THE PELICAN BRIEF
May, 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, Treasurer
Phone: (303) 394-0942
Marcia Helfant
Cell phone: (303) 668-2747
Liaison --
Design Review Committee
Frank Parker
Garage sale? Our rules prohibit garage sales within Pelican Pointe, unless the
Association sanctions or sponsors one. Last summer, a successful garage sale took place
here, under the capable volunteer leadership of Bob Martinez. However, if too few
residents are interested, there will not be one this summer. If you have stuff that you'd
like to dispose of, now is the time to let me know. Otherwise, have a nice day at the Flea
Market!
T.G.I.F.
It's that time of year again: Our active Social Committee is sponsoring a get-
together on Friday, June 18, at our picnic area, know known as Pointe Park. Come gaze
upon our new (third) picnic table, while socializing after a [difficult][easy] --take your
pick --
week. Details will follow in our June newsletter. Put this on your calendar now!
Document-shredding.
"The Feds are pounding on the door! Quick, flush the papers
down the toilet." (That's not what we had in mind.) Some residents have suggested that
they'd be willing to pay a modest sum to have a commercial document-shredder on site
for, say, a couple hours on a Saturday morning. If enough residents are interested, I'll
research the possibilities. Let me know if you might be interested in participating.
Lunch Bunch.
Join this group of spirited Pelican Pointers for lunch at the Nonna's
Chicago Bistro, 6603 Leetsdale Drive (in the shopette, just east of Monaco, across from
King Soopers) on Tuesday, May 11, at 11:30.
All genders and ages welcome.
Good
conversation guaranteed. Broaden your horizons. Broaden your waistline, too.
RSVP to
Sue Million at (303) 316-7190.
Pelican Pointe Book Club will meet on Friday, May 14, at the home of Diane Davison,
Townhome #DD-104,
at 6:30. The group will discuss My Life in France, by Julia Child
and Alex Prud'homme. This book records Julia's experiences in Paris and Marseille to
bring French cooking to American kitchens. Her life and her book (like our Book Club
discussions) are full of fun and zest. Please RSVP to Diane at (303) 690-0847 or
Our newest director. We welcome Frank Parker to our Board of Directors! Frank has
been a productive member of our Design Review Committee. He is a longtime
homeowner at Pelican Pointe. Frank looks forward to serving all of us. There must be a
special place in Heaven for volunteers on our Board and committees. Perhaps the
monthly dues are waived there . . .
Our auto-debit program.
About 2/3 of our homeowners pay their monthly assessment
("dues") to the Association by way of this program. I simply debit their checking account
on or about the tenth day of each calendar month, for that month. There is no fee charged
by your bank or the Association's bank. No muss, no fuss, no charges, no late fees, no
postage, no forgetting, no you-know-what, Sherlock. If this makes sense for you, please
contact me, and I can quickly set it up for you.
SUSMAN UNLEASHED
by Steve Susman
Here's an exciting topic: Vent Covers!
OK, so you disagree. But here is some important
advice: If your townhome has one or more vent covers installed or pre-existing, now is
the time to be sure that those vents are uncovered for the summer-fall season. If your
vent cover can be "opened" by merely sliding the little lever that
protrudes to open
the
vent's louvers,
fine. If you were previously able to move that sliding vent cover by
inserting a screwdriver tip into the horizontal slot in the upper-middle of the outer vent,
also fine. Or, if you caused one or more vent covers to be installed at your unit, during
this recent winter
--
as part of our vent cover program --
you can easily unscrew that
cover to remove it. Caution: If you have more than one such removable cover, be sure to
mark which cover goes on which vent, because the half-dozen screws and screw-holes on
each cover are in slightly different positions on each vent cover. Opening or removing
your vent cover will allow ventilation, of course, into your crawl space.
Got your kite caught in one of our tall trees? Sorry about that. However, our tree-
trimming contractor recently finished its contract to trim most of our tall trees. The good
news is that many of our trees have grown robustly, and are too tall for Sonny to trim and
shape. This was a large and expensive contract, but won't have to be repeated annually.
Shaping the trees also helps to control their orderly growth.
Is your garage floor dirty from the melting snow which your car tracked in, and the
leaves blown in by recent gusts? Sorry, that's your own
problem. However, our HOA
has spring-summer projects that will keep us busy for weeks. A few of them:
a. Painting of the "other half" of our community, about 23 buildings, will
probably commence later this month. You will recall the thorough job which our
painting contractor displayed last fall on the "first half." Painting is preceded by some
remediation of siding; caulking; modest carpentry on the exteriors. The HOA will also
be repairing, priming, and painting the garage door frames in this "second half." This is
labor-intensive, too. Once the frame is repaired, you'll have to take care in driving your
vehicle in-and-out of your garage.
b. Last fall, your Board selected about a half-dozen of the
most crucial driveway
areas for concrete-replacement. These areas will be re-identified; others may be added.
