Newsletter

Downloadable PDF Version*

Table of Contents

• President's Message

• Treasurer's Report

• Access Control

• Reminders

• Architectural Review Committee (ARC)

• Nanak Lawn and Garden Tips

• Resident Viewpoint

• Board Elections

• Advertisements

This Newsletter’s focus is to update residents about safety issues, community news and common DIA covenants and restrictions.

President's Message

Your Board continues to be active working to keep Deerwood a premier property and joining offers you a great opportunity to participate in your neighborhood! The DIA Annual Meeting is Tuesday, March 16 beginning at 7pm (sign in at 6:30pm). We are having elections for several Board seats and opportunities to join ALL of our Board Committees. These include Landscaping, which keeps Deerwood in bloom; Grounds, which keeps our property up-to-date; Access Control, which manages access to our community and interacts with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and other First Coast organizations; Architectural Review, which does an excellent job making sure our properties meet the requirements of our covenants and restrictions (C&R) among other things; Standards, which works to ensure that our properties, grounds, islands and other areas within the Gates abides by our C&Rs; and Public Relations, which works to “get the word out” on what’s happening in Deerwood through our Newsletter and Message Boards. We are open to new subcommittees such as the Luminary Committee or a “Cares Committee”. To join, contact one of your Board members or our Property Manager, Doug Scott. 

You should have recently received information in the mail to complete in order to submit your name as a DIA Board candidate. You may also access the Candidate Interest and Experience form on our website. 

Our Grounds Committee has been busy working with our contractors to repair paving issues and finalize the most recent paving project. Please notify the Deerwood Property Manager if you notice potholes in the new (or old) paving. Members of our Standards Committee make weekly rounds of our property but may not notice pavement breakdown. 

Our Landscaping Committee is constantly in motion, most recently trimming dead trees and trimming/ removing dead and overgrown foliage around DIA perimeter fences. 

Our Lighting Committee has embarked upon Phase 2 of the major project of replacement and addition of Deerwood street lights. This Phase is covering the most frequently traveled routes and should be completed in April. 

As you will see from our Treasurer’s report, we continue to make every effort to keep down our assessment while maintaining Deerwood’s aging infrastructure. Join us... it takes a neighborhood!! 

Bill Kight

Treasurer's Report

For the third year in a row, we have not increased our assessment. We continue on budget despite undertaking major projects such as lighting and paving and keeping up with the general maintenance of our property. 

John Heijmans

Access Control

We continue to have thefts from unlocked cars in Deerwood. Lock your car doors and keep your garage doors closed when not outside. We also continue to have speeding issues on our streets. Please drive carefully and when walking, riding or running, observe the rules of the road and exhibit common sense. 

Reporting Crime 
by First Coast Security Solutions, Inc. 

During the summer and fall months of last year, we saw an escalation of thefts, largely from unlocked cars in Deerwood. Most were reported to the Access Control Officers and a report was filed for our use. When we received the information, victims were asked to notify the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) and report the crime. We took many steps in an attempt to control access including requesting additional JSO officers to patrol Deerwood. At that time, we became aware that the majority of residents did not report these crimes to JSO. We also learned JSO resources were allocated to crime areas according to the number of reports filed and arrests made. For example, if we had 50 residents who had property stolen from cars and only 3 reported to JSO, it would not appear that Deerwood had a theft issue and JSO could not justify adding additional officers to patrol our roads. The report has to be fi led by the victim of the crime. 

Perhaps residents did not report the crime because they did not have the time to wait for JSO to arrive and take a report or were embarrassed for becoming a victim, when a simple measure like, locking your car, would have probably prevented the theft. 

In this technological age, there is a simple solution for thefts less than $5000. You can log onto JSO’s website www.coj.net/sheriff, click on “online crime reporting” and file the report. If there is physical evidence, you will still need an officer to respond. If the theft involved a fi rearm, vandalism or a hate crime, it is not possible to utilize the website for fi ling a report. 

