A PUBLICATION OF THE SILVER RIDGE HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION, INC. ORLANDO, FLORIDA

SILVER RIDGE - A DEED RESTRICTED COMMUNITY

New Board of Directors Elected

At the Association’s March 1995 Annual Meeting and election, four of the five Directors of the Association were up for election. Three of the Director’s positions were three-year terms, and the fourth was a one-year term.

Administration of the Election: The election was held by secret written ballot, in accordance with Article IV, Section 4 of the by-laws.

Upon signing in, each member received one ballot for each owned lot, and one ballot for each proxy which had been assigned to them by another member.

Proxies which did not designate an assignee were voted by Board member Rick Kepler, since he was not a candidate for that election.

Determination of a Quorum: Fifty-seven signatures were counted on the sign-in list; a quorum was therefore determined to be present, in accordance with Article III of the by-laws.

Nominations: The following members of the Association were nominated by the 1995 nominating committee: Sam Branch, Edward Garcia, Frank Goodman, Clarissa King, Ann Mitchell, Eric Oelschlager, and Carlton Ralph.

There were no nominations from the floor of the meeting.

All nominees were present, with the exception of Clarissa King. Each nominee introduced him/herself, and gave a brief statement of background and qualifications.

Election Results: The ballots were tallied by Board members Eric Oelschlager, Rick Kepler, and Ann Mitchell, and homeowners William McLeod and Andy Hoetger.

These vote counts were obtained: Sam Branch = 47, Edward Garcia = 33, Frank Goodman = 49, Clarissa King = 2, Ann Mitchell = 25, Eric Oelschlager = 50, and Carlton Ralph = 22.

The three candidates receiving the greatest number of votes, Eric Oelschlager, Frank Goodman, and Sam Branch, were elected to the three-year director's terms. Edward Garcia was elected to the one-year term.

Immediately following the General Meeting, the new Board held its first meeting to elect officers, in accordance with the by-laws. (The Association members vote on director’s terms of office, rather than positions. The Board votes on who fills each position.) Frank Goodman was selected to be the President, Sam Branch Vice-president, Edward Garcia Treasurer, and Eric Oelschlager Secretary.

Association Hires New Management Company

After careful consideration, the Board of Directors has decided to contract a different company to manage the accounting and dues collections for the Association.

Effective September 1, 1995 all accounting and dues collection functions will be performed by Don Asher and Associates, Inc., 52 E. South Street, Orlando, FL 32801-3396. 407-425-4561.

This ends the Association’s years-long relationship with Team One Management, of Casselberry, which formerly provided these management services.

Several factors led to this decision. Foremost was that the Board has dedicated itself to improving the percentage of members which are current on payment of the Association’s mandatory dues. The Board felt that Team One Management was not sufficiently aggressive in collecting late dues, and was charging the Association high fees for those they did pursue. The Don Asher group has a reputation for persistence in dues collection, and charges the Association lower fees for liens filed.

Homeowners should have received an introductory letter from Don Asher during early August. That letter may have led to some confusion. To clarify: all dues payments are to be sent to Don Asher, however the 1995 dues will not be billed until December. Of course, any homeowners who are late in paying their dues from previous years should send payment immediately.

Members Vote to Continue Architectural Control

A special meeting was held May 16, 1995 at the Oasis Community Church. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss and vote on the continuation of the Association’s Architectural Control Committee.

The Architectural Control Committee is responsible for overseeing the style, quality and location of improvements planned by members of the Association. The founding documents of the Association provided for the expiration of the Architectural Control Committee, unless the members voted to retain it.

Since architectural control is such an essential part of preserving property values, the Board, with the help of other concerned volunteers, canvassed the neighborhood, explaining the situation to homeowners and collecting proxies.

At the meeting, 125 out of 442 homes were represented, either in person or by proxy. When the votes were counted, all votes were in favor of continuing the powers and functions of the Architectural Control Committee

The new Board is greatly encouraged by this resounding statement that homeowners do care about how well the neighborhood looks.

After previously serving on the Board of Directors of this subdivision for five years in every capacity except Secretary/Treasurer, I was approached by a number of concerned homeowners asking that I get involved again.

