GREEN HILL CIVIC
ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
PO Box 1295, Charlestown, RI 02813
v
Spring 2011 Edition v
April, 2011
Kathy
Conlin, President Mary Van Alstine, Vice President
Bonnie
O'Connor, Secretary Joe Conley, Treasurer
Welcome all
new residents and owners in Green Hill!
You are warmly invited to attend the Summer Kickoff Dinner (see below) and our June meeting.
***
Please
consider becoming members of the Association, to help protect our beautiful
environment and help unite our community in common enjoyment.
Quick Calendar Review for Summer 2011:
May 28 Beach clean-up (both beaches y'all
come!)
May 29 Summer
Kick-off Dinner everyone welcome
H June 25 Season-opening GHCA meeting All are welcome
July 4 Fabulous,
open-to-all-comers, Green Hill 4th of July Parade (and prizes!)
Aug 19 Season-closing
GHCA meeting
Aug 21 End-of-Season
picnic for members and their guests
(Raindate: 8/28)
A
WINTER FOR THE RECORD BOOKS!: The winter of 2010-2011 was a knock-down, drag-out,
no-fooling, not-for-sissies, record-setting event! Beginning on December 26, 2010 with our first 10" blizzard,
we moved from storm to storm with distressing frequency. Three of our snow-storms were officially
labeled blizzards that is, they had winds in excess of 35 mph,
blowing or drifting snow that reduced visibility to Ό mile or less, and lasted
for three hours or more of active winds and snowfall. South Kingstown Township set a new record, recording 39.9 inches
of snow in January alone (and our last snow and ice storms were February 1 and
2). Significant snow/ice events came at
the rate of 1-2 per week, except during the first week in January, and kept
many year-rounders grounded at or close to home. It was so cold hat the ground stayed snow/ice-covered from
December 26 until March 1. We are
deliriously happy even to see mud, now!
THINK SAND for the sake of the beaches the storms took their
toll.
current ghca officers and committee heads: Here is the list of elected officers and other volunteers who support our Association and together with the Hill Association the interests of our community. To contact officers of GHCA, please use email whenever possible:
Officers:
President Kathy Conlin 782-8636 conkc392@aol.com
Vice-President Mary Van Alstine mvan701@aol.com
Treasurer Joe Conley 789-2946 joseph.conley@cox.net
Secretary: Bonnie O'Connor 444-3718 boconnor@lifespan.org
Boat Launch: Bert Hess 783-0724 greenhillbert@yahoo.com
Tennis: Kathy
Conlin 782-8636 conkc392@aol.com
Beach: Lloyd Stevenson
Membership: Angela DuPouy 294-4212 apdupouy@cox.net
WebMaster: Michael Counihan 783-0249 mike@ghbri.org
Welcome: Carolyn Craig 783-7822
carolynscraig25@verizon.net
Season-opener: H The first meeting of the Summer will take place on the Beals' lawn on Saturday, June 25th at 10:00 am. H (Garage, if raining.) Y'all come and bring your chairs. We heartily encourage all new Green Hill property owners to come to the meeting, and to become members of the Association as well. The June meeting is open to all, irrespective of membership. Come take in the sun while we talk about our mutual interests, concerns, and great new ideas. Refreshments served. Guests, kids, and other family members are welcome to come along and enjoy some play-time.
Our end-of-summer meeting will be on Friday, August 19th at the Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, 4150 Old Post Road (across from the General Stanton Inn). Refreshments and socializing at 7:00pm; business meeting begins at 7:30. GHCA Member Handbooks are available at both meetings.
elections: A
new slate of Officers will be elected at the August meeting of 2011. Please consider standing for office offer
your talents to GHCA and to your neighbors as President, Vice-President,
Secretary, or Treasurer for a two-year term.
The Association needs new ideas and new community representation
offices are open to anyone meeting membership requirements. Let Nominating Committee members Carolyn
Craig or Bonnie O'Connor know of your interest (or if others whom you would like
to recommend), and help keep your Association fresh, active, and attuned to
your needs and interests as members!
beach use: Please post the enclosed Beach Use flyer in your house for the information of your tenants and guests. GHCA beach rights, per our legal easement, extend eastward from Green Hill Ave to the "private beach" sign. All RI beaches are public below the mean high water mark.
ghca website: The Association's
website is at www.greenhillcivic.com (you may read your newsletter there, if this
copy gets lost). Please come to the
meetings with ideas of what you would like our website to do for you, or
contact webmaster Mike Counihan (address above) directly with suggestions and
contributions.
Have
you joined our Yahoo Newsgroup, which
makes it easy to quickly share email news and messages with everyone on the
list, all through the year? This
list is open to everyone, irrespective of membership. If you'd like to join, just email Mike
Counihan at mike@ghbri.org to let him know,
and give him your preferred email address.
