A Happy New Year

May all of the residents and employees of Regency Cove have a happy and healthy New Year! Enjoy the celebration safely tonight.

Hope to see many of you tomorrow at the New Year Party on January 1. Doors open at 7pm, Happy Days will be performing again from 8 pm to midnight. This is a BYOB affair, and bring an appetizer to share. This event has been sold out, no tickets will be sold at the door.

Obituary

Our condolences go out to the family of Chuck Linn who passed away yesterday at his home near Erie, PA. Chuck and Ruth have been long time residents of Regency Cove, since the early 90s. Chuck was quite a videographer, and shared his home videos when I was involved in writing the history book.
Chuck has been struggling recently with complications of conjestive heart failure. Our loving wishes are extended to Ruth and the rest of the family. He will be buried Saturday after a funeral in Erie.

Thanks A Million

(Click on Photo to enlarge)

Thanks a million to the crew of volunteers who showed up this afternoon with rakes and shovels to clear the stones off the median strip. It was backbreaking work, I heard the term "chain gang" spoken once or twice. We kept it under an hour, but got quite a bit accomplished in that short time. More rakers are needed. Jane Mahoney came out twice with bottles of cold water, and a tray of Christmas cookies. Much appreciated, Jane. Thanks!

The next time you see Bill Mountford, Ed Bedore, Jane Mahoney, Ed Pauquette, Gene James, Manny Maldonado, Paul Larsen, or Mike Ross, give them a great big THANKS! Or better yet, pick up a rake and help us next week. Go out there, anytime, and just clear the stones away from the tree trunks and lightpoles.

Needed: A Few Good Men

At 1:00 on Saturday afternoon, December 27, 2008 the first of the volunteers will begin raking stones on the Blvd 7 median strip. Ed Scobee has been using the Bobcat to remove the decorative stone. We need a few good men to rake the stones away from the tree trunks and light poles in the median, and pile them up for easy removal. Everyone is welcome. Come on by and see what real heroes look like.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings to our Regency Cove family and circle of friends.

Thank you for reading the blog, and for keeping the numbers up so high. That's encouragement to keep this thing going.

God bless you all and your families too.

Board Welcomes New Director

At the December 20, 2008 meeting of the BOD of Regency Cove, the board sadly accepted the resignation of Richard Siddens due to reasons of health. Richard was elected last year to serve the final year of Father Bob's term, which expires in March, 2009. Several board members nominated a replacement, all of the board members were asked to make their choice. A majority of the directors selected Pat Fennessy, a woman who demonstrated her desire to serve on the board by puttting her name on the ballot last March. She will serve on the board until the elections in March, when she will again run for the position, if she so chooses.

Pat diligently served on the Rules and Regs Committee which met weekly since August. That committee just recently wrapped up their revisions, which will go before the board, and then to the membership for final approval. Welcome aboard, Patty!

Emergency Water Restrictions

The management of Regency Cove issued an alert to residents today regarding the newest water restrictions imposed by Hillsborough County. Remember that there will be no warnings issued, and violations will be immediately fined. Fines could range as high as $500.

Residents: Please be advised of the new water restrictions effective immediately:

1. New Sod: New Sod is Prohibited: Only exception is for new homes or if a contract was signed prior to October 28, 2008 with a sod company; contract must be presented to the City of Tampa.
2. Sod Infested with Pests: If sod is pest infested or has other issues that require it to be replaced; it will not be exempted from the One-Day-A-Week rule. If new turf is installed under these conditions, it may only be irrigated on the proper irrigation day during permitted irrigation hours.
3. Fountains: Operation of aesthetic fountains inside Tampa City Limits is prohibited.
4. Pressure washing of buildings and other structures: Pressure washing of buildings and other structures for maintenance and painting purposes using low volume methods shall not be restricted. The washing or low volume pressure washing of sidewalks, streets, driveways, and other non-pervious areas shall be prohibited except for public health and safety.
5. New Plant(s): New Plant establishment allowance is still 60 days total; however on days 31 – 60, new plant material may only be watered every other day instead of any day. Even-numbered addresses may accomplish every other day watering on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. Odd-numbered addresses on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
6. One Day per Week Irrigation Restrictions: This includes Micro-Irrigation, Hand Watering, or other Low Volume Irrigation.
Addresses ending in an even number, may water on Tuesdays only.
Addresses ending in an odd number, may water on Sundays only.
Watering on the designated day is allowed between midnight and 8 a.m. or 6 p.m. and midnight.
Any one zone of a property may only be watered once during the allowable day, NOT both in the morning and again in the evening.
Restricted hours apply to all irrigation with potable water - including automatic sprinklers, hose-end sprinklers, hand watering, micro-irrigation and other low volume methods.

