This Is our Village

Sunday, July 31, 2011

MIZNER TRAIL GOLF COURSE ARTICLE

Hi all,
Thanks to Peter Cruise here is an article from the Sun Sentinel.
Dave Israel
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More than 200 attend meeting on Mizner Trail development


By Rebekah Monson July 28, 2011 03:01 PM
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More than 200 residents of Boca Del Mar attended an informational meeting on Wednesday presented by Siemens Group on the developer's plan to develop the former Mizner Trail golf course.
The meeting at the Boca Raton Country Club featured complimentary drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and speakers included land planner Kerry Kilday, real estate appraiser Daniel P. Hrabko and naturalist Nancy J. Bissett discussing the potential benefits of the plan to build 291 new housing units and restore 50 acres of the course with native species and wildflowers.
"Prior to us coming out with this plan, we didn't get much traction in the community," Siemens Group CEO Richard Siemens said. "Since we've come out with this plan, there's growing support from people in the community."
But opponents of development on the golf course still say the plan goes against the community's master plan and doesn't serve current residents.
"A large group of people, many more than showed up at this wine and cheese party, oppose this development," said Rosemary Nixon, of the Second Coalition Against Mizner Development. "We have petitions and resolutions signed by almost every association around the golf course."
Nixon also decried the Siemens Groups' native planting plan, saying that there is no guarantee that future owners will maintain the property.

"We are here due to the poor business decisions of the golf course owner, and we're not here to bail him out," she said, recalling words from former County Commissioner Mary McCarty, who voted against a previous development proposal in 2006.

Siemens Group will present its plan with native species restoration to the Boca Del Mar Improvement Association on August 10. BDMIA voted 4-2 against approving a 291-unit plan on April 13.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Now You See Them Now You Don't!

Those following the Ist Priority Restoration Saga, may be interested to learn that Ist P. Director, Saloman Teboul, has started another chapter.
Late last year the elusive Mr. Teboul single-handedly launched a new company P1000006547, registered as Great Restoration Inc. - bet choosing that name kept him awake all night!!!
Oddly, although he still maintains his mailbox at 3389 Sheridan Street, originally home to the many Ist Priority associated companies, Great Restoration and Mr Teboul have a new address at 3113 Stirling Road, Hollywood.

Just a mile up the road, at Sheridan Street, apart from Mr. Teboul and Hila Vanunu – Florida Sciences Inc., the mold analysis experts allegedly used by 1st P. , all other associated companies are no longer listed by Corporationwiki.com at this address. This includes, 1st P, attorney the lovely Rhonda D Zimmerman. Esq. and Ist Priority President,Yitshak Levy.
The disappearing Mr. Levy also failed to appear in court in April of this year at a pretrial conference were as Plaintiff he had alleged he was owed almost $4,000. The case: 502010SC005848XXXXMBwas dismissed for 'Lack of Prosecution'. The name of the defendant was Zimmerman so lets hope it's not any of the lovely Rhonda's relatives and she's busy defending Ist P. in three legal actions brought against the company by its employees.

For those of you new to this saga, Ist Priority Restoration Inc. came into the village after being presented by, the then UCO Maintenance Chair, Jerry Karpf, - who later claimed this was on the recommendation of two association presidents whose names he couldn't remember. They were championed and, in my opinion, promoted by Dan Gladstone, the then, UCO Insurance Chairman.
During the sudden great water leak pandemic of 2009. Ist Priority gutted hundreds of apartments leaving many CV residents homeless for months, if able to return at all – several died whilst out of their apartments and others were forced to abandoned their units when their insurance company refused to pay. The average cost was $40,000 per apartment which caused our building insurance company to drop our coverage. At much greater expense, the then, Insurance Chairman, Dan Gladstone and Insurance Agents Plastridge secured building coverage but all residents ultimately paid much higher premiums as a direct result of the scourge of sudden water leaks and mold.
That was the case until this current UCO Administration reduced insurance costs by negotiation and more importantly a new agent.

