From the Desk of the President
by
Glenn L. Davis
At the November Board of Directors Budget meeting, there was one item of Old Business that was discussed and voted on, that item being the replacement of the tile in the community pool. A motion was passed by a 4 - 0 vote to spend $2,500.00 to pay for this project. The funds will come from the Reserves account.
Under New Business, the Board presented the Proposed 2009 Budget. It should be noted that through astute fiscal management, we are able to hold the assessment to $1,025.00, the same amount that was in effect for the Fiscal Year 2008. This figure represents the final installment payment of $100.00 for the new mailboxes that were installed in 2007. The proposed 2009 Budget was passed by the Board by a 4 - 0 vote.
By now, you should have received in the mail, your 2009 Assessment notice from our management company, MMI of the Gulf Coast. Please be advised that your assessment payment of $1,025.00 is due and payable by January 1, 2009. This applies to 263 property owners. The remaining ten (10) owners, those noted below, will have the $1,025.00 added to their arrearage amounts. A word of caution - if your full payment is not received by Thursday, January 15, 2009, a late charge of $51.25 will be further assessed to your account, along with a monthly interest fee of 1.5% or $15.38 per month until your account is paid in full. Please make every effort to pay in time.
The removal project of the “invasive exotics” has been completed. We are now charged with the semi-annual inspection and treatment of these areas in perpetuity. This will most likely result in an assessment increase of $25.00 for the 2010 Fiscal Year Budget. But, we will cross that bridge next November.
On behalf of the Cedar Creek Board of Directors, we wish all of our owners and families a very happy holiday season.
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As of the deadline for this edition of the “Current,” there is only one property still owing the 2007 and 2008 assessments and fees. Four other properties are in arrears for their 2008 annual assessment. Three owners paid late, but neglected to pay the late fee or the interest. These owners will continue to be billed until their accounts have been paid in full.
In accordance with the By-Laws of the Cedar Creek Property Owners’ Association, Inc., Article XI, Section 11.7, the addresses listed below have not paid their required fees and/or assessments as of October 27th:
8880 Springwood Court - 66.63
9521 Cedar Creek Drive - 1,214.40
25541 Inlet Way Court - 816.14
25611 Inlet Way Court - 66.63
25701 Inlet Way Court - 4,003.62
25860 Creekbend Drive - 1,214.40
25890 Creekbend Drive - 1,214.40
25949 Pebblecreek Drive - 1,214.40
25511 Springtide Court - 66.63
9020 Cedar Creek Drive - 25.89
The total of accounts receivable is $9,903.14, including late fees and interests through October 31, 2008. By now, all of the above properties have had their account turned over to the Association attorney for collection, which will include the September interest charge plus attorney’s fees which are in excess of $300.00 just for the first letter. The attorneys’ lien fees are in excess of an additional $500.00.
As an added note, there are five properties in Cedar Creek that are in foreclosure proceedings with their individual mortgage companies, all of which are included in the above listing. On the advice of the Association attorney, we will wait until each of these properties sell and collect any outstanding debts via estoppel letters when they go to closing with new owners, or when the banks release them from their indebtedness.
We have observed that some folks are putting their yard waste at the curb as much as six (6) days ahead of the normal pickup day for palm fronds, branches and other clippings. Please retain them beside your residence until the morning of the scheduled pickup. Other folks are being remiss in storing their empty or partially empty trash cans in view from the street. Our documents require waste receptacles be stored out of sight of both the street and the neighbor’s property. (See Section 9.12 of the Cedar Creek Documents.) And, some owners have stored bags of mulch near their driveway. Again, please store these materials out of sight until you can find the time to apply them to your landscaping.
For all of our residents whose property backs up to one of our six lakes, LakeMasters, the company that maintains our lakes, has made the following request. Please have your lawn mowing contractor, or if you cut your own lawn, refrain from directing the lawn clippings into the lakes. Apparently, this practice increases the amount of algae growth in the waters. This is detrimental to the quality of the lake waters, which in turn, increases the amount of algaecide needed to control the algae growth. Your cooperation with this request will be appreciated by both LakeMasters and the Association.
