SEAWOOD ESTATES ASSOCIATION LIMITED Annual General Meeting MinutesAugust 5, 2017 Opening The Annual General Meeting of SEAWOOD ESTATES ASSOCIATION LIMITED was called to order at 2:10 p.m. on August 5, 2017 at 86 Stanley Drive, Seawood Estates, Stanley Bridge, PE by Peter Fullerton. There were 27 residents attending representing a total of 33 votes.
Introduction of the Executive: The board was introduced to those present by president, Peter Fullerton.
Approval of Agenda: The agenda was approved as distributed. Moved by J Simpson/Seconded by L Dunbar Motion Carried
Approval of the Minutes of the 2016 Annual General Meeting: A copy of the minutes were provided to those present and time was allotted for review. No changes were proposed. Moved by G Gray/Seconded by D Richard. Motion carried.
President’s Report: Peter Fullerton reviewed the President’s report with those present. Moved for acceptance: P Fullerton/Seconded: D Richard Motion carried.
Treasurer’s report: The annual financial report was presented by Peter Fullerton as Bob Waugh was not available for the meeting. Moved for Acceptance: Peter Fullerton/Seconded: S Ramsay. Motion Carried.
Business Arising from the 2016 Annual Meeting: Nil
New Business:
Report from Seawood Estates – No report. A representative was not present.
Municipality Report Brenda MacDonald:
Internet Project: Main Line work is complete on Rte. 6. Twenty poles are left to replace in Seawood Estates and estimate this will be complete by end of August. Best estimate for final completion is end of September. Once complete, we can contact Eastlink directly or they will approach each resident. Anyone requiring buried drops should be aware there may be additional cost.
New Municipal Government Act: Province has agreed to allow the Municipality to maintain status as a Resort municipality (versus Rural Municipality) and will re-assess as population reaches 2000. If the change is made to a rural municipality, businesses and seasonal residents will lose voting rights unless they reside in the area greater than 6 months.
National Building Code changes: Starting in 2018, building permit process moves to a 2-tier process: Municipal ($1per $1000) and Federal (National Building Code $1500 covers 4 inspections) Existing buildings may be grandfathered to 2020.
Annual Municipality Meeting will be held Monday, August 14th at 7 pm. At the new Our Lady of Hope Retreat Centre. All are encouraged to attend.
Road Fees Accounting: Report was distributed and questions answered.
Activities: Book Club, Poker, Golf,
Judy Rowell spoke on behalf of the book club. Meetings are held each month with about 13-18 people attending. About 10 books are reviewed each month. Judy reminded those present that the book club was the brainchild of Sheila MacDonald, so thanks are due to Sheila. The book club have created a Take One/Leave One library at the visitor center for anyone interested. Judy also thanked residents for their volunteer activities throughout the Resort Municipality. Gloria Gray stood up to Thank Judy for all she does for the book club and hosting every month.
Setting of Membership Fee for 2018: A discussion was held on maintaining the annual fee for membership to SEAL at $20. Moved for acceptance of the fee: W Easter/ Seconded: S Ramsay
Election of Executive Members: This portion of the meeting was conducted by Dick Rowell. Past President and the following positions were available for election:
President (Peter Fullerton), Vice President (John Boyne), Treasurer (Bob Waugh), Secretary (Diane Crozier): current incumbents all agreed to let their names stand.
Dick asked for nominations from the crowd for each position (3X).
No new nominations were offered. All candidates were re-elected by acclamation.
Other Business:
Wayne Easter spoke to the group present about the beauty of Seawood Estates. He encouraged residents to have a look at the New Municipal Government Act as there are a number of changes that could affect us. He also mentioned he was pleased the Federal Government provided support to the Internet Project and looks forward to the improvement it will bring.
John Boyne spoke to the residents about the need to purchase Directors Liability Insurance at a cost of approx. $1000 per year. Several people attending also spoke up based on their experience and agreed it was something we should do without hesitation. General consensus from the group was obtained to explore this further.
Spud Crozier asked what the emergency procedures were in Seawood Estates. Brenda MacDonald explained that dialing 911 is the correct process however people should be aware that the 911 center on PEI is not like that in other locations where the number is manned by trained emergency personnel who will stay on the line with you till emergency services arrive. They take the message and dispatch only. Residents should be very explicit in stating their emergency and should ask for Fire Dept response for all emergencies as they are generally first to arrive and are trained in First Aid. Plows will always be dispatched if required.
AdjournmentMeeting was adjourned at 3:21 p.m. by Peter Fullerton. Minutes submitted by: Diane Crozier
Presidents' Report 2017
The strength of any association comes from the collective strengths of its members. Currently there are approximately 60 members of SEAL. Members ship dues are due January 1st of each year even though many residents wait until the annual meeting to pay the dues for the year. Our goal is to have residents pay by January 1 for several reasons such as access to the web page and a vote on a given topic could occur at any time give and lot owners need to be a member to vote on a topic.
I see SEAL as being a lobby group working on any number of topics dealing with the quality of life within Seawood Estates. SEAL closely follows fees levied on Seawood owners for water and sewer services and seeks justification when these utilities want pricing increases.
