From The Blog

Message from the Chair: Key Objectives and Focus

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up someplace else.” – Attributed to Yogi Berra

As the new chair of the KICA board, I thought it would be useful to share several of my key objectives for the year and beyond. Please keep in mind that I am only one of seven board members. I lead the board but I do not rule it, so the board could decide on different objectives and priorities as the year progresses. I believe we have consensus on most of the items below.

The board has the good fortune to work closely with KICA’s Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Bailey. Jimmy leads an outstanding, dedicated and talented team of KICA employees. With KICA operations so well managed, the board is able to focus on strategic objectives.

Some focus items include:

Complete the purchase of the Municipal Center building. Your previous board conducted negotiations leading to a fair purchase price. This is a great opportunity for the community association to spread out a little. KICA has occupied the same amount of space for 20 years, notwithstanding the very substantial growth on the island during that period. Only a portion of the space currently occupied by the town will be used for additional KICA office space. That will provide additional room to relieve space constraints at the Sandcastle. The board will be working with Jimmy to determine the highest and best use of Town Hall for the community and will share our ideas and recommendations as we progress.

The Sandcastle is outdated and no longer reflects the quality of other island amenities. While not everyone uses this facility, a very substantial number of property owners do. Having an impressive amenity facility is important to the preservation and enhancement of property values.

Work is underway, with help from designers and architects, to explore opportunities to renovate, improve and possibly expand this facility. We will share information with the community on progress and ideas. For both of these projects, we are working towards solutions that do not result in any additional assessments to our members. It is an objective, but cannot be a promise as future events could impact on plans.

Infrastructure maintenance and improvement is KICA’s most important responsibility, particularly with much of it being 40 years old. The board will continue to be closely engaged on this with Jimmy and his team. We intend to update future spending projections to determine if the Supplemental Annual Assessment can be reduced. KICA’s guiding principals will remain the safety and security of our owners and visitors while being sensitive to Kiawah’s natural beauty.

Last year KICA decided to file a Declaratory Judgment action in order to once and for all resolve long standing disputes over permissible uses of the Rhett’s Bluff property. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action, but that motion was denied by the court. They subsequently filed a motion to reconsider which was also denied. This will allow the matter to proceed and be adjudicated. However the court ultimately rules, it will be good for the community to put this issue to rest.

We will play an active and collaborative role with other stakeholders on Kiawah, Seabrook and John’s islands to address the John’s Island access and egress challenges. This is a substantial problem that impacts all of us. With approved building permits on John’s Island, there could be in excess of10,000 new homes built. Roads will become an even more major issue unless options are developed and implemented.

KICA will continue to play an important role encouraging and supporting volunteerism among our members. So many of you have given so much to those in need. We plan to work closely with groups like Kiawah Cares to focus on activities that will be impactful to our less fortunate neighbors.

In light of community feedback, the board will re-examine the Nominating Committee to determine if it is needed.

This is not a complete list. As KICA’s new chair, I have an obligation to share my views on key objectives as I see them. And, I intend to keep you informed during my term. I also encourage those interested to attend our board meetings. I appreciate this opportunity and know that we may not achieve everything we set out to do and, as much as we would like, we will not be able to meet every property owner’s objectives. That is a tribute to the diversity of interests and concerns among our membership. I can assure you we are committed to doing the right things on your behalf.

Your board members are all volunteers and are very appreciative for your support and input on all these items.

Sincerely,

Bruce Stemerman
KICA Board Chair