The following report contains information about KICA’s upcoming 2016 Annual Meeting and highlights from the year. This
year the association will elect three new directors to its board. As a reminder, the association’s board consists of six members of the
community and one appointed developer representative.
Larry Kreyling, Will Lehder and I are completing our terms of board service and will leave the board at the end of the 2016
Annual Meeting. Larry and Will have been respected board members and have been instrumental leaders within the association
and greater community. Both have shown a dedication and commitment to follow their convictions about what they have believed
was right for the membership. For this, they deserve the appreciation and gratitude of the community. I’d also like to thank Art Jones for his 1.5 years of
service to the board. Family obligations required Art to move from Kiawah, necessitating his resignation last fall. As required by the KICA bylaws, the
board selected someone to fulfill the remainder of Art’s term. We all appreciate John Connolly’s willingness to accept this responsibility.
The KICA nominating committee process produced three strong candidates with the desired skill sets for the 2016 board of directors. In addition, there
are three independent candidates who also are running for the open board seats. Because we have three open seats, two of the candidates elected will serve
a three-year term and one will serve a two-year term. I thank all the candidates for being willing to volunteer their time and talents to the association.
2015 was an eventful year for KICA:
• The association completed numerous projects on the island’s aging infrastructure such as drainage, roads, boardwalks and bridges; and on landscape
capital improvement projects. In 2015, spending on these projects topped $3 million. Of particular importance was the work on drainage. KICA
began a concerted effort to improve the island’s drainage system several years ago. Over the last three years, we’ve spent $1.68 million repairing and
replacing drainage infrastructure. While the October floods caused quite an inconvenience on Kiawah, the impact would have been dramatically
worse if the drainage improvements had not been made. We should all be thankful that the flooding did not result in loss of life and caused relatively
minimal property damage. This critical infrastructure work was not possible until the implementation of the supplemental annual assessment in
2013. Prior revenue sources were insufficient to fund the necessary work. As infrastructure improvements are completed, KICA will evaluate its
ability to reduce or eliminate this supplemental assessment in future years.
• The board developed a master plan to update and expand KICA’s amenities in two phases, and requested a membership vote to increase assessments
for the first phase. This plan was the result of many years of community involvement, including two surveys and numerous membership meetings to
gather input. The membership did not support increasing assessments to pay for these improvements, although many in the community expressed a
desire to upgrade the existing Sandcastle facility. We have asked our staff to work on conceptual solutions to present to the soon-to-be-elected board
for their consideration.
• The plan to use the Rhett’s Bluff common property as part of the amenities master plan was contentious. Some members of the community
forcefully asserted that KICA did not have the legal right to implement such a plan. In late September, KICA announced its decision to seek judicial
resolution to the long-standing dispute over the appropriate usage of this common property. Resolving the permissible use issue will ensure that
future KICA boards have the ability to propose various improvements to the property as they see fit. There will always be differences about what is
desired for this site, but this legal determination will spare the community from another rancorous debate over what is legal. Failure to resolve this
issue would be simply kicking the can down the road, as has been done in the past.
• KICA entered into an agreement with Comcast to improve the availability and quality of service offered to KICA’s membership. KICA now has
a dedicated Comcast representative and service team. In addition to improving service, this agreement will also produce a revenue stream for the
association over the next 12 years approximating $3 million.
• Staff continued to focus on member services and community programs. The shuttle program, back flow testing and enhanced Sandcastle food and
beverage operations all continued successfully in 2015. In addition, ongoing events and programs were supplemented by new opportunities such as
the fall sunset concert series at Rhett’s Bluff.
• The board reviewed and updated the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan. While many of the association’s strategic priorities remain the same, the new plan is
easier to read and understand. It can be viewed at kica.us (About/Governing Documents).
• A multi-year cooperative effort among KICA, the Town of Kiawah Island, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Kiawah Partners and the ARB resulted in
an updated Graphics Control Manual for the island’s signage. Beginning in 2016, you will see our signage system gradually replaced over the next
several years. The new signs will provide a more updated look, better visibility for safety and lower ongoing maintenance costs.
• By th