LA SCALA NEWS
3rd Quarter 2004 from Andrew Fentiman (603)
June-November is the Hurricane Season and at the halfway-point now, we have been exposed to three major systems (not counting Jeanne, currently heading towards West Palm Beach).
CHARLEY roared by on Friday the 13th at 5 p.m. with La Scala sitting just inside the ring of 100-145 mph winds. Viewed from our windows, huge breakers crested across Estero Bay, water flooded into the swamp to the very top of the property’s retaining wall and La Scala itself looked like a towering island in a storm-set sea. During the hurricane, wind-driven water found its way in through some of the external doors on the lobby and mezzanine floors and Joseph and Isabella and a few plucky residents worked tirelessly to minimize water entry and to clean up the mess. The power was out from Friday evening until Sunday night and although the emergency generator provided basic lighting in the common areas, the few of us who stayed in the building had to make do as best we could.
Damage: includes assorted landscaping; the glass shades for the gasoliers around the driveway and by the pool; torn screens in the parking garage; damaged carpet in the Card Room; baseboard, paint and wallpaper repairs in a few public rooms including both Guest Suites, as well as the carpets there. Joseph and Isabella worked hard to get repair estimates by Monday morning. They had the work started promptly and it’s almost completed, ahead of schedule! In the evening on Monday 16th, Joseph and Isabella threw an impromptu Hurricane Party for the few residents. Very quickly, they put together a delicious dinner with wine, assisted by son Robert on the barbecue, while another storm and dramatic lightning show raged outside.
Summary: La Scala has been Category 4 hurricane tested! Sitting at the edge of Estero Bay, it is probably the most ‘exposed-to-the-elements’ residential building in The Colony & Pelican Landing and it came through Charley pretty well, bearing in mind that this was a near-miss from a major hurricane. The experience has enabled Joseph to identify areas of weakness in the building for future storms and to plan accordingly (see ‘Frances’, below). Joseph and Isabella took suitable precautions to prepare the building and its residents for the hurricane, they worked hard during the storm to check/minimize damage and they swiftly got the cleanup and repair process moving. We are lucky to have them looking after us so well.
FRANCES brought lingering strong winds and torrential rain but, being centered much further away than Charley was, it was not as bad. Although many people lost power in Lee County, the power at La Scala stayed on. Several of the storefront-style glass double doors to the outside that are in the public rooms let in wind-driven water during Charley and so for Frances, Joseph taped these doors and fitted a T-bar over the center gap. This ploy worked well.
IVAN was a non-event for us, fortunately.
HOUSE-KEEPING Attached is a copy of the La Scala Fire Alarm handout ☺ There have been resident complaints that the BBQ grills are not being cleaned, after use. Clean-up is not an in-house ‘maintenance’ item; please leave the grills “better than you found them” ☺ PLEASE be careful taking the shopping carts in the passenger elevators; we don’t want our elevators to look like the ones at Palermo! ☺ You have probably received your 2004 Property Tax notification. If you paid around $ 1,000 for 2003, then the 2004 rate will represent a big increase ☺ I have been appointed as La Scala’s UOC (Unit Owners Committee) Representative, reporting monthly to the UOC meeting of Pelican Landing & The Colony. My duties include representing La Scala’s interests and attending meetings, debating matters of business, approving budgets and the cost of new/replacement items and facilities, dealing with committee reports, voting, proposing and seconding motions. These meetings are interesting and I discover much useful information, including the fact that there is a published PLCA Beach Park Operation Plan & Guidelines (though this was before Charley damaged the beach), of which La Scala now has a copy. Also under discussion is the idea of having food & beverages available at the beach. The notion of a Pelican Landing Dining Club is being debated with Mango’s Bistro. 70+ Colony residents are still in a battle of wills with WCI over the Navona tower’s separate two-story parking garage. La Scala now has a copy of the complete association documents for Pelican Landing & The Colony.
QUICK NEWS Welcome to new owners Charles & Patricia Chadwell (1804), Robert & Christine Fauls (1802), Walt & Char Lupke (801) and Cynthia Walpole (704) ☼ Permanent residents are Andrew & Jackie Fentiman (603), Paul & Peggy Hoefler (804), Joe French & Sandy Malone (1502) and Harry & Eleanor Lunden (1503) ☼ WCI hopes to ‘turn over’ La Scala to us before the end of 2004 (they must first sell 3 or 4 of their remaining units) ☼ Palermo ‘turned over’ to the unit owners on September 22nd ☼ Many of us saw Joseph’s excellent performance in Guys ‘n Dolls; his fellow performers even gave him a Golden Coconut award ☼ WCI has broken ground for Castella, the three mid-rises north of Palermo ☼ The ground is being cleared for Coconut Point Mall, the spectacular 1.2 million square-foot facility on the east side of U.S. 41 just north of Coconut, to be anchored at the north end by Bonita Bay’s exciting new Rapallo residential village ☼ Good restaurants that are close include Mango’s, La Fontanella and Chops ☼ Colony wildlife sighting: Joe French saw two white-tailed deer cross the road right in front of his car near Palermo ☼ A black bear was killed on I-75 south of Fort Myers (1000-1500 live in Florida) ☼ The widening of U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs and Estero is progressing slowly but is far from finished yet ☼ The $ 438 million redevelopment of Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is on schedule and on budget ☼ Trivia - The ‘Springs’ in Bonita are the Shangri-La Springs (a historical spa), off of Old 41 ☼ Florida is the 4th most populous state in the nation, with the 3rd highest growth rate (Nevada is 1st - Arizona is 2nd) ☼ The average property price increase in Lee County over the past year was 16% ☼
MISSING FORMS I am still waiting for completed forms from some of you. It is very important that I have this information soonest. Thank you.
E-MAIL
ADDRESS For those who have not done so, please
give me your e-mail address. Our association does not have a postal
budget and so the only practical way for you to be kept up to date is via
e-mail. Those who have provided an e-mail address are receiving this issue – and
will be getting future issues - via e-mail, which has the advantage of being
free as well as much easier and quicker than snail mail.
Overheard recently: “Money rules Palm Beach, Hedonism rules Key West but Nature rules Bonita Springs”.
Let me know if you have news that other owners might want to hear. If you have concerns or questions, I am only a phone call (cell: 239/405-3455) or e-mail (acfentiman@comcast.net) away.
Enjoy the Fall,
ANDREW