• The DCHOA President reviewed the violation report from the property manager and recommended several homes in Deercreek and in Edgewater be sent to Covenant Enforcement Committee.  A motion was passed to send these properties to the June Covenant Enforcement hearing meeting.
• Pete Gentry commented that irrigation systems are the major problem with lawns having brown patches. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Finance - Jim Kagiliery (Treasurer)

• John Joyce spoke on the reserve study received from Dreux Isaac.  The requirement of the State of Florida is to audit the reserve fund to make sure the board is properly guided to determine how much money is needed to replace capital investments.  There are two types of studies, the straight line, which each individual capital item is listed and outlines its life expectancy and what monies it would require over a 30-year period and the other is the pooled cash flow, which is what the board has been following.  This is a rolling estimate of monies the committees will need over a period of time to meet its capital requirements.  There is a $2,000 short fall, which is within reason, according to the updated reserve study.  There are three large items, of which two were included in the report.  The Deercreek sign, which $13,000 was on the schedule to be refurbished in 2011 and the security gate scanner, which is on the schedule to be replaced next year.  The notice board will be included on this schedule and the expected life expectancy will be needed.          
• Carol D'Onofrio mentioned that the cable income is down for the quarter.  George Partin commented that he would speak with Joe Ankiewicz about the numbers on the financials.
• The ARC is ahead of the scheduled budgeted amount.
• The legal account is over budget by $3,600.  John Joyce commented this is due to the recent audits by Jim Hutchins and Dreux Isaac. 
• Landscape improvement is also over budget by $2,500 for the year; however, the yearly budget amount is spread out over a twelve-month period.  The common property committee normally spends their money at the beginning of the year. 
• A motion to allocate the entire $20,636 in earnings from 2010 to the reserve fund passed unanimously.

Access Control - Aaron West (Liaison)

• A gate software vendor was to attend this meeting but did not show.  The current gate system may not be operable within six months.  This will probably cost $8,000 to $12,000.
• Carol D'Onofrio mentioned that the Country Club does not have a pin number for EZ Gate and asked if the club could be issued one.  . 

Architectural Review Board - Tom Fitzpatrick (Liaison)

• The committee reviewed five requests for refund of deposit, of which two were approved.  One was denied due to pavers being used instead of brick around the screen wall, and did not match the house.  Another was because of a white plastic fence and the last was the landscaping was not up to standards. 
• Skip Yauger is recommending a policy position revision.  This is not to change the policies but to make it easier for applicants to describe the work to be done for faster approval. George Partin asked that an article be written for the newsletter so the community knows the guidelines. 
• Carol D'Onofrio mentioned that this information was updated April 2011 and has been posted to the website as well.

Covenant Enforcement - Doug Klippel (Liaison)        

• Homeowners attended the meeting to re-appeal fines assessed for different lawn issues but the committee did not waive.  They also tried to negotiate the fine with the attorney.

Common Property - Chris Phillips (Liaison)

• The committee has four motions to present to the board:

1.       A motion was passed to accept the bid by Grants Maintenance to repair the Southside entrance sign and fence. It includes $2,650 for the fence repair and $15,199 for the repair of the sign and replacing the marble.

2.      Connor's Landscape will be seeding the area on Vineyard Lake Drive for $267.50.

3.      An application was created for owners to "reserve" the playground area due to some owners not cleaning up after their functions.  The guards would be responsible for monitoring this.  It was then asked it a deposit would be required.  After much discussion it was suggested that the common property committee decide whether there should be a deposit or not and also to speak with the access control committee for the guards taking on another responsibility with the applications and possibly deposit checks.

4.      The Deercreek Home and Garden Club would like some recognition with the various projects they participate with.  A motion was made to accept the Common Property Committee request for a sign to be used for Deercreek Home and Garden Club projects.  The sign is to be of appropriate sze for a yard sign, and read "Project Funded by the Deercreek Home and Garden Club."

• Chris Phillips asked how the bidding process is handled with contracts coming up for renewal for next year's budget.  George Partin commented that Bernard Vargas Vila is to email the specifications for each major vendor.  Carol D'Onofrio also commented that a template with the information had been created and if there is anything that needs to be changed and/or added, this needs to be done as soon as possible as the budget process will begin in August/September.    

Communications - Len Fritz (Liaison)

• The committees spent a lot of time discussing the Fl Times Union publication and have received a standard agreement form that was reviewed.  There was no timeline mentioned and/or any obligations.   He urged each committee to commit to writing an article for this publication monthly.
• A motion passed to proceed with the replacement of the reader board nar the guard gate for a cost of $10,000 to be paid form the reserve fund.