The Most Beautiful Time of the Year

This is always such a beautiful time of the year in Regency Cove. The Christmas lights begin to appear in the garden areas and its such a welcome sight on our evening walks around the park. It is difficult for me to photograph in the darkness, but a few photos came out well enough to share with you.

We need to extend a thank you to our maintenance crew for a job well done. Thanks Ed, Mike, Richard, and Bobby. Season's Best to you all!

And what about that new sign!! Even in the middle of the night (as pictured) we can read the coming events. This is awesome!

Groundbreaking Ceremony Today

Click on any photo to enlarge or print. Click the Back button to return to this screen.

Many residents were surprised to see the new sign at the front gate advertising the Groundbreaking Ceremony which happened today. At 10 am today in Goodwin Hall, there was a reception to welcome volunteers to the kick-off the the new Regency Cove grant A Florida-Friendly Facelift for Boulevard Seven, sponsored by the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners, the Hillsborough County Children's Board, and the Frank E. Duckwell Foundation of Tampa Bay.

Lisa Strange, a master gardener from the Florida Extension Services, also attended and spoke about the numerous workshops that their office sponsors each season. This reception was nicely attended by many of the residents who generously signed up on the Volunteer Sheets for a variety of jobs: food donations, plant planning committee, planting people, micro-irrigation installation volunteers, people to rake, and people to plant. We will always welcome new volunteers to join us.

The planning committees will shortly be invited to a field trip to the University of Florida Extension Office Betty Walker Discovert Garden in Seffner, on December 30. We will gather early in the morning at 9 am or 9:15 to car pool out to Seffner for this fun field trip.Watch your mailbox and this blog for updates.

There are 3 pages of the grant tacked to a small board in the Information Room for your inspection. It spells out each phase of the process, from concrete breaking, to watering the finished garden.

A timeline will be published very soon. Thank you residents for coming out today and supporting this community project! Thank you to Ed Scobee for providing all the equiptment, and the support that made this morning's reception a real historical occasion for Regency Cove. Ed, you never fail us. Thanks to Mike and Bobby for the extra effort in their busy days to make this cereminy a lot of fun for those who attended. You guys are GREAT!!

Communication Committee Meets

The Communication Committee is the lifeline of Regency Cove. Susan Dunphy's Disaster Committee was instrumental last summer in getting the word out when Hurricane Faye was at our doorstep, and Hillsborough County issued a premature evacuation order. Tampa police actually knocked on doors here in the park, at 5:oo am to rouse our residents, just minutes before the evacuation order was cancelled. Better safe than sorry!

During the winter months, Ruth Paruszkiewicz's block captains take to the streets for necessary communications around the 'hood. On December 18, at 2:00 pm the entire Communication Committee will meet at Goodwin Hall. Our manager, Cheri Scobee, will outline any new Florida mandates, and keep us up-to-date on strategies to help us communicate in the event of any disaster. We welcome suggestions and positive comments.

All block captains and Disaster Committee members are welcome. The rest of the park is welcome too.

Building Standards Committee

The Building Standards Committee has been meeting on Friday afternoons to review and revise their documents and application form. All projects which are done outside the home: painting, construction, roofing, and landscaping require a HORC building permit. Some projects will require a city of Tampa permit as well. These meetings are posted and open to the public.

Lonnie Lea Napier Good Neighbor Award

On May 17, 2000, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners established the Lonnie Lea Napier Good Neighbor Award in honor of a County resident who lost his life while trying to rescue a neighbor’s cat from a tree. This was not the only instance of compassion and helpfulness shown by Lonnie. Neighbors tell story after story of how he could be relied upon to help out in a number of ways – from putting up Christmas tree lights for a recently widowed woman to fighting a brush fire until firefighters arrived.

