Fellow Homeowners,

In the March newsletter this time last year, we were excited about our vision for Orangewood:  new landscaping, stucco and a fresh coat of paint on all the buildings.  I am pleased to announce that we are well on our way to achieving our goals!  Stucco  is now on all of the buildings; we have a painting contractor ready to begin painting (as soon as we accumulate the remaining funds needed) ; and the first of the boulders have been delivered for the landscaping plan. We had hoped to accomplish more in the landscaping area, but vandalism to our pool last season required us to spend $8000 for repairs.

We will be looking at different color schemes to enhance the appearance of the complex.  August is the target date to begin the painting process.

Updates

Welcome to our Board of Directors for 2006!  All board members from last year agreed to continue:  they are Connie Rogers, member; Clement Copeland, secretary; Andy Peters, treasurer; Bruce Bettis, vice-president; and Mike Henley, president.  Quarterly meetings will be held this year.  The next meeting will be in June.  Thank you to our new board for volunteering their time and effort for our community.

Collections Up

The law firm with which we have contracted has performed exactly as we had hoped!  The amount of outstanding homeowners' fees owed to us has been cut in half.  We have been able to move forward with our goals (stucco, painting and landscaping) because we do not have to carry the financial burden of units which were no paying their share of Orangewood's expenses.

Landscaping

The new landscaping plan will continue to be implemented as the money becomes available.  Already the complex has a more uniform look to it in the area of bushes and shrubs that we never had before.  As you drive through the community, you will notice that the bushes have been trimmed below the window lines, several palm trees have been removed around the pool area and the grass lawns in the common areas look nicer than they have in a long time.

Groundskeeper Needed

We are looking for a 'grounds' person.  This is a paid position.  The job would include picking up regularly around our complex.  We are looking for someone who will take pride in Orangewood, be dependable and hardworking.  We have 23 buildings with 92 units and, unfortunately, not all residents take pride in keeping Orangewood clean.  If this position interests you, please call our property manager for further details.