Cedar Creek

From the Desk of the President

by Glenn L. Davis

Now that the Holiday Season is winding down, it is time for the Board of Directors to redirect their energy toward the business of Cedar Creek. We do hope that 2011 will bring a more prosperous New Year. In about two weeks, you should receive a letter in the mail from the Compass Group regarding the Cedar Creek Property Owners’ Association, Inc., Annual Meeting. This meeting will be held in the same place we have held them for the past six years, that being the Hope Lutheran Church at 25999 Old 41 Road, here in Bonita Springs.

This mailing will include the first notice of the meeting and a form to fill out if you have an interest in running for one of the two available seats on the Board of Directors. If you intend to seek a position, please fill out the form and return it to either Vic Burnett at Compass Group, or Denny Berens, our Nominations Committee Chair, at 25837 Pebblecreek Drive, no later than February 3, 2011.

There will be another mailing in late February which will contain the proxy ballots and the ballot for the Board election.

On a personal note, the Board members serve strictly as volunteers. Unless it is a life or death emergency, please, call us only between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. We love Cedar Creek, but we actually do have a life outside of Cedar Creek. We will appreciate your compliance with our “business hours.”

Your 2011 Annual Assessment

You should have received a coupon in the mail last month containing your 2011 Annual Assessment information. This payment was due on January 1, 2011. Any payments received after January 15^th, will be assessed a late fee of $46.25 and a daily interest of $0.46 per day, starting on January 1^st. We do not accept postmarks as proof of mailing. The onus will be on you to get your payment to Compass before the deadline. We fully realize that in this current economy, things are rough for some of us, but the Association is a business and has to be run as such. In that vein, the funds derived from the assessments are needed to manage our beautiful community. If you are running a little late, you can hand carry your check to a Board member no later than Saturday, January 15^th and receive credit for an on-time payment. Please make every effort to get your payment in on time.

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 of Cedar Creek 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. Thanks to Rick Hall, Robert Bruce, Dan Wettlaufer, Jim Riordan and Larry Tomaielly for their regular help in this ongoing project.

We also wish to thank the following folks who donated their time to decorate the entrance to Cedar Creek for the Holidays. They are: Lloyd & Patricia Zimmerman, Robert Bruce, Linda Mascali, Robert and Angela Elmore, Bob Berkeley and Rick Hall. We also want to thank Mary Anne Olson for donating nine new bows for the wreaths that were hung on the gates.

Directories

On July 1, 2010, the Florida State Legislature passed SB 1196. It basically requires any resident who wishes to have either their telephone numbers and/or their e-mail address published in the Cedar Creek directories to give the Association explicit permission to publish this information. We can still use your name and address, but you must provide permission by signing up on the Cedar Creek website. Even if you have provided your e-mail address or phone number to us previously, according to the new Statute you must remit your consent via the website form. Please take the time to do so if you want this information included. Upon request, a directory can be transmitted to you electronically after the first of the year. These Directories are for non-commercial use only.

BarCode Decal Distribution

The distribution of the BarCode decals for the new BarCode system is still in operation, however, Cedar Creek residents will not be able to use their remote “clickers” or openers from their vehicles. The “old” system was disabled on January 1, 2011. Your “clickers” will no longer operate the gates. The remote “clickers” will continue to operate your home garage door(s). If you haven’t received your BarCode decal, please take the time to take care of it now by contacting Greg Coury at (239) 949-3357 Ext 3500 and make an arrangement to have your decal(s) installed.

Annual Meeting

Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. This is the date and time for the Cedar Creek Property Owners’ Association, Inc., for the Annual Meeting. On the agenda, among other items, will be the election of two residents to sit on the Board of Directors. If you are planning to run for a position on the Board of Directors, please make your intentions known to either Nomination Committee Chairman Denny Berens, or Property Manager Vic Burnett, so that your name will be placed on the Ballot.

The Annual Meeting is required by the Florida Statutes. The meeting is open to all owners, but only those owners who are in good standing with the Association will be allowed to cast their ballot. To have a quorum of members, we need to have 82 owners either attend or submit their proxy ballots.

Community Management

The Cedar Creek management company is the Compass Group. Their address is: 3701 North Tamiami Trail, Naples, FL 34103. You can contact them via phone at (239) 593-1233; or fax at: (239) 593-1116. Their web site is: www.mycompassgroup.com

Vic Burnett is our Property Manager. He oversees the day-to-day operations of Cedar Creek and will be in the community on a weekly basis to identify problems, then notify any owner(s) of observed violations. If the violations are not resolved in a timely fashion, he will articulate such to the Board for possible action. Vince can be reached at the above phone number or via e-mail at: vburnett@mycompassgroup.com

Address Changes

To all out-of-area owners who have had an address change, telephone number change or a problem with receiving mail from the management company, please check with Compass Group to ensure that they do have your correct out-of-town address and telephone contact numbers, both locally and out-of-town.

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. 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 Linda Hetzell, 25541 Inlet Way Court on Tuesday, January 11^th at 2:00 p.m. Please call Linda by Sunday, January 9^th, if you will attend. We are in need of someone for September and October 2011. Anyone wishing to volunteer or has questions may call LaVerne Stein at 498-9647.

Waste Collection

Trash receptacles should be kept in your garage until trash collection day. Remember, yard waste and recycled goods will be collected on Mondays. Household waste will be collected on Tuesdays. And also, if you have boxes containing “popcorn styrofoam” packing material, please secure the shipping container with either twine or tape. Please put trash and recycled items by the curb on the scheduled pick-up day only. Please make a note of these changes.

Lakefront Properties

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.

Delinquencies

Due to space limitations, we will no longer list delinquent properties in the Newsletter. If you wish to know the status of delinquent properties in Cedar Creek, please send me an e-mail requesting that list.

Ten (10) properties are listed as delinquent for not paying their required assessments, late fees and/or interest, as of December 31, 2010 for the year 2010. Six of these properties are vacant, as the owner’s have “walked away” from the homes. These accounts are in the hands of the Association attorney for lien/foreclosure action. 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.

The total of accounts receivable is $23,482.80, including assessments, late fees and interests through December 31, 2010 on these accounts.

In addition to the above, the Association is currently maintaining three (3) properties that have been vacated by the respective owners. These incurred costs total $13,611.24, over and above the total accounts receivable. To date, 16 Cedar Creek properties have been sold in 2010.

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

(239) 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, which will in turn, save you 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. 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.