Seascape Association Annual Meeting June 21, 2025

 

 

Board:

 

Present:

Art Schick Bernie Loughran Joan Boyer

Marianne Beardsley Ellen Clark

Bill O’ Brien Warren Fish Michael Shea John Honey John Beigel

 

Absent:

Terence Dalton

 

Committee Chairs:

 

Present:

Michael Shea Jane Shea Bill O’Brien

Megan Connor for Erin DiMella

 

Absent: Rob Hardy Erin DiMella

Meeting Opening:

 

The Annual Seascape Association meeting took place at the Schick’s home at 18 Highcrest Road and was called to order by President Art Schick at 9:05 am. Art recognized a quorum and welcomed the members.

The attendance sign-up sheet was passed around and the meeting agenda distributed.

 

New Neighbors:

 

Art welcomed the new neighbors.

John and Kristin MacDonald 12 Highcrest Road.

 

Approval of the June 2024 Minutes- Ellen Clark, Secretary:

 

Art presented the minutes for approval.

Hal Leeds recommended the following changes to the minutes. On page

three, after the wording ”much discussion regarding breach of oral contract,” delete the next two sentences and replace with, “an oral agreement is as binding as a written agreement.”

The membership accepted Hal’s changes and unanimously approved the

minutes.

 

Committee Updates and Recommendations:

 

Tennis Committee - Jane Shea, Chairperson:

 

Jane acknowledged and thanked the Beardsleys and friends for helping out this spring. Jane reported that the pickle ball nets were repaired, the vegetation growth around the courts was trimmed, and last fall the surface of the court was patched. The courts look reasonably good for now.

 

We are keeping the lock on the gate, 4209 is the code, and access is for all dues paying members.

 

The sign-up notebook is in the mailbox, and everyone is encouraged to sign-up or sign-in because it is important for us to know when the courts are being used.

Singles 1 hour Doubles 1 ½ hours

Recommended 8:00 am start Weekend 8:30 start

Sunday 9:00 start

 

Jane reminded everyone of the court rules regarding if you don’t show up within 15 minutes of your reservation time, someone else may take your spot.

 

Please contact Jane to report any damage or any other issues.

 

A member asked what is the plan for tennis in the budget for the next two years?

 

Jane responded: to resurface the courts could cost $50,000 and presently we are putting $5,500 in the tennis fund each year. It will take a while at this rate to accumulate the funds for resurfacing. By the end of 2025 we will have $17,000 in the Capital Reserve fund. The Board will consider ways to accelerate the growth of the tennis fund to meet this need.

.

Possibly, another anticipated expense could be sound mitigation.Noise regarding pickleball is not a problem now, but we may need to consider sound mitigation next year if pickleball becomes more popular.

 

Beach Committee - Bill O’Brien, Chairperson:

 

Bill acknowledged and thanked Tim Gallagher, who was previously the Beach Committee chair for 18 years. Since Bill took over, Tim has helped him greatly.

 

A Beach

The A Beach permit is a more difficult permit and Bill affirmed it is a valid permit now. Bill said we need the permits to do most anything on the beaches; such as grading, vista pruning, drainage and the boardwalk.

 

Tim and Bill met with the Falmouth Conservation Commission (FCC) last July 2024 for a lengthy meeting. The meeting resulted in good communication and clear expectations. We were expressly told to clean out the two catch basins on the A Beach parking lot, The FCC was unhappy with the swales on A Beach and directed us to not clean those out any more. The FCC recommended that we speak with a restoration consultant to replant vegetation and Bill is looking into this.

 

Regarding the Massachusetts Leads Act, which appears to extend the beach permits for two years, Bernie looked it over and determined that the Act seems to apply to our permits. We will confirm with the FCC after the contact with the restoration company.

 

Hamilton did the vista pruning and we did not have them clean out the A Beach swales. The A Beach swim buoy was installed by Jesse Lopes.

The contractor Dave Gabriel replaced the A Beach drain covers in the parking lot, and found the drains clean and functional. The prior drain covers were welded shut.

 

B Beach

The Leads Act could also apply to the B beach permit, extending the permit two years beyond September 2026.

Hamilton cleaned out the swales on B Beach and trimmed the vegetation.. Dave Collins did the grading of the sand which prevented the need to add sand this year.

The A & B Beach swim buoys were installed by Jesse Lopes.

 

Beach Monitors

Bill reported that only one beach monitor from last year returned. We have a few more signed up, at least enough to cover Saturdays as a deterrent.

 

Beach Committee Volunteers

Bill wants to reestablish a Beach Committee. Please contact him. Joining the Beach Committee would include, but not be limited to, beach clean ups, repairing benches, and painting signs.

 

Road Committee - Michael Shea, Chairperson:

 

Michael reported that we need to consult with an Engineer now regarding the Seascape drainage issue. We probably will need to spend more money on these catch basins soon. There are seventeen of them. A gross estimate for replacing the drains on Seascape Ln was $35,000. Michael thinks $5,000 - $10,000 needs to be approved for Engineering. The catch basins do not drain as quickly as they used to because they are silted.

Michael thinks about $50,000 needs to be approved for the work, which this amount could be approved later.

 

A member asked if we should repaint the speed bumps,

There are four or five speed bumps and the concern is if someone hits the undercarriage of their car, they might sue us. The membership supported painting the speed bumps and agreed to leave this up to the Road Committee to determine.

 

Dock and Ramp Committee - Rob Hardy, Chairperson:

 

Art reported for Rob.

Rob added bumpers to the exterior of the floating dock. Regarding repairing the stationary dock, we were unable to get volunteers this spring, so we are planning to get some volunteers in the fall to do this work. The Committee and the Board are still considering the cost of the Treks versus pressure treated wood. The Treks will be more costly because they need

 

more support. We are likely to go with the pressure treated wood, but this is still being reviewed.

