In This Issue - November 2004

Welcome to Cypress Isles!
Entrance Committee Starts Work
Board to Meet Wednesday December 8th
Holiday Lighting Contest
Hurricanes Gone, Beauty Returns
Join the ARC
We're Getting New Property Managers
Different Fees to Different Places
Cypress Isles Contact List
Neighborhood Watch
Board Approves 2005 Budget
Crime Alert: Transient Criminal Groups

Welcome to Cypress Isles!
Go over and say, "Hi!"
Hello to our new neighbors at 523 Spring Island Way, who moved in during the past several months. We apologize for missing you in our last issue!
If we've missed anyone else, please let us know so we can mention you in the next newsletter.

Entrance Committee Starts Work
Homeowners are planning a new look for our Spring Island Way entrances.
The Entrance Refurbishment Committee met for the first time on Saturday November 13th at the entrance (where else?) to size up the job and divide the work. The Committee was chartered at the October 19th Board meeting to research and plan new entrance signs, wall and column refurbishment, and the replacement of missing hedges and other plants. When complete, the project is expected to cost each homeowner about $200.
The Committee currently has eight members, but additional members would be welcome. If you would like to help plan how your money will be spent, email Lee Blackwell at monsterous@aol.com for more information.

Board to Meet Wednesday December 8th
This time, it's not the third Tuesday.
The next meeting of the Cypress Isles Board of Directors will be Wednesday, December 8th, at 6:30 pm in the Community Meeting Room at Winn Dixie, on the corner of Alafaya Trail and Lake Underhill Rd. There will be no meeting in November. We plan to revert to the more familiar "third Tuesday" schedule in 2005.

Holiday Lighting Contest
Christmas, Christmas time is here /
Light those lights, then grab a beer…
Getttt ready. Judging for the annual CI holiday lighting contest will take place the weekend before Christmas, between December 17th and 19th. The official date will be announced at the December 8 meeting and posted on signs at the entrances.

Hurricanes Gone, Beauty Returns
Weather map shows ARC approaching.
Three hurricanes made a mess of Cypress Isles in August and September (although we were still the best-looking disaster area in Waterford Lakes). Since then, repairs and restoration have been the top priorities, so the Board decided to suspend enforcement of the ARC 90-day replacement rules in regard to hurricane damage until December 1, 2004.
But now most of the boards are off the windows and the downed trees have been removed, so things should be getting back to normal. Everyone's trees, shrubs, and lawns should be looking good, and everyone's weeds should be history. Coincidentally, the ARC will resume neighborhood inspections in December, issuing friendly reminders about areas that need work.
If you haven't already restored your yard to its model-home appearance, please do so. If you had serious damage and decide to make some changes while you're at it, please make sure you submit Architectural Review Forms to the ARC.

You DO need ARC approval if you:
" Decide to take your fences down.
" Replace damaged trees with different type or number of trees.
" Change the structure or colors of your house.
" Change shrubs or other aspects of your yard.

… but you do NOT need ARC approval if you:
" Replace your old fence with the same type of fence. (But read about party fences below.)
" Replace damaged trees or shrubs with similar trees or shrubs. (Read about Leaning Street Trees below).
" Restore your house the way it was.

Party Fence Repair
If an original fence installed by Centex to separate two lots (called a Party Fence) was damaged, homeowners on both sides share the responsibility for restoring the fence. Details are in Article XV of the Cypress Isles Declaration of Neighborhood Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions. (See the Cypress Isles Website under Homeowner Documents / Declaration… Restrictions.)
Leaning Street Trees
Several street trees (between sidewalk and street) are still leaning and need to be roped or braced so their trunks are vertical again. Trees leaning into the street hit passing cars and trucks; and trees leaning into the sidewalk can cause a poke in the eye or a bump to the head if you failed to "DUCK!" while trying to maneuver around it. (Curiously, these seem to be the only two directions these trees lean. Go figure.)
If your tree is leaning, walk around the neighborhood and see how your neighbors have straightened their trees, then do yours the same way.
We all look forward to a more pleasant 2005.

