 President's
Message
We are coming to the end of the year when your board is
working on budgets for next year. John Heijmans has once again as treasurer done
an outstanding job keeping us on course and within our projected numbers.
I wish to extend our special thanks to Miffy Calhoun for all
her hard work and her volunteers for the Christmas lighting display and her work
all year long chairing the Cares committee.
I also want to thank Tom Genest for his fine work at keeping
Deerwood beautiful and working with Glynn Thomas who works so closely with JSO
and our front gate access control to keep Deerwood safe. Our many thanks to
Holly Kartsonis for all her good work with the landscape committee and working
with our Landscaping Co. to keep them on task to keep our 78 islands and
entrances looking beautiful, Ernie Cornehl who works with the Archetectural
committee to make sure Deerwood stays as beautiful as its always been, and
George Harris who handles all our engineering projects such as the road paving
and lighting. Thank you to Dr. Ossi who manages special legal projects for
Deerwood and Dr. Utz who takes on any other special projects that arise. All
these people work hard all year long for the benefit of Deerwood. Oh, and Diane
Law, our communications person, who loves to keep us on our toes and sends this
newsletter out to you.
Elections for the coming year are approaching and there are
three seats on the board one at-large seat, district one and district four that
are available for residents to apply for. Applications to run against the
incumbents and information is available from Marsh Landing Management.
This will be the final newsletter of the year and I wish you
all a Happy Holiday Season and a prosperous New Year!
Sincerely,
William Kight
Property Manager’s Report
Greetings once again from Marsh Landing Management!
As 2011 comes to an end, I have been reflecting on what a
pleasure it has been to work with all the Committees this past year on the
various projects and agenda items. We have made some road repairs, painted the
Baymeadows streetlights, installed some new JEA streetlights and installed a new
fountain near the Clubhouse just to name a few. Your DIA Board of Directors has
kept me busy this year and I hope to
get a couple of more items completed before the year officially comes to a
close.
As we start to look at 2012, I’m really excited at some of
the new projects that your DIA Board and Committees want
accomplish and I am eager to get to work on them. I’m sure these projects and
items are listed in the individual Committee articles in this newsletter. If you
have any thoughts or concerns regarding the past or future projects, please do
not hesitate to give me a call or send me an email and I will be more than happy
to discuss them with you.
We at Marsh Landing Management would like to wish everyone a
safe and happy holiday season and I look forward to speaking with you again in
2012.
Douglas Scott, CAM,
Property Manager
Deerwood Improvement Association
Common
Properties Report
During the year 2011 we have continued the yearly Road Paving
Project, which keeps our roads safe and beautiful. The Project for this year is
now completed.
We have started a New Project of paving the roads with
iridescent paint, for safety reasons. It will continue until all striping is
completed.
Phase three of the Street Lighting Project has been completed
and phase four has started. It has been necessary to raise the tree lines to 17
feet to make room for the higher light posts in the first three phases. This
will continue until the Street Lighting Project has been completed.
George Harris
Information and Notices
Our Deerwood delivery hours are 7:30 am to 6:30 pm.
If you are thinking of renting your home or condo, your
tenant MUST read and sign the Deerwood restrictions and Covenants
with a copy provided to access control.
DIA Board Meetings will be held on Mondays, 5:30 pm at
the Clubhouse, open to all residents, with the exception of our next meeting
being held on Tuesday December 6th, Monday January 9th, and Monday February 6th.
You can always check the leader boards at each entrance for any changes.
Remember you can have your PARTY at the playground
PAVILLION! A huge covered area with ceiling fans, a serving kitchen w/full
size refrigerator, double sinks, lots of counter space to prepare and serve
from, 6 huge (seats 10+ each) picnic tables, nice his/hers bathrooms, playground
for the children, soccer field, basketball courts. Just bring the equipment and
the food and the FUN happens! Call Doug at 273-3033 for
Remember, Deerwood has NO overnight parking on the street.
Want to advertise your business in our Newsletter?
Get 5 issues a year minimum to all Deerwood residents!
Call Doug to sign up now!
Email or call your questions or concerns about Deerwood
for the DIA to Diane Law at estatemarketantiques@yahoo.com
or 307-4750.
A special thank you to all our residents who reached out and
helped Phil Sanchez in his time of need.
Access Control
A happy 2012 New Year to all residents in Deerwood! We want to
thank all the generous and thoughtful residents that drop off food, gifts,
candy, cookies and cards during the holiday season. The officers really
appreciate everything.