 

A member asked about fixing the end of the boat ramp where there is a big depression. Art said he would speak to Rob about this item.

 

Hospitality Committee - Erin DiMella, Chairperson:

 

Megan Connor presented for Erin.

On June 28th in the evening before sunset, a beginning of the summer

“kick off” on A Beach is being planned.

 

The July 4th parade is confirmed with the fire truck leading the way. The plans are the same as previous summers: starting at 10:15 am and ending with a gathering at B Beach. A flier will be distributed with the details

.

On July 5th we will meet forming a cheering squad for the Paul White Road Race at the Seascape entrance at 9:15 am

 

A Kids’ Art Show is tentatively planned, information to follow. The art work will be displayed at the tennis courts and a social will be held in the circle The social will be bring your own beverage and no beverages are allowed in the courts

 

A movie night will hopefully work out this summer. TBD

 

Pickleball is scheduled on Mondays at 9:30 am and Thursdays at 4:00 pm.

 

Yoga is planned for Mondays at 8:00AM on B beach and Thursdays at 7:00 PM on A beach For more information contact Megan Connor.

 

The End of Summer Cocktail Party is planned for Saturday August 16th under a tent. Please bring appetizers and desserts, beer and wine will be provided.

 

Administration Committee - Joan Boyer, Chairperson:

 

Joan reported no new activity this year by the Administration Committee.

 

Summer Security- Art Schick

 

Art confirmed that Tom Griffin and Tyler Murphy will be providing security for the season covering 10:00 pm to 1:00 am on most holidays and weekends. We had no incidents last year. New Silver Beach is in agreement to share the expense of $65 per hour. The Board receives weekly reports from Tom. Art affirmed that the money is well spent.

 

Kayak Rack - Art Schick

 

The Falmouth Harbornaster recommends each boat owner has a sticker on their boat or kayak with their name and phone number. A container holding the stickers and markers has been attached to the rack for the members use.The ability to identify someone’s boat is helpful because the racks are for Seascape Association members only. The identification is important to the Coast Guard because if a small boat or kayak is found out on the water without a person in it, the Coast Guard can contact the owner to determine if this is a serious concern of a missing boater or if the boat floated loose and needs to be returned.

 

Landscaping - Warren Fish, Chairperson:

 

Warren reported we are trying to save some money on the increasing landscaping expenses. He obtained two quotes to compare our current landscaping costs and the numbers came out the same, which validated the cost. Warren and Steve Coffey, our landscaper, identified the rotary near the tennis courts is an area we spend at least $2,500/year on. The cost to remove yews is about $2,500. Based on this information, Warren suggested that we should remove the yews. Steve recommended to get a machine in to remove about six feet of tree limb growth around the courts, but it might not be advisable to trim to that extent due to privacy.

 

Finance and Budget- Marianne Beardsley, Treasurer:

 

2025 Expenses

Marianne reported that she added together the YTD expenses and the end of the year 2025 expected expenses and estimates.

 

We are currently at 103 dues paid members and Marianne is confident we will reach 110 paid members.

 

Michael recommended $10,000 be approved to allow it to be spent on engineering for drainage. Marianne said this will likely come out of the operating budget, but first we will take it out of the road fund and replenish the road fund with the operating budget if there is a surplus. The members approved the $10,000 expense.

Bill said repairs are needed on the snow fence, probably costing $600. The Motion was made to pass the 2026 budget as proposed.

The 2026 budget was approved.

 

Again the question about the tennis courts was raised. The member made the point that it will take ten years to accumulate the funds and the resurfacing is an escalating problem, and in ten more years it will probably cost more than $50,000.

Marianne addressed the concern saying we are looking at how we could accelerate the funding to resurface sooner. We will move this item to the Board for discussion. We have to solve the rain water drainage problem first, and Michael said he would get engineering to look at this.

 

Nomination Committee-Jack O’Connor, Chairperson:

Art presented for Jack.

Art noted that Ellen Clark the Secretary is stepping down and the position is open. Art acknowledged and thanked her for her years of service.

Art advised the membership that everyone is entitled to nominate themselves or someone else. Art asked if there were any additional

 

nominees and no names were added to the slate. Art presented the slate of nominees for Officers and the Board of Directors.

 

President Art Schick                                June 2026 returning 1st Vice President Beernie Loughram June 2026 returning Second Vice Joan Boyer                                                       June 2026 returning Treasurer Marianne Beardsley                                June 2026 returning Secretary Open                                                        June 2026

Bill O’Brien                                              June 2026

Warren Fish                                            June 2026

John Honey                                             June 2027

Terence Dalton                                        June 2027

Michael Shea                                          June 2028 returning

Jack O’Connor                                        June 2028 new

Andrew Michienzi                                    June 2028 new The vote was taken and all the nominees were approved. New Business

Blocked line of sight when leaving the Seascape Entrance

Art will let the homeowner know the regulations and the owner can voluntarily remove the plantings or the Town of Falmouth may take action.

 

Reminder when vehicles are parked on the street

When parking on the street, we should be leaving enough space on the roads for an emergency vehicle to pass through. Sometimes when construction is occurring and there are multiple contractor vehicles parked on the road outside of the home, the road is not adequately passable.

 

Some of the homeowner’s landscaping is in the road.

Art said please take a look at the front of your property to see if it is obstructing the road or encroaching on the road. We will give the owner the first opportunity to correct the situation, otherwise the Association can mow

 

or trim. The approximately first ten feet of the property on both sides of the street is Association property.

 

Reminder email

A suggestion was made by a member to send the members an email regarding these items, which Art will do including a reminder about the Seascape merchandise.

 

Meeting Adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Ellen Clark, Secretary