The award is meant to recognize those good neighbors who help simply because help is needed – individuals who demonstrate the spirit shown by Lonnie Lea Napier.

Individuals, neighborhood associations and community groups may make nominations to the Office of Neighborhood Relations at any time throughout the year. On a quarterly basis the County will recognize a “good neighbor”. The quarterly nominations will be reviewed and an annual “Lonnie Lea Napier Good Neighbor Award” will be presented at the Annual Hillsborough County Neighborhoods Conference in March.

All residents of Hillsborough County are eligible to nominate and be nominated. The nominee must demonstrate an on-going spirit of compassion and helpfulness to his/her neighbors.
The annual award comes with a $2,000 prize to be awarded to the neighborhood association serving the area in which the recipient lives. The money must be used for a project that improves the neighborhood or the association.

For additional information contact sandyross@regencycove.com, or the Hillsborough County Office of Neighborhood Relations:
Bryant O. Johnson, Executive Manager
601 East Kennedy Blvd.,
13th FloorTampa, Florida 33602
Telephone: (813) 272-5860

Its time to recognize your neighbors!

Groundbreaking Ceremony

On Dec 16, 2008, at 10 am, there will be a reception in Goodwin Hall and a groundbreaking ceremony to begin the grant project A Facelift for Blvd 7. The Beautification Committee is looking for volunteers to help with the raking that will be needed once the concrete has been removed. The persons who signed the volunteer sheet will be notified personally.

Early brochures illustrate the types of plantings that proved frustrating to maintain through the intense summer heat and during winter droughts.A micro-irrigation system will be installed to periodically irrigate the Florida-friendly plants if needed. A few volunteers will be needed for this part of the installation. New soil and mulch will fill the area. This garden will serve as a model for the community using maximum. xeriscaping techniques. It will also serve as a showcase to the entire community for arriving guests.

Website Toolbar Introduced

Next time you visit the website www.regencycove.com, please take a moment to download the free Regency Cove community toolbar. With this fantastic accessory, you can access our site from a push of a button on your top toolbar. You will able to receive real time alerts from the manager, office staff, or board of directors, in the event of an emergency.
I put a few fun things on the toolbar as well, a radio that plays a few oldies and county channels while you are browsing, a weather button for up-to-the-minute weather broadcasts, and a message center for friendly reminders and non-emergency items.
There are many options that can also be included... a chat room for residents, a link for stockmarket updates, and several games, to name just a few. We'll have the board talk about it before I rush into anything.
This blog is not an official site , but the webpage is. Please try it out. You can always uninstall it if you don't like it. Let me know what you think.

New Water Restrictions

Water Restrictions Tightened to Conserve our Water Supplies

By Neil Combee
Governing Board Chair
Southwest Florida Water Management District

The Tampa Bay region continues to suffer from the effects of a three-year drought, moving from a "severe" to an "extreme" status. We need your help to conserve water and protect the environment.

This summer's rainy season was not enough to refill our lakes and rivers. We are just beginning our eight-month dry season, yet many water levels are where they'd normally be at the end of the dry season. This month, the Hillsborough River reservoir, the main water supply for the city of Tampa, is as low as it normally is in May. The Alafia River is so low that it is no longer able to provide water to meet public supply needs. The C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir has about five billion gallons left in storage, compared to a capacity of 15 billion gallons, and water supply officials predict it could be dry by late April or early May, well before the start of the annual summer rainy season in mid-June. Weather forecasters are predicting below-normal rainfall conditions this coming winter and spring.

With seven months of the dry season still ahead of us and demand for water spiking, we face many challenges. If we don't reduce the amount of water we use, increased withdrawals will result in further impacts to our lakes, wetlands, streams and estuaries. In an effort to reduce demand for water, Tampa Bay Water, the region's wholesale water supplier, requested the District increase its watering restrictions for Tampa Bay Water's member governments in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.

