November 18, 2000

The meeting of the Board of Directors of the West Galveston Island Property Owners' Association was held on November 18, 2000 at the Galveston Country Club. Jerry Mohn, President, called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. A quorum was established by the Director's present: Marty Baker, Lynn Branch (designee for Al Birdwell), Sharon Turnley, Jim Steinbeck, and Jerry Mohn. Board members, Sidney McClendon, Ronnie Harrington, Peggy Rapp, and Dan Daigle, and Recording Secretary, Susan McKirihan, were unable to attend.

Jimmy Tyree of the GLO and Dianna Puccetti, City of Galveston Council Member, and corporate sponsors were introduced. A new corporate sponsor, Johnson Space Center Credit Union, was introduced and Peggy Zahler of Spanish Grant spoke about the operation.

Upon motion duly made by Marty Baker and seconded by Lynn Branch, the following resolution was unanimously adopted.

RESOLVED THAT, the Board approved the Minutes of October 21, 2000 as presented.

Jerry Mohn gave the Financial Report. Upon motion duly made by Sharon Turnley and seconded by Marty Baker, the following resolution was unanimously adopted.

RESOLVED THAT, the Board approved the financial report as presented.

Timothy Galvan of the Galveston Police Department made a presentation on a new marine unit being instituted in the West End to patrol canals of the subdivisions. The main purpose is to apprehend reckless boat drivers and jet skiers who are affecting public safety, environmental habitats, and litter of the canals. Officer Galvan is volunteering his time to set up the operation. He is also a Marine Law Enforcement Officer and a member of the Sheriff’s Department Marine Unit. Officer Galvan is requesting financial donations as well as the donation of a boat (center counsel type, 19 feet or longer) to begin the project. The Galveston Police Department does not have a boat or a unit to handle this type of operation and this will be a first for the City and we encourage everyone to support the efforts.

Bob Wulfort of the “Friends of the Outdoor Theater” along with Dennis Hardy made a presentation for financial support of the Galveston Island Outdoor Musical Theater. The theater uses talent from all over the U.S. and the new manager, Mike Styles, has turned the operation around in an upward direction. The economic impact of the theater to Galveston is over $2 million but there is a $750,000 debt that needs to be paid and a celebrity golf tournament will hopefully be a vehicle to accomplish this. The “Friends of the Outdoor Theater” needs volunteers, 144 golf players, a silent auction, and a title sponsor for the tournament and they are hopeful the people of the West End will support this worthwhile project. The golf tournament is planned for May 14, 2001.

Jerry Mohn discussed the efforts of the WGIPOA to hire a lobbyist in Austin and the expense involved. The Board believes the WGIPOA needs to take the lead in hiring a lobbyist in the hopes that the City of Galveston, Galveston County, and Jamaica Beach will share the cost in the near future. The Board authorized the President to hire a lobbyist in Austin for three months at a cost of $1500 to $2000 maximum per month. Upon motion duly made by Marty Baker and seconded by Sharon Turnley, the following resolution was unanimously adopted.

RESOLVED THAT, the Board approved the expenditures of maximum $4,500 to $6,000 for a lobbyist for three months.

Marty Baker and Jerry Mohn reviewed the meeting they and Sidney McClendon had with GLO Commissioner David Dewhurst on October 23 in Austin to discuss a rule change in the Open Beaches Act. Besides the three representatives from the WGIPOA, also present with the Commissioner were Ashley Wadick, Barbara Deane, and Tom Tagliabue, of the GLO, and Robert Peeler of State Senator Jackson’s office. The meeting was a follow-up to the September 16 WGIPOA meeting where Commissioner Dewhurst suggested a possible provision could be added to the Open Beaches Act that would allow a damaged house on the beach to be repaired and connected to utilities if it is not subject to enforcement action according the Attorney General’s guidelines (i.e., if the house does not significantly block public access to or on the beach or present an imminent threat to the health or safety of the public). The meeting was very positive and we all believe the Commissioner is very intent in helping the property owner repair a house and the group spent over two hours discussing various options. Sidney McClendon submitted a written proposal suggesting changes that would reflect the Commissioner’s and WGIPOA’s desire. The WGIPOA is very optimistic about the meeting and that a rule change is a possibility but several hurdles need to be addressed first and additional meetings will be necessary.

