Board Talk. November This issue of Board talk covers the Board meeting (held in two parts) as well as the Annual Owners Meeting (AOM).

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1 Board Talk November 2016 This issue of Board talk covers the Board meeting (held in two parts) as well as the Annual Owners Meeting (AOM). First let s congratulate the re-elected board members: Chave Gonzaba Al Ramacciotti Dan Niemeier The board also elected its officers for the 2017 year: Steve Gottlieb- President Joe Hewell Vice President Al Ramacciotti ---Treasurer Mike McClelland-Secretary

2 This has been an interesting year for business in Port Aransas. Generally, business was down by an average of about 25%. This includes many of the condo properties on the island. Against that backdrop, Sandpiper did amazingly well, as we made budget (actually missed by $ against a $3,000, budget). Overall, however, our property did amazingly well, so much so, that we are able to make an excess cash distribution of $100, in the current calendar year. Those in the rental program should expect their check (in proportion to the revenue their unit generated) in the next month. There were, by the way, three events that contributed to the business downturn. These factors were the slowdown of the oil business in South Texas, the scare associated with the flesheating bacteria and the fact that there was a lot of rain which filled the lakes throughout the state allowing folks to stay home and enjoy the lakes as they have not in several years.

3 When you have the opportunity, please thank English, for her overall management as well as forming the management group into a cohesive team Sasha, for picking up her responsibilities so quickly and with dedication Marcelo, for his 16 years of service and his ability to build relationships with management, owners and guests Tammy, for taking over as front desk supervisor and grasping some of the key financial indicators and being able to provide them to English quickly Sharon for both her dedication and ability to train her staff as well as her ability to maintain her staff in exactly the size needed to accomplish the work at hand. Jan, for the incredible job she does in maintaining and enhancing the landscape throughout the property Had we not had such a strong team, there would have been no way to have done nearly so well

4 financially. There is no doubt that this is the strongest, most dedicated management team we have had in my 11 plus years at the Sandpiper. A concern the board has had that was reinforced at the AOM, has to do with the fact that during busy times of the day both owners and guests leave their cars unattended directly in front of the building. This not only blocks others from loading or unloading their cars, but also blocks all through traffic. We have elected to try to remedy this problem first with painted lines, arrows, lane markings and signs indicating that the area in front of the Sandpiper is for loading and unloading only and that cars must be moved before carts are brought upstairs. We are also going to use the area to the north of the entry for loading and unloading. If these remedies prove unsuccessful, we will try other measures to alleviate the congestion. A request was made that we somehow make financial information available to owners earlier than we have for the AOM and that we make that

5 information easier to read and understand. We will do that and thus have asked CCMS to provide a simplified format and make it available to owners quarterly. This expanded information will be placed in the owners section of our website. I should also point out, that the board renewed the CCMS contract, with no increases in cost. Similarly, we need to thank CCMS for the work they have been doing for Sandpiper; with a special word of thanks to Kathy Vana and Casey Patterson. Kathy for all of the quality financial work she does, (which by the way, allowed our Auditors to give us the highest rating, a CLEAN OPINION in the recently completed audit). Casey has been working with us on our Advertising, Marketing and overall website work. This has resulted in known and trackable increases in bookings over the last several years. One last point, we have for the last year been looking over our by-laws and have determined that they are simply out of date. They do not, reflect the modern world in which we live. For example, there is no prohibition against having a felon or pedophile on the board. It s not that this particular item has

6 been a problem, rather that it is indicative of by laws that were written 30 years ago and have never been updated. There is no mention of electronic ways to communicate with owners for a meeting, should one be necessary. I mention this here, because any changes to the by-laws will require a vote of the owners and something that will happen at next year s AOM. Just to be clear, the proposed changes, should there be any, will be distributed to owners in advance of the meeting to give all ample time to consider whatever changes might be proposed. To ALL a great holiday season. Steve Gottlieb

7 BOARD TALK September 2016 Abbreviated This is an abbreviated version of Board Talk that is being sent out so owners can understand the increases they will see on their monthly statements going forward from this date. Because this topic really deserves a lengthy explanation, most of the discussion will be held at the November Annual meeting. What is especially important to point out, is that the Sandpiper is still the best property on the island and its financial performance is at the very top of the list. Unlike most all properties we made our budget projections and our sales prices are holding. So, what then is the reason for the increase in our monthly assessment? It is because we want to remain the top property. As many of you are aware, we have a list of potential projects that appears at the end of the annual Audit report. We asked CCMS to update that list and most importantly, to update the cost to complete the projects and the remaining expected life of the affected systems. They did that and presented it to the board in our last meeting. The board then reviewed the projects and their expected costs and concluded that we would run out of money in our dedicated reserves if we did not increase the money going in to those reserves. Were that to occur we would be forced to a radical position to raise money a position we do not want to be in. Our solution, therefore was to increase reserves and thus build up the funds we will need to take on these projects when the time comes. We were also concerned as to where we stand compared to other properties as far as assessment per square foot. Interestingly, we are relatively low compared to other properties that could be considered competitors. Consider Seagull, their cost per square foot ranges between $0.59 and $0.61, while ours even after the increase ranges between$0.50 and $0.51. The key point is that we are taking steps to help ensure that we remain the top property and do so as economically as possible. One more point, we are still the best reserved property as we have a dedicated reserve that has in excess of $600,000 before any increase. I know there will be questions, there always are when there is any kind of an increase, so please make it a point to come to the November annual owners meeting where we can more fully explain the strategy.

