UPDATED 01/02/16 5:48 PM: The Lake House is currently closed due to a power outage. The Lake House will reopen tomorrow, Sunday January 3 at 10:00 am.
ONGOING: The Lake House indoor pool heater is not working; we expect it to be repaired by Thursday. The pool is still open.
– submitted by Nic Porter, SIPOA
Your 2015 SIPOA Nominating Committee wants to invite all Property Owners to a “Meet the Candidates” night that will be held on Monday, January 11th. The event will start 5pm at The Lake House.
Please mark it on your calendars!
Submitted by The Lake House
The Planning Committee (PC) of the Seabrook Island Property Owners Association (SIPOA) met on December 8 at the Lake House.
The Audubon subcommittee is looking for additional members to expand its size from the present 4 members to a total of 8 – 10.
The 2016 Budget will be presented to the SIPOA Board for approval on December 14. Some of the new budget’s highlights include funding for:
Reserve funding for the next Captain Sam’s inlet cut and future road surfacing
Storm drain improvements and relining
New gatehouse requirements to meet building codes and flood protection
Replacement of street signs
Repainting of the SIPOA issued mailbox posts and number plaques
Increase Security force salaries and add an additional position.
The Data Gathering and Analysis subcommittee reported it will distribute the 2016 Annual Survey shortly after the February Annual meeting. The survey will try to identify what issues are most important and actionable to the community. The willingness of the community to fund the most important issues will be measured at some point.
The PC wishes to review the drafts of all surveys to ensure consistency and format and will ask the Board to discuss this request.
The PC heard a report that the State determines the allocation of the Franchise and Accommodations taxes to the local governments. The Town of Seabrook Island can submit requests for increased funding if they determine a specific need that benefits the entire community.
You can view the complete minutes of this meeting on the SIPOA website for more details.
The PC normally meets the second Tuesday of each month in the Lake House. All property owners are welcome to attend. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 12, at 9am in the Osprey 1 room.
Submitted by Jack Miller
The SIPOA Safety & Security meeting was held on 12-2-15 at the SIPOA office on Landfall way and the following is an abridged summary of the minutes from that meeting.
Chairman’s remarks and discussion:
• Security Staffing: There was considerable discussion by the Committee about SIPOA Security staffing needs. Previously the Committee had recommended adding two officers to allow adequate staffing for the 3rd (evening) shift. Committee members pointed out that Seabrook Island safety and security has historically been an important concern of property owners in past annual surveys. Following discussion, the Committee recommend the following:
Add a question to the SI Annual Survey asking property owners to see if they would support adding additional officers as needed for full staffing on all shifts, including the 3rd evening shift.
• Gatehouse informational sign: The informational sign just inside the gate will not be replaced when the new gatehouse is installed. While there was some opposing opinion of within the Committee and Board, the consensus is that new informational tools, such as Tidelines and e-blasts duplicate this information and the sign is no longer needed.
• Reflectors along SI Road: The Committee discussed the feasibility of adding reflectors along the sides of SI Road. Another option is to add more reflective paint. A feasibility study will be conducted to determine the best option. This will be referred to GOMC.
• Motorcycles: A separate specific survey will be sent to property owners to get their opinions on whether motorcycles should be allowed to drive to/from owner’s residence on Seabrook Island. Concern was expressed that it would be very difficult to enforce such a rule. A final decision will be based on property owners’ feedback from the survey.
• SIPOA Website Security: In response to a question from a property owner, Dennis verified with our IT consultant that information on the SIPOA website, including the firewall between the SIPOA and the SI Club, is secure.
SIPOA Security report:
• Citations: There were 21 citations issued in November, which included the following:
o 11 speeding violations
o 1 no license/registration
o 1 parking violations
o 7 trailer violations
o 1 pet law violation
The committee reviewed all citation appeals and made decisions based on the facts and merits of each case
A complete copy of the minutes is available on the SIPOA website at http://www.associationvoice.com/ResourceCenter/15432/Library
Submitted by Bill Bryant, Secretary
Dennis Nagy, Chair
The SIPOA Communications Committee met on November 13, 2015, at the SIPOA Administration Building. The Committee continued its discussions on development of an app for mobile smartphones and tablets that would begin in 2016. Charleston Marketing Partners and Red7 representatives presented a Seabrook Island simulation of an IOS app for an Apple iPhone. The Committee in 2016 will schedule white board sessions to get property owner input on initial app functionality and to discuss myriad ways that property owners could access desired information electronically, including through bookmarking. The Committee also plans to look again in 2016 at improving navigation through the SIPOA Website.
