It's Annual and  

Budget Meeting Time    

Watch for Notices & Coupon Books 

 

It's just about that time again! Usually, as we head into the holidays, community associations have meetings about budgets and their annual meetings.  

The budget meeting is the forum where the Board will review and adopt the operating budget projecting the funds needed by the association to cover its operating expenses and provide reserves for repair and replacement of the common elements of the property the community maintains.

The annual meeting is the forum where voting for leadership for the next year takes place, and where general decisions concerning the community's actions for the coming year ensue. 

It's a great time to become involved in your community in an official capacity, or just to watch how the process for governing your community takes place. It's also the time for residents to keep a lookout for meeting notices and association payment coupon books.

Let's Talk Deep Fried Turkey Be Smart, Stay Safe this Thanksgiving Deep frying a turkey is one of the most amazing ways you can prepare a holiday bird. Unfortunately, the flames that can potentially engulf your home if you don't follow some simple precautions will amaze your family, your guests and your neighbors too as the fire trucks roll in to extinguish your celebration. Follow this advice, however, and you can have your safely fried turkey and eat it too! First and foremost, fully defrost your bird, which can take as long as 6 days in the fridge for a 20-pound or larger turkey. Immersing even just a partially frozen turkey into boiling oil is a recipe for disaster. This can't be stressed enough. It's not a case that it "might" cause fireworks you'll never forget. It's the No. 1 holiday fire-starter that repeats every year to careless newbies. Always locate your fryer outdoors, on a stable surface and away from wooden decks, overhanging trees, eves, patio covers, trellises and awnings, and preferably a safe distance away from your home should a spill or grease fire occur.  Do not overfill your fryer. Upon immersion, your turkey will displace the hot oil, and an overfilled fryer will overflow. And spill damage to your lawn or driveway is the least of your concerns. Spilling oil onto the fryer's heating element or open flame is a great way to start a fire.  Monitor the oil temperature from start to finish to avoid combustion as the temperature of most cooking oils will continue to rise under continued high heat.  If you're new to deep frying, it's not our intent to scare you away from this delicious alternative cooking method. Millions of Americans deep fry their holiday turkey every year with yummy success. But like driving or using power tools, etc., there are a few basic safety precautions to heed.

Low Speed Limits in a Community Can be Deceiving They Provide a False Sense of Security  Very low posted speed limits are typical in residential communities, but law-breaking speeders are only half the equation. A bigger problem, say authorities, is the false sense of security a driver can feel behind the wheel of a vehicle traveling at low speeds.   Because of the luxury of additional reaction time that traveling at 20 mph, for example, allows, drivers can be lulled and distracted by their cell phone, items in their vehicle and searching for an address, etc. Compounding the problem are pedestrians, often elderly or very young, who tend not to pay as much attention to their surroundings when in their own neighborhood. You'll often see jaywalking, residents not paying attention to moving vehicles and kids playing in the street.  Bottom line? Stay vigilant while driving through a community, even at very low speeds. And pedestrians, this goes for you too. Stay alert. A 2-ton car traveling at 10mph still weighs 2 tons.

Recycling Helps Everybody    It's the sensible, responsible and neighborly thing to do, and it's not hard to implement.     Following your community's recycling program by placing glass, plastic and paper items in the appropriate corresponding color-coded bins is easy, and it really does help the environment. Just look at these facts:      * Using 1 ton of post-consumer paper to make new paper products saves 7,000 gallons of water and conserves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill.   * Recycling 300 lbs. of paper saves roughly one tree.   * For every ton of glass recycled, we eliminate 384 lbs. of mining waste.   * Using post-consumer aluminum cans to make new cans produces 95% less air pollution vs. manufacturing cans from raw aluminum.    * Paper recycling reduces pollution by about half.   * Recycling a 36-inch stack of newspaper saves about 73 kilowatt hours of electricity (14% of a typical residential electric bill).   * Recycling 1 pound of aluminum saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 290 hours.   * It takes 64% less energy to make paper products from post-consumer paper, saving the equivalent of three barrels of oil for each ton of paper that is recycled. Generally, folks who don't recycle believe that their individual contribution doesn't add up to much. But it's that single household multiplied by everyone on your block, and then by every block in your community, and every community in your city that adds up to the jaw-dropping statistics above. Just follow the rules of your community. Keep your bins stored out of sight until collection day. Avoid spilling cans and bottles into the street and weigh down paper items so they don't blow away, and you'll be a big part of the solution.

After Hours, What Do I Do?   

Contacting Your Association Manager

Your community association management office has after-hours availability for good reason and depends on residents to be its eyes and ears at night. But what constitutes an emergency, how dire that emergency is, and which agency is best qualified to handle it can often be murky.

A general rule of thumb is to rate your potential after-hours call on a common sense scale of 1 to 3. "1" being a life-threatening emergency or violent crime, "2" a threat to property, and "3" a "Can it wait?" issue.

1. Is someone's life or health in danger because of a fire, accident or crime in progress? Call 911. You know when you need immediate police, fire department or medical services. Don't delay with an interim call to your community manager. 

