Vacation housing in Rockport continues at a rapid pace. There are now three new developments beginning between the north city limits of Fulton and Kontiki. They will sprawl between Hwy. 35 and Fulton Beach Road.
Sunday Scott(702) and I put out 2000 pounds of asphalt on the entrance road and parking lot. It is better, but there some small spots left that we could not finish. We also treated the fire ant mounds and cut ants. The fire ants have not returned, but the cut ants are a tough lot. They are devouring the shrubs in front of the 100 and 200 buildings. I'm doing all I can, but its a losing battle without the best chemicals.
Robbie has almost finished the remodeling of 206. He said this is his last job. He's hanging up his hammer at age 25 and is going to go in a different direction, perhaps back to college. He will be missed, especially his sense of humor.
Work began yesterday to repair our pier. They replaced the missing stainless steel allthread bolts that bind together the breakwater. This time they used galvanized steel rods and tightened the remaining stainless steel rods. The will also drive back down the the shoreguard that has worked itself up and out of place. Repair work began today on the phase II pier. Several posts and boards will be replaced.
The wind and boat repair kept me in port today, but tomorrow will be another day and I hope to get back on the water and get after those trout. Yesterday afternoon five of us went out and came back with only one trout and three gafftop.
The outside lights stayed on all day today on the 300 and 400 buildings. Alan said it was probably a photocell problem.

The heavy rain that was predicted for today failed to develop. It turned out to be a great day. There are more guests here tonight than last evening. I counted 13 boats in the slips this evening. That may be a record. Most that went out today did well. Scott and I went out at noon and picked up four keeper trout at Long Reef. Earlier this month the Phair's son, Randy, was here and picked up two trout and a red on a Sunday morning while fishing off our pier into the channel at the first island.
Yesterday about 5 pm there was an auto accident at the entrance on hwy 35. A guest was stopped to turn left and a car hit her truck in back. It was pretty serious.
The Crowleys are in the process of buying another condo in the 700 building.
Our breakwater in still breaking apart. Today on the way out the channel I counted 11 long allthread bolts either missing or on the way out. I met with the contractor who did the shoreguard work for Richy on last Thursday. He will give the board a proposal to repair the breakwater.
The pest control company made their monthly round last Thursday. I have had a problem with both ants and roaches. They put some gel out for the ants.

The heavy rain that was predicted for today failed to develop. It turned out to be a great day. There are more guests here tonight than last evening. I counted 13 boats in the slips this evening. That may be a record. Most that went out today did well. Scott and I went out at noon and picked up four keeper trout at Long Reef. Earlier this month the Phair's son, Randy, was here and picked up two trout and a red on a Sunday morning while fishing off our pier into the channel at the first island.
Yesterday about 5 pm there was an auto accident at the entrance on hwy 35. A guest was stopped to turn left and a car hit her truck in back. It was pretty serious.
The Crowleys are in the process of buying another condo in the 700 building.
Our breakwater in still breaking apart. Today on the way out the channel I counted 11 long allthread bolts either missing or on the way out. I met with the contractor who did the shoreguard work for Richy on last Thursday. He will give the board a proposal to repair the breakwater.
The pest control company made their monthly round last Thursday. I have had a problem with both ants and roaches. They put some gel out for the ants.

Fishing has been fairly consistent. I picked up three trout near Long Reef on Saturday. Sunday we caught many small trout, but no keepers. Today was stormy and few boats were out. Gus(203) did go out and got chased back in by a storm.
The big security light near 701 was repaired today. It had been out three months. A new BBQ pit was brought in on Friday and placed in the picnic area near 308.
Another condo went on the market today, 206. They are nearly finished remodeling it.
I talked to Dusty(506) today and he said his place has had no offers and he has reduced the price to $223,000. Nothing has sold since last October.
There was a theft in one of the newly remodeled units two weeks ago. A big flat screen TV, a smaller set, and a DVD player were taken. The increased security hours may help, but we have had so many workers on site with various projects, its hard to know who's supposed to be here. My daughter left a digital camera on the deck and turned her back for a few seconds and it was gone.

