Frank Sanchez

 

 

Current Board Secretary

Liaison - Long Range Planning

 

I have just completed my 1-year term on the Board of Directors and am seeking re-election for a full three year term on May 4, 2002. There is a well qualified group of candidates running, and I ask for your support in completing the task that I started one year ago. Whether you honor me with your vote (you can vote for up to 3 candidates) or choose another, I urge all of you to vote and take an active part in guiding the direction of our community.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND, PLEASE REQUEST A DIRECTED PROXIE MAIL-IN BALLOT USING THE YELLOW CARD INCLUDED IN THE LATEST HARMONY OR CONTACT THE ADMINISTRATION OFFICE:

email: pepoa@ptd.net

phone: 570-421-4265

IMPORTANT: DIRECTED PROXIE REQUESTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 4-19-02 AND THE DIRECTED PROXIE RECEIVED BY THE JUDGE/ACCOUNTANT NOT LATER THAN 48 HOURS PRIOR TO THE ELECTION!

 

 

Report: May 2001 thru April 2002

 

I am a proud member of the current Board of Directors and the last year has been an extremely productive one. Among the more salient points we:

 

Completed the year 2001 budget in the Black for the 1st time since transition!

 

Established an emergency reserve to allow for future contingencies!

 

Selected a new gate access system to enhance community security. Currently there are in excess of 7500 gate cards outstanding, most of which can not be accounted for! Contrary to what you may have read or heard, personal privacy is protected at your option.

 

Road paving and repair has enjoyed the largest budget since transition. The road budget for 2002 is even greater. A better road system is coming near you.

 

We have established the rudiments of a Long Range Plan. What will Penn Estates be in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?

 

Property values rose in 2001, despite a recession, despite a real estate scandal in the Poconos, and despite the events of 9-11. Note: A 7% compounded annual increase will result in a doubling of property values in 10 years, this is my personal goal!

 

 

The Future-One Man's Opinion!

 

Although we have just completed a very productive year, elections are all about the future. The past is simply the resume'.

 

As your representative on the Board I will work towards the following:

 

Enhance Community Involvement

 

If we are to achieve even a small portion of what we are capable of, we need to increase the involvement of our community members. I am not unaware of the 80/20 rule, however we have less than 100 volunteers in a community of over 2500 adults (96/4 rule?) let's at least get to the 80/20 point! I will champion the following in order to achieve this:

 

                 Publish the Board Meeting minutes on the WEBsite (approved at the 3-15-02 board meeting). This will better inform the community as to how decisions are made and keep current on Board deliberations if they are unable to attend. It may also attract new volunteers to issues that they may not otherwise have been aware of.

 

               Establish a voluntary email registry on the website. This email list will be used only for for community purposes. No email addresses will be published or sold to anyone. This email list will be used to provide more timely information and solicit two way communication between the Board and community members (monthly minimum, weekly maximum ... The Harmony comes out only quarterly).

 

               Provide short one question surveys (perhaps via email?) to poll community members for their opinions. This gets timely information to the Board and may attract some interested volunteers. Typical question: Given the 4000+ residents in Penn Estates, we may have to expand swimming facilities, should we add another swimming pool or expand the beach area (depth?)? Long paper surveys have had poor response in the past; they take too long to fill out; they take too many steps to return.

 

               Shorten the volunteer nominating process (I have had preliminary discussions with the nominating committee concerning this). Goal is to have the volunteer on the committee in less than 30 days from the date of application.

 

                Establish a new class of part-time volunteers. These volunteers would be on call to a committee as needed. Regular meeting attendance would not be required. This would provide an avenue for community members with time constraints to still participate in Penn Estates, even if on a more limited basis. This should expand our pool of volunteers and provide for a less onerous entry to the committee system.

 

 

Rule Simplification/ User Friendly Regulations

 

Rules and regulations have a tendency to accumulate over the years (ours have evolved over a 20 year period) and after time may no longer be applicable to our current situation. In some cases, they may even have become onerous. The Board voted on 3-15-02 to undertake a comprehensive 90 day review of our current policies to identify some of these potential pitfalls. This is a good start, however the monster will continue to prosper and I believe we need a continual method to rein in the beast. I will support a program where we:

 

                        Select a "Dumb Rule of the Month" for review.

 

                                    Review why we have it.

 

                                    Determine if it is still germane.

 

                                    Retain, Modify, Change, or Get Rid of It!

    

                                                                    

 

Programs for our Youth/ Programs for Adults ... Event Driven Agenda

 

A great deal of hard work by the Recreation Committee has resulted in a series of monthly events for the members of Penn Estates and their guests. The committee, in conjunction with the Long Range Planning Committee, is examining expanding this event driven agenda to a more "program" driven approach. 

 

 

 

For our 907+ School Age Children:

 

Penn Estates University ... After school tutoring programs

 

A "game" room for after school recreation (video games. etc.)

 

Boy Scouts/ Girl Scout troops

 

Little league, Pop Warner football, etc.

 

 

For our Adult Population:

 

Self-defense classes

 

Adult education 

 

Recreation related classes 

 

Field Trips (Pocono Playhouse, train tours, mystery tours)

 

These programs all sound desirable, however it will take more community involvement than we currently have. (See my notes on enhancing community involvement!) Perhaps it may be advantageous to hire professional help to jump start and help administer these programs.

 

 

Finances

 

The Board has been successful this year in delivering the 1st ever surplus budget in 2001 since transition! These funds have been used to establish the 1st ever emergency reserve since transition. These reserves allow the board to respond to emergencies as well as take advantages of opportunities.

 

I am personally committed to pursue the following:

 

Keep annual maintenance fees @ or below the level of inflation.

 

Identify  and develop alternate sources of income other than dues.

 

Scrutinize expenses and develop opportunities for improved cash flow through capital expenses when appropriate.

 

Maximize the value of the Crickett Lane properties (these properties could be worth in excess of $400,000 to Penn Estates).

 

 

Well, by now, if you have gotten this far, you have noted what I have accomplished and where I want to lead us in the future. Some have characterized some of my ideas as pipe dreams or as grandiose schemes. I would answer them that 30 years ago, another man had a dream and grandiose scheme. He pursued that dream with action. Today 4000+ of us call that dream home, Penn Estates.

 

 

Let's go forward together! I need your vote on May 4, 2002! If you can not attend, be certain to obtain a directed proxie and mail your vote in. If you think that your vote does not count, I personally missed a three year term last year by that one vote!

 

Contacts:

 

Phone: 570-424-7088

email:   fsanchez@ptd.net

 

Other candidate websites:

 

Randy Rago

 

http://userweb.noln.com/theragos

 

 

Rusty Nash

 

http://hometown.aol.com/rustynash/myhomepage/profile.html

 

 

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