HAWKES HAPPENINGS
The Newsletter of the Hawkes Bluff Homeowners' Association
Volume 9 Number 2 January, 2000
The next quarterly meeting will be held at 7:30pm on Tuesday January 25th
at the ]vanhoe FireStation community room - please plan to attend
NEWS FROM YOUR BOARD
The board would like to wish all our Hawkes Bluff residents a healthy and prosperous New Year and hope that everyone had a happy and enjoyable holiday season.
As usual throughout November and December we were busy determining the budget for the new association year. There are many standard operational items such as lawn maintenance and utilities and various administrative expenses including insurance and annual mailings. As many homeowners know, the association year runs January to December. Association fees fall due at the end of February each year and are set once the budget is complete. We are pleased to have been able to keep them to the same as last year ($135). Assessment notices, an agenda for the quarterly meeting and a copy of the budget were recently mailed to all residents. MANY THANKS from all the board are extended to last year's treasurer Don Elbert who, with his accounting expertise, provided invaluable assistance with this year's budget. The budget will be discussed at the next quarterly meeting to be held at the Ivanhoe Fire Station Community Room on Tuesday January 25th at 7:30pm.
In determining the budget various improvements are always planned for the coming year. Sometimes it takes time for improvements to be made due to various formalities like planning permission, etc. In the past year accomplishments include a change to a new lawn maintenance company with an updated contract to spell out our requirements quite clearly. Many of the oak trees have been pruned to encourage stronger growth. Additional landscape mounds were added at the Griffin entrance and on Hawkes Bluff Avenue in the common areas between the lakes to the south of Les Chateaux. Power was installed to the central median at the Stirling
Road entrance and lights were added. Many of the landscape lights in other areas have been repaired or replaced and new ones added and this work is still in progress. Additional landscaping was added on the west side of the Stirling entrance (which serves the additional purpose of preventing parking on the grass there). Speed humps were installed on Hawkes Bluff Avenue and Huntridge Road. Repeated efforts have been made to work with the new owners of the vacant lots under the power lines on Huntridge Road to improve unsightly conditions there. For the first time ever all homeowners fees were collected by the end of June with no liens needing to be filed. The new improved web site with the more easily remembered name is up and running and we extend THANKS to Jay Stahl for all his hard work in creating www.hawkesbluff, com
Throughout the year the efforts of our compliance officer John Pickett have produced excellent results. For the most part recipients of letters from John have gone ahead and cleaned the dirty roof, resurfaced the driveway or completed whatever else needs doing with few complaints. All residents should remember that it is for the good of everyone to keep the entire sub-division looking nice. Another big THANK YOU goes to John for all his efforts and we all hope he will keep up the good work even though it is a fairly thankless task.
Thanks to our Corresponding Secretary Jay Stahl and his persistent communication with the Town of Davie the huge mess at the Dykes Road entrance has been cleaned up for the most part and at last this area is almost back to normal.
With power available in the median at the Stirling Road entrance, community activity funds were assigned to provide some holiday lights there. Another THANK YOU to our Recording Secretary Gretchen Farmer and her husband Doug for putting up that lovely light display.
The association records have been growing annually and now that a storage facility has opened nearby the association will be storing all its records in one central place. This is a big improvement over relying on the good nature of board members finding room to house filing cabinets, various boxes of records, picnic and quarterly meeting supplies, entrance signs, etc.
The association board members hold regular meetings on the fourth Tuesday of every month with Quarterly meetings and an annual (election) meeting. Please make a note of these dates Quarterly meetings January 25th , April 25th , July 25th and Annual meeting October 24th.
Another agenda item at the next quarterly meeting will be presentation of awards for holiday decorations As usual refreshments will be served at the quarterly meeting and your board looks forward to seeing many residents there on Tuesday January 25th.
HOLIDAY DECORATIONS - WINNERS
Each year determining award winners becomes more difficult with so many beautifully decorated homes. Signs were placed in the front yard of the winning homes so everyone could see who won. Categories and winners were :-)
Major light display 5501 Hawkes Bluff Ave
Daytime display 5071 King Arthur Ave
Small display 5641 Hawkes Bluff Ave
Most creative 5641 Thistledown
Use of lights 5821 E Surrey Circle
Children's display 5361 Lancelot
Congratulations go to all our winners and also to the many homeowners who made the development look so pretty. Special mention is due to all who organized and participated in candlelit luminaires on December 24th. Briarwood Manor and Briarwood Way started this tradition 11 years ago and it has now spread to several other areas and many of our streets looked really pretty on Christmas Eve.
ANNUAL PICNIC
Here are just a few photos from the association picnic held in November. There has been discussion about holding the picnic in late April or early May so watch this space for announcement of a date soon.
Webmaster's Note - For ease of download, full color pictures of the picnic may be accessed from the home page.
COMPLIANCE
It's a NEW YEAR and time to take a good look around
your home. Compliance notices are coming so PLEASE
take the time to check around your house and yard.
