From the Desk of the President
by
Glenn L. Davis
Annual Meeting
The Cedar Creek Property Owners’ Association, Inc., held its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, March 9th at the Hope Lutheran Church on Old 41. Three residents were elected to serve for the next two (2) years as Directors. At the Board Organizational Meeting immediately following the Annual Meeting, Lloyd Zimmerman and Glenn Davis were re-elected to serve as Vice-President and President, Dennis Berens was elected to serve as Member-at-Large. The remaining two Directors are Wain Garrison who will serve as Secretary and Chris Dill, Treasurer.
Two items were voted on as was indicated on the proxy ballots. The question about the retained earnings to be transferred into the Reserve account was passed by a vote of 59 - 2. The question for the need to have a financial review was defeated by a vote of 46-19.
Karen Berens raised some questions about the problems associated with the annual garage/yard sales. A lively discussion followed and some positive ideas were presented about resolving the traffic and parking problems associated with the large influx of bargain hunters. The Board will discuss these issues and try to resolve the problems before the next event.
We had over 90 properties represented, either by proxy or by owners actually in attendance.
Your Property
It has been observed that several owners have been leaving their garage doors open for lengthy periods of time. This is in direct violation of the Cedar Creek Covenants Section 9.08, which states: “The garage doors shall have automatic openers and shall remain closed at all times except when being used for ingress and egress.”This is both a security measure and a deterrent to keep snakes and other vermin from entering your home.
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.
Cedar Creek Ladies’ Coffee - Meet Your Neighbors
The April Coffee will be held at 2:00 p.m., on April 13, at the home of Ethel Vera, 25521 Inlet Way Court. Please call Ethel at 949-0371, by Sunday, March 11th , if you will attend.
The May Coffee will be held on Tuesday, May 18, at 2:00 p.m. at the home of Jan Ruxton, 25711 Creekbend Drive. Please call Jan at 992-6639 by Sunday, May 16th, if you will attend.
**Fortunately, we ARE NOT in need of volunteers for 2010. We will have a Cabana Luncheon in June and September (to be announced) and not meet in July & August. Any questions, call LaVerne at 498-9647.
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.
Volunteerism
Again, 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 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
Due to space limitations, if you wish to know the status of delinquent property owners in Cedar Creek, please send me an e-mail requesting that list. Twenty-four (24) properties are listed as delinquent for not paying their required assessments, late fees and/or interest, as of February 28, 2010 for the year 2010. These accounts are in the hands of the Association attorney for foreclosure:
We also have ten (10) properties that paid their assessments after the January 15th deadline but did not pay the late fees or interest.
The total of account receivables is $36,764.44, including assessments, late fees and interests through February 28, 2010 on these accounts. The attorney’s lien fees are a minimum of $400.00 and a fee of $450.00 for the filing of foreclosure papers with the courts.
In addition to the above, the Association is currently maintaining six (6) properties that have been vacated by the respective owners. These incurred costs total $8,890.30, over and above the total accounts receivable.
As an added note, there are at least twelve (12) properties in Cedar Creek that are in foreclosure proceedings with their individual mortgage companies 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.
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.
Neighborhood Watch
Neighborhood Watch volunteers are still needed to complete the monthly schedules. If you are interested, please contact Angela Elmore at: Angelaelmore@verizon.net 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.
The following is the transcript of the President’s State of the Community address given at the March 9th Annual Meeting.
State of the Community - March 9, 2010
Good evening, everyone.
We appreciate all of you for coming out this evening.
Tonight you will choose three residents who will serve on the Board of Directors for the next two years. The direction this Board has taken, and will continue to take, will be proper and in the best interest of Cedar Creek. Next year, there will be two positions open on the Board. Each elected position is for a two-year term and the terms are staggered for the sake of continuity. One of our current Board members has opted not to seek re-election. At this time I want to publicly thank Bobby Berkeley for his 7 years of service on the Board of Directors and to the community. Bobby – we thank you.
The State of the Community is both financially and aesthetically sound. Through the diligent oversight of your Board of Directors, we have been on target with our Annual Budget and our Reserves are in good financial shape. At the end of the 2009 fiscal year, we had nearly $30,000 in retained earnings. We recommend that these retained earnings be deposited in our reserve accounts.
