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About The Starlight Express
The very First Issue of Starlight Express Newsletter
was created by the Editor and Chief Pat Ifft
on
February 29, 1992 and since then is maintained
and produced monthly by her for 17 years!
All Starlighter's owe immense gratitude to Pat in keeping them
informed with all happenings good and bad.
Thank You Pat
Volume XIX, No. 2
March 6, 2010
Pat Ifft, Editor (eifft@tampabay.rr.com)
Webmaster, Louisa Simos
www.starlight-tower.com |
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Spring
hasn’t sprung yet,
but the sun is shining brightly, and pretty soon
we’ll be decrying the humidity and the heat. And we
are much better off than the northeast. Louisa
writes from New Hampshire that they have had storms,
trees down, electricity out, and flooding. So we
count our Florida blessings. I just did some
counting and couldn’t believe that this is the 19th
year of the
Starlight Express, give or take a year
or so. There’s quite a lot to write about, so read
on. The annual
meeting was held on February 11,
and the large turnout and number of proxies of those
who couldn’t be here, indicated interest in the
affairs of Starlight. The new Board was elected as
follows:
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For
Two-Year Terms: |
For one year
terms: |
Mark Bottey
(pronounced Boe-tay’) Apt. 406;
Arlene Kuhn; 603; and
Ron Porat, 302. |
Lee Brand, 305;
Tom Hooten, 703;
Marlene Reid, 201;
Bill
Wales, 308. |
After the general
meeting of owners, the Board convened to
elect officers:
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Marlene Reid -
President;
Tom Hooten -
Vice President;
Arlene Kuhn -
Secretary; and
Bill
Wales - Treasurer.
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The afternoon
after the annual meeting when
the Board had just given a collective sigh of
relief, all hell broke loose. Eight apartments in
the 07-08 stack were besieged with a sudden surge of
hundreds of gallons of water from the balcony floor
drains. The drains backed up after being clogged
with material from the roof replacement. After the
problem was reported, the Board acted as quickly as
possible to call in professional water mitigators.
Neighbors pitched in to help neighbors and Board
members Arlene Kuhn and
Marlene Reid were on the job late into the
night coordinating clean-up efforts. Subsequently,
all our storm drains have been cleaned, and we
should be ready for….what next?
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Our building is looking very classy
these days...
with many
thanks to our Board who worked long hours to
bring the renovation to fruition. Pictured are
Board President Marlene Reid,
with (left) Vance Poland, our
liaison from Resource Property Management
handing over the final check to Rick
Krueger, CEO of CPS. |
The final touch
was the installation of the new lighting fixtures,
with thanks to Dan Reid,
Ric Garland and Johnny
Machado, who saved $450 by putting in the
new low-energy light bulbs. Have you seen the
building at night? Now all we need is a spotlight on
the elevator tower……..which we had for many years.
What do you think?
The second
volume of “The History of Starlight”
is being compiled at this writing, a project
begun by Lorraine Fricek Smith back in the 80’s. The
first volume is available, and you are welcome to
borrow it….just phone me to pick it up. One of the
most interesting pieces is a letter from
Mrs. John Ruff, wife of the builder of
Starlight, written in 1969. (Starlight was built in
1958). If you have any doubts about the viability of
this marvelous structure, this letter will bury
them….as deep as our piles.
"People frequently asked us if we were building a
fort here as it looked so solid, shall we say.
Company was Raymond Concrete Pile Company. No. of
piles needed to carry the load of this building was
233. Load was estimated to be 5,900 tons, or
11,800,000 lbs., so each pile would need to carry
approximately 25 tons. Required one pile to be
tested loaded with 100 tons – 4 times the amount
needed. If it had settled ½ inch, it would have been
within the tolerance or range allowed for good
engineering and safety. Instead of the ½ inch
allowed, it settled only 3/64 inch! As John said,
this was considered just about a rock foundation.”
We now have a new
cleaning service, and if the
past couple of days are an indication, it is working
very well. Bobbi’s Cleaning Service
is taking over our housekeeping and maintenance.
