News
Thanks to Keller Williams and Mary Pat Vasquez
Dear homeowners,
The board of directors wanted to take a moment to show appreciation to Keller Williams and Mary Pat Vasquez. Keller Williams has continually allowed the association to use their facilities and Mary Pat volunteers her time for the meetings to take place locally and at no charge to the association. This saves the association on average nearly $2,400 for the board meetings alone.
Mary Pat Vasquez
Mobile: (321) 527-9812
Office: (407) 977-7600
marypatvasquez@kw.com
Without local partners like Mary Pat and Keller Williams, we would not have such a convenient and cost-effective meeting location.
On behalf of the board of directors,
Jamie Bowling
Vice President
Sentry Management Inc
2180 West State Road 434 Suite 5000
Longwood FL 32779
407-788-6700
Public Hearing Notice
Good morning,
The board would like to share the below notice of public hearing. Sorry for the short notice but this was just received in the mail.
Additionally, please be use caution as there was a recent rattlesnake sighting at a home in the community.
Click here for the full notice
Thank you,
Your Alafaya Woods Homeowners Association Board Members
Alafaya Woods HOA
Community Association Manager
Sentry Management Inc
2180 West State Road 434 Suite 5000
Longwood FL 32779
407-788-6700
2023 AWHOA Annual Meeting Q&A
8/8/2023
Q – Sugarberry Pond Update Request – owner wanted to know if we were ever going to fix the pond & fill it again.
A – HOA President explained the pond repair was part of the McKinnon street repair & is being worked by the City of Oviedo. Councilwoman Natalie reported that the city is on schedule & is working on possibly opening one lane of McKinnon for emergencies.
Q – Rental Restrictions – an owner wanted to know what the status was of the Proposed Amendment Change to limit buyers from immediately renting a purchased property.
A – HOA President said the Amendment did not pass due to lack of participation by the owners. By governing documents, 66 2/3% of the members (2230 homes) needed to vote FOR the Amendment Change. She also explained that we also need the same 66 2/3% of the homeowners to vote “yes” to have the quorum percentage changed.
Q – An owner said that “it appears “rentals continually go unnoticed for violations as homeowners continue receiving violations.
A – AW Manager said that there are many commercial rentals that have received violations & are cleaning up the properties. “Just drive through the neighborhood & you will probably spot those homes as they have their 1 or 2 favorite paint schemes.
Q – An owner said his money was stolen. (Violation fine)
A – Manager stated that was a very serious accusation & the homeowner decided to retract his statement.
Q – An owner stated that our flag is starting to tear & get ragged and should be replaced.
A – A Board member stated he had a replacement flag & just needed to get it put up. One of our homeowners (retired veteran) has volunteered to take care of flag “duties” and will get the new flag put up.
Q – An owner mentioned that it appears our landscapers are mowing too fast along the Blvd and missing some spots.
A – HOA President stated she had seen the same issue and will be discussing with the landscapers to correct this issue
Q – An owner asked for sign in sheets at the compliance meetings and more detailed information on the notices.
A – Compliance Chair stated they do have “sign-in sheets” along with “order numbers” based on those owners that had NOT previously cured their violation. Each meeting sign-in sheet is based on required attendees for that meeting & are not a generic sign-in sheet.
Q – An owner asked for ADA accommodation to fix things (violations) (timeframes, considerations??)
A – The Board will take this under advisement
Q – An owner offered to volunteer if the board considers the proposed amendment again.
A – Manager stated that she would keep that offer on file.
Q – An owner wanted to know what the issue was with the Water Fountain at the park & voiced her concerns with the current heat situation & no access to water when at the park.
A – Manager gave an update stating it was a “clogged pipe” issue & she has been trying to get a plumber out to assess & fix the problem. Someone is supposed to show up in the next couple of days.
Q – Some owners stated that they are unable to open the e-blasts as they show up as “compressed”.
A – Manager will check into this & also suggested they check size limit with their email provider.
Q – An owner recommended we call the state representative in our area to get a change to the laws to State Statutes that will amend HOA bylaws (specifically, quorum numbers originally set by the developers.
A – Board stated that they aren’t sure that this is really an option since it would have to change all HOA governing documents all across the state. They will however check with legal council to see if it’s an option.
Q – An owner wanted to know the status of his violation as he has been out of state & unable to do any lawn maintenance.
A – Manager requested he contact her during business hours to discuss
Q – An owner requested the Board send violation letters to tenants as well as the owners since in many cases, the owners are out of state (Corporate) and it takes a couple months to filter back down to the tenant. By that time if it’s something that the tenant is suppose to take care of per lease (lawn maintenance, TC storage, etc) fines have already been levied.
A – Manager is adding this to a BOD agenda for consideration
Q – An owner discussed event dates (McKinnon repair, Street paving within AW Community, Breakfast with Santa, City Oktoberfest schedule and crosswalks) with city representative.
A – City Council rep gave updates & scheduled timeline for Street paving, McKinnon repair, Sugarberry pond repair and also stated the city proposed dates for Oktoberfest & will check on City’s Breakfast with Santa.
Q – An owner requested a fence around the playground (there are open areas to the sidewalk on the Blvd where a child could get grabbed very easily, or run into the street), park area all along the Blvd, as well as at the back of playground so someone can’t “grab” a child from a neighboring backyard that’s not fenced. He also stated that it’s too easy for a child to get into the water at the pond too.
A – Board will take under advisement
Volunteers
Good Day,
We are in need of volunteers to help make our events a success. If we do not get volunteers, unfortunately there will be no more more Alafaya Woods HOA events hosted. We have had the same volunteers for the last 15+ years and they are needing others to step up an assist. If we do not get volunteers, the Oktoberfest and the annual holiday event will be canceled in 2023. We hope it will not come to this, please complete the online form at https://alafayawoodshoa.com/volunteer-application/ if you are willing to volunteer, our members will reach out to you to discuss what is needed.
Let’s all work as a team so we can continue to enjoy these great events.
On behalf of your Alafaya Woods Homeowners Association Board Members
Alafaya Woods HOA
Community Association Manager
Sentry Management Inc
2180 West State Road 434 Suite 5000
Longwood FL 32779
407-788-6700
407-788-7488 (fax)
www.sentrymgt.com
Alafaya Woods Pond at the Park
The board of directors and management have recently received multiple inquiries about the pond at the park. This is a seasonal problem that happens nearly every summer. The current vendor is working diligently to resolve the surface algae as quickly as possible. We are also including pictures for comparison from the summer of 2021 and currently.
History: The original design and permitting did not include this pond as a wet pond. The city is responsible for the functionality of the pond.
The aesthetics and aquatic spraying are the association’s responsibility. The board is exploring options for long term aesthetics; however, these are likely over $100,000 and would need to be funded by an increase in annual assessments or a special assessment.
At this time the board is working closely with the vendor to have these problems treated without incurring any major additional expenses and if this is not effective, they will then explore other options as mentioned.
Below are some considerations in relation to the pond aesthetics:
- Aeration is not beneficial to resolve algae removal due to the depth of this pond.
- Another option is dredging and/or digging the pond deeper. This requires engineering plans, permits, along with approval from the City and St. John’s Water Management.
- Circulators are an option but could cost upwards of $10,000. The board is in the early exploration stage of this.
- Herbicides can be used; however, are limited based on the depth of the pond.
- Another option that would be an exorbitant cost is scraping off the algae manually, but this would likely return within 15-30 days.
- The board has investigated adding fish; however, grass carp do not eat algae and any fish added would likely be taken off by birds.
- Stormwater runoff feeds into that pond.
- Ducks can contribute to the algae problems.