POA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 11-02-2026

Pine Orchard Association
Minutes of Executive Board Meeting

Date: November 2, 2026Board Members Present: Matt Barez, Kerri Beckert, Richard Greenalch, Jr., Vin Giordano, Terese
Howey, Karen Jubanyik, Nancy Labanara, Leslie Hopkins Peters, Peter Robinson (Office Manager)

Absent: Niall Ferguson, George O’Dowd, Tom Roche, David Silverstone

Call to Order
Meeting was called to order by Kerri Beckert at 7:06 pm. A Quorum of Executive Board members was established.

Motion was made by Karen Jubanyik to approve the minutes from September 14, 2026. Seconded by Nancy Labanar. Motion to approve passed unanimously.

Treasurer and Committee Reports

By Laws – Richard Greenalch, Jr. had no update to report on By Laws.

Approval of Minutes

Treasurer – George O’Dowd not available but current expense sheet through October was provided and displayed. Kerri Beckert presented the idea of hiring an intern to create a routine newsletter for the Pine Orchard Association, but it needs to be funded first. Richard Greenalch, Jr. made a motion to reassign $500 from the Office General budget to fund this intern for the next semester and balance of our fiscal year. Second by Terese Howie, motion passed 7-1 in favor of hiring an intern,

Matt Barez being the only one opposed. Peter Robinson to follow-up on reporting how many “hits” our website gets.

Office Manager’s Report – The office manager’s report was presented with no additional questions or realignment suggested for the remaining fiscal year.

Tax Collection – Peter Robinson reported for George O’Dowd, only 2 delinquent tax bills remain, and a final notice will be sent out followed by a lien if not received in a timely manner.
Zoning – Matt Barez reported that only 2 permits were received since last meeting, both for pool installations. 38 Island View Ave and 10 Hart Ave were briefly discussed, the first having a permit that is a “work in progress” the second one is waiting on an application to be submitted.

At this point, ZBA nominations were brought up by Richard Greenalch, Jr. for the 3 open positions. He nominated Antonio Reis first, second by Nancy Labanara, elected unanimously. Next, he nominated Sue Wharfe, second by Terese Howey, elected unanimously. The third nomination was Lisa Egan, second by Terese Howy, also elected unanimously. All 3 new members of the ZBA were elected as alternates, so previous alternates will be moved to members (Vining Bigelow and Bing Miller). Kerri Beckert will organize a meeting of the ZBA so they can elect a Chairman and Clerk.

Nominating – No update provided on nominating, no action since last meeting.

Building – Vin Giordano presented a summary of a meeting on October 30th with Vin, Matt Barez, Peter Robinson, Robert Dobuzinsky (Branford Fire Marshall), and Anthony Cinicola (Branford

Building Department Head) at 180 Pine Orchard Road regarding the condition of the building. The top items became 1) Was the oil tank removed when the building was converted from oil to gas, 2) what would be the cost of a new boiler and energy efficiency improvements, 3) what would be the cost of a new roof since no record seems to exist of the roof being replaced since built in 1974.

Matt Barez offered to go to town hall to explore prior permits on the building, Kerri offered to join, and we also have Robert and Anthony exploring what they might have on their end regarding the tank removal. It was agreed to pursue quotes for both boiler and roof replacements, action for Peter Robinson and Vin Giordano’s assist, while we continue to discuss the future of our building. Nancy Labanara suggested forming 2 committees in terms of keeping the building vs not keeping the building and wanted more information on the subject. Kerri Beckert is going to put up a shared document for us to list questions and answers as a means of keeping each other informed. Getting legal counsel was also suggested, pending more information, but not yet. Concerns regarding where we would keep our records/office were also discussed, as a municipality perhaps the town has space we could use.

Community Liaison – Leslie Hopkins Peters had no update to report.

Waterfront – Karen Jubanyik reported that the bottom step at Seldon have been repaired and there are currently no upcoming or open projects for our Shoreline maintenance.

Beautification – Peter Robinson brought up that vines are overgrown at the Crescent Bluff access area and will call someone to cut them back. Matt Barez asked about the cone over the stump in Triangle Park, unclear what the town’s plan is there. Teresa Howey, as the chair of this committee, asked what the scope of the committee was and better definition on expectations. Kerri Beckert offered to set up a meeting with Teresa and David Scheer, the prior committee lead, to discuss it further.

Old Business
Kerri Beckert indicated we have received a written copy of the signed order on the Wihbey case, signed 7/14/2025 by Judge Steven D Jacobs, and she wanted to start implementing what was in the agreement. Matt Barez suggested we increase the office manager’s scope of work to include the communication and monitoring of this agreement and Peter Robinson agreed although he expressed concerns over wording and format of initial information. Kerri Beckert agreed to get a hold of Peter Berdon to discuss, outline a plan, and provide initial input on communications.

New Business
No new business was brought up. We did discuss an unkept house, someone who recently passed away, and it has improved and no action required at his point in time. Teresa Howey brought up Mirror Lake and whether the Association was taking any action, Kerri Beckert reminded here we had tabled any decision there until spring.

Public Comments
Jeanne Hughes from 39 Meadow Wood Road had 3 concerns she would like to express. The first is regarding our building and it would be a shame to turn it back over to the town as opposed to maintaining it and better utilizing it. She even suggested combining the garage with the conference room for a bigger room downstairs. Second concern was regarding the maps being used by our ZEO and ZBA to make decisions, they are old and not as clear as they should be. There was a case brought to the ZBA in December 2025 for a house that appeared to be in one zone and approved for a permit, subsequently was determined to be in a different zone and needed a variance approved. Third concern was regarding exterior lighting and Kerri Beckert reminded her that complaints should be sent to our Office Manager, Peter Robinson at om@poa-ct.org , and he will forward to our Zoning
Enforcement Officer (ZEO), Laura Magaraci, for disposition.

Antonio Reis from 5 Maclean Place had 2 concerns he wanted to express. The first was suggesting we investigate possible grant money to repair and restore our building. He offered a contact he has at Preservation CT and thought this might be a good means of help. His second concern was knowing the roles and responsibilities of the ZBA now that he is a member. Jeanne Hughes, also present and a ZBA member, said they would go over that in their first meeting that Kerri Beckert is going to plan.

Executive Session – The board did not go into executive session.

Adjournment
Motion was made by Richard Greenalch, Jr. to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Nancy Labanara.

The meeting adjourned at 8:26.