We enjoyed a very good year with reported incidents decreased
over the previous year. With the economy in crisis, we need to be very cautious
and protective of our family, friends and assets. Keeping that in mind, it is
very important that any criminal offense gets reported to us and the Sheriff’s
Office. First of all, the Detectives assigned to this area are aware of the
trends and in most cases have suspects they are keeping tabs on. Secondly, as
the Sheriff’s Office keeps data on incidents they become aware of trends and
can allocate resources if they determine there is a problem. By not reporting
issues, they might not see realistic data and send the additional troops
somewhere else. A great number of offenses can be reported to the Sheriff’s
Office on line, at www.coj.net.sheriff and then follow the prompts as required.
Finally, if incidents are reported to us, it might indicate we need to increase
patrol presence in a particular area of the community or place video
surveillance in the area.
Please take some time to log into the web site for Deerwood
and review the profile for your residence. We are finding vehicle information
and telephone numbers need to be updated. We want to ensure access is controlled
by eliminating bar codes on vehicles that do not belong here.
Thank you for your help and the staff at First Coast Security
Services wishes you a Safe and Happy Year.
Joe Holliday
Access Control Manager for First Coast Security
Standard’s Committee
Greetings from the DIA Standards Committee.
The Standards Committee would like to thank everyone for their
hard work over the past summer months in maintaining their property landscaping.
The recent rains have been a key factor in helping homeowner’s maintain the
esthetic beauty of their lawns.
Now that winter is upon us, the Standards Committee will be
focusing on other aspects of the community. Some of the items that the Standards
Committee will be looking
at will be roof conditions (mold/Mildew), fence repairs, driveway maintenance
and other non-landscaped items.
One of the projects that the Standards Committee has
undertaken this past year is monitoring and maintaining the landscaping of
abandoned homes in the community
that are under foreclosure or other financial hardship. Because these homes do
not have the resources of occupied homes (water/electricity), the Standards
Committee cannot enforce the same standards as occupied homes. Therefore, the
DIA is limited to mowing and trimming these lots in an attempt to make them look
as presentable as possible under the circumstances.
The goal of the Standards Committee is to ensure that Deerwood
maintains its status as one of the premier communities in Jacksonville. This
cannot be accomplished without the efforts of the homeowners and we would like
to thank all the homeowners for their help this past year. We are looking
forward to another great year in 2012.
We sincerely hope that you have a great holiday season and
wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year!
 Landscape Committee
WANTED!!
LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS!!!
We need you to keep Deerwood looking beautiful!
We need volunteers who will keep an eye on the landscaped islands and common
areas around their homes and bring to the committee maintenance needs and
landscape ideas. We also need volunteers who just want to suggest
creative, hardy plantings that will show Deerwood off to residents and guests.
We meet monthly at DCC and have several “ride-arounds” of the property to
review committee landscaping proposals and suggestions.
Deerwood also needs all of you to call in problems and
suggestions to our committee members and property manager.
The last few months, we have spruced up the entrances and
added plant material to landscaped areas that had died or was eaten by
deer. We are also working to improve the look of non-irrigated common
areas by planting natural grasses and bushes with low water requirements that
will survive cold weather.
We are doing all this keeping our budget in mind and working
to get the “most bang for our buck”.
Keep gardening, Deerwood!
Landscape Committee:
Committee Chair: Holly Kartsonis
Members:
Martha Smith, Judy Brown, Jan Bliton,
Joanne Gebbia Anne Joseph and Anthony Mariotta
Valley Crest Lawn and Garden Tips for the Winter
Lawns need survival training for the winter
Mowing: As long as the lawn is still growing, continue to mow
removing a third of the height at each mowing. Mow at the correct height to
encourage a deep root system going into the winter and if you have a commercial
service, measure the lawn when they finish mowing. The mowing height for bahia
grass is 3 to 4 inches, Bermuda grass ½ to 1½ inches, centipede grass 1½ to 2
inches, seashore paspalum 1 to 2 inches. Standard St. Augustine grass varieties
should be mowed at 3½ to 4 inches and dwarf varieties like Seville, Captiva,
Sapphire, and Delmar at 2 to 2½ inches. Leave your lawn grass longer since it
will fare better in the heat.
Insects: Tropical sod webworms have been active after recent
rains. Larvae have a yellow-brown head, are gray green with dark spots, and
reach ¾ inches in length. Adults are dingy brown moths with a ¾ inch
wingspread. They are not obvious during the day because the caterpillars feed at
night.
Look at the grass blade to see if there are notches chewed
along the sides or, in more advanced stages, grass blades will be completely
stripped in patches and areas will turn yellow to brown. A great product for
treating young caterpillars is Bacillus thuringiensis (thuricide) because it
protects beneficial insects. Go to edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG001 for more information
on lawn pest problems.
Diseases: The two main diseases to watch for in the fall are
large patch disease and take-all root rot. If the lawn has a history of these
diseases, when conditions become favorable in the fall, the disease will again
rear its ugly head. Preventative treatments may be needed to keep these in
check. To reduce the threat of these diseases, only irrigate the lawn if it
needs additional water. If Mother Nature provides sufficient rainfall, turn the
irrigation system off. Go to edis.ifas.ufl.edu/1h079.
