President's Message s2

Ap Trails ril ‘N’ 20 Tales 14

M y a k k a

V a l l e y

R a n c h e s

I m p r o v e m e n t

A s s o c i a t i o n

M o n t h l y

N e w s l e t t e r

A p r i l 2 0 1 4 w w w . m v r i a . c o m PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE April 2014

“I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort, where we overlap.” — Ani DiFranco This is my last president’s message, and before I pass the baton, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has participated either by serving on the Board or even simply by attending and contributing their perspectives at the meetings over the past 12 months. It has been a privilege to have served this community as President of the Myakka Valley Ranches Homeowners Association. Thank you to David Hodgkinson who served as Vice President, Vivian Zabik as Treasurer and Jackie Vizzi who served as Secretary. Additionally, thank you to the following Board members for voluntary serving and for all your contributions: Larry Brotherton, Deb Houston, Andy Behn, Heather Nestle, Bill Barrett, Bill Still, Dan McKillup and Gary James. We have had many volunteers step up to take on tasks such as the cleanup of our parks and saddle trails, updating the flower beds, trimming the trees back at our front entrance, gathering information to work towards forming a new neighborhood directory, those who have served on the various committees, and countless others. Your work has not gone unnoticed and we as a community are thankful to have such selfless individuals and neighbors contributing towards the betterment of our community. I can say with confidence that with continued efforts and further participation from more good intentioned individuals, I am optimistic that we will continue to see forward progress resulting in a strengthened Association. The past two years have been quite the educational experience for me, especially working with individuals with so many diverse backgrounds and opinions. While it certainly has been hard to please everyone, I can say without any hesitation that all decisions made along the way have been made with the good of the whole in mind and that we have always served with the best interest of the community firmly at the forefront of any and all decisions or actions. In closing, whether we agree or disagree please continue to be kind to your neighbors, be considerate and respectful toward others in our community, and know that in the end the forces of good will reign supreme (or so we hope). Please join us for our upcoming Annual Meeting to be held Saturday April 12th at 2:00 pm at the Fire Station in the front of the neighborhood. I am looking forward to seeing you all then and for those of you that are considering volunteering for the Board, thank you in advance!

Kindest Regards,

President M.V.R.I.A.

Paul A. Wolbers, Ph.D., Realtor® YOUR LOCAL COUNTRY SPECIALIST VALLEY RESIDENT SINCE 1992 Cell: (941) 350-4527 Direct: (941) 927-7436 E-mail: [email protected] www.pwol b ersrealt or.com

JUST SOLD:

19310 66th E. Ave., Bradenton. A beautiful 7.5-acre building lot in the Forest in Panther Ridge, for $250,000-

JUST LISTED:

7343 Palomino Trl., Sarasota. Beautifully updated equestrian estate in Saddle Creek: 4/2 pool home with barn and lots of privacy. $599,900-

6200 Myakka Valley Trail. Adorable 3/2 home with big workshop, and huge pond on corner lot. Lots of pasture. $349,000-

5441 Myakka Valley Trail: One of the best, most complete renova- tions I have ever seen! 3/2 pool home with horse barn on 7+ acres. $449,000-

REDUCED IN PRICE:

6860 Prairie Junction Trl.: From $695,000 to $670,000- 5084 Rocking Horse: From $390,000 to $369,000-

Please, call me if you are thinking about buying real estate, or if you want to sell your Valley Property. I sell a lifestyle, not just a house! Life in the Valley This month, I will be focusing on another Deed Restriction for or Association. Hi We live in a deed restricted community. Neighbors, Fortunately, we are not a heavily restricted neighborhood but we do have a few rules and guidelines. I would like to use this column to highlight different restrictions and offer guidance to anyone that may have questions. If you have recently moved into Myakka Valley, you should have received a copy of the Association Articles, Bylaws and Deed Restrictions. If not, they are available online at www. mvr i a. co m .

In our Bylaws, page 4 of 10

5. Directors (b) Number tenure and qualifications. The board of Directors shall have not less than five nor more than eleven directors, and shall be fixed at nine (9) until modified by a resolution adopted by the membership. All directors shall serve a two year term or until their successor is duly elected. Five (5) director positions shall be filled at the annual meeting in odd- numbered years and four (4) director positions shall be filled at the annual meeting in even-numbered years, provided however, that either the board of Directors or the membership shall have the authority to tempo- rarily assign a one-year term to one or more director positions if neces- sary to re- implement a scheme of staggering of the Board to promote a continuity of leadership, so that approximately on half of the Board members are elected each year.

On April 12th at our annual meeting, we will be voting on the number of directors for the board. Presently, the board number is eleven (11). The membership will be voting on changing this number to nine (9), which is the fixed number in our bylaws. The directors are volunteers that give their time to the association. These volunteers are working together to perform the duties set out in our by-laws and deed restrictions. They spend countless hours serving this association. Please plan to come to our annual meeting. This year, our annual meeting will be held on Saturday, April 12th at 2pm. If you are interested in joining the b ny ways you can participate and we would love your o help! Bring a chair along since the fire station has a a limited number available. r This is your community! Get involved, lend a d hand and help us continue to make our development , a great place to live. Remember, we are a private subdivi- sion. We have one way in and one way out. w Our roads are private and maintained by the e membership. We have a very unique development that is a little piece of paradise. Let’s continue to w keep it that way! o Each month, I will be reviewing another deed u restriction. If you have any questions or comments, l please feel free to contact me. d Vivian Zabik l o v e t o h a v e y o u r h e l p .

T h e r e a r e m a The Valley Market is getting stronger.

Since the first of this year, four properties have gone under contract, and two have already closed. The market for our homes has not been this strong in years. If you have been contemplating a change, this may be the right time.