Lee Blackwell, ARC Chair

Join the ARC
Nit-pickers need not apply.
If you care about how Cypress Isles looks and can walk or drive through the neighborhood each month, or if you can review a few ARC applications each month, then we sure could use your help.
The ARC needs a couple of friendly, people-oriented homeowners to help keep Cypress Isles looking great. It's not a huge job, but sometimes it's a lot for just us to handle. Did we mention that you don't have to attend Board meetings?
Please email or call us. Please.

We're Getting New Property Managers
Meet them at the December 8th Board meeting.
Starting December 1st, Community Management Professionals, Inc. will replace Boyle Management (formerly Penn First) as the property manager for Cypress Isles.
Our new property manager is Rex Bowman. His phone number is 407 903-9969 Ext. 114 and his email is Rex@community-mgmt.com.
You can meet Rex at the December 8th Board meeting in the Community Meeting Room at Winn Dixie, on the corner of Alafaya Trail and lake Underhill Rd.
The Board selected CMP after reviewing proposals from five property management firms, based on their desire to work in harmony with homeowners, their 16 years' experience working with neighborhoods like ours, and state-of-the-art data management systems. As an added bonus, they also have the most reasonable fees!
New quarterly payment coupons for 2005 should arrive at your house in December. Those of you who use automatic debit will still be able to pay in that way, but the destination will now be Colonial Bank. Instructions for both types of payment will also be mailed to you in December.
If you use automatic payment please remember to fill out the new automatic payment form by Colonial Bank when you receive your payment coupons in December.

Different Fees to Different Places
Cypress Isles homeowners pay maintenance fees to TWO separate associations: Cypress Isles and Waterford Lakes Community Association (WLCA). These are two separate organizations with different addresses, and they do not forward mail to each other, so please follow the mailing instructions that are included with each set of coupons.
Please remember to include the right payment coupon and mail early - a few days before the beginning of each quarter.

Myron Davis, Treasurer

Neighborhood Watch
Home Robbed!
A resident in the 500 block of Spring Island Way writes:
"Our home was broken into on10/29/04 sometime between 10AM and 2PM. The lanai door (on the Lake Underhill side) was ripped, the family room patio door lock was broken and several items were missing including a laptop computer, digital camera, checkbook, jewelry and DVD player. I think we may have come home and frightened the person because many rooms had not been touched. We reported this to the police but just wanted everybody to know so they are careful to lock things up when they leave home (though in this case it didn't help much.)"

With so many contractors and various repair people in our neighborhood during daytime hours, it is not unusual for strange cars and trucks to be on our streets. This would make it easy for thieves to "blend in" and for their activities to go unnoticed. Be on extra alert to people hanging around that don't seem to have a purpose there.
It was reported at the 10/25 WLCA meeting that there had recently been almost 2 dozen car burglaries in one of our neighboring communities, Waterford Park. We again remind you to keep your cars locked, your garage doors closed when you're not nearby, and don't leave your garage remote in your car.
As the holidays approach, we hope to not have a repeat of lawn decorations being stolen from our yards. Be vigilant - if you observe suspicious behavior going on, try to get a good description of the vandals and report it to the non-emergency Orange County Sheriff's number - 407-737-2400 - as well as to your block captain or one of the coordinators.
Safe holidays to all!
Sandy "CSI: CI" Horazak
Your Neighborhood Watch Coordinators are:
Myron Davis - 407-737-8200
Cookie Symons - 407-273-5460

Board Approves 2005 Budget
Quarterly Fees will increase by $3. Here's why:
On October 19, the Board of Directors approved a $22,000 budget for Cypress Isles for 2005 and a $3-per-quarter increase in homeowner fees, the first increase since 2001.
The biggest change was a 45% increase in Landscape Maintenance, since we now have a landscaping contractor who knows what he's doing. This increase was partially offset by a 16% reduction in Management fees, since we now have a cost-effective property manager. The remaining expenses were only about 3 percent higher than in 2004, following general inflation. Allocation for reserves remained the same as last year, and a contingency was added to anticipate any storm-related maintenance. The net result was an 8.3% increase in homeowner fees, raising quarterly fees from $36 to $39 per quarter per home.
The 2005 budget does not include any funds for entrance refurbishment. This separate project will be formulated by the Entrance Refurbishment Committee, which will present its recommendations to the Board and Members next spring.
The budget is itemized below by total annual amount and quarterly fee per homeowner.
Dennis Horazak, President
Myron Davis, Treasurer

