Board Meeting, August 19th

As you may have noticed, summer is in full swing, and I have not been posting as much as I'd like, nor have I been able to attend recent board meetings. I will try to make up for that a bit today.

In recent association news, our community manager Morgen Hardigree has left Cardinal Property Management to allow for a schedule that better fits with her family. I look forward to meeting our new manager, Jim Goldman.

There is a board meeting this coming Tuesday, August 19th. The agenda has been posted, and I find the following items of interest:

• Landscape committee appointments

• Dock Repairs

• Key Fob Distribution and Entry Gate Procedures

• Investment Requirements

• Window Washing

I encourage everyone to attend. There are a lot of decisions to be made on behalf of the community and you should understand and have your say on how they are being made.

Board Meeting, July 15th

E-mail readers, click on "Board Meeting, July 15th" title above for full story.

We have a new board of directors, and its first meeting will be this coming Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 7PM in the clubhouse.

The board of directors makes important decisions for our community in each of its meetings. If you haven't attended, it's always helpful to sit in on one.

The agenda for the upcoming meeting is posted in the pool area. Topics slated for the Tuesday meeting include:

• Bids on pathway lighting poles

• Appointment of landscape committee members

• Announcement of secret ballot results (CC&R revisions)

• Work orders for various homeowner units

I will be unable to attend this meeting and would really appreciate a volunteer to take notes for me so that I might report them on The Bridge.

Return to The Bridge home page.

Community Garage Sale

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A community-wide garage sale is planned for Saturday, July 26th. Set up will begin at 7, with the sale opened to the public 8AM - 12PM. Please watch for further information, and begin rounding up your old treasures!

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More Communication

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Long-time readers know that one of the goals of this blog is to increase awareness of topics that affect residents and build community through communication. I was excited to learn that homeowner Fernando Scalini has created another channel of communication through a list server. As with this blog, it's not an official forum provided by the board, but more of an informal way for homeowners to share information. We truly live in a great place, and I've found that getting to know my neighbors better has created the path to some wonderful friendships. Communication helps build that community.

To get added to the list, you can begin by going to this website. It contains all the information you need to get started. Thanks Fernando!

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Special CC&R Meeting April 3rd

E-mail readers, click on "Special CC&R Meeting April 3rd" link above for full story.

I received the following information from board member BarbraSue Miller, and she asked that I share it with readers of The Bridge. Please note that the date has been shifted from the date originally announced (April 3rd instead of April 1st). I have a few thoughts to share later.

From BarbraSue:

We are having a special meeting with the Attorney present to answer questions, clarification & concerns regarding the proposed changes to the CC&R's. At the meeting, April 1st was scheduled date. I sent that off to the blog for interested readers (pending your approval; however, there was a conflict with other business.

So the meeting is scheduled for April 3, 7 PM

As previously mentioned, appropriate protocol for posting meetings is being followed. This special meeting announcement will be posted at the clubhouse and sent out to the HOA in the MAIL.

I was just trying to give the blog readers and other HOA members a heads up, so they may plan the schedules and try to come to the meeting & have their questions answered, learn more & have clarification on some of the proposed changes that are a concern for some of the home owners.

I appreciate the heads-up from BarbraSue - thanks!

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Next Regular Board Meeting - Tuesday, March 18th

E-mail readers, click on "Next Regular Board Meeting" title above for the full story.

Alas, the next board meeting falls a day late of St. Patrick's Day, but we'll still keep that theme for this post.

The meeting agenda has been posted in the clubhouse area for anyone interested in the planned discussion topics. Some of the ones I found interesting include:

• ARC Committee (there is a vacancy, and volunteers were requested in the last billing statement)

• Streets

• Governing Documents Proposed Changes

• Gate upgrades

• Removal of algae and mildew on the slanted roofs.

Seeing the agenda reminds me that I haven't taken Julian up yet on his request for suggestions regarding what to do with the roof cleaning. I share Dora's sentiments that the cleaning should be gentle, with minimal water and not high pressure, to avoid forcing any water under the metal and into homeowner units. Her point about considering this when looking at roof replacement also makes sense.

This meeting might also provide an opportunity to learn and discuss more about the proposed governing document changes. I'm sorry that I won't be able to attend this one and hope to hear news from it - does anyone want to play the role of "guest blogger" for this one? If so, let me know!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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Opportunity to Speak Up

E-mail readers, click on "Opportunity to Speak Up" title for the full story.

