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“El Niño behind storms to come”

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Texas could see very heavy rains, with the worst of the weather in eastern Texas and the central Gulf Coast, “but that doesn’t mean there won’t be instances [of severe storms] farther west in the Dallas area,” Noll said. “You’ll have these storms move through and they’ll drag some significant cold fronts with them.

“You’ll see severe weather outbreaks in November and into the winter.”

Northern Texas could see more ice and snow than normal, with cold air pushing as far south as the Rio Grande Valley, Noll said. Places like Corpus Christi can expect lots of gray skies, drizzle and low clouds through the winter months.

If El Niño brings a series of significant rainstorms to the Dallas area, as it did in late spring, officials at the Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth said that the lakes and river should be able to handle it.

Denton Record Chronicle, “El Niño behind storms to come”
By Michael E. Young
The Dallas Morning News
Published: 15 November 2015 11:59 PM

Outcomes of the Annual Meeting

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Congratulations to our three newest Board of Governors members:

  • Darrin Ditmer
  • Heather Fahle
  • Chris Hoskins

The membership passed the budget with a few modifications.

  • The budget for the mast crane was increased three-fold.
  • The Safety & Security Bundle was voted on line-by-line. Proposals that passed include: repair of unsafe wiring in workshop; replacement of oven; replacement of pool furniture; installation of front gate battery backup. Proposals that failed include: replacement of upstairs carpet; replacement of blinds.
  • The membership approved the purchase of a new tender for the junior sailing program.

The 2016 Flag Officers were introduced:

Commodore: Dick Peters

Vice Commodore: James Hankins

Rear Commodore: Dan Wolf

Treasurer: Chris Osborn

Secretary: Kendra Favors

Fleet Captain: Heather Fahle

Fleet Surgeon: Dr. Jay Hoppenstein

Harbormaster: John Lusk

Annual Award Recipients

William T. Hart Memorial Award: Kelly Holmes-Moon

John Harris Memorial Award:

A Fleet: Ramon Torres

B Fleet: Heather & Bill Fahle

Jim Johnson Memorial Award: Marie S. Nuchols

Arthur P. Nazro Memorial Award: David Patterson & Randall Massey

For more details, check upcoming The Hailer.

FROM THE COMMODORE: Dock Reconstruction Progress and Annual General Meeting

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Next week marks the membership Annual General Meeting. It is important that all members come to this meeting to approve the 2016 budgets, elect new Board of Governors members and meet the elected 2016 Flag Officers. It is essential to have a quorum, so please mark your calendars now!

In the meantime, I wanted to give everyone a few updates about the projects we are currently working on before the membership Annual General Meeting.

We are making tremendous progress on the Dock Reconstruction project. The bank loan is in the final stages of closing and we entered into a major purchase agreement for construction of the new docks using our insurance proceeds as an initial payment. If all goes as planned, Docks 1-3 will be installed by mid January, followed by Docks 4 and 5 in May. The team is also working out a transition plan to migrate boats back into their new slips as quickly as possible.

Next week marks the membership Annual General Meeting. It is important that all members come to this meeting to approve the 2016 budgets, elect new Board of Governors members and meet the elected 2016 Flag Officers. It is essential to have a quorum, so please mark your calendars now!

The Board has recommended a 2016 budget that reflects the principles of the financial plan presented at the earlier Special meeting. In addition to meeting our new debt obligations, the financial plan included sufficient flexibility to support ongoing capital projects needed to maintain our club. Therefore a number of projects have been proposed to address some urgent maintenance issues that affect the safety and security of our membership. The proposed CIF Safety & Security project bundle is projected to cost $18,000 and includes the following items:

  • Repair unsafe electrical and wiring issues in the workshop building – $3,000
  • Replace the unsafe and obsolete gas oven in the kitchen – $5,000
  • Replace >10 year old upper level carpet, which is creating tripping hazards – $4,000
  • Replace broken lower level blinds to reduce furniture sun bleaching – $1,000
  • Replace the broken pool lounge chairs, which are causing personal injury – $4,000
  • Install front gate battery backup to enable entry/exit during power failures – $1,000

Additionally, we have observed that our Juniors safety equipment is well below the standard found at other area yacht club junior programs, which puts our juniors at greater risk of personal injury. Therefore it is proposed to purchase a new Juniors Safety Tender boat to support junior instruction and regatta activities. The projected cost of $16,000 will come from existing Juniors Activity Funds, which are booked separately from the other DCYC funds.

Finally, we have also proposed an optional CIF project to replace the remaining pool furniture to match the new loungers, which must be replaced for safety reasons as noted above. This $8,000 project is not related to Safety & Security, but significantly improves the appearance and utility of the pool area, therefore it is presented as an option for the membership to decide if it should be funded.The board has tried to balance our spending as we discussed at the special meeting. We are proposing capital expenditures of 42k this year vs over 120k last year.

