Hidden Springs & Hidden Estates Neighborhood
Message from the President, Donna Fontaine
Summer 2023
Hi, Neighbors,
Welcome to Summer!!! I hope all of you are well and preparing for our blistery summer. As you know, June 1 is the official start of Hurricane Season. Now is the time to shore up everything: fences, tree trimming, screen enclosure repairs and of course getting the needed supplies in anticipation of electricity losses. Stock up on water, canned food, batteries and battery-operated fans. In addition, please remember to not put out your yard waste until the evening before pickup. Yard waste should be placed at the curb no earlier than 6pm the night before. Please see our section on Curbside Collection in this newsletter for more information.
On the HOA side of things, we're going to start our preparations: trimming up the palm trees on the Pine Springs and Pin Oak medians.
The Board would like to mention the raffle we had for the $150 gift certificate to Norman's Restaurant at Dellagio. We have a winner!!! Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Hans.
There was some confusion during this raffle. We sent out an email in March letting folks know that anyone who has paid their HOA dues will be included in the raffle, and if they hadn't already paid, to pay by April 15 to be included in the drawing. We ended up with some homeowners who sent money in for their dues to be included in the raffle, but they had already paid this year's dues, so we ended up refunding the money. Our fiscal year starts in September. The first Contribution Letter gets mailed out to each of you in September. In January, we mail out a reminder for those who didn't pay in September. Sometimes we send a third reminder, but it's only by email. It's too expensive to keep using the U.S. mail to send out that third reminder.
So this is your heads up: Contribution Notices will be mailed September 2023. We are relying on everyone to pay. We are getting to a point where unexpected repair/expenses may not be met.
We have to replace the Coach Lights at the Conroy entrance. They are severely rusted. The electricians were out May 12th and informed us that the coach lights are going to fall off the wall soon due to rust. Approximate expense for new weather-resistant coach lights and installation by the electricians is close to $2,000. Otherwise it's going to be dark at that entrance. (See pics below)
The Ixoras at the Pine Springs entrance on the South side are dead. The last freeze we had in January or so did them in. Our hopes were that they'd come back. Unfortunately, they haven't. So if we want to maintain the Pine Springs entrance aesthetically, this is what needs to be done. (See pics below)
We also have a brick wall separating along Dr. Phillips. It is the wall about 4 or 5 homes down from the Pine Springs entrance but on the Dr. Phillips Blvd. side. We have received estimates. The best bid is $2,700. If we don't repair the wall, there is the possibility of it falling down. (See pics below)
In prep for Hurricane Season, it's time to trim up of the trees on the medians. Last year the cost was $750 for 10 Palm Trees, but we're not sure yet what the prices will increase to this year.
We're trying our best to keep our Orange County Deputy so we have extra police protection in Hidden Springs/Estates. We strongly believe Deputy Troutman's presence helps keep us safe. Obviously, those costs have increased.
Bottom line: We need your support. Thanks to all of you who support the HOA. For those of you who don't, please know that it's important in order for all of us to live safely and in an aesthetically pleasing neighborhood.
We would like to extend our congratulations to all the high school and college graduates in the neighborhood. We hope everyone has a fun and safe summer!
Sincerely,
Donna Fontaine
HOA President