Va Voom


see Residents from Clark Retirement Community in Grand Rapids, Michigan team up with Grand Valley State University Film & Video Production ...

Thursday, July 28, 2011

CLUBHOUSE CLOSURE BULLETIN FROM W.P.R.F., Inc.

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NOTICE
Main Clubhouse and all adjacent facilities will be closed for electrical repairs
Beginning Monday, August 8th
scheduled for 30 days

Watch for progress updates on channel 63
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
The following services will be provided
at the Hastings Clubhouse:

*ID - Passes and information
*WPRF - A/R payment drop off and questions
*2011 -12 Season Ticket order forms available for
pick up and /or drop off
*WiFi
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
While Guest Pool is closed

MINOR CHILDREN
(under 16 years of age)

with adult supervision will be permitted to
use any of the WPRF pools EXCEPT Hastings
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
During the Clubhouse Closure
scheduled for 30 days
KARAOKE
will be moved to the following locations from 6:00 pm — 9:00 pm

Tuesdays by Tommy Caruso — Kent Pool
Fridays by Jack Kasden — Camden Pool

We apologize for the inconvenience
Management

MORE FAQ's FROM DOM - PAVING PROJECT

By: Dom Guarnagia

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

CLUBHOUSE CLOSING

A few questions about the Club House closing from August 8th - September 8th.

1. Why does the Club House need to be closed for Elecrical work, when just 3 (three) years ago it was rebuilt due to the hurricane???? Why wasn't all electrical work done then???????

2. WiFi -- where will WiFi be available during this month-long process????

3. Will we all get a rebate from WPRF for the interuption of service????

Bobbie

DETECTIVE!!! NOT!!!

Thank you President Israel, or should I say "Wizard of Century village" because of your many degrees and your vast repertoire of knowledge, froming paving to irragation design to accounting to transportation and so on. Over the years I have often checked, googled, facebooked, my spaced etc. for people who may have the same last name that I have, as it is unique, but unfortunately have found very few from border to border, sea to shining sea. However, in your case, in search of this Ken Tonis, had you simply looked in the white pages of our West Palm Beach phone book , you would have found me me listed as: TONIS KENNETH CENTURY VILLAGE SOUTHAMPTON 108A, 478-5374 which my wife Barbara Thompson and I have owned since July 2005.
So much for back ground checks here at CV as well, where I'm registered, if the Presidente can't find me. Any wonder we've had a narc dealer and murderer found in our midst? Who else may lurk???...

Banshees


For Dave: Now warm up with a few crying, screaming babies on Utube.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

POOLS

While the clubhouse is closed starting Aug 8th...All pools will allow children EXCEPT
Hastings..regular rules apply! FYI

KARAOKE

When the clubhouse closes Aug. 8th...KARAOKE will be at KENT pool on TUESDAYS and CAMDEN pool on Fridays...until the club house is open again...Have FUN!

CLUBHOUSE THEATER PREVIEW OF 2011 -2012 SEASON TO BE SCREENED

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Hi all,
Video clips of the coming shows will be shown in the Clubhouse theater on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 from 2pm - 4pm.

This screening will be hosted by Abby Koffler and Anita Pearce.

Come check out the upcoming offerings!

Dave Israel
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CLUBHOUSE CLOSURE ANNOUNCED

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Hi all,
It was announced today at the Operations Committee by Anita Pearce (VP WPRF) that the Clubhouse would close on August 8, 2011.

The Clubhouse is closing for 30 days for major repairs to the electrical switchgear. Some WPRF services will be transferred to Hastings clubhouse.

They will be announced here on this channel shortly.

