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Inside This Issue

Summaries of the March 31, 2020 and April 21, 2020 HOPCA Board of Directors Meeting………………………...1, 2 Virtual Cruise…………………………………….3 HOPCA Meeting Dates, Phone Numbers, Name Tags, IDs, Local Info…………...…...….4

Articles for next month’s issue are due by the 20th of the month oakleafeditor@outlook.com

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Since the regularly scheduled March 17th Meeting of the HOPCA Board of Directors had to be postponed until March 31st due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are two summaries in this issue of The Oak Leaf, one for each of March and April’s Meetings. Both took place via teleconference/videoconference.

March Meeting President Steve Horsman stated, in his report, that leaf removal is quite expensive and spoke briefly concerning the closed Executive Session that immediately preceded the monthly meeting. Vice President Joan Kostusiak assured the Park that she will continue to monitor all the briefings about COVID-19, both on the National as well as State level and whenever there is enough new information to pass onto the residents will provide a summary to keep everyone informed about this unprecedented crisis.

Treasurer Carol Iddings said that she is working very closely with the Financial Department of Inframark to get them to produce the 2019 Year-End Statement of Operating Funds of the five neighborhoods so the respective Chairs of those neighborhoods will have an accurate accounting of the cash flow for their respective neighborhoods. Ms. Iddings also indicated that the Park is in good financial shape. Secretary John Sanders complimented Ms. Kostusiak on her clear and concise updates on the coronavirus.

Architectural Review Committee (ARC) Chairman Paul Falduto reported on the approvals and denials of Owners’ requests and went on to say that, most of the time when an Owner’s request is denied, it is for the reason of the committee needing more information about the intended project, not because it does not meet Park standards. To keep the Park operating smoothly, Mr. Falduto said that the next meeting of ARC will be held on the first Thursday of April (the 2nd) as usual but would be by teleconferencing. Disaster Readiness Committee (DRC) Chair Sharon Rask said that two events held prior to the Shutter in Place Order being executed, namely DRC Day

and the talk about difficulties in dealing with persons afflicted with Cognitive Disorders, were both well-received and highly informative.

Jara Santiago, in her Community Manager’s Report, began by reviewing the insurance and quarterly fee delinquencies in the Park and as to work orders, Ms. Santiago explained that she is still working with temporary Maintenance Techs and on any given day upon which only one is working, he’ll continue making his way through the Park with a ladder and a blower cleaning the gutters of the oak tree debris. This will cause an unfortunate delay in getting to work orders and Ms. Santiago apologized for any inconvenience this has caused and urged residents to please be patient. Some days the Park is fortunate enough to have two techs and when that occurs, one will be cleaning gutters while the other one is handling work orders. Ms. Santiago informed the Community that, for insurance concerns, none of the techs is allowed on the roofs to clean but they’ll do their best, everything considered.

In old business, the Villas I and II Chairs both requested a sum of money be transferred from equity into roof reserves. Treasurer Carol Iddings explained that she utilizes standard and well-accepted accounting procedures as well as working very closely with the Financial Department of Inframark when maintaining the Park books. Bookkeeping can be complex but all monies are properly accounted for and the short answer to these respective Chairs’ concerns is that basically what they are requesting is not necessary. In new business, Villas I put in funds requests for two driveway approaches, driveway repairs, tree removal and trimming as well as for planting and sod. Villas III also needed funds in order to do tree trimming and to remove one tree, all of which the Board approved.

The last bit of business discussed prior to adjournment concerned payment of a bill from Mainscape which Villas I incurred. Some discussion of this matter ensued but the end result was the Board deciding, for the goodwill of

all parties involved, the invoice ought to be paid in full. April Meeting President Steve Horsman, showing much concern for maintaining the character of Heritage Oak Park, put quite a bit of emphasis in his report on the fact that several residents had communicated to him and Property Manager Jara Santiago their dismay over the seemingly inordinate amount of oak tree removal which has taken place in the Park very recently. Mr. Horsman had indicated that there ought to be little reason to remove oak trees. The obvious reasons are if the tree is diseased as determined by a licensed arborist or has caused documented damage to an owner’s property. Certainly, as with any concern of this magnitude, there are gray areas which take a greater amount of review in order to legitimately find that an oak tree ought to be taken down. Serious endangerment to person or property as determined by a reputable insurance company is one such example of an instance in which an appropriate amount of exercise of good judgment is required before making such a tough decision. More on this important topic would be discussed later in the meeting. Another topic Mr. Horsman discussed was the importance of closely monitoring contractors who come into our Park to do a particular project for specific performance thereof.

