Finally! Fresh trout on the menu. This 16.5 inch trout will do quite well for lunch tomorrow.
I had about 15 live shrimp left from the pint I bought last Tuesday. I put out 4 poles in the marina this morning. At dark I still had three very lively shrimp on them. I took those three and set them out in the mitigation site. I checked them about 9:30. I pulled up the first rod and the shrimp was still lively. I set it back out and pulled up the second rod. Before I could get it in the first pole began to bend. I guess the shrimp had not hidden itself in the grass and moss on the bottom and this trout found it.
George and Bruce took a quart of live shrimp to St. Charles Bay today. They brought back 9/10ths of a quart and had nothing to show.

Larry has been working on repairing the deck railings to get them ready for the painting crew. The painters have not quite finished the 100 building.
On Wednesday, Keith and Larry used Larry's boat to put up new "NO WAKE" signs in the marina and the entrance channel.

Good news and bad news. The live shrimp trick did locate some fish, but not a keeper in the bunch. I've used about half of the pint that I bought and have landed five trout, one hardhead, one sheepshead, and one almost keeper red from the mitigation site. The only rig that seems to work is a free lined shrimp with a small perch hook that allows the shrimp to appear as natural as possible.

Eloy and his daughter, Amy, from Tropical Pools came by yesterday to give an estimate for pool repairs that we need. Our pool needs attention before the summer season arrives and the longer he talked the more dollar signs I could see.
I bought some live shrimp today for the first time in at least three years. I always use lures, but lately I have nothing to show for my hours of fishing time. I set three poles out in our marina about four hours ago and the shrimp are still lively and totally untouched by any aquatic species. Fishing is tough. I did hook into a nice trout in the marina last Friday, but the same thing happened as the last time. My drag was way too tight. I cranked the fish to shore only to see it release itself at my feet. I just can't keep my skills honed with only one tight line a month.
Time Warner has given us something in place of NBC. Channel six is now Sportscenter 24/7. That's ok with me.
Dan Post came out last week and insulated another three bedroom attic. Ed(302) sure found us a good deal when he found Dan.
I saw my first two purple martins last Saturday. They may be early this year with the mild winter.
Phase II has decided that they no longer wish to share the cost of security so PoP and Mingo will be working exclusively on our Phase I property. This is probably in our best interest too since we know they will be around should we need them.

Work began this morning on the powerwashing of the 100 building in preparation for painting.

This lonely sunflower behind 701 needs to reset its alarm clock. It awoke far too early for the 2012 season or is really late for the 2011 season, but sunflowers in February are pretty rare.

Here are some notes from our board meeting last Saturday. We met at Pete and Joyce Velasquez house in San Antonio. The board chose to meet in San Antonio because we have eleven owners in San Antonio and three more in the surrounding area. In addition to all board members, Gerald and Barbara Weiss, Lamar and Sue Weiss, and Alan Koemel were in attendance.
Steve gave a thorough financial report. Steve is a bulldog when it comes to financial accountability. He doesn't overlook any details.
Property manager, Keith Burr, reported on a number of things. Our pool is in need of repairs before the summer season. Our pool maintenance man, Al, estimates we need $5k to $7k for immediate mechanical repairs and up to $20k including cosmetic repairs. Keith will get some bids. I had hoped to have a new pool before spending any more on the old, outdated, pool.
Keith reported he has found no one to take on the needed repair to the breakwater. We may have to do this inhouse.
Keith provided the board an analysis of our electrical panel repair needs. We have 13 panels and two are new. Two are in immediate need of replacement. Some repairs will be done inhouse.
The new lift station pump is working well. The board discussed having the old pump rebuilt so that we will have a spare on hand and not run into the problems we had finding a new one last year. Keith will try to have the mounting base exchanged from the new rail mount unit as this part would cost about $2k if we had to order one for our rebuilt unit.
Our lease with the General Land Office of Texas is up for renewal next year. They have informed us that they will not renew our permit as long as our pier is attached to property other than our own. We may need to reroute the pier to our wall beside condo 101. The estimated cost would be about $15k.
Keith will get some more bids for a new fence for the tennis court. The cost will be in the range of $12k and will need to be done very soon.
The board approved a bid for $30k to complete the painting of the buildings in most all of the white painted wood areas. We have about $28k left to do this from our insurance claim from last year.
Big M bid about $12k for a new termite contract. We will defer bids on this until the foundation repairs have been completed.
We had a bid of just over $1k to complete the last 450 feet of the irrigation system along the entrance road. This is more than $2k less than the bid we had from the company that installed the system last year. The board deferred to take action on this item.
The most important item to be discussed was the foundation repairs. In total 202 piers were found to be in need of replacement. There are some floor joists and hurricane straps that also need replacement. Keith had estimates of anywhere from $550 to $950 per pier. Wood piers would cost more than concrete. Keith will work to refine the proposals and bring the options back to the board. There was discussion as to how to pay for the pier replacements. Both a loan to the HOA and assessments were considered. When more information becomes available the board will convene and make a decision.
Lastly, Gerald asked that the minutes that were sent to owners be changed to better represent the motion that he made at the owners meeting. I may have been the only owner at the annual meeting that was not totally clear as to what the motion consisted of. As I understand it now, the idea was to dissolve the HOA savings account that was set up to pay the annual insurance cost and credit 1/62 to each owners' current account. Beyond that I'm not sure what we do besides start collecting in the fall to fund an owner's account to pay for the insurance in 2013. This is why it is so important that any owner who wishes to present an item at the annual meeting, submit it ahead of time so information can be gathered so everyone understands exactly what the action will mean.