Now that “rainy” season is over, we need to pay attention to our individual yards, especially the lawns. Just a reminder to take a look around your property. The Violations Committee has resumed citing those properties that, in the opinion of the Committee, have problems that should be addressed. Is your lawn’s irrigation system working properly? Is it in need of weed, insect or disease control or, does it just need a good dose of fertilization? Does the roof need to be power/pressure cleaned? If you get a notice from the Management Company regarding a maintenance problem, please take care of the problem in a timely manner.
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Community Garage Sale
The annual Cedar Creek Community Garage Sale was held on Saturday, November 15th. This year, Bev & Mark Hempen volunteered to organize the event, with the assistance of Ken Kosbab. We had over 35 families participating in the event. Kudo’s to Bev, Mark and Ken for the great job they performed this year.
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If you wish to rent a space on the Cedar Creek canoe rack, the annual fee is $100.00. Please make your check payable to C.C.P.O.A. and submit it to Glenn Davis. We have 3 remaining spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Current is delivered to your mailbox every month. Also, there are extra copies at the Cabana. Please feel free to help yourself to one.
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Neighborhood Watch
We now have a new Neighborhood Watch Coordinator. Angela Elmore has stepped up to chair this important program. We also could use a few more volunteers. Please give Angela a call at 206-6650 if you can help out with this very important program. We currently have fifteen residents who donate a few hours a month to ensure that the community is safe, check the pool and cabana areas for any after-hours activity and lock up those areas at closing time. Ideally, if we can get a total of thirty residents to participate in this program, then each member of the NWC would be asked to serve only one night a month.
Currently, some members are pulling duty two or three times each month. Again, if you are interested in volunteering for this vital program, give Angela a call.
If you have previously served on the Neighborhood Watch patrol but are not currently serving, would you please be so kind as to turn in your keys to Angela so we may distribute them to any new volunteers that come on line. Thanks.
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Litter Bugs
As you drive the streets of Cedar Creek, you have likely noticed from time-to-time, litter sometimes scattered through our otherwise beautiful community. If you do happen to see empty beverage cans or bottles, fast food containers or any other item that takes away from the aesthetics of Cedar Creek, please take a moment or two to stop and pick up the litter and dispose of it properly. We certainly hope it is outsiders, and not our residents that are responsible for this blight. We all thank you
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GATE ACCESS CARD AVAILABLE
We have had many requests for an access code to the front gate. Since a code can easily be passed from one person to another thus reducing the security of the neighborhood, we have chosen not to issue a general access code.
1. The new tele-entry system, which was installed about a year ago, has the ability to work with an access card. These cards are about the size of a credit card and can be used to access the neighborhood whenever needed. Unlike a code, these cards cannot be duplicated and are associated with a homeowner's name at the tele-entry system.
2. Whenever a code is presented to the card reader at the callbox, the gate will open and record the access into the neighborhood. These cards are now available for purchase. The first card is $20 and each additional card is $10. If you would like to get a card to access the neighborhood, please contact Greg Coury at 239-949-3357. Greg also has a supply of new Genie brand garage/gate remote control openers. They are available for $40.00, which includes the programming of the openers. Greg is a resident of Cedar Creek and has helped us maintain the gates through his company Global Security. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Directories
Requests continue to come in for copies of the Cedar Creek directories. As reported in last month’s “Current,” we have updated directories available for our residents only. The most recent updated version is current as of May 5, 2008. We still have phone numbers and/or e-mail vacancies that need to be filled. If you haven’t provided your e-mail address or phone number to either Greg Coury or me for inclusion in the directories, please take the time to do so if you want this information included.
Upon request, a directory can be transmitted to you electronically. These directories are for non-commercial use only. They are not intended to be used for mass-mailing lists. Just e-mail
me with your request to gldavis88@aol.com or drop me a line requesting a paper copy for $0.50 for either an alphabetical listing or a “by street” listing or $1.00 for both. Please enclose the required amount and, if I am home, I will get a copy to you within 48 hours. If you receive a copy of our Directory, please check it over for any typos, misinformation or missing info, such as e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, etc. and advise Greg or me of any errors so that corrections can be made.
