In This Issue - November 2007
Holiday Lighting Contest
Board Sets 2008 Budget
A Seasonal Jingle
A.R.C. Pressure Washing - NOT the ARC
WLCA Pool Will Close for Repairs
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Hate Trimming Palms? Trade 'em In
Cardboard Presents for the Earth
Do You Know Where Your Pets Are?
Recreational Vehicle Short-Term Parking
On the Lighter Snide
Website Gets a Facelift
Cypress Isles 2008 Budget
Alafaya Expansion Project Meeting
Dates and Figs
CIN Publication Schedule
Cypress Isles Contact List
WLCA Business Briefs
Board Meetings
Get out your calendar, your Daytimer, your Palm Pilot
The next Board of Directors meeting will be on Tuesday, November 27, 2007,
at 6:30 PM, rescheduled from Nov. 20. Future meetings in 2008 are planned
for Tuesday, January 15, and Tuesday, March 18, all at 6:30 PM. All residents
are welcome at these open meetings.
Check our website for late-breaking news updates in the event of changes.
Holiday Lighting Contest
Deck your yard to celebrate the holidays!
Judging for this year's annual Holiday Lighting Contest will be on Sunday
December 16th starting at 7:00 p.m. Winners will be listed on our website
shortly thereafter and published in the February Cypress Isles News, when
nobody cares anymore.
Board Sets 2008 Budget
Homeowner fees will be $54 per quarter starting January 1, 2008.
The Cypress Isles Board approved the operating budget for 2008 at its October
16th, meeting. Increases in landscape management and property management
expenses, partially offset by a reduction in insurance premiums, resulted
in quarterly homeowner fees increasing from $47 to $54 per quarter, which
is $18 per month.
Each homeowner will receive a payment coupon book during December. You
can either pay the first $54 payment by January 1, or you can pay $216 for
the entire year at that time and get it over with. Either way, be sure
to send your coupon with your check.
Line-by-line details of the 2008 budget are listed in the "Cypress Isles 2008 Budget" article.
Dennis Horazak, Secretary
Not Sanjaya
A.R.C. Pressure Washing - NOT the ARC
What a creepy but pure coincidence to our above jingle...
Just as this newsletter was going to press, we got a flyer in our door with
a headline of -
"Waterford Neighborhood Special - A.R.C. Pressure Washing Service"
- with a special deal for pressure washing.
Clearly these people are trying to associate themselves with our neighborhood
ARC (Architectural Review Committee). THEY ARE NOT! Perhaps they are
Adam, Robert, and Carl (no offense to any of our readers with those names)
but they do not represent either the "Cypress Isles ARC" or the
"Waterford Lakes ARC." Feel free to hire them if you wish. They
might do a fine job, but they are not connected with any ARC.
Beware, be very ware...
Sandy Horazak, Scam-busting Editor
WLCA Pool Will Close for Repairs
Polar - er - Tropical Bear Club members note: After New Year's Day,
no pool for you!
The community pool on Mark Twain Blvd. will be closed as of January 2, 2008
for the resurfacing of both the kiddie pool and large pool. The project
is expected to take about 10 days, after which both pools will again be
open for Waterford Lakes residents and guests.
WLCA Office (Dawn) 407-380-3803
453 Mark Twain Blvd. wlca@bellsouth.net
Orange County Sheriff
Non-emergency 407 836-HELP (4357)
Animal Control (unleashed pets, etc.) 407 352-4390
Progress Energy Streetlight Repair 1-800-228-8485 www.progress-energy.com
Call before you dig (Sunshine Network) 811
Whatcha Gonna Click?
www.ocso.com/Agency/ElectronicCrimeReporting - to report certain types of crime online, such as lost property, theft, vandalism, and vehicle burglary.
www.ocso.com/CrimePrevention/PropertyCrimesandRobberies - to find out what types of crimes are occurring in your area.
www.cfcrimelinewarrants.com - to check individuals for warrants.
www.snopes2.com - exposes hoaxes, urban legends, and other email crap
Hate Trimming Palms? Trade 'em In
Palm trees too tall? Trade 'em in for Queen Palms - for free.
Many of us have Washingtonian Palms, which are more appropriate for airports
and shopping malls than for residences. These palms grow to be over 90
feet tall and are increasingly difficult to trim without special equipment.
Fortunately there is a company that removes Washingtonian Palms and replaces
them with Queen Palms for free. The company is:
Mizell Nurseries
http://www.freepalmtreeremoval.com/
1-866-877-TREE (8733)
sammymizell@freepalmtreeremoval.com
Their website, http://www.freepalmtreeremoval.com/,
is very informative with lots of pictures.
Several homeowners have had their towering trees replaced by this company,
and all were generally satisfied with their work.
