President’s Corner
With Labor Day just around
the corner, we can all be enthused about the fact that this all-too-hot summer
is nearly over. For those of us involved in work for Stratford Manor’s
homeowners’ association, our enthusiasm is bolstered even more by the changes we
are making in our property management team.
As earlier reported,
effective August 1 we came under the management of Abbitt Management, a leader
in the area in association management. The process of switching property
management firms is a complicated one, especially in the middle of the year.
While our former firm, AAMG, works to close out the partial-year books and
transfer them to Abbitt, your board has had to pretty much sit back and wait.
We had developed an ambitious agenda for this year and we made considerable
progress until we decided to switch firms.
At that point, we had to hold off engaging any new projects until the
transition could be completed. That
transition is still under way (see separate story on our annual meeting date).
Tricia Wells, Abbitt’s community association manager ,
heads up that firm’s property management team for Stratford Manor and several
other associations. She has 15 years’
experience at helping associations operate at maximum efficiency and
effectiveness, so this is not her first sword dance. “I am really looking
forward to this new challenge, “ said Ms. Wells. “Stratford Manor is a
well-established community with a large group of homeowners who are dedicated
to the community’s well-being. That’s a formula for success in any
organization.”
Ms. Wells’ team includes
Kathy Anderson, Abbitt’s community association bookkeeper, and Jennifer Norman,
assistant community association manager.
Questions about your account should be addressed to owneraccount@abbitt.com,
or you can call (757) 874-4900. All other questions should be addressed to Ms.
Wells or Ms. Norman, at the same phone number or by emailing
Associations@abbitt.com.
However, the Abbitt team
prefers any complaints be put in writing . “Phone messages are not documented,”
explains Ms. Wells, “but emailed complaints give us a record we can rely on as
we investigate.”
Despite the changes we are going through, we did make progress on a number of items, including modernizing our rules and regulations designed to improve the quality of life for our community and its residents. Not that these changes were universally hailed. Some residents expressed dismay that liberalized holiday decorating rules mean we will have a less uniform look next Christmas. Others are unhappy that we have loosened the rules on bicycle riding and recreational use of the common areas, especially from a safety standpoint.
But we received positive
feedback as well. Jan Murtoff, who lives
at 145 Wellesley said, “I have been here nearly 20 years, and over that time I
have known several parents who would complain about the restrictions on their
children’s activities. Seeing kids on
bicycles is so refreshing. And people should have the freedom to put up (most)
whatever they want at Christmas.”
Fran Hodges, of 123 Sloan
Place, said she was okay with the changes. “I think everyone should be able to
live with them; I don’t see them as that much different.”
Betty Hertz, 119 Wellesley,
has been living in Stratford Manor for 33 years. She said she liked the new
rule about being able to put out bulk waste the weekend before, and was glad to
see the board “ease up” on rules regarding children and Christmas lights. “We
are not Colonial Williamsburg,” she said, describing the “look” that some
residents prefer to see over the holidays.
Undoubtedly, this discussion will continue at our annual
meeting in November. Meanwhile, I hope all of us will give these changes a
chance to work.
- John Gullett, President
Annual Meeting Set
for Nov. 20
The annual meeting of the
Stratford Manor Association’s owners will be held later than usual this year:
Wednesday, Nov. 20. As is customary, it
will be held at Christ United Methodist Church on Deep Creek Road, starting at
7 p.m.
SMA President John Gullett
said the association’s practice in recent years has been to hold the meeting in
October, but the bylaws allow it to be held anytime between October and the end
of the year. “In this case,” he added, “the transition to a new property
management firm has prompted the board to set a date that will allow Abbitt
Management’s reign as property manager to become better seated. Abbitt is still in the throes of
receiving our files and incorporating
them into Abbitt’s system. Until the
transition is complete, we can’t even put together a budget for 2020.”
He added that many of
Abbitt’s clients already hold owners’ meetings in October, leaving very few
opportunities to “squeeze us in” on Abbitt’s schedule.
The election of three new
directors headlines the meeting, along with the association’s outlook and plans
for 2020. “We are still looking for candidates for the board seats being
vacated (See separate article below). Plus nominations may be made from the
floor at the owners’ meeting.
Detailed information about the meeting will be mailed to
homeowners in early November.
Are you a leader? The
board wants you
The SMA board of directors
will be losing three members this fall, and the search continues to find
qualified successors. Nominating
Committee Chair Linda Wahlert said she has been contacted by a few interested
persons since the search began in June, but is still short of having a
sufficient number of candidates lined up for election at the Association’s
annual owners’ meeting this fall.
“The qualifications are
straight forward,” said Ms. Walhert. “If you own a home in Stratford Manor and
have an interest in helping the Association strengthen its ability to help
protect everyone’s investment, I would love to talk to you.”
Board membership involves
six regular board meetings a year, the annual owners’ meeting, and possibly
committee work.
Ms. Walhert may be
contacted at (757) 570-1296, or lindawahlert@hotmail.com. Or, contact
Nominating Committee member Nancy Allen, at (757) 930-8161, or
nallen16@cox.net. Nominations may also be made from the floor at the owners
meeting.
Owner info form needed for
Abbitt’s files
If you haven’t returned Abbitt management’s owner
information form, please do so soon. Why? It represents the official record of
your contact information, and all that data may not have been passed along to
Abbitt by the previous management firm.
If the form’s request for your social security
number kept you from responding, please know that you can simply write in the
last four numbers. Abbitt also needs to build a file on our rental units, so if
you are renting out your home please complete that section of the form as well.