Mike will then email you an invitation to join. Follow the directions for online
registration in Mike's email, and you're on!
tennis: Active GHCA members are additionally eligible
for membership in the GHCA Tennis club, whose courts are located on Green Hill
Beach Road, across from the Boat Launch. Dues of $150 per year are assessed for
Tennis membership, separately from Association dues. Tennis dues are used to defray the costs of court maintenance
(including surfaces, nets, fencing, mowing, etc.) and property taxes. Contact Kathy Conlin to join.
boat launch: Boat launch access and boat storage from Memorial Day through Columbus Day are available to GHCA members only; all stored craft must carry a current-year sticker on the starboard bow. Because our space there is limited, each household may store no more than TWO (2) craft at the site. All non-stickered craft must be removed at the end of each day's use.
You can pick up your 2011 stickers (2 per household) from Bert Hess as soon as your annual dues are paid. For more info, contact Bert at 783-0724. Stickers will also be available at the June 25th meeting. If you need a key to the cable lock at the Boat Launch entrance ($5.00 deposit), contact our Keeper of the Keys, Gordon Mahan, at 789-5036. Boats stored at the Launch must be removed by Columbus Day. Boats left after Columbus Day are removed and donated to the local scout troops.
H event: Beach Clean-up: Come one, come all to the beaches at 9:30am on Saturday, May 28th for
a communal clean-up. Bring a rake or
other tools, a pair of work gloves, and a large garbage bag, and we will all
make quick work of clearing rubbish and flotsam from our beaches.
HHH event: Summer-Kickoff dinner: Our traditional "Welcome Summer" dinner, planned and organized again this year by Kathy Conlin, will take place Sunday, May 29th at the Shelter Harbor Inn. Menu and reservation form are attached. Legal Capacity of the banquet room is 68 people, so reply asap. (We will accommodate everyone who wants to come, but need to know as soon as possible if we will need to contract for additional space.) HHH
Everyone is welcome at the dinner you
need not be a GHCA member to attend. Please bring a new friend or neighbor to the
dinner and introduce us to each other.
$40 per person price includes everything but Bar (full-service, cash
only). Please return your reservation
form asap, with your entrιe selection(s) and check payable to GHCA, to Joe
Conley, treasurer, PO Box 1295, Charlestown, RI 02813. **NOTE:
Please write separate checks for Dinner and for
Dues.** If you need a ride,
call/email one of the officers and we can help arrange it!
H event: End of Summer Picnic: Our Season Finale picnic at the Beals will be held this year on Sunday, August 21st with a Rain Date of Sunday, 8/28. Paid members are all invited, along with their houseguests bring a pot-luck dish to feed 8-10. More detail about the picnic at the June meeting. Enid Flaherty has generously offered to be the Picnic Coordinator again this year. Please contact her at 789-7832 or enidflaherty@verizon.net to volunteer your help. Note: Picnic date is earlier than in previous years, by general request of the membership.
Membership: Green Hill Civic Association membership is open to all property owners within the area bounded by Green Hill Beach Road on the west, Matunuck Schoolhouse Road on the North, conservation lands on the east, and the ocean on the south.
Current Officers recommend increasing the dues to $75 per
member household this year, as expenses last year exceeded income and
required dipping into our Reserve Fund.
Current Officers feel it behooves the Association to replenish the
Reserve, and to maintain it at a level sufficient to cover unanticipated or
emergency expenditures. This represents
the first dues increase since 2004 (increased from $50 to $60). According to the By-Laws, Officers recommend
the rate for annual dues, but increases must be ratified by a majority of
voting members present at the first meeting after the increase is
recommended. Officially, the increase
cannot go into effect until June 25, and then only if approved by the required
majority vote. If you are willing to
pay the new rate before the vote, we will be most appreciative. If not, please hold your dues until after
the vote on June 25.
Check the website for a list of member benefits, the Association Bylaws, and an explanation of how your dues are used. To Join the Civic Association, just fill out the attached form and return it to our PO Box with your check made out to GHCA we will be delighted to have you!
***
"It was in the pleasant month of May,
GREEN HILL CIVIC
ASSOCIATION ANNUAL DUES
June 1, 2011 May 31, 2012
Annual
membership dues: Suggested dues are $75
per household, as of this year, pending approval (See item in Newsletter).
Please make check payable to GHCA and mail with this form to: GHCA,
Attn: Treasurer, PO Box 1295, Charlestown RI
02813
Name(s):
Winter Address
and Phone Number:
Green Hill
Address and Phone Number:
Preferred
email address:
I
would like to have o one
o two 2011 boat sticker(s).
Please cut and mail with
your dues check
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GHCA Beach Use Information: Please Post in Your House
Use of the beach at the end of Green Hill Avenue is secured by permanent Easement to paid members of the Green Hill Civic Association, as well as to certain individual claimants, and their guests and tenants. Some terms of use, such as the boundaries of the Easement, are parts of a legal settlement (*), while others are simply reflections of common sense and courtesy. Please use the beach in accordance with these provisions:
Be careful
Be courteous
Have fun.
H Please do not ask
Hill Association parking lot gate attendants to let you drive into the lot to
unload. Their job is to ensure that all
cars entering the lot display current Hill Association parking lot passes. Our job is not to put any pressure on them
to do otherwise.