Office: 843.671.1343
Sea Pines Security: 843.671.7170
CSA Maintenance: 843.671.7849
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May 30, 2019

Dear Sea Pines Property Owner,

I am writing today because I understand that you may have received information in the mail, through social media and possibly via email, from non-CSA sources about the Sea Pines Critical Needs Referendum. The Board of CSA has asked me to identify and correct some of the statements made by others that you may have read or heard. Let me say that identifying all of the misinformation being spread by others through email, social media and other means, would be like capturing all the birds in Sea Pines with a butterfly net, but I will do my best. 

While I certainly support the ability of our members to communicate with other members, some of the information provided by others in their communications is far less than accurate. When there are some truths and some errors, misleading conclusions can be drawn.  Many times, these conclusions made by others do not account for the rights, varying interests and protections established in the governing documents of Sea Pines.

Below is a list of statements from others in some of the communications we have heard or read. I hope you will give careful consideration to the factual information we have worked hard to provide you. I also hope that you will give careful consideration to the referendum package we mailed to you. If you have not received your mailed referendum package or need a replacement issued, please email CSA at referendum@csaseapines.com or call us at 843-671-1343 and we will be happy to assist you. 

Please return your one-page ballot by mail to Elliott Davis, our Referendum Administrator, at 100 Calhoun Street, Suite 300, Charleston, SC 29401 postmarked by Friday, June 21, 2019. Your ballot does not need to be notarized.

The future of Sea Pines depends on your support. I hope that you will vote yes.
Bret Martin
Sea Pines CSA President 
Sea Pines Critical Needs Referendum Fact vs. Fiction
May 30, 2019

FICTION:
  • There is a $5M building going up at the Gallery of Shops
  • CSA “recklessly” spent over $1.4 million in cash from Sea Pines dwindling reserves to purchase the Gallery of Shops Building                                   

FACTS:
  • Through property owner surveys, community meetings and with individual community members at various interactions, owners identified traffic and congestion at the Greenwood Gate as the highest priorities for CSA to address.
  • In May 2018, CSA purchased the property at 14 Greenwood Drive (The Gallery of Shops building) which will allow a solution to this top priority and several other priorities of our traffic problem at the Greenwood Gate.
  • CSA currently rents out, on a short term lease, a small space located in the Sea Pines Welcome Center at 32 Greenwood Drive to facilitate Sea Pines gate pass issuance.
  • The purchase of 14 Greenwood Drive (Gallery of Shops building) will provide a long term solution for our CSA pass operations and allow for most pass issuance that now occurs at the Greenwood gate to be relocated to this site and out of the lanes of traffic on Greenwood Drive.
  • The property at 14 Greenwood Drive was purchased for $ 1.425 M, which was under its appraised value.
  • This property is now an asset of CSA and is part of CSA’s fund balance, as it is a salable asset unlike many of our roads or open spaces.  In the beginning of January 2017, the Total Fund Balance for CSA was $16,376,603. For the year ending 2018, the Total Fund Balance of CSA was $16,600,961.
  • Anticipated cost: $1.5 million is planned for a new pass office (including restoration of existing parking, access and landscape improvements as well as roadway work to improve traffic flow).
  • Pass issuance for property owner guests, weekly rentals, daily visitors and daily commercial service providers has grown over the years, and we have no reason to believe that this trend will not continue.

FICTION:
  • Referendum ballots must be notarized                                                                                                    
FACTS:
  • Referendum ballots do not need to be notarized or attested to.
  • Simply complete the blank sections on your ballot and return it by mail to our Referendum Administrator, Elliott Davis, at 100 Calhoun Street, Suite 300, Charleston, SC 29401, postmarked by Friday, June 21, 2019, to be counted.


FICTION:
  • CSA is asking for a permanent increase in assessments to address a “short term cash shortage”
  • CSA has no accountability on how CSA will spend the referendum funds            

FACTS :
  • Our critical needs are not “short-term”. The vast majority of the needed repairs, replacements, restorations and renovations to address our community’s critical needs will continue well into the future, (some for 20-30 years) and this is a long term approach to funding those needs.
  • CSA is addressing Sea Pines’ long-term cash shortage. CSA is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and if passed, referendum funds will be restricted to the critical needs, as stated in the proposed amendment. CSA has no other allowable purpose for these funds.
  • If passed, funds collected from the referendum will be restricted and will be reported on by revenue and use of funds annually, in CSA’s audited annual financial report, which is available for review by all owners. 
  • If at any time in the future these funds are not needed for the purposes they are restricted to, the CSA Board can make an appropriate reduction in the annual assessment amount. 

 FICTION:
  • CSA is not maximizing gate revenue, this is a simple or easy thing for CSA to do
  • Last year CSA entered into a “secret gate agreement” that has the illusion of an $8 fee

FACTS:
  • Changes to the daily, weekly and monthly gate fees in Sea Pines must be agreed upon by CSA, The Sea Pines Resort and the Sea Pines Center, additional provisions also apply. CSA has no unilateral control over increasing the Sea Pines gate fee.
  • The current $8 daily visitor gate pass is the result of negotiations between residential Directors of CSA and two private parties, The Sea Pines Resort and Sea Pines Center. 
  • On July 20, 2018, CSA disclosed the financial impact of the Gate Fee Agreement, click here to view that information. This agreement is a contract and like all CSA contracts, is held in confidence.  
  • This agreement established the increase of the Daily Visitor Gate Fee from $6 to $8 effective August 1, 2018, and provides a pathway to future daily visitor gate fee increases to $9.00 and $10.00. This path requires the volume of daily visitor passes to be maintained at or close to established levels.