2016 is also the 60th anniversary of DCYC! A number of activities are planned to celebrate both the arrive of the new docks and our 60th year, including a subsidized social event to mark this important anniversary. Be sure to come out and be a part of these exciting events!

We look forward to your attendance at this year’s membership Annual General Meeting to learn more about DCYC plans for 2016 and to participate in voting. Be sure to mark you calendar now: November 14 at 10AM. See you there!!!

rain

A flash flood watch was issued by the Fort Worth office of the National Weather Service at 3:38 pm. 

_______________________________________

“Rain chances will increase significantly over the next 36 hours as an upper level storm system currently located over Arizona works its way east towards the Plains. Abundant Gulf moisture will be in place, along with a secondary slug of mid level Pacific moisture. High moisture levels combined with strong lift from the upper level system will lead to prolonged periods of moderate to heavy rain. A Flash Flood Watch has subsequently been issued for areas most likely to receive the heaviest rain, which includes all but the 2 southeastern-most county rows at this time. The Watch is in effect from Thursday Night though Saturday Night. At this time it appears that areas in the watch will receive anywhere from 2 to 5 inches, with locally higher amounts a good possibility. Please stay tuned to your latest weather forecast and alerts, especially those with weekend outdoor or travel plans.”

Lake Level:   521.15′

Feet above Conservation Pool:   –.85′

Feet over Flood Pool:   -10.85′

Corps is releasing 387 cubic feet per second

Flash Flood Watch Issued by National Weather Service

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PER THE COMMODORE: WE HAVE CHOSEN A CONTRACTOR

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THANK YOU!
  • I want to thank all the members that were at the September 19th meeting. We had about 130 people come and listen to the presentations.
  • I want to thank the guys on the dock committee once again. You guys did a fabulous job.
  • I also want to thank Chris Osbourne, nice job on the number part of the meeting.
  • Most important, I would like to thank the members. I appreciate your attention and willingness to support a major rebuilding project. This will set us apart and add a first class marina with the current  amenities that we all enjoy.
The dock committee has agreed to a contract with MDI out of Oklahoma.

They were able to shave off about 60K from the price we were quoted. All the materials and layout remained the same. We are just wrapping up the legal side of the contract. As for the timeline, they will start building the docks in their shop in Oklahoma. We should expect docks 1-3 to be installed by mid January. Docks 4 and 5 will be installed by the end of April..  The delay in 1-3 vs 4 and 5 will give us time to dispose of the old 4 and 5.

We have progress….  Not quite as fast as we would like, but still progress….

Remember we will have our Terlingua Regatta October 16, 17, 18. Please make plans on attending. It is always great fun.

We are getting there, just everyone hang in a little longer.

A Good Day Fishing

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Big Catches in the Harbor

The return of the Prodigal Opti Rack.

The return of the Prodigal Opti Rack.

dock

A dock?

A mud pole?

A mud pole?

Charlie Hoffman's finger.

Charlie Hoffman’s finger.

DEBRIS FISHING

David P. and Susan were in chase boat.

James H. and Ross were on Ichabod Crane.

On shore: Randall M., Dan W., Dagny B., Dave M., Tim A., and  others.

FLOAT RETRIEVAL

Before that we had several retrieving floats from east shore line.

Jon P., crew leader; Lisa W., boat driver; Chris H., Jim H., James H., Charlie H. assisted.

On shore was John L., Steve T. and others helping with the float stacking.

Get more details on the progress of the harbor cleanup in the upcoming Hailer.

[Thanks to James Hankins for the images and the report.]

Q & A Report from Tuesday Night

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The following questions summarize some of the more pressing and/or common questions the DCYC Leadership has fielded both at the Tuesday meeting and in the recent past. Do you have a question that is not covered here? Please let us know so we can address it for the benefit of both you and your fellow club members. 

What about the sizes of the new docks?

– All eight-foot slips will be changed to ten-foot slips.
– Slips that were ten and twelve-foot will remain ten and twelve-foot slips.
– Slips that were fourteen-foot will now be thirteen-foot.
– The club will gain nine new slips, six of which will be twelve-foot slips.

Who are the contractors under consideration?
The Dock Committee narrowed potential contractors down from six builders to two favorites:

Marine Development Inc.

– Based in Oklahoma
– Steel truss design with concrete panels
– Dock maintenance: Concrete panels can be easily removed
– The predecessor of MDI built our breakwater and Dock 6. The Club has a strong history with MDI.

Wahoo Docks

– Based in Alabama
– Aluminum structure with an African hardwood decking
– Dock maintenance: Decking will need to be unscrewed to access the docks underneath.

Will the decision on the vendor be made before the meeting?
No. The Dock Committee is still negotiating with the two remaining vendors.

