A personal message from Ed Fortunato about our dogs

As a resident with two active dogs I get to walk the property a bit more than most of my neighbors.  Over the last few months, I have been disturbed by the large amount of dog waste littering the property. This waste isn't isolated to one area, it's everywhere and the piles range from small to huge (I own a 110 lb. dog so I know big piles). This wasn't always the case and we need to be more diligent.  Dog waste carries germs and attracts vermin.  Neighbors with dogs please pick up after your dog.  Neighbors without dogs, keep your eye out for others that do not. If you see someone that does not pick up, let AA or a board member know.  This isn't snitching its keeping pets and people healthy and keeping rats out of our neighborhood.  Neighbors who don't pick up can and will be fined and repeat offenders names may even be published on the blog.
So please everyone do your part and keep our neighborhood clean and safe.

As always please contact me with any questions.  Thanks so much for your help.

Ed.

By law review

We have started the process of reviewing our By-Laws and Covenants with our legal representative Caroline Record.  We are looking to update these documents and make them more relevant to our community, the documents were written by Kara Homes back in 2003.  We are reviewing a certified copy of the documents and will share our findings with the community in the near future.  Any changes to the bylaws must be approved by the majority of the community.  We will keep you informed of our progress and if changes are needed prepare documents for the community to vote on. 

Tentative pool schedule

As we sit through a winter storm we wanted to share our tentative pool schedule for the community this coming summer.  It will be here before you think.

The pool opens Saturday May 18 and Sunday May 19
May 25, 26, 27
June 1, 2
June  8, 9
Open daily June 15 to September 8
Final weekend September 14 and 15

We will be using the same pool rules as 2011 and 2012 for this season.

Insurance Renewal Update

As we discussed last year,  we moved our community's insurance over to Chubb, they are a highly rated carried with an excellent financial background.  We saved a few thousand dollars doing this.  In the aftermath of Sandy, we were pretty sure our insurance would be going up in price.  We received the news this week with our renewal.  The policy we paid $38,000 for in 2012 is $48,000 for 2013.  The coverage is the same, but on a per unit basis our insurance is rising from $456 to $565. 

We shopped the policy and even with increase Chubb was the best price, in addition there were a number of carriers that wouldn’t even offer coverage.

We have shared quite a bit of money saving stories and good news over the last couple of years on the blog, this one is not the case.  We are still in good shape budget wise for 2013 and will continue to keep you informed as the year goes by.  The bottom line is we have insurance, it’s with a good company, it is more money than in 2012 and we will keep looking for a better deal in the future. 

As always if you have any comments or questions please contact us.   

New board member appointed

Marianne Massey is the newest member of the Island Gate board.  She offered to serve on the board and was unanimously and immediately approved.  She had extensive experience on the pool committee and has been involved in the community for many years.  The board is excited to have her on the team we look forward to many contributions in the coming years.  Congratulations Marianne !