If you would like to be on the community e-mail list, please send your request to Greg Coury at greg@globalsecurityusa.com Occasionally, there will be items of importance that will be disseminated from the web site straight to your e-mail box. You may want to check out our web site from time-to-time. That web address is: http://www.ourcedarcreek.com Check it out and bookmark it.
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MMI of the Gulf Coast, Inc., is our management company. MMI may be reached at 949-7741. The new Property Managers will be Jennifer Waters along with Frank Coffey. They oversee the day-to-day operations of Cedar Creek and they will be in the community on a weekly basis to identify problems, notifying any owner(s) of observed violations. If the violations are not resolved in a timely fashion, they will articulate such to the Board for possible action. We believe that MMI is very responsive to the needs of the owners as well as the Board.
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Cabana Rental
If you are planning to hold an event at the Cabana, contact MMI of the Gulf Coast, Inc., to reserve the area for your function. Keep in mind that there is a $100.00 deposit required which is fully refundable, as long as only Cedar Creek residents are in attendance and there is no damage in the Cabana, Chickee Hut or pool area. If your event involves non-Cedar Creek residents, there will be a $25.00 usage charge. In this case, $75.00 will be returned if no extra clean-up charges are incurred. Please note that even though you have reserved the Cabana for a function, the facilities, including pool & spa, still are available to residents of Cedar Creek and their guests.
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Street Lights
If you should notice a burned out street light or one that “cycles” - meaning that it comes on for a few minutes, then off for a few minutes - please take a moment to jot down the numbers that appear on the pole and call FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE (1-800-468-8243). Once the menu comes on, touch 2 and then 3. You should be connected to an actual “live” person. At this
point, inform them of the problem and give them the information that they request. FPL’s repair crew should respond in 5 to 10 days.
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Your Property
Trash receptacles should be kept in your garage until trash collection day. Don’t wait until you get a phone call or a letter from the Management Company calling a violation(s) to your attention. We would like to see our community maintain the high standards that were present when you purchased your home in Cedar Creek. Remember, recycled goods are collected on Wednesdays, as is household waste. We still have a few residents who put newspapers in their recycle bin without first either securing them with twine or putting them in an empty grocery bag. A gust of wind will blow these unsecured newspapers throughout the neighborhood. Please put items by the curb on the scheduled pick-up day only. If you have boxes containing “popcorn” Styrofoam packing material, please secure the shipping container with twine or tape to prevent the wind from blowing the Styrofoam throughout the neighborhood. Yard waste is collected on Thursdays. If there is a major holiday during the week, the collections will be delayed by one day following the holiday. Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25th and New Years’ Day, Thursday, January 1st will be the next holidays that will impact Cedar Creek. Yard waste collections will be on Friday of those two weeks. Please make a note of this. Your cooperation in taking care of your property will go a long way in keeping the property values high, and your neighbors will appreciate having community members who care. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Parking near and/or blocking access to mail boxes may result in the mail not being delivered. This is the Post Office policy for mail carriers and they will hold your mail for days before you are ever notified to pick it up.
We continue to receive complaints about some of our residents walking their dogs, allowing them to defecate, then not picking up after them. For health and cosmetic reasons,
please pick up after your pets. It also has come to our attention that dogs are being walked on private property instead of the common grounds. If you don’t want to walk your pet on your own property, please understand that your neighbor doesn’t want you walking them on their property either A little common sense and respect for fellow residents will go a long way. And lastly, letting your dog play off the leash in the street could result in an accident involving your cherished pet and a motorist or even a bicyclist. Please make sure your dog is on a leash. It is the law
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The Architectural Review Committee
According to our Covenants, any visible changes to your house or grounds require approval by the Board of Directors (BOD) by means of an Architectural Change Application Form submitted to the (ARC) for review prior to transmittal to the (BOD). The forms are available from Ken Kosbab (ARC) Chairman at 8940 Creek Run Drive (992-1969) and are to be returned to same. The (ARC) will review the change request, discuss with the homeowner if necessary and transmit the request with (ARC) recommendation to the (BOD) for final review. A two to three week period is necessary for review and approval by (ARC) and submittal to (BOD) for their review and decision. Copies of the approved requests will be delivered to the
residents. Residents also will be notified of any request denied by the (BOD) and the reasons for denial. Approval or rejection of all requests is the sole responsibility of the (BOD). The (ARC) responsibility is to fully review each request and make their recommendation to the (BOD). There have been cases in the past where residents have made changes to their property,
painted, etc. without requesting approval. When this happens and the (BOD) is made aware, the homeowner will be contacted by the (BOD), Violations Committee, and/or Property Manager to obtain and transmit an Architectural Change request form to the (ARC) for processing. Take
note: there is no guarantee that the change will be approved just because it already has been completed.
