July 27, 2009

Dear Neighbors,

Summer's here but it's been rather hard to tell, eh? It's been so rainy, cloudy and cool for so much of the time. It's hard to believe that there have been no 90 degree days since the one in April and one in May. Still, when the skies do clear, it is gorgeous here, especially since it's been low humidity most of the time, despite the rain.

It has continued to be a relatively quiet period since the last newsletter in April with little to report. Finances are currently meeting the budget, the bluff siding project is paused for the summer and is expected to start up again in September and be complete by November and there is nothing new to report on the kayak storage issue with our abutter, except that our legal expenses will be greater than budgeted because of this issue. The $30,000 that was budgeted was used up by the end of June.

You may notice the new ATV or "mule" being driven by our maintenance staff. The old one finally died (completely) and a new one has been selected and will be purchased in the next week or two. This one has heat so our staff should be more comfortable in the winter months while attending to their scheduled tasks.

The July 4 Sea Pines parade was a big hit, as usual. The weather was glorious and the turn-out was rewarding. Many thanks to those who organized the parade and presented the certificates to the children.

The pool is looking good and well used. A couple more umbrellas will be purchased to replace those that have broken. Many thanks to our pool attendant Glynnis and the wonderful job she does, including the tough and unwelcome job of enforcing pool rules.

The premium for insurance Sea Pines gets for all the buildings at Sea Pines is slated to go up about $12,000 in September, from $97,603 to $109,466 after having gone down by about the same amount last year. A committee is working on ways to reduce the increase but a substantial increase is still expected. The number of companies willing to provide exterior condo insurance on the Cape is pretty much limited to 1, so far as our insurance committee has been able to determine this year and over the past several years.

News on our new recycling program:

• The new zero-sort recycling program is going quite well. So well that we're having to add a 2nd weekly pickup of the main container by the Clubhouse thru Labor Day, since it tends to fill up within just a couple days after being emptied. A few blue recycling barrels have been placed outside the shed by Duneward and Sea Pines Drive to help handle the extra load there. A few more such barrels will be purchased and placed elsewhere in Sea Pines as needed.

• Please: this is important. Do not put any bags of any kind of recyclables in any recycling container. Please dump out the contents into the recycling container and throw the plastic bag in the trash or the empty paper bag can then be put in the recycling container. Any bag of recyclables found in a recycling container will be removed without being emptied and put in the trash.

• Please - please - please: rinse out cans, bottles, jars, etc before putting them into the recycle bins. Jeff and Kenny are none too pleased at having to endure the noxious odors and slimy juices that result from unwashed recyclables.

A few timely reminders:

1. When you need our maintenance men to do something, please refrain from contacting them directly. Instead, please call Jenna at Mercantile at 508-759-5555 or send email to maint@mercantileproperty.com. Our maintenance men work on a prioritized list of tasks coordinated by Mercantile and interruptions due to casual requests can prevent them from attending to urgent tasks. Also, as good as Jeff and Kenny are, such casual requests might slip their minds while they are attending to their scheduled tasks.

2. Please remember to care for our Clubhouse. Everyone wants it to continue to look good and be usable. If you are going to have a party or large gathering in the Clubhouse meeting room, you need to make a reservation with Evelyn Donnelly at 508-896-6113. You are free to use the large meeting room otherwise, so long as you clean up after yourself (food on tables/floor, kitchen is clean, trash in the can, etc) and please, no wet bathing suits anywhere in the Clubhouse except for the bathrooms. Parents, please instruct your children that the piano in the Clubhouse is a musical instrument, not a toy. It was a gift to Sea Pines and there is no money set aside for repairs it should it be damaged.

3. When leaving your unit for a period of time, you would do well to unplug any cell phone chargers, laptop adaptors and the like. Left plugged in for extended periods of time, they can overheat and cause a fire, not to mention unnecessarily consuming electricity.

   4. All boats must be removed from the Clubhouse common grass area by October 1 and from the beach by November 1. Please see the web site for all details at http://seapinesbrewster.com/common_area_rules.htm#Boat_Registration

   5. Please remove your beach chairs, umbrellas, toys, floats, etc from the beach path storage shed by October 15, after which it will be cleaned. Chairs left in there after this date are subject to being discarded.

   6. If you are renting or loaning your unit to someone else, please be sure your guests are familiar with and understand Sea Pines rules, including boating rules. There were kayaks stored inappropriately in the dunes recently by guests who were not aware of the boat storage rules. Given the current issue with our abutter on kayak storage, we must ensure that all kayaks are stored ONLY in the approved kayak storage area on the beach.

   7. Fires on the beach are permitted ONLY after you have obtained a permit from the Brewster Fire Chief and shown that permit to one of the members of the Beach and Boating committee (Bob Wiesel or Steve Koppel.) Further, such fires are limited to cooking fires - no bonfires. Also, you must have the written permit from the Fire Chief with you on the beach so that you can present it to anyone who questions your right to the fire.

   8. FMB meetings are held on the last Saturday of every month in the Clubhouse at 8:30am. You are encouraged to attend. The next meeting will be Saturday August 29.

   9. There will be an annual Reserve Finances Studies meeting on Friday, August 28 at 3pm in the Clubhouse. The current bluff siding project is being paid for out of these reserves as well as a bank loan. You are encouraged to attend.

   For the FMB,

   Christopher Wroten 19 Landing Lane cwroten@comcast.net Sea Pines Newsletter - July 27, 2009 - Page 1 of 4