Message from the President – December 2016 & January 2017

Message from the President

December  2016 & January 2017

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you.  May the New Year bring joy, peace & happiness to you and your entire family.

CONSTRUCTION PROJECT/BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS: We are just a few weeks from completion of Phase 1 of our construction project. AWS Roofing is completing the repairs from the hurricane damage on Bldg 6 at this time and Ace Enterprises is completing work on Building 1.

As soon as Phase 1 (exterior of bldg) is complete we will immediately begin Phase 2 (walkways, stairwells, interior garages)   Phase 2 will begin in building 1 and end in Bldg 6. Phase 2 is painting & caulking, possibly some grinding  and will not require the use of lifts and should be less intrusive than Phase 1.

At this time we are coordinating the commencement of Phase 3 (painting of the exterior balcony doors and fixed glass panels) Resident painter, Frank Dorio, will be doing this work and is expected to begin work on January 23, 2017.  We are also giving all owners the opportunity to change out the balcony hardware, handles, dead bolts and hinges, at a reduced price and the majority of owners are taking advantage of this opportunity.  Phase 3 will begin in Bldg 6.

Once again, I would like to thank the owners and residents for your patience and tolerance for the inconveniences created by our massive restoration project.  We have made every effort to consider the impact of such a lengthy undertaking on each of you.  We have made some great decisions and we have made some “not so great” decisions, but our intent was always to consider your comfort and safety.  We are extremely proud of the work that has been done and are quite confident that, when completed we will all be very proud of the appearance of Tuscany Square 1.

 

FIRE INSPECTION: We are in the process of signing a contract with a new fire systems company and they are in the process of completing an estimate to handle the deficiencies noted in our prior inspection.

LEASE/PURCHASE APPLICATIONS: In the event you sell or rent your unit, please refer the realtor, new tenant or buyer to our website so we receive the proper paperwork in a timely manner. If you have any questions about this, please contact us through the website, tuscanysquarecondominium.org.

BUDGET: Our budget has been delayed  due to delays caused by our transition to a new management company.  The 2016 budget will roll over until a new budget is approved .  We anticipate that we will be prepared for a budget workshop before the end of this month. In the meantime we have communicated the method to pay monthly assessments by check.  ACH customers will not be affected.

1ST ANNUAL TUSCANY SQUARE HOLIDAY PARTY: Our holiday party was a great success. We had approximately 40 people attend who enjoyed great food, music, a visit from Santa Claus and an opportunity to get to know your neighbors. The feedback was so positive that we are considering having an event quarterly and will be discussing this at our next meeting.

We made an attempt to “up” our holiday decorations and I, for one, was very impressed with the final outcome.  A  great committee of residents worked together to create our little “Christmas park”.  Thank you to all who helped and all I can say is “wait till next year!”

Swim Club and Tiki Bar: Treasurer Thom Keeney, has negotiated a new contract  for 2017. The terms of this contract are from January through December.  If you have a prior membership you don’t have to do anything and can use your current key card.  If you did not have a membership last year, please complete the application on the website and take it to Amalfi’s to get your card.

Maintenance Staff: We have updated the job descriptions of  Steve and Matt and are looking for a person or a cleaning company to handle the weekly cleaning of the building. We are expecting a bid from a cleaning company in the next few days. If we hire an individual for the job, they will work three  8hr days and do cleaning only.  If you know of anyone who would be interested please contact me.

 

Future Projects:

File Room – We will be looking to purchase several 4 drawer file cabinets and will be modifying our storage room on the second floor of Bldg 6 to ultimately             house all of our records.  We hope to be ready to start filing the beginning of March, 2017.  If anyone is interested in assisting please let me know.

Landscaping – We will be acting on a motion to hire an arborist to take care of our palms – health and annual trimming at our next meeting.. I  spoke to                     Lindley’s Nursery and they expect our estimate to be completed in the next week.

Elevator Pads – Considering estimate from Classic Touch Painting  to resurface the area outside the elevators.

Driveway/Parking lot resurfacing – consideration will be given after construction complete.

Gate – we are discussing improvement to our Gate system with various contractors.

In closing, I would like to share with you everything that has been accomplished here at Tuscany Square in 2016 and I am appropriately calling it…….

 

STATE OF TUSCANY SQUARE 2016

January: Lloyd Morris assumed the duties of President of the Board at a special meeting on 1/13/2016 following the resignation of Ken Kopecky. Participated in an inspection of our property by lawyers and contractors involved in the lawsuit.

February: We authorized initial repairs on the building to include  soffit repair and expansion joints  Began consideration and discussion of potential parking agreement for Tract G. Depositions began in lawsuit and Board members attended the depositions. Began the bidding process to hire contractors for the building repairs .Board members attended a Board certification class in Orlando. Attended deposition of our expert witness in Orlando.