As a result of concerns pertaining to house color changes, the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) has prepared the following guidelines for requests for exterior house painting.
According to the Cedar Creek Covenants, any visible property changes must be approved by the ARC and then by the Board of Directors (BOD). This must be done via a “Request for Change/Addition Application Form,” which will be reviewed by the ARC prior to presentation to the BOD.
The “Request for Change/Addition Application Form”is to include the following information: Name of homeowner, Date of request, Address of property, Telephone number, Expected start and finish dates, Owner’s signature and Description of change: i.e. “We request approval to repaint the exterior of our home.” The following information must be included:
1.) Paint color chips for base color and trim with manufacture’s paint number
2.) Color of garage door (base)
3.) Color of front door (base or trim color)
4.) Color of fascia, gables, gutter
5.) Flat or semi-gloss paint
A “Request for Change/Addition Application Form,” is available from Ken Kosbab at 8940 Creek Run Drive (992-1969) or on line at: http://ourcedarcreek.com/docs/archreviewform.pdf and must be returned to Ken.
Since it is difficult to determine from a small paint chip how the base color will appear on a large wall, it may be beneficial to the owner to try a 2' x 2' square area on a rear wall. Preferences for colors are warm, light earth tones and muted pastels. Currently, Karen DeVoll and Jim Tindal are serving on the (ARC) with Ken.
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Board Workshops
The Board of Directors holds workshops at 10:00 a.m. on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at the Cabana. These “workshops” will be open to all property owners for observation only, as the workshops will be used for an exchange of ideas between Board members. If you have a concern, we will address it either before we open the workshop or after we have exhausted our agenda for the day. The Property Manager also will be in attendance.
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For those of you who will be out of town for extended stays, or even if you are only away for a few days, you should ask a neighbor or friend to look after your property in your absence. Quite often, newspapers, especially the Bonita Banner, will be delivered to your driveway or the “Current” will be placed by your mailbox and remain there until you return. This is one of the signs burglars look for to determine that the house is currently unoccupied. If a friend or neighbor would make sure the papers are picked up and also look for any other problem, such as broken tree limbs, broken water pipes or any other damage, then you will be aware of any problems before they magnify.
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We encourage all residents to read the Current. It is an excellent source of pertinent community information. Also, a full copy of the Cedar Creek news and events that appear in these pages, will be posted on our web site on the first of each month. You can read this month’s
issue, or any of the back issues, at http://www.ourcedarcreek.com/ then click on: President’s Message. This link appears on the left side of your screen, just under the heading “Board of Directors.”
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Greg Coury spent several hours developing and designing this improved web site. All owners and residents who are connected to the internet now have access to all of the governing
documents for Cedar Creek. This includes the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for Cedar Creek, the Articles of Incorporation of the CCPOA, Inc, the By-Laws of the Association, and all of the amendments to those Covenants and By-Laws that affect the operation of the Association. From time-to-time, we hear property owners say they have never received a copy of these Documents. Now, with the aid of our improved web site, http://www.ourcedarcreek.com/ these Documents can be read and/or printed out for future reference. If you are one of those owners maintaining that you have not been given a copy of the documents specific to Cedar Creek, please take time to review them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Winner Every Week
Poker players play every Thursday at the Cabana
7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Call Mike Hochrun for more info at 992-3731
CEDAR CREEK LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: Would you like to learn how to play hand & foot canasta? It's fun and easy. We meet at the cabana every Monday at 1:00 p.m. If interested, please contact Marlene Ciani at 992-9395 or email mciani15@yahoo.com. Hope to hear from you.