Are the docks built on or off premise?
The new docks will be built off premise and delivered ready to install. They will arrive at DCYC in sections and assembled here.

What are the pros/cons of aluminum vs. steel?
Aluminum is fancier, very attractive and a strong trend in yacht clubs across the country. One downside the difficulty of welding the aluminum docks.

MDI’s steel construction is traditional and stronger. Plus, we have a lot of experience welding steel.

What about the floats we purchased for the previous docks? Can we reuse our existing floats?
We do have the option to reuse our existing floats; there are two reasons we opted to go with new floats: (1) using our existing floats would save the Club very little money; (2) the floats we purchased are 12 inches. The new floats are 18-20 inch floats. The Dock Committee strongly prefers higher docks with the taller floats. They also have several ideas on how to reuse and/or resell the original floats.

What’s the starting date/end date?
We are asking for estimates. Possibly starting in November or December, finishing in two-to-three weeks.

How are the docks secured?
We originally looked at pilings which would have cost three-hundred thousand more than our current estimates, a cost we decided we could not afford. The two remaining options are a block-and-cable system and mud poles.

We chose mud poles, in part because we have better ideas of how to prevent future failures. Previous dock failures have occurred when a dry line from West Texas pushed through and broke the mud poles. The new plan includes winches and cables that would tie into the bulkheads. The Dock Committee feels confident the bigger (eight-inch) mud poles with an increased ability to tie them into the dock structure will serve the club well in the long term.

Note: Tropical Depression Bill was a 55-year event. This combination of high water and excessive winds is unique in the history of the club. Prevention of future problems similar to this highly unusual event would simply be cost prohibitive. Rather than engineer for another 55- or 100-year event, it makes more sense to increase our insurance.

What about the debris in the harbor?
We are missing a hydro-hoist, an Opti rack, and Dock 3’s walkway. We think we know where some of it is. Most of the mud poles have been located. All debris will be removed prior to the dock installation. Randall Massey (with the help of volunteers) is picking up more debris every weekend.

What is a mud pole vs. a piling?
A piling is driven into the lake bottom. A mud pole is dropped.

What can members expect in terms of water and power on the new docks?
The plan is to offer power similar to what we had. We looked closely at offering 30 amp power, but the quote was over $250,000.00 and would require new infrastructure. Adding this new infrastructure and power will remain an option in the future with the new docks.

For now, the new docks will offer one outlet for every four docks, just like our previous docks. We are still obtaining quotes for the electrical service, but we hope to have it installed for less than $100,000.00.

Water service will remain similar to that on our previous docks.

What will happen to the boats on Docks 4 & 5 as the new Docks 4&5 are being installed?
Our current plan is to build the docks in two time frames, first Docks 1-3, then Docks 4-5. Between those two builds, we will move all the boats off Docks 4-5 and destroy the docks in preparation for the new docks.

Will the new fingers twist?
No. Both dock plans are extremely stable. At some point, the harbor will go dry as it has before. When it does, the new docks will not have underwater trusses/back braces that will settle on the lake bottom, making the docks twist. The MDI docks offer torsion tubes that also help eliminate twisting.

Will the Club handle the removal and reinstallation of members’ hydro-hoists?
As before, individual members are responsible for uninstalling and reinstalling their hydro-hoists.

Will the walkway between Docks 5 & 6 be restored?
In all likelihood. The Dock Committee is considering some plans to restore access between the two docks.

Will I have my same slip?
The Dock Committee will attempt to keep dock assignments as similar as possible to the current configuration.

Why not just repair Docks 4 & 5 rather than replace them?
Repairing Docks 4 & 5 would cost more than $100,000. Considering repair costs and future maintenance costs, it is actually much more cost effective in the long run to simply replace them now.

What about the damage to Dock 6?
We do have a cost estimate for repairs on Dock 6 and are considering our options.

Will spaces between the slips remain the same?
They will be basically the same. Fingers will be four-foot wide. We considered a two-foot option, but four-foot provides increased stability and better security for attaching hydro-hoists.

Will the slips have built-in V-decks?
The new docks do not include built-in V-decks; the design of the new docks means it will be much easier for members to bolt into the side brackets of the dock structure. The Dock Committee is considering a standard for V-decks.

Are there prefab V-decks available to purchase?
Yes, Wahoo does offer prefab V-decks. We can ask MDI to provide a quote on their V-decks.

What about dock boxes?
The placement of the dock boxes is contingent upon the final widths of the docks and fingers, decisions still under discussion, but the Dock Committee is considering uniform standards for the placement of dock boxes that would enhance accessibility of docks and fingers.

How wide will the docks be?
Six-foot docks make sense given the Corps of Engineers’ emphasis on ADA accessibility, plus six-foot docks are more stable and give us better flexibility in usage. Four-foot docks require extra monitoring and care.