Vice President Joan Kostusiak mentioned that

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since COVID-19 had gone from the mitigation phase to a point at which the President and the various Governors of the States have been discussing setting up task forces to figure out the safest way of re-opening commerce and local municipalities have been coordinating efforts to open, at least on a limited basis, parks, beaches and other kinds of recreational facilities, her updates on the pandemic would now become fewer but no less complete. Ms. Kostusiak warned, however, that though a phased-in reopening is occurring, that people ought to continue the very practices which have brought about a flattening of the curve, such as proper hand hygiene, maintaining six feet of distance between persons, staying home whenever possible and wearing a mask whenever one is in public. No matter how much re-opening happens, a continuation of these practices will be essential for health safety, probably until a vaccine directed at the elimination of this viral strain is discovered.

Treasurer Carol Iddings expressed concern, now that the 2019 Year-End Statement (see description under “March Meeting”) is out, that there are discrepancies in the figures for each Neighborhood between what the Park has calculated and that which Inframark has determined. This issue is most certainly being addressed. The Park, it must be stressed, is in good financial shape.

Secretary John Sanders again thanked Ms. Kotusiak for her continued highly informative reports on COVID-19 and thanked, like his colleagues who spoke before him, Ms. Santiago for the fine job she’s doing under trying circumstances. Mr. Sanders also alluded to the fact that a few people in the Park had asked about the possibility of the Park putting out an updated version of a paper copy of the Directory. Ms. Santiago indicated that the Park will no longer be issuing a hardcopy of the Directory since it is already available on the website and as to residents who do not use a computer, that is why a paper copy of the “Important Contacts” has been compiled and is available for the taking.

ARC Chairman Paul Falduto reported that their meeting, held for the first time via teleconferencing on April 2nd, went really well. All were present and there were no reception issues. Mr. Falduto, reiterated, like in the March Meeting, the importance of providing as much information as possible when submitting an ARC request so that the Owner’s request isn’t denied for reason of insufficient information, necessitating an unnecessary postponement of an owner’s project. The next ARC Meeting will again be held via teleconferencing and is scheduled for May 7th.

DRC Chair Sharon Rask reported that the April meeting had been cancelled but indicated that residents ought to closely follow the recommendations included in Ms. Kostusiak’s reports on COVID-19. She is not only the HOPCA Vice President but is also the Health Information Officer of DRC. As if a viral pandemic isn’t bad enough, Ms. Rask also reminded us of the rapidly approaching hurricane season, which weather experts expect to be much busier than the normal with 18 named storms possible for 2020, compared with an average of 12 annually. Mr. Falduto, DRC co-chairman, contributed to Ms. Rask’s report by including an explanatory article citing various reasons the hurricane hunter scientists anticipate as much as a 50% increase in storms over the norm.

In Neighborhood reports, Villas I touched upon what President Horsman was talking about when he mentioned to be guarded when it comes to the vendors. They had concrete driveway aprons installed and the contract called for a 6” thickness but only 4” were put down. 4” is what we’ve had before but 6” is what is needed for a surface which is driven upon to be rated for more weight. That’s why it’s said that no commercial trucks are allowed on the driveways (not on the grass either as they can possibly break sprinkler heads; always in the street). Fortunately, the discrepancy was caught in time and the contractor credited the Neighborhood $1900. The aprons were not only supposed to be thicker but also wider. Villas II

reported that they have electrical boxes which need to be replaced at a price of $750 per box and Villas III indicated that tree trimming and one removal was taking place the week of this meeting. When funding is approved next month, 12 beige quads will be painted by Hein Bros. Villas IV mentioned that they are going to be utilizing Galloway Roofing to do maintenance work on a few roofs at $300 a quad. This work will extend the life of the roofs by two to three years while the Neighborhood can save more money in their roof reserves for complete replacements. The Carriage Homes have arranged for annual planting to commence on May 13th, work for which they received approval for the $2500 expense.

The Meeting discussion then switched back to the topic that should be near and dear to us considering that it is the mainstay of the name of our Park, oak trees. Various suggestions were made to possibly reduce the number of tree removals which are arranged in the Park. One idea is to hire an independent arborist who has no stake as to whether or not a tree is removed and if the homeowner makes the request, perhaps requiring that owner to pay for the arborist could possibly curtail the number of requests made. As mentioned before, it’s inevitable that a certain number of trees will have to be removed but the Park does have a remove a tree/plant a tree policy to counter that. Between now and May 7th, when the ARC next meets, they’ll have a chance to draft a clarified oak tree removal and replacement policy which will standardize the guidelines. Once the draft is completed and the language finalized by the ARC, it will submit the text to the Board, which will vote on it at the monthly meeting May 19th. Naturally any replacement tree will need to be an oak and a preliminary investigation as to the specifics has shown the cost of a replacement tree to be in the range of $350-$375, 7-10 feet tall and comes in a 30 gallon bucket. One landscaper was willing to include a 6 foot in diameter circle of mulch around the base of the tree. Obviously, everything is tentative at this point but it was thought that Neighborhood Chairs will have to place money in their budgets to cover the cost of replacement trees.

