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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
FINANCE COMMITTEE
LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE
GROUNDS COMMITTEE
PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE
SECURITY COMMITTEE
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE

In the President's Letter in September, I recapped the status of our major projects this year, so I won't repeat myself here. If you did not receive that letter or misplaced it, you can find it on the website.

From time to time residents speak to me about certain requirements or restrictions in the Covenants that they feel are trite, outdated, or just should not be enforced. Others believe the property management company should not send a letter bringing a situation to the attention of a resident unless a neighbor had complained. Let me take this opportunity to address these issues and the Board's position.

In general the Board is responsible for seeing that the day to day operations of the community meet the overall needs, and has the fiduciary duty to see that the Covenants and Restrictions are adhered to in a fair and reasonable manner. We have been advised by counsel that it would be inappropriate to enforce some restrictions but not others. Likewise, it would also be wrong to enforce the requirements with some residents and waive it for others. 

We do not have the resources to require compliance with all the covenants, for all the property owners, on every day. Areas dealing with safety and security, as well as those that address building standards have a higher priority. Other violations are addressed on a rotating basis. The Board establishes the guidelines for May Management Services to follow and sometimes modify those guidelines during the year. 

As an example, during the spring and summer more attention is placed on landscaping and lawn maintenance issues. Dollar weed as well as most other weeds can spread from lawn to lawn by use of the same lawn maintenance companies. To protect neighbors from the spread, the property manager has notified property owners in those instances when the weed situation appears out of control. 

Probably each of us can identify some requirement that we disagree with. Some of our neighbors believe the prohibition against riding motorcycles in Deerwood is outdated. Others think they should be permitted to park their boats and RV's in their driveways. Unfortunately, we have a few residents who disagree with the speed limit and placements of stop signs. A few believe that the absence of landscaping is fine and others like to be engulfed in vegetation. The Board realizes that it cannot please everyone on every issue. Accordingly, we attempt to operate on the premise of "what is best for the whole of Deerwood.'' 

Our community is different from most in Jacksonville in that we do not have street after street of look-alike houses. It is difficult to find homes in Deerwood that are alike. The residents have reasonably broad choices in building and maintaining their homes. The Board has attempted to allow as much latitude as possible, yet still require the property to be within in the letter and spirit of the Covenants.

The Covenants and Restrictions are up for review and possible modification in 2014. Until then, any change to a substantive provision requires a 75% vote in each of the 20 units. Disapproval by one unit will defeat the proposed change. A copy of the Covenants for your unit can be downloaded from the website. I hope this short explanation helps. You are also encouraged to ask your district's board representative for help if you have concern over any issue. Your district representative is noted on the website.

Sincerely,
Lee M. Evans

FINANCE COMMITTEE
Rick Root, Chairperson

Even with several unanticipated expenditures, we should end 2003 within budget. Next year, however, we face two major projects and the establishment to a reserve fund.

The first major project is the community playground. We have begun the architectural plans for the upgrading and expansion of the playground. We are beginning a multi-year funding and construction plan.

The second major project is the community's perimeter fencing. A large portion of the northeast quadrant's perimeter is either unfenced or inadequately fenced to prevent access on foot or possibly by vehicle. Once the Board has cost estimates for this fencing, it will determine if a special assessment is need for this capital improvement or whether the cost can be absorbed within the annual budget.

As many of you know, we have been earmarking $50,000 annually for the paving fund. This has been the only reserve fund used by DIA up to this point. The Board is considering the authority as well as the need to establish reserve funds for drainage, gate access, playground, and guardhouses. We believe it is prudent to plan for the replacement of major deteriorating assets. 

The Board meeting on November 3rd is designated as the 2004 Budget meeting and interested residents are invited to attend.

LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE
Dottie Teetor, Chairperson

It has been a very busy summer for landscaping here in Deerwood. We have completed our work on the Acorn Ridge islands and have added a great deal of plant material, as well as boulders, at the Baymeadows entrance. After years of planting the Baymeadows entrance a piece at a time, as funds became available, we have finally attained a greater visual impact at the gateway to our community.

Thanks to a generous donation from the Deerwood Garden Circle, we have redone the landscaping around the Baymeadows Guardhouse, adjacent island and parking lot.

We need everyone's cooperation toward the health of our lakes and ponds. According to our covenants NO YARD CUTTINGS ARE TO BE PUT IN OUR WATERWAYS. Please help us maintain the beauty of our community.

We will continue to make improvements in Deerwood this fall. Whenever we work on a landscape project and need to remove plant material, we relocate it to another area if at all possible. Our Committee appreciates the positive feedback we are receiving from our residents.

