Dear Resident

Pursuant to my meeting with the Swiftmud/PC Extension rep in early January, I have been in communication with Claudia Lewis of Plan C, a non-profit org in the local area dedicated to sustainable, environmentally friendly landscaping and assisting others with projects along the same track. They assisted in the design of the landscaping around the PH library, which is how I came to contacting them.

Essentially, the lake has been ignored for way too long, like other community assets – our playground, walking path, tennis courts, etc. It’s become more of an eyesore than the actual treasure it should be. It’s a magnet for waterfowl, turtle, fish, migratory birds, etc but it’s deteriorating….fast. Sometime before the March meeting, I am going to ask each Board member and residents to meet me at the lake so we can all see the current state of deterioration taking place – honestly, it’s mind-blowing how bad it is up close. Both the Pinellas County contact and the Plan C contact expressed dire concern over the state of our lake as an ongoing natural resource.

Based on Pinellas County recommendations, Dick Rayfield & I have made moves on the Maintenance end to mitigate further damage. We no longer allow the heavy lawnmowers to mow within 20-30’ of the shoreline. We have de-prioritized fertilization & irrigation and do not allow it close to the lake. Jim, our Dir of Bldgs & Grounds, is religiously cleaning the debris screens we placed in the spillways about a year ago to minimize trash and debris going into the lake. Dick & Jim removed appr 300 fish that would have contaminated the water as they decomposed.

Plan C has assembled a proposal to help us get the lake and lakeshore back on track to the road to healthy sustainability. I will be proposing in March that the Board approve the attached proposal to begin work to rejuvenate the lake. The entire lake will not be done at once. However, this proposal will put appr 2100 plants into the lake area. It was determined that a piece-meal, cost-conscious approach should be undertaken – only the northeast portion of the lake will be addressed in the beginning. Should it be deemed successful, future Boards may want to emulate what this Board has started. Ideally, the entire lake can be stabilized/rejuvenated w/I 5 years time at minimal cost each year.

A great example of what we should strive for is the Pinellas Cty retention pond on the West side of Belcher a ¼ mi south of Nebraska.

I value you your comments and suggestions and hope you'll partner with the Board as we seek to rebuild what is our great natural resource.

1. The Annual Garage Sale has been scheduled for March 27. The Board’s new Activities Coordinator, Dimitri Leventis, will be coordinating the sale with local advertisers. Start preparing now…

2. Annual Dues were DUE BY January 31 and are now delinquent. Dues checks can be mailed in, dropped off in the Parking lot drop box, or walked into the office for a receipt.

3. In addition to our landscaping, the January freeze also killed quite a few of the fish in our pond. Our Director of Buildings and Grounds, Jim Brasby, collected appr 300 fish and brought them to the dump.

4. If your New Year’s Resolution was to get more involved in your community, a nice way to “dip your toe in” would be to volunteer for one of the committees in the neighborhood. There’s Maintenance, Architectural, Activities, and Welcoming committees that all need volunteers. If you can spare 1-3 hours per month, then you can EASILY help out your community.