President’s
Corner
When I last wrote you in early April, most of
us were still reeling from the dramatic “stay-at-home” orders our Governor issued
as part of his battle plan for dealing with the coronavirus. Many of us were
scared, and those of us on the Stratford Manor Association board were
frustrated because of the impact the restrictions had on our ability to lead
our community.
But we persevered, voting on timely
projects via email (our April and June meetings were cancelled due to the
social distancing requirements and continued concern about the virus). Over the
past two months we have taken action on hiring a CPA firm to review our books for
the years 2018-19, engaged an attorney to redraft one of our core governing
documents to bring it up to 21st century standards, made certain
that our landscaping firm continued to keep our campus beautiful, and assisted
Abbitt Management in early May in conducting a comprehensive review of maintenance
and architectural issues in our annual inspection tour. At the same time, we
are eagerly awaiting the results of our reserve study this summer so we can
deal with infrastructure issues such as repaving.
Some of these items are expounded on in news
articles on the pages of this newsletter.
The point I want to make here is that our nine-member board recognized the need
to continue moving forward with projects that cannot be put on the shelf, and
voted unanimously in favor of all but one emailed motion. In other words, board
members embraced the need for unity under these extreme conditions and
supported each other in making these important decisions.
I also want to
proudly note that you, our owners, showed great cooperation in tackling the maintenance
issues brought up in our spring inspections. It illustrates that most of you
support the argument that having well-kept homes throughout our community will
benefit us all.
With that
attitude, we are certain to be proud of living in Stratford Manor for years to come.
--John Gullett, President
Spring inspections hit most owners
Abbitt Management’s first-ever exterior inspection of Stratford Manor townhomes was perhaps the most comprehensive scrutiny in the history of our community, with 126 units (out of 129) written up.
The early May inspections included some 25 architectural violations,
with the rest being maintenance items great and small. “The Abbitt inspector was
very thorough, in part because he had no historical information on items that
were approved in past years,” said President John Gullett, who was marked up
for four maintenance issues.
“All of my items
were legitimately written up,” he said, “but one was for posting a hand-drawn
rainbow on our storm door in support of a neighborhood project for bored children
called ‘Find the rainbows.’ But it was
against the rules, so we took it down.”
Architectural
Chair Satori Gregorakis, who accompanied the inspector on about half of the inspections,
said items like awnings or sheds on patios were called out because our previous
management company did not provide enough historical information to prove prior
approval. “That’s one of the real positives coming out of this inspection,” he
said, “because Abbitt set up electronic files, including photos, on each
Stratford Manor townhome. Now we have detailed historical information to use in
future inspections.”
When a recap of
the violations and maintenance items was provided to Mr. Gregorakis, he and the
President re-inspected nearly all units and found many situations that they had
reason to overrule. “All gardens in the
common area, including those adjacent to patio fences, were written up as
violations,” Mr. Gregorakis said. “And several citations were for satellite
dishes or non-standard doors. We asked the board to override those violations
because we had no historical data addressing them, and the board agreed.”
The Architectural
Chairman and the President investigated every complaint owners submitted to
Abbitt, “and we did it with great care, said Mr. Gregorakis, and some owners
noticed. “From what I can see, the board and its representatives showed good
faith in resolving numerous issues,” said Donna Groller, who lives on
Kenilworth Drive and is a member of the board.
Despite some complaints, many homeowners appeared to be busy in late May and early June repairing broken gutters and repainting peeling gables with a positive attitude, said Mr. Gullett. “They recognized that we are all in this together.” He added that the board’s action in overruling some inspector citations should not be seen as a sign that standards are less rigid. “We will be expecting the same level of compliance next year.”
SMA’s website gets new manager
Katie
Johnston, our board’s social and welcome committee chair, has agreed to assume
the additional responsibility of managing SMA’s website, or blog. The site—stratfordmanornn.blogspot.com--
is a handy source for community news, current rules and regulations, and
architectural compliance information—including a downloadable “Architectural
Review Application” for board approval of exterior home projects.
Stratford Manor News Briefs
Landscaping activity continues uninterrupted—Stratford Manor’s lawn service, Year Round Landscaping (YRL), has been keeping up its regular spring and early summer schedule despite the challenges of the pandemic.
Landscaping chair Nancy Allen said mulching has already started and should be completed by mid-June. Weekly mowing has been going on for weeks. YRL just planted vinca, an annual flowering plant that provides color all summer and repels deer, at two of the Stratford Manor signs and at another location on Wellesley Drive.
Owners who volunteered to water the newly planted vinca include Lorraine Winall and Sarah Krause of Kenilworth Drive and Betty Blackburn of Wellesley Drive.
***
Kenneth Keeton, owner of Squirrely Jack Tree and Lawn Care, and representatives of the SMA board spotted a dozen places where work needs to be done. The work, which will cost the SMA nearly $3,000, is deemed essential in light of predictions of an active hurricane season this year.
The tree firm already has a backlog of work requests, but said it would get Stratford Manor’s work done in August.
***
Mid-Year Assessment payment notices mailed--Abbitt Management has mailed mid-year assessment statements to all Stratford Manor owners, with a due date of July 1. As in the past, there is a 30-day grace period. If payment isn’t made by July 31, a late fee will be imposed.
To avoid any handling fees by third parties, you should mail a check and the remittance stub to the Abbitt Management office printed on the form, or hand-deliver them to Abbitt’s office at 11835 Fishing Point Drive (Suite 101).
You can enjoy the convenience of paying online, but there is a fee
imposed by a third party. If you need
help with this method, contact Abbitt’s billing office.
Trash Pickup Schedule
June
9—Recycling, bulk pickup & trash
June
16—Trash only
June
23—Recycling, bulk pickup & trash
June
30—Trash only
July
7-----Recycling, bulk pickup & trash
July
14---Trash only
July
21---Recycling, bulk pickup & trash
July
28---Trash only
August
4—Recycling, bulk pickup & trash
August
11—Trash only
August
18-Recycling, bulk pickup & trash
August 25—Trash only
If your container was missed, call 757-933-2311 within 24 hours.
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.