Its hard to really tell how big this trout was, but it measured 20.5 inches. The surprise was that I caught it off the back deck this morning. I was using live perch. I saw the rod bend and had to interrupt my breakfast to go bring it in.
Pack and I went out in the boat on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Jerry went with us on Tuesday. We totaled six trout and four Gafftop for the week. The best success was around Long Reef.
Early in the week Pack and I tried to get our lawn irrigation system working. Tommy, Justin and Alan helped, but nothing seemed to work. Coastal Spa and Irrigation made a service call on Wednesday. We found out we never had a chance. What had happened was all the wires for the system had been cut and reburied when the new pool filter was installed. Keith Kissinger had installed the original system and knew how to do the repair. The system is working well now, except for the sprinkler heads that were buried when the new concrete was poured around the pool. The water tries to come up between the old and new concrete. The lines will have to be cut and rerouted.
Rental activity is very high this weekend. I counted 18 boats here tonight. Paul has been put on a twelve hour security schedule for weekends starting this evening.
All the back deck light fixtures were replaced this week, both upstairs and down.
Alan and Tommy put on waders and cleaned the mitigation site early in the week. It looks much better without the chair, trash can, and paper debris.

The new houses on Sea Shell Shores, across from 501, are nearing completion. Its looks like the Aransas County tax base will increase!
Marv, Pack and I went out for four hours on Thursday. We covered a lot of water in Aransas Bay and didn't catch a keeper. Marv and Rita are returning to Pearland today. Renters in 607 said they picked up two reds in Allen's Bight.
Work has begun on repairing the shoreguard north of 101.
Jim and Christie(208) said they picked up twelve solid trout yesterday at Big Bayou. They were using live shrimp on the bottom.
I continue to receive calls concerning rental operations. Today's caller said she has not received her rental check from March. All I can do is refer them to the owners of the operation. That cell number is 1-361-244-4414. I'm sure they can resolve existing issues.

The wind and waves continue to wash debris into our boat ramp. However, the board at it last meeting, decided the ramp should be inspected daily and cleaned when necessary.
The wind did allow me try to fish on the pier this evening. Again, there were no signs of any type of marine life. Pack and I went to the causeway pier to see what was active there. We could see some sporatic activity, but not what you would expect at this time of year.

Fishing news has been kinda hard to come by. I haven't caught any sorta fish from the pier in over a month. When the wind and waves allow me to get out, I see no evidence of marine life whatsoever. The Phase II pier is closed because the high winds and tide have removed several boards and probably damaged some stringers. There is a lot of debris washing up on the beach, including many large boards. Last evening a long cane pole washed up. It consists of about four sections taped together and is about 35 feet long. I have no idea what that was used for, unless it was a poor boat captain's depth finder for deep water.
The "Cast for a Cause" fishing tournament was held here this last weekend. The guys all went with guides. Somehow and somewhere they did find fish. They were allowed to weigh in five trout and two reds. The winner had 35 pounds followed by catches of 28 and 27 pounds! The wind was high and I guess they must have gone south around Aransas Pass.
Yesterday I had breakfast with Jim Sikes, Barbara Wagner, Pack and Ann, Edd Bowers and Edd's friend SE. Edd is leaving today to return to Iowa. Everyone is doing well.

The Kontiki Board of Directors met on Saturday. They had not met in a long time so the meeting was lengthy-four and one-half hours. All members were present. The highlights of the meeting are as follows.

Each morning someone will walk the property to:

1. Pick up trash in the parking lot, on the grounds, and on the beach.
2. Inspect the boat ramp and clean as needed.
3. Straighten and properly place the pool furniture.
4. Empty trash cans if necessary.
5. Check BBQ pits and empty if necessary.
6. Clean the fish cleaning area and straighten picnic areas.
7. Skim clean the pool.
8. Close the skirting gates if necessary.

Two evenings per week the lights on the pier, buildings and in the parking lots will be checked and replaced if necessary.

Each Monday and Friday morning the beach will be raked and holes filled.

Batteries will be replaced in smoke alarms twice a year. This will be a HOA expense.

