Highlights of the July 2006 Dauphin Island Property Owners’ Association Board of Directors Meeting
Treasurer’s Report
The CD, Money Market and Scholarship Funds at Bay Bank remained virtually the same with the addition of some interest. The same held true for the Merrill Lynch Operating Fund and Trust. The Operating Balance at Bay Bank showed a decrease of approximately $49,000. This was due in part to preparation in getting the front nine holes opened.
No dues have come in this month. Invoice notices will be going out shortly.
The Board adopted a budget for the coming year. Anyone interested in specifics of the budget may contact the POA for details.
The Swimming Pool will be open and run by the POA. The hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10am-7pm and Sunday from noon–7pm.
Construction on Dauphin Island has slowed and the report of the Architectural Committee indicated that there were 2 housing starts this past month.
The Recreation Committee, created to seek ways to utilize other POA properties on the island, made site visits to the properties to determine ways to enhance their appearance/use so that all may enjoy them. They are currently developing a list of suggestions as well as a budget toward that goal.
Golf Course: Board member Jim Druhan mentioned that the POA was looking into a way to close off the golf course and surrounding area at night to avoid vandalism and liability stemming from unauthorized use of the property in the evening. A discussion initiated by a property owner ensued, regarding the merits of having limited access in the evening with perhaps a keyed entry by property owners, security cameras, security personnel, etc.
Board President John Reed mentioned the Fairness Hearing, the next step in the lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers. The hearing will be on Tuesday, July 11 at 1:00 pm at the United States Courthouse (113 St. Joseph St.) in Mobile. John encouraged all who could to attend to show the Judge that Dauphin Islanders were concerned. Please try to do so. We have come so far; let’s get over this next hurdle. More about the Fairness Hearing.
The Volunteer Committee reported that they are slowing down their “outdoor efforts†during the hot summer weather but are doing tasks as needed by the POA (mailings, etc.).
Communications: Tom Brennan indicated that the e-mail list had climbed from 800 to 1200! This is good news for those who wish to be in the loop.
The West End Beach Committee had reported that they were exploring other coastal projects along the Gulf and would be visiting those projects to determine their viability. At this point, a property owner requested that the following statement (regarding the possible deeding of the beaches to the Town) be entered into the record. This is a quote from a copy obtained by Island Watch:
The language in Article 2.2 Subsection D of the revised Constitution of the Dauphin Island Property Owners’ Association is plain.
There can be no conveyance of the property known as the Property Owners’ Beach.
If this Board attempts to make such a conveyance, a lawsuit will be filed naming as defendants the Board and those members of the Board who vote to violate this provision.
The lawsuit will ask that such an attempted conveyance be prohibited and that all the defendants be assessed with attorney fees and costs.
A Board member responded by sarcastically asking, “Where that was obtained from? Someone on the street?â€
The discussion about the possibility about hotel facilities on the golf course was even more heated. When Board President John Reed indicated that a committee would be formed to solicit proposals for the facilities, with Frank Leatherbury heading the committee, another property owner (with a Master’s Degree in Hotel Management and a graduate of the Cordon Bleu) implored the Board to hire professionals with appropriate statistical data to handle the task. He felt that a group specializing in brokering these deals would better protect our interests by not having a development group come forward with attractive figures that would not stand the test of time and that Leatherbury is a condo developer per se and that the hotel arena was a vastly different area of expertise.
A Board member asked if the property owner proposing hiring a specialized group did not in fact offer to broker the deal between PFK (a professional group) and the POA to find a suitable developer. While he said yes, he brought a proposal to the group for one professional group to be used (he would not get a fee for the actual hotel deal), he was adamant that this was beyond the expertise of most people and that a reputable group be hired. He then strongly suggested that if they refused to hire professionals, the committee be comprised of people who had expertise and years of successful experience in the field of hotel management and business/financial backgrounds yet had no special interests in the Dauphin Island Project.
Other business
At the very end of the meeting, two property owners requested that a special meeting be held to hear their variance request regarding a home that they were building so that they would not have to wait another month to build. Normally, a variance request would be heard after all of the appropriate paperwork was submitted and the Architectural Review Committee passed on its recommendation to the Board. President Reed said that since the Architectural Committee would be meeting on Tuesday at 9:00 am and the Board was meeting at 10:00 that same day, they would handle the request at that time.
The next meeting was set for August 16 at 10:00 am.