Immediately prior to the Communications Committee meeting, the Town of Seabrook Island, Seabrook Island Club, and SIPOA representatives met to discuss how the entities collaboratively could improve accessibility and timeliness of information in emergency situations such as the early October and early November flooding rains and ?king? tides that impacted activities and travel. Toward that end, the three entities are jointly holding a Town Hall Tech Forum on Monday evening, December 7, 2015, 5:30-7:00 PM at the Lake House: Lessons Learned from Weather and Tidal Emergencies: Weather and Road Condition Information Availability, Accessibility, and Distribution, and Readiness for Future Such Emergencies. The Town, Club, and SIPOA will discuss how it receives and distributes emergency information, and attendees will have a checklist on five key actions that they can take to improve accessibility, timeliness, and usefulness of emergency weather and road condition information during forthcoming high tides and other weather emergencies. Thanks to Dave Osborn for organizing this special Tech Forum.
The Communications Committee will ask property owners in a mini survey in December what methods and devices that they used to access emergency information during the October and November weather and king tide emergencies.
SIPOA has a new domain name: www.seabrookisland-sc.com, which will allow SIPOA to control its own information assets and facilitate use of Town, Club, and SIPOA gateway landing pages with a common marketing theme and for accessing information through a common link.
Tidelines reported that its current number of followers is 1,048 and there have been 213,187 views since launch. On October 4, during the weather emergency, Tidelines experienced a daily high of 12,632 views. Tidelines has become a key information asset for Seabrook Island in a very short period of time since its launch.
SIPOA and the Club are working together on a 3-minute video for the February Annual Meetings highlighting Seabrook Island attributes and 2015 activities.
SIPOA held its third Get the Scoop meeting this year on November 16, 2015. In addition to the Annual Meeting in the first quarter of the year, these quarterly Get the Scoop meetings provide an opportunity for property owners to get together to socialize, learn about activities of each of the SIPOA Board committees, and direct questions to SIPOA Board members.
The SIPOA Communications Committee and Seabrook Island Club Communications Committee in 2015 institutionalized quarterly SIPOA-Club Communication Committee meetings. The first joint SIPOA/Club Communications meeting of 2016 will be held at the Club on Friday, January 15, 2016.
The SIPOA Communications Committee will not meet in December 2015, and takes this opportunity to wish Happy Holidays to all.
Submitted by Ed Jones
The deadline for singing up for SINHG spring trips is this coming Tuesday, December 15th. Trip descriptions and sign-up forms may be found on the SINHG website at www.sinhg.org. Remember that you must be a member of SINHG to sign up for trips. Membership forms may also be found on the website. Forms may be dropped off at the SINHG mailbox at 2958 Baywood Drive, Seabrook Island.
Submitted by Gary Fansler
With Christmas coming there will be boxes, wrapping paper and all sorts of detritus of which to dispose. We are fortunate to have a convenient place for recycling and proper disposal right here on the island. Just off Seabrook Island Rd., right next to the Community Gardens and behind the Equestrian Center is a well-marked and easily accessible area to dispose of the remnants of Christmas. There is a special dumpster dedicated to those cardboard boxes that can be broken down flat. There is a container for your recyclables including clean bottles, cans, paper and most plastic – and you don’t have to separate it. There is also a trash compacter for your regular household waste in case you won’t be around for trash pick-up day.
What cannot be left there are any furniture or appliances – particularly not old cathode ray tube televisions. South Carolina law specifically prohibits putting used electronics in landfills. They can be recycled at electronics stores like Best Buy. Items like furniture, paint cans, appliances, batteries and any other large items will be picked up curbside on “brown and white” pick-up days. Those will be scheduled for February, April and July and the dates will be published soon. Those days are the only days on which you can bring old paint cans and batteries to the maintenance area. Waste is only removed in the containers provided. Don’t leave anything outside of the containers.
We have a very useful facility here. Please let’s use it responsibly.
Submitted by Rich Siegel
The Greenery
They are currently sweeping streets and picking up leaves with the new leaf machine which is working well.