Fire extinguishers will be inspected annually. If one is missing, it will be replaced at owner expense. If the extinguisher is found to have served its useful life, it will be replaced at HOA expense.

The mitigation site will be cleaned the first of each month in the fall and winter and every two weeks in the summer. Currently there is a trashcan, chair, and a lot of paper and plastic debris in the site.

The hose racks that were removed when replacing the skirting will be reattached.

A new pool sign will be put up. Karra had one made, but there were errors and it will be redone.

The swim ring, safety hook and dip net will be hung neatly on the pool fence.

The spring hinges on the pool gate will be repaired.

The BBQ pit at the end of the 300 building will be replaced. Dave will do the shopping. I saw a large one at Academy for $229 that is stainless steel. Stainless may hold up better in this environment.

The energy company will repair the security light at the end of the 700 building. It has been out for several months.

The photocell that is keeping the lights on all day on the fishing cleaning area will be repaired.

The upper balcony railings on 209 and 210 will be lowered.

A fourth dumpster has been ordered for the summer.

The pool lights will be put on a timer.

The sprinkler system was reported to be operating daily at 3:00 a.m. I have personally not seen it operate since Jerry left in January.

The large pier light that is directed at the channel will be moved to the bayside.

The 300 building decks will be finished by Rob. He will finish in Victoria in about three weeks and after a short vacation, he will resume work on the decks.

The decks on the 100 and 200 buildings will be completed soon after the 300 building. Owners are being notified when their deck is scheduled for work so that guests may be alerted.

Prices will be obtained for restriping and renumbering the parking lot.

The unit numbers above doors that were removed when doors were replaced will be replaced.

The beach lights that were installed on the 100 building were deemed too

large. The board will consider smaller lights and fixtures.

Beachfront skirting will be painted but not replaced.

Wood that is currently stored under buildings will be removed when deck work is completed. This will disappoint the termites!

The question of loans to the HOA was posed. To date three loans of $25,000 each have been made. The board has not approved or signed the loan agreement. No details were given as to what the money has been used for other than improvements.

The SOP was amended to prohibit open campfires on the beach.

No propane gas grill fires will be allowed on the decks.

There was much discussion about the HOA golf cart. There was determined to be no use for it. The beach will be raked and holes filled with a shovel. The idea was posed to use the Phase II cart and bill on an hourly basis to drag the beach, but Karra did not think this was a good idea. Dave will check to see what it will take to get ours running in order to sell it or store it in maintenance shed. It has been parked behind the Phase II building for months.

Most of the shrubs were removed from the beds around the front of the 700 building. Karra will select some new plants and create a test area to see if that is how we want to redo the landscaping. An area of river rock and white rock is in place and the board will decide which will look better.

The condition of the roof was discussed. A bid from River City Roofing was reviewed. Their price was $425,000 to reroof with tile like that which is now in place. $225,000 was the price to replace the roof with asphalt shingles. The board discussed other options and decided to get an evaluation of the current roof before proceeding. Our annual roof repairs have averaged less than $10,000 per year. This year’s budget for roof repair is just less than $7,000.

Richy reported that Derrick Construction has not responded to his requests concerning the breakwater problems. He will continue to try to contact them. Meanwhile the board will look for someone to dredge the areas that are not dredged to the specifications in the original contract.

Karra presented a proposal to install centralized locking mailboxes. She will check on costs.

Richy told the board that he does not think all the rental and for sale signs in windows of several condos look attractive. The board took no action.

There was concern about changes to the grounds that are appearance issues that the board had not been aware of. It was decided that in the future the board would be given options before changes are implemented.

Security measures were considered. Hours will be added to Paul’s schedule to provide a better security presence. The board will continue to look at security cameras. Sandollar Security can install a system for $10,000, but the costs for monitoring were not known.

Chris’s term as free property manager has expired. Karra suggested that Justin be named property manager. The board decided to advertise the position and select a manager at a later date.

Since the board had not met since the annual meeting when board members were elected, officers were elected. A motion was made and passed for all current officers to remain in their current positions.

The next board meeting was set for September 22.