February 2011 Newsletter Starlight Express of Starlight Tower St Pete Beach Florida

Spring is almost upon us, and at Starlight that means Shuffleboard!!!

The poster tells most of the story, and a lot of people have already signed up both to play and for the dinner afterwards. You don’t have to be an expert to enter the tourney; if you need to “instruction”, come on down on Tuesday mornings for the weekly shuffleboard gathering. Marlene and Dan Reid are chairs of the affair, and with their committee helpers have planned a great day. Play will begin promptly at 10 a.m., break for lunch, and play resumes at 1 p.m., where the champions will be determined. Then time to get ready for the sumptuous repast which will begin at 5 p.m. Dinner costs $12.00/person – Lasagna, salad, wine and those great pies from Village Inn. Dinner for children 6 – 12 is $6.00. No charge for children under 6. And yes, you can attend the dinner even though you don’t play in the tourney. Pay your dinner tab to Marcia Thorpe in 906. Make sure you mark the envelope with your name, apartment number and amount. After dinner the always exciting door prizes will be given out and we are asked to patronize the generous donors. That list will be included in the next Express.
See you on Saturday, March 19.

On a sunny morning
this past week, these three engineers
of the scrub brush plied their talents and used up a ton of elbow grease to clean the shuffleboard courts of about
a year’s accumulation of dirt.
Pictured taking a break from their efforts are (L to R), winter residents Alban Murphy from Newfoundland; and Edith and Don Schneider from Illinois.

Thanks, folks for your hard work.

Most people know by now the great news that the walkway re-coating has been postponed until late May, which means that uninterrupted plans can be enjoyed. See the note that follows.

A thank you note to the Board:

We the shareholders and residents of Starlight Tower wish to thank all of you for your immediate response to our request pertaining to the recoating of the walkways.
Your decision to extend the timing of this job until late May is a plus to all of us. We can now make our plans for the remainder of our stay this season.
Our thanks again and appreciation for listening to our concerns.

Respectfully yours,
Gina Machado (#306)
For the shareholders/residents

At the annual meeting on February 8:

Shareholders voted down the proposed amendment to the Bylaws.
The opinion survey concerning the use of apartment 106 indicated a clear preference for its continued use as a guest apartment.

The 2011 Board:
Marlene Reid, President; Arlene Kuhn, Secretary; Bill Wales, Treasurer; and Directors Tom Hooten; Lee Brand; Ron Porat; and Warren Weathers.

From the Board:

After many years of leaking flat garage roofs, and patching same, the Board has decided the time has come to bite the bullet and replace the roofs with one that will have a pitch to ward off standing water. Right now this project is in the “works”, with paper work, insurance documents, permits, etc. being obtained. Phase I will include the roofs of the middle and south garages, with the north unit to follow as soon as feasible. Starting date may be as early as March 2, or the following Monday, March 7, depending on weather and other variables. We will need access to every garage, so please make certain that we have a current/working key or be notified of other means of access (combinations). We will give as much notice as possible of the starting date, and schedule for each building. Cars will have to be vacated from the garages. (Hopefully, all owners have obtained their on-street parking permits). Valuables should be removed, and other items covered to protect from dust and debris, although we have been assured it will be kept to a minimum. The roofing contractor has promised they will be as careful as possible, will clean up after every day’s work, and will never leave the job while the roof is vulnerable to rain. The Board would greatly appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Thanks.
Board of Directors.

In an email from Scott Kirby, Assistant to County Commissioner John Morroni, we have learned that the contractor should be back working on T1 (our groin) within a few days, to proceed with excavating and repairing the T1 tubes. The contract period was to end March 19, but will be extended at least a couple of months so that all work can be completed.

Bill Dunn (403) took this picture a few days ago….showing T2 groin work, just south of us.

Some People News:
We’re glad to learn that Sue Alley (705)is doing well and back home from Palms Hospital after a bout with pneumonia.

And happy that Louisa Simos (908) – our wonderful webmaster - had successful knee repair surgery and is recovering nicely in the snows of New Hampshire.

Our sincere sympathy to winter resident Ursula O’Connor (503) on the death of her sister, Sister Theresa Mathews.

April’s Showers of good wishes to birthday people:

Winter resident from Newfound land Mary Murphy – 1st;
Jim Brennan – 3rd;
Ann Hiller – 9th;
Sandy Bogden – 11th;
Mary Quinn – 15th;
Alice Hartmann – 27th.