It's buried in the comments on the homeowner-only portion of the blog, so I want to highlight an opportunity being provided by association board president, Julian Solomons.

Julian has requested feedback on how best to maintain the appearance of the sloping roofs on the backs of the "B" units (off-water Tempe, Surprise). You can provide the feedback to julian@juliansolomons.com.

Please do share your ideas with him, as it's always helpful for the board to make decisions based on a variety of opinions and options and it's good of Julian to solicit the input.

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Used Blankets and Towels to Help Canine Friends

E-mail readers, click on "Used Blankets and Towels to Help Canine Friends" title above for the full story.

Just received an e-mail from Seabridge neighbor BarbraSue Miller. BarbraSue is a volunteer with Retrievers and Friends of Southern California and informs us that they are conducting a drive for bedding for the dogs. If you have any old towels, t-shirts, comforters, blankets, sheets, even sweatshirts, please donate those via BarbraSue. They can also use vet and grooming tools.

If you are able to help out with a donation of these items, please contact BarbraSue directly, or via comments in this post. Thanks!

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Expanding The Community

E-mail readers, click on "Expanding The Community" title above to read the full story.

"The Bridge" has been around for about 7 months now, and I hope that you feel it's on its way toward meeting the goal of informing residents and creating a stronger sense of community here.

If so, this is a good time to remind you all of how you can help in that effort:

• Let me know if you have ideas of stories to cover here. If it's even tangentially related to Seabridge, chances are good that others will find it interesting.

• Please take a moment again right now to inform your neighbors of this blog. It's grown largely through word of mouth, and I don't have the ability to contact all residents myself. Just send them a quick e-mail with the link and a welcome on my behalf!

• Continue to comment on features you find interesting. (Just click on the "Comments" link under each article). It lets me know that people are reading and also helps give me a better sense of what people enjoy.

• Make sure you sign up on the right-hand side for automatic notification of any new stories. In that way, you won't miss any news or features.

Thanks a lot for your continued support.

Board Meeting Next Tuesday, January 29th

E-mail readers, click "Board Meeting Next Tuesday, January 29th" for complete story.

Don't forget that the January meeting has been rescheduled to this coming Tuesday, January 29th at 7PM in the clubhouse. In accordance with a new state law, the agenda is posted for all homeowners to view on the clubhouse door.

So I took a peek at what's on the agenda. Among the items featured:

• Appointment of new ARC committee member

• Gate upgrade

• Governing document revision contract

Remember, if you care about any of these items, or anything else slated for discussion, you can state your views and discuss with the board in the open forum at the beginning of the meeting. For the complete agenda, you can visit the clubhouse entrance.

Return to Seabridge Journal home page.

Electronic Waste Recycling

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Living near the harbor as we do, we can sometimes see first-hand what happens when trash doesn't end up in the right place. It gets washed downstream to become someone else's problem.

Well, plastic bags and styrofoam are nothing compared to the chemicals and other components found in many of today's high-tech items. Toxic chemicals like mercury and arsenic can leach from the plastics, chips and batteries into our soil and groundwater; there, they can remain a problem for years. One of the challenges is that we are all busy people, and it's often just too temptingly convenient to toss these old devices in the dumpster.

Fortunately, we're just in time for a Computer/Electronics Round-up this FRIDAY and SATURDAY at the Sports Park by the HB Library. You can take your used cell phones, TVs, computers, fax machines, and many other electronic items and have them taken off your hands for free. And you'll leave knowing you've kept a lot of nasty things out of our soil and water.

If anyone plans on making a trip, please indicate so in the comments section below. Perhaps there's an opportunity to help some others out with their items. For more information, check out www.socalrecyclers.com or call 310.626.8180

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January Board Meeting Time Change

Please note that there has been a change in the date of the next regular board meeting, from Tuesday, January 15th to Tuesday, January 29th. Same time (7PM), same location (Clubhouse).

Many thanks to BarbraSue for providing the information in the comments to a post below. You heard it here first ;-)

New Feature - Labels

In its 6 months of existence, this blog has collected almost 90 posts. So to make it a bit easier to find older features, I've added labels to each article. You can now look on the right-hand side of each page for a list of posts, organized by category. This post, for example, falls under "Announcements".

The 'Bridge

E-mail readers, click on "The 'Bridge" title above to read the full story.

Today marks a transition point as the Seabridge Journal becomes The Bridge. I used this title on a project I recently worked on, and it struck me as a great metaphor for what I'm trying to do with this blog. Hopefully this website is one of several bridges to connect neighbors, improve communication and foster a sense of community at Seabridge. I also like the word play involved as it gives our community a casual nickname that reflects the relaxed feel of the place.

