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2019 Annual Meeting and Board Elections took place on January, 24th. Below is a summary of key discussion points:
COMMUNITY CRIME REPORT Don Herring, St. Petersburg Police Department: There has been minimal activity reported in Venetian Isles over the past 2 months.
FIRE DEPARTMENT UPDATE Captain Jason Mantay, Station 12, St. Petersburg Fire Department
VENETIAN ISLES REAL ESTATE TRENDS Peggy Naruns and Georgia Naruns Janas, North Star Realty
DEED RESTRICTION COMMITTEE (DRC) UPDATE Linda Testa, DRC Chair
Trip Guinan, ARC Chair
The following residents were elected to the 2019 Board at the meeting: OFFICERS – 1 year term President: Rich Scanlon Vice-President: Tom Testa Treasurer: Randy Havey Secretary: Mark Brenman BOARD – 2 year term Trevor Hall Steve Cropper Chuck Miller Linda Testa BOARD – 1 year term Bill Greenfield Gary Rogers Eric Johnson Alan Rosenbaum Nick Routh 2018 ACCOMPLISHMENTS Rich Scanlon, VIHA President •Increased number of VIHA members from 346 (65%) to 358 (68%) of the 525 properties •Continued discussions with homeowner association management companies –Competed extensive due diligence –Negotiated a contract effective February 1, 2019 •Completed improvements to Overlook entrance to VI •Completed new monuments at all VI entrances •Successful Oktoberfest – third in a row 2019 GOALS Rich Scanlon, VIHA President •Successfully integrate QPM as the homeowner association management company and demonstrate value •Continue with improved committee functions and responsiveness to property owners •Revise Deed Restrictions to better reflect current expectations •Upgrade sprinklers on Grand Canal •Maintain membership in VIHA at 358 homeowners (68%) •Solicit VIHA member input for resident-driven beautification projects •VIHA night at the Trop – May 10 Rays vs. NY Yankees  It is with sadness we announce the passing of longtime Venetian Isles resident, Bob Johnson, on December 8. Throughout his over 40 years living on Kansas Avenue, Bob devoted countless hours towards making Venetian Isles a great place to live. Bob served on the V.I.H.A. Board, including several terms as Board President, in addition to working on the Architectural Review and Deed Restriction Committees among others, and volunteering for projects big and small.
There is no doubt that Bob made an impact on our community and his presence will be truly missed. Our sincere condolences to Bob's wife Carol and the rest of the Johnson family. Bob's obituary can be found at: andersonmcqueen.com/tribute/details/111774/Robert-Johnson/obituary.html#content-start
Candles and luminary bags are available from the Hospitality Committee. for $12. This price includes 10 candles plus 10 luminary bags. To purchase, please contact the Candle Seller assigned to your street or call Linda Testa (727-543-6970) or Terri Boyle (727-430-3456)  FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: How many candles do I need? For most homes, 10-20 candles should be sufficient to line your entire seawall and dock. What if my home is on the open water? Residents who live on Mermaid Point, along open water side of Carolina Avenue and on the Carolina Circle island have been lining their streets & driveways with luminaria instead of placing them on the seawalls. This allows the candles to be more visible and less likely to blow out. What if it is raining on Christmas Eve? We will light the candles at 6pm on Christmas Day in the event of heavy rain on Christmas Eve. What if I won't be home at 6pm on Christmas Eve? We encourage all members of the Venetian Isles community to participate so that the continuity of the luminary display is not broken. If you aren’t going to be home at the time of the candle lighting, please ask a neighbor or your candle seller to light the candles along your seawall or street. Text Reminder If you’d like to receive a text message reminder to light your candles, please opt in by texting VIHA to 77948 Volunteer for the Candle Committee The Candle Committee is a great way to meet your neighbors in VI. If you are interested in joining us next year, please contact Linda Testa (727-525-6120) or Terri Boyle (727-430-3456). On Saturday, October 20th, almost 300 V.I. neighbors came together for our annual V.I. Oktoberfest block party. The afternoon's festivities included brats expertly grilled from our very own Michigan Avenue Grillers, face painting as well as music from the Apple Strudel Band and D.J. Co2. The event would not have been possible without help from our sponsors: Thanks to Tom Williams of St. Pete Brewing Company for supplying beer and Rick & Lori Sandon of Sandon Mortgage Group for providing wine. Thanks also to North Star Realty, Peachy Clean Homes, The Irvine Team at Dale Sorenson Real Estate, Harbor Insurance, On Q Financial, and Southern Landscape Solutions for their generous contributions!  3 lucky attendees won $50 gift certificates in the door prize drawing. The V.I.H.A. Annual Meeting was held on January 23 during which key issues affecting our community were discussed. Residents enjoyed a Social Hour, sponsored by Northstar Realty, beforehand. Below are the highlights of the meeting for those of you who were unable to attend:
 2017 SEAWALL LUMINARIA Terri Boyle & Linda Testa Lighting candles along the seawalls on Christmas Eve is a popular Venetian Isles tradition. The lights reflecting on the water create tranquil, festive atmosphere that are a special part of VI residents’ holiday celebration. We encourage all residents to participate again this year by placing luminaria along their seawalls and lighting them at 6pm on Christmas Eve (December 24th). We also invite you to enjoy the beauty of the luminary display by taking a stroll around the neighborhood with family & friends after the candles are lit. Where can I get candles & luminary bags? The Venetian Isles Hospitality Committee sells sets of 10 candles plus 10 bags for $12. The candle seller assigned to your street is listed below. Please try to purchase your candles as early as possible as the last few days before Christmas are busy for everyone and some sellers go out of town. How many candles do I need? For most homes, 10-20 candles should be sufficient to line your entire seawall and dock. Grand