As of this evening, the Association has $40,897. in account receivables.
There are at least 11 properties that are in foreclosure with their respective mortgage companies. All 11 of them are in foreclosure with our Association. As previously stated, 25 of these properties in Cedar Creek have been turned over to the Board attorney for lien and foreclosure collection. We realize that the economy has impacted all of us, either directly or indirectly, but we are running a business. And, like nearly all other businesses, we need these funds in order to keep the assessments at the level that we feel is fair and equitable to all of us. To those of you who have paid on time, we thank you.
The Board was able to roll back the assessments for the 2010 calendar year. It is this Board’s aim, if at all possible, to drop back from the $950.00 fee for 2010 and not withstanding any calamities this coming hurricane season, we hope to pare off between $25.00 to $50.00 for the 2011 assessments.
In order to keep our owners informed of events and happenings in Cedar Creek, we have been publishing the “Cedar Creek Newsletter,” with a special note of thanks to Greg Coury, who has been instrumental in the layout and solicitation of the ads that pay for the monthly printing. By supporting these local businesses, we will be able to continue to provide you with events and happenings in Cedar Creek. And, if you do patronize any of them, please tell them you saw their ad in the “Cedar Creek Newsletter.”
I will call your attention to some of the improvements this Board has brought to fruition during the past year. Some of the projects completed were: installing new gate operators on the entry side of Cedar Creek, the closing in of the gate house at the Cedar Creek entrance and installation of red mulch throughout the common areas. All of these projects were accomplished with the available funds we had in our operating budget. We plan to install additional cameras for the exit side of Cedar Creek Drive and house a multiplex recording device in the gate house. This was a project at least 5 years in the making and we have Bobby Berkeley to thank for his indulgence and insistence in bringing this project to it’s fruition. The Board is also considering replacing the remote gate controllers with a Bar-Code Scanner near the entrance. As we pursue estimates and make a final decision we will have a Board of Directors meeting to specifically address this proposal to disseminate information to residents.
I just mentioned the gate operators - we had an intermittent electronic problem with them. Due to the fact that they were under warranty, the installer finally had to remove the operators and return them to the manufacturer in California. After nearly a month of testing and shipping them each way, we finally have the gates operating the way they were designed to operate. We want to thank all of our residents for their patience and understanding during the time that they were not working.
Frank Coffey is the Property Manager for Cedar Creek, in addition to several other communities in the Bonita Springs area. In our opinion, Frank has done a great job communicating with any owners who have had lapses in the maintenance of their individual properties.
Frank makes weekly drive-thru inspections, noting any problems that arise which could pose a detrimental impact on the entire community. He then sends a cordial letter to those owners asking them to correct any identified problem(s). If you have received a letter, please don’t take it personally. It is simply an attempt to insure that Cedar Creek continues to be a beautiful and desirable community in which to live.
We currently have 6 vacant properties that the Association is maintaining in order to keep Cedar Creek looking it’s best. When these properties are eventually sold, we will get our maintenance expenses fully refunded to us at their individual closings.
We encourage all residents and property owners to be cognizant of any items you believe should be brought to the attention of the Board or the management company. We will address your concerns and, if appropriate, take steps to correct them.
I want to thank the many fine friends and neighbors who have volunteered their time and efforts in various ways for the betterment of our community. These volunteers number more than thirty and with their help, we have been able to keep management costs to a bare minimum. Even if it means hosting monthly coffee hours, replacing light bulbs, or tightening up loose screws, repairing minor plumbing problems, picking up trash and debris along US 41 and in the common areas of Cedar Creek, your volunteering neighbors are working to keep the operating costs down. And, in the long run, it saves all of us money that would have been added to the assessments. Again, a special thanks to all volunteers.
We would like to see more residents involved in Association activities, and provide assistance in maintaining a litter-free community. The more volunteers we have, the easier it will be on those individuals who currently are devoting a few hours each month to ensure that our Community is quiet, safe and enjoyable.