If you have questions about the form, write to
Associations@abbitt.com, or call 757-874-4900.
Fences repaired; tree
trimming next
Rosenbaum Fencing Co. made
fast work of major repairs to Stratford Manor’s perimeter fencing in
August, securing some sections of fence
that were in danger of collapsing.
Nancy Allen, Landscaping
Committee chair, supervised the project, which involved installing several new
wood posts in concrete, next to existing ones that had rotted away. “Our fencing is really old,” said Ms. Allen,
“and Rosenbaum told us that we will have to replace it before too long. But
these repairs will give us another few years of fence life.”
A large section of fencing
between Sloan Place and Deep Creek Road was in particularly bad shape, said Ms.
Allen, and had to be repaired without being able to work on the other
side. “Since there are private homes on
Deep Creek that back up to our fence, Rosenbaum had to do all of its repairs on
our side only. I think they did a
remarkable job.”
Meanwhile, Squirrely Jack Tree & Lawn Care was
scheduled to come in late August to take care of overgrown and dead tree limbs.
Some two dozen areas were identified earlier this summer as needing a
“haircut”, and should be looking better by September.
Abbitt takes reins
of lawn service activity
At Landscaping Committee
Chair Nancy Allen’s request, the SMA board has asked Abbitt Management to
assume the day-to-day supervision of Year-Round Landscaping (YRL) , SMA’s lawn
service. Ms. Allen and her committee will still be responsible for
beautification projects.
“We are deeply grateful
for Nancy’s tireless work in managing our landscaping service for a very long
time,” said SMA President John Gullett, “and we respect her desire to hand over
the reins to someone else. We are also relieved to know that she will continue
to head up the board’s ongoing efforts to make improvements to SMA’s common
areas.”
This change means that if
an owner has any issue with YRL, they should submit a complaint in writing to
Abbitt’s property manager, Tricia Wells,
at Associations@abbitt.com, or in the mail to 11835 Fishing Point Drive
Suite 101. As before, any complaints or suggestions about YRL’s work should be
reported to the management firm—not to the lawn service crew.
At next board
meeting: towing, parking, etc.
The SMA board’s Oct. 9
meeting may see some fireworks over the age-old question of what steps we
should take to reduce illegal curb parking and to slow down speeders. At the same time, directors will deal with a
less-controversial issue regarding the length of time we give homeowners to fix
minor issues like overgrown gardens.
SMA President John Gullett
said some board members want to better utilize the association’s power to tow
vehicles that are illegally parked on curbs, especially across from parking
spots where it may cause difficulty for owners backing out of their space. “The argument is that we need to be more
aggressive in towing so that everyone gets the message,” he said. “At the same
time, we are all concerned about the danger to children and others by drivers
speeding through the complex—especially now that the rule on riding bicycles,
scooters, etc. has been liberalized.”
Meanwhile, board members
have expressed an interest in establishing shorter deadlines than 30 days for
non-building violations. The 30-day notification rule has been used on all
violations, except in the case of emergencies. “If an owner has 30 days to cut
their grass,” said Mr. Gullett, we all will have had to live with that eyesore
way too long.” He said a deadline in the
7-10-day range is being considered.
“Whatever we decide on these issues, it will be based on
what is in the best interests of our residents and the community,” Mr. Gullett
said. “If any of our owners have an
interest in expressing an opinion on any of these topics they are welcome to do
so at our next board meeting.”
Caring neighbors
come to the rescue
If anyone tries to tell
you that Stratford Manor owners are a bunch of strangers wrapped up in their
own lives, relate to them this item: a true story that shows how we can and do
pull together in a crisis.
Recently a resident was
walking her dogs early in the morning after a fierce thunderstorm the night
before, when she noticed shattered glass behind a home on Wellesley. Then she saw that a large window on the sun
porch was destroyed, and that no one was home. She immediately contacted two neighbors
who live nearby and was told that the owner had gone out of town. They volunteered to immediately contact her
by phone, to see what she wanted them to do. Regrettably, the owner was on an
airplane and could not be reached.
SMA President John
Gullett, who lives nearby, inspected the damage and decided to call the police
to make sure there was no intruder hiding inside. The police officer determined
that the glass had broken outward, perhaps by a trapped bird or a lightning
strike during the previous night’s storm.
He concluded that there was no intruder, and there appeared to be no
damage inside the sun porch. When the owner was finally contacted
later that day and was able to talk to her insurance company, she asked her
neighbors to see if “Handy Howard” Crear, a popular handyman in the community,
would install plywood to protect the home from animals and more rain. Mr. Crear
responded immediately and installed plywood in the opening that afternoon.
“We want to thank all our
neighbors who came together to help out a fellow resident in an emergency,”
said Mr. Gullett, “and especially Howard for dropping what he was doing and
coming over immediately. This happy ending reminds us of the importance of the
safety slogan, ‘See something, say something’.”
Trash
Pickup Schedule
September 4—Weds. pickup due to holiday. Trash, recycling & bulk
September 10—Trash only
September 17—Trash, recycling & bulk
September 24—Trash only
October 1—Trash, recycling & bulk
October 8—Trash only
October 15—Trash, recycling & bulk
October 22—Trash only
October 29—Trash, recycling & bulk
November 5—Trash only
November 13—Weds pickup due to holiday. Trash, recycling & bulk
November 19—Trash only
If your container was
missed during collection, call 757-933-2311.
Trash and recycling
receptacles should be curbside no earlier than the evening before scheduled
collection day and removed from the street by the morning after collections.
Bulk trash, which is collected on the same schedule as recycling, may be put
out the weekend before scheduled collection.
