Dear Hidden Springs/Estates residents,

 

Welcome to summer! It’s been a very dry spring. Please pay attention to water restrictions, but please water your lawns. Nothing worse than having to spend money to replace your lawn. Watering is doable.   

 

TIP:  Try not to water during the day. The sun is too strong. Evenings are best for watering lawns.

 

We are disappointed to report that we have halted our Orange County Sheriff Patrol. Our neighborhood has had Orange County watch over us for at least 10 years. Deputy Perry knows our subdivision inside and out. We've been contemplating whether we can afford to hire an off-duty officer, due to so many homeowners not contributing, but we don't have to contemplate any longer. We have been sharing the costs with another subdivision, and since costs have increased for everything, they aren’t in a position to continue to share that service. I personally reached out to a few of the surrounding subdivisions to assist in defraying the costs, but, unfortunately, many subdivisions are in the same situation and are unable to share the costs with us.

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It is impossible for us to make up the expenses with the money that we receive from only 50% of the homeowners. We have urged many of you to contribute; however, we have not seen any results in increased contributions.  

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On the other hand, we are grateful for the contributions that we do receive, so at this point we are still able to maintain our entrances. In my last newsletter I asked: What do you want us to cut? Christmas decorations, sheriff patrol, let the entrances go unattended, shut off water and electricity at the entrances? A few of you had ideas, which the Board talked about and implemented what we could. Four of the members of the Board went door-to-door last month to almost 100 homes, making sure emails were up to date and letting folks know that, yes, there is a Board, and we are very active, despite the fact that we are a non-mandatory HOA. We still have 280 homes to get to, but it’s getting hot, and frankly, it’s tough to do in the summer. The rest will have to wait until October.

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All I can ask is for you to please contribute. It’s only $110. If you can’t afford $110, we will gladly accept whatever you are able to contribute.  

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We have good news! We finally got the county to place Speed Alert signs very close to the Pine Springs entrance along Dr. Phillips Boulevard. Last year I worked with the chief traffic engineer of Orange County. They did studies and determined there was too much speeding along Dr. Phillips Blvd. They initially placed the Speed Alert signs closer to Orange Tree, but as of a couple of months ago, we got ours. It’s like a racetrack along that road on Friday and Saturday nights with too many crashes into our uninsured brick walls. (That’s another place your money goes -- to repair our walls.) So, we have our signage and curve alerts now. Let’s hope this helps.

 

Upcoming: We will be getting ready for the hurricane season by hiring the tree service to trim up the 5 palm trees on the Pine Springs median and the 5 palm trees on the Pin Oak median. We are anticipating it will take place the first week of June.

 

Hurricane season starts June 1. Please start getting your trees trimmed, your fences secured, and anything you can do to help mitigate damage. Additionally, prepare yourself inside, too -- flashlights working, canned food, some extra water. You know the drill. Click here for preparation tips and more info.

 

I wish all of you a happy and safe summer. As always, reach out to me personally or the HOA Board for any concerns or anything we can help you with.

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Sincerely,

Donna Fontaine

HOA President