General Comments

It is important to note that we all have a stake in ensuring that our community and property remains a safe place that is comfortable to live in.  With 344 units, it is a large Corporation and Property to keep track of with a lot of moving parts.  Part of your monthly association assessment pays to have a certified and professional Property Manager that takes action based upon the direction of your elected Board of Directors.  Conversely, the seven MBP Homeowners who make up the Board of Directors are volunteers and donate their time and knowledge on behalf of and in support of the 344 owners of Middlebrook Pines property because we care about our property and want to ensure that decisions are made which are in the best interest of all owners.  There seems to be a misconception that the Board of Directors is a paid position and we want to clarify that it is strictly voluntary with no financial or personal benefits.

We understand everyone lives busy lives which makes attending the monthly meetings a challenge.  This is precisely why your Board of Directors created our homeowner website at www.middlebrookpines.com in 2006.  The goal was, and continues to be, to provide accurate information and updates that you can easily access when and where it is convenient for you.  Regular updates are posted and include meeting minutes, monthly operations spending, and news of what is happening across our property.  Emails are sent out to notify all website members when updates have been posted.  If you have not already become a member of the website, we encourage you to do so now.  Your feedback or ideas for additional information or features would be helpful.

In the past few months, we have become aware of a separate website created and hosted by a homeowner.  This homeowner purchased in 2001 but never attended or participated in a meeting until April 2015.  During monthly meetings, topics are discussed by the Board with the direction of attorneys, engineers, and other subject matter experts as needed.  This discussion leads to actions approved or rejected by the board. Information presented on this unofficial website is not accurate and does not include the background and detail provided by those knowledgeable individuals that have been directly involved in our community business.  We do not want to deter anyone from going to other information sources and only wish to clarify that www.middlebrookpines.com is the only official source of accurate information for Middlebrook Pines homeowners.  The website information and updates are provided by those who are knowledgeable because they have been directly involved in our community business.

Landscape Updates

• We have begun walking each court and determining scope of landscape replacement across the property which will start in early spring 2016. Beginning with Elm Court, we will continue the methodical process of evaluating the needs of each court and completing the landscape replacement work as our budget permits.
• RLC Landscaping began work as our Landscape Maintenance vendor on September 1. They have done a great job and we have seen an improvement in the appearance of our property.
• We have hired TruGreen to manage the weed, feed, and pest control for our landscaping. They also began working on the property late in August and the improvement is obvious.
• We installed several new Magnolia and Oak trees on the property this past summer.
• New mulch was installed across the entire property last summer.
• The Association has benefited these last few years from the volunteer service of Joe Brooks who is a landscape architect and one of our resident owners.  Mr. Brooks has walked each court that has been targeted for landscape replacement.  He has been a key player in selecting the appropriate landscape plants to be used when a new installation is required either along the fence surrounding the patio or to hide the AC units.  Thank you, Mr. Brooks for your time and effort to help enhance the appearance of Middlebrook Pines.

Miscellaneous Maintenance/Information

• The annual pressure washing of the sidewalks and walkways in front of the parking spots was completed this past fall.
• The annual trimming of the palm trees on the property has been completed.
• Due to the lack of response from our last towing partner, P Gilles Store Towing is now the company approved to tow vehicles from our property as needed. New signs have been posted at all of the court entrances with the phone number to call for towing.  Should you have the need to call to have a car towed from your assigned space and have delays or difficulty with the towing company, please report details of the situation to the Property Manager.  Please remember each unit is assigned two parking spaces.  If you have additional vehicles, be courteous to your neighbor and do not use the Guest spaces.
• We have completed the work on property to replace 61 deteriorating wooden traffic posts and add 15 in areas which previously did not have them. These posts keep cars off of our grassy areas and protect our irrigation components.
• We have installed new and bolder signage at our dumpster areas. The goal of the signage is for residents to ensure that all trash is placed in the dumpster.  Please, if you see anyone leaving trash/rubbish outside of the dumpster, determine which unit they live in and report them via phone or through the website to our Property Manager so that they may be sent a violation letter and/or charged for our clean up service.
• The drainage work at the Bamboo Canal swale has been completed. This work should improve the drainage of standing water in areas outside of the canal.
• The tennis courts have been resurfaced which will improve its usefulness and appearance.
• We have found a new source for nearly identical exterior building lights as those we are currently using. They are less expensive than what we have been using for the past several years and replacing failed units will be the same efficiency but less costly.
• For those of you that wish to add additional lighting to illuminate the walkway to your unit in darkness, the Board of Directors has approved a guideline with specifications for additional lights which would be permitted on the fences. This guideline/specification can be found on the website on the “Documents” tab with our other governing documents.
• Exterior painting of buildings is ongoing with the painting of 13 buildings per year. Buildings 1 through 25 have been completed.  The next 13 buildings will be completed in our 2017 fiscal year which begins in July.
• The Board of Directors has developed and approved Architectural guidelines which allow owners and residents to post security signage as long as the MBP guidelines are followed. These guidelines can be found on this website on the “Documents” tab.
• As you know, the MBP Board of Directors has been working to find ways to save money on water used for irrigation for the past several years as it is our 4^th largest expense. Several years ago we had work completed that would enable us to draw water from our lake and a well to be used for irrigation.  It took only a few months to fully recover money spent on this financial investment by the reduction in our water bill.  OUC then notified us that we could not use any alternate water supply and had to reconnect to their water service.  We have spent the last few years doing research and utilizing attorneys in an attempt to reverse this mandate so that we can once again realize an irrigation cost savings.  Following the latest meetings with OUC and attorneys for both sides, we have been able to substantially reduce our future monthly cost for irrigation water based on a new survey of our property.  For now, we are happy with this “WIN” which will allow us to use funds for other much needed work.  However, we will attempt to recoup some of our past expenses and monitor the costs to ensure that this was the best possible outcome for the owners of Middlebrook Pines.
• We recently were able to acquire $36,000 in surplus funds resulting from a tax deed sale of a property that we had foreclosed on for lack of payment of assessments. This money will greatly assist to offset the additional expenses incurred with the hiring of our new landscape maintenance company.

Words to Live by

Every thought is a seed.  If you plant crab apples, don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.

Bill Meyer