Happy Holidays! It's been a very busy quarter for the Board. Firstly, we want to thank all of you who came to the YMCA for our HOA community meeting. All Board members were present. It was great seeing some new faces.

The HOA felt it was a great lineup. We had two gentlemen from the Florida Department of Transportation give an informative PowerPoint presentation on the updates at Sand Lake Road and 1-4. As many of you know, they are creating what is called a DDI, Diverging Diamond Interchange, which is a type of interchange that moves traffic to the left side of the road to eliminate left turns against oncoming traffic. This is supposed to reduce the number of conflict points and accidents. Unfortunately, it's not something that will be completed tomorrow. This could take well into 2028. It is called I-4 Beyond the Ultimate. Here is a link for those who are interested. https://i4beyond.com

We also had two Orange County deputies speak to us regarding safety in our neighborhoods and what we can do. One of the big takeaways was: GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS. They spoke about tips and what we can do to keep our properties safer. There was also quite a bit of discussion about Citizens on Patrol. It is an Orange County program where they train you, give you a real patrol car, and help communities like ours stay safe. If anyone is interested, reach out to our Board member, Charlie, who not only maintains our meeting minutes, but is also heavily involved in safety in our neighborhood. The Board is looking for volunteers to start the program. https://www.ocso.com/Portals/0/PDFs/15a-Citizens_on_Patrol_Brochure_7-09.pdf

The HOA also provided coffee and pastries from Foxtail Coffee, which is located at the YMCA.

The neighborhood had quite a few costs incurred these last couple of months. An electrician was required at the Conroy (Hidden Springs Blvd.) entrance to fix our GFI outlet. There was no power to the sprinkler controller on the west side, and therefore, the median was dying and so were the ground ivy. The ivy may have been saved in time, but not quite sure about the median.

We want to give two of our Board Members Charlie Simonel and John Scolaro a huge SHOUT OUT. We had received estimates to raise the spotlights at the Pine Spings/Dr. Phillips entrance. The estimates ranged from $2,500 to $3,000. The spotlights were only hitting half of our front signs and there was an awful shadow. Charlie and John decided to take on the project themselves and it was a pretty big project. Charlie purchased (with HOA funds) all the materials needed, and the two of them set out to work on this. The labor alone was very time consuming. I know it took close to the entire day. This saved the HOA a lot of money – to the tune of $2,000. I also want to thank the other Board members for contributing their own monies to purchase Charlie and John gift certificates to Fresco’s Italian Restaurant. Take a look below and you can see the before-and-after pictures.