St. Patty’s Day Edition 🍀

Message from the IHC President.

by Scott MacPherson, IHC President

Greetings members! It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Winter Meeting in February. The BOD and the subcommittees have been hard at work since then and much has been accomplished despite the challenges that continue to arise. This has certainly been a learning process as we navigate the substantial rebuilding process. The various sub groups are now meeting weekly to coordinate amongst each other as the planning and discussion continues. A reminder to communicate with Kari or your subgroups when planning and working with contractors. Recently the island experienced another flood tide which rearranged some of the debris and flotilla. Fortunately, no further major damage has been reported.

THIS MONTH’S

TOP STORIES

Government Center

by Kari Jones, Island Engineer

Status update: progress and timelines, summarized info by subcommittee, here's what we’re doing now and here’s the next phase of work.

Island Access:

AJ has resumed work on the Mainland Pierhead and is making good progress. See the recent pictures attached below this section (Photo credit to Diann Longstreet)
Focus remains on prioritizing island access with a sub group meeting weekly to determine the next steps
Septic rebuild plans are ready to go and pending island access
We are also asking to get our floats delivered asap to put on the moorings, but may prove challenging considering their location in the pile.
We are keeping the old workboat for use this season instead of selling it at this time.

Treasurer's Ledger

by Will MacPherson, IHC Treasurer

Thanks to everyone who has — or is in the process — of transitioning payments to an electronic format. I was pleased to see almost every cottage transition in the very first month! Payments were received almost instantaneously making for easy access to funds as bills have come due. Appreciate everyone’s willingness to improve efficiency in a volunteer position.

Capital Fund Update -

Signed MOU with Bath Electric and funded to retain their services
Paid mainland pier contractor 2 out of 3 payments already. Final payment will be at completion
Paid sales tax for new work boat

Finance Committee Update -

Investigating SBA Loan @ 3.5% once declared disaster; Total available proceeds still TBD, but looks like it’s replacement cost + 20% for improvements
Private loan process and documentation being worked out over next few weeks
Special assessment is the option of last resort, but always an option to explore
Exploring construction insurance rider to be ready for when first phase of work begins on island

Secretary’s Notes

by Kate Roloff, IHC Secretary

The notes for the 2024 winter meeting of the IHC are available HERE. This includes a summary of the proposals that were voted upon.

Community Announcements

We are pleased to share these exciting updates with the IHC membership.

GO FUND ME

The Go Fund Me page for the Island is completed and ready to go! Thank you to those that helped with the copy, photos, editing, etc. Please feel free to send this link to any friends and family of the island that you see fit. [In the top right corner of the GFM page you will see a Share button - when you click on that you have several options - one of which is Facebook. You can also add to Instagram or send an email from there.] We are happy to report that 19 donations have been made thus far totalling $3,785 - off to a great start.

**The IHC BOD invites the membership to take part in this important fundraiser and challenges the community to achieve 50% participation by May 1. No donation is too small as we are focusing on participation. Feel free to let Bo (bo.yalenezian@powerdigitalmarketinginc.com) know if you have any questions.**

Fundraiser by Bo Yalenezian : Help Rebuild Malden Island, Five Islands, Maine (gofundme.com)

FRIENDS OF MALDEN ISLAND, ME

The Friends of Malden Island, ME Facebook group is now live and growing with 46 members so far.. Many thanks to Julia Wheeler for creating this virtual meeting space for the extended Island community to be connected. Here is a brief description of the page:

This group is intended for those who share the love of Malden Island. Friends have come and gone over the years but let this be a place where we come together, cherish our memories, anticipate our future, and help each other.

Since this is a private group, requests to join need to be approved by the page administrator. Once joined, you may invite others that you think would be interested in participating by sending them a link to the page.

Friends of Malden Island, ME | Groups | Facebook

GOOD NEWS

Congratulations to Ned MacPherson and Julissa Rosado on their Caribbean nuptials! Ned and Julissa were married in St. Barths on January 27th, attended by a small group of close family and friends. Cheers to the beautiful couple!

Important Upcoming Dates:

Long Range Planning / Island access meeting - Thursday, March 21
Monthly Board of Directors Meeting - Monday, April 8th

Photo of the Month

Island Home Club

Five Islands, Maine