Dave Israel

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HELP IS ON THE WAY

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On Wednesday, October 5th in the Clubhouse room "C" at 9:30a.m. FP&L will be back to help those that qualify get a credit on their electric bill. If it is the anniversary of your credit from last year, you should have a letter from FPL with the dates.
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You will have to bring with you your Social Security letter showing your monthly benefits, your bill from FPL, your Social Security or Medicare card and your Florida ID or your Century Village ID.
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One person in your household must be 55 or older. The financial guidelines are as follows:
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1 person annual household income $16,335.00
2 person.........................................$22,065.00
3 person..........................................$27,795.00
4 person..........................................$33,525.00

At the time of intake all documents will be photocopied and attached to your application. Please come and take advantage of this program.
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Thank you
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Phyllis Richland
V.P. United Civic Organization
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Sunday, July 24, 2011

PAVING PROJECT - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

REPORT FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
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Dom Guarnagia
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Facts and FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) regarding the Paving Project
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FACTS: In a downtown scenario, the streets are intentionally paved with a crown, convex,which directs water from the center to the curb that forms the base of an elevated sidewalk. The curb has integrated storm drain catch basins that carry run off away through underground piping.
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Century Village is quite different. Walkways blend into parking areas without changes in grade. The parking areas are connected to driveways that provide access to the perimeter roadway, i.e., North, South, East and West Drives.
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To efficiently drain all those impervious surfaces a system of crowns and swales are constructed in conjunction with drainage devices such as tapered depressions leading runoff to concrete collection boxes, up to 5 FT. cubes with leaching piping to disburse collected water into porous sandy soil.
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Transitioning from a crown to a swale in asphalt concrete is tricky since at some point a flat area occurs upon which standing water, a puddle occurs that will evaporate in a few hours with the heat of the sun. The trick is in minimizing that transition and minimizing the number and sizes of occurrences. Therein lays the basis for the FAQ’s.
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 FAQ: What is the material used to pave the walkways, parking areas and driveways and roads?
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Fact:  The paving material has several names; Hot Top, Tar Macadam, Asphalt Concrete to name a few. Like concrete, a prescribed mixture of aggregate (crushed stone or gravel), fines to fill spaces (sand), a binder (cement) and water; Asphalt Concrete is a combination of crushed stone, sand, asphalt and a thick-oily petroleum by product as the binder.
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The heated mixture is quite black in color and has a fairly smooth finish. The bleaching effect of the sun and the leaching effect of  rain with time, removes the surface oil and exposes the aggregate (1/4” to½” stone) with minor surface sand leaching out as well. This weathering creates a medium gray reflective color and an etched surface that more aggressively aids tire grip.
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FAQ:   Why are there gray lines in the finished surface?
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Fact:  When the surface is placed and graded, the machine cannot spread the material in one pass. After one pass depositing up to 16 FT. of product is completed and compacted with a roller, generally enough time has passed for it to cure. The adjacent deposit must be compacted flush to the previous established crown or swale. In doing so, the heavy roller cannot compact the cured paving so successive passes crush the aggregate exposing the gray color of the petroleum-coated stone. With time both sun and rain will wash away or bleach out the black petroleum binder and the entire surface will become gray.
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 FAQ: Why is the new surface being scarred by the parking maneuvers and the striping is easily marked by the tires?
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Fact:  With the ambient temperatures exceeding 90 degrees F. and the newly placed paving material delivered at temperatures between 120 degrees F. and 140 degrees F., the curing time exceeds the patience of the association owners to place their vehicles in their parking spaces.
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In colder climates, the cure rate is much shorter and almost ready for use within several hours, however, 36 to 48 hours is the proper time to allow for curing prior to use. Those gouges in the new surface will be removed and blended with torches heating the affected areas but patience is the keyword to obtain good results. The paint applied for striping is not the finished product. It is a quick drying application to delineate the individual spaces for a quick turnaround time. Can you imagine what the newblack surface would look like if vehicles maneuvered crossing back and forth over the lines? The area would look like a zebra’s skin. A high quality wear resistant paint will be applied later.
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FAQ: What about moving the vehicles of those occupants who aren’t here?
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Fact:  The paving company M&M Paving is using Kauff ‘s Towing to remove and replace the vehicles with no additional charge.
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FAQ: Is the project progressing on schedule?
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Fact:  Work is progressing quicker than expected and associations will continue to be notified well in advance of the work to be performed.
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FAQ: Will those things that are not satisfactorily completed be addressed?
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Fact:  As with any properly inspected project, inspection during the process will be supplemented by, what is commonly know in the trades as a “PUNCH LIST”. Every square foot of the completed work will be inspected and only when all corrections have been satisfactorily completed and inspections signed off  by the County Building Dept. will the final payment be disbursed.
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Posted By:

Dave Israel
President
United Civic Organization

Emergency Powers for Condominium Associations

Emergency Powers for Condominium Associations

As I write this blog posting the sky outside is blue and there are no tropical storms threatening our area. However, it is late July and we are approaching the heart of the traditional hurricane season. In 2008, after analyzing the issues faced by condominium association Boards of Directors in the aftermath of a hurricane or other natural disaster, the Florida legislature created Section 718.1265, Florida Statutes, which granted emergency powers to Associations.

First, these emergency powers can only be used if not specifically prohibited by any of your governing documents. As the documents in your community pre-date the creation of this statutory provision that is unlikely but should still be examined.

Second, the Board must still execute such emergency powers in good faith, with the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise such powers under similar circumstances, and in a manner the directors believe are in the best interest of the Association.

Third, the emergency powers may only be activated in response to damage caused by an event for which a state of emergency is declared in the locale in which the condominium is located. That means the Governor of Florida declares, through executive order or proclamation, that an emergency has occurred where your condominium is located and there is damage to your property due to that same emergency situation.

Fourth, you may, but are not required to exercise the emergency powers.

Fifth, all such powers shall be limited to that time reasonably necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the Association and the unit owners and the unit owners’ family members, tenants, guests, agents, or invitees and shall be reasonably necessary to mitigate further damage and make emergency repairs.

The following are a list of powers as presented by the Statute:

(a) Conduct board meetings and membership meetings with notice given as is practicable. Such notice may be given in any practicable manner, including publication, radio, United States mail, the Internet, public service announcements, and conspicuous posting on the condominium property or any other means the board deems reasonable under the circumstances. Notice of board decisions may be communicated as provided in this paragraph.

(b) Cancel and reschedule any association meeting.

(c) Name as assistant officers persons who are not directors, which assistant officers shall have the same authority as the executive officers to whom they are assistants during the state of emergency to accommodate the incapacity or unavailability of any officer of the association.

(d) Relocate the association’s principal office or designate alternative principal offices.

(e) Enter into agreements with local counties and municipalities to assist counties and municipalities with debris removal.

(f) Implement a disaster plan before or immediately following the event for which a state of emergency is declared which may include, but is not limited to, shutting down or off elevators; electricity; water, sewer, or security systems; or air conditioners. (As you can see, this paragraph permits the implementation of a disaster plan before the event occurs. In fact, we have assisted many communities in developing such a plan which includes information on shutting down the building, how official records and documents will be protected, etc.)

(g) Based upon advice of emergency management officials or upon the advice of licensed professionals retained by the board, determine any portion of the condominium property unavailable for entry or occupancy by unit owners, family members, tenants, guests, agents, or invitees to protect the health, safety, or welfare of such persons.

(h) Require the evacuation of the condominium property in the event of a mandatory evacuation order in the locale in which the condominium is located. Should any unit owner or other occupant of a condominium fail or refuse to evacuate the condominium property where the board has required evacuation, the association shall be immune from liability or injury to persons or property arising from such failure or refusal.

(i) Based upon advice of emergency management officials or upon the advice of licensed professionals retained by the board, determine whether the condominium property can be safely inhabited or occupied. However, such determination is not conclusive as to any determination of habitability pursuant to the declaration.

(j) Mitigate further damage, including taking action to contract for the removal of debris and to prevent or mitigate the spread of fungus, including, but not limited to, mold or mildew, by removing and disposing of wet drywall, insulation, carpet, cabinetry, or other fixtures on or within the condominium property, even if the unit owner is obligated by the declaration or law to insure or replace those fixtures and to remove personal property from a unit.