Adopt a Highway
Mary Torello has been the coordinator for the past year. She announced that the next trash pickup along Betsy Kerrison Parkway is February 27. She looks forward to a large volunteer turn out.
Wildlife Mapping
River otters have returned for the winter.
Waste Management
Rich Siegel is a new member leading this program.
Nature Trails
Steve Hirsch submitted a $15,000 estimate to cover all repairs to trails and boardwalks and to bring up to SIPOA standards as well as ongoing maintenance cost estimate of $10,000 a year. The EC voted to ask the board to approve a motion for SIPOA to take responsibility for the Nature Trails at the December 21st meeting.
Offshore Drilling
Barry Shedrow sent a report that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to publish an Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding proposed commercial wind leasing and site assessment activities on South Carolina’s Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf.
The EC still plans to have an educational seminar in the spring along with Kiawah, who has asked to coordinate with us.
Deer Management
The deer fall survey has been completed. The EC Deer Management Task Force recommended the culling of 75 does during December and January. The EC approved the culling which will be forwarded to the Town of SBI and then the SIPOA board for final approval.
Wild Things
Charley reported on the newly formed birding group, which met on December 1. The official name is Seabrook Island Birders. A website is up and there will be a blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account as well.
SIB will have its inaugural meeting and membership sign-up on January 20th in the Lake House Live Oak Room at 7 pm. Christine Fifer of Wild Birds Unlimited will be the guest speaker. All meetings are opened to island residents and guests.
Bluebirds
The group will soon begin to check boxes for maintenance.
Community Gardens
Valerie Doane is the new chairwoman.
Trash Issues
SIPOA dumpsters are being used incorrectly and trash is being dumped beside the compactor and in the area. Clearer signage has not helped. It is taking a lot of staff time to clean the area every day. The trash is from both island residents and contractors.
Submitted by
Jane Marvin
Available Technology:
The technology that is used to facilitate gathering and sharing information included:
In all cases, it was stressed that the operating system, be it IOS, Android, Windows or an Apple OS, should be kept up to date. Out of date systems will often result in failures in applications.
Available Sources:
The discussion focused on the web sites and apps that provide weather, traffic and emergency information.
Web Sites:
Apps: (Available for both IOS and Android unless indicated):
Other sources:
SIPOA receives notices from: (Examples)
These notices are posted to Tidelines and are sent to subscribers to the SIPOAE-mail blast.
Submitted by Lynn Kennedy
Just a reminder that the Seabrook genealogy group, Digging Into Roots Together (D.I.R.T.), will meet this coming Wednesday, 9 Dec 2015 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm in Osprey 2 at the Lake House. There is no formal meeting this week. Instead, a small party for is planned to celebrate the holidays with our D.I.R.T. members. If you are planning to attend and have not RSVP’d, please do so by emailing us at diggingtogether@yahoo.com. There will be no meeting on 23 December. Our regular meetings will resume in January. Further information can be found on our blog, diggingtogether.blogspot.com.
Denise Doyon and Linda Mecchi
All Seabrookers are invited to attend COVAR’s December Meeting, which will offer an opportunity to meet and hear from candidates for the SIPOA Board of Directors and to follow-up with Chuck Fox, President, SIPOA; Janet Gorski, Vice President, SIPOA and Bill Greubel, President Seabrook Island Club, concerning September’s Property and Landscaping Improvement for Associations/Regimes presentations and round table discussion, as well as to discuss a SIPOA proposal concerning the “Totem Pole” signage at either end of High Hammock Road.
The meeting will conclude with comprehensive presentations and a round table discussion of Developing and Funding Reserves for Associations/Regimes. Peter Miller, Principal, millerdodson Capital Reserve Consultants; Larry Blasch, Immediate Past President, Spinnaker Beach Houses Owners Association and Larry Buchman, President, Pelican Watch Horizontal Property Regime, will be the principal participants.
The meeting will be Saturday, December 12 from 10 AM to 12 Noon at the Lake House.
—Submitted by Allan W. Keener, President, COVAR
If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to answer the SIPOA survey on the SI dog park proposal. Voting will close at the end of the month. The survey can be accessed here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/sidogpark
Voting is open to all Seabrook Island property owners. Results will be announced in a future email blast from SIPOA.
Submitted by
Deborah Robinson