Recycling Dumpster Will Go Away

The HOA board last night agreed to get rid of the recycling dumpster in the community. Too often people have put trash into it instead of recyclables. That meant that we paid extra for recycling things that wound up in a landfill anyway. And we had to pay more for regular trash pickup.

Getting rid of the recycling bin, of course, does not help the consistent issue we've had with excessive trash in the other dumpsters. The board directed the community manager to work with Waste Management to see if any place in the community would suit adding another dumpster.

The board will also look for nearby places that take recyclables.

We are on pace to pay nearly $39,000 for garbage pickup this year. Some of the problem comes from people - some who don't live here, and some who do - dumping things like furniture, barbecue grills and bicycles at our trash sites.

If you need to get rid of large items, you have several options.

Put an ad on craigslist. Seriously! I got rid of a couch and a living room chair that way. They were not in pristine condition, but for free, it was worth enough for someone to come with a truck and take them away for me.

I also donated a TV to the Salvation Army that they came and picked up. You have ways of getting rid of things you don't want without trashing your community.

If those don't work, you should to take large items to one of the facilities Hillsborough County has that accepts them. Here's the information from the county's website:

When and where to take appliances and bulky items 

• Days & Hours
  • Monday through Saturday
  • 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for customers who are hand-unloading
  • 7:30: a.m to 5:30 p.m. for customers with automatic dump trailers

• Locations
  • Alderman’s Ford Solid Waste Facility
    9402 County Road 39
    Plant City, FL 33567
  
  
  • Hillsborough Heights Solid Waste Facility
    6209 County Road 579
    Seffner, FL 33584
  
  
  • Northwest County Solid Waste Facility
    8001 W. Linebaugh Ave.
    Tampa, FL 33625
  
  
  • South County Solid Waste Facility
    13000 U.S. Highway 41
    Gibsonton, FL 33534

What to bring

• Photo ID showing the residential address of the property owner
• One of the following:
  • A printed copy of your annual Hillsborough County Property Tax Bill showing your current solid waste assessments
    • Search and print a copy of your property tax bill
  • Your smartphone or tablet to show the on-site attendant your annual Hillsborough County property tax bill
• If you are not the property owner but are authorized to deliver residential solid waste on behalf of the property owner, please present an acceptable Community Collection Center Access and Use Authorization Form to the on-site CCC Attendant.

"Why Don't They Fix That?"

At the St. Charles Place HOA meeting last night, someone wondered why a broken street light had not been replaced. If you see something wrong and wonder, "why don't they fix that?" Ask! Just email the board at board@stcharlesplace.us and/or the property manager at StCharlesPlaceHOAManagement@TampaBay.rr.com.

Remember, your board members are just fellow homeowners who volunteer to try to solve problems. They don't see everything. Chances are that if no one has addressed a problem, it's because neither a board member nor the property manager has noticed it yet.

It could be something as simple as the irrigation looking funny, or an area where all the grass has died. Tell someone. Not only are you not bothering them, alerts from residents help them get things fixed or improved.

In the case of street lights out, you can report the problem directly to TECO. Just make a note of the number on the pole (the photo below shows one of the big tall lights. The shorter ones on black poles also have an ID number on them).

Then fill out a simple form on the TECO website and they'll get to it. It can take a while because they do repairs on a rotating basis, so if they have just come through the community, it could be a few weeks before they return.

HOA Meeting Wednesday

The St. Charles Place HOA board meets only every other month now, and this is the other month, so it meets Wednesday. It has a fairly light agenda so the board has time to hear any issues you'd like to raise. Start time is 7 p.m. Location is the office of Excelsior Property Managment, 6554 Krycul Avenue in the Krycul Business Center.

St. Charles Place Is Not Part of Lake St. Charles

Please know that St. Charles Place has no relation to the Lake St. Charles community across US-301 from us (behind the Winn Dixie), and we have no right to use their private walking trail or other amenities. Their property manager wrote to us asking that we let our residents know this because they have had people from St. Charles Place trespass on their property, and even had new homeowners here ask for access cards because someone falsely told them that they were part of the Lake St. Charles CDD. 

They do have a nice community over there. Unfortunately, it's not part of ours.