Crime Alert: Transient Criminal Groups
This is a Crime Alert from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, warning of the annual arrival of transient criminal groups.
Annually during the winter season, transient criminal families and individuals, commonly referred to as Gypsies, migrate to Central Florida. They typically move here when it is too cold in the northern states to pump/spray their liquid products, and they typically leave Central Florida in the mid-March to early April.
These groups typically engage in criminal activity aimed at the elderly population. They engage in common home repair frauds such as pressure washing, painting, roof repair/sealing, driveway asphalting and /or seal coating, tree trimming, tool sales, lighting rod installation and pest control.
These individuals normally solicit their victims door-to-door and do so without obtaining the proper county licenses or state contractor licenses. Only about 3-5% of their activity is aimed at the business community. They typically perform criminally shoddy or no workmanship and charge exorbitant prices.
Due to the age difference or mental decline plus the fact that they outnumber their victim, the victim usually gives them the money demanded. They will even take a victim to a bank to make withdrawals. They prefer cash but if they can get a check, then the amount of the check is normally changed to a far greater amount. Any check given to these groups is IMMEDIATELY cashed.
NOTE: This type of activity is not civil in nature! Some criminals may do IMPOSTOR crimes, where they pose as Surveyors, pest control, tree trimmers or utility/cable company employees in order to gain entry to a victim's residence. The "shill" in the group will typically talk the victim into leaving the house, at which time other members of the group will enter the residence and steal cash/jewelry. These groups commonly use portable radios to communicate between themselves.
Awareness Tips
¢ These groups operate on a cold contact door to door basis
¢ They do not provide valid contracts
¢ They offer construction, fencing or roofing deals
¢ They will travel in newer construction style trucks with out of state tags or newly registered Florida state tags
¢ They will not have the proper business licenses or permits
¢ They target older citizens
¢ They will overwhelm and get victims to submit to their offers by superior numbers, outlandish claim of urgency and deceptive offers
¢ They will work in groups; one will talk to victim and get them to come outside while others walk into your house and steal
¢ They will offer to take you to your bank to get money
If you come in contact with these groups contact law enforcement immediately!

Cypress Isles Contact List

Board of Directors
Dennis Horazak, President 407 207-6557 densus@bellsouth.net
Ron Wiley, Vice-President 407 384-2564 rwiley4@cfl.rr.com
Bill Snook, Secretary 407 380-2202 wsnook1@cfl.rr.com
Myron Davis, Treasurer 407 737-8200 mdavis8200@adelphia.net
Lee Blackwell, Member 407 275-2541 monsterous@aol.com

Property Manager
Rex Bowman 407 903-9969 Ext. 114
Community Management Professionals, Inc. Rex@community-mgmt.com

Architectural Review Committee
Lee Blackwell 407 275-2541 monsterous@aol.com
Cookie Symons 407 273-5460 minnieland@aol.com

Neighborhood Watch
Myron Davis 407 737-8200 mdavis8200@adelphia.net
Cookie Symons 407 273-5460 minnieland@aol.com

Media
Dennis Bode, Webmaster dbode@cfl.rr.com
Sandy & Denny Horazak, CI News Editor 407 207-6557 sanden@bellsouth.net

Other Handy Numbers
Orange County Sheriff Non-emergency 407 737-2400
Progress Energy (street lights) 407.629.1010
Animal Control (unleashed pets, etc.) 407 352-4390

November 30 - Dick & June Glesener - 63 years!
Belated Anniversary wishes:
August 17 - Bill & Kathi Snook - 30 years!

Happy Birthday to:
December 22 - Cookie Symons
February 4 - Scott Symons

Welcome to the world:
Congratulations to Art & Tina Gordon on the birth of their daughter -
November 1 - Kendall Nicole Gordon