Ms. Santiago has been working hard on several Park concerns and it was only natural for President Horsman to turn over the rest of the meeting to her. She was very happy to announce the hiring of new Maintenance Technician Travis who is young, possesses a strong skill set, owns his own tools, is a Marine Veteran and passed his drug test. Travis was slated to begin work at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two Park-wide contracts expire this year namely landscaping (current vendor ArtisTree) and pest control (current vendor Good News). Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) went out to ArtisTree, Brightview and Mainscape on the landscaping end of things and as for pest control, the Park sent RFP’s to Truly Nolan, Good News and Ace. Speaking of pests, big-headed ants have been a recent bad problem about which residents have been calling to get them eradicated. Ms. Santiago had to go head to head with Good News but finally convinced them, despite their claims that they no longer treat for big-headed ants, to do so because they are not currently an exclusion in our contract with them. Office hours were also discussed. Naturally, with the CDD campus buildings closed due to COVID-19, Ms. Santiago has not been maintaining office hours but anyone can contact her by using her cell phone number which is (941) 276-8028.

The next meeting date was set for May 19, 2020. Submitted by John Sanders, HOPCA Board Secretary

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It was a cool and breezy mid

to late February day and a

“Just Married” couple was on

the deck of the Carnival

Valor, sitting at her dock at

the Port of Miami. The newlyweds were at a table eating food

taken from a wide assortment of sandwiches, wraps, chicken

wings along with cheese cubes, crackers, sliced fruit and

other such goodies which were all part of a buffet-style

welcome luncheon. It might have been windbreaker weather

and felt a bit more chilly for being in the shadow of the

superstructure but the sun was out and the young couple

knew that this was going to be a great cruise, soon to be

taking off for the Western Caribbean on their honeymoon.

The lines were cast and the bow and stern thrusters in full

gear as the grand cruise ship slowly drifted outward from the

dock into the middle of the channel leading to the turquoise

waters of Biscayne Bay. There was little time to enjoy the

scenery because, as announced, there would have to be the

muster drill required by the United States Coast Guard. The

dreaded sound came because, as also explained, “There will

be seven short blasts followed by one long blast. When you

hear the alarm, immediately proceed to your assigned

muster station as indicated by the sign on the back of your

cabin door.” The newlyweds proceeded to the muster station

and found a gathering of people under the white-hulled

lifeboat with an orange top

(capacity 150). The muster

station captain was there with

his orange vest and whistle

dangling from his neck. He was

holding a clipboard with a list of names which he checked off

as each of the guests in his station arrived. When everyone

was assembled, we were given that all too familiar, “If this

had been an actual emergency…” speech. When it was

over, so was the worst part of the cruise, and the fun could

begin as we were all dismissed.

The couple experienced their first big surprise of the cruise

when it came to dinner time the first evening. They arrived at

the main dining room (frequent cruisers know it better as the

MDR). On their paperwork was a table number at which they

were to sit each evening for the duration of the week-long

cruise. The newlyweds walked in single file with the wife first

as there was a narrow passage between tables. Their number

was 214 and they kept walking and wondering where their

table is. Tables to the left were larger than the ones on the

right but the couple, figuring that they’d been placed with a

larger group of people, say 6 or 8, kept looking to their left,

where the table numbers seemed to be higher (perhaps in the

220’s, 230’s and 240’s). The smaller tables (seating for 4) on

the right could be the location of their table but still none

were in a range which would have included 214. The

perplexed couple kept looking

and then the young husband

began noticing something

interesting, a whole row of tables

for two. He pointed this out to

his young wife saying, “Hon, remember when the travel agent

said she’d try to arrange a surprise for us in the dining room

since it’s your honeymoon? You don’t suppose that one of

these tables for two is ours and that’s the surprise she got for

us?” Surely enough, the sequence of the tables for two (a/k/a

honeymoon tables) was leading closer and closer to 214.

210, 211, 212, 213, “Here it is. Table number 214, our

table.” The new husband proceeded to gallantly pull the

chair out for his new wife.

The next day, as the Valor proceeded through the Florida

Straits, eventually making it into the open Gulf of Mexico on

its way to the first port of call, Isla Roatan, off the coast of

Honduras and for the whole rest of the cruise, the

temperature kept rising. Shorts and a t-shirt very easily

replaced a golf shirt, slacks and a windbreaker. The weather

was gorgeous, the sun warm but not blazing hot, the water a

deep blue and it felt like being in paradise. The young couple

had fun whether at seminars in the ship’s main theater,

learning about the fascinating ports

of call, enjoying the pool and water

slides (at one point during the cruise

the young husband participated in a

water sports competition while the

young wife filmed it on the family

8mm camera and yes he fared pretty

well, not eliminated until the semi-

finals), or just plain relaxing. When

in Isla Roatan, the newlyweds went on a shore excursion

which took them to a nature preserve which is home to

tropical monkeys and birds. On a break, the couple sat on a

bench with another lady who had an open Coke setting on the

bench. One of the monkeys snuck around to the backside of

the bench and with such finesse that the lady didn’t even

sense the monkey’s presence, climbed the bench, got to the

top of it and swiftly reached down for the lady’s Coke and

grabbed it, drinking from it like a human, all before the lady

realized what was going on. After getting over the initial

shock of the incident, the lady was mildly amused by it and

even thought it was kind of cute.