There have been more white pelicans around this year than we usually see. This could be related to the diminished food supply as they search outside their usual areas for food. Even the whooping cranes are being seen scattered into places far from where they usually roam. This could be related to the dearth of fish I have been able to catch recently. Winter Texans are having difficulty landing trout too. Dick(guest in 505) said outside his trips to St. Charles Bay, he has not caught anything around here. Dick(guest in 506) said he has nothing to show for his winter fishing. Dick(guest in 605) fishes as much as I do and said he caught two that were "just barely keepers" off the pier two weeks ago. Overall I have to say fishing is pretty slow.
Mel Biggs asked me to mention that he is making progress on the bids for upgraded windows for our owners. He has submitted the specifications to several vendors and is awaiting their response.

Below is a list of topics we discussed at our board meeting yesterday. I'll put together some notes the next day or so. Jeannine should have the complete meeting minutes out to owners soon.


Reports

1.Financial Report ( Steve B. )

KEITH
2. WiFi Service
3. Time Warner Service
4. Inside Repairs and Roof
5. Security
6. Pool Condition
7. Inventory
8. Audit
9. Coast and Harbor
10. Breakwater Repair
11. Maintenance Job Description
12. Electrical Meter Panels
13 Lift station.


Action Items
1. GLO
2. Will Petty Party & Contract
3. Pier Access Property
4. Loss of Condo Use Policy
5. Remodel 407

Bids and Proposals
1. Foundation
2. Tennis Court Repair
3. Painting
4. Termite Contract
5. 608 leak repair & 404
6. 503 roofer’s responsibility for water damage
7. Sprinkler extension

Larry and Keith put on their kneepads yesterday and continued the evaluation of the foundation piers. It appears there will be about 200 that need to be replaced. In some ways I feel vindicated for all the times in recent years that I tried to get the board to take a look at our foundation, but on the other hand it is too bad that this will be so expensive. Keith is still taking bids. My best guess is that we will be between $125K and $150K. I had a call today from a realtor trying to sell 404. She said the deed restriction is making it so difficult to find a low income buyer who can afford large assessments as this may be. We had money left over from our foundation lawsuit settlement in the early '90s, but a recent board absorbed that into the general operating account.
Super Bowl viewing here at Kontiki was a disaster. In Corpus, Time Warner gave away 80,000 sets of rabbit ears so their viewers could watch the game. Here in Rockport rabbit ears will not do the trick. Like me, many others just thought we would stream it live on our computers. There was not nearly enough bandwidth to go around. I was getting about half the speed of a dialup connection. We could watch about 15 seconds of game and then wait about 45 seconds for buffering. I called Kevin, but he said the problem was not in his network, but in the Time Warner wireless internet lines serving the area. As soon as the game was over service returned to normal.

With the bay seemingly devoid of fish, the pelicans are hurting for food. Two that may be starving have decided their best bet is to hang close to anyone fishing. This one follows me around and waits at my feet for a handout. I think he may change his habit when he learns that I can't find any fish either. I did hook into a good one in the marina last Friday. I was so surprised that I didn't take my time but tried to winch it in and lost it just as it came to the surface at the finger pier. It is pretty sad when we have to talk about the bites instead of the landings.
Benet Stewart, original developer of Kontiki, took his boat out for about three hours yesterday. He said he never got so much as a bite. Today, Tom(501) took his boat out with the same result.

It's hard to believe the new office was a pretty shabby garage just a few weeks ago. Keith has gotten so many things donated. He really has connections. He installed this wood counter top and stained it and put on five coats of polyurethane. He's added pictures, plaques, a clock, and touched up the painting. He has managed to get a lot of our files updated and on the computer. He still found several hours today to crawl under the 100 building to help evaluate the foundation.

This juvenile pelican has appeared to be sick for the last three weeks. He wants to be hand fed and is constantly shaking.
As of last weekend it still won't mix it up with other pelicans as it sits on the rail and waits for special attention.
He is the one on the left as he finally got down and begged for food. He is more tame than the other birds and will let folks get close to give a handout.

Keith and Larry moved the information board from near the mailboxes and attached it to the front of the office. They installed a photocell light inside. It looks good and now both owners and guests have a place to obtain information day and night. Notice they have the next board meeting posted.

An AEP employee came out last week to see if we have any conditions that might cause higher than normal electrical usage. They could find no problems.

Work is still ongoing to evaluate every pier post under our buildings. Many are rotted as the one in the picture. We repaired over 200 when the buildings were only 10 years old. Previous boards have not been willing to take a look to see what we are dealing with now. I'm sure we need to replace at least 100 and maybe 200 at a cost of anywhere from $600 to $800 each. Keith is getting some bids for the board meeting on the 11th.
Fishing is still dismal. I have not had so much as a bite in over a week. Yesterday Don, Randy, and Dick took Don's boat all over Copano and did not get one bite all day long. At least the weather has been great, but it just seems wrong to be using the AC at this time of the year.
I picked up my 1099 from Coastal Property Rentals yesterday. I don't know how their two person office can get out over 100 of these and get them out on time. They are moving their offices to another location behind Burger King to allow them to expand.
Jennifer Stevens from the GLO came by today to take some pictures. Our contract is up for renewal next month.