April 2006	Volume II, Issue 1

President's Quarterly Report - April 2006

The purpose of this letter is to provide a summary of significant events of the Barclay Place Condominium Association since the beginning of our tenure in December. This has been an interesting and dynamic time for your community and your Board of Directors. Here are the highlights.

• We came through the 2005 hurricane season faring better, overall, than the ever-so-memorable 2004 season. However, the damage to trees and roofs caused by the previous violent hurricane season became apparent. We have had to remove a number of trees that died as a result of trauma from 2004’s high winds. Major tree trimming and monitoring of “distressed trees” is an on-going process and a necessary expense to the Association. We have also suffered a large number of roof leaks and related structural damage to interior walls and supports that we are repairing with a combination of reserve funds and operating funds.

I am pleased to report at this time a special assessment will not be necessary due in large part to responsible fiscal management decisions made by your Board.

• We have made major improvements to the landscaping by the addition of buffer zones and building exteriors have been thoroughly cleaned with the exception of the roofs, which are scheduled for chemical cleaning when funds become available. The Clubhouse roof was chemically cleaned recently and that will give you a good indication of what to expect when the remaining roofs are serviced.

The Board recently awarded a new landscaping contract to Girard for  mowing, mulch application, irrigation system maintenance, quarterly planting of annuals, etc., and they have been doing an outstanding job beautifying our common areas. The savings over the previous contract amounts to over $50,000.00. 

• The Board unanimously approved conversion of the pool spa from propane to electric heat pump power during the March 2006 meeting. We spent over $12,000 last year on propane and this conversion will reduce our energy costs by a minimum of 60%.
• Additional security features and measures have been implemented to reduce gate crashing and increase the likelihood of being able to identify the perpetrators who are costing all homeowners precious dollars in repairs.
• The Board has begun forward planning to schedule maintenance projects and to adjust reserve allocations to ensure we keep pace with inflation and other trends that may impact our reserve funds.
  The Board recently approved a parking regulation which authorizes Paul’s Towing to tow illegally parked vehicles and vessels and this has dramatically reduced parking violations thanks to the cooperation of all residents.

As always, the Board continues to protect the best interests of its members. Two items of interest that the Board is actively following and taking action upon are:

1. the potential rezoning of the Tennis Center parcel from recreation to single family residential. The project related to this rezoning is slated to produce 74 homes, which would significantly impact the quality of life for Barclay residents.
2. The settlement of pending litigation with the Developer of Barclay for reserve fund shortages indicated in the Engineering Study. The Board of directors and other interested residents of the Barclay Place community will continue to monitor these issues, keeping our community’s best interests in mind as always.

Lastly, thank you, it has been a privilege to serve you through the first quarter of this year.