The following summary is provided by Diane Tomasik, resident and Webmaster.

Catching Up

The Board of Directors had not met since the June meeting, so there was a lot of catching up to do, and the meeting lasted about three hours.

Questions were raised about the effectiveness of a new policy for sending out notices about violations. The policy that was adopted in June is as follows: 

The problem has arisen where some residents say they have not received the first, regular-mail notice. The board discussed reverting to the original policy of sending out certified letters on first notice so that there is a record of the letter being sent and received. 

Architectural Review Committee Report

The committee prepared a revised ARC form, which has been posted on this Web site. The committee reminded homeowners to make sure their application packets are complete when requesting approval for a change to the exterior of their home, including plans and permits as appropriate. The committee also reminded residents to follow up with a notification to the property manager when the project is finished, The ARC will then check on the work completed.

If the management notices a change to the exterior of a home that did not go through ARC approval, a violation will be issued and must be remedied within seven days.

Among key ARC actions: A resident's request to put a hedge along the lakefront was rejected. Another resident has been asked to remove decorative arbors in front of their home. A new resident was asked not to keep a commercial vehicle at their home. A resident has asked to remove a large tree in front of their home, and an appropriate replacement will be recommended. 

ARC Continued

Two ARC actions were the subject of extensive discussion:

A resident's request to repaint a front door a color that was close to -- but not exactly -- one of the approved Islesworth colors was rejected. The resident argued that there are many front doors in Islesworth that are clearly not on the color chart and urged that the rules be enforced across the board.

Another resident made a similar request regarding a violation over dead palm fronds on Washingtonian palm trees in his yard. He felt that he had been singled out because other residents with similar trees in their "bearded" state -- a natural look for that variety of palm tree -- had not been cited with a violation.

The ARC and property management assured both residents that they were not singled out, and efforts will be made to rectify the variations in front door colors.

Paint Palette Expands

In regard to paint colors, the ARC proposed expanding the house paint color choices with seven new colors, bringing the total to 20. Those colors will be posted on the Web site as soon as possible.

Roadway Resolution

Thanks to the persistence of former Board president and current Roadway Committee Chairman Dennis Rohan, Islesworth received a $50,000 settlement in its dispute with the builder, Pulte, and the paving companies. The money is to be placed in an account to be devoted solely to repaving Islesworth streets. The Board will be seeking bids soon and will arrange for the repaving.

Put it in Writing

The property management asked that all complaints from residents be made in writing -- letter, e-mail or fax. (See Contacts page.) The property management receives many anonymous calls from residents, and prefers to have better documentation regarding violations.

Mailbox Matters

The management will soon be sending notification to many people who have not responded to violations regarding the maintenance of their mailboxes. The management will replace or repair the mailboxes and/or posts at the homeowner's expense.

Shedding Light

FPL has completed re-painting the light poles in Islesworth. Board Secretary Phil Jacobus reported on the Board's "walkaround" in August to assess additional lighting needs around the neighborhood. He noted that a simple solution would be for FPL to erect a light pole next to every transformer. He also recommended placing low-voltage ground lighting around the park area.

Go Fish

The Board voted not to disallow fishing in the Islesworth lakes. Only Islesworth residents may fish in the lakes. Violations can be issued for anyone being loud, littering or trespassing on residents' private property.