August 16, 2013
Dear Neighbors,
Mother Nature did, in fact, smooth out the beach since concerns about beach conditions were raised in the May newsletter. Yippee!
The results of hiring an off-duty policeman to do a beach path check 11am-3pm on July 4-7 were disappointing. If this were to be done again in the future, the officer would take a more active role.
Now that the siding project on Landing Lane is complete, the next step will be doing the same work for Grove, Friendship, Hollow, Knoll and Overlook. To take advantage of historically low interest rates and to get the work done as quickly as possible to avoid further costly complications caused by substantial wood rot as was found in Landing Lane, this work will be done over a 2 year period, probably starting this winter or next fall. Specifics on scheduling and funding are still being worked out but are expected to be similar to the presentation on this project made at this year's Annual Meeting.
Due to the amount of plywood underlayment that needed to be replaced on Landing Lane, full replacement is being budgeted for the remaining streets but will be done only as needed. This will come as an exceptionally welcome relief to those units having thirsty homasote1 underlayment> which is little better than a stiff sponge and most especially to those units having no underlayment at all but just nailing boards (imagine the potential problems from having nothing between your leaky exterior vertical siding and your absorbent interior sheetrock except some widely spaced nailing boards and, if you're lucky, some insulation...)
Recall from the May 4 newsletter: the average cost per unit for rot repair on the Bluff residing project was around $750/unit. For the Landing Lane residing project, it was about $2,700/unit (!) (unit, not cluster/building.) This sounds bad and much of it has been, but why the big difference? Yes, the Bluff units are 5 years newer than Landing Lane units but they are also pummeled by off-season storms and blown sand, something Landing Lane does not suffer. It's the style of siding that makes the difference and is a huge advantage shingle siding (what the Bluff units always had) has over vertical barnboard - it sheds the water (and prevents the rot) far more effectively.
The FMB is making an effort to deal with illegal rentals. The point of the Sea Pines rental policy (30 day minimum stay, no more than one rental per calendar quarter, failure to notify Mercantile in advance will result in substantial fines) is to minimize turnover, traffic, transient population and to ensure the quiet enjoyment of Sea Pines amenities we all expected when we purchased our units. This enjoyment is diminished when people appear to be moving into and out of units on a weekly basis. You must also inform Mercantile when family/guests will be using your unit when you will not be present. When you are using your unit and have guests over, please have them park their cars at the clubhouse to ensure that all unit owners have sufficient parking around their own units.
Many thanks to Judy McKenzie of Landing Lane for all the work she has put into the flowers at the Sea Pines entrance and guard shack, as approved by the Grounds and Maintenance Committee. It looks great! Please let the Grounds & Maintenance Committee know if you have any suggestions for future "shack flowers".
Want to have a beach fire? Please read the rules about this at http://seapinesbrewster.com/common_area_rules.htm#Beach_Fires
The approved minutes of the previous FMB meeting are always posted on the Clubhouse bulletin board. If you would like these minutes emailed to you, please send me your name, Sea Pines address and email address. To be added to the minutes email list, your email address must be the same as the one published for you in the current Sea Pines homeowner directory.
The schedule of FMB and Grounds and Maintenance committee meetings is always posted on the Sea Pines web site under "Events". The next FMB is Saturday August 31 (Labor Day weekend) at 8:30am.
Sincerely,
19 Landing Lane
1. Homasote definition from Wikipedia: A brand name associated with the product generically known as cellulose based fiber wall board, which is similar in composition to papier-mache, made from recycled paper that is compressed under high temperature and pressure and held together with glue.