Dennis Horazak,
Senior Palm Correspondent
Cardboard Presents for the Earth
All of that corrugated cardboard is recyclable.
The holiday season will soon be upon us, and you know that that means
corrugated
cardboard boxes, and lots of 'em. For all of you who plan to order a bunch
of gifts online, buy that new stereo system for yourself, or just sit back
and let the relatives ship their boxes of stuff to you, take note. All
of that corrugated cardboard is recyclable!
Corrugated cardboard (also called OCC, for "old corrugated cardboard")
is defined to include any paper product characterized by Kraft linerboard
surrounding a rigid, fluted interior, and is targeted in the Orange County
recycling program. If a box has those ribs or flutes, it is corrugated
cardboard, and it can be placed in the orange recycling bin for collection
with newspapers, magazines, and other acceptable paper grades. It is important
to note that corrugated cardboard does NOT include tissue boxes, cereal
boxes, paper towel rolls, soda boxes and the like - these products are made
of paperboard (sometimes called boxboard) and are not currently targeted
for recycling in Orange County (so don't try to recycle them because they
will be discarded at the recycling facility and cost Orange County more
money to dispose).
Corrugated cardboard is among the most prevalent and most valuable recyclable
materials. However - and this is the hard part for recyclers - it has to
be cut or folded into 3 foot squares and either stacked or placed inside
the bin in order to be collected. Current recycling collection trucks cannot
fit oversized pieces of cardboard (like, say, the box for that new HDTV
you are thinking of getting from Santa this Christmas) in their hopper,
and it is not operationally efficient to expect vehicle operators to carry
exacto knives to cut down your cardboard. Your taking the time to cut your
boxes down to size is critical to optimize Orange County's recycling program.
Think about it - if every house in the neighborhood recycles all their
boxes this holiday season, the County earns $100 in recycled material revenue.
If everyone takes the easy way out and leaves their boxes out on trash
day, it will cost Orange County $50 to dispose of the boxes in a landfill.
Seems like a good choice to cut/fold those boxes and recycle!
John Culbertson, Principal
MSW Consultants, LLC
842 Spring Island Way
Orlando, FL 32828
(407) 380-8951 phone
(301) 591-4471 fax
(407) 580-4017 mobile
http://www.mswconsultants.us
Cypress Isles resident and board member John Culbertson recently launched his small business to provide recycling and waste management consulting services to cities and counties across the country with the aim of helping them establish, manage, and improve their refuse and recycling policies and practices. He writes occasional columns to provide Cypress Isles residents with tips to improve their understanding of how to recycle more effectively.
Publication of this newsletter was made possible in part by:
Do You Know Where Your Pets Are?
They're in our yard! (Article being taken for a walk again by request
)
We know you love your pets. So do we. Okay, so we don't love your pets
as much as we love our own. We especially don't love your pets when they
are allowed to roam free, using our properties as their personal toilet
area, and upsetting our pets, which are either leashed, or being kept under
control in our screen enclosures. This applies to dogs and cats. It's
also against the law
not part of the local or master HOA documents,
but an Orange County law. Orange County enforces animal leash and waste
laws subject to fines up to $500 for non-compliance. And don't forget to
clean up your pet's waste. We only want to clean up after our own pets,
so please be responsible for yours. Report violators to Orange County Animal
Control 407-254-9140. If you get caught up in their voicemail system, call
the general county services at 407-836-3111.
Sandy Horazak
Animal-loving Editor
Recreational Vehicle Short-Term Parking
Need to hose out your camper? Tell the Property Manager first.
At the September 18, 2007 board meeting, there was discussion about parking
of recreational vehicles. Strictly speaking, the Covenants do not allow
for parking of RVs, boats, trailers, or all-terrain vehicles at homes.
However, since owners of RVs and boats need time to prepare before, and
to clean after use, and since non-resident guests often arrive in RVs, the
Board decided to allow parking for a time period of 3 business days before
and 3 business days after use, or for the expected time length of visitors.
If more time is needed, residents are required to contact either the Property
Manager or the Board. It would be a good idea to make the contact regardless
of the expected time period, so that it's on record if a neighbor complains
about the presence of a recreational vehicle in a driveway.
Sandy Horazak, Driveway Editor
Website Gets a Facelift
And it's not even that old and wrinkled!
Webmaster Dennis Bode has been working hard giving our wonderful website
a facelift. One of the additions is a slide show of homes in Cypress Isles
- right on the Home Page. Also on the home page is a calendar block of
"Latest Updates" - items of interest from Cypress Isles and WLCA.
