Seascape Association Board Meeting

April, 23, 2025

 

Board Attendance

Art Schick

Bernie Loughran

Joan Boyer

Marianne Beardsley

Ellen Clark

John Honey

Warren Fish

Bill O’Brien

Terence Dalton

 

Committee Attendees

Jane Shea

Jack O’Connor

Rob Hardy

 

Opening

Art called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm recognizing a quorum.

 

Approval of Minutes - Ellen Clark, Secretary:

The minutes of the September 23, 2024 Board meeting were approved.

 

Committee Updates

 

Roads - Michael Shea, Chairperson:

 

Jane Shea presented for Michael in his absence.

To clean out the A Beach drain will cost about $3,100, To fix the sunken drain in front of 75 Waterside Drive will cost about $1,500. We plan to put money in the budget for yearly drain cleaning to keep them in good condition. There are 17 drains at a cost of about $100 per drain for cleaning. The cracks in the roads are planned to be sealed this fall.

 

Tennis - Jane Shea, Chairperson:

 

Jane reported that the tennis and pickle ball nets are in and being used.  ThIs past fall the crack sealer was put on the courts.  Aesthetically, it doesn’t look perfect, but it is okay for now. The court has been cleaned up and looks a lot better as far as powerwashing, but the court is showing its age. The cost will be about $50,000 to resurface.  The last refurbishing of the whole court occurred about twenty years ago. At that time the drainage was changed and the rubber barrier was put in. Jane removed the broken bench and we agreed to replace it.  There are a lot of shells on the court and Terence volunteered to clean the shells off the court.

 

The start time to use the courts is 8:00 am Monday through Saturday and 9:00 am on Sunday. The time slots for tennis sign up are one hour for singles and one and a half hours for doubles. The sign up sheets are organized in one and a half hour blocks, We are looking into scheduling electronically.  We want people to use the sign up book at the court entrance to let us know that they are using the courts or plan to use the courts. It is important for us to know how often the courts are being used.

 

On Thursdays we have a high attendance pickleball group.  We may be adding another standing pickleball time.  Pickleball is noisier than tennis, so some discussion took place regarding changing the start to a later time. At this time the noise doesn’t seem to be an issue, but we will continue to monitor it.

 

A suggestion was made to post the rules at the entrance to the courts, which Jane agreed will be done.  

 

Hospitality - Erin DiMella, Chairperson:

 

Art presented for Erin in her absence. Amelia Beigel created a beautiful Seascape logo, along with Erin, for hats, shirts and other items. The committee is in the process of getting the merchandise produced and available for sale. . 

 

The plans for our Fourth of July parade will be the same as previous years, a fire truck leading the parade down Waterside Drive followed by a gathering at B Beach. Fliers for the parade will be distributed.

 

The committee is planning a “summer kick off” get together at A beach. Bring your own beverage and chair.  Couzies with the 2025 logo are planned to be given out..

 

The end of the season cocktail party on B beach is planned for August 16th.

 

Yoga is being organized by Megan Connor and the details will be posted on the Facebook page.

 

The committee and the pickleball ladies are working together to share information with the community. The suggested standing schedule times are Monday or Tuesday at 9:30 am and Thursday at 4:00 pm. 

 

Administration - Joan Boyer, Chairperson:

 

Joan reported there was no activity in 2024.

 

Nomination - Jack O’Connor, Chairperson:

 

Jack reported at this time there are no new candidates to fill the positions on the Board that will be vacated. A flyer to stimulate some interest from the membership is being considered. In June 2025 Ellen Clark is retiring from her role as Secretary and John Beigel is retiring from his Director’s position.  Marianne Beardsley is planning to retire from her role as Treasurer in June 2026.  Jack expressed interest in being a candidate for John’s position.

 

Dock and Ramp - Rob Hardy, Chairperson:

 

Rob reported that the floating Dock will be installed by Ben Carson in a week or so.  The stationary dock is okay for now. The resurfacing of it will not happen this spring, but we would like to plan it for the fall. Discussion ensued about using Trex.  The Trex have a 16” span minimum requirement.  A 14” span would be better.  The current span using the existing pressure treated boards are wider ranging between 39 inches and 24. Rob recommends rebuilding the frame underneath based on the requirements of the Trex if we used this material.

Another option is to replace the stationary dock with pressure-treated wood, which could be placed on the existing frame which is in good shape.  We need to determine whether to use the Trex or the pressure-treated wood.

In 2024 we budgeted $7,000 of which there is $5,400 remaining.  To replace the stationary dock will cost $8,000-$10,000 with the work of volunteers.

Rob will gather more information and quotes for the materials and work.

 

Reminders to the membership: 

Please remember to secure your trailer properly when using the boat ramp. There was an issue, a near miss,  with an unsteady trailer going over the speed bump near parked cars on the way out of the circle.

The boat ramp is strictly for use by Seascape members. Rob Hardy has boat ramp keys for the lock if any member needs access.

 

Security:

 

Art sent a message to Tom Griffin to confirm that Tom and Tyler will be providing security for the season covering some holidays and the weekends. We had no major incidents during the summer of 2024. The President of New Silver, Michael Halloran, is in agreement to share the $60 per hour rate for the 2025 security for both Seascape and New Silver. 