FICTION:
  • There is plenty of time and better, more achievable ways of supporting community infrastructure needs while balancing residential and commercial interests

FACTS:
  • Let’s be clear: This critical needs funding referendum is about obtaining the funding CSA needs to properly care for and maintain our community. This referendum represents the culmination of over 5 years of planning, discussion, negotiation, and preparation. Your CSA Board and CSA staff believe that this represents our best path forward.
  • Any Referendum to raise assessments in Sea Pines requires final approval from The Sea Pines Resort to approve the amendment. The Sea Pines Resort has approved the terms of this critical needs funding referendum and has signed the Call for Referendum for the proposed 5th amendment of the 1974 Covenants.  
  • No other groups, proposals or terms have received the necessary approval from The Sea Pines Resort. We need 75% support of ballots returned, by residential property owners, to pass the proposed 5th amendment that you are voting on. 
  • Repairs and maintenance in Sea Pines have been delayed and deferred for years, postponing these critical needs even longer will be accompanied by increased costs, such as we have seen in the past.
  • Interests are balanced: Around 95% of the total assessed value of Sea Pines is comprised of residential property, while residential assessments currently account for around 50% of funds to operate CSA and provide for major repairs and replacements of our needs. (See the chart below for the % increase for all owners of property impacted by the amendment).        
  • Class “A” Sea Pines Residential Owners, elected by fellow Sea Pines Residential Owners hold the majority of 9 of the 17 seats that comprise the CSA Board. The other 8 seats are comprised of 4 elected Commercial Representatives and 4 appointed Sea Pines Resort Representatives.


FICTION:
  • CSA is paying people to make phone calls in order to Get Out the Vote        
         
FACTS:
  • Phone calls are being made by non-paid volunteer members of the CSA Get Out The Vote Committee, who are comprised of your fellow Sea Pines property owners.
  • Membership of the Get Out The Vote Committee has been approved by the CSA Board of Directors to complete this task for the CSA Board.
  • The Committee volunteers’ assignment, is to call their neighbors in Sea Pines about the referendum and the need for their vote in support of the referendum.
  • Non-disclosure agreements have been executed by each Get Out The Vote Committee volunteer to protect any CSA member information.

 
FICTION :
  • CSA’s proposed referendum survey asked if residents support an increase in residential assessments and 70% responded either “No” or “I need more information”

FACTS:
  • Survey question 13 asked 2,884 survey respondents their level of support for the initial referendum terms which included a residential assessment increase and a transfer fee. 1,372 or 47.6 % of survey respondents supported those terms.
  • The remaining 1,512 of the 2,884 who needed more information or did not support the proposed terms were then asked question 16. Question 16 asked those survey participants to please indicate their level of support for the initially proposed residential assessment increase of $300. Of those 1,501 responses, 463 (30.9% of the 1,501) supported the residential assessment increase of $300 and 433 (28.9 %) needed more information, while 605 (40.3%) did not support the initially proposed residential assessment increase of $300.
  • Of those that supported all of the initial terms, including the residential assessment increase of $300 (1,372 respondents) and the remaining who only supported the proposed residential assessment increase (463 of those who did not support or needed more information to make a determination on all of the initial terms) 1,835 (1,372+463) supported the increase to residential assessments, which was 63.6% (of all 2884).
  • 433 needed more information 15% (of all 2,884).
  • 605 opposed 21% (of all 2,884).
  • If 76% of those needing more information determine they support the residential assessment increase, 329 of the 433 then (2,164 of 2,884) support (75%).
  • While we were pleased with the level of support and awareness of our critical community needs, the community clearly voiced concern with some of the initial terms of the proposed referendum to address the funding shortfall. This valuable feedback led CSA to modify portions of the originally proposed referendum terms.
  • Removed the real estate transfer fee
  • Introduced a residential owner assessment increase in phases, not a one-time increase
  • Delayed collection of any new assessment increase until 2020

FICTION:
  • If I support the referendum, I will give up my rights, or, my rights have already been taken away or given up

FACTS:
  • The only current right being proposed for amendment is that of the annual assessment payment amount. This right is being amended to increase assessments by all CSA Sea Pines members and owners; including Residential, Commercial and Resort Owners.
  • The Sea Pines Resort has agreed to amend their rights and those of Commercial Owners to increase their assessment subject to your approval to amend your assessment. This requires 75% approval of those residential property owners who cast a ballot.
  • All rights under the 1974 Covenants require the same agreement and have been amended under the same criteria 4 previous times. To view these previous amendments to the 1974 Covenants, visit www.VoteForSeaPines.com/amendments
  • There are no rights under the covenants that can be amended without complying with the provisions within each covenant requiring amendment.
  • The below chart represents the future assessment % increases and the current and forecasted % contributions of total assessments collected from residential owners, commercial owners and The Sea Pines Resort, if this referendum were to pass. This information can be found on page 20 of the Sea Pines Referendum Educational Booklet (www.VoteForSeaPines.com/booklet)
Sea Pines Community Services Associates 
843.671.1343 | Info@csaseapines.com | www.SeaPinesLiving.com