Thanks to Dennis for designing and maintaining the best website in Waterford
Lakes - Cypress Isles! Check it out! http://www.cypressisles.org
Sandy Horazak,
Facelift Detective
Publication of this newsletter was made possible in part by:
2007 Budget | 2008 Budget | ||
INCOME | $47.00 |
$54.00 | |
4310 | Assessments ($47/Qtr = $188/yr) | $26,320.00 |
$30,240.00 |
4170 | Newsletter Reimbersment | $- | |
Total Income |
$26,320.00 |
$30,240.00 | |
GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE | |||
6010 | Management Fees | $6,900.00 |
$7,590.00 |
6020 | Taxes-Accounting | $- |
$- |
6025 | Licenses | $65.00 |
$- |
6040 | Legal Services | $780.00 |
$780.00 |
6050 | OCHAA Membership | $90.00 |
$90.00 |
6070 | Payment Coupons | $396.00 |
$275.00 |
6090 | Postage | $410.79 |
$410.79 |
6100 | Insurance - Liability | $2,976.87 |
$2,222.00 |
6110 | Insurance - D&O | $- |
$- |
6150 | Supplies | $132.22 |
$132.22 |
6160 | Telephone / FAX | $1.15 |
$10.00 |
6170 | Copying & Printing | $983.00 |
$800.00 |
6185 | Newsletter | $- |
$350.00 |
6220 | Corporate Annual Report | $61.00 |
$61.00 |
6240 | Bad Debt | $13.75 |
$365.00 |
6280 | Storage | $142.41 |
$- |
6299 | Miscellaneous | $- |
$- |
G&A Expenses |
$12,952.19 |
$13,086.01 | |
GROUNDS MAINTENANCE | |||
6510 | Grounds Maintenance | $5,092.32 |
$10,900.00 |
6540 | Annuals | $837.39 |
$- |
6550 | Mulch | $515.00 |
$- |
6600 | Fertilization & Chemicals | $301.79 |
$- |
6630 | Lakes/Ponds/Waterways | $1,053.69 |
$1,112.40 |
6670 | Entrance Maintenance - Lights, Walls & Signs | $133.90 |
$- |
6730 | Traffic Enforcement | $1,248.00 |
$1,488.00 |
7830 | Electricity - Entry Lights | $963.05 |
$830.00 |
6799 | Miscellaneous | $469.20 |
$70.12 |
Grounds Maint. Expenses |
$10,614.34 |
$14,400.52 | |
RESERVE EXPENSES | |||
8010 | Entrance Signage | $676.47 |
$676.47 |
8020 | Entrance Landscaping | $1,200.00 |
$1,200.00 |
8030 | Entrance Masonry | $659.00 |
$659.00 |
8040 | Entrance Electric | $148.00 |
$148.00 |
8050 | Retention Ponds | $20.00 |
$20.00 |
8060 | Conservation Areas | $50.00 |
$50.00 |
Reserve Expenses |
$2,753.47 |
$2,753.47 | |
Total Expenses |
$26,320.00 |
$30,240.00 | |
Excess / Deficit |
$- |
$(0.00) |
Alafaya Expansion Project Meeting
Concerned residents to meet at Discovery Middle School on December 5th at
7:00PM
In 2005 the Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved the framework
to begin the design of a four-lane widening of Alafaya Trail from Mark Twain
Boulevard to Avalon Park Boulevard, a distance of approximately 3.75 miles.
The framework included a public/private partnership that provided for an
accelerated project production mechanism funded primarily with impact fee
credits.
Prior to the start of design, a feasibility study completed in December
2005 analyzed the economic and technical feasibility of the project. Based
on information gathered through the study, it was recommended to widen Alafaya
Trail to a four-lane divided roadway (two lanes of traffic in each direction),
providing for 11-foot wide travel lanes, a 15.5-foot raised landscaped median,
a 5-foot wide sidewalk on the west side of the roadway, a 10-foot wide multi-use
path on the east side as well as roadway lighting. Improvements will also
provide a curb and gutter storm water collection system on each side of
the road and a closed, underground storm water conveyance system requiring
a number of new storm water ponds.
The overall design process includes provisions for public involvement and
public input, including a web site, project newsletters announcing meetings
and project information, small group meetings with Homeowner Associations,
businesses and other interested persons as well as three (3) community meetings.
A meeting is tentatively planned for December 5th at 7:00PM at Discovery
Middle School for residents who are affected by the expansion. Please consider
attending the meeting to learn about the forthcoming changes to the roadway.
Additional photos will be posted in the "Documents" section of
the WLCA web site for your review.
Happy Anniversary to:
November 30 - Dick & June Glesner
February 26 - John & Kathleen Tenny
Happy Birthday to:
November 12 - Jamie Wiley
December 22 - Cookie Symons
January 26 - Kathleen Tenny
February 4 - Scott Symons
February 23 - Grace Tenney
CIN Publication Schedule
The Cypress Isles News is published quarterly by the Board of Directors
for the residents of Cypress Isles. We welcome non-commercial articles
and paid advertising from our neighbors. Send email submissions to Sandy
Horazak - sanden@bellsouth.net. Copy deadlines are February 1 for the February
issue, May 1 for the May issue, August 1 for the August issue, and November
1 for the November issue. Articles may be edited for length, clarity, or
content. Advertisements are subject to approval of the Cypress Isles News
staff and the Cypress Isles Board of Directors, which governs this newsletter.
