September 1, 2013
Dear Neighbors,
We're wrapping up another summer season at Sea Pines this weekend. It's a shame the weather will not be stellar this time. Ah well, it's still good to be here, enjoying friends and family.
Last month, the FMB approved a plan to replace the siding on the remaining 5 streets (Grove, Friendship, Hollow, Knoll, Overlook) within a 2 year period starting this winter. At yesterday's FMB meeting, a plan to finance this project, along with all the other reserve items on the Briggs Engineering reserve study plan (such as roofs, septic replacement, street lighting and paving, etc) for the next 10 years was approved. This will require a $2,000,000 15 year bank loan and $1,000,000 in supplemental unit owner fees. To minimize their impact and allow time for planning, the additional fees will not start until July 2015 and will be spread out over 4 years, with the total amount equaling about what you pay in condo fees for a single year. Let's say you pay $580 per month in condo fees. That's $6,960 for one year. Divide that by 48 months and you get $145. So, starting July 2015, you'd pay your normal condo fee plus $145 per month. After 4 years, the additional $145 per month would be dropped. These figures are for illustration only. The actual figures will not be known until the siding contracts have been awarded and the bank loan has been obtained.
Since it is not yet known how many siding contractors will be hired (probably two), it is not yet known precisely which of the 5 streets will be worked on this winter, although Grove is definite. Thus, it is not yet known which owners need to be notified to prepare their units for the work: removing wall hangings on or near any exterior wall, clearing decks of all furniture/etc (don't stack it up next to the patio fence since they will be painted) and removing screens from all windows and patio sliders. My suggestion: owners from all 5 streets should assume their unit will be worked on this winter, so they should all do this preparation. Better safe than sorry. Front lights will be replaced so be sure to tell Mercantile if you want to keep your existing light. Full information will be sent out by Mercantile.
Please remember the following October 15 deadlines:
The approved minutes of the previous FMB meeting are always posted on the Clubhouse bulletin board. Please note that minutes are approved at the next month's FMB meeting, so August's minutes will not be posted until after the September meeting, etc. If you would like these minutes emailed to you, please email 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. Remember to update your email with Mercantile if it changes!
The schedule of FMB and Grounds and Maintenance committee meetings is always posted on the Sea Pines web site under "Events". The next FMBs are Saturday September 28, October 26 and December 7 at 8:30am in the Clubhouse. Watch the "Events" page on the web site for any time changes.
Sincerely,
19 Landing Lane