(k) Contract, on behalf of any unit owner or owners, for items or services for which the owners are otherwise individually responsible, but which are necessary to prevent further damage to the condominium property. In such event, the unit owner or owners on whose behalf the board has contracted are responsible for reimbursing the association for the actual costs of the items or services, and the association may use its lien authority provided by s. 718.116 to enforce collection of the charges. Without limitation, such items or services may include the drying of units, the boarding of broken windows or doors, and the replacement of damaged air conditioners or air handlers to provide climate control in the units or other portions of the property.
(l) Regardless of any provision to the contrary and even if such authority does not specifically appear in the declaration of condominium, articles, or bylaws of the association, levy special assessments without a vote of the owners.

(m) Without unit owners’ approval, borrow money and pledge association assets as collateral to fund emergency repairs and carry out the duties of the association when operating funds are insufficient. This paragraph does not limit the general authority of the association to borrow money, subject to such restrictions as are contained in the declaration of condominium, articles, or bylaws of the association.


Mark D. Friedman is a senior attorney at the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff. Mr. Friedman may be contacted at CondoLaw@becker-poliakoff.com.

SEARCH/NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE

It's almost that time again.....time to prepare the bio for those who want to run for office in Century Village.

President, two vice presidents, treasurer, recording and corresponding secretary and ten executive board members are up for election.

The process of submitting your bio has changed. All bios must be e mailed to me. You will receive acknowledgment of your bio within a few days. In the subject box, please insert "UCO bio". It will then be sent to the REPORTER. THERE IS NO EXCEPTION AS TO HOW TO SUBMIT A BIO. It must be done this way.

Let us know what experience you've had as a volunteer in Century Village along with a short bio of your life.

The e mail address to send your bio to is rgwlbf@gmail.com. If you have any questions, call me between 9am and 5pm. If I'm not home, leave your name, phone number and a short message. 712 0259 is the number to call. Of course, I will return your call.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL,
Roberta Boehm-Fromkin

W.P.R.F.

When the clubhouse closes for 30 days or so does WPRF get a free ride in
collecting our recreational maintenance while we lose movies, theatre,
cardroom, library, lots of clubrooms, outdoor games like shuffleboard, etc.

Friday, July 22, 2011

UCO REPORTER, AUGUST 2011 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

Hi all,

The UCO reporter is live for your reading pleasure. Please follow the following link:

http://goo.gl/sRj9w

Or, as usual, you may access the Reporter via the link in the sidebar.

Dave Israel

Remember When



Remember When - Kids played at pulling faces, now their iphone camera does it for them .
And we cannot say 'Stopit! your face will stick like that'.
No exorcists were injured in this post, yet.
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

What's with 63

There are spinning kung fu shrinking screens, CV'ers will be standing on their heads, now Dave and David are frozen on a screen with loud outer space noises!

Are Grandparents Safer Drivers Than Mom And Dad?

by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, CHICAGO July 18, 2011,
Kids may be safest in cars when grandma or grandpa are driving instead of mom or dad, according to study results that even made the researchers do a double-take.
"We were surprised to discover that the injury rate was considerably lower in crashes where grandparents were the drivers," said Dr. Fred Henretig, an emergency medicine specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the study's lead author. More -

Enough Already and No Dirty Laundry Here!!!

(Ken Tonis requested that I post this letter to the blog on his behalf, as he doesn't have access to a computer at the present time. )

Interesting name, "Tonis" according to the Property Appraiser (PAPA) site, there is no such property owner in all of PBC, so perhaps this is a very new owner, relative of an owner, or perhaps a renter. If a renter, he is only responsible for his rent, which is no doubt higher than his Association coupon and the WPRF coupon combined which also "Ken" is not responsible for. Let's move along from there!

Yes, for many, Century Village is a wonderful place to live, and for some it's a relatively inexpensive place to live as well. However, the monthly costs that are now being placed on the residents of Century Village by UCO and WPRF, and the HOA's that are responsible for those monthly payments, is becoming increasingly painful to the vast majority of unit owners who are on fixed incomes and/or have other uncontrolled expenses(contrary to popular belief, there have been no Social Security increases for 2 years, and none likely in the foreseeable future our government is broke).