ARB Policy Changes 

• There was much discussion between guidelines, policies and requirements. The issues were tabled until the next board meeting. 

By Mary Stelbrink

The front entrance sign off of Southside will be undergoing a major renovation starting on June 27.  Marble tiles have been falling off the signs over the past year and the base structure is in desperate need of repair.  The work will also include work on the fencing that runs north and south from the main signs. Please use caution in the exit lanes while this project is underway.

The Deercreek Home and Garden Club has funded two new projects that will benefit the Common Property.  There were dead trees and azaleas next to the guard house.  This material has been removed and a hedge of viburnam has been planted behind the remaining shrubs, which will eventually screen the guard's parking area.  55 new knock-out roses have also been added to give the area some depth and color.  A big thank you to the Garden Club.

By Pete Gentry

I never realized I had irrigation problems until the recent drought brought them to the surface, so to speak. Looking around Deercreek you have to wonder why some lawns seem to be doing fine and others are totally brown. Drought hasn't treated us all the same. Or is it the drought that has caused the problems, or just exposed the inadequacy of our irrigation.

I thought I was following all the suggestions of the St. John's Water Management District, the JEA, and my lawn pest control service. I thought I heard that once we entered Daylight Savings time we should be watering twice a week 30 minutes per zone. Odd number houses should be watering on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and even numbered homes on Thursdays and Sundays. I also heard that the ½ hour of irrigation should be putting down about ½ inch of water. So why did some parts of my lawn appear to be struggling and drying up and shriveling before the time to be watered and other parts of the lawn were growing fine. My lawn was a microcosm of Deercreek homes it appeared.  

I decided to place cups in the stressed areas of the yard and measure the amount of water sprayed in that area compared to cups placed where the lawn was doing ok. Sure enough, the areas where the lawn was struggling were only getting about ¼ inch or so of water over a 30 minute period whereas the greener parts of the lawn were receiving about ½ inch of water for the same 30 minute period. Although that wasn't true for some areas. I must have more than one problem, I thought, and simply increasing the irrigation time per zone wasn't my only problem.

I then looked closer at the problem areas and discovered while watching the sprinklers that several sprinklers weren't behaving right. I found three that weren't popping up out of the grass enough to be effective, even after mowing, and therefore were unable to spray the needed 15 or 20 feet out. I had to dig up and replace these three that weren't popping up high enough with new sprinklers that popped higher. I found two pop ups that weren't spraying much at all. I unscrewed the caps and found the filters were clogged with deposits from the water. I removed the filters and made sure the nozzles were clear of debris also. I found two rotating sprinklers that were not rotating at all, but spraying in one direction only. I replaced both of those. No wonder I had some brown or stressed areas.

Lastly, I increased the time per zone to 40 to 45 minutes per zone to get the desired ½ inch per zone sprayed twice a week.

Most of the lawn is doing better. I suspect that during the winter the lawn was not getting irrigated enough, and in the right places, which caused winter kill and damage and that is probably what has happened across Deercreek. I know I have seen some yards near me that hardly ever ran their irrigation during the winter or this spring and are in the process of replacing large areas with new sod. 

The moral of this story is that, like any other mechanical system, like your car, your irrigation system needs some regular maintenance and inspection, including adjusting the timer and cleaning or replacing poorly performing sprinklers.

 
By Carol D'Onofrio

Faye McLanahan was a contestant for Ms. Senior Jacksonville in June. Convinced by her daughter to enter the pageant, Faye said it was an amazing experience and she met many wonderful people.

Faye along with ten other contestants competed in a pageant on June 25 at the Florida Times Union presented by A Seasoned Affair, a local company specializing in senior interests.

The Ms. Senior Jacksonville Pageant also enriches personal value, self-esteem, creativity, volunteerism, and community involvement.

As part of the competition, Faye was voted Fan Favorite as Faye received the most on line votes of all the contestants, over 719 clicks via the internet.

Among her many interests, Faye is a member of the Sweet Adeline's, a group of women singers creating musical harmony and art performance. Faye signs her e mails "So Many Songs - So Little Time to Sing Them"

Deercreek is so proud- Faye is a winner in our mind.

For those interested in running in 2012 for Ms. Senior Jacksonville and more information, check out www.aseasonedaffair.com