COMMITTEES AND CHAIRPERSONS

Buildings	Lamar Persing
Grounds	Glenn Smits
Communication	Gail Hoopes
Executive	Joe Nedza (Officers)
Finance	Bernie Sikorski
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.

SYMPATHY
On Sunday morning, September 30, Betty Fleming (Mrs. Joe, B-105) passed away at Hospice of Naples. Betty was admitted to Naples Hospital on September 18 and transferred to Hospice on Thursday, the 27th.

Joe and Betty moved to the Sands as full time residents about 2 years ago from Downers Grove, Illinois, having been snowbird Sands residents for many years. Our deepest sympathy is extended to Joe and his family.

CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS CHANGES PROPOSED
The Board of Directors has received a petition signed by 45 unit owners to amend section 11.6 of our documents. Since the number of signers meet our document requirements for a petition, the issue will be voted on at our next members annual meeting.

11.6 Alterations and Additions to Common Elements and Association Property. The protection, maintenance, repair, insurance and replacement of the common elements and association property is the responsibility of the Association and the cost is a common expense. Beyond this function, the Association shall make no material alteration of, nor substantial additions to, the common elements or the real property owned by the Association costing more than $30,000 in the aggregate in any calendar year without prior approval of at least two-thirds (2/3rds) of the voting interests who are present and voting, in person or by proxy, at an annual or special meeting called for the purpose. Therefore, up to $30,000 in the aggregate worth of material alterations or substantial additions may be made in any calendar year by the Association with Board approval. If work reasonably necessary to protect, maintain, repair, replace or insure the common elements or association property also constitutes a material alteration or substantial addition to the common elements, no prior unit owner approval is required.

The proposal made in the petition would lower the $30,000 annual threshold to $10,000. That is, if the total expenditures contemplated for all projects during the year would exceed $10,000, the entire membership would have to vote on the expenditure at either a specially called meeting or at the next annual meeting. The $30,000 figure was recommended by the association’s legal counsel as being appropriate for a condominium association of our size.

Proponents of the petition seek to place tighter owner controls over board initiated, unbudgeted expenditures and require all owners to vote on these expenditures.

Opponents of the proposal, including the board of directors, feel that this restriction would severely limit the ability of the board and future boards to implement improvements, repairs, maintenance, etc. to our common elements that were not foreseen in the budget process and that might arise during the year. For example, the heat pumps that were recently purchased and installed. We would have had to wait for an owners meeting (special or annual) to try and win approval for this expenditure as it exceeded $10,000. In the meantime our propane heating costs would have skyrocketed, which could have resulted in a year end assessment. If the proposal is approved, needed changes/modifications will be delayed and/or not get done at all.

NOTES FROM BOARD MEETINGS
The Sands budget was approved at a members meeting December 6, 2007. Through careful financial management, the quarterly maintenance fee was increased only $35. A major expense increase for 2007 was our water usage and owner Bill Corkin, D-401, stressed the need for owners to conserve as much as possible. Also, owners are requested to encourage their guests to limit their water usage.

We have discovered that major elevator repairs are needed many years before our reserves are scheduled to be fully funded. The repairs will be expensive as all new control boards are needed. Our current reserves are sufficient to cover the first elevator scheduled to be done. The Board determined that the AB elevator will be replaced early in 2008 as it has the most need. The parts from the AB elevator replacement will be saved and used to make repairs to our other 3 elevators should (when?) they become necessary as parts are no longer available for our elevators due to their age. We can hopefully buy some more time with these cars and thereby allow our reserves to be built up.

In addition, a new state law requires a live operator to be available 24/7 to any occupant in the elevators in case of an emergency. The Board will contract with a company to provide this service. It will cost about $400 to install and $1000/year to operate.

ANNUAL MEETING
The annual meeting is set for Wednesday, March 12, 2008, from 2 to 4 PM at Mackle Park. Mark your calendar!

BOARD ELECTIONS
There are three Directors positions up for election this year. Any unit owner who wishes to be a candidate must give notice of their intent to the Association at least 40 days prior to the annual meeting (by February 1, 2008). If desired the candidate can submit a candidate information sheet no larger than 8 1/2 by 11.

RUNNING FOR THE BOARD?
The following article is taken from the Community Associations Institute.