I was very ecstatic when I was elected by the General Meeting of the Homeowners Association. The new Board of Directors held a brief meeting to get organized, and I was elected to be the President, a position I had held previously.

I was a Director of this Homeowners Association when the Association was turned over to the Homeowners. I have seen many changes take place in our neighborhood, some good, some bad. This subdivision has been established for over 10 years and has had many growing pains. We have passed over the threshold to a mature community. This year we will see many changes in our neighborhood. We hope they will be for the good.

After the new Board of Directors took office, many existing problems had to be addressed immediately. The developer who is now building southeast of us was at one point going to build a two story apartment building within 30 feet of our neighborhood. The new Board of Directors had to canvas the neighborhood and have petitions signed, and go to the Zoning hearing to fight the matter. We are not able to prevent the apartments being built. That land was zoned for apartments in 1985, long before you or I moved into the neighborhood. But. we did win! We got some good concessions from the builder. They will build a one story building, rather than a two-story building, and will plant trees to conceal the one story apartment.

The second item facing the New Board of Directors was that the Architectural Control provisions in the Charter had to be voted upon. This was also passed. No one voted against this issue.

The third item facing the New Board of Directors was the amount of moneys owed to the Association. We have over $13,000.00 owing to the association in unpaid homeowner dues. As of September 1, Don Asher and Associates, Inc. will be the new management company (replacing Team One Management.) Don Asher and Associates are a very aggressive management group and have been given the green light to take whatever action is necessary to collect this money. If any of you are behind, please make immediate plans to get caught up. We will be filing liens and foreclosing on properties. We have to be serious at this point.

The fourth item facing the New Board of Directors is the sad state of repair of the neighborhood. We need everyone, owner or renter, to pitch in and help bring up our standard of living. The Board of Directors have gone out together and surveyed the neighborhood for deed violations. We are shocked at what we see. I have personally written a cover letter which is enclosed with every violation letter sent out. In it, I give my name and telephone number, to allow you to contact me. We are appealing to the common sense approach to improve our neighborhood. We are confident most residents are willing to help. However, after the third violation letter, someone will personally call on that violator and see if the violation will be corrected. If a solution cannot be reached, then other steps will be taken. The Board of Directors feels that we have to be firm, or there will be no changing the pattern of problems we are now facing.

The fifth problem we face in this neighborhood is the large retention pond (the one near the entrance). Soil erosion is destroying the back yards of the homes surrounding it. We are in study now as to how to deal with it. It will be a very costly item to repair.

I look forward to the challenges ahead. We are neighbors and members of a great homeowners association.

The flowers and shrubs at the front entrance are for all to enjoy. Cans, bottles, cigarette butts and wrappers don’t add any beauty. The front entrance is like an extension of your own yard - why make it ugly by leaving litter behind?

Deed Restrictions

I recently saw someone wearing a T-shirt with the caption "If I didn’t have to work I would have a beautiful lawn". I said to myself, "ain’t that the way it is". Many of us have good intentions, but we just don’t have the time to do all required of us, so we do little or nothing. However, when everyone in our subdivision feels this way, our neighborhood starts looking bad. Homes for sale pop up. Talk is that our subdivision is now "not" the place to live and raise our kids. Rather than shake the finger at someone else, just look in the mirror. Ask yourself these questions: "Am I the one who doesn’t cut my grass regularly?," "Why haven’t I fixed those broken boards in my fence?," "That basketball goal I put up for the kids - why haven’t I taken down the post? The top of it is now missing.," "Do I need to park my car on the grass?," "Why did I hang that water hose on the front of my house? Do I want someone to see it rather than this nice house I live in?"

After looking in the mirror, go across the street and look at your home. What do you really see? Do you have parts of your home missing, such as vents, wood, or window shutters? Is there garbage or car parts along the side of the house, vehicles parked in the back yard, etc.?. We need to look at our homes for the "Curb Appeal".

Next, take a drive through our neighborhood. I didn’t say drive out of it. Take the back streets and look at what is happening to our neighborhood. You will be shocked!!! After the shock, please go home and look in the mirror again. Don’t get embarrassed. Just say to yourself "There’s no way I can fix every problem, but I can do my part by cleaning up my act".

Introducing the Board of Directors

Frank Goodman has been a resident of Silver Ridge since 1986. Frank is self employed as a home repair and remodeling contractor. When not working, Frank enjoys learning and experimenting with his computer.

