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These gentlemen (and their wives) are all winter residents who
are not Unit owners, but are devoted to Starlight Tower and our
graceful lifestyle. Denis and Ursula are former
owners, and Jim and Verna and Don and
Edith are long-time winter residents.
Notes from our President, Marlene
Reid...
Restoration Contract
Our attorney-drafted addendum to the Contract was accepted with
a minor change in wording. So the Contract has been signed by
the Contractor, Complete Property Services (CPS), and Starlight.
Vance Poland from Resource Property Management has received his
copy so he can get out his hard hat and his oversight
“see-all-glasses” and make preparations to have this project go
as smoothly as humanly possible. You will recall that last July
Lynn Dopp prepared a report letting the shareholders know
what to expect and when…..What is the general procedure? Will
work begin on the top floors or the lower floors? Will work be
starting on the west side at the same time work is being done on
the east walkway side? Should I leave my shutters up or put them
down? Will we be able to use our air conditioners at all? Will
we have to move out for a period of time?
Now, with a different contractor all that has changed, so we
have invited Complete Property Services to hold an informational
session so the shareholders can get these questions answered.
This session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. in
the Starlight Tower Lobby! Mark your calendars!
The Beach
Starlight was well represented at the Pinellas County Courthouse
on Tuesday, February 19, when Coastal Coordinator, Nicole
Elko, made her presentation to the County Commissioners on
the history, the present condition, and the future plans for
Upham Beach. Nicole’s pictorial review was interesting and
informative, and her message came through loud and clear that
the groins are doing their job in deterring erosion as had been
intended, with no adverse down drift consequences. Monitoring of
Upham Beach is being carried out by the University of South
Florida. Although the surfers are complaining about the groins
interfering with their sport, and some of the “powers that be”
are hearing them out, the conclusion that surfaced is that sand
renourishment, with dredging of Blind Pass, is on track for
2009, and a plan for making the groins permanent in 2013 is on
the drawing board. Post Script on the Beach: We have asked the
St. Pete Beach Police for more thorough policing of activities
on the beach in front of our building. Some residents have
picked up bags of litter including beer cans and bottles(the
beach is supposed to be alcohol-free, and under-age drinking is
also part of the scene). Hopefully, the Police Department will
step up enforcement. In addition, all Starlight residents are
encouraged to confront trespassers who enter Starlight premises
and/or pool.
DID YOU KNOW
DEPARTMENT??????????????
There is a camera mounted on the inside of the top of a porch
window in our apartment (#408), placed with our permission by
Lenny’s Surf Shop, to advise surfers and boarders of surf
conditions at Upham Beach in front of Starlight. The camera
takes an updated picture every 3 seconds, (with about a minute
delay), and you can access the pictures by going to
www.lennyssurfshop.com or Starlight’s website where our
webmaster, Louisa Simos, has a
link
to Lenny’s site. Warning, it is kind of addictive….once you
start watching, you’ll find yourself checking it out quite
often.
John Somogyi
tells us that Unit 106 , the guest apartment, used to be the
manager’s apartment, and there was a door in the north lobby
wall leading into it. The manager had a desk in the lobby and
acted as a resident “concierge”. Longtime former resident,
Barbara Walter, recalls there was also a fountain –
decorative, not drinking – in the lobby. Lorraine Smith,
who used to live in 503, compiled a scrapbook of Starlight’s
history with lots of pictures, from the construction days until
the mid-nineties. Bill Isaacs has it in his keeping now,
and perhaps we could display it during the “50th Anniversary”
shuffleboard dinner festivities.
Stuart Finder, son of Laryn and Moe (205)
has been named Director of the Center for Healthcare Ethics at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.
Congratulations to grandparents Frank and Margarita
Montague (404) on the birth of their granddaughter Ellie
Claire, on January 30 to their son and daughter-in-law. The
little girl weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and mother and baby are both
fine. Grandparents are beaming, and will arrive soon.
We need a new “Sunshine” chairperson…..Nancy McGuigan has
retired after many years of faithful serving. If you would be
willing to spend a little time taking on this worthy task, call
Gina Machado, 367-6258.
The Design Committee under the chairman Lynn Dopp, met
shortly after the annual meeting, to begin discussing
recommendations to the Board for building paint color and other
esthetic considerations. My personal belief is that Starlight
should remain white. We have historically been “the big white
building on Upham Beach”, and ships in the Gulf use our building
as a landmark for navigation. I also would like to see the
return of the spotlight on the east side of the elevator tower.
So, what do YOU think?
We extend the sympathy of the Starlight family to Don and
Edith Schneider, (802) on the death of Don’s sister.
The Tuesday shuffleboard sessions are well-attended and are open
to anyone who wants to come down and play, which starts at 10
a.m.
The March Birthday
folks….a chocolate four-leaf clover and many happy returns to:
Shirley Lino on the 5th; James Korotney on the
12th; Dennis Dickinson and Julia Prybys on the
14th; Bill Bowers and Sheila Klitsky on the 18th;
Frank Gulia on the 29th; and George Bayetakos on
the 31st.
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Starlight Tower - March 2008
Starlight Express
