Bid Comparisons

The six bids that were submitted by 4pm yesterday were opened at a special meeting of the Board this morning. Please visit the Seawall Blog to see the bid comparisons of base bid 1, (break up sidewalk, fill, and pave over) Alternate bid #1 (remove and haul away old sidewalk and curb) and Alternate bid #2 (Boat ramp near Sunset Point).

A direct link to seawall blog:
http://regencycoveseawall.blogspot.com/

Regency Cove Website

There have been some changes to the old website, the one that we used to pay $30 monthly for a web hosting company to maintain for us. We have taken control of the domain, and it is now linked directly with the new .net site that was recently started for $4.95 per month. I would like to eliminate the .net site before they ask us for money to renew the domain next year.
Would you please make a new bookmark to the site www.regencycove.com and use it in the future. If you have any problems accessing it, leave a comment here under this posting.

Please call in or email the office any news items or activities that you would like listed on the website's calendar of events, and help us stay current.

Regency Cove Resue 911

Last Saturday night, residents sitting on Sunset Point noticed a particularly large item floating in with the evening tide. It turned out to be a large pelican, just drifting in unnaturally. Before the night was over, it had drifted into Pirate's Cove. Early in the next morning, resident Ron Jeffries went to check on the bird. It had drifted all the way to Dan Dillon's dock, and still in some kind of distress.


Ron talked to Betty Ridge who made a call to the Seabird Sanctuary. In a few hours, a volunteer arrived at the park to rescue the bird. She put her kayak into the water of Pirate's Cove, and brought the bird to shore. It was discovered that the pelican was tangled in a mass of fishing line, with several hooks penetrating its body.

One lucky boy was asked to assist in the rescue. Daniel Helbig, 11, grandson of Betty Ridge, and also Lenore and Wally Helbig, happened to be on the scene and was allowed to hold the bird (just like a football). The volunteer Liz explained how she does emergency calls such as this in her free time. She was unable to remove one of the hooks, because it was embedded in swollen tissue. She did remove all of the fishing line and one hook. The bird was taken to the sanctuary for follow-up care. The Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores is a great place to visit and to give some financial support. This story had a happy ending.

SHARE Pickup

Saturday March 28 is the designated day for SHARE pickup. Volunteers will be sorting the food at 9 a.m. Shoppers are due around 10 a.m.

Seawall Bids Due

Seawall bids are due into the Office by 4 pm this Friday. The Board will meet on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. to open the bids.

New Fences Add Beauty and Security

It just got senseless to keep repairing the old fence everytime the neighborhood delinquents decided to cut it again. Our maintenance crew has been working despite 90 degree heat to replace the rusty old chainlink with a new wood fence. Look at how beautiful it is. They have also begun replacing the damaged section of the boat storage lot. Fence post holes are set and ready. Nice job, guys!

Committee Meeting Cancelled

President Ron Herb has decided to cancel the major meeting of committee heads scheduled for Saturday at 10 am. He has decided that it will be more expedient to meet with the committee heads individually or in pairs, to set up a standard of committee performance.

This is a relatively new event for Regency Cove, when so many residents have been asked to serve on committees to assist in the setting of policy for our association. We hope that many more people continue to volunteer to serve the association, from setting up the Fourth of July party, to reviewing new residents, and ultimately revamping our current Rules and Regulations of the park.

This is a perfect opportunity to cease complaining about how the Board runs the park, and to become an active committeeman who actually helps set the policy. You are hearing it now. Enroll... Become Active! Go ahead and complain at a meeting in the future. We will remind you that you missed the opportunity to become an association leader.

For info, leave a comment, or call a Board member. And remember,use the new Comment Form, available in the Info Room or the Office.

July 4th Planning Committee

Chairperson Mary Willsey convened a planning meeting for the committee that is organizing the Ice Cream Social on the 4th of July. This make-your-own-sundae spectacular will start at 2 pm. A cookie baking contest will be held, and then we will have them with the ice cream.

Please sign up ahead of time in the Info Room. You can register by phone, by calling Mary Willsey, Judy Webb, or Margaret Mohar. Also sign up for the cookie contest, so we know there will be enough to share. Bakers are asked to bring two dozen of your special cookie. Nice prizes will will awarded to First, Second, and Third Place entrants.