The cruise went on to Belize where the couple learned about

the Mayans and their rich

culture and advanced

society despite being of

ancient times. Belize is

known for its shale which

is very tough and durable,

so much so that the Mayans would use it in making tools and

weapons. The young husband bought for his new bride a

naked diamond (tax and duty free because of being “only” a

rock) which the couple brought back to the States and had it

placed in a setting as a second engagement ring. Following

the historical atmosphere of Belize, the cruise took on more

of a party feel as it headed for the island of Cozumel off the

Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. There the couple enjoyed the

beach as the husband kayaked in the ocean and the wife read

a book while lying on the beach. All seemed well about that

experience until the wife told her husband that she had been

hit in the head by a volleyball which strayed from the sandy

court. It was one of those things in which it wasn’t funny

then but it is now.

The adventure continued by swimming with the rays in Grand

Cayman. The guide had the group gather in a circle in

shallow water and the

rays eventually began to

swim inside the circle. It

was exciting to watch as

these amazing creatures

gracefully made their

way around us and after

a short while swam so close one could reach out and touch

them. The guide was actually encouraging us to do so. You’d

think that they are coarse but they are not; the rays are

surprisingly as smooth as a baby’s bottom! A full day of fun

at sea was followed by an early morning arrival at the Port of

Miami and so ended the young couple’s honeymoon vacation.

I hope this little account took you on a metaphorical cruise as

we get through this COVID-19 crisis together.

Respectfully submitted by , A Mystery Resident

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Important Phone Numbers for HOP Residents

The following list of phone numbers is being made available so that residents

can make direct contact with the appropriate service providers:

Charlotte County Utilities - Water: 941-764-4300

Waste Management: 941-629-1106

Irrigation - MainScape: 800-481-0096 or e-mail at FLCustomerService@Mainscape.com (For a sprinkler check, complete a Work Request and turn it into the Office) Good News Pest Solution - 1-888-235-4632

for residents using Good News

Reporting non-emergency observations within HOP to Police: 941-639-0013

The Oak Leaf Mission Statement

The purpose of The Oak Leaf is to notify residents of monthly meetings and activities, report the actions of the various boards and committees, and print Park-related

articles of a noncontroversial nature free of editorial comment.

HOP Name Tags

Residents can now order Heritage Oak Park name tags. The cost is $10 per tag. Payment is due at the time the order is placed. You must pay cash. The name tags will be bronze and are available with either a magnet or pin on the back. You can order yours from the concierge on Tuesday or by completing the form available at the Lodge or on the Website and sending it to Steve Horsman, c/o Heritage Oak Park, 19520 Heritage Oak Boulevard, Port Charlotte, FL 33948. You can also drop off your payment and form at the Community Manager’s office.

MEETING DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO COVID-19

HOPCA MEETING DATES FOR MAY DRC ……………………..………..….….………..May 5, Sports Bar 10 AM

ARC……………………..….………... May 7, via Teleconferencing 10 AM

HOPCA/Condo Discussion ………….………..May 11, Game Room 2PM

JAW Meeting …………………………………...May 12, Sports Bar, 10AM

HOPCA ………………………….May 19, via Teleconferencing otherwise in the Lodge, 10AM

We’re on the web! www.heritageoakpark.com

19520 Heritage Oak Blvd Port Charlotte, Florida 33948

Telephone: 941-235-3566 HOPCA-Option 1; CDD-Option 3

HOP Photo IDs

In the event of a disaster, entrance to Heritage Oak Park would be controlled. Only people showing a photo ID identifying them as a resident of the Park would be granted access. HOPCA has made available photo IDs for a cost of $10 each. You can order your photo ID from concierges Diane Long and Kathy Loomis on Tuesdays between 1 and 3 p.m. Payment is due at the time the order is placed. You must pay in cash.

The Oak Leaf is formatted and printed each month courtesy of

Four Seasons Air Conditioning, Inc. 941-206-6104

Group Rates Available For Heritage Oak Residents

Local Information Website

Charlotte County Building Dept. www.CharlotteCountyFl.gov

Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce www.CharlotteCountyChamber.org

Florida Power and Light www.FPL.com

Florida Drivers License Information www.flhsmv.gov