MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
The meeting of the West Galveston Island Property Owners Association was held on November 15, 2003. Jerry Mohn, President called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Directors in attendance were: Shannon Hall - Jamaica Beach, Boyd Carr - Isla del Sol, Sidney McClendon - Pirates Beach, Wanda Greer- Terramar and Bill Moll - Spanish Grant Bay. Marty Baker was present as an Advisory Director. Susan Gonzales from C.K.M. Property Management, Inc. was also present as recording Secretary.
Introduced were John Hall Alderman for Jamaica Beach, Lou Mueller Executive Vice President of Galveston Parks Board, Chuck Coburn Beach Cleaning Operations Manager of the Galveston Parks Board, and Jerry Del Pret the Chairman of the Galveston Parks Board. Corporate sponsors present were Peggy Zahler from the JCS Credit Union and Mike Brown from Silver Leaf Resort Properties.
A motion was made by Sidney McClendon and seconded by Bill Moll; the Board approved the minutes of October 18, 2003.
Jerry Mohn presented the Treasurer’s report. Net worth is $17,300, cash in the bank is $16,300, and expenses are $1,300 for brochures and $300 for ads.
A motion was made by Sidney McClendon and seconded by Bill Moll; the Board approved the Treasurer's Report.
Candidates introduced were Beau Rollins and Heather Flynn from District 6.
Guest Speaker: Jerry Mohn introduced Gil Langley, President and CEO of the Galveston Parks Board and his topic was "The Parks Board Responsibility and Outlook for the future."
Gill Langley stated how the Park Board works. It was created in the early 1960’s and is a governmental entity, but not tax funded. Parks Board is funded by User fees by those who stay in hotels (9 percent) and those who use the parks. The Parks Board budget is $15.9 million for this year. The Board is appointed, by City Council. The Parks Board manages the park and facilities, have the ability to buy and sell land, the ability to issue revenue bonds and dedicate revenue to park use, and can set up a police department (but, have not done that and contract with the Sheriffs Department.)
The current project is to create a non-profit corporation, in order for sand or other beach items to be donated to the Parks Board and receive a tax write off. Last year the Parks Board ran a $500,000 deficit due to the expense of beach cleaning. During the current year the same level of spending will exist and the Board expects to deliver more service for less money. The Parks Board is one of the largest employers on the Island.
The Parks Board will be coordinating the opening of the new Convention Center on the beach. One-third of the revenue coming from Hotel tax goes to the beach patrol, beach cleaning, paying off bonds and will go to the new Convention Center. The balance of the budget comes from beach parking revenue at $1.2 million.
The new Convention Center will bring in money as followed: $100,000 concession fees, $60,000 to $80,000 in parking fees per event, and the people who use the Center will use Hotels and generate Hotel tax revenue.
Big news: the Parks Board has adopted a new strategic plan for the community. The have developed a five (5) point plan which will be the road map for the Parks Board. They have established a vision statement to include: their goal is to position the Parks to be one of the top five (5) places to go; to promote events (to promote the Island); affective appropriation of resources; and, to build respect from peers in the community.
A discussion was held concerning the Convention Center, Pocket Park project and beach patrol. The questions and answers of the discussion are as follows:
Q: Contract with Sheriffs Department under Parks Board (PB); are the Officers on or off duty?
A: Officers are on duty; PB pays a portion of their salary.
Q: Who bears the liability in the event of an accident?
A: PB insurance covers Beach patrols.
Q: New cars used by Beach Patrol, who owns?
A: The vehicles are owned by PB and are used for beach patrol. The vehicles are used during the on and off-season and they do take the vehicles home.
Q: Define the perimeter of the beach.
A: Beach is defined from dunes to the water; the access Roads to beachfront are the responsibility of the City. Dune walkovers, sand fences and posts are considered to be property owner’s responsibility.
Q: Explain the advertising for the new Convention Center?
A: Last year half a million was spent on advertising. This year money will go into the Convention Center sales personnel and direct sales effort. Last year $75,000 was spent on consumer ads, this year $400,000 will be spent. $600,000 to $800,000 will be spent to advertise Galveston and promote events.
Q: The County is negotiating with the Parks Board to manage the County Parks. If negotiations with the County are successful, what are the plans for the future?
A: 1) Pocket Beach #3 will be turned into a Dog Park with family and pet events and sponsors will be PetsMart, etc. 2) Pocket Beach #2 will be A.D.A accessible dedicated to physically disabled people. This will be designed for A.D.A specifically, lifeguards specially trained, signals specially designed. The PB will work with the "Open Door" Organization who works with people, entities to provide facilities geared for the disabled.
Q: Will Pocket Parks be staffed with lifeguards?
A: The A.D.A Parks will be staffed but no decision has been made on the other parks. Revenue from parking may be used to fund lifeguards if the revenue is adequate.
Q: Will the opening of the Pocket Park season change?
A: If there is adequate money, parks will stay open later in the season.
Q: What does Beach patrol include?
A: This is the lifeguard service.
Q: How much revenue is generated from the west-end hotel tax, rentals, and how much is actually spent on the west-end?