Ice tea and ice water will be provided. If you want to drink anything else, feel free to bring your own beverages.

To round out the afternoon, there will be a short sing-along of some patriotic tunes, a door prize drawing for supermarket gift certificates, and the traditional game of Spoons. It will be fun!

Meeting of Committee Heads

Ron Herb has called a meeting of all the heads of committees for Saturday June 21, 2008 at 10 am. You can see a complete list of committees on the website www.regencycove.net under the heading The Board.

If you have any questions, call Ron.

Photos from Summer Bunch

Jeannine Davis was kind enough to send me the photos she took at the Summer Bunch Party last Saturday night. Its always fun to see the people having a good time.

St. Patrick's Fire

A slight unusual odor wafted through the church at this morning's 9 o'clock Mass. Within ten minutes, the priest quietly asked the congregation to evacuate the church, and head over to the friary next door. That proved too small for the crowd, so Mass continued under the oak tree, while half a dozen firemen used chainsaws and axes to open an access hole in the roof of the church. The sound of sirens continued to arrive for the next 20 minutes or so.
By the time the Mass was completed, firefighters were spreading a plastic tarp over the hole they had made to put out the electrical fire that burned. Three firetrucks were on the scene, and many ambulances. No one was hurt. Quite an interesting Fathers' Day celebration.

Safety Zone Designation Granted

In 2007, the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners passed Ordinance 07-12 creating Senior Safety Zones in Hillsborough County for communities which met their stringent requirements.
On June 4, 2008, Regency Cove was granted the status of Senior Safety Zone. The County Sheriff's Office, which monitors all registered sex offenders in Hillsborough County, will not allow any registered offender to set up a domicile within 1000 feet of our boundaries.
This is just another, although slight, layer of protection for residents of Regency Cove. It is understood, however, that you residents are our best line of defense. As Chet always reports, write down descriptions of any suspicious persons or activity you witness, call 9-1-1, and then call Chet or another Board member.
Security is Everyone's Responsibility!

Email Database

Please let the Office know if you have recently gotten online, or if you have changed your email address. Some people have North and South addresses. I am trying to maintain a database for email addresses to improve communication in the park with the folks up yonder, and for year-round residents who scatter during an evacuation. This information will be very useful during storm season, because if our power and phones go out, I can take my laptop to another section of Tampa, Central Florida, or anywhere to transmit updates and photos.
If you don't have an email address, and would like to stay in the loop, call in an email address of one of your children or a close neighbor. Communication is key, especially after a storm!

Thank You Summer Bunch

Kudos to Betty Ridge and her committee for putting together a great meal and hours of musical entertainment tonight in Goodwin Hall. The committee consists of Betty, Margaret Mohar, Anna and Ron Jeffries, Martha Hogarth, Tim Reynolds, Dee Bedore and others we'll have to name later. The meal consisted of a choice of beef or BBQ pork sandwwich, with sides of slaw, baked beans, and potato salad. A bag of chips and some ice tea, and cookies and cake rounded off the best value meal going in the state of Florida.

Piano dinner music was furnished by Paul and Daniel Helbig, and their friend Jonathan Rhodes each with a turn at the piano for several numbers. Chuck's Backyard Bunch ( with resident Chuck Davis) picked up the pace a little bit with a few great dancing tunes.
Genetics, the father-son quartet featuring Arne and Paul Helbig and Chris and Jonathan Rhodes harmonized to the upbeat and bouncy songs Hello Marylou, Under the Boardwalk, Zippity Do Dah, and Up a Lazy River. They are fresh from competition in Jacksonville where they really wowed the judges. Then our own Regency Cove Ramblers (Tim Reynolds, Betty Ridge, Rose Reis, and Carl Williams) took to the stage with a few of their favorites, but the show-stopping performance occurred when Denise Helbig sang with the group Blue Bayou, and Walking After Midnight. That girl sure has some pipes!
I hope the lady with the camera emails me a few photos to share with you. These Summer Bunch parties are sure a lot of fun and a great event during our usually slow summer season. Thanks to all of you who worked so hard to feed and entertain over 160 people.

Minutes of Board meeting

A draft of the minutes of yesterday's Board meeting has been posted on the website.
www.regencycove.net

Board Meeting

There will be a Board Meeting on Thursday at 10 am. See you there!