2. The severity of property damage is a judgment call. Essentially, however, if the property damage is in progress and threatens additional significant damage, then yes call and rally the troops. A burst pipe washing away a home foundation, for example, can't wait until the next morning after tens of thousands of gallons of water has continued to flow all night. A landscape professional, on the other hand, is unlikely to dispatch late at night to take care of a fallen tree in a neighbor's yard. Which brings us to No. 3:

3. "Can it wait?" issues are best described as issues about which 9 of 10 ordinary people would agree. A barking dog keeping you awake, for example, is a nuisance and perhaps even a crime to some degree. And if you're the one lying awake with an early schedule slated for the next morning, it might even seem at the time like a dire emergency. But chances are not one of those 9 ordinary people would mobilize in order to intervene on your behalf. Can it wait? It not only CAN wait, but it's very likely that no one will respond at that time anyhow. Save yourself the aggravation and address the issue the following day.  

Regardless of whether or not you choose to contact your community management office after hours about a nighttime issue, it's always a good idea to follow up the next day with your manager. Your board wants to know about the property it manages 24-7, and you are your community's eyes and ears. 

Hurricane Season Planning     NOAA Prediction & Making a Pre-Plan Now       In April, NOAA predicted 7 hurricane-strength storms in 2018 (sustained winds of 74+ mph). Recently, however, the number predicted dropped to 4. Apparently, the tropical Atlantic is colder than normal for this time of year. While this is welcomed news, especially following the wake of devastation last year left by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, it's only an educated guess. So stay vigilant and make a plan now.     At CAMS, we recommend a little "Hurricane Pre-Planning" by following three basic courses of action. Then later if a named storm sets its sights on South Florida, you can proceed with preparing your home for an imminent strike. For now, however:                    ASSEMBLE A HURRICANE KIT:  A direct hit by a hurricane can mean loss of power and essentials for a long period of time. We recommend assembling your Hurricane Disaster Kit now, and stowing it in a closet or attic. Think of your kit as what you might require for an extended camping trip. You'll need flashlights, a battery-powered radio and extra batteries, toiletries and other non-perishable essentials, a change or two of clothing, a few basic tools, a camp stove if you have one, a first-aid kit, and anything else you think you can't do without if and when the time comes. The key here is to really put one together now while you're thinking clearly. Later, if a hurricane strike is imminent, you can supplement at that time with food, water and other last-minute items. REVISIT YOUR INSURANCE COVERAGE: It's never a bad idea to periodically check that your home and belongings are adequately insured. But in Florida, during hurricane season, the stakes for homeowners are high. And when a storm is zeroing in on your neighborhood, it's generally too late to start worrying about coverage. Revisit your homeowner's insurance now. If you need to extend your coverage or list new items and shoot photos, etc., you have the luxury of time on your side. Also, while you're getting organized, file all your important financial, medical and personal papers all in one spot. That way, when your hurricane preparation becomes the real thing, you can quickly access, waterproof and protect those documents before the storm hits. Post-storm is a bad time to chase a paper trail. READY YOUR STORM SHUTTERS: Every window and otherwise penetrable entryway to your home should be equipped with protection, whether it's storm shutters, fitted plywood sheets or other devices. Now is the time to take them out of long-term storage, move them nearby where they're quickly accessible, check that they function properly, and take inventory of the components necessary to install them. Speaking of installation, if you require help putting up your shutters, now is also the time to make arrangements for that assistance. Oh, and while you're digging things out of storage, do you plan to park your vehicles in your garage if a storm is pending? Is there room? There's a good chance you might not have time to clean out your garage in the event of an approaching hurricane, not to mention the obvious problems associated with throwaway items piled near the road. Get busy now!  Waiting in long lines to purchase gasoline, canned goods and drinking water; clearing your yard of ornaments, garden hoses, trash cans, outdoor furniture and the like; and all the other necessary short-term preparations prior to an imminent hurricane strike are nerve-wracking enough. However, if you take the time now to pre-plan with the suggested items above, it can greatly reduce the anxieties experienced in an already highly stressful situation. See Ready.Gov for more hurricane planning information.

The Science Behind Picking Up After Your Pet

The Science Behind Picking Up After Your Pet   Who hasn't experienced the nose-pinching displeasure of having to hose off a shoe after stepping into a pile of a neighbor's thoughtlessness? But the inconvenience left behind by folks not picking up after their pets is only a small part of the story. Did You Know: ∙ Giardia, salmonella and E. coli are only some of the contaminants that can flourish in animal waste, and can be transmitted to both humans and animals via storm-water runoff and ingestion of infected groundwater.   ∙ Animal waste contains high levels of nitrogen, which following a rain often gets into nearby ponds, lakes and canals, and depletes oxygen. This toxicity can wipe out fish and underwater grasses and promote algae blooms.   ∙ Remember warnings not to run barefoot outdoors or suffer "worms"? While as kids our imagined version of the offending critters might not have been entirely accurate, round- and hookworm can thrive for long, long periods in waste and surrounding grass, and can transmit to humans.   At CAMS, we thank you for picking up after your pet and know your neighbors appreciate it too.