Shelter Bay leadership

Part II following May 17

So where are we at the moment? The Shelter Bay board once again surprises no one with their majority vote to declare the recall petitions for the five executive officers are invalid. Rather than listening and adhering to the community's wishes and intent, they narrowly interpreted their poorly written rules to establish a technicality.

The board majority (5) – with strong opposition by the board minority (4) – moved forward with:

• A rent adjustment index that virtually doubled the rent.

• Removing legal counsel that the minority wanted to oversee the master lease rent adjustment process including appraisals and arbitration;

• Continuing to negotiate with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community without legal representation even now with a perceived improved land value double what it was in 2018, when economists advised SB of unsustainability within eight to nine years.

• Authorizing and pushing for the upgrading of the SB marina while allowing SB swimming pools condition and availability to lapse.

My hope for the new board is that they truly recognize the intrinsic value of the existing master lease. It has many protections that have been virtually ignored for the past 20 years, all due to the board majority's insatiable need to make concessions to acquire a new lease before the existing one expires. The best and final offer submitted in 2015 was proof of that! If the new lease under negotiation is based on improved land value and the appraiser considers unimproved land value that the board majority pushed through with their index, then the community should demand an updated report from a good economist! I would hate to see Shelter Bay become unsustainable under a new lease agreement adopted prior to the date the current lease expires.

Unless there is a major change in the direction this board is taking, I am not optimistic about the future.

Bruce Elliot

Eagles Nest