What about edge-guards and cleats?
All docks come with edge-guards and six cleats.

What if we cannot make the meeting?
Dock owners can vote by proxy, members cannot. Please do your best to attend. It is imperative we make the quorum established by our bylaws for this historic meeting.

What are the quorum requirements for the meeting?
We need 25% of the voting members to attend the meeting to meet the bylaws’ requirements for a quorum.

What is this going to cost individual members?
Our current plan is to increase members’ CIF contribution by $10 and the Dock Maintenance Fee by $20 per dock for a total of a $30 increase for members with a single slip. For those who do not own docks, their bills will increase by only $10.00.

We are seeking approval for a loan of up to $800,000.00, though we hope to not use the entire amount. New docks will cost between 1.2 and 1.3 million, of which our insurance will cover around $500,000.00.

Have we shopped around for good interest rates?
Yes, and we continue to do so. We believe our rate will be somewhere between 4.5 and 4.2 percent.

Did we investigate getting assistance from FEMA?
FEMA is not the best option for the Club. Besides, interest rates are quite low at this time.

Did we consider allowing the membership to fund part or all of the loan?
Yes, this option was discussed extensively. The leadership thinks the complexities outweighed the benefits. And again, current bank interest rates remain attractively low.

What about a sunset for the fee increase associated with this loan?
Members always have the option to revise the fee structure at any point in the future.

What if the membership does not approve the loan?
There is no road forward. We cannot built the docks without a loan. If we fail to pass a plan now, we risk having boats on moorings through the winter months. Given the devastation of the docks, the proposed fee increases are not unreasonable. If we do not secure the membership’s permission to move forward on the loan and the dock construction, we risk permanently losing our dock allocations from the Corps of Engineers as well as our most important asset, our members.

How long will the Club pay on this loan?
Currently, we have approval for a ten-year loan, although the Club is seeking approval for a fifteen-year loan. It is the intention of the leadership to accelerate the payment of the loan so we have paid it off in 8.5 years. Even more aggressive repayment plans have the loan paid within seven years.

Can we increase our membership?
The forecasts we have based our projections on are worst-case scenarios. We have a lot of interest from people who are waiting to see what happens. Clearly, the new docks will make our club much more attractive to potential new members.

With rate increase, where does that put us compared to other clubs?
Comparable slips at Cottonwood Creek (our nearest neighbor) run $230–270 per month. Across the board, we remain very competitive and economical in the sailing community.

What about non-dock related damage like the roofs on the smaller structures?
Smaller issues like the picnic table roofs are still under discussion, but membership will handle much of it.

UPDATE FROM THE COMMODORE: SPECIAL MEETINGS REMINDER

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DCYC logo 2012_Low Res

I want to remind everyone of a very important General Meeting next Saturday, September 19, 2015.  We are calling on all members to attend. In this general session will be voting on a project that has the potential to make our club sustainable for many decades of to come. I want to give all of you a some specific information as to some of the issues we will be discussing on Saturday.

Yesterday, the BOG unanimously approved the dock committee’s plan to rebuild docks 1-5.   In addition to this, the BOG unanimously recommended the committee continue to negotiate the best price possible with the two vendors they have selected. It is the feeling of the BOG, as well as the dock committee, that we do not have a viable option other than replacing 1-5. At the meeting next weekend, we will share the scope of the entire project with the membership, as well as answer any questions. We will be asking you to vote on the financing package with includes a small increase in CIF and dock maintenance.

The Board unanimously recommended that everyone share in the cost of the rebuild. It is important to note that the plan approved by the BOG does not include any up-front fees accessed. In the next day or two, we will be adding an event registration for the meeting as well as lunch on Saturday. Lunch is free to members. Please sign up early in as we need a idea of how many people are planning to join us.

In an effort to further clarify the issues regarding the Dock Committee’s plan to rebuild our harbor, we will be holding a brief question-and-answer session in the upstairs dining room at DCYC this coming Tuesday, September 15, from 6:30 to 8 pm. Also note the question-and-answer forum on DCYC.org for answers to frequently asked questions regarding this project.

Best Regards,

Leland Morris

DCYC Commodore

PS: Note that it’s critical that people register in advance so we know how much food to order. Please register today!!

Click here to register

PER THE COMMODORE: GENERAL MEETING, SEPTEMBER 19

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The notices for the general meeting on the 19th are going out the first of the week.

I want to thank the dock committee for the  countless hours they have devoted to this project.  I think you will find we have several decisions that will be simple and a couple that will be a little more difficult. I will have a couple of nights that I will be at the club to answer any questions you may have before the meeting. I will also ask any Board members that want to attend they are more than welcome. We will post those dates shortly.

All I ask is that you keep a open mind, be willing to listen and maybe think a little out of the box….

Leland