ROTONDA WEST ASSOCIATION, INC.
Board of Directors Meeting
Minutes - March 14, 2007

Present: Nick Gizi, George Krabbe, George Burger, Claudette Romano, Pete Traverso, Ken Guillerm

Absent: Bruce Miller

Management: Diane Brophy, Norene Kugler, Assistant Manager

Others: Rich & Adele Pavlik, Joseph Romano, Dayle Tedeschi, Diana Chaney, John & Margie Carroll, Bob & Annette Sharpe, Ken & Jamey Hirsch, Bud Nill, Andrew & Susan Barbrooke-Grubb, Bob & Linda Bondeson, Pat Guillerm, Sue Nichol, Victor Claussen, Barry Oglesby, Hank & Sue Artz, Wallace Piepmeier, Bud & Anna Eisele, Millie Fugere, David Kelly, Don & Ginni Mahon, Lois Burger, Jim & Carol Louisgnan, David Pulaski, Gerhard Sieber, Tom Kelly, Tony & Nancy Bell and Jim Tibert

Call to Order
President Gizzi called the meeting to order at 3:00 PM with a quorum present.

Pledge of Allegiance
All present stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guest presentation
David Kelly gave a presentation on the Pine Valley Golf Course. He asked for the Boards blessings for their plan to move some of the Golf Cart path locations. The path locations in question are in the middle of residential lots that connect the golf courses. The plan is to move the paths to one side of the lot, so that there will be the potential of building homes on the sites. The paths on the residential lots will not be concrete, but surfaced with shell, and the lots will be left natural. David answered questions from the Board and owners. He stated the storm water drainage plans for Pine Valley Golf Course were permitted in 1970-71 and are grandfathered. Any deviations from these plans would require new permits. He also stated that the swales in Pine Valley are the responsibility of Charlotte County and that the golf course and the County are in litigation. Two lakes will be excavated which will create nice lakefront properties. David expects the Pine Valley golf course to be open in November 2007.

Review of Minutes
In order to expedite getting our meeting minutes onto our website, we have started the practice of reviewing and approving the minutes via email; therefore the minutes from February 14, 2007 have been reviewed and approved.

Committee Reports

Election – Chair Sue Artz announced that the next meeting of the Committee will be Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 2:00 PM

Administration/Personnel – The Administration/Personnel Committee met on Tuesday, March 13 to discuss options in replacing the prior Association Manager. They edited and revised the RWA Job Description for the position of Manager. The Committee will meet again on Friday, March 16 at 10 AM to finalize the changes. Once all of the changes are made and approved by the RWA Board, we will advertise for a new manager.

Nick Gizzi moved that the Administration/Personnel Committee recommends to the Board that Roger Leigh, the Deed Restriction Surveyor, be given two (2) weeks paid vacation amounting to $420.00 total. Motion seconded by Pete Traverso and approved unanimously.

Aquatic/Canal Bank – The Aquatic/Canal Bank Committee met on February 28. The progress on the 5 Year Plan was discussed and is progressing on schedule. Additional volunteers came forward to collect water samples from our canals. Their names were sent to Eric Schultz of Florida Lake Watch. He will be contacting us soon to set up a training session.

Also several subcommittees were established to oversee different aspects of canal maintenance:

• Aquatic & Marine Life Habitat, Aquatic Vegetation Control, & Lake Watch
• Canal Water Level Control/Stormwater Outflow
• Aquatic Trash Monitoring/Cleanup
• Education & Publicity

The next meeting date is March 28, 2007 at 3:30 PM

Beautification/Mowing – Chair Claudette Romano gave the following report. The Beautification/Mowing Committee met on March 1, 2007. The new, all reflective signs for Rebel Court and Cape Haze Drive have been installed. The sign on Rotonda Boulevard West is being completed.

Walter Taylor, President of Neighborhood Watch Patrol, was very pleased with the new signs indicating that Rotonda West is “Patrolled by Neighborhood Watch”. These signs were installed today on the entrance signs along with the “No Solicitation” signs.

On Saturday, March 10, the White Marsh Memorial Park was opened with the Board of Directors cutting the Ribbon. In my presentation, I mentioned that the Flag Pole and Flag were donated by Stan and Karen Ronnow, the White Marsh Memorial Sign was donated by Quick Signs and John Eisele Inc. I must have blinked because I missed a very important person, Art Richards. Art has designed all three Memorial Parks, with White Marsh being the largest and most challenging. Don’t know what we would do without Art and his designs. Thank You, Art, for your dedication and all the behind the scenes work that you do for Rotonda West.

If anyone wishes to purchase a tree In Memory of a loved one, or In Honor of someone, please come to the Office or call me. The price is $186.00. To purchase a bench is $384.00.

Our next Marina to be upgraded will be the Oakland Hills Marina in 2008.

Linda Harrison is the Chairperson for Clean-Up Week – April 16 through 21. The Garden Club has also joined in this venture.

Budget and Finance – In the absence of Chair, Bruce Miller, Co-Chair Claudette Romano gave the report.

