St. Martin's by the Bay

St Martins By the Bay 2009 Annual Meeting Notice

January 21, 2009 We, the Board members of St Martin’s By The Bay would like to take time to reminisce the events of 2008. At our 2008 annual meeting we announced that we were awarded a judgment from a Worcester Co judge giving us over 25 acres of open space land that should have been turned over to our community prior to the year 2000. We are in the final stages of this process, The surveys are completed, and all paperwork has been filed with the county. We are now just awaiting the delivery of the new deeds that will legally convey this property to us. We expect this to happen prior to our 2009 annual meeting. The board through researching old documents had uncovered funds that were put aside in the 1980’s to satisfy Worcester Co. water and sewer regulations. These funds were fought for, and released to us in 2008. These funds were utilized to replenish our reserve funds, and update our pump house with over $12,000 in new filtration equipment. We have also reduced expenses across several budget categories to address the impact our legal fees have had on our budget. Budget Item 2006 Expense 2008 Expense s Saving Swimming pool $9,429 $7,328 $2,101 Lawn Care $8,850 $6,890 $1,960 Trash Removal $7,169 $4,800 $2,369 Electric $5,035 $4,649 $384 Water $27,431 $37,368 - $12500= $24,868 $2,563 (2008 Upgrade $12,500) Craig Constantino continues to do a great job updating our St Martins by the Bay Web Site. This was a great asset, (Thanks Craig) All the account payables and receivables can now be seen by simply going on line to our web site (www.stmartinsnews.com) also; if you attend the monthly meetings, our treasurer provides a monthly up-dated spread sheet revealing the financial status of our Community. Some of our 2008 expenditures have caused budget hardships that will be discussed by Mike at the annual meeting on February 22nd. To mention a few, our aging water supply system, and the daily cost to keep our water flowing. Others include the two septic systems we maintain, pool maintenance, trash removal, grass cutting, and our ongoing litigation expenses that should be ending in the 1st quarter of 2009. Anyone who has suggestions that will help cut cost, feel free share your ideas with us. We need, and welcome volunteers for maintenance, and repairs that will reduce costly repair bills from outside companies. In 2008, we saved over $8,000 due to volunteer efforts. (Tree Cutting, Swimming Pool, Flower Beds, Tennis Courts, Roof on storage building) Craig has posted a volunteer sign-up sheet on our web site to help coordinate these efforts. So Jump In, come to the meetings, discuss any ideas you may have to help us make this community one in which we all will continue to enjoy and share with our families. See you at the next meeting! Our annual meeting will be on February 22nd at the Ocean Pines Library at 10:00AM. Please plan on attending. We have attached a preliminary Agenda, a Proxy statement, along with this letter. Please fill out the proxy statement and return it to any of the Board members if you are unable to attend. Sincerely, Joyce Timmons Secretary