Category: Board Meetings

Minutes for the Dutch Island Board Meeting

February 8, 2024

1. Call to order

a. Ben Perkins called the meeting to order.  Board members present were Gary Alan, Sarah Hunt, Susan Dailey, Jason Pierce, James Garrett and Paul Painter, Tania Groover. 

2. Approval of agenda

a. Motion to approve agenda, approved. 

3. Approval of November 2023 minutes

a. Motion made to approve November minutes, approved.

4. Officer Selection

a. Board officers selected are: Ben Perkins –  President, Chad Barrow – Vice President, Sarah Hunt – Treasurer, Susan Dailey – Secretary

5. Financial Report

1. Sarah Hunt presented financials. Monthly reports approved. 
2. 2024 Budget will be presented at the March meeting for approval
3. Sarah Hunt made a motion “That the capitalization policy for 2023 be amended to state that the listed fixed asset acquisition will be paid for with reserve funds up to the amount of the 2023 annual fees designated for the reserve fund”. Motion approved. 

d. Motion made to engage Coomer, Coomer and Rothier to conduct our 2023 audit. Motion approved. 

6. Presidents Spending Authority

a. Motion made to approve the Board Presidents spending authority up to $5,000 for repair subject to Vice President veto. 

7. Discussion Regarding Priority Spending Projects for 2024

1. The board agreed to table this discussion until after 2024 budget is approved at next board meeting. 

8. Committee Updates

1. Roads and Drainage Committee updated that they are working with an engineer to identify areas of concern throughout the island where drainage is an issue. The engineer recommends that drainage be addressed before roads. The committee will come back with further information, but no action to be taken yet. 
2. Security Committee addressed an uptick of complaints regarding speeders on the island.  Motion was made to send an email out to the island reminding residents of Dutch Island Speeding Policy. 
3. Pool Committee discussed allowing minors under 16 to access the pool.  Discussion tabled until closer to pool season.
   1. Motion made to approved up to $4,000 towards purchase of new electronic bar code access gate from playground into pool area
   2. James Garrett working on additional lighting in the pool parking lot area.  Will present at March meeting cost and design. 

d. Landscape Committee discussed preliminary ideas for improving the fountain area at the front gate. No motion made. Island wide tree trimming of common areas and low hanging limbs will happen this spring. 

e. Dock Committee discussed the need for reinforcement to the pilings under the pavilion. Estimates will be gathered to fix. 

     a. Management will have dock assessed for repairs prior to boating season. 

f. ARC Committee discussed the need for clearer communication to the community regarding the process and response time. Gary Alan and Sarah Hunt have agreed to serve on this committee along with current members Jason Pierce and George Groover. 

9. Action Items

a. Motion was made and approved for the President to sign the memorandum of understanding with Seimitsu for the purpose of exploring bringing fiber optic cable onto Dutch Island. 

b. Motion was made and approved to pay up to $4,000 to Georgia Plantation Solutions to restock the pond with fish at Hedge Nettle and Wild Thistle for resident enjoyment. 

10. Covenants

1. Residents will be emailed an update on the new revised covenants from the resident comments and allow residents until February 19th to submit questions before covenants will be put out for a vote. 

Meeting Adjourned

Minutes for Dutch Island Annual Members Meeting
January 18, 2024

Welcome
a. President Ben Perkins welcomed property owners and introduced Board Members.
b. Ben noted 2023 accomplishments to include:

 Placing reserve funds in interest bearing accounts that generated ~$25,000 in income
for 2023 and are expected to generate ~$55,000 in income for 2024.
 Roads and storm water drainage systems were evaluated by a civil engineer to
determine future maintenance and replacement needs.
 The tennis courts were resurfaced and repainted to include pickle ball courts, and pickle
ball nets were purchased.
 Tennis court lighting was upgraded.
 The swimming pool decking was repainted under warranty.
 The swimming pool was resurfaced (no more “pool toe”).
 A new security contractor was engaged, resulting in a more responsive contractor and
higher pay to the employees without paying more for the service.
 A new landscaping company was engaged to provide a higher level of service.
 Commenced work to have an additional internet service provider on the island.
 Landscaping improvements were implemented, including phase 1 of the causeway
trimming project (intended to improve views while promoting the health of the trees
and bushes and protecting the causeway from erosion), improvements at the front gate
landscape beds, and elsewhere on the island.
 Installed a new digital sign at the front gate.
 Hosted many social events (including the annual Christmas with Santa, the Easter Egg
hunt, the July 4 party, classic car coffees, and the crabbing tournament).
 Holding more board meetings by Zoom after realizing that more residents attend board
meetings if held online.
 Increased resident engagement through the use of committees, including landscaping,
tennis/pickleball, playgrounds, and streets/roads/drainage/safety. A special thanks to all
of our volunteers!
c. Forecast for 2024 and beyond:

 In response to numerous requests, a large sun shade will be installed at the playground
to promote enjoyment of the playground during sunny days.
 Completion of the causeway trimming project.
 Addressing the unsightly parking area at the causeway culvert/bulkhead, to include
grassing and grading that area.
 New covenants to be submitted for a vote of the homeowners. The Board circulated
the draft covenants to homeowners for comment. Feedback continues to be received,
and changes have been made in response. Once the Board is confident the covenants
are in an acceptable form, the Board will circulate the covenants for a vote, likely in a
few months.
 Lighting upgrades at the pool building parking lot (thanks to Rushing Electric for helping
us contain costs).

