MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
The meeting of the Board of Directors of the West Galveston Island Property Owners' Association, Inc. was held on July 17, 2004 at the Galveston County Club. Jerry Mohn, President, called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. Directors Al Birdwell of Bermuda Beach, Wanda Greer representing Terramar, Ann Lyman representing Isla Del Sol, Tom Boothe representing the Condominiums, and Marty Baker representing Pirates Beach, were present. Susan Gonzales, Recording Secretary, was also present.
Recognition of Attendees by Jerry Mohn: Lyda Ann Thomas, newly elected Mayor; Brian Lamb, Captain of the Sheriffs Department; and, Bill Hynek of the Parks Board. Gina Benton, Assistant Regional Director to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson was also present. Corporate sponsors included Peggy Zahler of Johnson Space Center, Gary Greene from Gary Greene Realtors, and Claire Reiswerg from San ‘N Sea Pirates Beach Realtors.
Minutes:
The minutes of the May 15, 2004 and June 19, 2004 meeting were e-mailed prior to the meeting to all Directors. Motion by Marty Baker, second by Ann Lyman, the Board approved the minutes of May 15, 2004 and June 19, 2004 by unanimous vote.
Treasurers Report:
Cash is $23,741, Dues received: $4500, total assets: $28,241. No liabilities and there are five outstanding fees for dues. Motion by Marty Baker and second by Tom Boothe, the Board approved the Treasurers report.
Parks Board: Questions raised at the May 15 meeting were answered by Chris Woolwine of the Parks Board by Email.
One question was asked on the sales tax revenue for collected for large events such as Mardi Gras and Motor Cycle Rally. Ms Woolwine reported "For the four day weekend portion of Mardi Gras, an additional $178,387 in sales taxes are were throughout the fiscal year; $320,344 in additional property taxes are collected by all taxing jurisdictions; and, $194,266 additional hotel taxes are generated". For the Motorcycle Rally’s first year in 2003, "September 2003 Hotel Taxes were $403,881 as compared to 2002 Hotel Taxes at $397,399. September 2003 sales taxes were $1,247,373 as compared to September 2002 sales taxes of $1,114,252.
A question was asked, "Who is responsible for trash pick up at Sportsman Road? The City of Galveston is responsible for trash pick in this area. The Parks Board has a program for picking up wood on the beach. The Parks Board has two (2) men on a truck with a wagon and the pick up is done early in the morning.
TexDot – Hydraulic Study:
This is a study of the evacuation and drainage of the West End of the Island. This project is due to the efforts of Craig Eiland and Dianna Puccetti. The plans are to elevate FM3005 a total 8.52 miles another 1.6 feet to handle a 6.8 foot storm surge and a total of 3.16 miles at another .5 feet to handle a storm surge of 5.7 feet. This new elevation will handles storm surges of 7 to 8 feet.. Permits have been requested and it will take over a year for approval. We do not expect construction to begin until mid or the end of 2005.
Major drainage outflow ditches from the Gulf to the Bay will also be constructed for Karankawa and Jamaica Beach plus a smaller one at Pirates Beach. In addition, culverts and drainage ditches along FM 3005 as well as adjacent subdivisions will be cleaned and new ones installed if necessary.
Beach Access Plan:
The plan will go into effect July 20, 2004 on the West End of the Island. The East End plan has not been finalized. Bay Harbor to Pointe West will have a one-way seasonal access and no driving on the beaches on weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Friday 6:00 PM to Sunday 6:00 PM. The area in front of Stravenger will be open and the area in front of Pointe San Luis will be closed to vehicles. The area West of Pointe San Luis will be open until development of certain portions of the beach area are completed. A fee is being considered for certain areas.
Geohazard Study:
City Council Member Jackie Cole had a geologist from the University of Texas put together a report on geohazards on West Galveston Island in collaboration with two other geologists on recommendations to the City of Galveston. One recommendation was if beaches are eroding five feet (5’) per year – setbacks should be setback 100’. The report looked at digging canals and the effects on nearby wetlands. Information can be found at http://galvestonboi.com/livingwithgeohazards.html. The audio portion can be obtained at: http://www.guidrynews.com/ by scrolling down to July 8, 2004: "Galveston City Council met on Thursday" – click on Photos and Audio.
PID (Public Improvement District):
This is a basically self-imposed tax to fund the installation of a shoreline restoration project such as a sand sock or a sand re-nourishment program over a 5 or 10 year period. Sand socks are very expensive and a PID is a vehicle to alleviate the heavy payouts and spread them over a 5 to 10 year period. Questions have been posed by the interested subdivisions and were sent to the City of Galveston to be answered, hopefully in the next few weeks. A permit takes at least 6 months for approval. The cost to form a PID could be $75,000 and could be used by many individual subdivisions for their own shoreline restoration projects.
Bermuda Beach:
Discussion was held on the large "Rent Me" sign on a home in the subdivision that faces FM 3005. This particular form of advertisement plus the display in the front of the yard violates the subdivisions deed restrictions. The owner of the property requested a variance in the ordinance from the City of Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustments to allow this form of advertisement and it was denied. The sign still is visible until the appeal process is finalized. There is concern if the sign was acceptable, other subdivisions would incur the same type advertisement. The WGIPOA appeared before the Zoning Board to request denial of the variance requested. It was stated that the owner has purchased property in other subdivisions on the island and had planned to advertise in the same manner.