If you’re considering running for the board, take a few moments to ask yourself the following three questions:

Do I have the time? As a board member, you will need to devote at least several hours of your time each month to association business. In addition to regular board meetings, you will need to be active in email discussions and occasional special meetings. During special projects, you may need to spend a little extra time. Some board members may also spend a little more time than others if they work with a committee.

Can I make tough decisions when it’s required? The primary role of the board is to conduct the business of the association. This doesn’t just mean approving the budget, but also developing and enforcing policies. Board members are required to step outside their immediate circle of family and neighbors and make decisions based on the greater good of the community.

Can I do all this and have fun, too? It isn’t all about policies and tough decisions. Our community is only as good as we make it, and establishing and maintaining a sense of community is a part of a board member’s responsibility. Planning and attending functions such as picnics and being a presence in the community are as important as any policy decisions you may make. Being a board member can be frustrating at times, but it may also be one of the most rewarding ways you’ll find to volunteer your time.

SAFETY NOTE
Each unit’s clothes dryer vents will become clogged with lint with dryer usage and if not kept lint free, can back up all the way into the unit to the dryer. This can create a serious safety hazard. The Board asks all owners to check their vents (they are on the walkway outside your unit) for signs of clogging and clear them of any obstruction. Individuals who wish to have their vents cleaned should do so. One owner received a quote from Royal Duct Cleaning of $106 for someone to clean their vents. Tim will also remove any mesh that had been placed on them to keep birds out as that problem seems to no longer exist.

OWNER SURVEY
Accompanying the Scoop, either as a separate document for those of you that are still internet challenged, or as a separate attachment to your internet delivered Scoop, is an owner’s survey. Please take some time, complete it and return it to Gail Hoopes according to the instructions on the survey. Make your opinions known!

THANKS
Sands volunteers help us throughout the year and in so doing save the Association thousands of dollars. We are most grateful to each and every one of you! Marilyn has produced a list of owners that have helped out most recently.

1. Hedge removal along San Marco Rd -- Glenn Smits Chuck Hoopes, Bob Birchell, Tom Whewell
   
2. Planting of trees and shrubs -- Glenn Smits, Bob Birchell, Tom Whewell
   
3. Christmas decorating -- Bob Birchell, Chuck Hoopes, Cindy Daderian, Carol Anderson and daughter Heather.
   
4. Pool closing - Ed & Dottie Bartsch, Bob & Helen Birchell, Don & Trudy Conboy, Chuck & Gail Hoopes, Rich & Joyce Kaelin, (Joyce also removed black algae from pool), Joe & Joan Nedza.
   
5. Mulching of property -- Marcie Gorski. No other volunteers have yet appeared for this long, difficult job. We could not have gotten as far we have without this hard worker.

Thanks to everyone for all of your help. Keep up the good work. You are very appreciated!

ATTENTION TENNIS PLAYERS
Contact Joe Ferris (E101) or George Bell (C-107) regarding restarting the Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning Tennis get together. Anyone who is interested in tennis can come out and Joe or George will help you get started. You can contact Joe by e-mail ( jferris@tponet.com ), at his home telephone until January 9th (920.734.9554), or at the Sands after January 9th (239.642.3647).

CONGRATULATIONS
Ed and Dottie Bartsch, E-105, are the proud great-grandparents of Sydney Schuster. Sydney blessed their family on October 31, 2007.

SANDS MERCHANDISE
I’m sure you have seen Sands owners and others proudly displaying their Sands “colors” around the campus by displaying the Sands logo. The Sands logo can be embroidered on T-shirts, polo shirts, towels, hats, etc. at a cost of $5 each. Simply drop the item off in a bag at the Sands office and pay when you pick the item up. Tim has a connection that performs this service and also does a great job.
PS: Neither Tim nor the Sands make any profit on this.

PRINTER CARTRIDGES
Please give your used printer cartridges to Tim for recycling. We ship them postage free and receive cash – about $100 per year to help pay for office expenses (every little bit helps!). So save your cartridges, wrap them in a paper towel and give them to Tim.

ADDRESS/PHONE CHANGES
Please help us keep the owners’ list current and save postage by notifying us of any address, telephone or e-mail changes. Notify the Sands office at tim@thesandsofmarco.com or Gail Hoopes at gailhoopes@comcast.net or call Tim at the office at 239-642-5575.

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, thanks to owner Joe Ferris (E-101), at www.thesandsofmarco.com – check it out.

Wayne Anderson (D-306) - Editor