September 2010 Newsletter Starlight Express of Starlight Tower St Pete Beach Florida

We may have to change the name of this newsletter to the “Starlight Slowpoke”.
The last copy was dated May 17.…… so it is way past time for this issue to be in your hands. For those of you who spend time down here in the summer, you have experienced the luscious, lazy days of hot sun, warm breezy evenings, and life in low gear. Summer visitors to Florida are delighted with day after day of good beach and pool weather, with perhaps an afternoon thunderstorm to cool things off in time for dinner. Sounds nice?

Sunset in front of Starlight Tower
Your editor may have spent the summer slacking off, but your Board has kept busy, maintaining Starlight very nicely, with special thanks to Bill Wales (#308) who is our unpaid, unsung, live-in property overseer. Here’s the info from the Board meeting of Tuesday, August 31.
Old Business
Vehicle parking was discussed, with an eye to enforcing the 15-minute rule, allowing those spaces for loading & unloading only. One spot might be designated for mail/emergency only. The Board will take up this matter again at a future meeting. Beach renourishment is underway at the north end of Treasure Island. Sunset Beach will be next and then Upham will be replenished ... sometime in October. The sand accumulated in Blind Pass has formed a beautiful beach on the Treasure Island side of the Pass. The Upham sand will be dredged from Blind Pass. After Upham is renourished, a second contractor will begin a 2-3 month project to repair the damaged geotextile tubes. Our attorney has written his opinion that the “wheels” which were originally placed at either end of our property fence at the seawall and then removed, should be replaced, along with better and multiple signage alerting people to the dangers of walking on our seawall. After the beach is renourished, there won’t be a problem accessing the beach in front of Envoy Point. Some a/c grilles will have to be re-worked to allow a/c units to work properly. We’re hoping to have an energy rebate generated from installation of our new roof.
New Business
TECO will be installing gas lines onto our property very shortly, and the pool will be heated with natural gas, at a saving of about $7,000/year! There is no immediate plan to introduce gas lines into the apartments. Concern was raised about vehicles on property which don’t belong to anyone at Starlight. Board discussed issuing ID hang tags for Starlight owners’ cars. After a lot of discussion, the item was tabled for further study. The parking lot will be repaved very shortly, with bids being sought at this writing. The gas line installation and the repaving will have to be coordinated. There may be enough in the Reserves to cover the cost of the parking lot paving. A part-time (15 to 20 hours a week) administrative assistant may be hired in January to see to the day-to-day affairs of Starlight. The lobby has been painted white and very pale gray, and looks really fresh and clean. Elevators have new tile floors and door jambs were repaired and painted. Lease Provision and By-Laws are in the process of being updated. Welcome to new renters: Martha Rylander & Shaun Kennedy in 209; Thomas & Brenda Maskewich in 607; and Michael and Tanetha Grosland in 701.
I'm pleased to report that the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization has appointed Kevin Hing (#702) as one of its two Beach Cities representatives on the MPO's Citizen Advisory Committee. Kevin will be providing input to the MPO from St. Pete Beach and other beach communities regarding MPO's projects and decisions regarding urban planning and transportation. Kevin says, “One of the big projects on the table these days is the High Speed Rail and Light Rail projects in Orlando, Tampa and Pinellas, and hopefully I can help improve the public transportation to our area. I'll keep you posted about this new experience.” On July 10, Kevin and Edel Quinn worked with 150 fellow volunteers to plant sea oat seedlings on Pass-a-Grille Beach. The good turnout was explained in part as a response to the BP oil spill…..people who care about our environment and our beaches want to do all they can to preserve and enhance our beautiful coast.
(Above-- Kevin & Edel and fellow volunteers).
Some people news:
As some of you may know, Dorothy Bishop, longtime friend and housekeeper to many Starlighters over the years, has moved to Alabama to be with her daughter. In response to a card we sent Dorothy, she wrote: “To all my friends from Starlight Tower, it was so nice of all of you to say such nice things about me. I will never forget my new friends, and the old ones that’s not with us any more. God Bless. With love always, Dorothy Bishop.” If you want to write to Dorothy, her address: Dorothy Bishop, c/o Josephine Turner, 1604 Sandstone Ct., Montgomery, AL 36117 Doug Joy (#407) had triple by-pass surgery earlier this summer and then rotator cuff surgery a few weeks ago. He reports that he is doing fine, and we wish him an early return to the golf course. Maria Simos (daughter of Louisa and Evangelos (908) and fiancé Neil Soggard will be married in St. Pete Beach in May, 2011.

Congratulations are in order
to Tai and Linda Ngai’s (#805) daughter Valentina, who recently received her PhD in Bio-Mechanical Engineering from the University of Chicago. And to Sharon and Bill Isaacs’ (#902) daughter, Dr. Emily Dodwell who is completing her residency in Orthopedics, receiving her Masters in Public Health from Harvard, and is starting a fellowship in Toronto in Pediatric Orthopedics. And to Ed and Betty Gibson (#402), who will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on September 22.
We’re saddened to report the death of
Dick Dolphin, husband of Gail Dolphin (#207) on July 4, after a long illness. Richard Dale, former organist and Music Director at St. John’s Church. Many of you enjoyed attending concerts at St. John’s when Richard was there. Dave Farenbaugh, owner of St. Pete Plumbing, who did much work at Starlight over the years, after a long illness. Ed Wahlbeck, owner of Wahlbeck Pest Control, our longtime pest control vendor.
It's time to wish these October celebrants many happy returns of their birthdays:
	Judy Spencer – 6th; Ernest Bailey & Lorne Hiller – 7th; *Season Wales* – 9th; *Chuck Simpson* – 19th ; *Tom Hooten* – 26th; and *Sharon Isaacs* – 29th.
Please email me with your birthday so that we can all wish you the best on your special day!
Final thought (in an email from winter resident Bill Dunn):

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?