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April 22, 2018
Dear Neighbor: I wanted to share a few updates that impact our community in between the quarterly “State of the Isles” letters that are emailed to VIHA residents and posted to http://ourvi.org MEMBER SURVEY We recently sent out a survey to V.I.H.A. members to gauge preliminary interest in hiring a property management company to take over some of the functions currently performed by volunteers. If you did not receive an email survey, and are a 2018 dues-payer, it is because we do not have a valid email address on file. If you would like to participate in the survey, please let us know by emailing admin@ourvi.org. To date we have received 128 survey responses, a response rate of about 50% (based upon the number of “active” property owner emails that we have on file) with 78% who agree with the statement made in the survey, 17% who disagreed and 5% who were neutral. What was most interesting were the extensive comments that we received. After review of these comments, the V.I.H.A. Board recognized that we need to conduct more due diligence on this issue so we will cancel the “Town Hall” meeting that was scheduled for May 3and reschedule that for some time in the fall. OVERLOOK BRIDGE As you may have noticed, the grass by the bridge on Overlook is brown. This is intentional as the City will be soon be installing an updated sprinkler system and replacing all the existing grass with Bitter Blue sod. The City will also be trimming the hedges, removing weeds and dead vegetation and replacing several green ficus plants. Once the work is completed, we will be hiring a company to maintain the new landscaping on Overlook Drive.. In addition, we will be installing new electrical service in order to power the irrigation system and light the palm trees. TRAFFIC CALMING The City has completed the final phase of the traffic calming device on Overlook Drive. While I do not respond to comments on social media, I’d like to take this opportunity to clarify a few points:
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE I’d like to thank Trip Guinan for assuming the role as chair of the ARC and thank Scott Boyle for his many years of service. Trip is an architect and has been a long-time member of this committee. Please feel free to email with any comments that you may have – rscanlon@ourvi.org. Thank you. Rich Scanlon V.I.H.A President
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March 31, 2018
Dear Neighbor: I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and enjoyed the temperatures and as we start to see heat of summer ahead of us. Lots going on in Venetian Isles so let me give you an overview. Annual Meeting: John Romano, long-time columnist for the Tampa Bay Times was the guest speaker at the Annual Meeting on January 23. John’s “no-nonsense, common sense” perspective on many of the significant issues that impact the Tampa Bay area certainly was brought to this meeting. While not everyone necessarily agreed with John’s perspective on certain ideas, the conversation was robust and enlightening for many. If you have a suggestion for a speaker for future meetings please let me know and we will try to schedule that person. Town Hall Meeting: At the Annual Meeting I disclosed that the V.I.H.A. has formed a committee to evaluate property management companies to assist with the day to day functions required to maintain Venetian Isles. Long-time volunteers are either moving from our community or are unable to continue with the number of hours that they have contributed in the past and are not being replaced. A management company would be beneficial in supporting the efforts of a committed group of volunteers to assure that our community retains its high quality of life. We have scheduled a Town Hall Meeting on May 3, 2018at 7:00 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Cross, with a social event starting at 6:30pm sponsored by Northstar Realty. A representative of one of the companies we have been speaking with will be on hand to provide an overview of their services and answer any questions. Life on the Isles Publication: Many of you have seen a new publication that was mailed in mid-March titled “Life on the Isles.” This publication is prepared by N2 Publishing, a North Carolina based firm, and has no connection to, nor endorsement from, the V.I.H.A. The V.I.H.A. has no control over any of the editorial content in this publication and the advertising dollars they collect are not used to benefit projects in V.I. Those companies that advertise in our Annual Directory, a copy of which is provided to each homeowner who pays their VIHA dues, have been instrumental in funding beautification projects (see Beautification Items below) throughout V.I. and we encourage you to patronize those companies who support VI directly. Traffic Calming: I guess “the third time’s a charm!!!” After the third try, the City finally installed the traffic calming device on Overlook that was approved in October 2017 by a City ballot in Venetian Isles. On Friday, March 30, the City’s contractor completed the brick imprinting that had been anticipated. You undoubtedly have noticed when entering V.I. from the Overlook bridge that there is a small bump before you actually get to the speed hump. That was caused by the City having to “re-pave” that short section and there is nothing they can do about that “bump.” I have not gotten many comments from residents within VI about this, but of those that I have received, the vast majority have been positive. We will work with the City to study the impact on speeds on Overlook to see if it has had the intended result. After assessing that information, the Traffic Calming Committee will decide how to proceed with similar devices on Grand Canal. Beautificaton: City repair of the seawalls in V.I. continue should be completed in April 2018. The section between Hawaii and Carolina was the most recent to be repaired. The street light that was damaged with the collapse of the seawall between Overlook and Massachusetts was finally replaced. But as several of you have noted to me, there is an overhead wire from the light closer to the corner of Overlook that runs to this street light. We are working with the City to get this line buried as the previous one was. In the December issue of State of the Isles I included a photo of the monument to replace those at the three entrances to V.I. (including Mermaid Point) using funds that have been generated from sources other than V.I.H.A. dues (thank you to our advertisers!!!!). Upon issuance of a purchase order by the City, V.I.H.A. will apply to the City for a matching grant and then begin installation. Property of the Month: Different streets are randomly selected each month and for this award are randomly selected and a committee selects the winner based on the curb appeal. The winner receives a gift certificate courtesy of Dolan’s Nursery and the “Property of the Month” sign which is displayed prominently. The winners for the first quarter of 2018 are:
Text Messaging System: The V.I.H.A. Communications Committee has launched a text alert system to notify participants of important neighborhood information, which will be especially important as we head into storm season. To subscribe , text “VIHA” to 77948. You will then receive a text confirming that you have “opted in” to receive messages from V.I.H.A. Other Items:
Let me know of things that you see and hear in V.I. via email or phone. Please understand that I do not respond to posts on social media sites regarding V.I.H.A. matters. Hope to see you all at the Town Hall Meeting on May 3!!! Rich Scanlon VIHA President rscanlon@ourvi.org |
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