Natural Gas Line Permits

The town of Stafford requires an approval and permit to have a natural gas line mounted outside of a house.  During a recent walk of the property the trustees of Island Gate took note of a number of natural gas lines that were not in compliance with town laws and code.  It is vital that all Island Gate homeowners be in compliance with these rules and have a permit and town approval for gas lines.  Starting in mid June the Stafford Fire Dept. will come to Island Gate to inspect the property for non permitted gas lines and gas line code violations.   The trustees will then receive notice of everyone not in compliance.  If approvals and permits aren’t received in 30 days after formal notification by the town, fines will be levied by the town of Stafford to the homeowner.  Island Gate also reserves the right to levy fines for non-compliance. 

Natural gas is highly explosive if not handled properly and the town has rules in place to insure the safe use of natural gas.  It is imperative that all of us have approved and permitted natural gas lines.

There has been ample time given to address this issue please handle it promptly.

What to do?

If you have a correctly inspected and permitted gas line, do nothing you are fine.

If you don’t recall having an inspected and permitted gas line you can contact the town for verification, the website below will help you get in contact with the town.

If you put in a gas line and it wasn’t permitted contact the town (see below) to request a permit and get an approval. 

If you have any questions or comments please contact Association Advisors at 732-294-8882. 

Thank you for your prompt attention

http://twp.stafford.nj.us/

Looking for Pool Committee Volunteers

On and off over the last few years Island Gate has had a pool committee.  This year we are again looking for volunteers to be part of the pool committee.  Pool committee members are people who look after the pool area, they close the umbrellas in the evening, check on the condition of the bathrooms, prune the flowers in the pool area, basically contribute to making the pool area even nicer than it is now.  They are also asked to communicate to Association Advisors or the board any issues they see at the pool.  Time commitment is minimal only a few minutes per visit and you can volunteer when it is convenient for you.  Being on the pool committe is a great way to help the community, meet your neighbors and make our pool even better. If you are interested please drop an email to edward.fortunato@exeloncorp.com or we will have a sign up sheet at our open meeting on May 28th.  Thanks in advance for your participation and thanks for helping to make Island Gate great. 

2011 Pool Hours and Schedule

With the summer season rapidly approaching the board of Island Gate has finalized the pool schedule for 2011. 
The pool schedule for the 2011 season is as follows.
 
Hours the pool is opened 9 am to 9 pm

Days the pool will be opened 
May 28, 29, 30
June 4, 5
June 11, 12
June 18, 19
Daily from June 25 to September 11
September 17, 18

Please follow the pool rules, be courterous to other and have a safe and enjoyable summer.

Island GatePool Rules for the 2011 summer season

Neighbors here are the pool rules for the upcoming pool season.  Please follow them and take them seriously.  Please treat the pool as you would your own and be courteous to others.

NO Lifeguard on duty, pool use is at your own risk

Police or Emergency Medical Service Phone number 911

Questions or concerns please call Association Advisors 732-294-8882

All Federal, State and local laws in addition to the following shall be observed by residents and their guests using the pool.

Use of this pool is restricted to residents who are in good standing and tenants whose landlords are in good standing with the Island Gate Homeowners Association.  Persons without access cards or whose cards do not work are not allowed access to the pool.  Please do not allow admittance to the pool.

A maximum of 6 people may use the pool at any time from each property unit

Children Under 16 years of age shall have adult supervision

No personal parties shall be held at the pool

No grills or delivery of food is permitted at the pool

Glass containers are prohibited in the pool area

No diving or jumping into the pool

No running or rough play in the pool area

Any person showing evidence of any communicable skin disease, sore or inflamed eyes,

cold, nasal or ear discharges, or any other communicable disease is denied admission to the pool area

Any person with excessive sunburn, open blisters, cuts, or bandages shall be denied admission to the pool.

Do not enter the water if you are experiencing or recovering from diarrhea or have had

any signs or symptoms of a gastrointestinal (stomach) disease in the past seven days.

All people in diapers must wear plastic pants with snug fitting elastic waist and leg bands. Do

not wash out soiled diapers in the bathing water.

Children should be encouraged to use the restroom before entering the water. Immediately

report any "accidents" you observe in the bathing waters to Association Advisors.

No animals, except for service animals, shall be allowed in any parts of the swimming pool area,

dressing rooms, or other parts of the pool area.

All persons must shower before entering the water.

No one is allowed in the pool area during severe weather, heavy rain, or when thunder or lightning can be seen or heard.   

Persons suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol are prohibited from

entering the pool area.

Conduct which endangers the safety and comfort of others shall be prohibited.  Noodles or Personal Flotation Devices may only be used if not creating a nuisance for others.  Aggressive behavior will not be tolerated.

All personal belongings, trash, band-aids, and personal effects shall be removed or put in the proper trash receptacles immediately. Island Gate recycles.  Leave no trace you were at the pool.

Island Gate Homeowners Association Inc., reserves the right to close the pool at any time.

Violations of these rules will result in the revocation of your pool privileges.  All property owners and tenants will be held responsible for the behavior of their guests.  All damages will be billed to the property owner.  

Check www.islandgate.blogspot.com for up to the minute pool information, this summer.

