BTP Homeowners and Residents,
Monday – November 25th, 2024
Notes to the Community
Hi everyone,
Hoping that everyone is doing well moving into the Holidays. There were several items to report on that took place last week.
The November POA Board of Directors meeting – was held last Tuesday and several highlights were discussed.
1 – The 2025 POA budget was tentatively approved. The budget total for the upcoming year is $1,971,639 and is 4.5% higher than the 2024 budget. Some of the line items that contained the larger increases include the standard 5% increase for Blue Stream — $21,000 and a total increase in the landscape budget of 12% which includes $27,000 more for pruning/trimming due to the much-needed trimming of our hardwood trees in 2025. Included in the 12% was a 4% increase in our grounds contract agreement with Greenscapes .
Items that decreased in costs were our Cardinal Management fees – – 12.2% and insurance -12.1%.
Due to the overall increase, the monthly fees for the POA are currently increased by $17.21 versus 2024 POA levels. However, this may not be the final number for 2025, as we know. That will be determined by the budget developed for each of the sub-Associations when their Boards finalize their budgets. Those notices should be sent out to everyone later this week. Keep in mind – another factor may well change our monthly fees. The POA Board received the updated Reserve Study last Friday, that was ordered in July. Our last Reserve Study was conducted in 2019. The POA has been contributing the same amount to our reserves — $120,000 per year – for the last five years. The POA has a fiduciary, as well as legal responsibility to fund the capital replacement costs of our assets each year. The total replacement cost in 2019 was $2,440,105, however, due to inflation, this amount will be higher once the results of the new study are evaluated. So, in essence, this 2025 budget may be incomplete due to our legal commitment to fund the Reserves at 5% of their replacement value. The Board did arbitrarily raise the commitment to our reserves contribution in our 2025 budget by $10,000 to $130,000 in anticipation of the increase in assets’ replacement values. This is reflected in the increase from 2024 budget levels.
More on this will be coming shortly, once we examine the new Reserve Study and make the adjustments necessary to meet compliance.
2 – Speaking of Reserves, a representative from Edward Jones Financial gave the Board and meeting attendees a short presentation on how their firm can help us better maximize the returns and efficiencies pertaining to our reserve picture. They work with several other Cardinal Management properties and were referred to us by Cardinal. We would realize a higher percentage on our CD’s than we have been receiving, plus they would provide a simpler process in terms of monitoring them.
After discussion, the Board approved the proposal, and the service will go into effect after the first of the year. The other very positive feature for the POA is that we will not be charged fees for the service.
3 – The situation with the Tennis Court Renovation was updated. Essentially, Sports Surfaces has now been cleared by the Lee County Permitting Department to move forward with the project. It was thought that they would begin last week, however, we’ve been pushed back again, and they will be back this week, or perhaps next week, due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.
4 – The storage of our left-over tiles that were placed in the woods in the southeast corner of the property was discussed. Some of the pallets are stacked. They will be moved so that all pallets are on the ground. Brandi has recruited one of our contractors, that has a forklift, to rearrange them. This should be done in the next few weeks. The plan is to cover all of the pallets with a green tarp to secure and protect them. This will be done once a company is found that can provide this service.
5 – Late last month, the POA contracted Aquatic Weed Control to clean out the 16 smaller preserve areas that we have in the Community. Again, they haven’t been maintained since 2016. They have completed five or six of them, with more to be done next month.
Of interest was that in one of the areas they found an old, discarded grill. In another they found an unwanted picnic table. And in a third, remarkably, they found a large mound of bagged dog “leavings” left by some owner who decided to routinely drop them off in the Preserve, rather than disposing of them properly.
These examples of disregard for our community are disappointing to say the least. Should ANYONE see Instances of people dumping anything in our Preserve areas – PLEASE contact the office!!
6 – Trimming of bushes, hedges, etc. was also discussed.
The Ficus hedge along the south perimeter is being cut back significantly by Greenscapes so as to allow it to grow out fuller and denser in appearance. This “hard cut” is the same practice used by Greenscapes in some of our yards, at times to the “consternation” of some owners. More will be provided concerning these practices by Leslie Cassandra, our company Customer Service Manager, in the near future. Essentially, this is done to help rejuvenate hedges, bushes, plants etc. that are compromised and need a “start over” to help them get back to health.
7 – Other items — The Holiday Decorations Committee, led by Nancy and Mike Enos, have been hard at work over the last several weeks. They plan to have all of their new, Community-inspired decorations in place and lighted on Thursday evening.
Kim Walerius outlined some of the upcoming events planned by the Social Committee — including the Christmas Party to be held on December 14th. Please see the email announcements and notices around the Clubhouse for more details.
The November Community Newsletter from your Communications Committee and Chair Annie Granatino will be available later this week as well. And the easy-to-access and use Bell Tower Park Community Web site is also increasing in content and new features thanks to John Fuller. If you haven’t registered, please do so. Please go to belltowerparkcommunity.com to get started.
Other items –
The Safety Committee has been patrolling the community every night to detect parking infractions and have found several vehicles that were in violation of our parking rules. Notices have been issued by the office to these owners to remedy these situations. And to help enforce these rules even further, a towing service has been secured by the POA that will remove violators that don’t comply – including those that park on the street or on the grass. As per the rules, the expense for the tow as well as the inconvenience of retrieving the vehicle is the responsibility of the violator. More on this to come soon.
During their tours, they have also detected areas where horticulture debris – palm fronds, branches, and other leavings – have been piled on the storm drains in our streets. Some of this debris is even in plastic bags or plastic bins! Folks, please don’t place these items on the drains. Even though we’ve reached “dry season”, this is still a hazard and shouldn’t be a common practice. Please refrain from doing so– Thank you!!
Finally — The Safety Committee will be hosting a Safety Class presented by Amy Bolen of the South Trails Fire District at 5PM on December 11th at the Clubhouse pool. She will cover swimming pool safety as well as helpful home safety measures. It promises to be a very informative session, so please consider attending!
In closing — hoping that one and all have a Happy Thanksgiving. We, in Bell Tower Park, have much for which to be thankful. A great community, helpful neighbors and a great place to live – among so many other Blessings.
Thanks, and all the best,
Ron Mc Ewan
Board President – Property Owner’s Association