|
For those that were unable to make it, Jessica Larson gave a fantastic presentation about the future work occurring in the Crockett Lake Wetland Preserve over the coming years. We have uploaded the PowerPoint for your viewing and for more information please contact Jessica Larson, our Land Steward, at Jessica@wclt.org or 360‐222‐3310. 
0 Comments
Join us at the Shelter for an informative presentation on upcoming restoration work on April 27th at 4 PM. After the presentation Jessica Larson will be available to answer any additional questions. If you can't make it at 4, stop by anytime before 6 to increase your knowledge on the area!
The Nextdoor site is a neighborhood social networking platform for our community and was set up by individual members of the cove. No member of the current ACBC Board has any authority or control over the Nextdoor site. The site, though it carries the ACBC name, is in no way officially associated with ACBC, nor is it restricted to ACBC members, renters or residents.
The amount of mail we receive for the Water District indicates that there is confusion about this. The water district is a separate entity from Admirals Cove Beach Club. It has its own Board of Commissioners and is responsible for providing safe water and maintaining the water system for the ACBC subdivision. Contact the Water District as follows: Phone: 360-579-1535 Emergency Pager: 1-425-335-9396 Address: P.O. Box 940; Clinton WA 98236
Use ACBCguest1 or ACBCguest2 or ACBCguest3 - whatever has the stronger signal. The passcode is: ACBCpool. Coverage is roughly the pool and shelter.
Please let us know how you are experiencing this website. We want to provide a site that provides factual information and discussion that is monitored and responded to by the Board. Our goal is for you to come here for solid and factual information!
BOD meetings will now be held on the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm in the Shelter. This change was made due to feedback that weekend meetings conflicted with family events and activities, especially during the busy summer months. Come join us at these Tuesday meetings. Find out first hand what is going on.
SATURDAY 8 APRIL 2017 8AM - 4PM
Greg Behan will be teaching a First Aid / CPR Class in the Shelter at a reduced cost of $40 per person, Normally $50. The Social Committee will be providing a lunch for those attending the class and those participating in the work party that is going on the same day. The class has a new curriculum this year and will also cover the use of our AED (Automatic External Defibrillator). Space is limited to the first 12 who sign up. Contact Dennis Egan 206-229-0632 or dennis_egan@hotmail.com Gary Winlund, an Admiral’s Cove Water District Commissioner, The Navy informed the ACWD this afternoon. There is no detectable PFAS/PFOS in our wells. The written report will be forth coming.
As mentioned at the Annual Meeting, many items in the budget relies on volunteer work from our members rather than hiring the work done. As we are soon getting into spring time and summer is just around the corner, several work parties have been scheduled. We have identified many items that need to be accomplished, some are small, and some larger, but something for everyone. Lunch will be provided by the Social Committee. Soo mark your calendar, bring your tools and gloves.
Wednesday 5 April 2017 9AM-5PM Saturday 8 April 2017 9AM-5PM Wednesday 17 May 2017 9AM-5PM Saturday 20 May 2017 9AM-5PM Dates may change if the weather gets to be a problem. 8/26/16 The Court of Appeal denied ACBC's Motion for Reconsideration. Click HERE for the court's decision. The case will be remanded (sent back) to the Island County Superior Court. We intend to ask that court to clarify whether the 2013 or 2016 prevails. No assessment money will be spent until that is determined.
8/25/16 In follow up to the earlier posting about the status of the Corliss Appeal, attached HERE is the Motion for Reconsideration filed yesterday with the Court of Appeal. 8/6/16 The Board's response to the Appellate Court's ruling on the Corliss Appeal of the Pool Lawsuit has been posted. Click HERE to read it. Finding 3 of the court’s judgment in the Roger L. Close vs. ACBC cause case (regarding membership and opting-out) says, “The governing documents do touch and concern the land and therefore are valid covenants running with the land or equitable servitudes.” Finding 5 says, “Property owners may not opt-out …”. Finding 7, “All owners of property in Admiral’s Cove are members …”.
All owners of parcels within ACBC are members and ownership is public information. While there is currently no public way to tell if a member is in good standing, you can check membership/ownership by going to the Island County Auditor’s site and entering an owner’s name. Simply go to: http://assessor.islandcounty.net/propertyaccess/?cid=0 and enter the owner’s last name. A list of parcels and owners will come up. ACBC parcels start with S6010-XX- where XX is the division number from 00 to 07. If there are no parcels listed in ACBC for that person, she or he is not a member.
