It has been a while since I last wrote, so this correspondence will be rather lengthy.

Although the Board did not hold a public meeting in January, it did meet on January 26 for a "work session," during which several issues, felt to be particularly pressing, were addressed.

Another issue, one that has become personal for me, is what I perceive to be the need for a mechanism that will allow the Board and the island, as a whole, to reach out to all levels of government—County, State, and Federal.

My experience last June working with the Town on the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, made me very aware that Dauphin Island lacked the political clout that other communities on the Alabama coastline wield so dexterously. The Town of Dauphin Island has, by engaging consultants/lobbyist at both the state and federal level, taken steps to correct this situation, but we should not leave our fate entirely in the hands of the down. I have proposed to the board, and they have agreed in principle, that we create a political action committee, a PAC, that will collect funds from our members which will then be distributed to persons in County, State, and Federal offices, or running for office that have shown support or will show support for Dauphin Island. At the very least this should guarantee that Dauphin Island will have a place at the table, and that those sitting at the head of the table will return our calls and emails. We will vote on this issue at our next meeting, and if it passes, we will ask members to include $5, $10 or more, by separate check, in addition to the annual-membership check due in May 2008.

On the legal front we are reaching end-games on all of the legal challenges facing us. The eight-year Corp of Engineers lawsuit and settlement is in its final stages with the Expert's Report to be given to the presiding Federal Judge on January 10, 2008. We should hear something within weeks. The almost year- long West Surf Beach Resolution suit is now tied to the results of the Corp suit, so as soon as the Federal judge rules on the Corp lawsuit/settlement we should see some movement by Judge Graddick on this issue. Just today, our attorney in the covenant appeal received notice that the Alabama Appeals Court has reversed the trial court's decision to dismiss our lawsuit against the Pitts for breaking our covenants, remanding it back to Judge Graddick's court for adjudication. The Appeal Court cited cases and statures upholding our complaint.

All of this reminds me of the old-lawyer joke: "the difference between a good lawyer and a bad lawyer is that a bad lawyer can let a case drag on for several years, while a good lawyer can make it last interminably."

I attended the Town's recent meeting on the strategic-planning process. Mainly, the meeting dealt with defining a concept for the central business district with its working waterfront district on the Aloe-Bay harbor area. As the plan stands now, the central business district will include the area within the Bienville, Lackland, Desoto and Key streets which will be rezoned to a mix of housing and cottage shops, many of which could be both commercial and residential. It will be a walking friendly area with brick sidewalks and appropriate landscaping. The working waterfront will be a mix of public areas, seafood industry, shops, docks, housing and restaurants/pubs with public and citizen access to the harbor area being paramount.

Two architectural students from Auburn presented overlays projecting what these areas might look like. I was favorably impressed. They had created a wider, beautifully landscaped Lemoyne Ave from the bridge to the water tower, with circles, or roundabouts, at Desoto and Bienville. I am excited about this planning and we, the DIPOA, can be involved in the process in many ways. There was discussion of the need for a small hotel, 110 rooms, on Dauphin Island and some even mentioned it at our golf course location.

Board member, Bruce Jones, working with Thompson Engineering has done a nice job of overseeing our $99,000 grant from the Dept of Interior which member Doug Ford obtained to affect repairs to the Isle Dauphin Club buildings. The roofing work is complete, with bids for the concrete repair now in the process. Bruce is hoping that we can work a fresh coat of paint on the buildings from the grant if everything falls into place financially.

I received a welcome call the other day from Robert Dixon of the SeaLab/Estariaum asking if we could use the labor of some Americorp volunteers, arriving soon to work on some painting projects at the SeaLab. These folks are the same that painted the SeaLab dormitories those wonderful colors a few years ago. I sent him a list of projects that we could use their help with around the grounds of the Club and course. I understand they will also help with some projects the Dauphin Island Park and Beach Board has in hand. They will be on the island for about a month or two starting soon. I am delighted with this inter-organizational cooperation.

New Board-member Phil Baldwin has hit the ground running with his Greens Committee at the Club. He has enlisted Merrill McPhearson, Fred Rounsaville and Vernon Fly. They have a check list of items that will be worked on in the weeks and months ahead. I hear the snowbirds are delighted with the condition of the golf course. When ones drives Orleans over the dune, it truly is a brilliant sight.

On the property tax front, many of us got reductions on our property taxes last year by filling claims for reductions, so stay vigilant when your notices come in early July, 2008 for the period 2006/07. We are still in the doldrums, value wise, on the coast and it's not getting any better, so if you feel that the assessed value of your DI real property is still too high, you only have ten (10) days to file for a reassessment.

Our next board meeting is Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 11:00 AM in the Isle Dauphine Club. Hope to see you there and please offer any comments on what we are doing as a Board. We value your ideas and suggestions. The ballot system we are proposing came from a suggestion from a member in Louisana.