WHAT A GREAT

Bats in the belfry

DENNY O’NEIL FORMER BALDWIN PARK RESIDENTIAL OWNERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

“You’ve got bats in your belfry!” That was a pretty common saying when I was a kid. It was used to disparage someone. I just got back from Australia. My daughter has lived there for a while, and at two of the places she has lived in Australia, a lot of large fruit bats are evident at dusk. We saw them at her current home. But I digress.

Bats, erratically flying mammals, serve a useful purpose by catching and eating a lot of insects. In Florida, they eat insects that could do real damage to agricultural products. What is a belfry? It is a bell tower, usually on top of a church.

So, where did the term “bats in the belfry” originate? It seems it started in use around the year 1900, when it showed up in newspaper articles about people who were, shall we say, “three bricks short of a full load,” “whose elevator doesn’t go to the top,” etc., or just generally disliked by the newspaper. Probably the term was used mostly about a politician or businessman the newspaper didn’t like.

Bats have to live somewhere. Sometimes, it is in a belfry. Unfortunately — as several years ago a few Baldwin Park residents discovered to their dismay — “somewhere” was their attic. If you had them in your attic, what would you do? Some people would say, “get them out of there, yesterday.” Hint: The bats poop. I guess the correct language is to “exclude” the bats from a building by performing an “exclusion.” You hire someone to remove the bats and close up the existing entrances for them to get into the building. One problem: According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida’s four-month bat maternity

BALDWIN PARK LIVING | FEBRUARY 2020 season begins April 16 and ends Aug. 16. During the season, no one can do exclusions to remove bats from buildings, because the bats are giving birth and raising their young. After the season, young bats fly and can get their own food, so the exclusions can take place. Thirteen species of bats call Florida home. Some of the species are threatened. Many bats call home natural sites like trees with cavities and peeling bark. Some live on dead fronds left on palms. Another home can be a bat house. To help with the issue, the Urban Orlando Community Development District has purchased three bat houses to be installed at some of their pond areas here in Baldwin Park. These bat houses will shelter up to 500 bats each. Also, Baldwin Park Elementary School is doing two decorative bat houses that will be installed on CDD-maintained areas in Baldwin Park. These decorative bat houses will be upscale and exclusive. Just kidding.

FITNESS CENTERS NEWS The two ROA fitness centers were built as neighborhood gyms and were not intended to be state-ofthe-art exercise facilities. A few years ago, the ROA Board of Directors surveyed residents about their interest in going to stateof-the-art exercise facilities. The majority did not want to do it and felt residents who wanted to have the use of such a facility should join one of the gyms available in the area. The maintenance of the fitness centers is included in the semiannual ROA assessment that residents and apartment complexes pay. Any upgrade to a stateof-the-art exercise facility would involve significant construction costs, as well as new personnel costs (for fitness instructors).

The use of personal trainers by our residents has been problematic in the past and is prohibited by the ROA Board for that reason. Most of you know that there are rules concerning use of the two ROA fitness centers. Here is a summary of the rules: n Wear appropriate attire and footwear while exercising. n Use the cleaning supplies provided to wipe off equipment when you are finished. n No food is allowed in the exercise room. n Turn off TVs when finished. n No horseplay on equipment. n No loitering. n No personal trainers permitted.

The ROA has installed the following new cardio equipment: treadmills, Les Mills Virtual Bike (spin bike), recumbent bike, arc trainer and ellipticals.

New strength equipment is on order and may already be installed by the time you read this: n Bicep curl (both gyms) n Chest press (Grace Hopper Fitness Center only; replaced in the Enders Fitness Center in 2019) n Lat pulldown (both gyms) n Leg press (Grace Hopper Fitness Center only; replaced in the Enders Fitness Center in 2019) n Leg extension/curl dual piece (used to be two separate pieces; both gyms) n Hip abductor/adductor (both gyms) n Dual adjustable pulley (both gyms) n Smith machine with plates (rubber weight plates; both gyms) n Dumbbells and adjustable bench (Grace Hopper only; Enders has already) n Medicine balls (both gyms) n Stability balls (both gyms) n Mats for stretching (both gyms)

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