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The annual property owner's meeting was called to order at 10:10:
AM by President Kathy Love.
Introduction of guest speakers Jimmy Tyree, Project Director,
General Land Office, Larry Wise, Coastal Engineer, Shiner Moseley
& Associates, Inc., Jerry Mohn, President, West Galveston
Island Property Owners Association (WGIPOA), Chief Robert Pierce,
and Officer Joe Giusti of the Galveston Police Department.
Introduction of the Bermuda Beach Board followed; Al Birdwell,
Secretary, Mildred Coker, Treasurer, Joe Taylor, Director and
taking minutes for the Annual Meeting, Beverly Twaddell. Vice
President, Carroll Cobb was not present due to impending hip surgery.
The Nominating Committee, Leonard Tatar, Beverly Twaddell, and
Joyce Marchi and Yard of the Quarter Committee, Leonard Tatar,
John Merchant, and La Roy Hammer were acknowledged.
The 2000-2001 Minutes, Financial Report and Budget for 2002 had
been mailed to all property owners and were distributed at the
annual meeting. Al Birdwell moved to accept the Minutes as submitted.
The motion passed. Al Birdwell moved to accept the Financial Report
as submitted. The motion passed.
Jimmy Tyree reported that 16,000 cu yd. of sand had been spread
on Bermuda Beach. The next round of CEPRA projects will start
in January or February of 2002. Concerns about drainage were discussed.
Input from the residents was welcomed. CEPRA II will be adding
sand to the existing blanket. It will be placed in front of the
established vegetation line. Funding from the state became available
September 2, 1001. The community match for this round will be
15%. There is also a $100-$200 Million Parks Board project in
the works to reconstruct the entire West End using sand from offshore.
Due to the diligent efforts of Jerry Mohn, President WGIPOA and
the Bermuda Beach Board the City of Galveston is applying for
an additional CEPRA project to initiate a dune restoration project
for Bermuda Beach. These dunes would be placed against the road
and existing dunes along Bermuda Beach Drive in an effort to protect
the City's infrastructure.
Kathy Love clarified that the power poles scheduled to be removed
on the seaward side are from John Reynolds Circle to the East
End of Bermuda Beach Drive only. These poles no long have any
service attached but service can be provided to the homes that
are still on the beach.
Replacement of three crosswalks has been budgeted for the upcoming
year. Permits will not be granted until after the city's dune
restoration project and the new CEPRA II blanket is deployed.
The first to be replaced will be the one at John Reynolds Circle.
The second at Jane Road and third at the far West End of Bermuda
Beach Drive. The others will be replaced the following year or
sooner if funding becomes available through the new CIAP Fund.
Jerry Mohn discussed the past CEPRA I project and the involvement
of the WGIPOA in the various projects that affect Bermuda Beach
and the entire West End. He also described the purpose of the
Galveston Dune and Beach TASK Force. The TASK Force was instrumental
in making the $25,000 Bermuda Beach Spanish Grant FEMA City project
possible. Jerry, Larry Wise and Jimmy Tyree answered questions
pertaining to the CEPRA I and II project.
NEW BUSINESS
Chief Robert Pierce visited with the group about the various aspects
of police scheduling and what is foreseen for future protection
on the West End. He has recently increased the schedule from two
to three officers scheduled to cover our area. Chief Pierce advised
that the Galveston Police handle over 83,000 calls per year. Of
these, only 400 are from the West End. The problems our homeowners
incur during Beach Party weekend were discussed. Chief Pierce
also described some of the things the Galveston Police force was
doing to help major industries along the ship channel identify
security weakness in an effort to thwart terrorist attacks.
Officer Giusti missed his calling as a stand up comic. Officer
Giusti discussed how a Citizens Watch works and how to start one.
He described how to get a reduce rate in home owners insurance
through a free police security check. Officer Giusti is in charge
of organizing the Citizen Police Academy and described what students
can expect and how volunteers are needed to help.
It was suggested that we consider absentee ballots for out of
town property owners and that a specific weekend be set for annual
meeting so that out of town individuals can plan to attend. The
Bermuda Beach By-laws prohibit proxy and absentee ballots. This
is an area however that we are working on and hope to resolve
this year. The last minute change for the 2000 meeting was a tremendous
problem for many. It was mentioned there was not enough time allowed
for long range plans for this meeting. Kathy Love explained the
situation of the Country Club being double booked last year and
advised that the first notice of this year meeting was mailed
on September 1 announcing the October 27 date. This was an approximate
2 month lead period. The meeting date was first announced in the
letter that asked everyone to review their directory listing.
A second agenda was mailed two weeks prior to the October 27 meeting
date. Kathy advised that at this time it was preferred not to
set a specific date for next year's meeting as it was difficult
to get a facility because of Oktoberfest events at a rate that
we felt was reasonable. The Country Club had been free but when
we tried to book this year we were told that they were not letting
any organizations use the facility on the weekends.
Kathy then announced that the board had asked Bob Rooney and Beverly
Twaddell to work as Advisory Directors on special projects this
year. Bob is an attorney that is now a full time Bermuda Beach
resident and Beverly owns her own Insurance Agency. Both will
be working on the aspects of updating the By-laws. This will address
the issue of votes by mail and an appropriate annual date for
the meeting as well as other obsolete By-laws.
Light Pollution was discussed. There has become an increasing
problem of the installation of very large security lights. We
asked that everyone check your house and see if your lights are
shinning in the neighbor's windows. If in doubt, please ask. Adjust
lights to shine down, change to a smaller bulb, or consider moving
the fixture below the deck. If a light over your door is offensive,
consider turning it off after locking up. Under the house is where
the most illumination is needed.
CEPRA II funding and the new Texas Coastal Impact Assistance Program
(CIAP) were discussed as an alternative opportunity for beach
restoration and a means to rebuild crosswalks, dunes, and vegetation
etc. It was not known as to whether a match would be required
by the subdivision. CIAP criteria are scheduled to be released
next week.
Joyce Marchi reported that the recommendation of the nominating
committee was to retain the Board members who are currently serving
because of the in-depth projects underway. Bill McFarland moved
the board be re-elected. The motion passed and the meeting was
adjourned to the Cokers Barbecue.
Respectfully submitted, Beverly Twaddell and Kathy Love