I can't argue with the fact that costs are escalating and are high, welcome to America, consider the WPRF coupon, about $100.00 per month; some a bit more, some a bit less. Try experiencing anything like the Rec. facility amenities anywhere off Campus for that price!! Your Association (which is not actually a HOA) Coupon is quite reasonable compared to what a similar apartment would cost off Campus.

Here at Southampton A, our monthly and quarterly UCO dues now consume nearly 50% of our annual budget, and that is after the 40% reduction we saw in our Insurance bill, an action that was initiated by our Association with Alex Hartman, an agent for the Alan James Insurance Company in Sunrise, Florida, and then taken advantage of by UCO at the last minute. Let's not get into how many millions UCO cost the Associations over the years it did business with Plastridge Insurance, and how many millions more had our Association not been in contact with Alan James Insurance.

The 50% claim is absurd, do your arithmetic, the UCO percentage of your Association coupon is about 25%, consider the services being paid for this is a grade A bargain: Transportation, Security, Cable TV, Irrigation, and Ambulance. Off Campus, Cable alone would be 67% higher for the identical product.
As for the reduction in Insurance Premium, your current UCO Administration obtained, (some Two Million Dollars), it had nothing whatsoever to do with Alex Hartman. That reduction was achieved by our Administration simply following the requirement of our Bilateral Agreement and constructing an excellent RFP (Request for Proposal bid specs) and putting the coverages out for Bids (Thank due to Toni Salometo our licensed Insurance Committee Chair). You can hardly blame the current Administration for what happened with Plastridge.

But the issue at hand is the cost of living here at Century Village and what we get in return. I'm writing this letter because the "GREEN BUS" issue pushed many CV citizens over the edge, I know it did me. Yes the bus system is a great and wonderful convenience, but at what cost? The city of West Palm Beach provides buses, which tax payers subsidize, but the riders pay the bulk of the cost. Why not here at CV? And why the great expense of purchasing new buses, and let's be honest, things like this never pay for themselves, when we can convert the existing buses to Natural Gas, saving more money than electricity, which is only going to get more expensive, and the cost of the new "GREEN" buses. Oh yes, Federal Grants from a broke government. Let's do the government a favor and CONVERT TO NATURAL GAS!!

There are a lot of issues being bundled here, but the following may be helpful.
Have you read Judge Poulton's consent decree making Transportation a common expense; are you even aware of it? I do not know what the age of the writer is, but in due course, you will not be able to drive, this will happen to all of us and we will be thankful for the busses when that time comes. Our system is one of the best of any Condo Community in Florida.
The current bus fleet is five years old with thousands of miles of wear and tear, converting them to any alternate use is an absolute non starter. The concept of new busses powered by CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is one of many considered, this technology still has a Carbon footprint (albeit reduced), and the cost reduction over gasoline is not that significant. Use of gasoline will add no less than one half million dollars to the contract over five years. Electric technology time has come, and our senior demographic can do without the belching fumes.

On another note, the beautiful green grass, that is, if UCO is making sure your association gets water, which of course, not all are. Each Association pays an equal amount, I'm sure, but does not get equal water. What has to be done, is dredge the canals, particularly the South Canal. The drought we are encountering now could well be with us for a decade to come and capturing and holding water is the first solution. If not, the Associations should only pay for the water they use and have access to.

Please do your research, the problem is simple we have experienced a deep drought, you can dredge the canals to China the fact that dredged canals can hold more water is obvious and irrelevent, it will be lost to percolation and evaporation. We need rain, we are receiving some 900Kgallons of reclaimed water per day for the past month. The remedies for this, such as lining the lakes, lagoons and canals would be expensive beyond your wildest dreams!

Security is a great concern to many of the elderly and senior citizens here at CV, yet the most vulnerable location to trespassing is the least protected. That would be the wall along the golf course, east of Southampton C, and behind the shopping center where the 'local' hangout opens around 9 PM. The wall has no wiring on top of it and is only about 5-6' tall. Even at my age, I could probably get over it.

