The Kiawah Island Community Association’s (KICA) annual membership vote will open on Monday, January 13 at noon and will remain open for one month. This year, KICA members are voting to elect two new members to represent their interests on the board of directors. They will vote to approve or deny five vital amendments to the association’s covenants, and they will cast their attendance proxy for the KICA Annual Meeting.
The Kiawah Island Community Association’s Board of Directors is comprised of six elected representatives and a developer-appointed director. The 2025 election will fill the two seats of outgoing member directors David DeStefano and Lisa Mascolo. Three candidates – Tim Hazel, Bran Petranovic, and Phil Walpole – are running for the two open seats that will serve three-year terms, 2025-2028. All three candidates have published campaign statements and have participated in a video interview, Q&A event and virtual open forums.
The ballot also contains five KICA Covenant amendments recommended by the board of directors. If approved, the right of the developer to appoint a seat on the KICA board will be removed; KICA’s authority to operate the island’s architectural control function and modify the community’s Rules and Regulations will be affirmed; directorship qualifications will be clarified to address a legacy flaw that fails to recognize the various modern forms of property ownership; and several miscellaneous administrative updates to improve clarity and accuracy will be made.
Each of the ballot sections has a quorum requirement, the greatest of which is the vote on the KICA Covenant amendments. This requires participation from at least 60% of the total base vote of Kiawah residential and commercial properties. Typically, about 55% of property representatives participate, so the 60% quorum requirement is expected to be a challenge, and all KICA members are fervently encouraged to participate.
Voting will take place online, unless a mailed ballot was previously requested. The primary contact of each property’s managing household will receive the ballot. Voting opens January 13 at noon and closes on February 13 at noon. Complete details on this vote can be found at kica.us/vote.