 

Landscaping - Warren Fish, Chairperson:

 

Warren reported there has been a three year trend of increasing landscaping expenses. He talked to Steve Coffey a few weeks ago to get an understanding of the scope of the work and to see if some adjustments could be made. Warren said Steve was very helpful regarding pointing out where we are spending money. Over the past three years the cost of our landscaping was $7,500, $8,500,and $9,500-$10,000. Lots of time is spent around the tennis court fencing, clearing the overgrowth by trimming and pruning and the yews in the rotary by the courts take a lot of time to prune.  We could save maybe as much as $5,000 in these areas.  One suggestion was to heavily trim the tree limbs and take some trees down around the courts to mitigate the constant trimming and pruning.  Additionally, droppings from the trees are all over the courts and the trees also hold moisture in around the courts.  A suggestion was made to remove the yews from the circle. Steve Coffey is not interested in the job of taking the trees down.  Clover quoted $2,400-$2,500 to remove the yews.  Hamilton is not interested in doing the landscaping in our neighborhood common areas, although they do the vista pruning.

Warren will continue to gather quotes and information from landscapers..

 

Beaches - Bill O’Brien, Chairperson:

 

Bill reported that he and Art had a meeting with Matt Costa on January 23, 2025 to obtain some guidance from an Engineering firm who has experience with the Falmouth Conservation Commission.  The good news is our permit is good for two years.  The Massachusetts Leads Act, a permit extension act,  signed by the Governor on November 20, 2024 does apply to our order of conditions, which appears to be a rock solid extension of the A beach permit to July 2027.

 

The FCC required us to clean the catch basin on the A beach parking lot. Gabriel quoted $3,100 to clean the catch basin and $1,500 to fix the sunken drain in front of 75 Waterside Drive. This work will be completed this spring.

Regarding the invasive species on A beach, Jenifer Lincoln from the FCC recommended engaging a restoration consultant.  Matt recommended that we begin to gather information regarding this issue and related expenses to develop a plan.

 

Hamilton did the vista pruning on both beaches on January 16th and 17th.  Hamilton did not clean out the swales on A Beach, but did so on B Beach this year because the FCC expressly directed us to not clean out the swales on A Beach. 

 

The one swim buoy looks like it needs replacing, so Jesse Lopes can replace it for $550.

 

At this time there are no issues with the B beach permit and it is good until next year 2026.  However, regarding the permit extension act, Bill thinks the B beach permit is also extended two years until 2028. Bill said Bernie and Art will both take a look at the wording of the Act to see if they agree with Bill.

 

We might be adding sand to B beach this year, per our permit guidelines, but we will wait to see how much sand returns in May.  If we decide to add sand, Dave Collins will be hired to do that for us.

 

Bill is contacting the 2024 beach monitors to see if they are interested in the position for this summer.  Art said he would add this item to the President’s letter.

 

Bill added that the fences on B beach have fallen and need to be reset. He will contact Dave Collins regarding doing this job.

 

Finances - Marianne Beardsley, Treasurer:

 

Marianne reported that to date 89 members have paid their 2025 dues and she will send reminders out this week to 21 members who have not yet paid.

 

Overall the 2025 budget is fine. This year we are going over on the budget for drains and basins.  We should expect to budget $2,700 for 2026.

For 2025 we have $5,400 left to work with for the beaches for adding sand, resetting the fencing, and repairing the benches.

There is $3,000 budgeted for the beach monitors.

We will go over budget on the dock, but we have money left over from last year to help balance that expense. 

 

For the 2026 budget we are still gathering information about what things will cost, such as the dock and landscaping.

 

Presently there is $17,000 in the capital improvement fund, $12,000 in the road fund, and $5,500 in the tennis fund

 

The dues for 2026 will be $800 and the Board  proposed to maintain it at $800.

 

If quotes for any of the work come in high, we can have an email vote.

 

Board Discussion Items

 

Street Lights

 

A Seascape member asked why they receive a bill for the street light in front of their house.  They have been paying this bill for many years and inquired if the Board could do something about it.  The Board reviewed the street light history and decided to let the owner know that’s how it is and explain to them the history.  Several years ago, maybe over forty-five years ago, the Board developed a plan to install street lights.  If additional lights, that were not part of the plan, were requested by homeowners, then the lights could be installed, but the monthly electrical bill would be the responsibility of the homeowner who requested the street light.  A suggestion was made that the homeowner could contact the electrical company and have the bulb removed and there would no longer be a bill. 

 

Kayak Rack:

 

The Falmouth Harbor Master recommends that each owner has a sticker on their boat or kayak with their name and phone number. Art will ask the Harbor Master for the stickers and a container with stickers and markers will be attached to the rack for the members.. The ability to identify someone’s boat is helpful because the B beach racks are for the use of Seascape members only. This 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 and determine if this is a serious concern of a missing boater or if the boat just floated loose and needs to be returned to the owner.

 

Meetings:

 

Proposed Annual Association Meeting- Saturday June 21st at the Schick’s home, 18 Highcrest Road, at 9:00 am.

 

Next Board Meeting in September 2025.

 

Closing

Art, after determining there was no new business, closed the meeting at 8:40 pm.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Ellen Clark

Secretary