The placement of barbed wire is prohibited by code and the wall does not belong to us, so we cannot just extend it's height. Again do your research prior to complaining. The key to this problem is to take PBSO up on the offer they make at nearly every Delegate Assembly meeting. If you see trespassers,   call PBSO!

As for the outside looking in, we have a gentleman who is always doing something around the village, and a good job he does, such as picking up trash along Haverhill, but conversely never along Okeechobee, and this is a larger reflection upon who we are in the entire Century Village. I'm sure there's a logical explanation.

Haskell does what he can, it is hot out there, would you like to volunteer to trash pick along about 1 mile of Haverhill Road?

As for the Comcast situation, I'll only say, Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. There should never have been a 67% INCREASE from one year to the next, no matter how inexpensive one may think our cable bill is. I feel safe in saying this was/is a tremendous burden on all of the Associations here at Century Village.

Please do your research, the first year Cable fee was offset by close to one million dollars from the signing bonus!

I'm told our Association was told by UCO that Phyllis Richland was our Quadrant spokesperson in place of the recovering Sal Bummolo, and our prayers go out to him, and that upon asking her to attend our monthly meeting in May she replied, "...I don't go to association meetings...". So much for caring and helping if this is true.

Phyllis has had family issues and is not feeling well for awhile, currently, we have one VP regularly present in UCO; research sir! get the facts.

Simply put WPRF imposed a $8.56 per month increase on each unit, or approximately $801,000 this year alone. I ask, "...look around, do you see it?....". On average, each unit pays over $1300 per year, which is approximately $10,200,000 per year to WPRF. Can you see it now?

Actually, the Operations Committee (have you ever attended a meeting)reduced the original WPRF draft budget by $400K.
This was done by implementation of our Bid Committee and we will continue this effort. As noted above, try to obtain such amenities off Campus for less!

In closing, please don't construe these as complaints, frustrations or dirty laundry. They are observations to help make Century Village the greatest gated community in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Sincerely,
Ken Tonis

As noted in the Comment stream, if you have some ideas, and you are willing to research and HELP, volunteer at UCO, we can always use good people, we save many dollars by "employing" volunteers.

Green text by Dave Israel
President
United Civic Organization
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Kung Fu Soccer


New sport for CV, practice those flying cartwheel kicks. And they grunt less than tennis players.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Help with ceiling fans

Moving 5 ceiling fans to upstairs unit for installation before my move. Any suggestions for local help. Without help I'm bound to make a mess out of the entire project ....

TIA

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Once Upon a Time - Gardens

Long ago, CV was called "Century Gardens in Century Village", the sales brochure offered you water view OR garden view.

What is a garden?

A garden is a place where your soul connects with the earth.

Peace. Sanctuary. Beauty. Contemplation. Connection. Sound. Smell. A sense of place.

What makes a garden?

Soil. Sun. Birds and butterflies. Good intentions. Rainfall. Flowers, shrubs, and trees. Color. Structure. Inspiration. Love.

And if you want to sell more units, work on your garden. I hear the bus riders critique which are the best buildings in the village, they are looking at gardens and paint.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Faucet Ants

Dear Blog, I have started to try to figure this out but any more suggestions would be gratefully received (not my personal faucet)
Q: I was wondering if anyone other than myself has had a problem with ants coming out of the faucet in the bathtub? This has happened two times. I talked to our contracted pest control about it, they seem to think we would have to get in touch with the city water company... When I turned the water on today, about 100 tiny ants came out!
A: The PBCWUD will probably charge extra for providing ants.
A: Could the ants have colonised a drain vent?

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

See Yah!

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Carvel - On Wednesdays, participating Carvel locations offer BOGO “buy one get one free” sundaes.
I will report back from our local Carvel tonight. >>>>
Actually they have different BOGOs Monday thru Friday, it was standing room only tonight.
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Call the White House...

