May 22, 2020

 

Dear Seascape Neighbors,

 

I hope everyone is well and looking forward to a great Seascape summer. Last year was another record year for membership participation at 114 paid members.  Thanks to all of you.

 

In the May 4th communication, the Board decided, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not to have a face-to-face annual membership meeting. The Board met last week and decided that we should not have a virtual Zoom meeting either. Instead to conduct the Association business through email and regular mail. We thought that would get more participation from the majority of the members this way. We are required by the By-Laws, to complete specific business with items to be voted on.

 

Below is a ballot which we ask you to complete after reviewing all the information contained in this letter. You can email your votes back to me by highlighting or coloring the yes/no/abstain response or if you prefer to mail in your ballot please use the voting section of the dues invoice and return with your dues payment – your vote is important.  We will hold the voting open until midnight, June 27th. The simple majority of the votes submitted will determine the results.

 

1. Approve the minutes of the 2019 annual meeting minutes Yes No Abstain

2. Approve the 2020 nominations for Officer and Board members Yes No Abstain

3. Approve the 2020 annual budget Yes No Abstain

4. Approve the increase of membership fees in 2021 from $350.00 to $400.00 Yes No Abstain

 

We encourage you to look at the Seascape Association Web site. https://www.seascapeassociation.org/ It contains a lot of important information including minutes of the Board meetings and votes, organizations, responsibilities and legal information.

 

                                                                              Committee Updates and Recommendations

 

1     Minutes of the 2019 Annual Meeting:  The minutes are on the Seascape Association web site at this address:  https://www.seascapeassociation.org/minutes-of-2019-annual-meeting  The Board recommends you approve.

 

2      Nominations for Officers and Directors: The Nomination Committee has recommended the following members for Officer and Director positions for 2020. There were no additional nominations from the membership as requested on May 4th. The Board approves these nominations and recommends that you approve them.

 

                                                                              Nominating Committee Recommendations:

                                                                                    President: Tim Gallagher (returning)

                                                                                    1st Vice President:  Art Schick (new)

                                                                                    2nd Vice President: Peter Howard (returning)

                                                                                    Treasurer: Marianne Beardsley (new) 

                                                                                    Secretary Ellen Clark (returning)

 

                                                                              Board Class of 2023 for 3 years

                                                                                     Warren Fish (new)

                                                                                     Brian Murphy (new)

                                                                                     John Honey 2021 (continuing)

                                                                                     Michelle Sax 2021 (continuing)

                                                                                     John Beigel 2022 (continuing)

                                                                                     Russ Hazelton 2022 (continuing)

 

3       Treasurer Report and 2020 Budget: The 2020 annual budget is attached to this email but can also be found on the Seascape Association web site at: https://www.seascapeassociation.org/2020-budget.  In 2019 the Income exceeded budget due to 114 members paying their dues. The expenses were well below budget primarily because the road repairs did not get done in 2019.  We were able to build the 1,000 gallon drain at 104 Waterside which got paid in 2020 but were not able to get the road paving done in 2019 which was budgeted for $40,000. These savings were offset by high expenses for the beaches. B Beach permit costs along with beach maintenance and the issues with Fiddler’s Cove sand accounted for the excess costs.  The 2020 budget includes the $50,000 road improvements resulting in a loss of $34,4000 which will be covered by the Road Fund. The savings from 2019 are carried in the cash reserves to start 2020.  The Board has reviewed and approved the 2020 budget and recommends you approve it.

 

4       2020 Annual Dues: Attached to this letter is the Seascape Association Dues Slip. We all appreciate you returning this as soon as possible.  Please be sure to update any of your contact information.

 

5       Raising the Annual dues to $400.00:  In 2019, if we had completed the road repairs along with the new drain and the beach maintenance, we would have come dangerously close to wiping out the reserves and the cash we needed to operate. We even contemplated borrowing cash from the Tennis Fund to get us through. As it is, even with the improved membership participation, we will again come close to wiping out the reserves in 2020. This will leave very little ability to cover any unplanned expenses if and when they arise. It will also leave us nothing to contribute to rebuilding the Road Fund.

 

The dues have not been increased in ten years. We continue to provide for the upkeep of the Association properties and meet our fiscal obligations, primarily maintaining the roads and beaches. However, our costs continue to rise. The Board voted to keep the 2020 fee at $350.00 but increase the fee in 2021 to $400.00.  The Board recommends that you approve the increase.

 

6        Administration Committee: There was no activity in 2019 and with the exception of supporting the Web site, have nothing planned.  

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7        Road Committee: We were able to correct the flooding at 104 Waterside by installing a 1,000 gallon drain on the ocean side of the street and install two drains, one on either side of the street. There have not been any issues since the installation. You can see pictures of the construction on the web site.  https://www.seascapeassociation.org/association-news. We cleaned out all the active drains in the association. We were able to paint the 4 speed bumps in the Spring. We were not able to resurface another section of the roads in the Fall due to weather and scheduling issues. We plan to do that work next week. 

 

8         Beach Committee: In 2019 we renewed the B Beach permit, implemented beach monitoring and beach tags.  Extensive work was completed on B Beach: replaced the snow fence on the dune, put up snow fences on the beach for the winter, cut back the grass, groomed, added sand, and cleared the lot next to B beach. On A Beach, the vista was pruned to 5 feet. In 2020 we will renew the A Beach permit, groom beaches, add sand to B Beach if needed, put up snow fences on B beach and will require social distancing at beaches. Pictures of the beaches can be seen on the web at https://www.seascapeassociation.org/association-news.   We will have monitoring at Beaches from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays (1 shift per day per beach instead of 2). If you have students, who are interested in these jobs, please email Greg Strakosch at gstrakosch@techtarget.com. You can pick up 2020 beach tags Saturdays at A Beach. 

 

9      Boat Dock and Ramp: The boat dock has been installed and is ready for use.  Families have normal use of the dock and ramp.  However, social distancing should be observed and masks worn if there are more than members of one family present.

 

10    Tennis Courts: The tennis courts will be available to tennis members once the State Opening Guidelines allow tennis.  We will observe any and all restrictions in the State Guidelines.

 

11     Security: We have rehired the night security person and have asked him to monitor the association two nights per week. 

 

12      Hospitality: Due to the Safe Distancing guidelines, we have cancelled the cocktail party on B beach this year. The committee is recommending that we plan a strolling cocktail party in late July by blocking off Waterside Drive from the entrance intersection down to A beach for foot traffic only. Members would be encouraged to stroll, using safe distance along the road and interact with each other. Some form of tables with single serve drinks or refreshments would be provided. We are looking for help. 

 

13     New Business: The Board has no new business to report on. In the May 4th letter, we asked members to submit any new business they wanted to discuss. We did not receive any new business items from the membership.

 

If you have any questions, concerns or comments, please reach out to me or any other member of the Board. Our contact information is on our web site https://www.seascapeassociation.org/contact

 

Regards,

Tim

Tim Gallagher - President

tg5401@aol.com

603 738-0627