From the Desk of the President by Glenn L. Davis
At the April 19th Board of Directors meeting, two motions were made and approved by a 5 to 0 vote. The first one was to spend no more than $1,833.00 for two reserve gate operators in case the current ones fail, as they did in mid-January.
The second motion was to spend no more than $12,000.00 to install a BarCode reader just outside the entrance gates to Cedar Creek. With this new system, Cedar Creek property owners will not need to use their remote clickers or openers from their vehicles. The BarCode window decals will allow any vehicle with the Cedar Creek decal, entry into Cedar Creek, providing they are close enough to the reader to complete the signal. At the May 17th Board of Directors meeting, we will give all the information to the attendees and answer any and all questions regarding the application and use of the decals. If you are interested in learning about the parameters of this new entry system, please mark your calendars for this date. The meeting will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. in the Cabana. Most of you have noticed a deterioration of the appearance of our common areas, especially along Cedar Creek Drive. This has occurred for two reasons: first, we had an unusually cold winter with the overnight temperatures dropping to near freezing for several consecutive days, and secondly, because the common areas landscaper, CommonGrounds, resigned and did not give us the courtesy of informing us of such. By the time you read this, we will have contracted with another landscaping company to eradicate the weeds and replace the bare spots with new sod. We apologize for this temporary setback, but CommonGrounds failed to maintain these areas as was promised by them in the contract..
Cedar Creek Ladies Book Club
The Cedar Creek Ladies Book Club meets once a month on the fourth Monday at 7:15 p.m.. We read mostly fiction with a few non-fiction, and bios included occasionally. The Cedar Creek Book Club will have a guest speaker at the June 28th review of "Three Cups of Tea" and would like to invite interested people in the community to join us. If you're interested, call or email Carolyn Gallagher, 949-0949, gallahawk@aol.com.
Cedar Creek Ladies’ Coffee -
Meet Your Neighbors
The May Coffee will be held on Tuesday, May 18th, 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. We will have a Salad Luncheon at the pool cabana on Wednesday, June 16th at 12:00 noon. We are in need of salads and some desserts. Drinks and tableware will be provided. Please call LaVerne at 498-9647 to advise that you are coming and what you will contribute. **Fortunately, we ARE NOT in need of volunteers for the remainder of 2010. We will have a Cabana Luncheon in June and September (September date to be announced later) and we will not meet in July & August. Any questions, call LaVerne Stein at 498-9647.
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.
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. And also, if you have boxes containing “popcorn styrofoam packing material, please secure the shipping container with either twine or tape. A gust of wind will blow these unsecured materials throughout the neighborhood. Please put trash and recycled items by the curb on the scheduled pick-up day only. 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 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.
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.
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. Fifteen (15) properties are listed as delinquent for not paying their required assessments, late fees and/or interest, as of April 30, 2010 for the year 2010. These accounts are in the hands of the Association attorney for foreclosure:
We also have six (6) 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 $36,274.12, including assessments, late fees and interests through April 30, 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 $8,318.27, 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.
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: 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: 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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
