Willow Springs Watch Volume 18, Issue 5 June 2017 www.eastvillageofvenice.com Irrigation: On Its Way! From the President s Desk Jane Harris check us out at www.eastvillageofvenice.com Well fellow Willow Springians, I can now say with certainty that irrigation is on its way. Many, many, many, many (you get the picture) sprinkler heads have been unearthed, cleaned and repaired as needed. I am told, by our irrigation person, that he believes there remain many more heads to be discovered, but the amount now functional have made an impact. And while there is still much to be done, much has been accomplished. We are well on the way to our goal of a reliable operating irrigation system by the end of June. Many thanks to all who have made this happen! Esthetically pleasing yards begin with green, well-maintained grass. Ensuring this happens is the board's job, and why a dependable irrigation system is so important. The rest of the equation for pleasing yards falls under the homeowner s purview--that of maintaining shrubs and gardens. We have a long growing season in Florida, most of which occurs from April through October. During the same time frame yard maintenance usually requires, at least, weekly attention. Be a good neighbor and see that flower gardens are weeded and shrubs are controlled all year, but particularly during Florida's growing season. Now that we have our revised Declarations and Covenants, we want to make it easy for WS homeowners to support them. As I'm pretty certain most of you don't find those documents to be the most interesting of reading material, an ad hoc committee (thank you Sam Fasciano, Vi Giancola and Angie Skinner) is going to create a tool for homeowner reference. Your board will also use this tool when reviewing architectural request(s) from homeowners. This will afford consistency in the board review process and will preclude a 10-foot pink elephant being approved for the front yard of Lot 18 but denied for Lot 80. And speaking of architectural requests, let me emphasize NOTHING (no potted plants, no yard ornamentation, no flower planted, no signage--no matter how quaint--no chairs, no sundials, no wading pools) are to show up outside your home without first submitting a "Request for Architectural Modification" to the board. While there will be no board meetings during July and August, there will be ongoing communication. Enjoy your summer and for those staying in Venice, be on the lookout for Willow Springs summer Fun events!
Notes from the June Board Meeting Mike Bell has submitted his resignation from the board and his position as treasurer Larry Ziegler, a new homeowner in Willow Springs, who is a CPA with a master s degree and an extensive financial background, has volunteered to serve on the board in the capacity of treasurer. David A. Niklas, our new irrigation provider, will give a price for homeowners who choose to move their irrigation timers to the exterior of their homes. This will allow the clock settings to be checked without the homeowner having to be present to open the garage. Joe DellaValle has been hired by the board to augment David Niklas Irrigation company in the maintenance of our system. The recent tilapia harvest overseen by the East Village Master Association at no cost to the association netted 110 pounds of the tilapia as well as some burrowing catfish from our lake. Sandy Buxton continues greeting newcomers as part of the welcome committee. Gina Ziegler has volunteered to help Sandy with this endeavor. As a bit of housekeeping, the board voted Michaele James secretary for the board and as chairman of the architectural request committee. The board adjourned until September. Irrigation/Lawn Mowing Joe Della Valle You should have noticed an improvement in our lawns recently. More than 1,600 sprinkler heads have been cleaned with an estimate of 800 to 1,000 more that need to be found. The filters at the pump house are being cleaned three times a week. We have hired the Niklas irrigation company who will be working on not only improving our pump house filter system but also resetting everyone s home sprinkler panel box. After resetting the boxes they will then place security tape on them. No one is to touch this box as we need all the boxes to work in sync to get maximum water to each lawn. I will also be taking on the responsibility of overseeing the mowing of our lawns. Anyone who is dissatisfied with the mowing or notes the mowers causing any damage should send me an e-mail joe.jag3@verizon.net. Lawn mowing will move to Wednesdays so that our lawns will still look good on the weekends. One last note: Blue flags will be available in the irrigation box at the mail center. Please use these flags to indicate any sprinkler heads that need service.
The Social Scene The June Willow Springs Ladies Luncheon will be held at noon Thursday, June 15, at Jacaranda West Country Club. The deadline for reservations is June 10. Contact Karen Yerich at kary316@aol.com or 493-9321. The Willow Springs social committee is planning an event on Friday, July 28, so save the date! An e-mail with more information will be sent to homeowners with e-mail addresses, and a flier will be placed on the bulletin board at the mailbox center. Homeowners without e-mail should watch the bulletin board for information. Hope to see all of you that are here during the summer at this event. Diane Sernatinger A Homeowner Tip: Try Slap Jacking During my morning walks, I have noticed a few houses that are experiencing a similar situation I had this past winter. The corner of my sidewalk from the front door to the driveway had sunk approximately three to four inches below the driveway. The situation was not only a liability issue but the water flowing from the gutter, which follows the path between the lawn edge of the driveway to the road, resulted in a large accumulation of sand in the road each time there was rain. I was able to find a contractor who remedied the problem by a process called slap jacking, which is an alternative to replacing the concrete. The process involves jacking up the slab and pouring concrete underneath which raised it even with the adjacent driveway. He also filled the area that had been washed out along the edge of the driveway. Diane Sernatinger
Looking Ahead June 14: Flag Day June 15: Willow Springs Ladies Luncheon, noon, Jacaranda West Country Club June 18: Father s Day July 4: Independence Day July 28: Willow Springs social (save the date) Sept. 7: Next board meeting, 10 a.m., at the clubhouse From the Editor Phyllis Hammer As a service to Willow Springs homeowners, I ve decided to share the results of my weeks-long experience driving an electric cart at the local grocery story. (OK, it was either this or a rehash of how my efforts have kept this area free of hurricanes for the past 10 years ) I thought you d agree with my decision. First of all, don t expect to win an Indy 500 in one of these. Their top speed is about.005 miles per hour. (Though there is something to be said for actually flooring the accelerator of a moving vehicle.) Besides, we can t have senior citizens in carts speeding down the aisles in a race to grab the last two boxes of All Bran. (Buy one. Get one free.) To their credit, these babies have a pretty tight turning radius. In the event you almost miss the aisle you were looking for, you ve got a good shot at being able to turn your cart and head on into the correct aisle without (horrors) backing up. However, when all else fails and you find yourself in a situation in which you have to back up, the cart goes beep, beep, beep when you do so. That s a warning to all the other customers to Watch Out! From my own experience, which I ll not go into, I d highly recommend avoiding any attempt at backing up. Just go around to the next aisle and start over. Come to think of it that may be a very good motto for life.