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

Pictured above is a view from the fourth floor... showing what our grandchildren call “Mount Sandypants.” When will our beach be restored to its recent depth and beauty? At the Board meeting last Thursday, Kevin Hing, (702) our resident beach advocate and chairperson of the St. Pete Beach “Beach Stewardship Committee”, reported that he had contacted Andy Squires, Pinellas County Director of Coastal Management.
Mr. Squires said that the contractor did not stabilize the beach properly in order to repair groin #1 (directly in front of Starlight). Because the December storm carried off so much sand, the contractor has to reevaluate his method for dealing with the repair of groin #1.
In the meantime, the contractor requested and received permission to start the repair of groin #2 (in front of Caprice). Mr. Squires stated that the repair of groin #1 will not be abandoned and the contractor will get back to work on it as soon as possible. The contract with the contractor has been extended from March 19, 2011 to April 30, 2011.

What can we do?

Please write to John Morroni, Pinellas County Commissioner for District 6, to let him know of our concern over the delay of repairing groin #1. Address (in your browser): pinellascounty.org. Click on “contact us”. Click on “Board of County Commissioners”, then check the box for Mr. Morroni and fill out the form. It won’t take 5 minutes, and the outcome could be a beach out front... sooner rather than later.

Snail mail address:
Board of County Commissioners, 315 Court Street, Clearwater, FL 33756
Attn: John Morroni

FROM THE BOARD:

Walkway Project - A new darker color has been chosen by the “Aesthetics Committee.” There will be plenty of notice given as to when we may have to vacate our apartments for the new coating to be applied. Hopefully it will be for a very short time.

Fines – the Board approved a policy for fining for violations of the Proprietary Lease, Bylaws and Rules and Regulations. This policy will be posted and copies will be sent to all shareholders.

Delinquent owner(s) – A policy regarding the conditions under which a delinquent owner and/or guests/occupants might be prohibited from use of the common property has been adopted.

Photo light cell - will be installed to allow outdoor and building lights to turn on and off automatically, eliminating the task of having to reset the light timer every couple of weeks.

Administrative Assistant position - will be filled shortly. This person will be in the office four mornings a week, present plans are for Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. One task to be handled in the office will be the scheduling of the guest apartment, 106. Once again we’ll be able to “check in the office” to see if certain dates are available, and to make arrangements on the spot for reservations. The rules for booking as stated in the Rules & Regulations document will apply.

Rules & Regulations – Board Officers are working to draft proposed language to reflect changes needed to comply with recently passed amendments, and other concerns that have been called to the Officers’ attention.

Reminder: the annual meeting is scheduled for February 8, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the lobby. Be sure to return voting proxies and the informal survey on guest unit 206.

Shuffleboard: There will be Shuffleboard Tourney & Dinner this Spring! Details next Express!
	Everyone is invited to come down to the *shuffleboard courts on Tuesday mornings*, weather permitting. Play goes from 10 to about 11:30, but you’re welcome to arrive anytime. No skill needed….a great chance to meet neighbors and get a little exercise, especially when it’s too darn cold to get in the pool! And it’s a lot of fun!

Heartfelt thanks to:
Bill Fields for all the outdoor Christmas décor, which included a lot of electrical work.
Guy Lapine (901) who not only lent his Christmas tree to brighten the lobby, but also took it down after the holidays.
Sharon & Bill Isaacs (902) and Gina & Johnny Machado (303) for trimming the tree AND... hosting the wonderful Christmas party.
Ted Przytula(508) and Stan Bryk (608) for the new plywood floor protector in the south elevator.

Congratulations to Alan Ngai (805) who will retire from Ontario law enforcement on March 31.

We’re happy to see:
Nancy McGuigan (501)back at Starlight after her knees surgery. Yes, that is “knees”….plural.
Ed & Betty Gibson (402) feeling better ….. Betty recovered from pneumonia, and Ed from a fracture after a fall.

Marlene Reid and Arlene Kuhn, board prez and secretary respectively, are attending a one-day seminar on Community Associations governance, given by the offices of attorneys Ben Rabin and John Damonte, sponsored by Resource Property Management.

Hearts & Chocolates to our February birthday folks:

Fay Bowers & John Lino-5th;
Sophie Bryk-6th;
Betty Gibson & Louisa Simos-15th;
Al Stucko-17th; Frank Montague-19th;
Gina Machado-22nd; Coleen Story-24th;
Paul Spencer-28th.

Marching in with Birthday wishes for:

Coral Nicholas-4th;
Shirley Lino-5th;
Dennis Dickinson-14th;
Bill Bowers-18th;
Frank Gulia-29th.