Sea Pines Homeowners Association Newsletter

May 29, 2011

Dear Neighbors,

The Annual Meeting was held today and since minutes of the meeting are not passed around until the next Annual Meeting, I thought I'd summarize what happened while it was still fresh in our minds.

2010 finances were pretty much on target. We took in and spent over $900,000 and ended 2010 with a $13,000 deficit, which, given all the unplanned expenses that had to be handled, isn't bad. Some of the 2010 projects funded from the reserves included $68,500 for chimney repairs, $97,000 for the Landing Lane paving, $17,200 for the new playground equipment, railroad ties $8,100 and several general grounds items for $18,200.

A question was asked: what's the difference between spending money from the reserves and from the general operating fund? Answer: Items funded from the reserves have a long lifetime. The Operating Budget is for every day stuff.

Last year, it was mentioned that an investigation on replacing the street lighting was underway. Nothing was mentioned about this at the Annual Meeting but, from being on the FMB, I know this is not a currently active project. The FMB knows it will be very expensive and needs to be prioritized with several other very expensive soon-future projects, such as replacing all the siding on Landing and Grove, which is so old that the wood no longer holds paint for even a year in many areas, much less long enough to handle a 5 year paint cycle. Another reserve item will be reworking both bathrooms in the Clubhouse, which are not at all representative of what we want Sea Pines to look like.

We saved some money on the landscaping contract again awarded to Whitten but at $5,000 less than last time.

The kayak racks were finally constructed late last summer and are up again now. This year, the middle racks were made a bit wider and the end spars were made a little longer, in hopes of better accommodating kayaks. Unfortunately, due to the rules imposed by the state in their ruling last year on the racks, the height cannot be altered, so that top rack remains difficult for most folks to use. Get a friend to help you put it up there and take it down. Sunfish can only be stored on the beach in front of the dunes or moored in the water. A chain will be added on the beach in the front the kayak racks to which sunfish can be attached. Please avoid storing kayaks in this area since it is the only area remaining for reasonable sunfish storage.

There is a new beach fire policy. The Beach and Boating Committee no longer handles or monitors beach fires. You MUST fill out the log sheet in the Clubhouse on the day you will have your fire, you MUST get a written permit from the Fire Chief to have a beach fire, you MUST have this permit with you on the beach and you MUST produce this permit if challenged. The full set of rules has been mailed to each unit owner and it is now everyone's responsibility to ensure the beach fire policy is being followed. If you see a beach fire problem, call the police, as liability for damage to the dunes or personal injury from stepping on smoldering fires that were improperly extinguished would be shared by all of us. On popular nights, such as July 4th, the people setting fires might not be from Sea Pines, so we should all be vigilant to protect our properties. If someone cannot produce a permit, call the police.

Sea Pines has very successfully used our consultants Gordon Peabody and Emily Beebe in our interactions with the Brewster Conservation Committee concerning the various Bluff projects and Bluff pruning. We now enjoy a very hard-won positive relationship with the BCC because of the fact that these 2 highly respected consultants represent us with the BCC. Please, please, please - do not contact the BCC yourself about Bluff projects or pruning issues. Instead, please contact the Bluff Committee (Co-Chairs Steve Koppel and Bob Wiesel.)

Legal matters:

• The Adverse Possession case is settled and done. Concrete boundary markers have been set.
• The case concerning our abutter's disagreement with the BCC's approval of the kayak racks was again decided in our favor but our abutter has appealed the decision. The state will be defending the case so it is hoped our legal expenses for this will not be large.
• The abutter's claim that his beach easement rights are interfered with because of the kayak racks and boats in the water was brought to trial last fall and decided quickly and completely in our favor. However, our abutter has appealed this decision also.

Miscellaneous:

• Your home owner insurance for your unit should be for more than just possessions. Essentially, you want "walls-in" insurance which covers possessions, any modifications made to the interior of the unit, water damage, etc. You should also consider adding a rider for sewer backup, which is a very expensive problem to fix but which costs rather little to protect against and which is not part of most normal home owner insurance policies.
• PLEASE DO NOT USE YOUR GARBAGE DISPOSAL!!! Makes no difference how new it may be - they all gum up the septic works.
• Please only flush personal waste and toilet paper down a toilet - NOTHING ELSE! No kitty litter, floss, sanitary napkins, baby wipes, etc. Septic backups are very expensive and ugly problems to fix. Please - let's avoid them!
• You should turn off your water at the main and your hot water heater when you leave for more than a couple days. This can prevent burst water pipes and fires from dry hot water tanks. Remember that the water main and its shut-off valve are YOUR responsibility to maintain. They do wear out, lock up, the gaskets dry out, etc. It does not cost a ton of money to have them replaced by a plumber.
• A request was made again for wi-fi in the Clubhouse. This will be investigated, since many people at the meeting expressed interest.
• Last year's effort on cleaning dryer vents has resulted in almost 100% compliance. Thank you!
• A new policy on propane gas tanks for use in fireplaces, kitchen stoves and heating is being explored. A sample of what a 100lb propane tank would look like, with a fence, has been set up outside the ladies bathroom at the Clubhouse. It's about a 2' x 2' x 3' high enclosure, smaller than a central a/c compressor. Go take a look at it. The 2 pictures on the last page give and idea of what it could look like. A question was asked about natural gas availability. The prior natural gas provider would not do it at a cost anyone could tolerate and most Sea Pines units are not constructed to handle the current building codes for natural gas hot water tanks. The Grounds Committee will explore this with the current natural gas provider.

  Sample of a 100lb propane gas tank, with fencing, set up according to code by Jeff Cartier for viewing outside the ladies bathroom at the Clubhouse.	The enclosure is about 2' x 2' x 3' high, which is smaller than the enclosure for a central a/c compressor.

Elections:
There was only 1 contested FMB election, that being in Phase 1 and was won by Karl Fryzel. Phases 2/3/4 elected Terry Milligan, Bob Grogan, and Eileen Monroe respectively.

Let me know if you have comments on this newsletter or thoughts on future ones or the Sea Pines web site.

Sincerely,

Christopher Wroten
19 Landing Lane