4/11/2016 SENTENCING - Joshua Michael Kolbet was sentenced on 4/11 under DOSA guidelines. He is to turn himself in on May 27th and to serve 29.7 months in prison followed by 29.7 months of community custody with DOC supervision. In addition, he must pay court fines, restitution to ACBC, and can have no contact with ACBC facilities although he may be allowed to visit relatives who live in ACBC.
8/18 UPDATE: Joshua Michael Kolbet entered a "not guilty" plea and has a court date of 9/21 at 1:30 in Island County Superior Court. He was charged with Burglary in the Second Degree and Malicious Mischief in the Second degree. More background can be found on our Welcome page. The results of the pool renovation ballot were announced today (3/12/16) at a special members meeting as follows:
Pool Renovation PASSED 144 - Yes; 125 - No; 2 - Abstained Heat Pump Option FAILED 130 - Yes; 133 - No; 8 - Abstained Chick HERE for the full Teller's Committee Report For questions regarding your assessment, please call Member Services: 360-678-5002 ACBC is pursuing collection of past dues and assessments through Small Claims Court. To date, none of these actions have gone to trial. One remains pending, one was settled in mediation, and the rest have been settled by agreement outside court. Debt currently outstanding to ACBC is approximately equivalent to 1/2 of a full year's dues billing at current rates and the Board has a fiduciary duty to pursue payment. Some members have not paid dues for over 10 years. The following portion of this post is the Board's response to allegations of discrimination in ACBCs collection practices.
From the Board of Directors: It has come to the Board’s attention that Amy Trujillo has posted a complaint on Next Door alleging that the Board’s pursuit of Members who have failed to pay their dues is discriminatory because the Board will supposedly not pursue what she describes as “wealthy people who live far away”. This is not correct. This Board has repeatedly expressed it’s belief and policy that it has a fiduciary duty to those Members who pay their dues to pursue ALL of those who have failed to pay. As reported at previous meetings, the Board investigated the possibility of turning over all of the claims to a collection agency, but that option was rejected because such agencies charge a high percentage of the amount recovered. The Board also considered retaining an attorney to pursue all of the claims, but that option also involves giving up a significant portion of any recovery. Ultimately, the Board chose to begin this process by first filing in Small Claims Court in Island and King Counties against Members who are residents of those counties because doing so does not require the Board to retain an attorney and thus maximizes the recovery. As has been reported at Board meetings, these efforts have been very successful and have resulted in recoveries of significant amounts of past due monies with minimal upfront costs. There are some delinquent Members who reside in distant parts of Washington State or even in other States. Pursuit of those Members will require either retaining an attorney or a collection agency, which the Board is exploring now that initial efforts have met with success. The Board’s decision to first pursue “low hanging fruit” was and is imminently reasonable and practical, and is by no means a policy of discrimination against “poor” Members. It is disappointing, but not surprising, that Ms. Trujillo has failed to provide the Board with a copy of whatever complaint she filed with the Secretary of State. The Board welcomes the opportunity to provide its position on this matter to that Office if and when the Board ever receives notice of such a complaint. Questions were raised at the October 18 meeting of the Board of Directors about the budget. Do the Bylaws require a members vote to approve the annual budget? The member who raised this issue suggested that it has been the historical practice of past boards to submit the annual budget to the members for approval and questioned why this Board has not done so. A second question was whether the board could spend outside the budget.
Click here for the Board's response to these questions. A 2010 notice suggest that members could opt out however, that is not the case. The 2010 notice based on a legal opinion while ACBC was operating as Admirals Cove Home Owners Association in 2010. The issues were settled by a court case in 2011 and the Judgments issued by the court take precedence over any previous legal opinions. The 2010 notice is not only superseded, but according to the ruling, the board has NO authority to permit opt-out. Read the court findings and judgment yourself! Both judgments in that case (Roger L. Close vs. ACBC) are posted on the Documents page of this website. The first found that ACBC is not a homeowner’s association. The second found that: all property owners in Admiral’s Cove are members; property owners may not opt-out and the board of directors has no authority to permit any owner to opt-out; the law implies a contract to pay dues; the governing documents … are valid covenants running with the land or equitable servitudes.
