 Vol 3 · No. 1 Published by The Hamptons at Maplewood September, 2000 |
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WELCOME
AMENDMENTS I would first like to thank all of the residents who came out to the Amendment Workshop meeting held at the Jupiter Middle School in June. Hopefully, all or most of your questions and concerns were answered at that meeting. Since that meeting, the required number of signatures has been obtained to pass all 5 amendments. We are proud that so many of you were willing to support us in this effort. Refer to the "Amendments Update" article for more detailed information. PRESERVE UPDATE We have had many residents inquiring about the current condition and
state of the preserve and what we intend to do about it. In case you
haven't noticed, or you missed the last report in the Hamptons Happenings,
we have lost many Oaks, Maples and Cabbage
We are in the process of slowly reforesting the preserve with more upland plant species, which are more tolerable of drought conditions, trees such as Pines, Wax Myrtles and Live Oaks. We will be Installing a temporary irrigation system to help establish the newly planted materials. The irrigation system will be shut off and removed once the plants are fully established. The reforestation program will begin in the northwest comer and at the extreme south end of the preserve. The next phase, in 2001, will be along the east side and the northeast comer. What has occurred is unfortunate, but we must all be patient during the phased replanting and grow in period. Our preserve is a living, ever changing environment, which is currently adapting to the modified conditions of its microclimate. AMENDMENTS APPROVED OVERWHELMINGLY The majority of Homeowners overwhelmingly approved the proposed amendments to our bylaws. These amendments will close some loopholes that were detrimental to the well being of THE HAMPTONS. There were many who said it couldn't be done, but because of the door to door efforts of Board members, Troy Holloway, Joe Randazzo, Peter René, and Coleen Scalzo the vote was successful. The results were as follows:
This is a great achievement and shows the true feeling of the community and the extent of involvement and consistency necessary for The Hamptons to remain a solid investment as well as a wonderful place to live. We have seen excellent increases in property values and expect this to continue. In the coming weeks you will receive a copy of the amendments. The copy should be kept with other important homeowner documents and should be placed with the bylaws given when your home was purchased. In the State of Florida, the seller is responsible to provide these documents to a buyer. Congratulations on the successful passage!! Joseph A. Randazzo, Secretary FINANCIAL RESULTS CONTINUE POSITIVE
The Board is now preparing for the 2001 budget process. As detail becomes available on next year's budget homeowners will be notified. Peter René, Treasurer GARAGE SALE SIGNS If you are having a garage sale, let us help you. The association has purchased "Garage Sale" signs that you can borrow. Our objective is to avoid nailing signs to posts and trees. Contact one of the sign custodians and pick up the signs.
PROPERTY MANAGER'S MESSAGE The year 2000 is well under way and I wish there were only 2,000 tasks to accomplish in this community. I am contacted by owners, real estate agents, banks, title companies, lawyers, contractors and vendors on a daily basis. I receive applications from owners to sell their homes, applications for architectural modifications, applications for landscape repairs or replacement, requests for sidewalk repairs, tree trimming, common wall repairs, inquiries about cable television, window repairs, irrigation repairs, complaints about neighbors, dogs, ducks, squirrels, trucks, boats and even kids. Add to these street light out calls, rule violations, overseeing and inspecting contract work, obtaining proposals from contractors, coordinating landscape replacement, tree removal, lawn mowing, sidewalk and common wall cleaning and a few more odds and ends, you have the makings for a busy day. I'm not complaining because this what a property manager does and believe it or not I like it and enjoy working part time to help keep the Hamptons community a quality place to live in. A positive response from homeowners to the August 1999 campaign to get roofs in the community cleaned was gratifying. Hopefully, it will be followed by the voluntary response of homeowners as roofs become mildew or dirt stained. In 1999 it was necessary to levy fines against four property owners in order to get them to abide by ACC rules in the community. Hopefully, no fines will be necessary in 2000. To the owners who take care of this maintenance on a regular basis and abide by the rules of the Hamptons community, thank you so much. Total Maintenance Co., the landscape maintenance company that started in the community on January 1st continues to perform very satisfactorily. If you observe areas in need of improvement, please let me know. Landscape Maintenance requests are received on a daily basis. They are reviewed and, if warranted, they are turned over to the contractors that are employed for planting in the community. The criteria being used to determine if plants are to be replaced is very basic; If the material is dead or deteriorated, encroaching on or damaging homes, sidewalks or driveways or detracting from the appearance or continuity of the community, the situation will be corrected. In order to maintain a cost effective planting program the contractors buy plant materials in bulk and pass on the savings. Since traveling to and from the community is costly they wait until a days visit will fix a multitude of problems, so please be patient as we are tying to get the most for the Hampton dollar. Planting for the most part has been put on a temporary hold until rainfall returns to normal. If you need plant repairs or replacement at your home, fill out a landscape maintenance request and submit it to me. Treasure Coast Irrigation Co. has worked extremely hard to maintain the community's irrigation in good operating condition. Unfortunately the combination of drought and a major pump failure and a near dry lake