Fall is finally here! As we celebrate surviving another humid summer on our beautiful island, most of us will agree that we are ready to welcome the cooler temperatures and bid farewell to those pesky gnats and mosquitos.

The last year and a half has seen a deep dive into The Landings Association’s governing documents, from the Board Policy Manual, to the Bylaws, and now to our Architectural Guidelines. After an exhaustive review to streamline and modernize the Guidelines, they now are ready for community feedback before finalization. Please click here to read the details and learn how you can provide your valuable input for consideration by the Architectural Review Committee and then the Board of Directors.

Another set of governing documents recently revised is the Association’s committee charters. These charters detail how the committees function, including their purpose and responsibilities. Some committees never had charters, and that has been addressed as part of this governance effort. You can view the charters by visiting www.landings.org/resources and clicking on the Committee Information folder. Click apply if you would like to be considered for one of these committee for next year.

 Attention now turns to finalizing the 2025 budget. While your Association has strong reserves to pay for capital projects, such as road repaving, community path panel replacements, and storm drain repair work, inflation higher than in the recent past has created some challenging funding issues. Staff are now working through these challenges with the various committees, including the Finance Committee and Reserves Subcommittee, to ensure maintaining our community to the required standards.

 At the same time, the Association’s Board has just selected the firm to help us with our next Strategic Plan. This work began with the Community Survey last fall, and now will roll into some focus groups and other community feedback, as your Board looks to shape the direction of the Association for the next three-to-five years. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. If you are chosen for a focus group, thank you in advance for your dedication to the betterment of The Landings. Please note these invitations will come directly from the consulting firm helping TLA formulate the Strategic Plan. TLA is not directly involved in selecting participants for the focus groups.

Please join me in welcoming The Landings Company’s newest president, Chris Harmon. In August, The Landings Association sent out an announcement about his hiring, after long-time President Raoul Rushin recently moved away from the community.

We try to communicate this frequently, but many residents still don’t realize that The Landings Company is the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Association. The Company’s purpose is to drive national marketing, to support property values within The Landings. Think of them as The Landings’ Resident Realtors! I’m sure Chris will enjoy getting to meet as many residents as possible, as he gets settled into the community. If you see him around, be sure to give him a warm Landings welcome and, of course, a SkidaWave!

Finally, it is that time of year again when little ghouls and goblins prepare to celebrate Halloween. Trick-or-Treating in The Landings is October 31 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. You can read some safety tips in the article on page 16 of this edition of The Landings Journal, or click here.   

As always, please let me know if I can be of assistance (karls@landings.org). I don’t promise to have all the answers, but our outstanding staff is composed of experts in their fields, all of whom are willing to assist.

Enjoy the cooler weather, and now that our only daughter has started her first year at my alma mater, UGA, Go Dawgs!

The official Hurricane Season for the Atlantic basin is from June 1 to November 30. In the past decade, our area of coastal Georgia has been impacted by several hurricanes and tropical storms, including Irma, Matthew, Idalia, and the most recent Debby.

Each year, TLA hosts a Hurricane Town Hall Meeting provided by Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA). You can find several resources available on TLA’s website that include the Hurricane Preparedness Guide by Chatham Emergency Management Agency, TLA’s Hurricane Guide and Emergency Operations Plan, among other items, by visiting  www.landings.org/resources > then click on the folder titled “Emergency Planning”.

TLA budgets a contingency allowance annually, which is a line-item account included in the operating budget each year to cover unexpected or emergency expenses, particularly storm-related cleanup. TLA does not separately budget for such cleanup because the likelihood of a storm and the costs associated can vary. This account can be compared to your household’s emergency action fund for unexpected expenses.

In 2023, the Contingency account budget was $125,000. The total spent was $18,069, mainly for Debris Removal, Seawall repairs, and Dry Stack repairs following Hurricane Idalia. For 2024, $145,000 has been budgeted, with minimal expenses to date, resulting from damage caused by lightning strikes.