In keeping with that spirit of building bridges, I'd like to ask again that if you enjoy what you read here, please make sure that your neighbors know about The Bridge and that they sign up on the right for e-mail notification of new posts. I also welcome your feedback on anything in the comments section as it lets me know what people find interesting and helpful.

Nothing else is different - you'll still be able to read whatever random thoughts I have that might be even tangentially related to this place. The URL will remain the same, in case you've bookmarked or linked to anything here.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Return to The Bridge home page.

Taking a Pulse Check

E-mail readers, click on "Taking a Pulse Check" title above to read full story.

So, Seabridge Journal has been around about 3 months now. I'd like to know whether you find it worthwhile. I don't necessarily write anything expecting feedback, but one of my goals is to help increase community and communication, so I'd like to know if you think it's beneficial. What features do you find most useful?

If you find this blog helpful, you can assist by sharing the website with others. Do your neighbors read/subscribe to Seabridge Journal? Maybe they would be interested in learning about it from you...

Return to Seabridge Journal home page.

Found

Did you or anyone you know lose a video iPod over the weekend? If so, it's been found. Contact me with information regarding the player and its contents, and we'll reunite you!

Latest Changes

E-mail readers, click here for full story.

As I wrote about in this post, I implemented in July some changes to restrict Seabridge Journal to homeowners only. While I still believe this is appropriate for some articles posted here, blogger/google doesn't make the login process very easy. As a result, I lost regular readers, and it's no fun talking to myself. In addition, some people are under the impression that only certain homeowners can participate. That's not correct. Had I been asked about this, I would have cleared up any confusion.

Still, I realize that the password features weren't very friendly, and that didn't help matters either. It struck me that I could actually have two blogs - one for public consumption, and one for homeowners only. I've given them the same look and feel, and tied them together with common links. And that way, readers can also get better information about how it works and how they can access things.

You'll still need to sign up if you want access to the private section - see the info on the right.

Best of all, the open nature of the public section allows me to revive the "subscribe via e-mail" feature. Just enter your e-mail address on the right, and you'll be notified automatically of any new posts, within a day of posting.

I hope you'll agree that this should improve Seabridge Journal all around, and that helps me with my mission of communicating news and topics of interest to the community.

Return to Seabridge Journal home page.

Change Is The Only Constant

Registered homeowners may click here to view the story.

A note on recent changes

Welcome back! As you've noticed, I've made a few changes to improve things around here. I apologize for any inconvenience, but I think it will make things better all around.

Why the need to log in? Well, I had a few thoughts. For one, we don't let people off the street just wander into our board meetings, so I wanted to implement the on-line equivalent. For another, I wanted to be sure you are reading this blog because you are interested in hearing what I have to say. Sunsets and general community information are an important part of this blog, but I also write about decisions that affect us all. When you log in, I know you want to "listen".

More so, logging in allows you to speak too. You've already done the hard part by logging in. It's now very easy for you to hit the "comments" button and make this more of a two-way street. While I write about subjects that interest me, that doesn't meant that I and others don't want to hear your opinions on the topics, too. My main goal of this site is to build community and increase awareness for all of us, moi included, and you can help do so by offering your views on things that matter to us.

The goal here is to be respectful and open, and I trust we can all do that. And if my blog here doesn't fit your needs, the more blogs, the better, I say.

Coming Soon...

I'm working on ideas for some upcoming posts. One of them involves interviews I'm conducting with original residents of the community. As far as I can determine, there are only about five residences that can claim original owners (those people who bought back in '78). I think it will be interesting to write about what made them "Seabridge Pioneers" and what changes they've witnessed over the years.

I'm also musing on a post about neighbors. We can brag about a lot of things our community has going for it - great weather and fantastic location come right to mind - but for me, the thing that keeps me here are the wonderful neighbors who offer support during difficult times and who make the good times all the more fun.

Oh, I should mention another "coming attraction": my sister, who will be living with me quite temporarily while she secures a job here in the Southland. If you have any ideas for must-do activities for a newcomer, I'd love to hear them - please post suggestions in the comments area. Angels game? Hollywood Bowl? Help me!

Let me know if you have any contributions for the posts I mentioned - or if you have other ideas for future ones. But in the immediate future, you can look forward to news from tomorrow's monthly board meeting. I don't know what the particular agenda items are, so if anyone has information, please feel free to post that as a comment.