The new rental rates used by the onsite rental management company are now posted on the web site. www.kontikibeach.com Winter Texans have commented about problems with the new office staff. They tell me that the office manager has been released. This weekend a friend wanted to rent a unit and was sent to one that was already occupied. He was then directed to one that was not cleaned. Another owner called me to see if his place was rented. I asked him what the office staff had said and he replied that they said they did not know if it were rented or not. It was!

Fishing is showing signs of improvement. Small trout and an occasional keeper have been caught off the pier during the last week. Tides remain very low.

Preparations for Oyster Fest continue. The parade is scheduled for Saturday morning.

The pest control agent came by last Thursday to treat the units. We have had numerous fire ant mounds pop up. The agent said that it is not in their contract to treat carpenter ants. The ants are back at work after taking off for the cold weather. They are busily finishing off what is left of foliage next to the buildings. I’m still battling to keep them off my Pansies. The grass areas are showing signs of drought. We have had only .04 inches officially at Rockport for the month. I don’t know that anyone knows how to operate our sprinkler system. I haven’t seen it on since Jerry was let go.

Security remains an issue. An owner had a five gallon can of gas taken from his boat last week. He has now locked the new one with a cable.

I hear many complaints about doors not closing, both interior and sliding glass doors. I have real concerns about the foundation. I am seeing sheetrock seams crack and peel in my den area. The floor is visibly uneven. It has been over ten years since any support piers were replaced. I hope the board will look at this at their earliest opportunity.

No work is currently being done on the skirting or decks.

A Rockport resident told me today that roofing bids were already being solicited for our roofing replacement. No one here seems to know anything about it. If I see Rob, I’ll ask.

Our pest control people, Bug Free, tell me that the schedule is that they treat our units on the fourth Thursday of each month. They will leave a note inside to indicate that the unit has been treated. Randy Schulte(308) tells me that he has had many Carpenter ants in his unit.

Kinsel and Company finished up the bulkhead work last week. I hope the beach will now be dragged to level it out. We used to do that every evening. I haven’t seen it done since the day before the annual meeting in November. I’m not sure our golf cart is still operational to do the job. It has been stored outdoors behind Phase II since Jerry was let go and the indoor space is now used for the equipment used by the property manager’s employees to take care of the landscaping for Phase I and Phase II.

The stucco work on the 700 building is nearing completion. Double pane windows have been installed and proper flashing used to prevent future water damage.

I saw three Purple Martins last week. They were sitting on the light fixture for the tennis court. Starlings have taken over the houses and will actually kill the Martins if they try to coexist. That is the purpose of taking the houses down each year as well as making the houses last longer. I asked Barry and Rob to take them down months ago, but I’m sure they have been busy.

Many winter Texans are concerned that they are not being allowed to book their units for next year. They say they are being told that only those that book for six months will be accommodated. However, the folks in 202 wanted six months and they say they were told that they would be put on a waiting list.

I visited with Barbara Jessee(504) yesterday and Jim Fisch(705) today and both have some serious roof leak issues. Additionally, Jim has a problem with his sliding glass door that cannot be repaired without some foundation work.

The usual sewer problems continue. A-1 Plumbing was here this last weekend and had to return this week for a clogged toilet in 503. He wanted to work on the mainline in front of the 500 building, but I told him the gradient was very small and it was not unusual for the mainline to retain some water. He told Randy(308) that the backup last Friday had blown out the wax seal under Randy’s toilet. He replaced the seal, but I don’t know if that was Randy’s cost or HOA. Randy said he will know when he gets a bill!

The fishing has been about as bad as I have seen it. I have not seen anyone catch a trout of any type or size in more than a month. I’ve gone on the pier late at night and absolutely no fish can be seen or caught. I did notice that two pier lights have been replaced. They had been out since July. Now if the fish can just find their way back to the lights! The guide reports in www.fishrockport.com should come out tomorrow. I’ll be interested to see what the guides say they have been doing.

Justin was replacing the outside storage doors on 107 this afternoon. Chuck Madsen and I asked him about other repairs that were needed. He told us there had been some cost estimates put together and it looks like about 2.1 million will take care of outstanding repair issues. That would come to about $34,000 per unit. Chuck said that was close to what they have experienced with their condo on Maui. A monthly fee of about $1,000 for five years would cover the cost unless the board were to need it sooner to complete the work. Chuck said, and it makes sense, that an investment like this would improve property values far beyond the investment cost. Of course it takes only one hurricane to change all the plans. Justin said that for hurricane rated sliding glass doors the cost would be about $5,000.