If you would like to know the value of your property, or have any other real estate questions, give me a call. Michael S. Wallace GRI Serving clients and community in Myakka Valley since 1988 Cell: 941-350-1231 Home Office: 941-921-1586 email: mi chael@saraso tasal es .net or visit: sarasotarealestatesales.net Coldwell Banker Res Real Estate 100 N. Tamiami Tr. Sarasota, FL 34236 Myakka Valley Ranches Improvement Association, Inc. Annual Member Meeting

2 PM Saturday, April 12, 2014 At the Fire Station #18, 7232 Myakka Valley Trail, Sarasota Fl. 34241

Vote on the 2014-2015 Reserve Account Budget & Vote for Association Directors

Agenda

1. Certifying Quorum- Call to Order 2. Proof of Notice of Meeting 3. Reading and Disposal of unapproved minutes (April 28, 2013) 4. Presentation of Paving Roads- (Paving and long term mainte- nance) 5. Voting for Directors: (a) amount of directors, 9 or 11 (b) intro- duction of nominated directors (c) open the floor for self- nominated directors (d) inspectors of election and ballots 6. Voting of matters before the Membership 6.a. Reserves: specific projects: roads and surveillance technol- ogy 6.b. Consolidation of Reserve Accounts: Reserve Account for Capital Improvements 6.c. Ongoing Legal Litigation: (1) vote for Special Assessment, or (2) use reserve money for legal expense. 7. Adjourn the Meeting

Three ways to Vote: 1. Complete the proxy form and mail it back. 2. Come to the Meeting. 3. Drop the proxy form at the meeting before 2PM. How Green is Our (Green continued) Valley No room? What about a climbing rose? Here are some that are good in Sally Corcoran our climate and easy care. ‘Lady Banks’ is an antique rose that is virtually thornless and is available in white or dusty yellow. ‘Don Juan’ is a hearty Have you noticed the vine with yellow flowers rambling through the natu- red pillar rose and a prolific bloomer. Pillar roses are like climbers, but ral areas of the Valley? It is Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) only grow 7 to 12 feet. ‘Old Blush’ is an antique climber (1752!) with soft a native vine that blooms in late winter or early spring. This winter was so pink flowers that deepen in color as they age. This rose has been a long- mild it got going in the end of January. Sometimes it scrambles into trees time favorite and certainly stood the test of time. A newcomer (1988) and your first clue to look up, is the presence of yellow blossoms scattered shrub rose getting rave reviews is ‘Belinda’s Dream’. It has the honor of on the ground. The vine has small arrowhead shaped dark green leaves. being the only modern rose planted in Phillippi Estate Park’s rose garden. Sempervirens means, “always green” referring to its evergreen foliage. It boasts big, pink flowers in addition to being disease resistant. ‘ Prosperi- ty’ is a hybrid musk from 1919 with upright growth that cause its branches Carolina jessamine is a rapid grower that is happy to adapt to home land- to arch because of their many fragrant, ivory blossoms. Perfect along a scapes and looks good on arbors or fences. It will grow in dry or moist fence or trellis. I have just planted one and I will let you know how it does. soils and light requirements are sun to part shade, making it very versatile. Sadly the ‘Knock Out’ roses are having problems, so I can’t recommend The flowers are fragrant, tubular in shape and attract humming birds. If them for the Florida landscape. So get busy and plant a Florida Friendly pruned after flowering, you may get a second flush of flowers in the au- rose, or two, or three. tumn. Thanks for inspiring me, Julia. Also blooming now is the beautiful blue flag iris (Iris virginica). Where other irises have a hard time coping with heat, humidity, and lack of cold in Phillippi Estate Park, Rose Festival the winter, native blue flag does well especially in moist areas and they April 12th, 10 am to 4 pm don’t mind standing in water when we get into the rains of summer. If you have a pond (and most of us do), it should do well planted on the edge. The water level in our ponds varies from season to season, often by several Many people believe that when an accident feet. The blue flag iris copes equally well with being high and dry or hav- occurs between a horse and car, the fatality is ing wet feet. It spreads by creeping rhizomes that sprout sword-like leaves. always on the side of the horse, but is this the A rhizome is a fleshy tuber-like root that stores food. Roots grow from the case? bottom of the rhizome and leaves from the top of the rhizome. The large flowers are a striking violet blue and the fan-shaped plant is attractive even Take a look at this photo, taken after an acci- when they aren’t in bloom. dent involving a horse and car. The question that should be asked isn’t “what died” but I have written about roses before, but thought they deserved another visit as more the case of “how many died?” some of mine have been so rewarding this year with little or no care. ‘Louis Philippe’ is a mauve shrub rose that has blooms on it almost twelve Many accidents could be avoided if drivers would slow down and leave months of the year. It is big, so give it plenty of room. I have one that has more room when passing a horse and rider. Many people do not realize been in front of my house for a few years and it is about seven feet high by how quickly a spooked horse can move into the road in front of a vehicle. seven feet wide. You should prune roses just above a five-leaflet leaf. But If a car is passing a horse at a rapid speed and that horse is suddenly the deer and horses have been pruning mine for me with quite good results. spooked by say a large bird or deer on the side of the road, imagine the A tiny, newly planted rose bush should be protected from deer looking for force of the impact when that 1,000 pound animal hits that vehicle. a snack. The main thing to remember when pruning shrub roses is to wack them low in the late winter for size control; then lightly shear or thin them We can all be considerate of anyone riding anything on the edge of our as needed in the spring and summer. Give this rose a chance and I promise, streets. Please slow down and use caution for everyone’s safety. it won’t break your heart. (Please see Green)