We work to control access to Deerwood. You need to work together and with JSO to prevent crime. 

Joe Holliday, Deerwood Account Manager 

Glynn Thomas, Chairperson

Reminders

Architectural Review Committee (ARC)

Before making any exterior changes to your home, yard, fence or driveway, please contact the ARC Coordinator, Tobé Budner, at 285-2519. You may also visit the DIA website at www.mydeerwood.com where you can find answers to many questions about Deerwood. 

This is a great time to start that home improvement project! Also, with our stagnant economy, you will be helping local contractors and their employees who are struggling.

 Don’t forget that you need ARC approval for these items: 

1. Tree Removal. 
2. Major Landscaping. 
3. New fence or replacement of an existing fence. 
4. Repainting your home. 
5. Changing windows. 
6. Replacing or repainting front doors. 
7. Replacing or repainting garage doors. 
8. Replacing your roof. 
9. Installing a new driveway (concrete, asphalt or pavers) or changing an existing one. 
10. Adding a porch, patio, gazebo or dock. 
11. Installing swimming pools or hot tubs. 
12. Adding a screen enclosure. 
13. Installing children’s play equipment. 
14. Any other exterior change to your home not covered by the above.
15. And last, but not least, major exterior
       changes to your home. 

Please contact Tobe’ for any questions and thank you for your cooperation in helping to hold Deerwood to the high standards established fifty years ago. 

ARC Committee: 
Tobé Budner, Coordinator 
Frank Shumer, Architect 
Linda Jones-Baucom, Chairperson 
Cyndy Glazier 
Darlene Register 
Eunice Castillo

Nanak Lawn and Garden Tips for February, March and April

February

• Prune roses if that hasn’t already been done.
• Fertilize fruit trees, young ornamental trees and shrubs (except spring-flowering shrubs, such as azaleas) in mid-February.
• Prepare the spring garden for planting by spading the ground at least two weeks before planting to give grass and weeds time to rot before seeds are planted. 

March

• Begin a fertilizer program once lawn starts growing, not before.
• Prune and fertilize azaleas as soon as they finish blooming.
• Prune any cold weather damaged plants after new growth appears. If the plant is pruned before new growth begins, too much may be removed, and it will take longer to recover.
• Begin heavy pruning of hedges anytime after mid-March.
• Start planting tender annuals and vegetables. 

April

• Repair dead or damaged spots in the lawn with sod, plugs or seedlings.
• Begin watching roses for black spots fungus disease, small black spots on the leaves that quickly worsen. Control it by spraying every seven to ten days with a fungicide.

Resident Viewpoint

As you drive through Deerwood, you often see walkers, runners, and cyclists, but did you know these neighbors have raised tens-of-thousands of dollars for charities such as:

Team In Training 
Leukemia & Lymphoma 
Christopher Reeve Foundation 
Spinal Cord Injuries 
Donna Deegan Marathon 
Breast Cancer 
MS 150 
Multiple Sclerosis 
Race For Strong Hearts 
Wolfson Children’s Hospital 
Free To Breathe 
Lung Cancer 
New York City Marathon 
Girls on the Run. 

Training in Deerwood is beautiful but it also can be precarious. With no sidewalks, runners prefer the smooth road surface. The adjacent grass surfaces are uneven and full of holes which can cause injuries and render the runner unable to run these races for charities. 

Both drivers and pedestrians need to exercise caution! If you are a driver, please use caution around all pedestrians in Deerwood and runners & walkers, stay safe by wearing light clothing and reflective gear so drivers can see you. 

Deerwood is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Northeast Florida. We can all share the roadways...especially when there is a greater purpose for walking, running, and cycling. 

Suzan Shumacher

Board Elections

Advertisements

*You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the pdf documents - to get a free copy the Acrobat Reader click here.
You can download the newsletter to your computer by Right-clicking on the link to the newsletter and selecting "Save Target As..."