disappointing that there were no handouts with candidates backgrounds and position statements available at the Forum, nor was the list of questions that were being asked by Nominating Committee Chair Shulman. However it was announced that the Forum was being video-taped and would be posted on the Eastman website. Also announced was that the Candidates’ background and position statement would be mailed along with the ballot in the coming week. 

The Forum began with each candidate giving a brief summary of their background and then running down the list of Nominating Committee questions, then on to questions that people submitted on cards:

#1  Two things about Eastman you would like to change:

·      Ms. Austin would like community wide surveys on expenditures. Referendums should be standard Operating Procedure. She would also like to reduce the Retired Lot Program.

·      Mr. Decker agrees and would like to look into the frequency of power outages, slow down Eastman Assessment Fees and protect property values which are now down 21%.

·      Ms. Sodano is happy with Eastman. It is a model community, would like to re-do Covenants which are outdated, do some of the things Bev said and have more people involved in governance.

·      Mr. Webber is concerned with “how” we reach Eastman residents. Only 50% of email subscribers read Highlights and only 50% returned the survey sent with the assessment bill. However he didn’t endorse using USPS like we do for Eastman Living.

#2 Lessons learned from the ongoing debate over Center repairs and renovations:

·      Mr. Decker said the community did not want to pay $5.7 M, wanted more financial information and wanted to be surveyed.

·      Ms. Sodano agreed with Mr. Decker, and that multiple options should have been presented.

·      Mr. Webber agreed with Ms. Sodano (who agreed with Mr. Decker). This is interesting since he Chaired the Committee that put forth the $5.7 M single option.

·      Ms. Austin agreed with Mr. Decker that people need information, and that the Covenants work by giving people the ability to Petition.

#3 Candidates personal views on the level of center repair and renovations

·      Ms. Sodano felt there was a need for significant rehab and repairs close to a couple of $million. Many would like to see a larger pub, larger dining room for the community to gather. She prefers a “new” build and is opposed to replicating South Cove. She feels South Cove helps property values.

·      Mr. Webber feels that community structures benefit all of us, investment in all is good for values. For sustainability he recommends a new building.

·      Ms. Austin expects to maintain infrastructure but that we need to be fiscally responsible.

·      Mr. Decker said $1.5 M is his choice which is a lot of money and we need to listen to community as to how much financial burden we want, especially since a multi-million dollar maintenance building is in our future.

#4 Maintaining a positive sense of community in Eastman

·      Mr. Webber disagreed with the premise of the question. He feels we have a positive sense of community with diverse views. There are always a small number of “noise-makers” who don’t want to be here.

·      Ms. Austin feels Eastman is a great place to live and feels the Center issue went on for the last 6 months because of the way it was presented.

·      Mr. Decker felt the same as Ms. Austin.

·      Ms. Sodano feels we have a positive sense of community. There have always been different views. Some of the more fortunate in Eastman could establish a scholarship fund for campers.

#5 The Project to create a “Walkable Eastman”

·      Ms. Austin thinks it is a great idea, however clearing, maintain and paving are expensive and we don’t know the cost.

·      Mr. Decker feels it needs to be balanced. We could make areas on roads and place mirrors so people can see around corners in the more dangerous areas.

·      Ms. Sodano  supports looking at a walkable Eastman but is concerned with cost, we need to ask the community and do a cost/benefit analysis as with the Center. Did we do a cost/benefit analysis with the Center?

·      Mr. Webber had nothing to add.

#6 Security at Eastman, views on incremental funding.

·      Mr. Decker said it is an important issue. Eastman is a safe community but we do have some vandalism. Do we want to look into the Grantham Police increasing their monitoring since we already pay for it? He thinks we need to stop large trucks from using Eastman as a short cut damaging our roads.

·      Ms. Sodano said she was a liason with the Security Task Force and invited the area police chiefs to speak and they were willing to increase patrols and suggested using cameras.

·      Mr. Webber said after looking into the results of the Security Task Force, he is not in favor of arming the security in order to curb speeding.

·      Ms. Austin agreed saying it would be redundant with Grantham. She said the set of rules and regulations has no teeth and it needs much discussion with the community.

#7 Increasing Center Dining use.

·      Ms. Sodano said things are vastly improved at the Bistro. We need to make it more attractive, keep doing events and wine dinners. The Restaurant Committee has done a lot.

·      Mr. Webber said he is at the Bistro a lot, is Chair of the Restaurant Advisory Committee and that the Frequent Dining Card is wildly successful. We need more diners in the winter months.

·      Ms. Austin agreed that the Bistro has been responsive and is even returning a small amount of money to the community.

·      Mr. Decker said they should market their take-out service. Many don’t know about it.

There followed questions written on cards by the audience and a few from the floor. As mentioned, there is the video on line. You have the choice between those who would seek change, greater cost control, holding the line on assessments, seek greater member participation and those who would maintain the status quo.