in Phase 1, has forced us to depend almost entirely on irrigation water from Lake#4 in Phase 3 during June, July and August. And as a result of the continued drought, and the low level of water in all our lakes, it was necessary to bring in an auxiliary pump to move water from Lake#2 to Lake#4. Some of you may have seen this pump located in front of 252 Hampton Place. We want to express our appreciation for the cooperation of M/M Ray Fabrizio who have allowed the necessary hydraulic lines to pass through their property. We also need to thank the Fabrizio family and all the nearby neighbors for putting up with the noise of a diesel engine running in front of their homes for many, many days. The cost to operate this pump has been kept down due to the efforts of community and Board Secretary Joe Randazzo and ACC Chairman Charlie Godfrey who volunteered time to operate the pump each and every day for over 40 days that started during the first week of June. This pump was removed after some rain in mid-July, but has had to be brought back as the water level in Like #4 has again reached critical levels. It is a expensive endeavor ($3K+/month), but losing significant amounts of grass and shrubs can exceed $100K in just a few weeks. The fountain in Lake #2 (between Phase 2 & Phase 3) was removed for repairs and was withheld from the lake until sufficient water was present in the lake for it to operate without drawing mud and sand from the lake bottom. The trimming of oak, shade and palm trees in all three phases was well received in 1999. Plans are made to trim trees on an as needed basis in 2000 with attention paid to phasing in different areas of the community in order to minimize costs where possible. Plans are being made to clean all sidewalks and driveways in the community in October and November. Please be sure to remove vehicles from your driveways when the crews start working in your area. The Town of Jupiter has been contacted and asked to grind down or replace all high sidewalk areas caused by tree root growth. Town crews are working throughout the community. Every effort is being made to get as much of the work completed by the Town. The remaining areas are the responsibility of the individual owners. Don't forget applications for landscape service, architectural modifications, resale or rental approvals or work orders for common community services can be obtained at the Neighborhood Bulletin Boards at each mail box cluster. These forms are stocked by volunteers but not picked up by them. Please leave your completed forms at the drop box at the entry of each phase. They may also be faxed to Jeff Green's attention at (561) 575-5423. Jeff Green, LCAM, Property Manager |
ABACOA UPDATE As most of you have noticed, the Indian Creek Parkway round-about feature at Central Boulevard has recently been opened for business. During the next 60 days it will receive lights, berms, irrigation and landscaping, along with Central Boulevard. The round-about and Central Boulevard are scheduled to be 100% complete and opened by mid October. If you have driven it, I think you will agree that it will definitely slow down traffic traveling on Indian Creek. Part of the construction process will also include the installation of 150 trees into the Hamptons landscape buffer along Indian Creek Parkway, courtesy of the Abacoa Development Company. This was a requirement imposed by the Town of Jupiter, and initiated by the Hamptons during the approval process of the Abacoa development. That foresight is paying off for us now. Troy Holloway, President
NOISE COMPLAINTS
SLOW DOWN! PLEASE!! We have had many concerns expressed about speeding in the Hamptons. Speed limits need to be observed to protect our children as well as bikers and adult walkers. If you observe excessive speeding in your neighborhood, please call the TOJ Police at 746-6201. Your collective complaints will result in additional patrols and enforcement, adding some bite to the bark. ACC COMMITTEE NOTES The documents for the Association provide that you must obtain approval for any exterior modifications or major maintenance to the exterior of your unit prior to start of the modifications or maintenance. The ACC has tried to reduce the time required for these approvals by establishing a set of ACC Standards for most of the common activities that owners frequently request. If a request is within the scope of the existing standard, it may be approved by the Property Manager, typically within a few days. If it is outside the scope of the standard, it is referred to the ACC Chairperson who will arrange for review by the ACC Committee as appropriate. Often these reviews can be conducted by e-mail with approval in a week or so. But sometimes it may take a full 30 days to convene a meeting and act on unusual requests. In the event that the ACC denies a request, the denial may be appealed to the Board of Directors. This is an unusual situation, as we go to great lengths to reach amicable understandings regarding improvements to your homes. The ACC Standards provide for fines where owners fail or refuse to submit requests before work is started. Please help us by making your requests promptly. These standards now provide for such things as placement of mini-dish TV antennas and certain types of outside storage cabinets. These provisions are too complex to review here, but if you have an interest in these provisions, please contact the Property Manager and request a copy of the current ACC Standards document. The ACC has also obtained a copy of the original construction drawings for these units. If you need this information, we will arrange for them to be copied for you at a nominal cost. We are also available to consult with you on major improvements as you develop your plans. If you have questions in this area, contact Charlie Godfrey, ACC Chair at 746-6742 or cgodfrey@bigfoot.com. We are fortunate to have a real cross section of the community working on the ACC this year. Seven extremely well qualified members of the community have agreed to serve. We have representation from homemakers (1), realtors (1), building contractors (2), engineers (1), architects (1) and roadway & drainage specialists (1). Charlie Godfrey, ACC Chair DOG OWNERS, PLEASE...