On Oct. 28, the District Governing Board increased its water shortage designation for the Tampa Bay area from severe to extreme. The additional water shortage measures include restricting hand-watering and micro-irrigation for non-lawn landscaping to before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.; ordering the postponement of turfgrass renovations (including sod replacement and vertical mowing); reducing the hours that aesthetic fountains and waterfalls may operate from eight hours to only four hours per day; and requiring water utilities and other local enforcement officials to increase their education and enforcement efforts, including issuing citations for a first offense rather than a warning. These additional measures apply to all areas of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.

The Governing Board is asking residents and business owners to do their part by following the tightened one-day-per-week watering restrictions and by conserving water whenever possible both indoors and outdoors.

We're asking you to:
Only water on your watering day and only if your lawn needs it.
Skip your watering day if the soil is already moist or within two days of a heavy rain.

The District appreciates everyone's efforts over the last two years to conserve water during the drought. However, we must be vigilant and continue working together to protect Tampa Bay's fragile water resources and natural environment over the next seven months. Let's all pitch in and do our part.

For more information and free materials about the tightened water restrictions, the drought and how you can conserve water both indoors and outdoors, I encourage you to visit the District's web site at www.WaterMatters.org/drought.

Grant Money Awarded

Marylou Laycock, Community Services Program Coordinator from Hillsborough County Office of Neighborhood Relations met this morning with Ron Herb and Sandy Ross to sign the Letter of Understanding, which finalizes the process of awarding the $1500 beautifucation grant to Regency Cove. This grant is made possible by the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners, Hillsborough County Children's Board, and the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation within the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.

The grant was written by Sandy Ross and Judy Webb last Spring, and was submitted well before the summer deadline. In October, the park was notified that we had won the full amount. The grant is called A Florida-Friendly Facelife for Boulevard Seven. It involves the use of a jack hammer to break up the cemented stone, installation of a micro-irrigation system, and purchase of dirt, mulch, and Florida friendly plantings to landscape a central eye-catching garden.

Many residents volunteered last Spring to assist in the project. They will be notified, and a kick-off meeting is planned in a few weeks, when our Christmas activities die down.

This project must be completed by August 2009, but we expect it will be finished before the snowbirds fly back home.

Joel - John Concert Tickets

Elton John and Billy Joel will perform at the St. Pete Times Forum on March 5, 2009 at 7:30 pm. Tickets officially go on sale this Saturday at 10 am, and can be purchased at the Forum box Office, at all Ticketmaster locations, and by calling Ticketmaster Express (866) 448-7849. This is for automated sales only, no live people.

Tickets will range in price from $55 to $177. Great Christmas presents!

A Few Helpers Needed

Volunteers are needed to string the Christmas lights around the pool area. Remember how nice it looked last year? Leave a comment below, or email hoa@regencycove.net if you'd like to help.

Christmas is Coming

Next time you walk into the clubhouse and see the decorations, thank a volunteer. Sunday afternoon, a dedicated group of volunteers wrapped the pictures hanging on the walls, and set up 3 trees and the manger. Take a minute and look at the ornaments from residents of days gone by. Better yet, add an ornament to one of the trees with YOUR name immortalized on it. Under the trees are stuffed animals with gift tags commemorating a few of our OUTSTANDING (deceased) residents.

Alice Disharoon and Sandy Ross hosted the party that decorated the hall, shopped and served the wine and cheese and fresh fruit, and cleaned up afterwards.

Please bring a signed Christmas card to post in the Information Room. We are trying to eliminate the need for people to send out many cards. The economy is tough right now. Bring your community Christmas card and tape it to the wall. Let's begin a new tradition.

Our thanks to the lively group of helpers, shown below. Missing from the photo is Ellen Nimon, who came, did her job, and left before the party started.

Volunteers: Margaret Mohar, Ruth Paruszkiewicz, Chet and Carole Hindman, Roger DesRosiers, Mary Lou Mittel, Charlene Haviland, Marvin and Earlene Randolph, Katie Johnson, Alice and Joe Disharoon, and Sandy Ross. (Your name could be here.) How could we EVER forget Karen and Chuck Paramore?! You guys are the greatest!