Shirts will identify Bobbi’s personnel. If
you wish to schedule rental of the Guest Apartment,
#106, call Bobbi at (727) 687-6519.
And have you
seen Elmo at work? He’s the new
automatic pool vacuum cleaner.
Many thanks
to outgoing Board members
Lynn Dopp, Bill Isaacs and
Gina Machado. Your work on behalf of
Starlight is most appreciated. Gina remains as the
“Sunshine Chairman”.
Three serious
reminders from the Board:
- Starlight Tower
does not
permit animals – ever – under any
circumstances - unless
documented as a medical necessity. And even
service animals must be kept quiet and must
not interfere in the peaceful enjoyment of
our homes. At this writing, there are three
medically documented, well behaved service
dogs registered with the Board.
Any other
animal in this building is in violation of
our house rules.
- Be sure there is a set
of all your apartment keys on file with the
Board. There were two emergencies recently
in which the apartments involved could not
be accessed because keys were not available.
-
Please turn off your water
when you leave, even if only for 24-48
hours, and replace your elderly hot water
heaters. We would like to keep water
confined to the Gulf of Mexico, the swimming
pool, our sprinklers, laundry, kitchen and
bathroom spigots. In the past six months,
the Board has had to deal with two huge
water damage problems and the extenuating
consequences – mitigation, liability,
insurance, repair/replacement,
reimbursement, one million (well almost)
phone calls, some testy temperaments, and an
enormous amount of volunteer/Board time
(including issues not yet resolved.)
- The Board would also
like you to know that they appreciate your
patience in waiting for answers to your
CORBODS. They have had a lot on their plates
during the past couple of years. Hopefully
they will be looking forward (The Good Lord
willing and the creek don’t rise) to a
stretch of routine maintenance requests
which can be answered promptly. As one new
owner recently expressed it: “This (caring
attitude) is what makes Starlight special.”
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Our Social Life...
- The BIG EVENT
of the spring – the annual
Shuffleboard Tourney –
Spring Fling – will happen on
Saturday, March 13. Play
will begin at 10 a.m.,
championship rounds after lunch.
Anyone 14 and older is eligible to play.
A wonderful catered lasagna dinner
will follow – about 5 or 5:30 p.m. There
will be exciting door prizes,
and a sing-along led by
Ricki and Ed Diedo
(formerly of 504). Sign up
in the mail room…..pay your money
to Marcia Thorpe, Apt. 906.
Dinner is $12 adults; children 6 to
13 pay $6.00. Little kids under 6 eat free.
- You can sharpen your
shuffleboard skills, or just come down for a
good time on Tuesday mornings at 10,
weather permitting. All are welcome.
- Thursday nights
at 7:00 p.m., a happy group meets
in the lobby for game night….are you game?
Come on down and bring along your favorite
game, or join in at another table. Everyone
welcome. Sign up in the mail area.
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Some people news:
- Our sympathy to
Lynn Dopp (507) on the death of her
father in early February.
- Our sympathy to
Jim Feeman, former longtime
resident of Starlight and Board member and
Board President on the death of his wife,
Wilma. A memorial service
will be held on March 20 at 2:30 p.m. in the
Town Shores Clubhouse, in Gulfport.
- Sheila Klitsky
(formerly of 806) is recovering from a long
battle with leukemia. Please keep Sheila in
your thoughts and prayers.
- Hugh McGuigan
says “Thank you” to everyone for
their good wishes.
- Congratulations to
Dick and Gail
Dolphin on the arrival of their
12th grandchild, Abigail Parker.
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A Very Lucky 4-leaf
clover to these March Birthday folks...
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Shirley Lino
on the 5th;
Dennis Dickinson
on the 14th;
Bill Bowers on
the 18th;
Sheila Klitsky on
the 18th; and
Frank Gulia
on the 29th. |
And
Showers of good wishes on these April folks: |
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Jim Brennan
on the 3rd;
Sandy Bogden on
the 11th;
Mary Quinn on the
15th; and
Alice Hartmann on
the 27th. |
If you are new to Starlight in the last year or two,
please email me your birthday. Thanks.
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Starlight
Tower - March 2010
Starlight Express Newsletter