October 2009

It's really feeling like Fall is here.  Even though we've had a few 80 degree days, the nights are very cool.  For most of us, we are now waking up for work in what seems like the middle of the night.  Can the leaves be far behind?  

As you probably know, the President's Comments in the last Sea Breeze were inadvertently left out because of a miscommunication.   I wrote an article on the possible new beach strip lawsuit but it was put in as the President's Comments, not as a separate article.  The actual comments were then emailed to the HSIA email list and posted on our web site.  In those comments I spoke about an incident where a scooter was stolen from an open garage and suggested that we need to have more of an urban frame of mind to make sure we don't become victims of crime.  By that I meant keeping doors and cars locked and not leaving valuables in plain sight.  The victims of that theft were very upset with what I wrote and felt that I was blaming them and making excuses for the criminal that took their scooter.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I want to apologize for upsetting them, especially when they were already justifiably upset about the theft of their scooter.   When they emailed me, they raised an issue which comes up regularly when we talk about security.  They wanted to know why we couldn't become a gated community or put up  cameras  to  record  everyone  entering  or leaving the neighborhood.  Hillsmere gave up the ability to do that many years ago, shortly after the community was created, by giving all of our roads to the county.  In return, we don't have to pay for our own road maintenance which would be very expensive.  Since the roads are not private property, anyone is permitted to enter our community.  They also were concerned about the effectiveness of our private security patrols.  The current company we are using, Blueguard Security, has done a good job of reliably providing the patrols.  However, in the next month, we will be analyzing how they are patrolling and see if we can come up with any suggestions to make the coverage more effective and responsive.   

The HSIA Budget Committee met this month to prepare the budgets for FY 2011 that starts on July 1, 2010.   The budget that most of you are interested in is the Special Tax Budget.   The budget we are proposing increases the  Special Tax by $38 to a total of $159 for next year.  The main reason for the increase is continuing improvements at the beach.  However, there were several projects that we left out in an attempt to keep the tax from increasing too much.  They were:  replacing the swing sets near the large pavilion, regrading the same area to reduce or eliminate the standing water we get after a big rain, and adding an electronic gate at the beach that would automatically open at dawn and close at dusk.  The new gate would make sure that the beach was available without waiting for someone to unlock it and greatly improve security after dark.  The total cost of these additional projects would increase the Special tax by an additional $23 for next year.  At our General meeting on November 12th, we will be asking the membership to approve the HSIA budgets.  At that meeting, we will take a vote to see if the membership wants us to include the additional projects in the budget.  If you want to be part of that decision, then please attend the meeting.  Our General Meetings are at 7:00 pm at the Key School in the Multi‑Purpose Building.  I want to note that the HSIA board still has to approve the proposed budget at its October meeting before it is presented to the membership for a vote. 

Also at the November meeting, will be the HSIA elections.   Board members and officers serve two years terms with elections in alternating years.  This year's elections will be for the seven HSIA directors.  Most of the current directors are running for another term.  If you are interested in running, please send an email to nominations@hillsmereshores.net or leave a message on our 24 hour voice mail at 410‑263‑4456.  The November Sea Breeze will have ballots so you can vote by mail or in‑person. 

In the last Sea Breeze, I talked about a possible new beach strip lawsuit and an offer by nine of the East Bay View lot owners to buy the community property between their lots and the water.  We agreed to sell the land but not to include the riparian rights.  There is nothing new to report at this time.  We sent their attorney our response but have not heard anything yet.  We are hopeful that this can be settled without more lawsuits.  We'll inform the community as soon as we get a response.

Enjoy the wonderful weather.  There's still time to get out and enjoy our beautiful beach.  Kate Penn and the rest of the Beach Committee have been working very hard to make many improvements for you to enjoy.  The new fencing looks great and the two new rain gardens will be planted shortly.  Come down and take a look.

-Bill Shuman
 President, Hillsmere Shores Improvement Association