Dear Sea Pines property owners,

I think I can actually see a light at the end of the “long-term” funding “tunnel.” After many years of discussion and investigation, I am hopeful that at our Tuesday, November 17 meeting, your CSA Board will call for a Referendum which has a real chance of successfully raising the funding needed to finally meet our critical infrastructure needs.

Since we announced at our October 26 Special Meeting that we were going to pursue a Referendum as our first priority, we have been encouraged by the very strong expressions of support we have received in emails and on various social media pages. While we were not surprised to see some expressions of disagreement and even distrust from the usual group of “naysayers,” we have been particularly pleased by the responses of those who recognize that it is time to put aside minor differences in favor of voting for the best interest of the community as a whole.  So, let me bring you up to date on the progress we have made this week as we move closer to finalizing the Referendum terms at our Board meeting.

First, we have reached agreement with the Resort and our Commercial Property Owner partners to create an entirely new Article in the 1974 Covenants to govern these new assessments. Rather than amending the existing covenant provisions to include the new assessment as mere additions to the base assessments, this new Article will create a new “Infrastructure Improvement Fund” that may only be used for the repair, replacement, addition and improvement of the roads, bridges, bulkheads, leisure trails, storm water facilities and systems located in or servicing Sea Pines. This approach should assure those who may be concerned that future Boards would seek to use these funds for other operating purposes. If approved, beginning in 2022, Residential Property Owners will contribute $600 per improved lot and $360 per unimproved lot; the Resort will contribute .25% of its Adjusted Gross Revenue; and our Commercial Property owners will increase their contributions for leased and unoccupied spaces exactly as provided in the 2019 Referendum. With these agreements, all elements of our Sea Pines community will be participating in this Referendum and the long-term funding of our critical infrastructure improvement needs.

Of course, none of this funding can be implemented without the overwhelming involvement and support of all residential property owners, whether they are full-time, part-time, lessors or investors. Let’s be real – achieving a majority of 75% of votes cast is a very high hurdle, so every property owner’s vote is important.

While discussion and (hopefully passage) of the call for the Referendum is the most important item on our Board agenda next week, we will also be discussing a number of other items. We will be hearing from Sam Bennett and his senior Staff on the many projects they have underway. Our Treasurer will be presenting the 2021 Budget for review and approval. Most of our Board Committees met since our last Board meeting, so we will be getting reports of the many issues that they addressed during those meetings. A full morning is expected.

While Board meetings cannot be attended in person, I hope you all will take the time to watch the meeting on our livestream at 10:00 AM at  https://www.seapinesliving.com/live. You can provide questions to the Board before or during the meeting at questions@csaseapines.com, which we will answer when the Board meeting has adjourned. And if you can’t watch on Tuesday, I hope you will take the time to watch us at your leisure any time thereafter!

As always, if you have questions or comments for me, please send them to Chairman@csaseapines.com. These are exciting times for Sea Pines and we are gratified to have your trust and support as we move forward.

Sincerely,