"Obama himself upped the stakes Tuesday, telling CBS News anchor Scott Pelley that more than $20 billion in Social Security checks could be held up. "I can't guarantee that the checks will go out Aug. 3 if we haven't resolved this," Obama said. "There may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it."
Please call or write your Representatives, your Senators, even the White House, and tell them not to block Social Security checks, the only income a great many of us seniors have.
Here's the link for the interview between Scott Pelley and Pres. Obama: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20078789-503544.html?tag=pop;stories

CAR TRANSPORTERS: ANY RECOMMENDATIONS?

I have a friend who wants to have her car transported by truck from West Palm Beach to Colorado Springs. Can anyone recommend a transport company? If you know of a company that has reliably transported a car from, say, NY or NJ to Florida over several years and also transports to the west, we would be interested. What we're trying to avoid is a company that is not on time (off by 2-3 days) and hires people off the street (anyone) to do the driving. We'll pay the going rate gladly. Thank you.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

25 documents you need before you die



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303627104576410234039258092.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read
The 25 documents you need before you die (also known as your death dossier.)
If you can organise your stuff it is a good feeling when its done, and your executor will thank you.
It isn't enough simply to sign a bunch of papers establishing an estate plan and other end-of-life instructions. You also have to make your heirs aware of them and leave the documents where they can find them.
If you have trouble with the long URL, click on title.
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Saturday, July 9, 2011

IT'S RUMORED

click above link
EXORCISTS ARE BUYING UP ONE OF THE SUSSEX ASSOC'S. CONDOS. COULD THE WHP BE ORCHESTRATING THIS ASSOC. TAKE OVER.
FIRST THE NATURIST , THEN THE WICCANS AND NOW THE EXORCISTS. WHAT'S NEXT?????????"??
"IRISH TRAVELERS"

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Century Village Lakes

What is happening to the Century Village lakes? I know we have spent a lot of money on land reclamation and that was a very good thing. It definitely did improve the aesthetic view of our shore line even though we are still under a fairly severe drought situation.
Pumping in reclaimed water was also a very good thing as this of course replaces the thousands of gallons we are using for village irrigation every day.
My main concern is the color of the water in our lake. It looks like it is turning into a green colored slimed filled cesspool rather than the pristine clear waters you associated with the state of Florida. We do not have a constant source of flowing water in our lake, but neither do most of our surrounding lakes. However, our's is the only lake that has this horrible uninviting color in the area. I have also noticed a large decline in the amount of shore birds to our lake. It probably is do to the fact that they cannot see below the surface of the water. I also wonder what effect this poor visibility and unhealthy environment is doing to our local fish population. I read in the UCO Reporter that we recently spent several thousand dollars to stock our lake with fish. In a way this sounds absourd when you release them into a very polluted and unhealthy kind of environment.
The survival rate of these hatchlings must be quite minimal.

Monday, July 4, 2011

ProActive Committee - Workshop Meeting

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DATE: ..... JULY 6, 2011
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DAY: ..... WEDNESDAY
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TIME: ..... 9:30AM
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PLACE: ..... MAIN CLUBHOUSE - MEETING ROOM C
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GET THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE GOLF COURSE
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Dave Israel
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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Water Clarification

The newspapers TV and officials have a bad habit of talking about WPB, when they mean City of WPB, which is not Century Village. We are unincorporated PB County - Palm Beach County Water Utilities (PBCWUD). You bloggers are right.
PBCWUD gets it’s drinking water from the Biscayne Aquifer, about 150 feet underground. It is a very dependable source of drinking water, free from agricultural runoff that most surface water sources have.
The City of WPB gets its water mainly from Clear Lake and Lake Mangonia, the Grassy Waters Preserve and the L-8 reservoir, they also have a well system. This article explains the problems City of WPB is having:

Friday, July 1, 2011

RECLAIMED WATER FLOW - SCADA READINGS


As you can see from the readout above, we have a 30 day average delivery rate in excess of 1 million gallons. The trailing average for 365 days exceeds 800Kgallon, some 50,000 gallons daily over our contract cap.

Dave Israel
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