The Budget and Finance Committee met on March 8 at 2 PM to discuss CD investments. The Committee agreed to delay further investing until we have exact figures and not projected figures with which to work. Three new CDs were purchased:

$60,000 - 9 months - Due November, 2007
$65,000 - 12 months - Due February, 2008
Purchased from First Community Bank in Port Charlotte

$50,000 - 3 months - Due May 2007
Purchased from Englewood Bank, Cape Haze

RWA has a CD coming due from First Community in May 2007 for $64,000 plus.

We are in the process of switching Banks. We are changing from First Community Bank to Englewood Bank. Until this is totally accomplished, all monies will remain in our Money Market account. The monies will be moved into our Checking Account as needed.

Community Relations – The Community Relations Committee met on February 7. The forthcoming West Ways newsletter articles were presented by Editor Don Mahon. All members agreed that the articles must be current and informative. The web site was discussed. Chair Ken Guillerm gave a special thanks to Ken Hirsch and Wayne Mengel for their work on the web site. Webmaster Ken Hirsch reported that the web site now has many updates and improvements. The purpose of the web site is to provide information to the owners between issues of the West Ways.

Compliance – The Compliance Committee held two hearings on Friday, March 9 beginning at 2:00 PM. The first hearing resulted in the fine being suspended. The second fine stayed as levied

Deed Restrictions – Chair George Burger reported that the Deed Restriction Committee met on Tuesday, March 6 at 9AM. George Burger moved to recommend to the Board of Directors that a letter be written to Charlotte County Public Works for a “Go Slow Children” sign on Long Meadow Place. Motion seconded by Pete Traverso and approved unanimously. George Burger moved to recommend to the Board of Directors that they grant Ruby Dickinson a hearing before the Compliance Committee. Motion seconded by Pete Traverso and approved unanimously. George Burger moved to recommend to the Board of Directors that they consider giving powers to the Manager to enter properties in Rotonda West Association for the purpose of Deed Restriction violations. Motion seconded by Pete Traverso and approved unanimously. Director Traverso suggested a meeting with the Sheriff’s office to explain the merit of this motion.

RWA Properties – Chair George Krabbe gave the following report. The Properties Committee has been very busy with the security of the Community Center. On February 23, 2007 the locks were changed and new keys issued. The outside lighting was also repaired. On March 5 the locks were changed on the offices and ADT Security Services Inc. installed the alarm system. On March 12 new window locks were installed.

Supporting boards have been installed under the attached shed at the Community Center to prevent further slippage. We are in the process of obtaining bids to replace the plywood landing on the rear staircases leading into the Community Center and also repainting the steps and handicap ramp.

Repairs are underway at the Marina and Gazebo area. A sunken concrete slab on the island side of the bridge has been raised. Cracks in the concrete walkway and the steps at the marina are in process of being repaired. There is maintenance that needs to be done at the gazebo, the gazebo bridge and the marina docks. These maintenance projects will be done after we receive the bids from the contractors. There hasn’t been any maintenance done in over 4 years and now we find these items deteriorating.

I have received 3 estimates for a yearly maintenance agreement on the 3 air conditioners at the Community Center. The agreement is for 2 preventative maintenances each year.

J&M Heating and Cooling $325.00
Tri County Air Conditioning & Heating $340.00
Grande Aire Services, Inc. $375.00

George Krabbe moved that the RWA sign an agreement with J&M Heating and Cooling for one year preventative maintenance on the 3 air conditioning units at the Community Center. Motion seconded by George Burger and approved unanimously.

Nick Gizzi and George Krabbe will be meeting with the Greater Rotonda Organization president, Bill Coy and Trust Fund Trustees Fred Warner, Earle Simpson and Jim Tibert. The purpose of this meeting is to examine the possibilities of establishing a voluntary Building Fund.

Residential Modification – Chair Pete Traverso said his goal is to have a draft of new Residential Modification Guidelines to the Board of Directors before the April 11 BOD meeting. There was discussion about security shutters. Mr. Traverso said, “If a storm is coming, do what is required to protect your house.”

Nick Gizzi said he emailed Florida Power & Light on February 4, suggesting that future new construction have wires from the power pole to the structure buried. The suggestion was forwarded to their Operations Department. The response was that FPL supplies RWA with overhead service. The RWA can make it mandatory, through our Deed Restrictions, to have electrical service from the pole to the home buried, but the additional cost would be the owner’s responsibility. The cost can range from $530.00 to $1,000.00 depending on the position of the pole in relation to the house.

George Burger moved that ALL “drops” on new construction be underground. This will be worked out with the Developer as to time of implementation – including Florida Power & Light, Comcast Cable and phone companies. Motion seconded by Ken Guillerm and passed unanimously.

Rotonda West Street & Drainage Advisory Committee – Chair Claudette Romano gave the following report. On Monday, March 12, Tim Free, Charlotte County Public Works Manager, Nick Gizzi, George Krabbe and I visited some drainage problem areas.

After several meetings with Charlotte County, Golf Course and RWA Representatives, the problem areas are still up for grabs.

