PSA Sailing

Richard, Thank you for your comments. The wall is rotten in many places but what is most concerning is one of the bottom ties adjacent to the driveway has blown out. The only way to fix this is to remove all of the ties above it. It is not something that is going to be fixed with a nail or many nails. I assure you if some of the ties are rotten on the exposed driveway side, many more are rotten on the hill side. We considered repair but felt the best course of action was not to put just a band aid on it but to fix it permanently . As I have written several times before, preserved landscaping timbers are prepared differently today due to EPA requirements and don't have the longevity they used to have. I was told by two landscaping contractors to expect a 10-15 year useful life. Time will tell on our other existing timber walls. Let's not kick the can down the road. Let's fix this problem once and for all so we don't have to worry about it again. Mike

Carol and Ross, Thanks for your comments. I'll try to address both of your concerns with this one post. This will be my last post till we announce the results of the vote. The Board has carefully considered all expected expenditures in 2022 and beyond in our budgeting. Payment for the wall will come from both the Reserve Fund and the general treasury. We are doing it this way because we wouldn't have the funds to do any of our discretionary projects otherwise. We were left with a choice. Do the wall and nothing else or withdraw a portion from the Reserve Fund to free up funds so we have some flexibility. Our discretionary project list includes painting, driveway repair, storage shed roofing, riprap on ramp side of pier, kitchen refrigerator, driveway sealer, chase boat and boat ramp repair. This in addition to necessary items like dinghy floats, mooring hardware, budgeting for mooring inspections, dead tree removal etc. Ross, I am not sure where your comment on boats masts came from but we did budget $1,500 toward the Flying Scott Fleet as did the last two Boards before us. With the growing enthusiasm in the Flying Scott fleet and racing we thought it worthwhile to continue this support. Perhaps the most controversial items on this list are a chase boat for the small boat/Junior sail fleet and repair of the small boat ramp. The chase boat support is simply a continuation of the support promised by the prior Board. A suitable boat has not yet been found. I've not used the boat ramp personally, but I've heard from a number of members including two Past Commodores concerned about its condition. We have one estimate and based on this, have included a figure in the budget. Other estimates will be secured. I'd be interested to hear the experiences of members who have used the boat ramp recently. Folks, not one of your Board members has come to the Board with an agenda. We have listened to members and are trying to improve the Club and this costs money. I'm frankly surprised that there has been this much controversy over $130 spread over two years. Let's please try to keep things in prospective. We have a beautiful Club and we are by far the least expensive game in town. We are simply trying to keep up with maintenance and provide amenities that will attract new members. Mike Wingate

Thank you everyone for your participation in this lively retaining wall discussion. The Board has considered everyone's comments. We have tried to be flexible and made changes as needed. Most seem to agree the project is necessary but there are many different opinions on how to pay for it. This morning the Commodore sent out an email addressing the premature special assessment billing. Hopefully that resolves this misstep. Later this evening, Jen Bolster will send out a voting form for the wall which will need to be returned by next Thursday, 1/20. Jen will tabulate the votes and inform the Board of the results. We asked Jen to do this because as last year's secretary, she handled all of the online voting and is the most qualified to do this effectively. To rehash some of what has been said previously, we are replacing the wall because the existing wall is rotten and has reached the end of its life. Behind the wall is the holding tank for the pier pumpout so the wall is a critical part of the Club's infrastructure. We hope to finish the wall before the sailing season but have to consider the Anne Arundel Co. permitting process in our timeline. Also, if we delay the project another year, contractor costs and materials will increase. Frankly, I'm concerned they may have already increased. The Board has opted to pay for the wall in part with a withdraw from the Club Reserve Fund. Any withdraw from the Reserve Fund requires an accommodation for repayment. The accommodation the Board has recommended which will be voted on is a special wall assessment of $65 this year and $65 next year. We believe this is the most desirable option within the framework of our By-laws. Some have suggested we can't do the wall without an approved budget perhaps in an effort to stall the project. There is nothing in the By-laws that states this. We will have a budget discussion at our next live meeting - hopefully February. Trying to have a budget discussion on a Zoom call with 75+ members would be a challenge at best if even possible. This vote is not about the budget or any of the other potential projects around Club. This vote is about borrowing money from the Reserve Fund to pay for replacement of a deteriorating wall. I encourage everyone to voice their opinion and vote. Respectfully submitted, Michael Wingate Vice Commodore

Thank you John, My bill arrived yesterday as well and it struck me that we inadvertently put the cart before the horse. It was not intentional. We will have an online vote for the wall on or about January 20th (one week from today) in keeping with the Club's normal business schedule. I'd advise members to wait till after we announce the results to pay their bill. Should the vote not pass, we'll be sure to let members know they shouldn't pay the special wall assessment. If full bills are paid and the wall doesn't pass, we'll have to issue refunds or perhaps a credit. The Board didn't think it was prudent or practical to have a budget discussion online. We will have a budget discussion at our next live meeting. To stall a project due to an unratified budget would push the project into the sailing season and would be a less desirable course of action.

