THE PELICAN BRIEF
July, 2010
Serving the Community of Pelican Pointe
Board of Directors
Manager
Linda Corry, President
Steve Susman
Mary Mulholland, Vice President
8300 Fairmount Dr., #J-101
Liaison --
Social Committee
Denver, CO 80247-6528
Glen Olmstead --
Newsletter Editor
Phone: (303) 394-0942
Marcia Helfant
Cell phone: (303) 668-2747
Liaison --
Design Review Committee
Frank Parker, Treasurer
Remove your vent covers! You were advised recently to remove or open your vent
covers, so that air can circulate in your crawl-space during the good-weather season.
Failure to do so can result in the aggregation of humidity and even mold "down there." If
you have one of our models of vent cover that is connected by thumb screws, it's easy to
remove them; mark them for location; and reinstall them in late fall. If you have vents as
originally provided, be sure to open the louver. Contact our manager if you encounter
difficulty in that maneuver.
Painting. We again remind all residents in Bldgs. R and Y-TT: Some of your buildings
have already been painted in this phase of his gigantic project. To determine when the
painters are approaching your building --
they are proceeding alphabetically --
simply
observe daily where they are working, even if you arrive home after normal business
hours. You'll receive a brightly-colored notice, posted near your garage door, about three
days before the crew reaches your building. When they do arrive, they will first "prep"
the exterior areas needing minor repairs; then they'll encapsulate your unit in plastic for
power-washing; and then they paint. If your patio gate or front storm door remains
locked when they arrive, they will by-pass your entire patio and the painting of your front
door, an unhappy result for you. Also, they cannot paint your patio area unless you have
moved all large and small items at least two feet away from the patio walls. Don't ask the
painters or Sonny to move those items for you; that's your responsibility.
Notice of political rally. Marcia Helfant and Suzanne Bufton are sponsoring a rally for
Andrew Romanoff, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, at our
picnic area, on the evening of Wed., July 21. Contact them for details. All are welcome.
Note: Supporters of other political candidates, holding functions on our premises, may
also present our editor with their notice, similar to this one.
Lunch Bunch. Join this group of spirited Pelican Pointers for lunch on Wednesday, July
14, at Elway's, 2500 E. 1st Avenue, just west of Nordstrom's, at 11:30. All genders and
ages welcome. Good conversation guaranteed.
Broaden your horizons. (Broaden your
waistline, too. Food's good there!) RSVP to Sue Million at (303) 316-7190.
Pelican Pointe Book Club will meet on July 9, at the home of Christy Long, #W-103, at
6:30. We'll be discussing the novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the first book in
Stieg Larsson's exciting trilogy. This page-turner is filled with murder, mystery, family
and financial intrigue, revenge, and romance. You don't want to miss the lively
discussion of this best-seller. RSVP to Christy at (303) 733-6296.
Save the date! On Sunday, September 12, the Social Committee will sponsor its annual
End of Summer picnic at The Lighthouse Clubhouse. Details to follow, but put this on
your summer calendar now!
SUSMAN UNLEASHED
by Steve Susman
What's holding that Mafia victim under the water? Concrete. We have identified about a
dozen areas in our complex that are in drastic need of concrete replacement. All but three
of these sites are part of our driveways. Over time, the very heavy trash trucks and
moving vans exert tremendous pressures on our asphalt and concrete roads and
driveways. Nature takes its toll, too: In winter, water seeps beneath our roads and
driveways, freezes, expands, and voila!, the concrete cracks and the asphalt develops
fissures. Asphalt remediation and concrete replacement, as a great religious leader
commented in ancient times about the poor, will always be with us. This is a big
expense, and is a prime example [another being our exterior painting project] of why we
build our reserves.
Presently, the Board and I are weighing proposals for the concrete replacement projects,
which will take place this summer. We don't know the dates yet, but you'll be advised.
You will be forewarned that there will be some inconvenience for some residents for a
couple weeks or less, while the sites are being torn, old material removed, new steel
reinforcing bar and concrete applied --
and then the new material must be protected until
it sets firmly. During this process, a few residents will be denied access to their garage.
They can park anywhere else in our complex, except in posted fire lanes. Trash trucks
and all other vehicles will be banned from the affected areas.