8 Board Talk May 2016 In keeping with our goal to be the premium resort on the island, we discussed several ideas for changes in what we might offer guests. One thought was to increase family oriented activities. These might include upgrading the downstairs game room, table shuffle board, a pool table, billiards table, foosball and a flat screen TV. For beach activities such things as horseshoes or corn hole boards could be considered. It would be interesting to get some feedback from owners as to your feelings on this type of change. If you would like to comment, please send an to English with your thoughts. Please include your rationale. We again discussed how to improve our sign at the highway entrance. If the city owns the land and lighting, we will have to determine what changes we may be permitted to do. Clearly, we would need to ensure that Seagull would be on board with any changes we might want to make. Traffic flow at the front entrance was another area of discussion. At peak check-in times, cars are being left unattended for extended periods of time. We are looking at ways to redesign the area which may include another lane and/or a change to the parking scheme. Good news is that the boardwalk and sundeck are finished. All the new deck furniture has arrived. We will be sending a thank you letter to the Seagull for their excellent help during the boardwalk repair. We discussed what maintenance projects would be coming up in the future. A long range plan will be developed which will address Fire Control Panel replacement, pool resurfacing, renovating the downstairs restrooms, and roof replacement. The deadline for any owner who wants to become a board member is August 28, Please send resumes to Shirley Hogan (shirlhogan@comcast.net) and English Allbritton (manager@sandpiperporta.com)

9 Board Talk February/March 2016 We tried something a bit different in terms of writing Board Talk, but it unfortunately delayed the process. We will work on getting that problem fixed as we go forward. One advantage to our having been late with this edition, however, is the fact that we can now cover some of the advances that were made since the board meeting Much of the February board meeting was taken up with discussions about the sundeck and boardwalk repairs. The obvious issue was the lack of progress that Alazan Builder was making on the sundeck. As a result, we have entered into an agreement (not yet fully executed, as the agreement is not yet signed by us) whereby Alazan will, through their subcontractor, complete the roof work. At that point, their contract will be terminated and STC (the boardwalk contractor) will pick up the work and complete all of the wood related work that is to be done. Additionally, all of the material that was previously purchased by Alazan for the project will be left on site. Any money not yet paid to Alazan will be forfeited. This will result in no consequential increase in the overall cost of the sundeck project as it was originally contracted for. The original contract did not call for the repair of the hand rails around the sundeck, but we have requested, in the new contract with STC, that these handrails be repaired using Ipe, so they look similar to the handrails on the board walk. STC did a fine job on the boardwalk and in fact completed (to the extent necessary for our owners and guests to use it) the work almost three weeks sooner than had been anticipated. It is also important to thank the Sea Gull s Board for allowing us to use their boardwalk during the period when ours could not be used. Last, but in no way least, we all need to give a vote of thanks to our Sandpiper staff and the part time folks they brought on during these busy and often confusing times. As it turns out, the sundeck project is again delayed, though largely by our request. We did not want this work to go on during the spring break period.

10 On another subject, the Board, in response to the open carry law that became effective on January 1 st, decided that we do not want openly carried handguns in our building. We are permitted to take this position, so long as we post the proper signs as required by the law. We are going to do that at all three entrances to the building. The sign size, wording and whatever else is defined by the law, so do not be surprised when you see them. Another subject that has been discussed for several years has to do with the entrance way sign and lighting. We agreed to look at it again, but it is important to point out that we have little actual control over what is there, as neither we nor the Sea Gull own that property. Further, the lights are from TexDot which adds yet another layer of bureaucracy. If that s not enough, there is the possibility that 361 will be widened and we do not want to spend money only to have it changed by TexDot or the City of Corpus Christi. It is that time again and a nominating committee was appointed; members for 2016 are: Shirley Hogan, Chair; Mike McClelland; and Joe Hewell. Incumbents who wish to be considered again must notify BOTH Shirley Hogan (shirlhogan@comcast.net) AND English Allbritton (Manager@SandpiperPortA.com) by May 2. Other owners interested in being considered for a board position must submit resumes to Both Shirley Hogan and English Allbriton by August 21. Steve Gottlieb President

How to Hold Core Group Meetings

Chapter Two Page 16 How to Hold Core Group Meetings A core group meeting is a time for leaders and important figureheads of the association to meet in private and discuss issues that do not need to be