New proposals will be sought.
c. As we did last summer, your Board has contracted with Plant Escape, Inc., for
the planting and maintenance of the flower beds at our main entrance and at
the
directional map. Our devoted Landscape Committee will again take charge of the smaller
beds on the north and south ends of the guardhouse. Are you frustrated because you have
no backyard in which to display your Green Thumb? Get new knee pads, and join this
lively group. No experience necessary.
d. Trimming and shaping of our many bushes and shrubs is primarily a semi-
annual project. However, as a practical matter, it is ongoing. Dead materials must be
removed. Selectively, new replacements are implanted. Our subterranean irrigation
system requires constant vigilance and maintenance, and occasional alterations. Sonny
and his crew have already aerated the lawn areas. Pre-emergent weed applications have
been laid down by our landscaping contractor, along with carefully-timed fertilizer doses.
Frankly, they're scary! I've always been unnerved by wasps, especially in profusion.
The Perennial Attack of the Wasps has begun.
These invaders are able to gain entrance
to your home in mysterious ways. There's not much the HOA can do for you once the
wasps are inside. However, if and when you see a wasp nest, please let me know; Sonny
and his crew can usually remove it promptly. Unfortunately, the wasps take sadistic
pleasure in returning to the same spot, rebuilding their nest there. Many Pelican Pointers
have found it useful to purchase from Lowe's or Home Depot a type of wasp
trap, which
can be hung from a branch or set on your patio or wherever you believe it would be
effective. These traps are the shape and size of a tennis-ball can; are usually yellow
plastic. They contain a powerful attractant; the wasps are drawn into the trap, from
which they can't escape.
They usually stay too long. I remind you that summer guests can park their vehicles in
Guest Parking, provided that they are staying in your unit for only a few days. The Board
and I can be flexible to some
extent with requests for extensions. Please direct any such
request to me. No resident at Pelican Pointe likes to look out his/her front window, into
the side of a giant
Winnebago, with or without an extended porch, or
a trailer with
motorcycle behind it, or its own septic tank, or its passengers sunbathing on its roof . . .
The Three P's of townhome management. Condominium and townhome managers would
like to remove the letter P from the alphabet or from their management lexicon: Pets-
Parking-Pool. We don't have a pool, but pets and parking are our nemesis. It's hard to
believe, but we have residents who still don't consistently pick up their dog's solid waste,
and residents who park their own vehicle in Guest Parking. I have levied ever-increasing
fines on the most persistent violators of either rule, and intend to do so with relative vigor
in this nice-weather season. I cannot "catch" these folks consistently, but it will be
expensive for them when I do. Living in relatively close quarters with one another has its
responsibilities. Hence, our Covenants and Rules. Ignore them at your peril. After all,
most of the Rule-abiding residents at Pelican Pointe deserve some neighborliness,
courtesy, and common sense from the few flagrant violators.
Were you ecstatic over the chili at our March 5 St. Patrick's Day get-together? Here is
another of the recipes. (We published one last month, too):
Seamus Kennedy's
Irish Chili:
2 lbs. stew meat, cut into ½" cubes
16 oz. V-8 juice
1 bottle of Guinness stout
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground oregano
3 tbsp. chili powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. olive oil
Directions: Sear meat in oil and drain off fat; add V-8 juice and Guinness and bring to boil.
Remove from heat and add everything but the onions; simmer on low heat 2
hours, stirring
periodically. Ten minutes before serving, add chopped onions. Serve with beans, spaghetti or
rice and grated cheddar cheese.
May trash pick-up:
May 5 -
12 -
19 -
26.
Pelican Pointe townhomes For Sale:
#AA-103 and #V-104.
Good Help is Hard to Find (new additions):
Painting, internal: Dembek Painting (Michael Dembek), (720) 937-2389,
Air-duct cleaning: Coit (attention: Jerry), (720) 934-2204.
Weird behavior: When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion. The
hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread. The problem with the
gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. Everyone has a photographic memory; some just
don't have film. Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now. I thought I saw
an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
May Board Meeting: Will be held on Monday evening, May 17, at 7:00 p.m. at The
Lighthouse clubhouse. All homeowners and residents are welcome!
.
