Membership vote on purchase of the Marina

May 4, 2022

Lake Santee Property Owners,

In the meeting in November, the membership strongly urged the LSPOA Board of Directors to find a way to purchase the marina.  Below are the key points brought up during the meeting-

If we buy the marina:

• The POA controls the property, eliminating the ability for anyone else to purchase the property and subdivide it or operate some other commercial business.
• Having a marina provides valuable services and contributes to our property values.  It was estimated that not having the marina could impact values by as much as 10%.
• There is the potential for additional income for community services and improvements.

If we don’t buy the marina:

• Dramatic reduction in turnaround area at the boat ramp
• The POA would lose of control of the property
• Potential loss of thirty boat slips
• Loss of all marina services, including gas, winterization, in/out service, lifts, docks
• Loss of property values

In December, a Marina Committee was formed to carefully study the financials and operation of the marina and services.  In March, the Marina Committee reported that the marina could be a financial and operational success so the board approved the recommendation to begin negotiations with the marina owners.

After several rounds of offers and counteroffers, I am happy to report that we have reached an agreement to purchase the marina.  

Also included is equipment necessary for operations-gas pumps, two pontoon trailers, work boat with hoist, shrink wrap frame, fork lift, and point of sale system.  And gas and services will be available on a regular schedule (TBD) as soon as affirmative approval by the membership is achieved and a formal purchase agreement is signed. 

Since this is a Special Assessment (as defined by our By-Laws), a majority vote of the members responding is required to approve the purchase and the Marina Special Assessment.  Note this assessment is applied to memberships only, not to MLAs (multiple lot assessments).  If approved, the Special Assessment will begin March 1, 2023.  

A Confidential Letter with purchase price and special assessment amount along with the Ballot for this vote is being mailed to all members in good standing.  Votes will be due back by 4:00 pm on Thursday, May 26, 2022.   The votes will be counted that evening at 7:00pm in the community room.  Members are invited to attend. 

To be sure our members can better understand the program and ask questions, there will be two open meetings in the community room.   One on Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 1:00 pm and the other on Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 7:00 pm.  In addition, a slide presentation containing Confidential Information is available for viewing on www.Lake-Santee.com under the Members tab, then Documents & Forms, that explains the program in detail. 

Please feel free to contact your board members if you have questions.  I hope to see you at the meetings in May!

Best regards,

Steven Knight

LSPOA, President