President’s Update – February 26, 2026

On Tuesday (February 24), we held our TLA Annual Meeting. It was a privilege to present the Volunteer of the Year Award to Pat Breslin for his leadership of the Community Paths Task Force. The award for Volunteer Groups of the Year went to The Dave Scott Bird Trail, co-led by Sarah Lucas and Brenda Ecken, and the Diamondback Terrapin Rescue Project, co-chaired by Jim Olsen and Lisa Isenhour. Skidaway Audubon President Dawn Cordo also was recognized for her leadership of Skidaway Audubon, under whose umbrella both these groups operate. Before presenting the awards, I asked all those in attendance, who had served on any board, committee, task force, or other public service group to stand. Nearly the entire audience rose. This should not surprise anyone, as the residents of The Landings are such a generous and giving group of people. No surprise, but a heart-warming reminder of our good fortune to live here, among such a wonderfully civic-minded community of people.

Following the Treasurer’s Report and my summary of 2025 Strategic Plan accomplishments and 2026 planned efforts, TLA Board Treasurer Bill Ansley presented a briefing on the proposed Annual Dues increase residents will be asked to approve in April. The increase is not insignificant, but then neither is the increasing cost of maintaining our island home. The Board will be asking for an increase of $796 (30% increase) in 2027, $80 (2% increase) in 2028, and $110 (3% increase) in 2029. This is not the first time we have had to recommend a significant increase, and it is not the largest percentage increase, either. In 1985, the increase was 133%. In 1992, the increase was 32%, and in 2006 it was 28%.

Bill’s slides with supporting detail, are posted on TLA’s website (www.landings.org/resources > Annual Meeting Presentations > 2026 Annual Meeting Presentation), or you can click here. The rationale for this proposed increase is too lengthy to explain in this letter, but it is important for residents to understand. To engage as many residents as possible, we will be holding a series of Community Conversations at the Sunset Pavilion at Delegal Marina in March and April. These sessions are intended to inform residents and engage them in the financial planning for our community. Click here to see a listing of the planned events. The events are posted in the calendar on our website (www.landings.org), and reminder emails will be sent to members who have emails on file with the Association. If you are not signed up to receive TLA emails, please send an email to webmaster@landings.org with your name, address, and email, along with a note asking to be added to our distribution list.

In addition to the Community Conversations, we will continue to hold Board and Senior Staff drop-ins. Likewise, every member of the Board and General Manager Karl Stephens is willing to sit down with any resident to explain the needs for an increase in our Annual Dues.

I leave you with a final thought. The lion’s share of this increase will go to maintaining our Reserve Fund. This fund is used to maintain our infrastructure and replace capital equipment at the end of its useful life. Failure to properly maintain our infrastructure invites costly catastrophic failures and expensive repairs. The recent water main break is a prime example of a catastrophic failure. While this failure was not due to inadequate maintenance, it did cause significant associated damage that required repairs. Just like repairing damage from weather events that we cannot control, we must have funds on hand to repair damage when “stuff happens.”

Please engage in these discussions so that you can cast an informed vote on the proposed Annual Dues increase in April. This is an important decision impacting the future of our home.    

Don Wurzel
President, The Landings Association