COMMITTEES AND CHAIRPERSONS

Buildings	Lamar Persing
Grounds	Lynn Stevenson
Communication	Wayne Anderson
Executive	Joe Nedza (Officers)
Finance	Ed Bartsch
Insurance	Duane Coplin
Sales/Lease	Joe Leone
Parking	George Bell

The above committees welcome your participation and cooperation. Please contact the chairperson and volunteer your time and talent.

GOODBYE JOYCE
Joyce Kaelin, a Sands Director for 5+ years, has resigned from the Board. Joyce served as Secretary and editor of The Sands Scoop. The Sands has greatly benefited from Joyce’s significant contributions and she has left awfully big shoes (figuratively!) to fill. All residents of The Sands owe her a debt of gratitude. Thanks Joyce!

KUDOS
Thanks are also due to Duane Coplin, Chairman of the Insurance committee, for the outstanding effort he put into organizing the tracking and coordinating of the damage assessment and insurance matters after Hurricane Wilma! It was an extremely difficult task and Duane did an outstanding job. Thanks Duane!

THANKS

Pat Loftus, long time renter at The Sands, would like to sincerely thank the many owners and renters for all the kindnesses they have shown to him. Pat is currently confined to a wheelchair and, being the social person that he is, his time at the pool is very important to him. He is most grateful for the assistance that he receives that allows him to spend time there.

REMINDER
Our property manager is responsible for managing The Sands property, and he has no lack of tasks to do each day. Owners are responsible for managing the interior of their units. PLEASE do not ask Tim or Marilyn to perform special services for you! Recently, an owner called Tim and asked him to call an exterminator to take care of some ants in their unit’s dishwasher, which is a legitimate request. But, they then asked Tim to run the dishwasher after the pest control people were done! There are several businesses on the Island that would be more than happy to perform this kind of service for you. We would be happy to give you some names.

WELCOME NEW OWNERS
C-505 Michael & Elizabeth Salica   Breezy Point, NY

HURRICANE WILMA
Hurricane Wilma left us standing, but she caused a lot of headache and heartache for several owners. Some units were severely damaged and some are still being repaired. We sincerely hope that all will be back to normal for them soon. We are so thankful for our property manager and his wife. Tim and Marilyn had just finished making the Sands look her best for the upcoming season when Wilma came along and undid most of their hard work. But, typical of them, they dug in their heels, worked countless hours and with the assistance of several volunteers, restored the beauty of The Sands. We went on to have a lovely season and, as always, enjoyed seeing returning owners and renters.
There were 10 units damaged by Hurricane Wilma last fall. These units were on the top floors and received water intrusion due to the failure of our roofs. The Association is responsible for everything “behind the paint” on perimeter walls, the ceiling and the floors. Approximately six owners have submitted an invoice and have been reimbursed by The Sands. The costs for these repairs have so far ranged from $5,500 to $17,000. All owners have received a notice of a special Board meeting on April 20, 2006, where the Directors will vote on an assessment necessary to cover the losses to the Sands from Wilma damage.
News reports this morning are that there will never be another hurricane named Wilma. The name has been retired!

CONSTRUCTION
The South Collier construction project is finally coming to a conclusion. The city is now estimating that it will be finished by mid May, 2006. Once two way traffic is opened, The Sands intends to open our Collier Boulevard entrance/exit. It has remained closed due to the extraordinary amount of traffic “cutting through” our property to avoid going around the block. The South Collier project ends at the entrance to Resident’s Beach.
The North Collier reconstruction project will be implemented in two phases. Phase I, which began April 1, will be from the entrance to Resident’s Beach north to the Smokehouse Bay Bridge, just south of the Winn Dixie on North Collier. There is one lane in each direction so if you plan to go somewhere on North Collier, plan your trip so that you will be able to turn right. The city estimates that Phase I will be completed by year end, 2006. We hope that date stays firm since a portion of our Collier frontage is a part of the North Collier project! North Collier, Phase II, is scheduled for completion in late 2007. You should probably avoid North Collier Blvd. as much as possible in the interim. You can use Barfield and Bald Eagle instead.
The changes promise to be quite nice once completed and will be an improvement to Marco Island as well as to The Sands -- we will just need to continue to exercise a lot of patience during the construction.

ADDRESS/PHONE CHANGES
Please help us keep the owners’ list current by notifying Tim or me of any address, telephone or e-mail changes at tim@thesandsofmarco.com or Wayne at wayneohio@gmail.com or call Tim at the office at 239-642-5575.

HELPFUL HINTS – CONDO SHUT-DOWN LIST

• Set thermostat at 75 and humidistat at 60.
• Garbage Disposal – 2 TBSP salad oil
• Disconnect all TV’s, microwave, refrigerator. If you prefer to not unplug your refrigerator, and many people are recommending you don’t, empty it of all perishables. Use it to store your spices, candles and batteries and set at low setting. Shut off icemaker.
• Empty ice cube trays and prop open refrigerator doors if unplugged.
• Open closet doors and cabinet doors.
• If you do not have storm shutters, put all lanai furniture inside unit.
• Lock all windows.
• Remove all batteries from flashlights, radios, VCR’s, etc.
• Place DAMP RID in closets and baking soda in refrigerator.
• Place small amount of boric acid under sinks in corners.
• Place roach and ant motels in kitchen and baths.
• Pull plugs on computer and phone lines
• Close shades in Master bedroom.
• Flush drain line for air conditioner (be sure drain is open).
• Make a final ‘pit stop’; add bleach and stretch plastic wrap over commodes.
• Turn off main water valve.
• Upon return, after water is turned on, run bathtub faucet for a few minutes to clear any debris from pipes. Then run other faucets and flush commodes.
• Switch off all circuit breakers except air conditioner (and refrigerator if not unplugged).
• Put your door mat inside.

This list is meant to guide you but there are other steps you may take. Each owner has his/her method. If you have a question, check with Tim in the office.
Make sure your main water valve is shut off when you leave, even for a few days. Several water heaters have failed with water damage to that unit and the one below. If you have not changed your washer hoses in many years, you probably need to do so. Many owners have changed to a single lever shutoff for the washers and main water valve because the older faucets do not shut off completely. Tim needs to be notified if you want this done because the plumber will need to shut off the stack valve.

SUMMER OFFICE HOURS
Summer office hours at The Sands start May 15 this year. The office will be open from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM each day until September 15, 2006.

SUGGESTIONS, COMMENTS TO THE EDITOR.
If you have any suggestions for articles or comments for THE SANDS SCOOP, please contact the editor. Also, if you received this via the USPS and have internet access, please share your email address with us. It saves us all money to communicate via e-mail whenever possible. The Sands Scoop is also available on The Sands web site, thesandsofmarco.com – check it out.

Wayne Anderson - Editor