SBCA 

SBCA Update

The meeting of the South Bay Community Association (SBCA) Board of Directors was held at the Bay Club on April 3.  Directors present were: Joe Kelly, Dan Meade, Tom McKay, Ken Snider, Sharon Walker, and Chris Whitehurst. Also attending: Dave Armitage, Bev Browne, Linda Colasurdo (SBCA), Larry Elton, Janet Force, Mea Graham, Betty Harmon, Linda Karp, Mike Morgan (SBCA), Harvey Portz, Jen Portz, Kevin Ryan, Sue Ryan, Bruce Schmitz, Anthony Simpson, Lydia Kelly, Val Pilmer, Harry Nesteruk, and Bill Cooke.

Clarification on the Calling of Meetings:

The President of the SBCA can call a Special Meeting under Article 6 of our By Laws. This is considered an Open Meeting under RCW 64.38.035. Thus, the Board can conduct business at that specially called meeting. This was confirmed by our legal council.

Community Input:

We had a one hour discussion on the proposed Land Swap. Some members were opposed to it because of differences in logging techniques between Pope and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and possible greater development. Others supported the swap because they viewed it as part of our work to mitigate the effect of the proposed Iron Mountain Quarry (IMQ). The observation was made that we need to work together to fight IMQ not spend time on small things – unite against a common foe.

Vote to Support East Jefferson Land Swap:

A motion to support the East Jefferson Land Swap between Pope and the DNR was moved, seconded and unanimously passed.  Dan submitted a letter to the DNR on April 4, 2009 as President of the SBCA and with the unanimous support of the Board.

Remarks in the letter were confined to two points:

1.     DNR will probably eventually swap out of its East Jefferson Land Parcels.  We would prefer that these go to Pope who we believe will be in Jefferson County for years and who has shown willingness to compromise on mitigating issues.

2.     There is no significant difference to Jefferson County’s revenue with or without the swap.

Let me take you through our thought process:

POINT ONE:  Why a swap and why Pope

• DNR has a fiduciary duty to maximize revenue.
• They must consolidate to achieve efficiency.
• That means exiting East Jefferson small parcels and adding land in West Jefferson County.
• That brings us to a highly sensitive 530 acre piece of land- DNR #6.  We in South Bay want a voice on what happens to this parcel.
• This abuts the Golf Course and is within one-half mile of the proposed Iron Mountain Quarry. 
• It is Port Ludlow’s southern boundary.
• At some point it will probably be owned by someone other than DNR.
• We would rather deal with one landlord we know and one that is willing to negotiate on mitigation steps.

Items important to SBCA

Pope has agreed to enter into a written agreement with the Port Ludlow Village Council (PLVC) and SBCA on two items:

• No mining in DNR #6
• No rezones before 2025

We are in discussion with Pope and expect progress on two additional items:

• Extension of trails into DNR #6
• Sound and visual buffers
  

Agreement on these items is being worked on between the two community organizations and is separate and distinct from any agreement between Pope and DNR.

POINT TWO: This deal will not hurt Jefferson County’s revenue

Over time, DNR’s regulations and fiduciary duty require that it maximize revenue to the County.  After some ten hours of research on the numbers and seven calls to the Jefferson County, it is apparent to me that Jefferson County’s revenue from DNR, before and after this exchange, will be virtually the same.

Any timing differences will be adjusted for by time value of money.  The one exception will be a significant plus to the County of $178,000 paid by Pope to Jefferson County as a Land Transfer Fee.

Short term (one year) – Swap a plus:

• 2009 will be a very bad year for DNR tree sales.  In Jefferson County they will possibly be down, in dollar terms, some two-thirds from early 2009’s projected level.
• Pope will pay $178,000 on Real Estate Excise Tax to Jefferson County on the swap, if it takes place.
• The Pope payment will be the only bright light in Jefferson County’s revenue from tree sales this year.

Over the next 15 years it is very hard to see any meaningful difference to the County revenue with or without this deal.

• 71% of the difference in mature trees has been taken out of the swap or reserved for DNR.
• Rest offset by fewer acres to Pope.
• DNR gives up 2,970 acres and gets 4,420.  Therefore, DNR will have 49% more land to produce money for local government.

To the extent that there are timing differences, DNR must consider the time value of money to the County.  Therefore, there is no long term impact on the County.

Financial Report:

Chris Whitehurst reported the financial highlights for February, showing the Total Current Assets for the month to be $375,530.58 and Total Assets to be $590,490.25 with an increase of $23,301.01 over last year’s Total Assets. The Income Statement for February 2009 showed total revenues of $11,027.77 and Total Operating Expenses of $30,535.06 and a Net Operating Surplus of $53,308.93 for the current fiscal year. The Maintenance reserve is $173,492.21 and the Renovation Fund is $116,507.23 with the expense being the payment to the lighting consultant.  

Budget preparations are underway and will be presented to the Board at the next meeting.

Correspondence:

Richard Rozzell’s letter of April 2, 2009 has been submitted to Richard Shattuck for response. Doug Barber’s letter of April 1, 2009 (eight pages) deals with concerns on policies and procedures and objects to past board actions.

Committee Reports: 

Operations – Mike Morgan stated that with the first sale in OT-2, we are going to be able to see the Capital Contribution process at work. He reported 300 attendees for the play

Old Business:

Iron Mountain- Dan Meade relayed what occurred at a small meeting between Pope and the PLVC/SBCA Iron Mountain committee. The next key negotiating meeting for the committee and Pope will be

April 20^th .We expect to see what they have come up with. CUP- the judge is expected to render a decision this month. We expect whatever decision is made to be appealed.

SB Drainage District- Status:

Tom McKay – last month got a vote from the board to select a committee to decide whether or not it is feasible for us in South Bay to be part of the Drainage District. Those on the committee are:

Names: Gary Moore (Teal Lake), Robbie Robinson, (South Bay Estates), Steve Shanklin (Bayview), Miriam Villiard (PLA) Sharon Walker, Connie Wilkinson (LPV), Walt Cairns (advisor) of the Port Ludlow Drainage District.

This is a long range planning process. While “let’s plan ahead on drainage” is not a high interest area to most people now, as we move out in time and it gets harder and harder to find volunteers to manage the holding ponds perhaps paying a modest sum for professional help in this area makes sense. Let’s respect Tom and his Blue Ribbon Crew for looking into something that might benefit us all.