WEST GALVESTON ISLAND PROPERTY OWNER'S ASSOCIATION

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

May 18, 2002

The meeting of the Board of Directors of the West Galveston Island Property Owners' Association was held on May 18, 2002. Jerry Mohn, President, called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. A quorum was established by the Directors in attendance: Jerry Mohn, Al Birdwell (Bermuda Beach), Boyd Carr (Isla del Sol), Wanda Greer (Terramar), and Pat McAllister (Sea Isle). Also in attendance were Susan McKirahan of C.K.M. Property Management; Dianna Puccetti, Galveston City Council Member; Wayne Cook, Director of City Transit, and Vic Pierson, Mayor of Jamaica Beach.

Upon motion duly made by Al Birdwell and seconded by the following resolution was unanimously adopted.

RESOLVED THAT, the Board approved the Minutes of April 20, 2002 as presented.

Al Birdwell gave the financial report stating that in the last thirty (30) days they have received $11,000 and still have $10,000 left to collect. The cash position is $20,983.

Upon motion duly made by Al Birdwell and seconded, the following resolution was unanimously adopted.

RESOLVED THAT, the Board approved the financial report as presented.

In November of this year the yearly elections for State and County are coming up. The WGIPOA is a non-political group but we do invite candidates to introduce themselves with a short presentation so members have an opportunity to get to know them and their position on issues. Mark Muhich with the Sierra Club made a presentation concerning the development of a golf course on wetlands in East Beach and the affect on the environment.

A fund raiser was discussed on June 15th that will be hosted by William and Lucy Carl at #4 Blue Heron Circle (The Boardwalk Subdivision). The funds will go to the Mikeska/Smith Beach Defense Fund to help in the defense of litigation by the State for homes that are considered to be on the beach.

The Coastal Coordination Council "CCC" has been adopting rules for the GEOTUBES. The executive committee approved the amendments. Sidney McClendon attended the May 5 CCC Executive Committee meeting in Austin. The CCC feels that the Geo-tubes are the best solution but the restrictions can be harsh. The WGIPOA is concerned that the "powers" will go away from the City. The next meeting is in Palacious, Texas, to approve of the amendments.

The Feasibility Study being performed by the Corps of Engineers is progressing. Jefferson County shares in 25% of the cost and Galveston 75%. The Government has allocated $700,000 for 2002-2003 fiscal years for the project. It runs from Sabine Pass to San Luis Pass. The study will provide the best possible solution for our erosion.

The Comprehensive Plan is not final. It looks at the types of development, ecotourism and watches how development will occur for the next twenty years for the West End. Council Member Dianna Puccetti stated that the planning staff is working on the final plan Beach Access Plan and the expected completion date will be in the next 30-60 days. Then it goes to the GLO for approval, which can take up to 6 months.

Pat Newsom, Director of the "TSBA" stated that the second technical conference will be held November 14 & 15 at the Hilton Hotel at Hobby Airport. Senator Kay Hutchinson may be the key speaker. TSBA sent letters to all State and Federal Representatives to support the Natural Beach Recreation Act, H.R. 3842.

Jerry Mohn spoke on his visit to Washington D.C. to attend the American Coastal Coalition conference. He met with Kay Bailey Hutchinson during "Lobby Day" and requested her support for the 4842 Bill.

Mr. Mohn requested the Board to adopt a resolution concerning the "Stewart Mansion" since they are requesting an easement from the Texas Parks & Wildlife. The mission of the hotel is to provide a new standard of excellence for nature tourism for the State of Texas and Galveston Island. The Inn at Stewart Mansion will provide a well planned mix of improvements, historical restoration, unique educational programming and stewardship of the environment.

Upon motion duly made by Al Birdwell and seconded by Boyd Carr, the following resolution was unanimously adopted.

RESOLVED THAT, the Board approved to support the Stewart Mansion project as follows: The Inn at the Stewart Mansion will be developed as a retreat for learning and leisure, it will be developed in a manner which will protect and establish the Stewart Mansion and the grounds as a historic measure. The developer will place a conservation easement on the entirety of its waterfront permanently preserving the view and shoreline of Lake Como.

