Newsletter_Dec2010

THE PELICAN BRIEF

DEC. 2010

Serving the Community of Pelican Pointe

Board of Directors

Manager

Harold Davison, President

Steve Susman

Mary Mulholland, Vice President

8300 Fairmount Dr., #J-101

Glen Olmstead, Newsletter Editor

Denver, CO 80247-6528

Marcia Helfant

Phone: (303) 394-0942

Frank Parker, Treasurer

Cell phone: (303) 668-2747

stevesusman@comcast.net

New President.

At the Board Meeting following the Annual Homeowners Meeting,

Harold Davison was unanimously elected as President of our Homeowners Association.

Harold had previously served a three-year term on the Board, 2006-2009. Harold brings

to the position a wealth of many years of practical and legal experience. Our HOA and

Board are indeed fortunate that he has agreed to serve in this leadership position.

2010 Annual Homeowners Meeting.

This well-attended Annual Meeting was held on

November 8 at the

Augustana Lutheran Church. Enjoying the evening, the socializing,

the good dinner, and the business session were 66 Pelican Pointers, representing 52

townhomes. Our Social Committee, headed by Mary Mulholland, planned and

coordinated this event. Considerable effort was involved in obtaining the site, selecting a

caterer and menu, and a host of other details. A delicious meal was served. We want to

express a special thanks to Mary for her good work. Harold Davison was elected a

director, to serve for an initial term of three years. Outgoing President Linda Corry was

presented with a gift from a grateful Board. Linda served us for several years with grace;

she was effective, thorough, reasonable, and respected; we will miss her on the Board.

Linda, nonetheless, has agreed to serve on several of our committees. Steve Susman

received special recognition, too. The 2011 budget, presented by the Board, was ratified

unanimously. Speeches were short. This event was well publicized in advance. Perhaps

those who didn't attend will do so next year.

Lunch Bunch

will not meet in December. The next get-together will be at 11:30 a.m. on

Tuesday, January 11, 2011. We will meet and eat at the Cherry Creek Grill located at

184 Steele Street. Everyone is welcome to join us for neighborly conversation and great

food. Please RSVP to Susan Million at 303-316-7190.

Pelican Pointe Book Club

will not meet in December. The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m.

on Friday, January 14, 2011. We are meeting at the home of Joyce Berman in MM-105.

We will be discussing Wild Swan: Three Daughters of China

by Jung Chang. This is a

powerful and moving account of three generations of Chinese women with an astonishing

view of life in a changing China. Please RSVP to Joyce at 303-322-3713.

SUSMAN UNLEASHED

by Steve Susman

High school geometry? Don't admit that you have forgotten that the circumference of a

circle is Pi x diameter, and that Pi = 3.14159+. OK, I'll admit that those formulas won't

even qualify you for a cup of tall frappe mocha latte frappucino at Starbucks. However,

you must have noticed by now that the primary circle comprising the infamous

roundabout at our northwest corner has been reduced in size. The Denver Fire

Department, we are told, is holding funds for the eventual construction of a new fire

station at E. Alameda Avenue and So. Xenia Street --

essentially at the northeast corner

of our complex. The longer fire engines would be unable to negotiate the tight circle

posed by the roundabout as they

speed to answer an alarm. Hence, the reduction of the

circle's size. Actually, the diameter of the circle hasn't changed, but the curbing

surrounding that circle has been replaced with a graded slope, thereby enlarging the

"turning" area. Now that this

has been accomplished by the City, I suspect that our Board

may focus, again, on whether or not to seek xeriscaping or other landscaping treatment

for the roundabout. Substantial research and progress had been made on such a project

last year, efforts spearheaded by Bob Morgan. The ultimate "solution" may be to request

the City to simply pave the inner circle with concrete. In any event, unless and until the

islands comprising the roundabout are dealt with, we can expect those areas to remain

unsightly in summer.

Plastic baggies containing fine white powder

aren't a wise accessory on one's person.

However, I implore those who place their monthly dues check beneath my front doormat

(a good procedure) to place their check in such a baggie. Especially in

our winter season,

the underside of the mat may remain wet. Many times I play the role of crime-lab

technician, extracting your soggy check, drying it carefully on a paper towel, hoping that

the ink doesn't run to make the check illegible. Perhaps our bank assumes that we are

money-laundering, a nefarious activity.

I don't know what lerts do, but I urge you to be alert anyway. A recent edition of the Hub

section of “The Denver Post” reported that a "residence in the 600 block of So. Dayton

Street" was the site of an armed robbery. Apparently, residents admitted the robbers, to

their regret. Of course, robberies and burglaries occur throughout the metro area. At

Pelican Pointe, notwithstanding our imposing perimeter iron fence and electric gates,

each

of us remains exposed to the criminal element. It is said that we have the perception

of security, at most. We will never have a significantly safer complex, which would

require at least high walls and a 24/7 guard at our entrance. In the coming months, the

Board may again consider other measures that could enhance our security; none of them,

if implemented, will be perfect. The message: Remain alert to "strangers" in our midst;

report them to me (during normal business hours), or to the police (911) if your

suspicions or observations rise to that level of concern or anxiety. And, foremost, use

common sense, whether in our complex or elsewhere.

Nature-lovers rejoice! We have resuscitated our pelicans. Each of the two tile walls at

our entrance bears our pelican logo in three colors. Over our dozen years of existence,

these colors have faded. We recently repainted these magnificent birds. We are now

planning to replace some of our exterior lighting system there, too. At night, those lights

are intended to illuminate the pelicans, our name and address, as well as our three flag

poles. During holiday season, we usually substitute red and green lights for our

spotlights.

Noise from across the ocean. During the summer and fall, the Catamaran Club at The

Breakers has promoted night-time musical events on selected evenings. Apparently,

these musical groups play outside, presumably on the north side of the clubhouse area.

The lake between the Club and our complex may enable the sounds to be transmitted or

even to be enhanced. Some Pelican Pointers, especially those residing in or near our

canal-side units, have been disturbed repeatedly by the volume of the music. The Board

hasn't received sufficient complaints to justify a formal complaint to the City. However,

the music at the Club or the café there is enabled by its holding a City-issued license so

permitting. There may be limitations, though, on the right of the licensee to disturb

others with their playing. If you wish to join with other complainants, please contact our

resident, attorney Carolin Topelson, (720) 233-6843.

'Tis the season to be jolly --

fa la la la la, la la la la. Our rules provide that holiday

lighting on the exterior of your townhome is allowed between Thanksgiving and the end

of the subsequent January. Although our rules also prohibit your attaching decorations

outside with nails, tacks or other hooks, use your ingenuity; help to light up our complex;

LED lights are inexpensive to purchase and to operate. Allot some of the huge savings

you achieved on Black Friday by standing or sleeping in line at Best Buy or Target at

4:00 a.m. on November 26. We'll be installing the usual strings of lights on our

guardhouse and our three mail kiosks.

Weird behavior:

I planted some birdseed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it.

All I ask is a chance to prove money can't make me happy.

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?

Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.

They told me I was gullible --

and I believed them.

I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

December trash pick-up:

December 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29.

Recycling pick-up:

December 8 and 22.

Large item pick-up:

December 29.