The News of
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SUN CITY CENTER COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
Sun City Center
February 2016
...an official publication of the Sun City Center Community Association
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION SCHEDULE February 10 Board Meeting Rollins Theater – 9 a.m. 16 Community Leaders Meeting Florida Room – 9 a.m. 25 Volunteer Picnic Florida Room – 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. 25 Lawn Concert with Fred Campbell Band Stand – 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. March 9 Board Meeting Rollins Theater – 9 a.m. 22 Community Leaders Meeting (Note: 4th Tuesday of month) Florida Room – 9 a.m. 23 Membership Meeting Community Hall – 7 p.m. 28 CO-AP Meeting Caper Room – 2 p.m. Agendas for monthly Board Meetings will be posted on Official Bulletin Boards the Friday before and on CA website (suncitycenter.org ) – under “Association”). They will also be sent via “What’s New in the CA” email. Every Wednesday: Orientation for new members in the Board Room at 1 p.m.
CA Contact Information Phone: 633-3500 sccboard@suncitycenter.org Website: suncitycenter.org Information Center 813-633-4670
Annual Meeting Report
By John Bowker 285 residents attended the Annual Membership Meeting in Community Hall on January 6. Three residents of Sun City Center were sworn in as directors of our Community Association for three year terms as a result of resident votes in December: John Luper and Jim Schwartz are newcomers to the Board of Directors, and the current Board Treasurer Neil Rothfeld all accepted three year terms of office administered by CA President, David Floyd. Floyd awarded citations to individuals for outstanding volunteer work on behalf of Sun City Center. We were reminded that there are two open seats on the CA Board at this time due to recent resignations by board members, and appointments to the board will be considered by the existing board members during February. Transfer fees for 480 homes were received by the CA Board in 2015 so we can see that Sun City Center continues to be attractive to buyers even after our 54 years. Those fees totaled $720,000 and were applied directly to the CA Capital Fund for use in the construction of new amenities on the CA campuses. All approvals for construction of an enlarged café as an addition to the Atrium Building have been received and
Citation: Jim Johnson, Jody Johnson and Susan Muise (missing) for the excellent job they did in the development of the History Society’s display board in the Atrium Building. The current display highlights and captures the spirit of Hi Neighbor from 1962-2015.
are under final review by The Projects Office of the CA. Construction should begin during the first quarter of 2016. In response to audience questions: The Sheriff ’s Office will be monitoring the traffic that drives past a school bus that is picking up or discharging passengers in town. Drivers may not
Our Beautiful Entryway
By John Bowker Sun City Center Boulevard is a welcoming entrance to our town with its well-kept medians tailored by the Greater Sun City Center Beautification Corporation. Home values are based in significant measure by the first impressions one gets upon entering a community, so the investment in keeping that entry in superb condition is well placed. For many first time visitors to Sun City Center, their access to homes and amenities they have come to inspect then takes them along North or South Pebble Beach Boulevard. The streets themselves are the responsibility of our county, but the appearance of the landscape along those pavements is up to us. For the past five decades we have always turned to the developers of Sun City Center to make sure everything was trimmed – after all, they were here to sell houses so everything had to be just right. In a couple of years our last such benefactor will be leaving us as the last open lots are developed and sold. The responsibility for designing, implementing and paying for the needed median replacements, along with their maintenance year after year, will be ours. Ed Barnes, Chair of the Community Association’s Pebble Beach Medians Committee, reports that the present median plantings on the Pebble Beach Boulevards are costing our Minto developer about $100,000 a year to irrigate and fertilize, to mow and trim,
North Pebble Beach median reconstruction began in 2013.
and to provide occasional replacements. We need to get those costs under control, Barnes warns, pointing out there are 11,000 of us living in town and you can do the arithmetic about what it would cost each of us to divide up that total. Ed is working with a talented group of individuals including Master Gardeners Ron Pelton and Teri Brockway, along with horticulture enthusiasts John Jackson, John Luper, Sam Sudman, Joe Elam, Howie Griffin and IT technician Tom Schmitt to see what can be done to bring those costs down. We have learned the new term “Florida Friendly” in the lexicon of decorative plantings. Two of the medians on North Pebble Beach Boulevard have been replanted with remarkable results. During 2013, with substantial financial support from the Community Foundation of Greater Sun City Center, the sod on the first two medians was ripped up and replaced with ground cover requiring less irrigation and less regular attention from costly manpower running mowers. We can all be proud
of the 10 Home and Property Owner Associations who submitted minigrants to Hillsborough County for funding of the plants, ground cover and rock borders of each converted median. In fact, In September 2014, the Community Association was awarded the Hillsborough County Water Wise Award for the two medians converted to Florida Friendly. This year, Barnes and his crew are launching the conversion of three additional medians on North Pebble Beach Boulevard with the assistance of 10 additional Home Owner Associations for funding of the plants. For this new effort Barnes has received substantial financial support for the Sun City Center Men’s Club and the Interfaith Council
pass a bus that has its large red ‘STOP’ signs extended on your side of a divided highway or on either side of 2-lane roads. The CA is aware that more and more tickets are being handed out to speeders
See Annual on page 2 - CA
LIKE TO WRITE OR TAKE PHOTOS? Join the News of SCC team! Email: newsofscc.ca@gmail.com to cover the cost of the sod and tree removal. We must plan to re-plant many of the Pebble Beach medians over the years, but if we do the job right, the increases in our property values will more than make up for the costs. Of course, the maintenance of those medians will, ultimately, fall back on the residents through its CA dues. This is yet another sign of what can be accomplished by this all-volunteer community when we work together.
Did You Know?
While Community Association dues may be paid online, you still need to visit the CA office to get your new 2016 sticker. The office is open M-F, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Note: Heard something recently your neighbors “need to know”? Send suggestions to “newsofscc.ca@gmail.com”.
Statement of Purpose
The Sun City Center Community Association serves the residents of Sun City Center by providing assistance for the elderly, assistance and essential services to tax exempt entities, and operates in lieu of a municipal government, thereby lessening the burdens of government (Hillsborough County, Florida).
News reporter Uta Kuhn helps Anne and Bob Bailey with their 2016 CA membership stickers.