January 2010

Take a trip to Alaska, page 19. Vol. 23, No. 7 • January 2010 Community News & Update By Kenneth Colen, Publisher On Top of the World (Central) Owners Association Thank you for submitting a proxy or a Oballot on the vote to amend the Articles of Incorporation and the By-laws for On Top of the World (Central) Owners Associa- tion. This turned out to be an interesting process that actually validated the need for such amendments with respect to the number of votes to establish a quorum for the conduct of Association business. Your Association was successful in gathering the required 66% of votes needed to amend both the Articles of Incor- poration and By-laws. The current set of By-laws required that proxies be submit- ted up to five-days before the meeting. Because of the proxies that came in after that date, your board requested that the meeting be continued to Jan. 11, at 9 a.m. Photo by Ray Cech to establish the final, official count. Getting 66% of any population to vote In the center, Ken Colen and Jaye Baillie, President & CEO of the Ocala/Marion Chamber of Commerce is a tall order, even in a small commu- perform the ribbon cutting. nity such as ours. Again, this validates the need to address the number of votes needed to obtain a quorum for the conduct of business. I want to thank all the Seven New Energy Star resident volunteers, Parkway, COA, SCA, and On Top of the World employees who assisted in canvassing the community to gather proxies. Homes Introduced Remember, every vote counts! BY RAY CE C H Insurance WO R LD NE W S WR ITE R On Saturday, Nov. 21, the Ocala/Mari- with each home having the capability to house and check its construction, evalu- Several questions at the On Top of on County Chamber of Commerce ambas- drive its energy while utilizing solar pow- ate how tightly it was built, and whether the World (Central) Owners Association sadors assisted with the ribbon cutting at er.” appliances, fans, carpeting, windows, in- annual meeting focused on insurance. the new Model Center located in Candler Attending the ribbon cutting ceremony sulation, etc. meet ENERGY STAR® guide- It is worth additional discussion in this OHills. was President & CEO of the Ocala/Marion lines. Using an infrared gun, they check article. Insurance markets seem to be re- As our natural resources grow scarce Chamber of Commerce, Jaye Baillie, along for air leaks and hot spots. The end result gaining some measure of stability. Prop- and energy costs spiral upward, it be- with On Top of the World participants is a computer-generated model of each erty and wind coverage has become more hooves developers to build more efficient Vice President, Phil Faranda; General house that determines if the total struc- available, but costs remain high. and environmentally friendly homes. To- Manager, Lynette Vermillion; Director of ture meets ENERGY STAR® qualification. Insurance companies mitigate pos- wards that end, On Top of the World is Sales, Vince Ritacco; Construction Manag- Rod Kosares of Professional Testing said sible risk by reducing limits of coverage, meeting the challenge. For the past nine er, Sheryl Johnson; and Director of Mar- that homes in On Top of the World Com- raising premiums, and creating certain years, construction in our community has keting, Jo Salyers. munities have a long history of meeting “carve-outs” for high risk underwriting. held to the mantra of building the best Under a giant tent, vendors displayed and exceeding both ENERGY STAR® and With over $300,000,000 in insured value, and most efficient energy-wise homes in energy conserving products, including a EPA guidelines. the On Top of the World (Central) Owners Florida. shiny new Toyota Prius. Neighbors David In a conversation with Planning & Association represents a significant book Director of Marketing, Jo Salyers said, and Paula Shira demonstrated the sav- Design Manager, Tom Czikk, this writer of business. “While using the best materials and build- ings they are achieving after installing learned of another rating agency—HERS Under the present policy, each owner ing the tightest possible home adds a bit solar panels. Believe it or not, their total (Home Energy Rating System). Under the now has an out-of-pocket expense of five to our cost, the need to conserve energy monthly electric bill adds up to a bit less auspices of the Department of Energy, it percent (5%) of the value of the home and exceed EPA guidelines gives us com- than a $9 customer service charge—an measures how efficiently a home is uti- in the event of wind loss. The wind-loss fort that we are doing the right thing. In unbelievable savings of more than $100 lizing its