February 17, 2008

Dear Friends,

At the Board of Directors meeting, Saturday, February 9, we enjoyed, while transacting the business of the Association, beautiful weather. Attendance was moderate. The view from the top of the Isle-Dauphine Clubhouse is quite enthralling at this time of the year. There is, now, virtually no gap between Dauphin Island and Sand Island. One can have a pleasant walk on Sand Island without getting one’s feet wet. The pier, of course, is completely marooned in sand.

In December, as expected, our finances dipped a bit due to the large expenses of property taxes and insurance payments. Even though we had many days of rain, play on the golf course in January was good, generating almost $25,000 in receipts, equaling our play for all of the fall months. With a respectable number of snowbirds playing golf every day, our income is up, but it will take a huge amount of luck for us make our budgeted goal. However, in all likelihood, we will increase golf income over last year by 35%, amounting to $60,000. With royalties up and membership slightly over budget, we will come close to breaking even this year.

As I mentioned in previous correspondence, Phil Baldwin, our new board member has been busy assisting the Golf-course committee clarify its long-term goals. After a short presentation giving an overview of long-term and short-term goals Phil believes the Board should embrace, he offered a resolution encapsulating those goals. In brief, for the short term, a committee of volunteers will work to improve the appearance of the golf course and for the long term, that committee will seek to find ways to insure the solvency of the golf course in perpetuity. Several members in the audience expressed the view that plans for the future should involve a diversification of attractions so that in satisfying a wider spectrum of interests the public would be drawn consistently to the Island thus enhancing commercial prospects. Tom Brennan pointed out that a previous board had already resolved that plans for future development should include requirements for diversification, but was forced to put those plans on the back burner when the West-Surf-Beach lawsuit stopped the Ox dead in its tracks. The Board passed Phil Baldwin’s motion unanimously.

With regard to plans for the future, should the court find in its resolution of the West-Surf-Beach lawsuit that deed-restrictions do not nullify all development of our property, I am sure that long-term strategies for the club and golf course will involve a lodging component of some sort. But the size and type of the lodging component is, of course, an issue still to be decided by the Board and by the entire membership.

The Architectural Committee reported a number of repair requests and two new housing starts for the month. Lisa Hansen has been added as a committee member.

March 10th is now the date for hearing something on the Corp-of-Engineers settlement agreement. It is expected that the Experts Report will be made public on or about or after this date. Since the West-Surf-Beach lawsuit is now tied to the results of the settlement, we expect some movement on this issue at the same time. We were advised in the last few days that the Pitts’ appeal, which reversed Judge Graddick's ruling, has now been moved into a petition for certiorari with the Alabama Supreme Court on behalf of Pitts. We have now to wait a month or two to hear whether the Court will hear this petition.

As you know the CIAP funding for East-End beach restoration has been denied by the State of Alabama's Department of Conservation. Instead they have offered the Town of Dauphin Island $2M for another project, probably for the obtaining property on Aloe Bay for the creation of public land and docks as a part of the Working Inner Harbor concept. Beggars can't be choosers, but the State’s politically correct generosity does nothing to protect the East End.

The Town of Dauphin Island is working with a Washington DC consultant, preparing legislation for our congressman and senators to accomplish the East-End beach restoration. Last year when we sought to interact with our local, state and federal politicians, it became quite evident that Dauphin Island did not have anything like the political leverage our neighbors to the north of us and in Baldwin County have. At the last meeting, I proposed and it passed the board that we, the DIPOA, will create a political action committee. In May, when our yearly membership drive starts we will ask members, apart from dues, to contribute $5, $10 or more to this fund. The fund will be non-partisan, and not for local Town elections, but will be directed at elected county officials and state legislators, especially our local ones. And it will support our federal legislators. We will donate to people who have helped Dauphin Island and to those who will listen to our concerns and needs. I urge you to support this effort.

Dauphin Island Property Owners Assoc.