Old Notices:

Sweet Maple Burglaries: An unwelcome reminder: Last year, on Tuesday December 8, 2009, during the daytime, two of our houses were burglarized. Fortunately, the burglars were also caught right away, thanks to a 911 call by a resident -- who was in the second house at the time! The last time a series of break-in burglaries occurred here was also mid-day, mid-week, and in mid-December (2001). So 'tis the season for break-ins, and you should do the obvious: We got lucky this time, in that nobody was hurt and the stolen contents were still on the burglars. But a determined thief who "cases the joint" looking for residents with daily leave-the-house times cannot be stopped. Neither roadway gates nor simple vigilance help against today's best burglar, who only pockets jewelry, cash, and (maybe) drugs. But you can make your house a tougher, riskier target. (That's why the police always use the word "discourage" rather than "prevent".) The Boca Raton Police description of the incident is here.

Mailbox Repairs: The community will be painting the mailboxes and replacing the numbers in the near future. Any obviously dislodged boxes will also be re-sunk and if needed, the actual mail box portion will be replaced. Officially speaking, repairs and replacements remain the responsibility of the homeowner, but in the interest of pleasant appearance we undertake periodic maintenance. If yours needs special attention and you think it might not be obvious, by all means write a note or e-mail, so it doesn't get overlooked. (You will be charged for anything other than paint and numbers, but still it's nice to have someone who's doing a bunch of them fix yours in a few minutes, rather than paying fees for a contractor's special trip etc.)

Pre-Annexation Garbage Info: The City will ultimately be picking up our garbage, but for now their 2005 brochure says "...with the exception of newly annexed areas," which means us. So for now, the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority picks up garbage on Wednesdays and Saturdays. (Hint: the City is more restrictive than the SWA on pick-up of large items and minor amounts (<1 cu.yd.) of construction debris, so get your house in order now. Minimum pick-up fee from the city for special items will be $68.50 per drive-by!) Recycling is picked up on Saturday, and yard waste is picked up on Wednesday. Please leave all waste, including yard waste, near your driveway: the SWA crews are instructed to haul from "residential addresses" only, which means tree limbs left on the pathways or near the public areas will just sit there! Speaking of "trash just sitting there", please wait until at least 5:00 pm the evening before pickup to put out trash or recycling bins, preferably later (after dusk). Also please remove bins as soon as possible after the pickup, that evening at the latest. If you're going on vacation, make arrangements for this to be done. And speaking of vacations, the SWA's holiday pickup schedule is available at: www.swa.org. Do you need curbside recycling bins? You can call 1-866-NEW-BINS, or order them online. Typically you will receive them in one to two weeks.

2006 Hurricane (Wilma) Special Assessment: As expected, Hurricane Wilma ate up our reserves just like it chewed on our neighborhood. Accordingly, the Board voted a bone-time special assessment to pay for the rest of the repairs and refurbishment. By now you should have received your very own paper copy of the invoice. If yours got lost, here's a copy. (If you use this form, please be sure to write your name and address (or member/lot #) on it before sending!)

Management Company: As of November 15 2005, the board decided to replace the management company. Effective December 1 2005, all correspondence, including monthly maintenance fees, should be sent to the address above.

For the time being, we will try to do the bulk of the work on our own. If successful, we'll continue that way; if not, we'll hire another management company. For now it's wisest to put any maintenance requests in writing.

Notice of Payment for Second 2004 Hurricane (Frances & Jeanne) Assessment: By now, each and every homeowner in our subdivision should have received a personal visit from a board member, bearing the bad news that FEMA and insurance have failed to cover the remainder of the clean-up costs which we spent on last year's hurricanes. Here's the official notice. (Last year during the hurricane, we voted on and approved a $400 per homeowner assessment, for clean up and to replace other funds expended after the hurricane. In October of 2004 we sent out notices and most folks paid the first half, $200. The second $200 was to be due in February/March 2005, if we were unable to get reimbursed from private insurance and or FEMA.) Please pay up ASAP, because this year's hurricane clean-up is costing even more! The address to send your check is above. Be sure to write your member/lot number and/or your address, on the check! And thanks!

Increased Monthly Homeowner's Fees: At the March 2004 board meeting, an increase of $7 in monthly fees was approved unanimously by the board. You should see the new amount on this year's payment coupons, coming soon to a mailbox near you!

City of Boca Annexation Proposal: As of January 1, 2005, we (and the rest of the Via Verde P.U.D.) became part of the City of Boca Raton. The city maintains its own web site: www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us. (The slides from a pitch the city made in favor of annexation are archived here: Via Verde Annexation slides)