Weeds: If weeds are seeding now, bag the clippings to reduce
the seeds for next spring. If sand spurs are developing seeds, drag a fabric
like burlap through the affected area to collect the seed. Another option is to
hand pull weeds if they are few in number and not deeply rooted.
Herbicides are an option and will help control weeds, but also
weaken lawns. For hard to control existing year round (perennial) weeds, try
spot treating with a two or three way mix containing 2,4-d amine + dicamba +
MCPP, MCPA, and / or 2,4-DP. Read the label and make sure its safe to use on
your specific variety of lawn. For more information on weed control, refer to
edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep141. Do not apply more than is recommended because it may
damage lawns. “Weed and Feed” products are sometimes used to control weeds,
but it is late to apply nitrogen fertilizers to lawns. If you decide to use one
of these products select one that is a winterizer fertilizer, meaning it
contains potassium but no nitrogen, like a 0-0-7.
 CARES Committee
The Deerwood CARES Committee welcomes and encourages
you to join us at our monthly meetings. Please check the reader boards at either
entry gate for meeting dates and community information! We have a small network
of neighborhood volunteers who are attempting to let us know which of our
neighbors may need our help, comfort or encouragement during times of family
illness and stress.
Please become part of this very important and vitally
necessary network. Your suggestions and participation will make Deerwood an even
more wonderful place to call home. With your help, we can move forward to
provide more service to our community and develop lasting friendships with one
another!
I wish you all of the joy and happiness this season brings.
May your hearts know peace and gratitude for all of our blessings as we look
toward the New Year!
Warm Regards, Miffy Calhoun Cares Committee Chairman
Holiday
Food Drive
As we enter the holiday season of joy and thankfulness, our
thoughts go to those who are less fortunate. The Deerwood Club and the CARES
Committee in Deerwood are supporting our Jacksonville community through the
Mandarin Food Bank this holiday season. We have extended the time for drop-off
of canned goods, non-perishable food items and disposable diapers to December
16th. We have barrels located in the clubhouse, fitness center and the tennis
center! Please bring a few things to any of these locations! Also, cash
donations are welcome. Checks should be made payable to the Mandarin Food
Bank and can be dropped off at the club office! Thank you for your
generosity!
Decorating the Community!
By the time you receive this newsletter, you will have had an
opportunity to enjoy our beautiful holiday lights and decorations! The CARES
Committee, the D.I.A., and the Deerwood Club hope that they will fill you
with warmth and good cheer this holiday season and further enhance your pride of
Deerwood!
Deerwood Holiday Luminary Night • Sunday, December 18th
Join your friends and neighbors to “ILLUMINATE”
Deerwood for the Holidays! Our 3rd annual LUMINARY NIGHT is Sunday,
December 18th! Remember how great it was when the Garden Club organized it? We
are purchasing the luminary kits again this year from a local business, Pine
Castle. They employ adults with disabilities and provide them with a safe living
and working environment that emphasizes a job well done! The kits contain 12,
10-hour votive candles, 12 white bags, and 2 bags of sand.... for only $7.00 per
kit!! To order your kit, please fill out the attached order form and include a
check made payable to Pine Castle, Inc. Mail or drop the order to Miffy Calhoun
at 8231 Shady Grove Ct, Jacksonville, Florida 32256. We must have your order by
Monday, December 5th! Pick-up of your kits will be on Thursday, December 15th at
the Deerwood Clubhouse between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Let’s make this the
brightest season that Deerwood has ever seen!
 Treasurer’s Report
Reserve Study Update
July 22, 2011 by Reserve Advisors
The Board recognizes the need to periodically review or update
its Reserve Funding Plan. It is a budget planning tool that identifies the
current status of the reserve fund and a stable and equitable Reserve Funding
Plan to offset the anticipated future major common area expenditures.
Reserve Advisors findings reflect both external market and
internal property changes. The result is an overall decrease in the recommended
Reserve Funding Plan since the last Reserve Study on August 27, 2009.
The Association budgeted $ 425,000 for Reserve Contributions
in 2011 (based on the 2009 Study), Reserve Advisors recommends that the Board
adopt a reserve budget of $ 386,000 in 2012. Afterwards, the Board should budget
gradual annual increases in reserve funding, that in part consider the effects
of inflation.
2012 Budget
The Finance Committee ( Ernie Cornehl and myself) are
currently preparing the 2012 budget with input by the various Committees. We
expect the expenses to stay fairly stable except for Utilities (Electricity, and
Water & Sewer). The JEA rate increases are already causing the actual 2011
expenses to be about 20%($30.000) over the current budget and therefore we will
have to budget a significant increase in the 2012 budget for utilities.
John Heijmans, Treasurer
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