We pay more than $800 a month to clean the areas around our trash dumpsters because people can't bother to put their garbage in them. That's nearly $10,000 a year!
Our property manager, Jennifer Robertson, has sought bids to get this done cheaper, but it's still money our HOA could spend on better things. If you don't know, the garbage truck driver does no cleanup. He (or she) simply drives up, empties the dumpster, and sets it back in place. Any extra garbage lying around gets left or, even worse, trapped under the dumpster. Yay! (not really yay)
At last night's HOA meeting, Jennifer told us that if we see a "trash disaster" around the dumpsters, even on weekends, we should call Excelsior's office number (813-349-6552) and they will get someone out there to take care of it, usually within a few hours.
"We treat trash as an emergency," she said.
What they also do? With gloved hands, they go through the garbage and try to find out from which unit it came so they can send a violation notice to the unit owner. Yes, that sounded extreme to me, too, when I first heard it, but if it will help cut down on the roughly 10 grand we have to spend cleaning up after people who trash our community, I say Yay! (yes, really yay)
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
HOA Meeting Wednesday and Some News
The St. Charles Place HOA has its monthly meeting Wednesday. It's at the offices of Excelsior Community Management in the Krycul Business Center at 6554 Krycul Avenue in Riverview. 7 p.m.
Check your mailboxes. The HOA's property manager sent a newsletter to all unit owners. Yes, an actual snail mail paper newsletter. Quaint, I know, but this is something the property manager does for its other properties and at least some of the board members like the idea. Your humble blog author remains a skeptic, but will keep an open mind.
But it did have some important news:
1. Beginning July1, the board must approve new tenants. Owners must fill out an application and submit a copy of the proposed lease to the property manager. Besides the safety of the community, this actually benefits unit owners who rent out their properties because it helps the HOA know who should live there, and can protect units from squatters invading, which has happened in a couple of cases we've heard about.
2. A new keyless entry system for the pool goes into effect August 3rd. Unit owners will get a fob, similar to the key cards you might use to get into your building at work. The property manager will set up times for owners to pick up their key fob at the pool. If you rent your unit, you can designate your renter to pick it up by giving the property manager written permission. Each unit can get only one key fob, and if you or your tenant loses it, you'll have to pay for a replacement.
Only owners in good standing with their HOA dues will get a key fob. Our community rules let the HOA deny use of amenities for units more than 90 days behind on their HOA dues. The board hopes that this will help spur some delinquent owners to get current.
The newsletter has other items that might interest you, including a tip on how to stop a leaky toilet without having to call a plumber, so look for that.
Check your mailboxes. The HOA's property manager sent a newsletter to all unit owners. Yes, an actual snail mail paper newsletter. Quaint, I know, but this is something the property manager does for its other properties and at least some of the board members like the idea. Your humble blog author remains a skeptic, but will keep an open mind.
But it did have some important news:
1. Beginning July1, the board must approve new tenants. Owners must fill out an application and submit a copy of the proposed lease to the property manager. Besides the safety of the community, this actually benefits unit owners who rent out their properties because it helps the HOA know who should live there, and can protect units from squatters invading, which has happened in a couple of cases we've heard about.
2. A new keyless entry system for the pool goes into effect August 3rd. Unit owners will get a fob, similar to the key cards you might use to get into your building at work. The property manager will set up times for owners to pick up their key fob at the pool. If you rent your unit, you can designate your renter to pick it up by giving the property manager written permission. Each unit can get only one key fob, and if you or your tenant loses it, you'll have to pay for a replacement.
Only owners in good standing with their HOA dues will get a key fob. Our community rules let the HOA deny use of amenities for units more than 90 days behind on their HOA dues. The board hopes that this will help spur some delinquent owners to get current.
The newsletter has other items that might interest you, including a tip on how to stop a leaky toilet without having to call a plumber, so look for that.
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