Newsletter Fall 2006

Since our last newsletter we have made a good deal of progress in the pool area.

1/ We have installed roof gutters around the pool structure that has eliminated a continuing problem of flooding the pool pump enclosure. This will minimize the possibility of pump and heater damage caused by continual flooding during the rainy season.

2/ A Motion Detection Lighting System has been installed in the pool area to prevent unauthorized use of the pool past closing hours. The system will automatically illuminate the pool area when motion is detected.

3/ We have removed unsightly vegetation and replaced with new Christmas Palms in various locations throughout the pool area.

4/ In two specific locations red mulch was removed and replaced by river rock gravel to prevent red dye and dirt from leaching into the pool water. Those of you that frequent the pool area have probably noticed a meaningful difference in the quality and clarity of the pool water.

5/ Pressure cleaned the pool fence and other areas around the pool.

6/ Rehired a professional pool maintenance company

7/ Repaired the ropes on the umbrellas and will be replacing the worn and abused furniture in the pool area

Please do not bring glass containers.

Please lock all rest room facilities upon leaving the area. This will prevent vandalism and mischief from occurring.

In windy conditions please close all umbrellas before leaving.

Check that you have not forgotten any of your personal belongings and deposit any refuse in the proper container.

Please continue to work with Keystone Property Management as they are your first and primary point of contact for the resolution of any community issues. That is their job. Some of you have expressed concerns about Keystone Property Management not being responsive to your calls. Barbara Murray is your primary point of contact. We can assure you that Barbara is a very capable person. She responds to her calls on a first come first serve basis with emergency calls taking the highest priority. Keystone Property Management keeps a call log of every call received from property owners at Kenwood Village. The log consists of the person, date, time etc. If your call is not an emergency, it may take Barbara some time to get back to you. The best time to reach her is in early afternoon. She has told the board that if she receives a non-emergency call in early afternoon, that she will do everything possible to resolve the issue that day or by the following morning. Emergency calls are handled as quickly as possible.

Keystone Main Telco # 569-7928.

The problems from the original installation of our irrigation system still persist from time to time. However, we are making a good deal of progress. Our Kenwood Village Board of Directors has hired a new Irrigation System Company to maintain the system. Since hiring Atlas, we are pleased with their responsiveness and the quality of their work.

Recently, we have discovered breaks in the irrigation system piping and have made the appropriate repairs. Many of the irrigation companies that we have spoken to have speculated that at least some of the breaks are being caused by "system burping". This condition is caused by unusual system demand for water that cannot be satisfied by the operation of a single pump. The excess demand is caused by a number of factors…

Faulty Irrigation Controllers

Incorrect Programming in the Controllers

Homeowners Watering out of sequence

Irrigation Breaks, etc.

There are a lot of variables…

After a good deal of effort and collaboration between the Board of Directors, our new irrigation company and our pump manufacturer, we may have found a solution. We have synchronized our two pumps to interact when unforeseeable demand occurs. We are hopeful that the new pump configuration will eliminate the problems. So far, all is going well.

Soon we will be starting to reconfigure our entire irrigation schedule to conform to the requirements of the St Johns River Water Management District. All Vero Beach communities have been cautioned that penalties will be severe for non-conformance if violations are found. In spite of all of our irrigation system difficulties in the past, we have landscaping conditions that measure up to any community in our area. Lets all work toward keeping our community beautiful.

Answer: Check the ground fault duplex receptacle in the garage…. If it’s tripped, press the button to restore it to NORMAL. Summer and early fall are a very active time for storms and atmospheric activity, which can (and often does) trip a ground fault device. It is very important to have someone locally who can gain access to your home to check and/or restore your device should something occur. Register that contact person and communicate with Keystone Property Management with difficulties.

There are many devices within and around your home. You are probably not aware of some of these devices or their locations. We suggest a periodic total battery replacement to avoid failure at an inappropriate time. The first is the battery in the irrigation controller. That battery will back-up the memory in your electronic controller in case of a power outage. Second are the batteries in your Smoke Detectors. Third are the batteries in the devices within your garage door opener system. These devices are located left and right of your large garage door and at the entrance into your home from the garage. Periodic replacement of all batteries is highly recommended. If you don’t wish to do a total replacement, that’s OK. Just knowing what devices include batteries and where they are located will help the replacement process and minimize your inconvenience.

We have purchased a new Pressure Cleaner for use within our community. The first positive results of the purchase of the Power Washer was gained in the pool area. Thanks to the efforts of our volunteers we were able to remove all of the mold and mildew from the fencing and deck areas. The money saved on this single project will more than pay for the purchase of the Pressure Cleaner and we have many more projects in mind for that machine. We have plans to pressure wash our sidewalks and storm drains to remove all the Mildew and Mold.