energy resources. Tom used the coverage does not kick in until the first the long run, everybody wins, the hom- each and every month. Besides putting term “building a healthy house,” referring $250,000 of loss has occurred. Practically eowner as well as our environment.” some money in the bank, Paula and Dave to all the products and parts that go into speaking, many homes would have to be Ms. Salyers went on to say that, “On are doing their share for Mother Earth. a finished home. Before going into an On affected in a storm event to meet this Top of the World is recognized for build- Also, under the tent, Landscape Su- Top of The World home, suppliers must minimum. As a practical matter, in back- ing the most single-site ENERGY STAR® perintendent, Phil Hisey, demonstrated warrantee that their products meet all to-back storms in 2004, total wind-relat- homes in Florida. Not only do houses water conservation products, including energy-efficient and safety standards. ed losses were in the range of $100,000. meet the highest energy efficient stan- some new (and now available) sprinkler On Top of the World homeowners can We didn’t even come near the much lower dards, but all landscaping is designed systems, and a recently introduced sprin- rest assured that from Mr. Colen down to deductible in effect at that time. with an eye on conserving our critical wa- kler-timing box that senses how much the worker hammering the last nail into a The Association maintains a $10,000 ter resources.” water a lawn requires and then adjusts finished home, the final product exceeds (non-wind related) deductible for any Ken Colen expressed his views on the sprinklers accordingly. It’s a real water all EPA, DOE and HERS standards. To vis- occurrence other than wind or hail dam- need for energy conservation and said and money saver. it any of the new models, stop in at the age. The Association’s insurance does not that, “All On Top of the World homes To be ENERGY STAR® rated, every Model Home Center office on S.W. 83rd cover the contents of your home. All own- will continue to meet or exceed ENERGY home built within On Top of the World Loop, Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., ers must have an HO6 Unit Owners policy STAR® guidelines. We’re also committed is inspected by Professional Testing As- Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or similar) with coverage for all contents to our goal of achieving net-zero homes, sociates. Their inspectors walk through a such as floor and wall coverings, cabinets, appliances, light fixtures, etc., owner ad- ditions such as lanais, deductibles or loss assessments by the Association. Residents are advised to consult their insurance agent for specifics regarding the amount of their loss assessment coverage and possible supplemental windstorm coverage. This non-windstorm deductible applies to any damage to a single dwell- ing or multiple dwellings, and is based on each occurrence of damage. In any case, it is probably time to speak with your agent and review your insurance limits. Other Updates As discussed at the meetings, there are many new developments taking shape around the community. Walgreens is mov- ing forward quickly with constructing a store on the corner of S.W. 80th Avenue and Highway 200. The traffic signal slated for S.W. 80th Avenue and S.W. 80th Street is in final design review by the Marion County Trans- portation Department. At this juncture, we cannot offer a start date. More infor- mation will be available to update every- one on this much-needed improvement in my next article. Construction on Water Treatment Plant 3 is complete and awaiting final permit- ting approval before coming online. The recent updates to the Reuse Plant will allow for expansion of irrigation to com- Photo by Ray Cech mon areas thus decreasing our reliance on the potable water supply for common Mr. and Mrs. Claus participate in the Golf Cart Parade on Dec. 9. area irrigation along S.W. 90th Terrace. The recreational amenities at On Top of the World underwent some major work Here Comes Santa Claus this year. The Arbor Club pool was resurfaced and the showers were updated. BY RAY CE C H In addition, the Arbor Club tennis WO R LD NE W S WR ITE R courts were resurfaced with a resilient On Dec. 9, the annual Golf Cart Parade ticed their barking whenever the police of the World neighborhoods. Along the surface, reputed to be easier on aging ushered in the holiday season, and this sirens sounded off. The clowns added way they were met with cheers of good joints. So far, all the reports have been year it was bigger and better than ever.

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