Moratorium:
There were seventy-four homes identified. These owners were given a two-year moratorium from March 25th. Homes can stay and be repaired to the original footprint. At the end of two years if the home is still on the beach, they will be removed. The GLO is seeking funds to either move or buy out the property.
Sand Sock:
Covering of any sand sock is on hold due to Turtle Nesting season. Repairs to sand socks will be done during turtle nesting season from the back of the roads and not from the beach. In addition, a turtle nesting monitoring program will be in effect during the repairs.
Turtle Nesting and Monitoring:
US Fish & Wildlife will not allow any activity on the beach during the nesting season. There is a monitoring program that costs $75,000 and is paid by FEMA, Pirates Beach and Bolivar.
Program: Howard Marlowe "Congress & Beach Projects":
Jerry Mohn introduced Howard Marlowe who is the Lobbyist hired by the City of Galveston, Parks Board, Galveston County and the City of Jamaica Beach. Howard Marlowe represents Galveston County, Brazoria County and Jefferson County on coastal issues in Washington, D.C.
Feasibility Study & Funding: Howard Marlowe stated that if we get funding we will then take the draft to Washington, from there we get a Chiefs Report that will state "Yes, this is the project we want to pursue". The Corp. of Engineers will then have input and recommendations. Project "Authorization" approves construction costs at $15 million by Congress. They will authorize an initial and a total fund. The total fund being over a 50-year period.
Mr. Marlowe stated that the general picture of beaches in Washington, D.C. in 1996 during President Clinton’s tenure was that of no funding in that new beach projects are a local problem not national. Congress reacted negatively and communities came together to form the American Coastal Coalition (which later merged into the American Shore Beach and Preservation Association) to change the attitude about protecting property, beaches, environmental concerns, etc. The grass roots coalition was successful in increasing the funding for shoreline restoration projects from $47 million in 1996 to $135 million in 2002.
Mr. Marlowe advised the current administration under President Bush has shifted policy where federal participation beyond the local nourishment phase no longer can be supported in the budget. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has recommended in the Fiscal Year 2005 that beach projects be reduced to $64 million with no new starts in studies or construction, no periodic beach nourishment, and no continuing environmental restoration projects. Federal funding for beach projects were decreased by 15%. In discussions made by the House of Management & Budget – they plan to eliminate Federal funding for periodic re-nourishment projects.
The Water Resource Development Act ("WRDA") now requires all Feasibility Studies need to go through an independent review, which takes 90 days. The WRDA takes 180 days to review. The Beach Nourishment Advisory Committee is directed to do ten (10) changes – setting up new standard sand size, use of shell and sand sources.
All water projects in the U.S. come under "WRDA", the Water Resource and Development Act. The US Army Corps of Engineers administers and handles all construction projects. WRDA funding was increased from $4.1 billion to $4.5 billion while the beach projects were reduced from $120 million to $64 million. The beach projects have never received the funding as other waterway, channel dredging, dam building, etc, projects. Texas has never participated in any major funding as other coastal States such as Florida, New Jersey, California, who have received millions of dollars over the years. Texas is just beginning and the reason why the funding of the Feasibility Study from the Sabine Pass to san Luis Pass is very important for Galveston. The US Army Corps of Engineers requested $725,000 for the last year of the $4.4 million study. The OMB reduced the request to $325,000. Mr. Marlowe advised if the $325,000 is approved, the study will most likely be delayed another two years. It is very critical for Galveston Island to have the study finished to identify solutions in slowing the erosion rate of the Island and for property owners and property owner association to request the legislators to increase the funding by $400,000 to the original $725,000 request.
The House has already approved of the beach project cuts. The Senate has yet to vote on the measure and Mr. Marlowe advised a grass roots effort is necessary to convince the Federal Government that beach projects are a necessity and an economic benefit not only for the local community, but also to the State and Federal Government. He said people and businesses should become involved and request their Congress and Senate representatives to increase the funding to the original proposed levels of $120 million. There is a common interest in building beaches. Marlowe also urged the property owners to contribute funds to legislators who support coastal issues. Mr. Marlowe noted that Texas Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn and Congressman Nick Lampson have been very supportive of the project, but he urged the property owners to send letters of support to those representatives, as well as others. He said property owner associations need to continue to support the grass roots campaign for Congressional funding of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Feasibility Study Shoreline Erosion Project from the Sabine Pass to San Luis Pass.
Feasibility Study:
The Feasibility Study being conducted by the USACOE on the causes and solutions to erosion from the San Luis Pass to the Sabine Pass. This study will show causes of erosion and solutions for erosion. Currently there is a shortfall of the funds. Full funding is for $725,000 and the shortfall is $325,000. The Federal Government is the last link in getting total funding. A letter needs to go to Senator Kay Hutchinson.
Motion by Al Birdwell, second by Marty Baker, the Board approved that a draft letter will be placed on the WGIPOA website for use by the member Associations and their members. The letter will be a request for the remaining $400,000 of funding.
It was recommended that the letter go to the District Office (Houston/Dallas).
American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA):
Jerry Mohn requested the approval of $500 to be a sponsor at the upcoming ASBPA Annual meeting in New Orleans, September 12 – 15. The sponsorship will broaden the visibility of the WGIPOA to other State associations attending the meeting from all over the U.S.
Motion by Al Birdwell and seconded by Marty baker, the Board approve $500 expense for a sponsorship by the WGIPOA for the annual ASBPA meeting.
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 11:00
___________________________________________________________________
Date Secretary