Typical items that notices are sent out about are:
roofs need cleaning or repair
driveways need repair or resurfacing
lawns need edging at sidewalk or road
trees and shrubs need pruning
fences need repair or cleaning or painting
houses need cleaning or painting
mailboxes need repair or repainting
trash and recycling bins must be stored away
hurricane shutters should be removed promptly
There are many similar items and all residents are urged to check their property and ensure compliance.
NEW CONSTRUCTION OR CHANGES
Residents are reminded that there are several instances where association permission and often Town of Davie permits are needed before making major changes such as erecting a fence, adding a pool, building a shed, etc. Do please check with the association before making any changes. If you are not sure if permission is needed please don't hesitate to ask - thanks.
COMMUNITY-WIDE YARD SALE
Many people start the year with plenty of tasks and some of us are still busy clearing up and packing seasonal items away after the holidays but before long many residents will be heavily into spring cleaning and sorting out their treasures. With this in mind the next community-wide yard sale is scheduled for the weekend of March 18th and 19th which precedes a bulk pick-up day on Monday March 20th. Advertisements will be placed in the Flyer and other local papers by the association. Reminders to residents in the form of notices announcing the yard-sale will be placed at the entrances in the week leading up to the yard-sale. It costs you nothing to take part - just put out your "stuff" and start selling and if doesn't sell and you still want rid of it then bulk pick up day takes care of that.
PEOPLE NEWS
Congratulations to Debbie and Ron Annunziato of Hawkes Bluff Avenue. Daughter Danielle Rose was born on October 28'h and weighed 6lb 14oz. She will be a new playmate for big brother Cody age 5.
Congratulations to Steve Anascavage, a King Arthur Avenue resident, who completed the Disney Marathon 2000 on Sunday January 9th. This was Steve's first full marathon and he has a beautiful finisher's medal to prove he did it. Wife Donna and children Steven (5) and Jessica (9) are extremely proud of his achievement We all wish Steve good luck with his next marathon.
Welcome to new residents Robyn and Scott Carr who recently moved to a home on Hawkes Bluff Avenue. And congratulations too because new baby Scotty arrived on January 3rd weighing in at 6lbs 10 oz and 18 inches. Scotty has a big brother Robby (7) and two sisters Elizabeth (3) and MaryEllen (22 months).
Is Scotty our first Hawkes Bluff baby in 2000?
Please let us know of recent births, marriages, significant birthdays or milestone anniversaries, scholarships, awards, etc and share your occasion or achievement with the neighborhood - thank you.
MILLENIUM CELEBRATIONS
Many people chose to stay home on this special New Year's Eve while others chose to mark the occasion with something quite different and really memorable.
Some of us went to Key West and joined 100,000 people who watched the ceremonial dropping of the giant conch shell over Sloppy Joe's bar at midnight prior to the half-hour fireworks extravaganza over the harbor.
Can we publish any details and pictures of your celebrations here in the neighborhood?
IVANHOE CIVIC ASSOCIATION
At times the Ivanhoe Civic Association holds meetings to talk about items of interest to all of the nine Ivanhoe sub-divisions and as we become aware of such items they will be reported here in this newsletter.
NEWSLETTER DELIVERY
Volunteers always welcome
Please contact Mo Christie
434-8287 evenings/weekends
If you need a copy of the bylaws please read them on the web-site or contact your board for a copy, which will be provided at a nominal charge of 25¢ per page.
REMINDERS
Bulk pick-ups scheduled for...
Monday January 17th
...Monday March 20th
... Monday May 15th
NEWSLETTER
The aim of the newsletter is to keep the community informed and it is produced once or twice a quarter. The next newsletter is planned for publication in late February. Please submit any articles, advertisements, people news, and any other items by February 10th . As always all items will be handled on a first-come, space-permitting basis. Thank you.
CONTACTING YOUR BOARD
The board encourages homeowners to put any queries or concerns in writing, to the address below please indicating Construction Approval, Newsletter, etc. as appropriate OR by sending e-mail. Since your board members are volunteers if you do phone please pick a considerate time, identify yourself as a Hawkes Bluff resident, be brief and keep to the point. Thanks.
President Howard Neu 434-4006
Vice President Mo Christie 434-8287
Secretary Jay Stahl 680-8686
Treasurer Jeff S toller 680-1965
Assistant Secretary Gretchen Farmer 434-8337
Director at Large John Pickett 680-3835
Director at Large Mike Murphy 434-9715
Please send any correspondence (comments, requests for construction approval, etc) via e-mail or to the mail box (located in the Regency Square Pak 'n' Ship)
HAWKES BLUFF HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
4839 SW 148th Ave PMB 400
Davie, FL 33330
Fax phone number • 680 8650
E-mail : hawkesbluff@juno.com
PLEASE - LOOK FOR US ON THE INTERNET
http://www.hawkesbluff. com