From the Desk of the President
by
Glenn L. Davis
There was no Board of Directors meeting for the month of December due to the proximity of Christmas and New Year holidays. We hope that all of our residents had a safe and joyous holiday season and that the year 2010 will bring good health and happiness throughout the year.
Reminder ---- 2010 Assessments Are Due No Later Than January 15th.
If you have not paid your 2010 Assessment by now, just a gentle reminder - we will be sending out 10-day letters to those owners who have failed to pay. These letters will be sent on January 10th and if the payment has not been received by January 20th, we will begin the lien process. We still will honor our 15-day “grace period”, from January 1st, but keep in mind that the actual due date is January 1st. If your payment is not received in the Miami office of MMI by January 15th, an additional late fee of 5% ($47.50) will be added to your account, along with interest accruing at 18% per annum ($0.47 per diem) will also be added to your account, dating back to January 1st. Please allow sufficient time for postal service delivery, as we will not honor the postmark on the envelope. If you are running short of time, you can always hand deliver your payment to a Board member or to MMI of the Gulf Coast at their office located at 3511 Bonita Bay Blvd., Suite 1, just west of US 41. We will credit your account at the time it is received. The current Board members are: Lloyd Zimmerman - 992-8123, Bobby Berkeley - 498-9927, Chris Dill - 390-2544, Wain Garrison - 390-1080, and Glenn Davis - 992-2120.
Annual Meeting
The Cedar Creek Property Owners’ Association, Inc., will hold its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, March 9th at the Hope Lutheran Church on Old 41. The notice for this meeting will be sent via regular mail on or about February 16, 2010. If there is an item that you wish to put on the meeting agenda, please send your request to Frank Coffey at MMI prior to the aforementioned mailing date. There will be three (3) openings for Directors. If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors for a two-year term, please contact Nominations Committee Chairman Wain Garrison at 390-1080 for more information. If you will be unable to attend this meeting, please be sure to fill out the proxy form and hand deliver it to any Board member or mail it to MMI. Your returned proxy will be counted as being in attendance and will be used to aid in establishing a quorum of 30%, or 82 properties being represented.
New Look at Gatehouse
Most of you have probably notice that the gatehouse at the entrance to Cedar Creek has a new look. It is no longer open, as it has been fitted with windows and doors. The purpose for this upgrade is two-fold. We do not have cameras at the exit gates due to lack of multiplex space on the existing system, thereby needing a safe storage place for another multiplex to monitor the happenings on the exit side. Secondly, we need storage space for gate parts and Christmas decorations, other than at the Cabana. This addition should satisfy those needs. We want to thank Bobby Berkeley for his lobbying the Board for nearly four years to bring his idea to fruition. Bobby drew up the plans, designed the specifications and with the approval of Improvement Committee chair Pat Zimmerman, the project went from the drawing board to reality. The funding for this project came from the Unrestricted Reserve fund, with no bearing on the operation budget.
Volunteerism
We want to thank the regular group of neighborhood volunteers who help with weekly cleanups and light maintenance in the common areas of Cedar Creek. The latest to join in this endeavor is Jim Riordan. The common areas seem to be a dumping ground for residents and outsiders alike, disposing of fast food wrappers, beverage cans and bottles and other items of waste. You will usually see these volunteers picking up debris along US 41 in front of Cedar Creek, along the main thoroughfare and in the Community pool and tennis court areas on Tuesday mornings. If you would like to donate some time on any Tuesday morning to help with this ongoing project, please call either Lloyd Zimmerman at 992-8123 or Glenn at 992-2120. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Delinquencies
In accordance with the By-Laws of the Cedar Creek Property Owners’ Association, Inc., Article XI, Section 11.7, the 10 properties listed below have not paid their required assessments, late fees and/or interest, as of December 31, 2009 for the year 2009 and are in the hands of the Association attorney for lien attachments:
9071 Cedar Creek Dr. 61.86
9050 Cedar Creek Dr. 67.60
8850 Springwood Ct. 1,134.67
8811 Springwood Ct. 1,231.29
8890 Springwood Ct. 1,231.39
25857 Pebblecreek Dr. 1,231.39
8810 Creek Run Dr. 1,248.27
25611 Inlet Way Ct. 1,323.28
9521 Cedar Creek Dr. 2,641.41
25860 Creekbend Dr. 2,641.41
The total of account receivables is $12,965.37, including assessments, late fees and interests through December 31, 2009 on these accounts. The attorney’s lien fees are in excess of an additional $500.00.