Advertising in the Cypress Isles News does not constitute endorsement by
either the Cypress Isles News or the WLCA. We do not guarantee the accuracy
of the advertisements or the performance or proper licensing of our advertisers.
We recommend that consumers check references.
Sandy Horazak, Editor
Thanks to Cookie Symons for coordinating the volunteers who delivered this newsletter to your homes: Harold & Cheryl Engold, John Culbertson, Cookie & Scott Symons.
- Board of Directors
Ron Wiley, President 407 384-2564 rwiley4@cfl.rr.com
John Tenney, Vice-President 407-383-3079 johnwill@tenncomgroup.com
Dennis Horazak, Secretary 407 207-6557 densus@bellsouth.net
Myron Davis, Treasurer 407 737-8200 mdavis8200@comcast.net
John Culbertson, Member 407 658-4261 jculbertson@cfl.rr.com
Harold Engold, Member 407-273-4990 LTHEJHPD@aol.com
Cookie Symons, Member 407-273-5460 NEW ADDRESS> Minnieland@comcast.net
Judith Meldrum, Community Management Professionals
407-903-9969 Ext. 106
Judith@community-mgmt.com
Neighborhood Watch
John Culbertson 407 658-4261 jculbertson@cfl.rr.com
Traffic Study Committee
John Tenney 407-383-3079 johnwill@tenncomgroup.com
Media
Dennis Bode, Webmaster dbode@cfl.rr.com
Sandy & Denny Horazak, CI News Editor 407 207-6557 sanden@bellsouth.net
WLCA Business Briefs
These are excerpts from WLCA Board meetings in August, September,
and October.
Lawn and Pool Improvements
Several recommendations by the Operations Committee were approved by the Board, including over $27,000 to install sod and kill crabgrass, about $32,000 to resurface both swimming pools, and the purchase of a new pool chlorinator.
Jade Forest Makes N19B Statement
One of the more engaging discussions of the year concerned the proposed development of Tract N19B. In a prepared statement, Jade Forest took exception to limited neighborhood representation at WLCA's meetings with developers, the characterization of these small meetings "meeting with the community," and the assumption that developments must profitable. The ensuing discussion led to a Board approved letter to be sent to all WLCA homeowners describing proposed plans for Tract N19B and listing the Orange County commissioners to whom homeowner opinions about this matter may be sent. The letter is also posted on the WLCA website.
Board Rejects Cell Tower Proposal
The Operations Committee obtained more information about the terms and conditions in T-Mobile's proposal to erect a 145-foot-high antenna on WLCA property. Based on the new information, the Operations Committee recommended against the proposal, and the Board agreed to decline the offer.
Wildflowers Possible in the Future
The Long Range Planning Committee is considering a pilot project to replace grass or annuals with Florida wildflowers in some areas. Indigenous wildflowers are easier to maintain and require less water than store-bought plants, and funding grants from the Florida Wildflower Foundation could offset the costs of planting wildflowers.
2008 Budget- Same Fees, Different Year
The WLCA Board approved the 2008 budget that the budget committee developed on October 24th. The main feature of the budget is the quarterly fee of $110, which is the same as the 2007 amount. Expenditures for Recreation Center site improvements, landscaping, and security were reduced in order to reach the same total as last year.
The Board is considering single annual payments (with quarterly payment option?) instead of quarterly payments (with annual payment options) starting in 2009.
Board Elections to be January 28, 2008
The next WLCA Annual Members Meeting will be Monday, January 28, 2008 in the Media Center of Discovery Middle School. The agenda will include normal business, followed by the election of three Directors by neighborhood presidents. Any Waterford Lakes resident in good standing can run for these WLCA offices.
WLCA has five directors elected to 2-year terms, with three directors elected in even-numbered years and the other two elected in odd-numbered years. The three director positions now filled by Tom Bontrager, Alvin Little, and Blaine Bartosavage will be up for election in January 2008. Jim Witmer and Jamie Rodriguez will begin the second year of their 2-year term, which expires in 2009.
Next Meetings
The next WLCA Board meeting will be on Monday November 26, 2007. The Annual Meeting will be on Monday January 28, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Media Center of Discovery Middle School.Dennis Horazak
Complete approved minutes of WLCA board meetings are posted on the Waterford Lakes website at www.waterfordlakes.org > Document > BOD Meeting Minutes. Comments can be sent to the WLCA Board at www.waterfordlakes.org > Board/Committees > Address the Board.