I know your mind harbors creative ideas. Please share your experience and wisdom with
me: Where should we place our newest dog-waste receptacle? One suggestion: Just
inside the (Canal) pedestrian gate near Bldgs. L-M. If you use those waste stations [and I
hope you do when you take Rover for his strolls and gastroenterological relief], please
share your ideas with me. Or, alternatively, have Fideaux give me a call on his new
iPhone 4, which is so clever that it translates his growls into verbal clarity.
We're not talking Wedgewood China or those
expensive but hideous place-settings you
received as wedding presents. Rather, I am referring to satellite television dishes. I
recently published the Board's new guidelines for the ordering and installation of these
dishes at your unit. The new high-definition dishes are much more obtrusive than the
pre-HD versions; and they require a more elaborate and invasive support fixture in order
to attach them to our buildings. You cannot cause a dish or any antenna to be attached to
your unit without first applying to our Design Review Committee and agreeing to execute
an indemnification agreement. That agreement provides, essentially, that you'll be
responsible for any damages to our buildings, or any interiors, including the interiors of
your neighbors in your building, by virtue of the holes necessarily made to install those
fixtures. The Committee will visit your unit to determine one or more sites for attaching
the support arm of the dish, consistent with your obtaining a good signal from the
satellite.
Three toppings, extra cheese, and a partridge in a pear tree. At our entrance are signs
stating No Trespassing and No Soliciting. But we have no practical way to keep pizza
flyers, salespersons, and other vendors and characters from our premises. Mostly, they
come here to leave a pizza advertisement on your garage door, or near it, or on your front
door knob. Sometimes, we can complain to the establishment named on the flyer --
but
that is always after the fact. Recently, many of you received a flyer, which reported, in
portentous tones, that burglaries at or near Pelican Pointe were increasing, and that a
burglar alarm service was being offered in response to this dire threat. The notice was
cleverly-worded, and sounded as if it might have been an official HOA publication. Of
course, you should ignore such notices, since the more legitimate vendors market their
services or wares other than by flyers on your door knob. The Good Help is Hard to
Find section in your Handbook lists a half-dozen alarm companies that presently service
Pelican Pointe townhomes.
No collateralized debt obligations, preferred tranches, debt swaps, or other Mickey
Mouse financial shenanigans. Our auditing firm recently concluded its audit of our
financial records for 2008 and 2009, and found them in excellent order. The accountant
rendering this certified audit made a few recommended changes in our accounting
protocols, which we are implementing. Your Board and manager are cautious with our
funds, of course, while balancing our need for adequate operating funds and reserves
against ever-rising costs (as our physical assets depreciate; our landscaping grows in size
and complexity) and the historically-low returns on our investments. Our monthly
accounting is complex. We are pleased that our audit validates our financial procedures
and reporting.
Matt Damon, in the Bourne series of movies, climbs downspouts to gain access to the
bad-guys' lair. Our downspouts have a more mundane function. They empty water from
the raingutters and direct it away from our foundations. That's why it's important that
you notify me if you observe a downspout or its extension that is crushed or otherwise
severely damaged, or is disconnected. We just completed the replacement and restoration
of
several dozen of our downspouts and their extensions. In winter especially, they suffer
from the snow and ice, and from shoveling. Year-around, they suffer the indignities of
errant drivers, heavy dogs, our aerating and mowing crew, and our landscape contractor's
fertilizer and weed-spray equipment.
Good Help is Hard to Find. A new addition to this helpful list of vendors and service-
providers, submitted by our residents for the benefit of all of us: Housekeeper: Lorena
Salcido, (720) 249-9670. Strongly recommended by one of our homeowners.
July trash pick-up:
July 8 (& recycling) -
14 -
21 (& recycling) -
28.
A Pelican Pointe homeowner reports that the City will provide you with a bi-
weekly notice of "recycling pick-up day" --
by an e-mail to you on the previous day. I
suggest you make your request for such notices by calling 311. Or, consult the web site
Pelican Pointe townhomes For Sale:
#AA-103, #V-104, and #R-104.
Weird behavior: A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was
a weapon of math disruption. If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you
tried. How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink? To steal ideas from one person
is plagiarism; to steal from many is research. Proverb: A wife will forgive and forget,
but she'll never forget what she forgave. The problem with the gene pool is that there is
no lifeguard.
July Board Meeting: It will be held on Monday evening, July 19, at 7:00 p.m. at The
Lighthouse clubhouse. All homeowners and residents are welcome!
.
