If You Have Children Or Grandkids Visiting for the Holiday, Take Them to See Santa Mrs
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December 2012 Published Since November 1968 Only Good News For 44 Years VOLUME 44 NO. 12 If you have children or grandkids visiting for the holiday, take them to see Santa Mrs. Claus has a message for ev- eryone who plans on leaving snacks for her husband this Christmas. “Please, leave celery and carrots,” she told On Top of the World News, while working on holiday preparations from the North Pole. “Look at Santa’s belly. Kids are leaving him too many goodies.” OTOW residents will get a chance to see Santa’s big belly when he and Mrs. Claus visit our community on Sunday, Dec. 23 at 2 p.m. The an- nual afternoon with Santa is presented by the Entertainment Committee and is a chance for OTOW children and grandchildren to say hi to the Claus family in our auditorium. Each child will receive a free gift. Santa said children often asked him if he brings his reindeer to Florida even though there’s no snow. He’s also asked if he gets hot wearing his Santa jacket here. One time a child asked for a Transformer and Santa said he was a bit confused why a child would want an electrical device to power a locomo- tive? But since that day, Santa said he has started studying the Internet and keeps up-to-date on trending toys. The afternoon will also consist of singing, taking pictures and hugging Santa, but Mrs. Claus will be watching closely what Santa eats for snacks. When asked about being under the watchful eye of Mrs. Claus, Santa gave a twinkle and whispered, “What- ever Mrs. Claus says, I just go along with it.” For the rest of us, there will be plenty of cookies and punch. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at OTOW with a bag full of goodies. Page 2 / December 2012 ON TOP OF THE WORLD NEWS ON TOP OF THE WORLD NEWS December 2012 / Page 3 On Top of the World The calendar year in review This past year, your Board has laundry rooms. tions in the path of travel (escape in received many positive comments on Your Board pays attention to event of fire), particularly in the stair- its attempt to enforce standards and and analyzes service requests. We look well areas is ongoing. ensure a well-run and fiscally stable for problem patterns, ask why, and Other Projects: Water meter community for all residents. take steps to prevent further problems boxes and parking spaces are being re- Without your support, the Board based on the outcome. stenciled with the unit ID. could not function. The business of To that end, we have been able The Importance of Insurance: I managing a community the size of a to identify improperly caulked window cannot stress the point loud enough or small city is very difficult. There are replacements as a source of interior long enough that it is the responsibility so many moving parts and pieces. The leaks. HVAC units that have not been of each individual owner to make sure point of all the effort is to give you the serviced are also a major source of they have adequate insurance on their type of community and quality living leaks and water intrusion into adjoin- property. For OTOW Condo owners, environment you deserve. The mem- ing units. This problem is costly both adequate insurance includes personal bers of the Board thank you for your for owners and for the Association. property and on the portion of the support. tion inspected by licensed plumbing, Sharon Licata will be writing unit not insured by the Association’s Your Board of Administration appliance, and electrical professionals. more on this issue in her newspaper master policy. Generally, property cov- worked hard in the last year to craft a This was the result of the very seri- article next month. erage policies are written on the inte- budget that would not be burdensome ous fire in Building 56 and the dis- rior components of the home and on in these hard times, but of sufficient covery of the serious code violations Community Update your personal property. Proper insur- size to fund the work that needs to made when a washer/dryer unit was Work in Progress ance coverage will help save you many be done. To that end, we were able to installed improperly. Recognizing that Waterproofing: Building 19 – out-of-pocket dollars if or when the hold the increase to a very modest 1.1 the situation was not unique, but puts waterproofing back elevation should unexpected happens. percent. both life and property at risk. Your be starting on Dec. 12. All start dates While the Association takes the Once again, we are beginning to Board moved proactively to advise all are approximate and weather depen- lead in the recovery and reconstruction forecast operational costs for the com- residents of the concerns and inform dent. process, a failure of any owner to carry ing year. At this juncture, I cannot say residents of the corrective measures An inspection and correction insurance on their contents will inevi- how the budgets will be impacted, but needed. program is ongoing across property tably leave a significant gap in the final we are challenged with rising costs, Your Board directed the man- to determine structural conditions. completion and ability to re-occupy the especially roofing and paving. We are agement company to perform a thor- Repairs on headers, tower elements, home. considering all opportunities for sav- ough survey of each building to make walkways, sidewalks, parapets, col- In the case of negligence by an ings that can be reasonably made with- sure that any age-related structural de- umns, railings, center core doors, etc. owner, the Association will also at- out jeopardizing delivery of services. terioration is identified and addressed. will follow. tempt to recover the insurance de- A tremendous amount of work To that end, very minimal problems Roofing: Large scale reroofs ductible cost. Being penny-wise and has transpired in the past calendar have been identified and addressed. are current and no new projects are pound foolish by “saving” the nomi- year. We experienced two severe fires Finally, the Board completed the scheduled to start-up again until Janu- nal cost of insurance, is really no sav- that had an impact on immediate ad- community census begun in late 2011. ary 2013. ings at all! jacent units. In all cases, there was no Unfortunately, it took many tries, and Floor tile replacement: Instal- The HO6 rider covers the in- fire spread from the source to adjoin- door-to-door canvasing when owners lation of new flooring in Building 37 sured owner for a portion of the de- ing units, but water damage was con- did not reply to the card mailings. We (third floor), and Building 34 (second ductible the Association maintains. siderable. are pleased to report that more than and third floors), are scheduled for Currently, your association maintains Speaking of water, your commu- 87 percent of units are owner occu- December. Crews will work around a deductible of $10,000 per occur- nity experienced the highest historical pied (un-rented) by owners over the holiday decorations wherever possible. rence to property damage from any rainfall in Pinellas County (66 inches age 55 requirement. Installation schedule may move slower peril such as fire, lightning, vandalism, from May through September), with Regularly scheduled work com- than expected based upon condition etc., and other than wind and named more than 13 inches falling in a single pleted to date includes: five buildings of existing floor. The exact schedule is storms. Speak with your insurance 24-hour period. Despite short-term have new roofs and five buildings have dependent on the weather. Notice will agent to make sure you have coverage road flooding, no individual apart- new mansards. New gutter systems ac- be posted in each building in advance in place and that it is adequate. ments were affected by the rising wa- companied all of these new roof in- of a firm start date. If you are an owner that rents ter. stallations, as well as bringing the roofs Landscape and Grounds Proj- your unit, make sure you have business Other work that has been ac- up to the current wind code. ects: Removal of invasive plantings, (rental) interruption coverage. complished, or is wrapping up, is the There have been three elevator property wide is ongoing. The simpli- In the unlikely event the renter complete rebuilding of the tennis fa- rebuilds or renovations. Twelve build- fication of end stairwell beds/plant- would need to vacate the unit for a pe- cility and major replacement of water ings had their front elevations repaint- ings is ongoing, notably plants with riod of time due to some unforeseen mains serving approximately one-third ed, while 10 back elevations were wa- root mats that tend to decay and cre- catastrophe, you would be compensat- of the community. terproofed. ate voids under building footers are of ed by the carrier. Interrupted rent is Finally, fire code mandated work Twenty-two parking areas were special concern. The removal of unap- not something the Association can, or will begin this month to install hard- resurfaced and nine streets were re- proved or excessive plantings in back would, reimburse. wired smoke detectors into all units paved. Another 25,000 square feet of and front porch areas of units is being Renters are also advised to carry built prior to 1977. flooring was purchased and is being in- coordinated with inspection services. a “renter policy.” This not only covers Your Board has put into place a stalled over the next few months.