 Drainage and road maintenance and repair based on the civil engineer’s report.
 Identifying means to improve pedestrian safety on the stretch of road from live oak
circle (the intersection of Meriweather Dr. and Dutch Island Dr.) to the causeway.
 Maintenance at the dock pavilion, which needs bracing.
 Restocking fish in the pond on Wild Thistle, and improving access for residents to fish
that pond near the corner of Wild Thistle and Hedge Nettle Crossing.

Financial Report
a. Finance Committee reported $242,000 net income and $1,266,000 in assets. The Reserve Fund is
currently invested in Certificate of Deposits and will generate approximately $55,000 in interest.
Security
a. In 2023 a new security company was engaged. To date, recordkeeping of passes has improved.
b. Residents are encouraged to use gate sentry website to order gate passes.
Covenants
a. Since phases of Dutch Island were developed over many years, different covenants are in part out
dated and have a variety of assorted rules. Consolidated and updated covenants will make it easier for
homeowners, lawyers, realtors and board members to advise and comply.
b. Presently, there is no way to enforce covenants. New covenants will clarify covenant enforcement
policy.
b. In order to adopt these new covenants, a 2/3 consent by residents is required.
c. Even if you do not agree with every covenant, please vote “yes.” A simplification and merging of
covenants will be better for the entire neighborhood.
Homeowners questions.
a. How will infraction of covenants be enforced?
b. Is homeowner allowed to perform routine yard maintenance on Sunday? Answer is “yes.”
c. Can special assessment be applied to some lots and not others? Answer is “No. If there is a special
need beyond Reserve Fund, special assessments will be applicable to all property owners.
d. Why does Dutch Island experience power outages? Answer is “high winds blow wires together and
cause a short.”
e. Speed bumps need painting to increase visibility. Answer is “speed bumps will be addressed as a
part of roadwork to be performed in 2024.”
f. How can golf cart speeding, underage driving and lack of lights be handled? Answer is “required
registration of golf carts.”
g. How can needed road repair take place immediately outside gate exit? Answer is “contact our
county commissioner Helen Stone.”
Meeting adjourned.
Tally of votes for 2024 Board
Chad Barrow, Paul Painter, Gary Allen, Sarah Hunt elected.

Minutes for the Dutch Island Board Meeting

April 11, 2024

1. Call to order

a. Chad Barrow called the zoom meeting to order.  Board members present were Gary Alan, Sarah Hunt, Susan Dailey,, James Garrett, and Tania Groover.

2. Approval of agenda

a. Motion to approve agenda, approved. 

3. Approval of March 14th  minutes

a. Motion made to approve March minutes, approved.

4. Public Comment

a. Resident concerns about on street parking was addressed. This is a safety concern for emergency vehicles and against our covenants. 

b.The board agreed to send an email out to the community concerning this and voted on the following action: Continuous overnight street parking results in a 2 week suspension of gate privileges for the household. 2nd offense results in a loss of gate privileges for 2 months and a $250 re-activation fee. 

5. Financial Report

a.Sarah Hunt presented financials. Monthly reports approved.

b.Discussion of priority projects for the board. Committees will come back with estimates for projects to be voted on. c.Gary, Sarah, and Tania will form a committee to look at costs and plans for a community clubhouse. 

6. Covenants

a. A motion was made to approve acquiring docusign to allow electronic voting for the new covenants and to begin opening the voting up in 30 days. Motion passed. James and Paul will work with Colby on how to distribute this information to residents. 

7. Boat Trailer Parking

a. A motion was made to notify residents with registered boats who leave their trailers parked at the dock 24 hours to move their trailer or it will be towed by towing company posted at the dock.Communication will go out to residents reminding them of this rule.  Motion carried. 

8. Maintenance Items 

a.Minnow basin/culvert area and pool parking lot need to be addressed with new gravel and some type of grass covering. Bids will be collected for these two areas. 

b.Pool Lighting- Gary and James are working on new lighting for the pool parking lot area. A motion was made to approve up to $10K for this project. Motion approved. 

c. Fountain- The board voted by email on a proposal by Fountains and Such to repaint the interior of the fountain and repair some of the non-working fountain heads. The email voted was ratified by the board. 

9. Committee Updates

Dock Committee-
a.Pressure washing of the dock will begin soon. A proposal from Soap on a Rope was approved. 

Roads and Drainage Committee
a.Chad Barrow updated that the committee is working with Coleman Engineering to identify areas of concern throughout the island and present a scope of work. A motion was made to accept a proposal from Coleman for $32,500 to determine work that needs to be done not the actual work itself, and to include up to an additional $25K to make drainage repairs on Terrapin Trail by Coastal Site Work. Motion approved.
b. Chad will get estimates for painting speed bumps.
c. Chad, Ben and Paul will work on the wording for communication that needs to go out to residents for keeping ditches and culverts cleared. 

Pool Committee
a.Cindy Malone presented the Health Department Inspection Findings which cited our water heater not working. Ladder anchors that need to be replaced and the coping around the pool deck that is a trip hazard.  Cindy is working with Kirby the pool management company to get the first items repaired and estimates for what direction to take on the pool coping or pool decking which will need to be repaired or replaced.

Landscape Committee
a.A motion was made to approve the estimate up to $10K from Bartlett Tree Company for island wide tree canopy trimming to being first of May. Motion passed. Communication will be sent to residents. 

10. ARC Committee
A. Randy Peacock will be joining the ARC committee. 

New Business

Sarah Hunt suggested holding a Town Hall meeting for residents to discuss drainage issues and expenses. 

Meeting Adjourned

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