It should be noted that Seawood Estates is once again listed in the Real Estate guide for sale and a strong Homeowners Association will be important if a buyer is found.
This is the final year of my term as President of SEAL. I am very proud of the number of things we have accomplished this year and I will touch on some of these things later on in my report.
The Executive has met three times in the past year as well as several Email votes on specific topics. The minutes of these meetings are available in the “Members Only” section of our web site. Topics discussed ranged from Internet, roads, beautification ideas, dues, the annual meeting and the list goes on and on.
Throughout the year I have had several meetings with Seawood Inc. to discuss road conditions and other topics of interest to residents. Roadwork will be progressing this fall on several low spots within the subdivision as well as surfacing Bayview and Burns as these are collector roads and on a grade. We must continue to press the need for a road plan or list of road priorities to be completed as the money becomes available.
To help inform members of happenings within Seawood we issue two email updates, spring and winter, as well as any others as need be. These Emails are sent to members of SEAL and I found in the past year a number of email addresses bounced back as invalid. These Email addresses are drawn from the SEAL Directory list and we ask that you keep us up to date with any changes in your contact information. One never knows when a topic of importance could arise and a discussion or vote may be needed.
Only paid members of SEAL have the right to vote and the Executive has undertaken a membership drive again this summer to bring the numbers up to where they have been in the past. We urge you to be a member and talk with your neighbours about the importance of being a member. We will be voting on the membership fee for 2018 later today but I can tell you the recommendation from the Executive is that membership fees for the coming year remain at $20.
A great deal of work has been going into maintaining an up to date directory with all the current information we have at this time. An updated version will be sent out electronically later with all information collected during the Annual Meeting. We update this directory constantly and provide the most up to date version electronically on the Web Site.
I want to thank Brenda MacDonald, Cavendish Municipality Administrator, and Matt Jelly, Chair, in regards to the work conducted to bring a new internet service to Seawood. One only needs to take a walk to see work is progressing and we soon should have a reliable high-speed service available. This would not have happened without contributors within Seawood and I would like to acknowledge the following residents for their monetary contribution.
1) Edmond Richard 2) Matthew Jelley 3) Stephen Chanecka 4) Barry Stickings 5) Laurence Dunbar 6) Joe Kaczmarczyk 7) Myron Matheson 8) John Gorrill 9) John Boyne 10) Dick Rowell 11) Vivian Younker 12) Raspberry Point Oyster Co. Inc 13) Diane Crozier 14) Brian Knysh 15) Frank Molyneaux 16) Edward Yourtee 17) Jack Melanson 18) Bill Drost 19) Dave & Cherie Harper 20) Randy Gallant 21) Debbie Godfrey ) 22) Lee Brammer 23) Kelly Kissner 24) Linda Young 25) Robert Boutilier 26) Joanne Poirier & Kevin Blacquiere 27) Wayne & Helen Easter 28) SEAL 29) Peter Fullerton 30) Bob Waugh 31) Gerry & Heather Mahar 32) Tarl Armes 33) Beach and Breeze Cottages 34) Greg Errgong Weider 35) Inn at the Pier 36) Hague Property Rentals 37) PEI Dream Cottages - Kenny Singleton 38) Lynn Reed 39) Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation
Without you there would be no new service within Seawood.
Once Again six benches have been placed around Seawood for residents and guests who may be out for a walk. It is important to work together towards the beautification of Seawood Estates and for this to be an inviting place to new and potential residents. There are many lots available for construction within Seawood and all fees collected will help with road maintenance etc.
There have been a number of trees planted this spring within Seawood in the “Open” areas. These are Black Walnut and Red Oak and if they survive and mature will provide some interesting views throughout Seawood.
We now maintain a Web page www.seawood estates.ca to help make residents aware of happenings within Seawood. If you haven’t been there to visit please check it out. Access to the “Members Only” section comes with your payment of dues.
As you may know we have attempted to set up several committees to investigate different topics within Seawood. While the response was limited I once again want to ask anyone interested in becoming active in the community to contact a member of the executive. I believe one thing that is lacking here in Seawood is a “Sense of Community” and that comes by having residents volunteer and becoming actively connected to their community.
We do have a book club that meets regularly and thanks to Judy Rowell for taking the lead for this activity.
Several ideas were put forth for the past year such, a community garden, community yard sale, pond clean up and work on the mail hut. These ideas were put forward to residents and a call went out looking for interested residents to champion the cause. Unfortunately there were no takers. An idea for a Gazebo in the open area was put forward however residents did not see the value of such an idea and the topic was shelved.
If you have an idea for an activity or would like to restart one of the past activities for next year please contact one of the executive members and we will do whatever we can to make it a reality.
I would like to thank the executive, Dick Rowell Past President, John Boyne Vice President, Bob Waugh Treasurer, Joe Kaczmarczyk Full time Resident Rep and Diane Crozier Secretary. These volunteers have done much work on behalf of the members behalf during the past year.
As I said in my opening Seawood is only as strong as its residents and I hope you all will become involved in your community in one way or another during the coming year.