Tiki Island has several homes with bathrooms on the first floor. The Mayor of Tiki Island requested the support of the WGIPOA to protest FEMA’s requirement for an insurance policy of no bathrooms on the first floor. The Board deferred discussion until additional information is ready from Tiki Island and the merits for the West End.

Jerry Mohn introduced Eddie Fisher, Director of Coastal Management projects, Resource Management section of the GLO. Mr. Fisher area is responsible for the Coastal Erosion and Response Act (CEPRA) Projects. The CEPRA I Project match issue is resolved with the City. For CEPRA II projects, once the City Council approves the PGS agreements, engineering will start shortly thereafter. At the same time application for the Corp of Engineers Permits will be made. Once the permits are issued for CEPRA II projects, sand is expected to be placed in 5 to 6 months, which could be at the end of this year or beginning of next.

Mr. Fisher indicated the State is looking at a deficient in finances and all general revenue will be examined very closely and could cause cuts to projects. It is important that supporters of these projects be very vocal and let there State Representatives and Senators know CEPRA II projects are important. The economic cost benefit study was completed for the CEPRA I projects. The cost benefit analysis indicated that the cost benefits were very high in the return to the community for every dollar invested in sand nourishment.

The GLO has undertaken five sand source studies on and off Galveston Island and Bolivar. For long term GLO management will be working weekly with Galveston and Jefferson Counties on the Corp of Engineer’s Feasibility Study, which is a three year study. They feel they need to do something quick to resolve the issues. Five internal studies are as follows:

    1. Analyze existing core placement areas to see if sand source is beach quality. This would include sand at San Jacinto and Pelican Island placement areas. So far the study has shown there are not large amounts of good sand sources. The sand has silt.
    2. The Analysis for long and short term of the Big Reef areas for sand source mapping with aerial photographs. The areas once thought to be a source for sand has now become a protected wetland area. In the long term, they are expanding and looking for areas for burrow sand sources in Big Reef and existing navigational channel. Big Reef area has millions of yards of sand that are off limits now but the GLO is entering into an agreement with the Corp of Engineers that if a storm occurs, they have a way to be able to dredge the sand lost due to the storm for beach nourishment. They would like a local sponsor for this project like the Parks Board.
    3. Utilizing maintenance material from the Houston navigational channel for beach renourishment. This would involve the use of a cutter and hopper dredge where the sand source is over 70% recoverable; some areas are 30% but still acceptable. The Corp of Engineers is doing samples. They have found scattered areas that may provide sand sources. These samples are also being mapped in a GIS format and incremental costs are being determined. In addition, offshore placement areas have not been designed for beach renourishment but they are looking at these areas as sand sources.
    4. An area of Galveston Harbor area has not yet been dredged for widening and deepening and when it occurs, they will investigate if the material can be a sand source. They believe it will not be a good source since the sand banks are less than 30% recoverable.
    5. The GLO is working with Texas A&M, the University of Texas and Rice University to look at sand sources off Pelican Island and Bolivar Peninsula. The cost to dredge these areas are underway and if dredging occurs, it should be completed by August, 2003. Texas A&M University in Galveston are taking seismic readings off Galveston Island and looking for burrowed sources of sand off shore. They are looking down 30 meters and the preliminary work is very promising because you can see the ancient alluvial channels. Feel it will be cost effective for long term beach renourishment. Borings will be taken to examine grain size and quality of sand. This again is being coordinated with the COE Feasibility Study.

Mr. Fisher also indicated that areas where the end of the seawall has been breached, sand will be placed in the eroded area. It is best to use upland sand and the area . The better and larger the grain size is for the sand, it will stay longer on the beach. A project will begin later this year to place large quantities of sand that will be dredged near Bodeker Drive at the end of the Seawall. It will be placed in a large mound to allow the tides to carry the sand down the West End Galveston beaches. There will then be follow up studies on monitoring in what happens once the sand has been placed. The GLO is required to do follow up studies. The GLO is only funded for two year projects, which limits long term monitoring.

There being no further business before the Board the meeting was adjourned at 10:48 a.m.

Date Secretary