In addition to the above, the Association is currently maintaining five (5) properties that have been vacated by the respective owners. These incurred costs total $5,489.83, over and above the total accounts receivable.
As an added note, there are at least ten (10) 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.
Cedar Creek Ladies Book Club
The Cedar Creek Ladies Book Club meets once a month on the fourth Monday at 7:15 PM. We read mostly fiction with a few non-fiction, and bios included occasionally. If you're interested, call or email Carolyn Gallagher, 949-0949, gallahawk@aol.com.
Cedar Creek Ladies’ Coffee -
Meet Your Neighbors
The January Coffee will be held at the home of Judy Lidsky, 25570 Inlet Way Ct. on Tuesday, January 12, at 2:00 p.m. Please call Judy at 949-2347 by Sunday, January 10, if you will attend.
The February Coffee will be held at the home of Barb Wierzbicky, 8811 Creek Run Drive on Tuesday, February 16, at 2:00 p.m. Please call Barb at 948-3537 by Sunday, February 14, if you will attend.
We've had a great response for Coffee volunteers for 2010. We are only in need of someone to host in May. Call LaVerne at 498-9647 if you wish to volunteer. We will have luncheons at the Cabana in June and September and be off in July and August.
We are in need of Coffee volunteers for October-December 2010. Please call LaVerne Stein at 498-9647 if you wish to volunteer.
Directories
Requests continue to come in for copies of the Cedar Creek directories. As reported in last month’s “Newsletter,” we have updated directories available for our residents only. The most recent updated version is current as of October 24, 2009. 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: 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 . 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: www.OurCedarCreek.com Check it out and bookmark it.
Community Management
MMI of the Gulf Coast, Inc., is our management company. Their address is 3511 Bonita Bay Blvd., Suite 1, Bonita Springs, FL 34134. Their office telephone number is (239) 949-7741 & (239) 949-7751 for the fax number. Please make a note of this.
The Property Managers are Frank Coffey and Jennifer Waters. They oversee the day-to-day operations of Cedar Creek and 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 and the Board as well.
Address Changes
To all out-of-area owners who have either had an address change or a problem with receiving mail from MMI, please contact MMI at: FCoffey@miamimanagement.com or call him at (239) 949-7741 with your correct mailing address. This address will be your “official” address for all mailings from MMI.
New Residents
Even in this sluggish economy, we have had several resales in Cedar Creek. If you are a new owner/resident, we welcome you and ask that you contact Greg Coury at 949-3357 to get your contact information registered. This will allow you easier access to Cedar Creek after 5:00 p.m. daily.
Please contact either Greg or me with your correct e-mail address and telephone number. That way, if we have news that can’t wait until the first of the month, we can do a mass e-mailing to those residents who have provided that information to us. Your information will not be distributed outside of Cedar Creek and will be used for residential purposes only.
Neighborhood Watch
Neighborhood Watch volunteers are still needed to complete the monthly schedules. If you are interested, please contact Angela Elmore at: or by phone at
206-6650. There are five more dates that need coverage, so, if you can assist one night a month for approximately 30 minutes, your involvement will be greatly appreciated.
Your Property
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 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 washed or cleaned? If you get a notice from the Management Company regarding a maintenance problem, please take care of the problem in a timely manner.
Waste Collection
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. Monday, May 31st will be the next holiday that will impact Cedar Creek. Household waste and Recyclable items will be picked up on Thursday, June 3rd. Yard waste collections will be on Friday, June 4th.. 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.
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 residents whose property backs up to one of our six lakes, LakeMasters, the company that maintains them, 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.
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. turn it off when you leave. This will save the Association money.
The Cedar Creek Bocce court is popular 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.
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 (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 the (ARC) and submittal to the (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.
A Request for Change/Addition Application Form,@ is available from Karen DeVoll at 25511 Inlet Way Court (948-8831) or on line at:
http://ourcedarcreek.com/docs/archreviewform.pdf and must be returned to Karen. 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, Jim Tindal and Kathy Guyitt are serving on the (ARC) with Karen.