Jerry Mohn reported that the City Manager, Steve LeBlanc, has responded to the needs of the Community. In a follow-up with the WGIPOA Board of Director’s meeting with the City Manager, Bermuda Beach advised that several street signs were faded and difficult to read. The City Manager reacted immediately and had all the signs replaced with new readable signs.

Marty Baker, Chairman of the Beach and Bay Committee, reported the GLO, engineering firm (Shiner Mosely), City Planning Dept., and the WGIPOA have walked the beach to look at the various CEPRA projects for the West End. The GLO advised the West End is in good shape and hopefully sand renourishment will take place in March, 2001. The GLO advised all the $15 million for CEPRA projects have been committed.

Jim Steinbeck, Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee, requested all homeowners to have identifiable house numbers. In the event of an emergency, it will be easier to locate an address with a visible house number.

Jerry Mohn discussed the editorial in the Galveston Daily News on the Weis Middle School program to plant grass on dunes in the West End. Approximately 750 Weis students participated in the program to grow their own plants from nodes in the classroom. The WGIPOA should embrace this type of program and an effort will be made to assist the sponsors and other schools like Weis to develop similar programs.

Jerry Mohn reported the “Friends of the Park ” Committee plans to form a Texas Non Profit Corporation shortly after the first of the year. The incorporation will be in accordance with article 1396-3.02 of the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act.

Pat Newsom, Executive Director of the Texas Shore and Beach Association (TSBA) reported the recent two day technical conference was a real success. Coastal erosion experts from the State and from around the U.S. made presentations. In addition, Texas State and Senate Officials as well as the GLO participated in the conference, including an address by Commissioner David Dewhurst, State Representative Pat Gray, and State Senator Mike Jackson. The WGIPOA along with the TSBA and GLO sponsored a meeting after the conference to discuss sand sources (if any) off Galveston Island. The discussion included Dr. Bill Ege from Texas A&M; John Anderson from Rice; Dr. Jim Gibeaut from UT; Dr. Timothy Dellapenna and Dr. Tim Ravens from TAMUG; Dr. Lloyd Saunders of the US Army Corps of Engineers; and, Dr. Juan Moya from the GLO. The goal is now to gather all the information available and maintain the data in one location.

Dianna Puccetti, Council Member, reviewed the moratorium approved by the Galveston City Council on the construction of any project on the Seawall for a period of six months. The City is prefers that any new construction on the Seawall should comply with the new Comprehensive Plan and to maintain the historical significance of the area. Ms Puccetti also encouraged everyone to attend the Texas Municipal League meeting at the Brown Convention Center in Houston from November 28 to December 1, 2001.

The guest speaker, Rodney Guilbeaux, the creator of the Holly Beach and Constance Beach, Louisiana, breakwater project, reported it took 13 years from the inception in 1981 to completion in 1994 of the project. There are 85 breakwaters along 7.5 miles of the coast, each 150 feet long, 10 feet high with 4 feet out of the water. Each breakwater had a base of a polyester filter cloth with a shell blanket of golf ball size limestone rocks placed on top. The filter cloth protected the breakwater from sinking. On top of this were placed 1 to 3 metric ton rocks The first phase of the project had the breakwaters 540 feet from the shore with 300 feet between the breakwaters.

It was later determined this large gap is too large of a distance to do any good for sand accretion on the beaches. The second phase of the project narrowed the length between the breakers to 150 feet and the distance to the shore was reduced to 300 feet and they discovered that sand did accrete on the beaches and the project was successful. Mr. Guilbeaux showed slides of the project and discussed the reason and the importance to the Louisiana coast. He advised never to take No for an answer. Experts advised that there was not any viable or economic sand source off the Louisiana coast to nourish the beaches in the area. After due diligence, sand was discovered off the coast. Mr. Guilbeaux stopped saying "save the beaches" to "save the wetlands" because a breakwater project was necessary to protect the last chenier (dry highlands) in Southern Louisiana. As a result, the State Legislators and local communities began to pay more attention to the problem and everyone rallied around and supported the project. Mr. Guilbeaux advised not to sell yourself short and to hang in there to accomplish your breakwater objective. The State plans a $26 million project to refurbish the older breakwaters by pumping sand on the beach to reduce the distance from the shore to the breakwater, to increase the height of the breakwaters another 4 feet, and, to reduce the space between the breakwaters.

We believe for the long term, a breakwater project along the entire West End beach front of Galveston Island maybe the answer to our erosion problems.

There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.

11/16/00