Tim Free indicated that the County is in litigation with the Golf Courses. He was instructed not to touch the swales behind any home, because it is Golf Course property.

I am obtaining estimates on the areas that we visited to see what can be done. The areas include:

33 Long Meadow Place (uneven swale behind house – Golf Course) (County will repair front swales to drain properly – behind house)
9 houses on Long Meadow Road – (swales behind houses never drain properly)
53 Par View Road South (back yard swale floods – no drainage, overgrowth with weeds)
252 Medalist Road – (culvert area – grate overgrown - County will clear culvert, make sure pipe is clear to canal and clear area leading to canal)

Golf Course pond has scum – needs attention

County will also check out “repair holes” in streets on Marker Road – Tim indicated that this was Utility work being done – Bunker Road, Caddy Road, Mark Twain Lane and Annapolis Lane.

Tim Free mentioned that the County has no problem repairing problems that belong to them, as long as they are made aware of the problem.

Mr. Free indicated he would keep me informed of the above and what is happening in Oakland Hills.

Unfinished Business

Nick Gizzi gave the following reports. The RWA and approximately 30 other Homeowners Associations belong to West Charlotte County Civic Association, Inc. On Saturday, March 3, four members of the Board, Claudette Romano, George Burger, George Krabbe and I attended a retreat hosted by WCCCAI. The main purpose of the meeting was to share accomplishments, pressing issues and to discuss commonalities, of which there were several. For example we learned that we are not the only association that feel the County is not treating us fairly. Over all we were impressed with those who attended and I feel we should continue to interact with the other Home Owner Associations.

The Board participated in a 4 hour Team Building Retreat on Friday, March 9. It was moderated by Dr. Curt Van Voorhees. Dr. Van Voorhees was interesting and even had us quite emotional at times. We shared some personal events in our lives and learned about each other. I believe we bonded and gained greater respect for each other. I suggest that our committees experience what we did. Mr. Gizzi suggested that each committee chair bring it before their committee to see if they are interested in meeting with Dr. Van Voorhees.

In February an email was sent by Mr. Gizzi to Charlotte County Public Works, requesting a status update on the curbing of the Rotonda Boulevard West entrance, adjacent to the bridge. There has been confusion as to who has the authority for this road. Mr. Gizzi was informed that Rotonda Boulevard West is considered a connector road and it definitely is under the jurisdiction of our Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU). The entire MSBU system has been undergoing restructuring and had not met since October 2006. The MSBU met on March 5. Rotonda Boulevard West was placed on the priority list.

Members Input

Jim Tibert congratulated the Board of Directors on the beautification of the marinas and entrances. He suggested the addition of more people for Deed Restriction inspecting and secretarial help.

Tom Kelly asked what is being done to require Pinemoor Golf to remove dead trees, a large rock sifter and piles of rocks, etc. He asked why the bond that was required of Pinemoor, by Charlotte County, has not been enforced.

John Carroll stated that Charlotte County is under the Sunshine Law. A request for information requires a response in writing, within 10 days.

Nancy Bell said that the old, unused tennis courts near Golfview Road have been a hazardous problem for 4 years.

Directors Input

Claudette Romano read the following report from Bruce Miller.

To the RWA Board of Director’s and the Membership,

As many of you know, since the beginning of February, I have been going through some health problems. As the clock ticked, the news kept getting worse to the point of becoming a nightmare. One thing after another, the news just kept getting worse.

However, things started to come together. A brain surgeon was recommended. Turns out he is one of the finest in the region. I never heard of him before, but there he is on the morning of February 22 to say – Hi, you’re going to be alright and with that removed the tumor. Three days in the hospital and then back home – up and around getting ready for the next surgery.

All during this time getting well wishes, cards, encouraging notes, meals and an overwhelming outpouring of love and concern which filled the Miller household, letting us know that my family and I were not alone and that we would get through this thing.

Monday morning, March 5, we prepared for the lung surgery. There were some uncertainties attached to it. It would not be an easy procedure. The Surgeon made that very clear. It was a 3-step process. Get past Step 1 successfully, then go to Step 2. Number 2 was critical for, if there was any sign that the tumor could not be removed that was it. Two hours into the surgery, a nurse came out of the operating room and told my family they were moving on to Step 3 and two-thirds of the right lung would be removed. This is what we hoped for. Our prayers were answered. I was in God’s hands.

I cannot begin to tell you how this has impacted my life. I have learned so much through this experience.

I have learned that Rotonda West is not only a Community of people from all walks of life moving within their inner circles occupied with their own interests, but a Community of caring, loving, and sensitive people reaching out wherever they can to help and support the needs of others.

My friends, there is nothing more powerful than that encouragement to know, you’re there.

I’m looking forward to getting back here soon. Thank you again for everything.

Bruce Miller
Treasurer, RWA Board of Directors

Pete Traverso said that in the 9 or 10 years he has been on the Board of Directors, the current Board of Directors is the best!

Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:30 PM. The next scheduled Board meeting is April 11, 2007 at 3:00 PM.

Norene Kugler
Assistant Manager