Welcome to your June SBRM COA Newsletter.
The COA staff and Board have been very busy - there is a lot to share with you all!
We will have the Quarterly Owner’s Meeting via Zoom on Thursday July 15th at 7pm Eastern / Atlantic time. Link to be sent separately.
Parking
Many of you have let the board know that we must address the parking issues ASAP.
The Security Committee prioritized parking passes and the role of security in keeping non-owners/ renters out of the parking areas adjacent to the condos and marina.
The board is implementing stickers for owner-owned vehicles, and paper parking passes for guest/ owner rental cars, cleaning staff and contractors. All others, including marina excursion guests will be directed to park in the public parking lot to the west of the entrance road.
In addition, we are in discussions with Beachside (Dean) exploring the possibility of purchasing land for parking. While we have the rights to park on the property per our Declarations, the Sponsor, Dean is able to restrict those rights. One restriction he has imposed is that we cannot erect “no parking / tow-away” signs. He is also requiring we pay for the right to park dumpsters on the land.
You will soon see stakes around the parking areas. The COA has hired a surveyor to delineate the area under discussion in order to support the process.
The discussions include securing an easement for a generator pad (yes, a generator) as well as an easement to put the dumpsters in the public parking lot (on the west side of the entrance), in order to free up more parking spaces close to the condos and marina.
We are seeking to settle the active “Easement” court case (filed in 2014). The COA sued Beachside in 2014 after Beachside blocked the entrance to the resort from the public road and also blocked access to the pool.
We considered pursuing a “Global Settlement”, but the other 2 major cases are expected to be resolved in 2021 (Water Supply is in arbitration and Wastewater is with the USVI Supreme Court reviewing the results of the past arbitration).
If the discussions are “successful”, and the COA is able to come to agreeable terms with Beachside to purchase the land and easements, that action will require a 67% approval from all COA owners to proceed with the transaction. This will be a key topic in the July 15 Owners Meeting (via Zoom).
Sargassum
As many of you know, this is one of the worst seasons so far for Sargassum in the Caribbean. We have crews out early in the morning and enlist a team of contractors as needed. We are adjusting the boom to be more effective at diverting it from the marina entrance. Costs will be higher than budgeted, but our savings from insurance (refer to May newsletter) should cover it. Since it is a major problem for the whole island, the Bovoni Landfill is overwhelmed as well. As of June 1 the landfill only accepting dumpsters of seaweed on Tuesdays and Fridays. The COA is filling up about 3 dumpsters PER DAY when it is bad. We are prioritizing the marina Sargassum when it is thick since it traps vessels in their slips, so expect piles on the beaches on those days.
We are investigating hiring a service or purchasing a vessel that can pick up sargassum in the marina. There is a 3 month lead time to buy one – so it’s on the list to investigate for 2022. We are asking “Beachy Clean” if they have a vessel that can pick it up from the marina and dump it 3 miles from shore. If they had one, they likely would have been marketing it, but we’re asking. No one is allowed to remove mats floating in the open sea – but it is allowed from marinas.
Air Conditioning
The maintenance, repair and replacement of our air conditioning system accounts for 5% of our yearly operating budget. We currently have 1 full-time Air Conditioning Mechanic, Pernell Slaven. He works Sunday through Thursday from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm. On Fridays and Saturdays the Association uses outside contractors for repairs.
There are 231 individual air conditioning systems serving the condominium units (Villas have 2 systems). 30 of those systems were installed by individual owners leaving the Association responsible for 201 systems. When components need to be replaced, we are installing components that operate using refrigerant 410 A. Currently there are still 123 air conditioning systems that operate using the old R22 refrigerant.
The COA recently purchased an Electronic Leak Detector to help Pernell find refrigerant leaks that cause some of the reoccurring air conditioning problems some units have. His first priority is to get the system cooling for you and your guests and then trouble shoot and repair. Please be patient as Pernell trouble shoots these types of issues.
Pernell is currently replacing or cleaning the air conditioning filters for the indoor fan blower units. He has completed Buildings A & B and is currently working on Building C units. He will progress through Buildings D, E and F in order. He is able to complete the filter cleaning and replacements in between service calls and he expects to have the remaining buildings completed by early August.
Our landscaping crew is trimming back the vegetation that grows around the air conditioning pads and removing all debris which will make it easier to insulate the refrigerant lines that run atop the pad. It will also make it easier to repair the electrical disconnects and electrical lines running to the condenser units on the pads. It is expected that the pads will be clean and ready for insulation by mid-July. We are tentatively planning to insulate lines on pads mid-July through August.
If you experience an air conditioning issue or any maintenance issue, logon to www.sapphirebeach-resort.com and enter a service ticket requesting service on your system. Be sure to include a description of the problem and the Unit number. During business hours most air conditioning problems can be corrected within a few hours. If your problem is more extensive or after hours it may take longer. This system immediately sends emails to Craig and the BOD requesting service so it will be received 24 hrs a day.
Beach Chairs
Signs will soon be posted to direct owners and guests to the tent between B and C.
The chair attendants will be provided a cell phone so they can be reached if they are occupied with another guest and out of sight. The phone number will be posted at the tent.
Reminder to use the website to reserve chairs for yourself or your guests at: www.sapphirebeachresortandmarina.com. Enter the number of your unit, e.g. C306 (One CAPITAL Letter and THREE numbers, no dash!) Enter the password: ownerowner. You can change the password. If you have problems, our office assistant Carol DeCourcey can help you (accountant@sapphirebeach-resort.com).
New Email Addresses
All BOD members and office employee have new email addresses, now on our domain instead of on gmail.
President, Meg Novacek: president@sapphirebeach-resort.com
Vice President, Bill Bjork: vpresident@sapphirebeach-resort.com
Treasurer, MaryLou Salvati: treasurer@sapphirebeach-resort.com
Secretary, Director 2, Ed Ray: director1@sapphirebeach-resort.com
Director 2, Jeanne Bowen: director2@sapphirebeach-resort.com
General Manager, Craig Cerny: generalmgr@sapphirebeach-resort.com
Accountant, Office Assistant, Carol DeCourcey: accountant@sapphirebeach-resort.com
Dockmaster, Corinne McDevitt: dockmaster@sapphirebeach-resort.com
Website issues, comments or questions: Support@sapphirebeach-resort.com
Group email:
The Board plus General Manager: BOD@sapphirebeach-resort.com
BOD meeting minutes and financial will follow soon in a separate email.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Quarterly Owner’s Meeting via Zoom on Thursday July 15th at 7pm Eastern / Atlantic time.
Meg, Bill, MaryLou, Ed, Jeanne, Craig
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