ISLAND GOVERNANCE

DEAR ASSOCIATION MEMBERS ,

At the most recent Kiawah Island Community Association board meeting on Aug . 31 , Diana Mezzanotte stepped down as chair . I was elected to complete her term , relinquishing my role as treasurer to Townsend Clarkson . Jerry McGee was elected secretary and David DeStefano maintained the role of vice-chair . I will serve as your chairman through the spring of 2022 .

I want to thank Diana for her exceptional leadership in very difficult times . She has been a positive and welcoming ear to all involved with KICA , and I am very happy she is willing to remain on the board to fulfill her term . However , this is a sad day for KICA . This mid-term change in board officers is atypical , and I ’ d like to address the cause of this change . Somehow over the past months , our board has not modeled respectful discourse , resulting in Diana ’ s decision to resign . It is one thing to debate and disagree , but we should do it with respect and walk away as colleagues . I take on the role of chairman in an attempt to redirect focus away from individual interests and toward the betterment of the entire island . I love Kiawah and I stepped up to fill this position because we need to set a new path .

I have served on the Finance Committee of this island since 2012 and as treasurer for the last year and a half . That is the most participant friendly and transparent group we have in KICA . Three-quarters of the membership are community members . Our meetings are open to the community . We have modeled transparency for years . I also chaired the island ’ s Flood Mitigation Task Force . We had community participation in the development of the plan , gave weeks of public review of the proposal and engaged in community outreach so we could come to a broad based decision . We ended up with an 82 % favorable vote . I will commit to you to be an open leader . I want your ideas . We have an outreach group that will be asking you for ideas . We will follow that up with a survey of the whole island to confirm your feedback . My objective , and only you will be able to measure , is to have this board and this community largely working as one . We can no longer fight for individual interests , but must fight for what ’ s best for the entire island . That is my stance and I ask that you join me in doing what is right for our island . I will continually ask you if we are making progress .

In the meantime , I invite you to join us virtually for our bi-monthly public board meetings ( next meeting is Nov . 2 ) and our Finance Committee meetings , and please ask questions or report issues to the association in the new member portal . Our board and staff want to hear from you .

I wish you and your loved ones good health during these challenging times .

Sincerely ,

DAVE MORLEY KICA BOARD CHAIR

2 | KIAWAH ISLAND DIGEST