Carol, In my VC report in the Patter, I noted a number of projects we are considering. All were suggestions the Board received from Members. One large expenditure we would also like to do this year which our Fleet Captain is campaigning for is repair/replacement of our aging, ineffective boat ramp. It would be premature to give you cost estimates. We don't have them. I can tell you that we have no intention of having another member assessment this year and we have no plans to use the Reserve Fund to fund any projects this year. The only way I can see this changing is if we suffer some sort of unexpected emergency.

John, Thanks for your note. I know it was slightly before your time but you should be aware that the Men's room was funded with a special assessment. Your assertion that not one Board has levied a special assessment over a 15 year period is incorrect. Granted, the wall is not an immediate emergency at this time but the Board has decided to take this project on before it becomes an emergency. Your Board members didn't decide to serve with the agenda to build a wall. We listened to recommendations from the outgoing Board, listened to members and chose what to prioritize. It is a large expenditure, to be sure but we think a necessary and worthwhile one. Our Treasurer has done a thorough job analyzing our income, our past and future expenditures and the Board thinks it has a very good handle on what we have to work with. Patrick has thoughtfully considered Covid's impact on our social events, racing, initiation fees, budgeting for future harbor expenses, boat ramp, rafts, moorings etc. The Board came up with a plan to fund the wall that works within the Club's framework. This wasn't a decision taken lightly. This Board is increasing fees for moorings and slip holders by 10% across the board. If we do everything we want to do and have the special assessment, we are going to end up with about a $5,000 cushion in our checking account. That is the bottom line. We can sit back and let our aging facility decline or we can be proactive.

Carol, Thank you for enthusiastic comments about the wall. Our By-laws dictate who we may assess and not assess. Assessing Junior Members and Associate Members would more than double their obligation to PSA and may be a hardship. Regardless, doing so would require a By-law change. You'll see in my earlier post that we will send out a bill to Life Members but its payment will be voluntary. I believe most will contribute. We have not firmly decided on a color. I made a suggestion and most have liked it. I respect your eye for color and I am happy to give members a color option at the time we vote to fund the wall.

Scott, Thank you for your comments. The Reserve Fund language posted by Andrea and available for download above was passed March 2010. Prior to its passing, the topic was discussed for at least two prior meetings. As most things are, it was a compromise. Some viewed the Reserve Fund as exclusively a pier fund. Others more as a piggy bank. The language decided on after much debate and sage advice by Joe Blair was discussed and voted on. I'm sure it was posted in the Patter. I would encourage all members to print it out and include it with your By-laws. These are the terms the Board has been operating under and we met these criteria in every way. We currently have approximately $119,000 in the Reserve fund. Our Treasurer spent countless hours pouring over the Club's books trying to find ways to fund this project and other project's considering all accounts and the assets we have. Patrick presented his proposal and after some tweeks and a discussion settled on a course of action. This wasn't just a Board meeting decision. We met multiple time trying to find the money. Nothing would have made our job easier than to have access to the Reserve Fund without a repayment plan. At some future date, perhaps we will need to cap the Reserve Fund or revise the Reserve Fund language but that is a PSA battle for another day.

A lot of good comments and suggestions so far. Thank you all. As we know, our by-laws do not require Life Members to pay annual dues and assessments. This said, I talked to three Life Members today and saw communications from two others and all would gladly contribute to the project. I think most if not all Life Members would. I talked to the Commodore and Treasurer today and we are in agreement that Life Members will be billed $65 at the time of the general billing. The language of the bill has not yet been defined but payment will be voluntary.

The 160' long timber retaining wall on the Oarhouse side of the driveway is rotten and needs to be replaced. We have solicited several landscape contractors to provide estimates in both timber and in block. We've been advised that we should not expect the lifespan of timber to be more than 10-15 years as the preservatives used to treat landscaping ties has been reformulated to be more environmentally safe. For this reason, we would like to replace the timber retaining wall with an elegant block wall with capstone which will complement our lovely property. We considered doing this as an inhouse project but the blocks weigh 60lb each and it is just not practical. The best quote for the work is $18,400. The project would be completed before the sailing season with minimal impact to the membership. To pay for this project, the Board proposes that we borrow $11,000 from the Reserve Fund and restore it with a special assessment of $65 per Senior Member in 2022 and 2023. This will be in addition to the $50 special assessment each Senior Member pays into the Reserve Fund annually. The Club could probably afford this project without funds from the Reserve Fund but it would greatly hinder our ability to complete some of the other projects needed around the Club.