Since inception in June, we have held 19 meetings, examining and prioritizing all aspects of the Master Plan.  Our first 30 days were spent in a "time out" during which we designed and built a financial reporting system to fully account for all monies spent to that date and that would be spent going forward. All expenditures are coded to the various project budgets as set out in the Renaissance Reports. We are most grateful to Roberto Sosa, CFO Fisher Island Holdings (FIH = the developer), and Scott Barter, CFO Fisher Island Club (FIC = the Club), for fulfilling our detailed requirements and to Rich Nicholls, responsible for Master Plan accounting, as well as to Bob Hymen of the Club Finance Committee.

We have now opened the "Master Plan Office" in the Town Center where plans of current projects are available for review by all members.  We have streamlined the project management team and now have a single full-time Project Manager, Eric Nesse, ably assisted by Virginia Hanley. The professional teams dedicated to each project are also in place and functioning smoothly. The result is a cost efficient and dedicated implementation team.

We have advanced on the following 6 separate projects.

1.         The Beach Club: The existing facility will close immediately after Easter and reopen in time for Thanksgiving, 2009. Construction drawings required for permitting purposes will be submitted to applicable agencies for their review by November 1, 2008. Owing to difficult conditions expected to be encountered at the project site we will unfortunately need to close the beach.   Larry Brown, FIC CEO and his team, as well as Mark James, FICA CEO, are jointly working on an initiative to establish a suitable temporary Beach facility for next summer.  

2.         The Mansion: Of pressing urgency has been the need to remove the terminally dilapidated bird-cages and deal with the attendant rat population who were living in the Mansion Courtyard. We are well underway with this task and the restored Courtyard will be finished by Thanksgiving, 2008.

The birds have been moved to a temporary location in the vicinity of Cafe Tangier. We are reviewing designs and locations for new permanent cages.

The Garwood Lounge has been used as a pilot project for interior restoration. The bar area was in very poor repair with extensive dampness, mold and other substandard conditions throughout.  Both the front bar and back bar were sitting in approximately two inches of water, and the only piece of equipment working was the wine cooler.  The refrigeration unit and sink did not work at all.  Electrical conduits were totally rusted and in crumbles on the floor, and the wiring was completely exposed.  It is a miracle that someone didn't get electrocuted. It has been sensitively restored, as will be our goal as we progress throughout the other rooms throughout the Vanderbilt Mansion.  The A/C system will be evaluated and upgraded/renovated/replaced as per pending engineering analysis during the next phase of the Mansion.

3.         The 16 Hotel Rooms:  The scope of this project has been curtailed to comprise fixing all leaks, renewing the bathrooms, overhauling the HVAC systems, redecoration and refurnishing. We are doing just a few rooms at a time in order to minimize disruption during high season as well as to minimize the impact of any unforeseen construction issues. We have completed the competitive bidding process and have selected a general contractor who will start work at the beginning of November and we anticipate the completion in approximately 12 weeks. We will then begin work on other rooms and will complete all remaining rooms over the next several months.

4.         Tennis Center:  We have completed the reconstruction of the tennis courts, including installation of required drainage systems, and have installed and tested new night lighting on two courts. After having received approval from the Tennis Committee, we are now proceeding to install the lighting on the remaining six courts. Additionally, new courtside furniture requested by the Tennis Committee has been ordered.

5.          Marina: This project is nearing completion. 

6.         Club Offices: In conjunction with Larry Brown, we are reorganizing the Club's use of its offices to free up ground floor space for the new Trattoria.

The following projects are currently receiving our attention:

 7.        Trattoria and Town Center:  The Health Department permit for a new food service outlet is a lengthy process, but we anticipate the new Trattoria opening before Thanksgiving, 2009. During 2009, we will also renovate Cafe Porto Cervo, where the restrooms in particular, require complete renewal.

Modernization of the Market, the Marina restrooms, and the vacated Trattoria are all being studied, as is the provision of additional shaded seating areas in the central courtyard.

8.         Spa: The costly Spa Scheme #3 design was revisited in an effort to greatly reduce total costs. We have been successful in that effort, and the resulting Spa Scheme #4 has been approved by the Club board, the Spa Committee, and FIH. We are now starting work on fleshing out the program, budget and schedule, but do not anticipate being able to start construction until 2010 as we expect construction documents, including plans and specs, to take about 6 to 7 months and are allowing 5 to 6 months for permitting. Considerable thought is also being given to suitable temporary facilities as this project will most likely take in excess of 12 months to construct.

We have yet to focus on the following projects:

9.         Tennis Conference Center 

10.       Golf Club: Restoration of this facility is dependent upon the completion of other dining facilities as this facility provides a popular dining venue in reasonable condition, and must be kept open until other food service locations are renovated, at which time renovation of this tired facility will occur.

11.       Maintenance Building: This project provides "back of house" facilities which we need to study in conjunction with both Larry Brown and FIH.     

The DDB is pleased to announce that Heinrich Von Hanau, CEO of FIH, has agreed to assist us and brings a further strengthening of the "in-depth" industry expertise assembled to refine and implement the Master Plan.

Finally, we welcome our Club CEO, Larry Brown, as the newest member of the DDB team.  Larry brings additional operational expertise and will greatly assist in coordinating Club operations around our scheduling.

Cordially,

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD