THE PELICAN BRIEF
NOV. 2011
Serving the Community of Pelican Pointe
Board of Directors
Manager
Harold Davison, President and Chair of
Steve Susman
Security & Safety Committee
8300 Fairmount Dr., #J-101
Mary Mulholland, Vice President and Chair of
Denver, CO 80247
Social Committee
Glen Olmstead, Newsletter Editor
(303) 394-0942 and (303) 668-2747
Marcia Helfant, Chair of Design Review
Committee
Frank Parker, Treasurer
calendar: Our Annual Homeowners Meeting will be held on Monday evening,
December 5, 2011, at Augustana Lutheran Church (about 7 minutes away), where we
Street entrance. As usual, from 6:00 to
-down
catered dinner. The business meeting will begin at 7:00. This is another great
opportunity to meet and greet your neighbors; hear succinct reports from your directors
and manager; ask questions or make statements of community interest or concern; vote
no charge for our residents and homeowners (two persons per townhome). RSVPs are
December 1.
Book Club. Our Pelican Pointe Book Club will meet on Friday, November 11, 2011, at
6:30 p.m., at the home of Linda McCashion, #H-101. To be discussed: Room, by Emma
Donaghue. This is a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances and of the
diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child. All who enjoy reading are welcome.
RSVP to Linda at (303) 940-7224..
Lunch Bunch. Join this interested and interesting group of Pelican Pointe men and
women for lunch at La Merise, a new French restaurant in Cherry Creek North, at 2700
E. 3rd Avenue (the southeast corner of E. 3rd Avenue and Clayton Street). The date:
November 9, Wednesday, at 11:30 a.m. Treat yourself to a good meal and sparkling
conversation. New faces (and the hungry bodies to which they are attached) are cordially
encouraged to attend! RSVP to Susan Million, (303) 316-7190.
1
SUSMAN UNLEASHED
by Steve Susman
Who claimed that life in Pelican Pointe is dull?
a. Denver Police, fire trucks, and ambulances arrived at one of our townhomes early in
the morning of October 20. A least two persons were arrested, and taken away in police
cars. Since this is written only a couple hours later, I have no information about the
b. On or about October 14, one of our tall flag poles was destroyed by a motorist. In
this tale of romance and intrigue, the driver told Denver Police that he and a competitor
Apparently, these guys had a confrontation; the driver of the errant vehicle was sprayed
with pepper spray. Temporarily blinded, he drove away and, lo and behold,
driver. Although the horse has left the barn, we are closing the barn door now: We are
installing two concrete-filled bollards, identical to the ones we installed at our northwest
corner, near the roundabout. These will be installed strategically at the north end of our
-wheeler, but would do serious
damage to most other vehicles when confronted.
Nonetheless, one of our
homeowners, an intrepid researcher, discovered that the bonds sold to finance the
Fairlake Metropolitan District are scheduled to be paid in full in 2016. This special
district, created by the Pelican Pointe developer in about 1998, is a typical financing
arrangement for new residential communities. The developer sells bonds, secured by
The proceeds are then used to
construct infrastructure elements, such as roads, lakes, curbs, underground drainage
systems. I believe that the bonds sold by Fairlake were used, at least in part, to construct
the illuminated, paved pathway around the lake at The Breakers; the tennis courts there,
and to pay for the completion of South Valentia Street on our west border. If you are
fascinated by your annual real property bill from the Denver Treasurer, you will have
noticed that about 30% of your annual tax is devoted to interest and principal reduction
on those bonds. If and when the bonds are fully retired, that part of your tax should be
gone! Hasta la vista, baby!
scenarios, including possible re-financing and stretch-outs, as well as increased or new
to clip your grocery coupons each Sunday.
Do they still provide donuts? The Bonfils Blood Center, the
-
acclaimed nonprofit in its field, will soon be conducting a blood donation drive at The
Breakers. Pelican Pointers are invited to join this worthwhile campaign. If you are civic-
minded, and want to learn more about this fine cause, and the role you might be qualified
to play -- please contact Terri LaGuardi, activities director at The Breakers:
2
Even Santa would be shocked by this experience. Recently, a resident in Pelican Pointe
observed some tiny hairy legs protruding from the narrow slats of the grill, and two
glowing eyes. He concluded -- correctly, as it turned out -- that a bat (!) had fallen into
one of his vent pipes on the roof. Embellishing the facts somewhat, to induce the local
animal control officer to visit this scene, the resident saw a real honest-to-goodness bat
emerge when the grill was removed.
said Batman to his
younger cohort. Squirrels and wasps do visit our residents in season, through these vents.
Some of the vents are screened, but others cannot be obstructed because they supply air
to stoves, microwaves, fireplaces, furnaces and water heaters. Other pipes equalize the
air pressure that enables your toilets to flush.
T
debris, and dilapidated backyard fences. Our driveways were designed and are meant to
be pristine strips of white concrete, and we want to keep them that way. Hence, our
Rules regarding the timing of trash-barrel placements and retrievals; parking; and a
driveways. Further, they are designed with a depressed center-line, so that liquids (e.g.,
rainwater) will flow out of the driveway, toward the nearest storm sewer. If you intend to
-- unless the liquid is
so free of sediment or stain-producing elements that it will naturally evaporate. After all,
with 7 or 9 other residents.
No need to search for Aspen leaves and colors in our pine-beetle devastated Colorado
forests. Our leaves in Pelican Pointe are beautiful at this time. However, after our
landscaping crew dutifully rakes up and takes away loads of fallen leaves, more leaves
will fall -- and this process must be repeated a few times. Our miles of subterranean
irrigation facilities have been shut down for the winter. Our flower displays are but a
memory. Speaking of which, your diligent Landscape Committee is already planning to
upgrade the appearance of our common-area flower beds next spring. These enthusiastic
arrangements then. Meanwhile, go to the market; buy some expensive cut flowers from
Madison
Our
three flags atop our tall poles bear the brunt of our snow, rain, wind, and hot sun. Their
average useful life is about one year. Our replacements should have been installed when
you read this. Few vendors offer a high quality nautical series of durable materials. We
yacht there, and want to fantasize about it, maybe you can buy a rubber duckie from a
Sesame Street memorabilia shop.)
3
Not! We maintain five insurance policies covering different risks of owning and
operating our Association. The primary policy is building coverage. The policy is
renewed annually. In our case, the new policy period for this insurance begins on
October 1. It is hard to believe, but there are only a small handful of underwriters that
will consider issuing building coverage on condominiums and townhomes -- depending
on various factors. Why? Apparently, the actuaries for underwriters of this coverage
take account of disasters far removed from Colorado. For example, the entire town of
Joplin, Missouri, was wiped out by a tornado! Hurricanes and flooding occur with some
regularity, it seems, in our coastal areas. Imagine the total claims for losses arising from
-white,
either. Insurers pay many claims for wind and/or hail damage in our State. These
factors, along with historically low returns on their investments, have driven the
underwriters to raise their premiums in quantum leaps. Further, most policies now
isk substantially by effectively limiting any recovery for so-
called wind-and-
those hazards in the policy. Translation: Losses from wind-and-hail which could be
devastating for our complex must be borne, in great part, by our reserves. Your Board
and manager have studied this matter extensively; have agonized in the trade-off between
incredibly-high premiums vs. lower wind-and-hail risk. Consult the more detailed
explanation of this issue in the detailed opening letter in your recently-received Annual
Homeowners Meeting packet.
November trash pick-up:
November 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30.
Recycling pick-up:
November 9 and 23.
Large item pick-up:
November 9.
Pelican Pointe townhomes For Sale: , #LL-104 and #V-101.
Weird behavior:
--
-- You are not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.
-- The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.
-- A fool and his money can throw one heck of a party.
--
-- The latest survey shows that three out of four people make up 75% of the population.
November Board Meeting. This Meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m., November 21 at the
Lighthouse Clubhouse. ALL RESIDENTS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND.
4