9/17 At the recommendation of the Bylaws Committee, the Board of Directors voted to mail a proposed bylaws revision to members in good standing for a vote prior to the election of Directors for 2016. Four positions on the Board are up for election and ballots for that will be sent out around mid-December. The proposed revision, if accepted, would change the directors term of office from 2 to 3 years effective with the election of directors for 2017. The effect in the upcoming election for the transition year would be that of the 4 directors elected, 2 would serve 2 year terms and 2 would serve for 3 years, with those receiving the highest number of votes serving 3 years. The benefit of this arrangement would be more continuity in the Board with 2 or 3 directors being elected each year and never a majority of the board at once.
1/3/16 UPDATE - The Bylaws revision was passed by the members' mail-in ballot. The election of directors which is currently in progress for 4 directors positions will result in 2 directors being elected for 3 year terms and 2 directors for 2 year terms, putting us on a 3 director / 2 director / 2 director election cycle beginning for 2017. The results of the May 2015 survey were presented at the Board of Directors meeting on Saturday, August 15th. It is now posted on this website Documents page.
Some odd conclusions were drawn about support for the pool following the presentation. Question 11 provided a number of options from which people could choose to identify the 3 'most significant benefits' of living Admirals Cove. It was not a vote or ballot on the pool. Having the pool is a settled issue - per the court's order - so that was not a question. The pool and ‘living in a safe community’ were virtually tied for third place, following beach access and the view. A more telling response is for Question 14 where 58% of the respondents chose the "unfixed pool" as the most significant problem in Admirals Cove. A survey is a “sampling or partial collection of facts, figures or options taken and used to approximate or indicate what a complete collection and analysis might reveal.” It is important to read the survey document in full before making assumptions. Besides – it’s an interesting read about our community. A member who was present at the BOD meeting 8/15 submitted the following:
At the meeting at the shelter on Saturday August 15th, a member taped all or part of the meeting. The State of Washington it is a "two party consent" State so it was illegal for them to tape any or all of the meeting without informing those attending. It is my feelings that just paying your dues should not be the only consideration for being a member in good standing. I'm disappointed that this happened and what can be done about it I don't know but I find this persons actions very disappointing and certainly hope that we do not see his or her name on the ballot sheets. There should be a consequence for this illegal act at the board meeting. For those of you who missed the meeting in my opinion it supplied great and positive information. Thank the Board and Volunteers that do such a great job! The way the person announced that they were recording had a threatening tone (in my opinion) which lead to greater disappointment just what was the motive for performing this illegal action I can only imagine. Please use your verifiable name and email address! The Pool Feasibility Study is in (see the documents tab of this website). It suggests that we have a wide range of options for replacement of the existing pool building. We aren't chained to the current footprint and can potentially restructure, reorganize, add rooms, or even cover the pool. So many options will require careful community brainstorming, study, and money if and when we choose to move forward - but the options are indeed many and exciting!
The pool itself is operating under grandfathered status and, with ongoing maintenance, can most likely continue this way, It is NOT ADA compliant and would need major renovation to come up to current standards. Among many other requirements, this would include adding a second drain and a hoist for use of handicapped persons to enter and exit the pool. Assuming that the pool will be renovated, please comment and let us know what you would like to see. On 7/27, an unsigned letter threatening one of our members was received. It has been turned over to the Sheriff's Department who classified the threats contained as criminal and are investigating. The woman's son acted as process server for an ACBC Small Claim, simply delivering court papers and attesting to that fact.
The letter says of the son, "... he is the enforcer - the directors don't want their hands dirty and he has volunteered to be their goon. What a moron." It then continues, "News to mom of the goon, you'd better keep an eye on your kid. He's in our sights and we don't take this type of cruel enforcement lightly - payback will be hell. This is a neighborhood that looks after its own; we don't need you or your kid to be involved in our business. Sometimes accidents happen and I heard [your son] was accident prone! Get out of our business. Consider this the first and last warning." If you have any idea who wrote this threatening letter, please contact a member of the Board or contact the Island County Sheriff's Office (case 15-i13008). This letter is the latest unsigned missive in the Cove. Please do not give credence to unsigned documents. If an author is not willing to own up to authorship, his or her content is not worthy of consideration. Over the past year there have been unsigned documents critiquing people running for board positions, two criticizing the bylaws revisions, and others demeaning, defaming and intimidating individual board members. Our community should not tolerate this type of activity. If you have something to say, say it - but sign it! |
|||||