Canal Boulevard Residents living along Grand Canal are given an extra set of candles and bags to place along their Grand Canal Boulevard frontage as well as the bridges. Mermaid Point & Carolina Avenue Residents who live on Mermaid Point, along open water side of Carolina Avenue and on the Carolina Circle island have been lining their streets & driveways with luminaria instead of placing them on the seawalls. This allows the candles to be more visible and less likely to blow out. If you live on one of these streets, please ask your designated candle seller for details. What if it is raining on Christmas Eve? We will light the candles at 6pm on Christmas Day in the event of heavy rain on Christmas Eve. What if I’m not home at 6pm on Christmas Eve? We encourage all members of the Venetian Isles community to participate so that the continuity of the luminary display is not broken. If you aren’t going to be home at the time of the candle lighting, please ask a neighbor or your candle seller to light the candles along your seawall or street. Text Reminder If you’d like to receive a text message reminder to light your candles, please opt in by texting VIHA to 77948 Volunteer for the Candle Committee The Candle Committee is a great way to meet your neighbors in VI. If you are interested in joining us next year, please contact Linda (727-525-6120) or Terri Boyle (727-430-3456). Happy holidays and enjoy the beautiful luminaria display! Below is the list of candle sellers by street. If you’re unable to reach your designated candle seller, please call Linda Testa at 525-6120 or Terri Boyle at 430-3456.  Seems as if this deadly grass disease is once again rearing it's ugly head in Venetian Isles.
New yards have been diagnosed with this disease on Michigan Ave North. Hawaii Ave North has also had this problem. I am not sure about other streets. New Outbreaks in Florida Beginning in 2013, outbreaks were identified in Pinellas County and Palm Beach County. Symptoms include the leaf mosaic pattern, but leaves also become necrotic (turn brown and die prematurely). According to Phil Harmon, UF/IFAS Plant Diagnostic Center, symptoms present as blotchy or streaky patterns of yellow and green color. Turfgrass tends to have broken yellow streaks running between the veins on an otherwise green blade. Symptoms of recently reported cases include mosaic, but then turn necrotic. The symptoms and dieback typically start in the fall months of September and October, and continue through the winter into spring. Some lawns may appear to recover in the spring. Unfortunately, lawns that appear to recover eventually die over a period of 1-3 years. Infected lawns may completely dieback. To minimize disease spread in areas where the virus occurs, mowers and other equipment should be sanitized between properties. The objective is to minimize movement of potentially infected plant material from lawn to lawn, so return clippings where the virus is known to occur rather than removing them from properties. We do want to remove clippings and any other plant material from equipment before moving to another lawn and then spray down parts of equipment or worker’s shoes that have the potential to transfer plant sap using dilute bleach, quaternary ammonia (Greenshield), alcohol, or another sanitizing agent according to the directions. When mowing multiple lawns where the virus is known to occur, mow apparently healthy lawns before those with mosaic symptoms and avoid mowing symptomatic lawns when the turf grass canopy is wet (avoid mowing when dew, irrigation, or rainfall persists). Fungicides and other pesticides are ineffective and cannot stop development or spread of this viral disease. Also, there are no known agronomic inputs that homeowners or lawn care companies can use to cure a lawn once it has become infected. The disease severity, which ranges from yellowing to death, will vary from lawn to lawn by variety of grass and by other environmental factors not well understood at this time. One potential complicating factor is that lawns with mosaic may also suffer from fungal diseases, but it is not known what impact one disease has on the severity of the others. Managing fungal diseases on lawns with mosaic has not been observed to impact development of the viral disease. Lawn Replacement St. Augustine ‘Floratam’ turfgrass has exhibited the most severe symptoms. ‘Floratam’ lawns that have died due to SCMV are susceptible to dying again if replaced with ‘Floratam’. The current recommendation is to replace lawns that have died as a result of SCMV with a more resistant turfgrass. ‘Palmetto’ and ‘Bitterblue’ are more resistant, but may still get the disease. Zoysiagrass is not known to be a host of SCMV. Although other grasses such as bermudagrass, seashore paspalum and bahiagrass have been reported with SCMV infections, St. Augustine is the only turfgrass of concern in Florida at this time. If you suspect that your lawn is affected by SCMV submit a sample to your local UF/IFAS Extension office or to the UF/IFAS Plant Diagnostic Center. For information on how to collect and submit a sample go to: http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/Clinic/index.shtml. Check the Rapid Turfgrass Diagnostic Service Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RapidTurfgrassDiagnosticService for up-to-date information on the spread of this disease. Please speak with your lawn service and pest control company about diagnosing this deadly disease. The results of the voting ballots are in and the majority were in favor of the plan. Results are as follows: Yes = 138 votes (55%) No = 105 votes (42%) Spoiled = 7 (3%) Total Ballots Submitted: 250 of 524 (or 48% ) The speed table is expected to be installed on Overlook Dr between the residences of #4717 and #4712 by November 30, 2017. See ballot results below from the City of St Petersburg. 
From the Engineering Dept at the city;
"I wanted to inform you that we had the pre-construction meeting today and the notice to proceed to start the construction is set for Oct 16, 17. You can expect some activities before the end of October. The duration of project is six months but we will do our best to finish the project ahead of schedule. " |
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