Estate Fish Bay Owners’ Association

Annual Meeting

May 14, 2011

 

Meeting called to order at 10:04 am by president, Terry Pishko.

Roll call and registration of proxies was done via sign-in sheet at the door. Welcome from the president and introductions made by those in attendance.

Appointment of inspectors of election if requested--Two volunteers, Terry Provost and Janay Provost

Meeting proof-of-notice was via sign at entrance to Fish Bay, via email for those that we have email addresses, and via mail for those without email. If you did not receive notice, let us know.

Motion made for the minutes from last year’s annual meeting be accepted as written.  (Minutes from last year were posted on the FB website or mailed to those we don’t have email addresses for.)  All were in favor.

Report of the Officers & Board of Directors—

• The NOAA grant projects, the native garden project, and a beach clean up were the main projects during 2010 – 2011 FY.
• Once again many thanks to Allan Weinstock who has been maintaining the native plant garden & adjacent areas. Friends of the Park did a tour with Irene Patton through the native plant garden. She had a nice turnout and Chuck, Terry & Allan were present to answer any questions.  (and they did have several).  A copy of the Native Plant brochure developed in conjunction with our establishing the garden was handed out to members present & is available on the FB website.  
• We offered an amnesty program for delinquent accounts in February. This was a three-month amnesty option given to overdue accounts by which we would forgive the interest that had been applied and reduced the administration fee from $75 to $50 per year. Two out of 22 property owners took advantage of it. One week remains for this offer.  Note:  Subsequent to the annual meeting 5 more properties took advantage of this option reducing the overdue accounts to 15. 
• We need to set up committee to look into access to the beach at Fish Bay. We do have a right of way by the FB sign but that area is not conducive to parking. It was suggested that we make an announcement on the website seeking volunteers for this committee. A sign-up sheet was passed at the annual meeting. Q-What about a dock? A-The original dock was put in before the roads—early 70’s & destroyed in a hurricane. The suggestion was made that we explore building a new dock (possibly partnering with the Gift Hill School. 

Architecture Review - Michael Milne, Architectural Review Chair, reported four applications received this FY with three approvals.

Roads Report – Chuck Pishko, Chair of the Roads Committee passed out a report detailing road improvement activity for the FY (Attachment 1).  Chuck had a slide show running during the meeting showing pictures of the bridge over the Battery Ghut and the changes to the ghut which occurred during heavy rainfall this past fall.  A list of road projects for 2011 and the future (Attachment 2) with suggested priority rankings was handed out and Chuck asked that if there are other roads issues to be addressed to let us know. 

• The NOAA grant was a great opportunity for Fish Bay and all money is now spent. We were shovel-ready and the contractor Stone Masonry got everything done quickly. Biweekly conference calls were required throughout the project. A total of $480,000 was received and put into FB projects.  This included a supplemental grant amount of $60,000.  The money was well spent.

• Q-Danger from wings of bridge being washed out?  A- Greg Miller stated it shouldn’t in general be a problem unless a lot of debris comes down and hits the bridge.  He stated he did not think it a serious problem but we should keep the upstream clear of debris.  It was also mentioned that the ghut changed drastically during the heavy rainfall this past fall and sections of the ghut now run real close to Marina Drive.  The one lane bridge needs to be fixed, the railings should be replaced. It was suggested we should wait until after hurricane season and then fix it so we don’t have to do it twice. Some suggested making the bridge two lanes but others opposed this as one lane slows traffic down. Someone mentioned that there may be precast concrete planks available on island. Michael will look into it.

• Q. Concerns about the wall constructed in Little Fish Bay ghut (parcel 200-A1-2) were brought up. A. We have spoken with DPNR/CZM and told that property owners have been permitted. DPNR has visited site on several occasions to observe work being done. It was mentioned that one cannot build within 30 feet of center of ghut by law.
• It was mentioned that excessive runoff from Upper Rendezvous is running into Fish Bay.
• Q-Has floating dock (parcel 200-C-2A) been permitted? A- Board will check. 
• Any individuals can call any board members or DPNR at any time to inquire about permitting issues, building plans, excavations.
• Someone suggested another 10-year plan to get more money for some of these projects. The board w look into this but it may not be feasible at this time.
• Greg Miller, Project Director for NOAA Grant and board member stated that the objectives of the NOAA project was to protect the bay. He reported that we should be vegetating the unpaved sections of the road to prevent erosion.   
• Bev Biziewski thanked John Nogueira for putting rocks along Cocoloba Trail where it is washed out by her house.
• Q. Should we hire someone to come around and clear out swales/ditches of rocks?   A. The Roads Committee cannot be out there 24/7.  The committee needs the active support of all residents.  It was suggested that if property owners clean up rocks/debris in the road, gutters, or culverts near their home potential clogs/flooding can be averted.  
• Q. Should we have beach/road side cleanup days more than once per year?  We should schedule a road cleanup after hurricane season.

• Q. Someone asked about the wash out on Rte 104A (upper road). A. Since this is not an Association road, it was suggested that we nicely keep on Ira Wade, Public Works Comr. about it.
• Q. We had two requests to dead end/no outlet sign on Z Road and on Hilltop Lane. A. Board will consider.

Other Business

• Complaints of dogs loose in Fish Bay—Several instances (some recent/some not so recent) of dogs attacking and/or approaching people in a threatening manner were brought up.  Dog complaints need to be addressed to the owner of the dog and/or called into the police.  Karen Radke board member who is also on the Animal Care Centers board said she would get the name & number of the police officer responsible for animal control issues. Terry indicated that we’ve issued warnings to property owners in the past directly when we know the owner and generally in newsletters.  We will publish again to remind owners they need to keep their animals on leashes.  
• Q-Can members attend board meetings? A-Yes, board meeting are open to all members.
• Q-Can board meetings be posted on the website? A-They are not currently posted on the website but we will send out an email notice of any upcoming board meetings.  With technology much of the boards business is handled via email ie. reviewing and considering expenditures for road projects but we will try to get word out via email when a meeting is to take place. 
• It was suggested to get more people to the meeting that we possibly have a meeting in January or February so the people that are here only in the winter may be able to attend. Another suggestion was to just add another meeting…an idea meeting? How about a big party meeting? This is something the board will discuss.
• Cement truck droppings. Q. Have we talked to Matt Schnell about the spills? A. Yes, we did talk to him about cleaning them up and will talk to him again.  If you see spills call and report it.

Financial Report—The financial report was passed out for review (Attachment 3). There were no questions from the floor.

Elections--All officers and one board member were up for re-election.  A slate of nominees was announced in the April newsletter.  The slate is President, Terry Pishko, Vice President, Michael Milne, Secretary, Tammy Cummings, Treasurer, Beverly Biziewski & one board position, Chuck Pishko.  There were no nominations for officers or board positions from the floor? Motion was made to cast one ballot for the slate. All were in favor.

Meeting adjourned 11:25 am.

Prepared by Tammy Cummings, Secretary