Dear Neighbor:
 
I hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy during this unprecedented national health emergency.  Many VI residents have volunteered to help with shopping and other errands for neighbors who are unable or do not want to leave their homes.  If you, or anyone you know, needs assistance, please email [email protected].
 
I am happy to report that the Deed Restriction Revitalization effort is complete… and a SUCCESS! After months of hard work by the Organizing Committee, consisting of Randy Havey, Mark Brenman, Linda Testa and Tom Testa, and the support of the over 320 VI Property Owners who signed a Consent Form (far more than the required 263), the appropriate approvals have been received from the Department of Economic Opportunity allowing the Deed Restrictions to be recorded with Clerk of the Court for Pinellas County. 
 
All homeowners will be receiving copies of the final documents as soon as they are printed and distributed.
 
The VIHA Annual Meeting was in January and, while well attended, we tend to have the same people attend this and the General Meeting in October.  While I value the input of this committed group of residents, we want to find different ways of getting out into the community and understanding residents’ goals for the VIHA.
 
We have a number of important items on the VIHA Board Agenda for the balance of 2020.  These include:
 

• Revising / deleting / adding to the existing Deed Restrictions (“DRs”), most of which were drafted in the late 1970’s

 

• Deciding to whether to continue, and potentially expand, the services that we contract with Qualified Property Management (“QPM”).  QPM was engaged in February 2019 to assist in the enforcement of the DRs due to VI residents’ concerns that the DRs be enforced more uniformly; and, the need to supplement the efforts of a small group of volunteers who had undertaken that responsibility for a number of years.  We want community input as the VIHA Board addresses these two items which will shape VI into the future.

 

• Ensuring a greater connection with the community.  Stay tuned for some programs that will give residents the opportunity to share thoughts on how we can improve life in VI with the Board.

 
 
Take care, stay safe and keep practicing social distancing!
 
Rich Scanlon
VIHA President
[email protected]

An earlier version of this letter appeared in the April issue of Life on the Isles

​Dear Neighbor:
 
At the VIHA Annual Meeting on January 23, 2020 we reviewed our accomplishments of the past year and set forth our plans for the upcoming year.
 
Without a doubt, our greatest accomplishment for 2019 was the Revitalization process.  First of all, we very much appreciate the efforts of the Organizing Committee, comprised of Randy Havey, Tom Testa, Mark Brenman and Linda Testa, and a host of volunteers who were successful in collecting Consent Forms from well over 50.1% of the property owners subject to the Deed Restrictions.  Secondly, I would like to thank those property owners who took the time to review the materials that we were required to provide and supported this initiative.
 
The Consent Forms were provided to the VIHA counsel who, upon completion of her review and verification, sent the Consent Forms and the other required materials to the Department of Economic Opportunity which then has 60 days to perform their own independent review.  There are certain other procedural requirements that have to be undertaken subsequent to their review, but we hope to be able to announce the successful completion of this initiative by late April/early May.
 
The Revitalization initiative was very labor intensive and required a lot of Board Members’ time “knocking on doors” and talking to residents of VI to explain the rationale and process.  I found the conversations that I had to be very worthwhile.  Given the hectic lives that we all lead, the VIHA needs to come up with better methods to communicate on a more personal level with VI residents.  As the VIHA President, I’ve taken responsibility for finding ways to improve communications between the Board and residents.  Of course, I’m always happy to take any suggestions so please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected].  Please include “VIHA” in the subject line to ensure it makes it through my corporate “spam filter.”
 
Keep checking www.ourvi.org for upcoming events and, once again, thank you for your support and patience during this Revitalization process.
 
 
Rich Scanlon
VIHA President
[email protected]