Landscape Updates

• We have completed a lot of landscape replacement over the past year in order to keep the property looking vibrant and well cared for. We also continue to be pleased with the service provided by our Landscape vendor as well as the changes that we made last year to our weed, feed, and pest control service. All of this seems to be working well together to ensure that our grounds and landscaping reflect the passion we have for ensuring that we have a beautiful property.
• We completed some extensive pruning of the Palm trees as well as other trees on our property as a follow up to ensure hanging limbs from last year’s hurricane were removed. Part of the work was also done to prepare our property for the upcoming replacement of our Wooden Shake/Shingles.

Miscellaneous Topics

• Shake/Shingles: Those of you that have been owners or lived on property for several years are aware ofour issues with the failure of the cedar shakes on the sides of the building. As stated last year, Larry Palmisciano, with assistance from Keith Kiebzak, and Renee Alivento, have been leading a project to investigate materials available and most importantly, what is being done on buildings just like ours in other areas of Florida, and how long is it lasting. Through this work, we have been able to contract the services of an Engineering group which has led the projects at many of these other sites. Through the knowledge and direction that they have provided, we now have finalized the financing and planning for this very large project and have awarded a contract for the replacement of our Shake/Shingles. Normally for a project of this size, the replacement would be phased across the property over a 6-year period. Based on the current state of our existing shake/shingles, we are happy to report that we will be completing this project in a 1-year timeframe from the time that work begins. The current state of this project is that the manufacturer is going into production to produce the large amount of product which will be needed for our project, while the installer is working to obtain the permits required to begin work. While this is going on, we are working with the installer on an installation strategy which will have the least amount of inconvenience possible for our owners and residents. Please note that during the year of this project, there will be work that needs to be done in advance to prepare, as well as other inconveniences related to parking and access during the life of the project. We are attempting to mitigate the inconveniences as much as possible and more information will be forthcoming as we continue to develop our plan. Please be on the lookout and ensure that you are reading and reacting to information and requests that will ensure that this very important project remains on track. While there will be some inconvenience, this project is one of the biggest that we have attempted and will have a huge impact on the appearance of our property, and hopefully on the future value as well!
• Hurricane Preparedness: Unfortunately, we had some not-so-pleasant learnings from our last hurricane season.
  • Amazingly, even at the last minute with the storm approaching, we had residents who were cleaning up patios and leaving trash outside of the dumpster areas. Even after paying the landscape company to clean up trash and loose debris across the property, people continued to place debris at the dumpster sites which could have become projectiles in heavy winds. Thank you to the few neighbors and Board Members that worked diligently for the protection of all Middlebrook Pines residents to ensure that debris was confined prior to the storms arrival.
  • We also had five units which had to pay for repair or replacement of their fence due to having plants/trees on their patios which caused damage to Association property. We should all take this as a learning that some of our long standing and very large plants/trees which have been on our personal patios for many years may have outgrown their use and become too large to be safe. As a reminder, you are responsible for the items growing on your patio and for any damage that they may cause.
• AT&T Fiber Optics: Those on the property are aware that AT&T has been on the property install new Fiber Optic lines. During this work, some damage was done to our irrigation system as well as digging that required the replacement of sod on the property. We continue to work with AT&T to recover any costs associated with the remediation of damage that their work has caused for our property.
• Pressure Washing of Sidewalk/Walkways: This annual event was completed in February.
• Building Exterior Painting: Buildings 39 through 52 are being painted this fiscal year and should be completed by June.

  Words to Live by

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. – Unknown