Sam Branch has been a resident of Silver Ridge since 1994. Sam is an electrician for the Orange County School System. Sam enjoys barbecuing and trapshooting.

Ed Garcia has lived in Silver Ridge since 1991. Ed works for AT&T as a finance manager. Ed likes to do woodworking in his off hours.

Eric Oelschlager has lived in Silver Ridge since 1987. He is a software engineer for a local defense contractor. In his "spare" time, he enjoys off-road bicycling, snow skiing, and taking care of his two Siberian Huskies.

Front Entrance Spruce-Up

In early Spring, several homeowners volunteered their time to beautify the front entrance island with flowers and fresh mulch. The Board is grateful to Charles and Annette Dicks, Dale and Julie Kelly, Chuck Muller, Frank Goodman, Carlton Ralph, and Sam and Beryl Branch for their help in this project.

The flowers these folks planted bloomed and dressed up the island for quite a while. However, the seasons pass quickly, and it is now time to plant new flowers for Fall. Any and all volunteers to help with the Fall spruce-up would be most appreciated. Please call Beryl Branch at 293-6638 for more information.

There has been at least one home burglary in recent weeks. In this incident, the front door was kicked in during the daytime, and several valuables were stolen.

In another incident, a car was broken into during the early morning hours, setting off its alarm. The owners came out to investigate, and discovered that the culprits were still hiding behind the bushes of a neighbor’s house.

These incidents serve to remind us all to install heavy duty dead-bolts and door jamb reinforcements, and security lighting. We must also keep the shrubbery around our homes trimmed back so that suspicious activity can be seen more easily.

Advice on House Painting

Recently a paint contractor passed out flyers within our neighborhood. Its not that I’m against this sort of thing, but, the prices left me wondering. Before you have your home painted cheaply, consider these items:

1. Is this contractor licensed?
1. Is he local - will he come back to make corrections?.

1. Will he pressure wash to destroy the mildew? This is always a requirement in Florida. Without proper treatment, you’ll be painting again, very soon.
1. Primer. The manufacturer’s warranty is no good, if primer is not used.
1. Select your own paint. Most cheap paint jobs use the very cheapest paint on the market. Insist on the best paints. Read the label for warranty - see what is required.
1. The difference in painting every year or every 8-10 years will depend on the proper method of painting.
1. Lastly, if you are changing the color scheme, please submit your request for color change to the Architectural Control Committee for approval.

by Frank Goodman, Certified Home Inspector

The chimneys and gables (the end walls of each roof peak,) of all the homes in Silver Ridge were constructed with a hardboard siding. This type of siding requires extra care.

Maintenance and Upkeep. Keep hardboard sealed, and protected from water. Today, paints appear to last only three to five years. Stretching a paint job a year or two may cost you the siding, since moisture migrating through the siding from either side will cause it to swell, buckle, and sometimes drool tea-colored stains down the siding and stucco. When this sort of mildew stain is evident, painting will be fruitless. As soon as the rainy season starts, sad to say, it looks worse than before. This is the problem with this type material in Florida. To solve the problem, you may have to attach vinyl siding, or replace the hardboard with real wood.

Reward for Information

As part of a continuing commitment to reduce the criminal activity inside the subdivision, the Silver Ridge Homeowner's Association is offering a $500 REWARD to anyone supplying information to police officials which leads to the arrest and conviction of any suspect found committing a criminal act against the public or private property inside the boundaries of the Silver Ridge subdivision. These acts include vandalism, theft and/or malicious destruction to the front wall and center island, as well as vandalism, theft and/or acts of malicious destruction against the personal property of any resident of the Silver Ridge community.

HELP!

Rick Kepler has resigned from the Board of Directors, due to a promotion and increased responsibilities at work. We are glad for Rick’s success, but we will miss him on the Board of Directors. Rick has given of his knowledge and time to make our subdivision a better place to live. Thanks, Rick! Anyone who would like to serve out the remainder of Rick’s term (through March ‘96,) please contact a member of the Board of Directors at 263-7502.

Deed Restrictions - We are presently looking for a Chairman and other volunteers for Deed Restrictions. Contact a board member if interested.