Summerplace improvement Association, Inc.
Board Meeting
May 26, 2020
Minutes
Attending: SIA Board President John Lehnhardt, Board Members Mary Beasman, Walter Garrard, Bart Heikes, Steve Melchiori.
E. Shell road issues:
SIA Board President John Lehnhardt advised the ongoing rain has brought attention to a new drainage problem on E. Shell in a section of the road with a ridge causing water to backup. This part of the road was disturbed by heavy cement trucks used in the installation of a pool at 1841 E. Shell. John noted the continuing rain is causing numerous potholes along E. Shell as well. Once the rain lets up, both road issues can be addressed up by having the road graded, with additional road work done as necessary to correct these problems. The Board discussed these E. Shell road concerns and a motion was made to approve up to $500 for the required road work, with the final coast being split between SIA and the road deposit from the owner of 1841 E. Shell on the discretion of the President. In a unanimous vote, the Board approved this motion.
Reimbursement for administrative expenses:
John reviewed the various administrative expenses incurred for the cost of providing legal documents from numerous records requests to our defense attorney, plus supplies for both the June and October mailings to SIA members. Mary Beasman indicated there would be additional expenditures for stamps and postage for the October mailing. A motion was made to reimburse the current administrative expenditures and to approve $250 for anticipated administrative expenses between now and the end of the fiscal year in October. The Board approved this motion in a unanimous vote.
Review of data from beach access studies:
John provided the following summary of activity recorded along the SIA beach access pathways and beach stairs during a 37-day period, ending May 20, 2020. Following the review of this information and discussion of John’s recommendations going forward, the Board voted unanimously on a motion to proceed with the recommendations in the summary.
Summary of E. Shell beach access data
At the last SIA Board meeting March 26, 2020 we discussed the issue of tresspass by non-resident/guest use of the E. Shell beach access as a concern raised by Michael Flax. He requested a lock be placed on the gate. No resident of Shell Lane that we have spoken to either at the board meeting or on the street other than Mr. Flax wanted to lock the gate. We decide to move a camera from E. Pebble Path to assess the activity on E. Shell
I collected and analysed 37 days of photographic data from the E. Shell cul de sac access gate, starting March 27, three days before the beaches closed, thru May 19, with the exception of days when the camera was not in service. Data was collected on 11 days when the public beaches were open and 26 days when the public beaches were closed.
The results are as follows.
E. Shell Lane
1710 people used the gate to go to or come from the beach, or 46.2 people per day.
1573 of these people, or 92%, were identified as residents or guests with a right to use the beach access.
137 people, or 8%, were not able to be identified as residents or guests from the photos. Now I am certain that some of these folks were guests visiting family or friends in SIA or were residents that could now be clearly identified in the photos. There are four new members on E. and W. Shell, and lots of family visiting. I beleive the 8% is the high end of the actual non-resident/guest activity.
The 11 days of the test period when the public beaches were open showed a lower incidence of tresspassing than the 26 days when the beaches were closed, 4.8% compared to 9.4%, or almost half the percentage.
Useage comparisons of our three beach access areas.
E. Shell is clearly more heavily used and more prone to tresspass due to its proximity to Wabasso public beach. By comparison, surveys of the E. Pebble Path and E. Barefoot Place beach access showed the following activity.
people per day % tresspassers days data taken
E. Pebble Path 4.5 2% 14
E. Barefoot Place 35.6 7.3% 24
E. Shell Lane 46.2 8% 37
My conclusion from this data is as follows:
E. Pebble Path
The E. Pebble Path beach access gate is not used very much. The lock appears effective at detering tresspassers.
Recommendation: Leave the lock in place. The lock gets hard to use after a couple months so I replaced it the first of May with a new identical lock.
The cameras have already been moved so there is no longer a watch there. I see no need to change the current situation as the path usage is so low.
E. Barefoot Place
There have been a lot of family and friends staying at the E, Barefoot properties and beach access use is far greater than on E. Pebble Path, though not as much as on E. Shell Lane.
One particular tresspassing incident with a couple from Massachusets stands out. After parking on E. Barefoot and accessing the beach, as reported by an SIA resident, who confronted them, the unseemly activity included public urination and indecent exposure on the beach. I was called and by the time I got there the tresspassers were driving away.
The high % of tresspassers is primarily due to one family of renters from W. Pebble Path that used the E. Barefoot access for about a week and accounted for 40% of the tresspasses. Other than that there has been mostly normal activity.
Reccommendation: Given the high tresspass number from W. Pebble Path I think we
should keep the camera in place for the present.
E. Shell Lane
E. Shell Lane has a much higher activity level and higher tresspass frequency though the frequency has declined almost 50% since the public beaches have reopened. Because of the high usage of the beach access on E. Shell by our own folks – averaging 42 people a day, locking the gates would be a significant inconvenience to our residents and their family and guests.
Recommendation: Remove the camera and do not place a lock on the gate. A chain and no tresspassing sign has been placed on the beach access stairs to deter access from the beach.
Financial Report:
John reported on the SIA annual budget vs. expenditures to date. Of note is SIA expenses are under budget so far this year. However, our major costs are generally incurred in the upcoming months with the annual trimming of all SIA common areas and the annual treatment of the five SIA streets as needed based on inspection of the streets and determined by the Board. Additionality, John advised with the prediction of an active hurricane season, the SIA contingency fund is adequate to repair and/or replace hurricane damage to SIA beach stairs, dune decks and beach access areas, as well as cover any necessary hurricane cleanup not handled by the County.
June Mailing:
John indicated he will appoint a chair of the SIA Nomination Committee and members to serve on the Committee in advance of the annual June mailing to the membership. This mailing announces the date of the 2020 SIA Annual Meeting and calls for nominations of candidates for the Board.
Request for SIA Stickers on Vehicles:
Many SIA welcomed families and/or friends visiting for the Memorial Day weekend to enjoy our beaches over the holiday. In several incidents, cars were parked at SIA beach access areas to unload beach chairs, umbrellas, coolers, etc. before going to the beach. SIA parking regulations allow for a period of 20 minutes to load or unload a personal or commercial vehicle on any of our streets.
Michael Flax requested the Board consider providing SIA members with a sticker or plaque for their cars which would always be visible to identify the vehicle(s) as belonging to an SIA resident. The Board discussed this request and concluded there is not a major problem with vehicles unloading or loading on SIA streets to require an identifying sticker on all SIA vehicles. SIA residents are encouraged to call a Board member to address the situation if any vehicle exceeds the allotted 20 minutes for loading/unloading and/or is blocking a section of a street while doing so.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Beasman, Secretary SIA, Inc.