Welcome to the Island Gate blog

The reason you reading this blog is because Associate Advisors told you about it. Welcome to the site. We are pleased you took time to explore the site. The board of directors at Island Gate decided that a blog would be the most effective means of communication with our fellow neighbors. The goal of the blog is to provide timely, informative and accurate information about the community. In addition, the board hopes that the blog is a useful informational tool for all issues that our neighbors may have. Given these goals,the blogs structure is current information in the middle while general information; hospitals,utilities,restaurants etc. are on the right. We even added some community photos and a daily puppy site to induce return visits. Our goal is to make www.islandgate.blogspot.com a one stop site for all community inquiries. The blog has been populated with a number of posts over the last month to inform the community of our needs and issues. Although the blog may be written in a lighthearted manner at times it does not mean the board is not serious about addressing the issues of our community. Your board has ambitious plans to make Island Gate the jewel of Stafford Township. Thanks for reading this blog and your comments and thoughts are appreciated.

Cleaning the decks

Last fall LBI Power Washing was contracted to clean and seal the decks in our community. They completed the task in late November. LBI pressure washed the decks, which cleaned the wood surfaces and followed up with a clear sealant. The clear sealant is the reason why there isn't a dramatic difference in the look of the wood. There are a few decks that have small follow up work to complete but the majority of the work is done. If you have any questions, comments or issues please contact the board or bring it up at an upcoming meeting.

To paint or not to paint

That is one of the questions the board is currently dealing with. While it is indisputable the trim work on the houses in our community need to be painted the bylaws do not explicitly state that painting is covered by the community. In addition, funds have not been allocated in previous budgets for painting. The board is going to reach out to the community to change the by-laws to allow for exterior painting. So please your vote counts on whether to paint the trim in the community. Please note the board is recommending painting by the community to keep the color and quality uniform and to get a better bulk rate price.

Changing the time of board elections

The board recently met and unanimously approved a change to the time of year Island Gate holds its board elections.  We have decided to move the election from the May time to September time.  The May time was originally based upon release of board seats by Kara Homes.  On the surface this may seem like a power grab by the current board but it was done to better serve the community.  With the May elections transitions of new trustees and the learning curve associated with the new position comes at the busiest and most fast paced time of year.  The September time will allow new board members to participate in the budget process and learn about the contracts and agreements the community is responsible for and the tasks we are responsible for before the busy summer season.  This change will affect the 2 current board seats due in 2011 and the three seats due in 2012.  After this all board members will have 2 year terms.  We hope you understand and appreciate why the change was made.  If you have any comments or concerns please contact the board. 

Save the dates

As part of the boards commitment to reach out to the community and foster open communication the board has selected 4 dates to hold open board meetings for the community.   The first meeting is Saturday May 28th at 6pm by the pool.  This is the Saturday during Memorial Day weekend and usually the busiest day in the community.  This day should provide an opportunity for a large number of community members to discuss issues and ideas they may have with the community.  The second meeting is also a Saturday, August 13th at 6pm by the pool.  We thought that this day would give the community members an opportunity to discuss how the summer was going at Island Gate.  Friday Sept 9th at 7:30 in town hall will be our third meeting.  This meeting is the meeting where we hold our board elections and share our preliminary budget for 2012. Your input and vote are very important.  Finally on January 20th 2012 the board will hold a meeting at 1 Seabreeze Court to share our final budget and receive comments on the community and discuss plans for 2012.  We thought we would let you know about these dates as far in advance as possible to allow you to plan to attend these important meetings.  We hope you can attend. 

A message from the 38th president of the United States

Gerald Ford our 38th president was a dog lover like many in our community.  One day his dog Liberty made a doggie mess on the rug in the Oval Office. A Navy steward rushed to clean it up. "I'll do that," Ford said. "No man should have to clean up after another man's dog."

Whether you agree or disagree with this man's politics the one thing that is undeniable is the accuracy of Mr. Ford’s comment.  Our community has many dog lovers; unfortunately not all of them live by our 38^th president’s personal rule.  It is not only the community’s rule but the law in our town, pick up after your dog.  We all know its smells and is a pain to do but it is one of the very few downsides to having a pet.  So please, regardless of how late it is or how small it is act like someone is looking even if no one is and remember: "No man should have to clean up after another man's dog."  Thanks for taking the time and effort to make our community great. 

Spring cleaning

A few members of Island Gates board walked the property today to review the condition of the property and evaluate what needs to be done in the community over the coming year.  The new board has made a commitment to do this at least once a month.  We noticed many things that need to be addressed and will be addressed in the coming months.  One of the most striking things we noticed is the amount of “stuff” under the decks in our community.  We noticed a vast collection garbage cans, storage containers, coolers, tiki torches, pallets, boats (yes boats), tables, chairs, propane tanks, bikes, tools and toys just to name a few.  It is understood that space is at a premium and under the deck seems like a great spot to store stuff.  It is against the bylaws in our community to store anything under the decks, anything at all.  It may be a surprise to you as it was to me but those are the rules, the rule is in place to keep the community looking neat and attractive.  The board thought that that spring cleaning time would be a great opportunity to inform the community about this rule and to begin enforcing it.  We aren’t going to start issuing fines anytime soon, the board has a number of higher priorities on our To Do list but as we get those done we will begin to enforce smaller rules that haven’t been enforced in the past.  We hope this notice will easily solve this issue, everyone’s cooperation is important to make this community great.  Thanks in advance for your cooperation.