March: Entered into a Community Assoc  Annual Retainer Agreement with Becker & Poliakoff.  Received estimates and interviewed contractors. Several Board members attended the first mediation  which lasted all day and ended in an impasse.

April: We updated the Assn data base by contacting all owners.  Steve and I assisted Becker & Poliakoff with a window inspection in multiple units.  We met with contractors  and approved bids from AWS Roofing and Ace Enterprises. We voted to begin repairs on the roof valleys and the remaining expansion joints.  We approved a contract to purchase family pool memberships. We started discussing the joinder to correct an incomplete amendment in our documents and requested a legal opinion pertaining to this. We voted to accept the proposal re Tract G Vehicle Parking.

May:  Depositions were taken of  several current and prior Board members

June: Nancy Graves replaced Lloyd Morris as President of the Board. We completed the ground improvement in the park/grill area to include additional paved area with benches, table, grill and plants. We put down new sod in the front areas of the complex. : We appointed Steve as the Construction Project Mgr and authorized additional pay for those services which resulted in a monetary savings for the Association. We voted to non-renew our contract with Atlantic Shores Mgt. We created Tuscany Square letterhead. We conducted interviews with three management companies. We chose Leland Mgt to replace Atlantic Shores on September 1, 2016,

July: Walk around with John Dougherty, Arborist, Leland Mgt to discuss landscaping. The data base update was completed. We adopted the following Board Resolutions: Covenant Violation Enforcement Policy; Delinquent Account Waiver & Payment Plan Policy; Collection Policy; Official Record Access Policy. Created an Herb Garden for the use of all residents which includes cilantro, parsley, basil, sage, mint, thyme, rosemary and jalapeno peppers under the direction of one of our residents, Sally Spurney and decorated with  coquina rock donated by owner Bruce Watson. Lawsuit was settled at Mediation on July 5, 2016 – several Board members in attendance.

August: Reacting to a request from some owners, we held our first evening Board Meeting at Cross Creek Church.  Contract approved to replace elevator floors..Adopted Rule 24 – Access to Units & Keys. Placed signs on all trash doors. Updated our Committee list.

Sept: Venetian Bay Market opened and the last vacant commercial space is being converted into additional office space for GeoSam. We received a legal opinion regarding the fire sprinkler retrofit requirement. Our lease/purchase application was modified on our website and is now completely electronic. Applications can be completed , submitted and background checks paid for online.

October: Landscape committee met with Lindleys Nursery to make comprehensive plans for landscaping improvements. Approved est. from Ace Enterprises for Phase 2 construction , and approved hurricane damage roof repairs.  Committee was formed to plan 1st annual holiday party. Requested legal opinion re responsibility for maintenance of balcony doors and hardware. Secured estimate from resident painter, Frank Dorio to paint all balcony doors and fixed glass panels. Decision to purchase all hardware in bulk and offer to owners at discounted price for materials and labor. Meeting times will revert to 1PM at Venetian Bay Clubhouse next month. Motion passed to provide all board members with black printer ink and copy paper. Skip and I met with city in an attempt to improve garbage pickup.

November: Approved estimate and started to coordinate Phase 3 of construction.

December: Met with Arborist re care of palms. Presented plans to restructure maintenance staff including new job descriptions. In process of hiring a third person or cleaning company. Reviewing access to electrical rooms and roof. Requesting bids from fire systems contractors. 1st Annual Holiday Party held..

Our Website: Our website consists of 81 pages.  It was created and went public on December 24, 2014.  It has been visited 7,149 times with an average of 26 visitors per day. These are the names of the pages and dates they were last modified in 2016:

Lease/Purchase Application – 10/10/2016

Application submission – 10/6/2016

Owners Area (Public) – 10/1/2016

Owners Area (Password Protected) – 12/15/2016

Message from the President  – December 9, 2016

Venetian Bay Swim Club & Tiki Bar Membership App – 5/10/2016

Minutes – 12/16/2016

Construction Defect Lawsuit – 12/15/2016

Rules & Regulations for New Residents – 10/1/2016

Valid Parking Permit Required – 8/8/2016

Contact Us – 9/8/2016

Parking Permit Request Form – 12/14/2016

Maintenance Request Form – 1/20/2016

Home – 6/21/2016

Notices – 8/21/2016

Quick Notes – 9/30/2016

Welcome Pkg for New Owners/Renters – 11/22/16

As you can see we’ve had a busy, productive year here at Tuscany Square. I encourage you to become involved in any way that you can.  We welcome your suggestions and appreciate your attendance at our meetings.  If  you would like to be more involved please contact me.

Thank you to all of the Board members for your assistance, thank you to Skip, Steve and Matt for all that you do and thank you  Owners for your cooperation, kind words and support.

Regards,

Nancy Graves

President

 

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