We have resolved the issue of Real Estate Signs through compromise by providing a suitable location for all signs to be displayed. This avoids the unsightly condition of having all that signage placed at the front entrance of our lovely community. Individual homeowners are still restricted by our covenants to have one (1) 12" X 12" sign located on their property.

Previously, Keystone Property Management Co. sent a request to all KV homeowners requesting that you furnish your existing (four digit) gate code and the (five digit code) clicker code on your portable gate release device. This is a very important project. We have no idea as to who has our gate codes or how they were obtained. Many venders, workmen, contractors, delivery companies were given codes over time, many of which do not perform work on these premises. If you expect a good security application, then please help us clean-up this unacceptable situation by getting this information to Keystone as quickly as possible, please don’t delay.

Our Architectural Review Board has been working diligently creating very specific House Painting Guidelines & Specifications. We will expand on this subject as we make progress toward finalizing the procedures. Please be reminded that any intended work on the exterior of your dwelling must have the full approval of the Architectural Review Board. For specifics on how to apply for an Architectural Review, please contact Keystone Property Management.

We have made a good deal of progress over the past year in terms of community cooperation. However, there is still some work that remains….

Please refrain from parking vehicles on the street overnight. If repeat offenders continue to disregard our repeated requests, FINES WILL BE ISSUED, LAST WARNING….

If you own a pet and walk it throughout our community, PLEASE CARRY A PICK-UP AND USE IT TO PICK-UP AFTER YOUR PET. Remember, our KVPOA Covenants deal quite harshly with this matter so a word to the wise should be sufficient.

Please focus on paying your monthly maintenance fees in a timely manner. If this community expects the board to maintain the fees at the current level, then everyone must cooperate and pay the monthly fees ON TIME. The names of the homeowners that are more than 90 days in arrears will be posted for public viewing on the bulletin board located in the pool area

The 2007 Operating Budget passed unanimously. Special thanks goes to Joe Michalko for arranging guest speakers from the Indian River Sheriffs Dept. The subject was Identity Theft and the speakers gave some very informative suggestions as to how to protect yourself and your family from such occurrences.

It’s that time of year when we "freshen-up" for the holidays. Our winter mulching project will begin in the middle of December somewhere around the fifteenth depending on weather etc.

Leaving on the carriage lights on your garage in the evening assists in the security of your home. Low cost Photo-electric devices are available in Home Depot or Lowes that will turn the carraige lights on and off automatically. You may wish to increase the wattage of the bulbs in your carriage lights. An 13 watt flourescent bulb will produce as much light as a 65 watt incandescent.

Garage doors should be completely closed, especially overnight – never can tell what critters might wander into it, two– or four-legged.

Remembering three simple rules greatly improves your safety:

· ·        Secure your valuables

· ·        Lock your home

· ·        Lock your vehicle

The Neighborhood watch has received a number of complaints about people speeding throughout our community and particularly along Kenwood Drive. Please be reminded that Kenwood Village is a mixed community with many families with small children. Is it really worth risking an accident to save a few seconds of drive time???

We will be electing our Board of Directors for 2007 on November 13^th 2006. The elections will be held at the following location.

Immanual Church Hall

455 58^th Ave SW

Vero Beach, Florida

7:00 PM

When you come to vote, please stop at our Volunteer registration desk and register. We need your help!!!

It has come to the Boards attention that there are many people within our community that want to help our community by volunteering for special projects and yet do not want to be a permanent member of a committee. The problem is that the board doesn’t know who you are. Consequently, we keep enlisting assistance from the same people on every project.

Here’s how it works! Express your willingness to help on special projects at the Volunteer registration desk on voting night or to any Board member with your name and telephone number. When a special project comes up someone will contact you. If you can find the time to help us, that would be GREAT. If you can’t, that’s OK too. We’ll contact you when something else comes along. Here are some of the people, as well as committee members, who have been helping and deserve recognition. The list of accomplishments and special projects are too long to itemize, but these are the people who are doing the work and are entitled to our special thanks….

Jim Maxwell Joan & Tony Urso

May & Joe Michalko Carol & Buzz Errickson

Connie & Gerry Braden Dot & Tom Hendricks

Colleen & Dominic Bucciero Jeff Chestine

Jules Simandl Ron & Natalie Kiesla

Sandi & Joe Giani

I sincerely hope that we haven’t missed anyone for "Special Recognition". If so, we will make it up in the next newsletter.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season ! ! !