SEA PINES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER

July 27, 2008

Dear Neighbors,

You did not receive a newsletter for June; I was out of the process due to an extensive vacation and the ensuing illness contracted while on that vacation. This letter reports on more recent matters and supplements the latter information with information from June. For a more detailed "story" on the issues addressed by the FMB at the end of June please consult the minutes of that meeting as approved at the last meeting of the FMB on July 26. The FMB has scheduled the next meeting for August 30.

Financial Report: Our Treasurer reported on the expenditures for several items in relation to the budgeted amounts. As discussed in earlier newsletters, the painting of units along on Sea Pines Drive and Duneward Lane were dispensed with for this year. [Some units on Sea Pines are handled with the painting cycle for Overlook and are not included in the cycle for the other units on Sea Pines.] These units will be resided and repaired, hopefully beginning in October. The matter was discussed again and item by item at the recent meeting of the Reserves Committee when the report by Noblin Associates, our consultant, was addressed. Noblin will provide the detail for the specifications in the request for bids on the work. The FMB expects to evaluate bids and decide on how to finance the work at its meeting in September. For those homeowners in this area who are planning to replace windows in the near future, please consider replacing them before the residing is done. The FMB intends to negotiate a lower price with the eventual siding contractor to replace windows when residing. Further, the owners in this section will receive soon a letter addressing the implications for the placement of wiring for cable and television.

Grounds and Maintenance:

  1. Dead trees will be replaced as budget constraints and safety require.
  2. Recycling rules and locations have changed effective August 1. The facility that receives our trash has recently required our trash contractor, Nauset Disposal, to reduce significantly the recyclables contained in our trash containers that reflect the evidence of our lifestyles. The new rules will be described on the walls of the sheds to which we take our trash containers. In the main, these rules are as follows for the month of August:

After Labor Day the recyclables will be picked up on an "as needed basis" to reduce costs. Further, please respect the Mercantile employees who have to handle this trash; the rules have long required that we rinse the containers before leaving them at the recycling location, and that includes containers that held food, booze, soft drinks, pet food and cleaning containers.

Clubhouse Committee: Estimates are being gathered for the potential purchase of a treadmill and a rowing machine. As for the poll dealing with possible expansion of the exercise room, Barbara Sullivan reported 58 owners "fer it" and 46 owners "agin it."

The FMB also reviewed the proposal for a "wi-fi" installation for the Clubhouse that would be available for owners. Comcast met with us and Verizon declined the invitation. No strong owner interest came forward, so the FMB decided against it. Several owners noted the availability of free service in the Brewster Library and from neighbors close enough to allow others to use their access, in addition to commercial service located less than a mile away. In addition, many owners already are paying for internet access along with their regular cable service.

Bluff Committee: Sea Pines is in compliance with all requirements under the Order of Conditions established by Brewster's Conservation Committee (CC). The second pruning of the beach path and Bluff is scheduled to take 6 working days commencing August 1 and will be undertaken by SavATree under the supervision of Seth Wilkerson, the consultant appointed by the CC for this task. The Committee reported on the protocol that enables Sea Pines to work more effectively with the CC, and to control the costs of pruning and demonstrating compliance with the OOC. The expected cost for this year will exceed by $7,000 the budgeted amount; some of these costs, however, were incurred to establish the aforementioned protocol designed to reduce costs in the future. In addition, the FMB will establish a reserve account to cover certain future costs that do not recur annually.

Tennis Committee: Lloyd MacDonald reported that the patching and painting conducted this year and in past years has raised the life expectancy of the courts by 10 years; this estimate came not from an actuary but from the contractor who will receive less work from Sea Pines as a consequence. Also, Lloyd announced that there was no winner in the "Annual July 4th Sea Pines Invitational"; rain caused its cancellation for the first time in 27 years.

Insurance Committee: The information produced by our agent, TD Banknorth, showed two companies providing quotes and two companies declining to quote. The quote from Travelers, our long time insurer, was $30,000 less that the quote From Lexington Insurance. The FMB will decide on acceptance at the meeting in August after the final quote is submitted. The final amount is expected to be less than the cost from last year and with improved coverage.

Legal Matters:

  1. As noted in May's newsletter, Attorney Mostyn filed with the Conservation Commission on behalf of the owner abutting the west side of Sea Pines to determine if boat storage has damaged the Dune. The CC subsequently determined that it had jurisdiction over the area. Mostyn proposed a remediation plan but the CC said that it would work only with the owners of the area affected - namely, Sea Pines. In turn, Sea Pines is proposing to develop racks for the small boats on the ground, to establish a narrow foot path that minimizes the impact of foot traffic and to plant more grass. The proposal will be submitted to the CC as a Notice of Intent soon.

  2. In addition, the FMB also received a draft of a possible complaint from Attorney Mostyn who again represents the aforementioned abutter. If filed, the complaint is expected to allege that the boats on the beach and at moorings interfere with the abutter's easement granted this year by the Land Court of Massachusetts, the same court that decided that Sea Pines owned the beach rights to which the easement refers.
For the FMB,

Jim Dalton