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Pool, Spa, Bocce and Tennis Court
Please remember, hours for pool, spa, bocce and tennis court usage are from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. For the concern and respect of your neighbors, please abide by these posted times. If you open an umbrella at the pool, please make sure you wind it down before you leave to avoid damage should a windstorm arise. To show consideration of others, and for the cleanliness of the pool area, please refrain from smoking in the pool and spa areas.
The Cedar Creek Bocce court has been a hit with the residents. The game is great fun and easy to play. This is not a game for men only. The ladies who have been playing love it. Rules for the use of the court are posted on the tennis court fence. Rules for playing the game are posted on the bulletin board in the cabana. There is no shortage of Bocce ball sets in the neighborhood so it is not necessary to have your own set to play. For more information feel free to call one of the following: Dan Durante 498-9982; or Bill Schwessinger 992-4539. These numbers also will be posted in the cabana.
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Please contact MMI of the Gulf Coast, Inc., at 949-7741 if you have intentions of using your property for rental purposes. They will provide you with a rental agreement form. If you have questions about the protocol for rental procedures, please refer to Amendment 8 of the Declaration of Covenants.
We encourage you to submit articles of either a humorous nature or of community interest, to be printed in The Current at Cedar Creek. We request that all articles be approved before submission. After review, any articles submitted will be forwarded to the publisher for inclusion in the next Current issue. Deadline for January submissions will be December 27th.
We would like to see as much community involvement as possible. If you would like to contribute something toward community service, please contact me or any one of the other Board members.
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CEDAR CREEK LADIES’ COFFEE - MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS
The December Coffee will be held at the home of Diana Durante, 25580 Inlet Way Ct. on Wednesday, December 17, 2008. For further information, call Diana at 498-9982 or LaVerne 498-9647.
In January, we will have a Salad Luncheon at the Pool House at 12:00 noon on Wednesday Jan. 14. Everyone to attend is asked to bring a salad of your choice. Please call LaVerne Stein at 498-9647 by Monday, January 12, to advise as to what you will bring. Beverages, Potato Chips, Plates, Napkins and Tableware will be provided.
We have a NEED of Coffee volunteers for April - December 2009. Any questions or to volunteer for a Coffee, please call LaVerne Stein at 498-9647. Remember, your Coffee can be kept as simple as you would like (Coffee or iced tea and cookies are fine- it's just a get-together).
Any questions or to volunteer for a Coffee please call LaVerne. Let's keep our Coffees and pleasant times together. Let's keep our Coffee's and pleasant times together going.
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Free Computer Classes:
CEDAR CREEK ASSOCIATION COMPUTER CLASSES
(There is no charge for these classes for residents of Cedar Creek Association)
All classes scheduled for 2:00-3:00pm
Learn about the basics of the computer world. Platinum Coast Technology is offering free one hour computer courses at their shop in Riverview Center (just north of the Imperial River overpass).
DATE TOPIC
January 8, 2009
and
February 5, 2009
Basic 101 – This Introductory Course is designed for the novice with little to no knowledge of the computer; Class will teach you how to turn on/off a computer, the basic user parts of the computer, and how to “surf the internet”.
March 5, 2009
and
April 2, 2009
Working with Emails – sending and receiving attachments (photo’s, etc.) Attendees must have basic computer knowledge and an active email address. . . . If you don’t have an active email address then plan on coming at 1:30pm to set one up
May 7, 2009
and
June 4, 2009
Working with Word Documents – Fancy your documents with clipart, pictures, etc.; experience with a word document program not required. Class with work with a free program called “Open Office”.
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Classes taught by Paul Carr, a software instructor for Platinum Coast Technology. Paul has been involved with computers for over 20 years and earned a certificate from Microsoft as a Microsoft Certified Professional. He is available for one-on-one or small group instruction, call 239 949-1033 for details.
