As summer is slowly coming to a close, I wanted to take this time to provide an update on happenings within our Single Family Homeowners' community.

Dick Galash, after serving many dedicated years on our Board, has retired. Dick has been a very valuable member of our Board, serving as both a director and board secretary. He will be missed.

John Ricciardi was appointed by our Board to serve the remainder of Dick's term, which ends in March. Previous to his appointment, John was an active member of our landscape committee assisting both Dick and George Merrill on some of our landscape projects. John has been a very active member of our community and has, in the past, provided some valuable insight to our Board. 

We are still dealing with the pooling of water issue on the north corner of Barclay. We have identified two contractors willing to install a drainage line on the north side, at a reasonable price, and within a reasonable timeline. This whole process has been an exercise in frustration. Obtaining an engineering study, county inspection and finally obtaining the proper permit to begin the project has taken much more time than any of us ever thought. I believe we are finally at the point of actually starting the work. I have to commend Wes Johnson, who lives at the corner of north Barclay, for his patience and his contribution towards helping fix this problem.

As some of you might have read, the State of Florida has issued a series of new rules regarding the operation and function of HOA's. These changes impact the way boards operate and their interactions with community members. A number of members of our Board have already participated in programs conducted by law firms to better understand these changes. The rule changes have a number of effective dates, and our Board is working towards compliance as quickly as possible. As part of this effort, our Board drafted and approved revisions to our current rules and regulations. Some of these revisions have been made to conform to the State changes. while some revisions were made to provide more detail for and clarification to our existing rules. 

As required, before new or revised rules become effective, there is a 14-day period allowing owners to review and comment. We will be submitting these changes and revisions to our owners shortly. You should receive them via E-mail blast and/or review them on our website. The 14-day period will run once submitted to our owners. Your comments can be submitted to our Board via our property manager Sandy Shagedorn, and/or presented to the Board at our next meeting.

 Subsequent to any changes or additions resulting from your input, our Board is expected to adopt these new and revised rules at the end of our next meeting, September 26th, 1PM at the Strand clubhouse.  

The State has also modified the manner in which an HOA levies penalties. We are in the process of updating our fining policy to comply with these modifications. However, it is unlikely we will have updated our fining policy by our next meeting. 

Finally, we have had a number of complaints from our owners regarding the growth of weeds in our ponds. Some of these weeds or wildflowers are growing on the edges of the ponds and some are growing out of the pond water itself. This growth is becoming unsightly, and in certain areas of the ponds, out of control. The ponds and property 10 feet from the water line are owned principally by the Club, and maintenance is the requirement of the Master Association under a cost-sharing agreement that existed over 25 years. It does not appear that proper maintenance is being performed and the higher these weeds and wildflowers grow the more difficult it will be to control them. 

Based upon a number of complaints to the Master Association, the Board will be discussing this issue at its September 17th meeting, starting at 4PM at the clubhouse. Those of you that believe more can be done to curtail this growth within and around the ponds, please make it a point to attend this meeting. A show of support always helps. 

Thank you, Mitch Dario, President