HURRICANE NOTES
In event of a hurricane, remove all outside porch furniture and place them in your garage or in your house. Tie down everything else. Remove all fabric awning covers and September unit. They will not stand up to a 75+ MPH wind. Do not trim your trees or shrubs and put the trimmings on the street when a hurricane is imminent. They will probably not be picked up and are a hazard to your property and that of your neighbors, and may actually result in injury to people who are trying to negotiate the streets. And if you evacuate, please attempt to let your neighbors and friends know where you are headed and establish means of communicating with them. Take along identification that clearly establishes your residence in the Hamptons. We will attempt to establish some form of access control over the entry roads and may be requesting identification from people who enter the area after a storm. Charlie Godfrey TO ADVERTISERS IN THE HAMPTONS HAPPENINGS We thank you for your support with an ad for our newsletter. Please let us know of any problem with your ad or our service.
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Welcome,
once again, to another edition of the Hamptons Happenings newsletter. We
apologize for the lengthy delay in getting this edition out to you, but
when Bob Griswold moved away, we lost our editor in chief as well as our
chief expediter. But we finally found some temporary volunteers willing to
spend some of their valuable time to assist us in preparing this edition
for you, and here it is! We are hoping to provide this newsletter to you
on a quarterly basis, but finding someone to take over the voluntary task
of editor in chief is not easily done, (or any voluntary tasks for that
matter). Should you have the desire to assist in providing the Hamptons
with a regularly scheduled newsletter and enjoy the challenge, please
contact Troy Holloway at 575-9557. Thank You in advance.
Palms in
our preserve. Since my last report to you, we have had many professionals
and specialists from the town, county and private sector visit the
preserve for their review and assessment. Every one of the individuals,
including myself, are stumped and have no "real" answers. No diseases or
insects were found, which could be held accountable for creating or
causing the trees to die. Some residents have noticed bugs in and on the
trees. These bugs, called "Borers", are only attacking and infesting the
trees that are already stressed and dying. Although no "real" answers were
found, the consensus among the reviewing individuals is that the dying
trees are a result of the development of our homes and compounded by the
recent drought conditions. As previously written, the preserve was
originally a wet hammock with dense ferns, Red Maple, Laurel Oak and
Cabbage Palm. The development of the surrounding community cut off the
historic water flow into the preserve, and it has since all but dried up.
We have cut down and removed many of the dead trees around the perimeter
of the preserve, which could create a safety hazard for nearby homes. The
dead trees in the center have been left at this time due to the high cost
of removal and the Town of Jupiter has asked that they remain for wildlife
refuge. 
The
Hamptons finances continue to be positive. Homeowner assessments have been
at the same level for three years even though costs have been increasing.
The stability of our dues has been one of the real hidden benefits of the
Hamptons. Improvements, major repairs and major replacements have been
funded from our reserves that continue to be the envy of many HOA's.
The HOA
is often contacted with complaints about barking dogs, loud music or other
nuisance noises. These complaints should be made immediately to the TOJ
Police at 746-6201. The HOA's ability to deal with nuisance noises
(particularly from dogs) require demonstrating that a nuisance exists and
your complaints to the TOJPD will help us in this demonstration. 
Dog
owners, PLEASE clean up after your pet. This has become a major complaint
in our community. It is extremely inconsiderate, and it poses a serious
health risk when, (not if), it is stepped in by your neighbors. It is also
against the HOA Rules & Regulations although your first consideration
should be for your friends and neighbors. Every dog owner should be
carrying, and utilizing, some type of "pooper scooper" when walking their
pet to pick up and properly dispose of any messes left behind by Fido.
Unfortunately, this is a responsibility that comes with pet ownership.
Your consideration is appreciated by all.
As
this is being written, we are looking at another hurricane. The property
manager also has copies of plans for inexpensive and easy to fabricate
bracing for your garage door and the front entry doors. Current ACC
Standards permit either removable aluminum panels or permanently installed
accordion shutter systems. In past hurricanes, some owners installed
plywood panels in ways that will not only fail to protect, but may create
a major hazard for their neighbors. Please help all of us by securing your
home properly. 
The
Hamptons at Maplewood