In closing, I would like to say that we have made some difficult decisions since taking office over seven years ago, and some of you may not have agreed with our choices. Rest assured, however, that we had and continue to have, the best interests of the entire Community in mind. We have tried to be both pro-active and re-active in dealing with the day-to-day functioning of Cedar Creek. You can be certain that this Board, with its’ newly elected officers, will continue these efforts for the next term. As you most likely know, these positions are voluntary and Board members serve without remuneration.
I have enjoyed working with the present Board and am grateful to them for the time and effort they have expended on Cedar Creek’s behalf. I am speaking for the entire Board in thanking you for your many kind words of appreciation and for your continued support.
From the Member-at-Large, Wain Garrison
This year the assessment was reduced to $950. Your Board has continually looked for ways to provide the necessary services in the most economical manner. Other Home Owner Associations have a much higher assessment and have held constant or raised their assessments.
A new company was contracted to provide landscape maintenance at a significant reduction in cost. Their service is not only at a reduced cost but they are providing better service that did the previous company.
New irrigation controls have been installed. These include a computer which provide variable times for each zone of irrigation. For example, the rainfall, humidity, sunshine and temperature is measured and determines the amount of irrigation needed, which is then supplied. The old system gave either the full amount or none at all. This should save a considerable cost for water.
If you have any concerns about Cedar Creek, let me know and I will bring your concern to the Board for consideration and discussion.
From Board Vice-President, Lloyd Zimmerman
Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
Thanks for coming to your yearly meeting. For those here tonight that don`t know me, my name is Lloyd Zimmerman and I live on Inlet Way Ct. with my wife Patricia. We have lived in Cedar Creek for almost 12 years.
First, I would like to thank my fellow board members for all the time and hard work they have put in making Cedar Creek the great community that it is. I would also like to thank all the residents who volunteer; especially the ones who work with me on Tuesdays cleaning up the common areas. They are: Robert Bruce, Glenn Davis, Rick Hall, Jim Riordan, and Dan Wettlaufer.
There are two other people I want to personally thank. They are Glenn and his wife Cherie. The two of them spend more time managing Cedar Creek than all the rest of us combined. Thank you both for the fantastic job that you do for us.
Cedar Creek is in great shape thanks to this dedicated board and the many volunteers that we can count on. Cedar Creek will continue to be the best place to live in Bonita Springs.
Thanks again everyone,
Lloyd Zimmerman.
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 and the fax number is (239) 949-7751. 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.
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 or greg@globalsecurityusa.com to get your contact information registered. This will allow you easier access to Cedar Creek after 5:00 p.m. daily.
Along those lines, we also publish this newsletter on line, at www.ourcedarcreek.com
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.
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. Don't turn on the air conditioning unless you have a scheduled meeting or party and then please 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.
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
& INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS
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Property Manager: MMI of the Gulf Coast, Inc.,
Manager: Frank Coffey (239)949-7741 For address
changes please contact Frank via phone or
by email: FCofey@miamimanagement.com
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Gate Tele-Entry Directory: Global Security, Inc.
Contact Owner - Gregory Coury (239)949-3357
or email: greg@globalsecurityusa.com
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Gate Remotes “Clickers” or Cards:
Global Security, Inc. Contact - Gregory Coury
(239)949-3357 or greg@globalsecurityusa.com
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Neighborhood Watch: Volunteers always welcome.
Contact Angela Elmore at (239)206-6650
or at Angelaelmore@verizon.net.
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Neighborhood Directories: Contact Glenn
Davis at (239) 992-2120 or GLDavis88@aol.com
Printed copies are $.50 each, emailed versions
are free.
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Community Email List:
You can signup to be included in the community
email list by visiting the neighborhood website at
www.OurCedarCreek.com. The link is on the
main page.
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Trash Days: Household waste and recycled
goods are collected Wednesdays, yard waste is
collected on Thursdays. Please do not place garbage
cans or yard waste at the curb on noncollection
days.
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Pool, Spa, Bocce & Tennis: These facilities are
open to residents from 8:00am to 9:00pm. Please
turn off the A/C and lower the umbrellas when not
in use. For more Bocce information please call
Dan Durante 498-9982 or Bill Schwessinger at
992-4539
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The Architectural Review Committee:
Any visible changes to your house or grounds requires
approval by the Board of Directors. You
can obtain a form online at OurCedarCreek.com
or by calling Karen DeVoll at (239)948-8831