GROUNDS COMMITTEE
Tom McConnell, Chairperson

As we started the year, we knew of three major drainage problems that required repair or replacement. In the process of obtaining surveys and collecting bids for repair, this number had grown to eight problems - six
of which were of serious nature. We are pleased to report that all eight have been corrected at a cost of approximately $250,000.

The drainpipe inventory completed earlier this year showed only 30, of the almost 350 individual drainpipes in the older part of Deerwood, of these pipes are constructed of corrugated metal, a material used in the 1960's and 70's. These 30 pipes comprise a total of about 3,000 linear feet. Since these are the oldest and most likely pipes to cause problems, we plan to replace all of these pipes, on a prioritized schedule, as
preventative maintenance.

The many lakes in Deerwood - a total of 45, eight of which are on the golf course - are a continuing problem. Most of the lakes are quite shallow and have accumulated silt and grass clippings over the years. Sunlight causes reactions that produce algae and other similar unsightly lake conditions. We have changed our chemical treatment company and the new people seem to be very knowledgeable and conscientious, spraying most of the lakes every two weeks in the summer months. Homeowners play an integral part in helping maintain these lakes, by making certain that your landscape maintenance people do not blow clippings or other waste into the lakes and also are extremely careful with fertilizer, weed control, insect sprays, etc. used on lawns or shrubs so that the chemicals do not wash into the lakes. 

In addition, we stock the lakes with algae eating fish when government permitting allows and the fish are available. The main stocks we use are carp, which due assist with algae maintenance. These fish are not made available to be used as a sport. When residents fish in the lakes and remove their catch, it is detrimental to helping maintain an algae free environment.

Finally, there have been some questions raised about who is responsible for maintaining the eight-foot easement in front of homes along the many streets in Deerwood. This area is the homeowner's responsibility and the easement is primarily for utilities, JEA sewage lines and electrical service repairs. The homeowner is responsible for all maintenance - both as to the paved and unpaved portion of that easement all the way up to the paved street. DIA has no responsibility for repairing deteriorated or broken driveways or for re-grading or maintaining the swales that were originally designed to permit water runoff.

PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Katie Kight, Chairperson

The public relations committee is very busy preparing for the annual Fall Festival. A major change you may have noticed is that the Fall Festival is not just a fun community event this year, but a significant fundraised for the restoration of the playground and the entire park and recreation area
here in Deerwood. We have a host of wonderful activities planned, including games, rides, a petting area, food, face-painting and more.

Packages of tickets are currently available by contacting Michelle Belloit - 646-9474 - mbelloit@bellsouth.net or Cathy Driscoll - 642-4467 - cjdrisc@yahoo.com. You will need tickets for all food and activities at the event. Pre-event ticket packages for 10, include five free tickets. If you are interested in helping with this way in any way, please contact Michelle or Cathy. For more information on the event, please see the ad in this newsletter.

In addition to the Fall Festival, we are joining with the Deerwood Garden Circle to help host a community holiday celebration. Sunday, December 7, 2003 we will be involved with the tree lighting, caroling, snacks, and a new addition, sleigh rides. Please look for more information on this great
event coming soon.

If you have not been to the DIA website, you definitely want to take check it out. We have a new address, www.mydeerwood.com. You can get community information and information about the Deerwood Club at this new web address. Please note, if you have other information which needs to be added to the website, please e-mail the information to Katie
Kight at kkight@comcast.net by the 15th of the month for inclusion the following month.

Emergency! Call 911 First,
SECURITY COMMITTEE
Jim O'Connor, Chairperson

We will continue the use of the JSO to patrol our streets and try to control those few residents that don't heed the traffic regulations. This is for the safety of all of our residents. Believe it or not, tickets have been issued for over 60 mph in regularly posted 30mph areas, and over 40 mph in the school zone with the posted 15mph in effect. These are egregious violations endangering our residents, most of whom follow the posted speed and traffic signage.

A few recent incidents highlight the need for parental control over activities, such as parties. Parents are responsible for activities that take place on their property even when they are away. Without parental supervision, teenage parties can easily get out of hand, often invole alcohol, disturb neighboors, and increase the likelyhood of accidents. Security will involve the JSO under these circumstances.

Finally, residents are strongly reminded, that in cases of emergency
requiring the police, to please call 911 as your first response
and security a your second call.

ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE
Marty Eltrich, Chairperson

It has come to our attention that children's play structures have been appearing more often in the community. Please remember that all play structures need to be submitted to the Architectural Review Committee for review prior to installation. Some guidelines to keep in mind when submitting are as follows:

Should you need additional information please call the ARC Coordinator, Tobé Budner, at May Management Services at 285-2519.

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