A: $846,000, 13 percent of the amount collected, $119,000 is marked for beach cleaning.
CEPRA II - the sand nourishment project is on track and will be completed by mid March. Cepra I refunds under FEMA are included in Cepra II.
CEPRA III PROJECTS: Allotted amount of $7.5 million is available for over 380 miles of Texas beaches and bays. The new match will require 25% for beach projects and 40% for bay projects. There is a zero match for a major project with a minimum of $2.5 million. Deadline for Cepra III is December 31, 2003. The Galveston County Beach Erosion Task Force will submit separately a major sand nourishment project with a zero match for the Bolivar Peninsula, Seawall, and the West End.
FEASIBILITY STUDY: Marty Baker, Chairman of the Galveston County Beach Erosion Task Force, stated that the County is partnering with the Corp. of Engineers. The study continues and progress is being made; and we have not heard of any problems in obtaining Federal money. For the current fiscal year, $450,000 in funds from the Federal Government is being received for the study.
PID (PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT) - The PID Task Force, met with the City Manager, City Attorney, Council Member Diana Puccetti, the City’s law council, and the City’s bond consultant to discuss the use of a PID for installation of sand socks in interested subdivisions South of FM 3005. They believe that this will be successful and can be for specific beach areas in a subdivision. There is still a lot of work to pull this together. The City will be the Sponsor. The City wants to be able to start after October, 2004. To get started this will require a petition signed by a majority of the property owners within a subdivision. Owners will be assessed based on property valuation. There will be an equitable assessment. It would help with the initial funding and then a cash flow for continued maintenance.
West Galveston Island Brochure - Kathy Barr presented the logo. The Board approved the logo.
Beach access plan - there will be a meeting on Monday the 8th of December at 4 p.m. At this meeting the plan will be reviewed by the City Council. It is important to attend to voice our opinions.
Delehide Cove - behind Pirates Cove and Laffites where the sand sock has been placed, the sea grass is coming back. With the Fish America Foundation Grant of $16,500 to the WGIPOA to plant and vegetate the marsh area, a request was made for volunteers to help.
Starvation Cove - This is a long-term project behind Spanish Grant; project is to purchase a piece of land using Federal funds. Funding is pending.
West Bay Marsh Restoration Project - Contact was made with Isla Del Sol, Terramar, Bay Harbor, and Sea Isle to see if there was an interest in a massive bay restoration project. The Fish and Wildlife-reviewed aerial pictures which show where marshlands use to be located and the goal will be to restore this marsh area. Looking at an area west of Jamaica beach, west to Bay Harbor and come up with project to restore the marsh area.
Odyssey Academy - expressed an interest to work with the WGIPOA to grow plants to vegetate the dunes. The Charter School is located at 13th and Broadway and has a lot of room to grow plants. The goal is to grow the plants by Spring.
Texas Coastal 2020 Vision - This is a long-term, statewide initiative to unite local, state, and federal efforts to promote the environmental and economic health of the Texas coast. Of particular concern is the impact on the economy and resources of the state as the erosion of Texas’ beaches and bay shorelines threatens homes, businesses, and infrastructure. The GLO would like to bring before the legislators for the next legislative session what the public would like to see happen for the Texas coast. The GLO has prepared a list of 34 questions they would like the public to address and to send back with comments. We encourage all members to please take a moment to look at the program and to answer the questions and add more questions if you desire. The questions must be returned to the GLO by December 5, 2003.
Beach and Dune rules change- The Texas General Land Office is seeking public input to assist in the development of proposed revisions to existing rules 31 TAC §§15.1-15.10 (beach/dune rules), relating to Management of the Beach/Dune System. The purpose of the proposed future rulemaking will be to streamline the standards and procedures for the issuance of dune protection permits and beachfront construction certificates, and to improve the rules regarding management of the beach/dune system. This is an opportunity for everyone to submit data, views, or arguments in writing on the proposed rulemaking. The current deadline for any comments on the proposed changes is December 19, 2003.
Public Safety - There are three (3) fire departments located in the West End - Twelve Mile Road, Jamaica Beach and Sea Isle. A consultant study recommends Sea Isle fire department be cut back from four (4) to three (3) firemen. This location really needs four (4) in order to respond. Jerry Mohn spoke with City Manager Steve Leblanc and stated his concern with reduction of Sea Isle fire department. The Fire Department cannot respond until there are four (4) on a truck, a reduction would render the Fire Department helpless to respond to an emergency. A meeting will be sent up to discuss the situation with the City Manager.
A motion was made by Sidney McClendon and seconded by Shannon Hall to send communication stating that the Board objects and opposes any reduction of any fireman or EMS and police on the West End. The letter will be addressed to the City Council.
GISD: For information on the Galveston Island School District Bond access web site, http://www.gisd.org/
Anchor Bay Development- Bill Moll discussed development issues; There is a new development called Anchor Bay that is building a subdivision near Spanish Grant and the West Bay. Bill stated there are street access issues and due to a lack of history with the construction of the streets, they are experiencing difficulty in obtaining access. Anyone with knowledge of this area should call Bill Moll at 409-737-9701.
There being no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 11:20 a.m.