Transitioning to a resident-controlled DICA board

As Bob Sauer and I approach the end of our two-year term as Daniel Island Community Association (DICA) board members, we thought it would be a good time to update everyone on the transition status as we near a resident-controlled board.

Daniel Island, as you may know, is divided into three associations: DICA - south side property owners; Daniel Island Town Association (DITA) - town and business property owners; and Daniel Island Park Association (DIPA) - park side property owners.

Under the Community, Park and Town Governing Documents (CC&Rs), the boards of these respective groups will be turned over to the property owners when we meet certain build requirements. In the case of DICA, we will meet that transition when 75% of units have certificates of occupancy, sometime toward the end of 2020.

The transition means that the board for DICA presently has two resident members and three Daniel Island Associates (DIA)/developer members. Our terms expire in January 2020. As such there will be a new election for those two seats on or about Jan. 14, 2020.

At the annual meeting in November of 2020, the election for four resident board members will be announced. In 2021, after that election, we will have two resident board members from the 2020 election, four resident board members from the 2021 election and one DIA member.

For two years following, the DIA member has a veto right of actions of the board.

For DITA and DIPA, this transition period could go out to 2025, depending on the build schedule, plus DIA’s two year veto rights.

What Bob and I have tried to do is get DICA as ready as possible for this transition. Working with Jane Baker of the Daniel Island Property Owners Association and her fine financial staff, we have tried to streamline the budgeting process, establish guidelines for the budgeting process, review the updated reserve study and review all insurance deductibles.

One key issue with the reserve was to move assets over the past two years that should not be solely the requirement of DICA to fund. A primary example is Smythe Lake, an asset that anyone can use. Unlike our three pools, which are definitely an asset for DICA residents, we moved Smythe Lake costs and reserves into the shared cost asset. Shared costs are typically split between DICA, DITA and DIPA based on a formula. Presently, we are responsible for 37% of shared cost expenses. Typically, assets such as Smythe Lake, the cost of the POA, landscaping contracts, etc. are part of the shared cost number.

The reserve report is updated and we are on schedule to be at 107% funded this year. One issue that we review is the fact that if an amenity needs to be replaced, we do like to upgrade at the same time, such as the work that is going on at Pirate’s Park.

What does this transition mean for you? Hopefully, a seamless transition to a resident board. But nothing substantive will affect you. All of the work that the POA does for us, they will continue to do: budgeting, collecting and assessing dues and fines, ARB issues and reviewing overall island wide contracts. If the Greenery is the landscaper of choice, they will continue to be. Since DICA is part of a bigger island, the cost efficiencies will continue.

There are many contractual issues involved with such a transition and a transition committee of volunteers has been diligently working on those issues, along with Marie Delcioppo of the Daniel Island Neighborhood Association for over two years. Within the next 60 days, the Transition Committee will be updating all of us through this paper as to the status of that work.

For Bob and I, we would like to thank all of our neighbors for their support and input into our duties on the board - and we hope some of you will consider running in 2020 and 2021 to serve on the DICA board.

Greg Turner, Daniel Island Community Association Board of Directors

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

Breaking News Alerts

To sign up for breaking news email alerts, Click on the email address below and put "email alerts" in the subject line: sdetar@thedanielislandnews.com

Comment Here