Mayfair in Tampa Palms

Mayfair Newsletter for March 2011

Boy was this a busy month or what! From pet issues to water bill complaints we had it all in February. I hardly know where to begin.

Outrageous water bills were at felt by many of our Tampa Palms residents. Once Stacie Schaible with Channel 8 News started reporting on this seems everyone got involved this issue. So much so that Roberta Buckle and I went to the City Council meeting while other neighbors went to the Water Dept. for answers. At first the Water Dept. position with City Council was 'you used it you pay for it' but as the weeks have progressed the Water Dept. has had to admit there are problems. At this point the Mayor

wants monthly water meter readings and has set up an internal task force to probe into problems at the Tampa Water Department. A report on the internal task force findings will be presented to the Mayor and City Council sometime in March. City Council is also being asked to spend $100,000 on more water meter readers. Neighbor Ken Buckle found this to be a reason to for higher bill in DEC-JAN period.

“Like many others in our neighborhood we received a bill for the DEC-JAN period that was 40% higher than the same period one year ago. On Thursday Feb 10 I was contacted by a representative of the water department pursuant to a complaint we filed in January. After talking with her I found out that because of bad weather and holiday our DEC-JAN billing period in 2010 was 71 days long and not 60. The extra 11 days in the billing period goes a long way toward explain the difference from the previous year. I don’t think ratepayers in general are aware that the period between reads is variable and this can significantly affect the bill. The question that comes to my mind is why has this never been discussed previously when we were at meetings with the water department to discuss high water bills?”

Why indeed? If you have questions contact: http://www.tampagov.net/appl_customer_service_center/form.asp?strServiceID=40
And for the latest news on this go to TBO.com High Water Bills.

Another hot topic addressed by City Council was 'Panhandlers'. Law Enforcement isn't any happier about this than we the citizens are. Unfortunately don't look for anything to be done until after the Tampa elections or until someone gets hurt. One resident told me, “I will not vote for anyone who does not take a stand on the panhandlers all over New Tampa and Tampa Palms and hope someone can express that to all candidates running. I am afraid to drive around Tampa Palms and B.B. Downs because with my convertible top down as these guys come right up to our cars at each intersection.”

Board member Karen Fleming would like to reminder every one the importance of keeping our garage doors closed. She emailed me that, “A neighbor of mine had his costly adult bicycle taken from his garage which was open on Jan. 19th. It was reported to the police who subsequently they found an abandoned old bicycle in the lot next to the abandoned home on the Nottingham cul-de-sac. Apparently, whomever took it, left it after taking the bicycle from the garage. There is a happy ending to this story. The owner of the stolen bicycle mapped out all the pawn shops in north Tampa and proceeded to visit each hoping to locate his property. Alas, one stop revealed his bicycle at the rear of the store but it was not for sale. He exited the store, called police and waited for their arrival. He had proof of serial# & ownership. The finger print on the store owner's file was traced to an individual known to police and will attempt to locate "thief". Keep our garage doors closed and more importantly help a neighbor by reminding them their door may be open so that they can close it. A gentle reminder for driveway parkers: lock you car/truck too !!!”

Neighbor Carol Childs Pres. National Humane Society emailed me this when we had concerns over unleashed dogs in Mayfair. “State laws have a clause added to the leash law that states "or on voice command" trained to come when called. Dr.Gobey was on the Veterinarian board and made it mission to include this as in the state laws.” Carol goes on to say, “and trained to voice commands is subjective at best when other dogs or people are involved and picking up the waste is a must for the environment as well.... (a contaminant to our water system)” Thanks Carol for your professional insight on this.

John Callahan has set up a page in FaceBook that everyone in Mayfair can use. The page is Mayfair in Tampa Palms. John and I are big FaceBook users so we hope you will join us. It's just another way to keep Mayfair residents informed and have a little fun at the same time.

New Tampa Blvd “Bridge to Nowhere” is now going somewhere. The “Bridge” will connect Tampa Palms to West Meadows dumping traffic into Tampa Palms where schools, playgrounds and residents will be effected. “The result was not what we wanted.” said Warren Dixon. Warren went on to say, “The Commission decided to follow the recommendations of the Hearing Officer and dismiss our case, and allow the wetlands permit for the bridge to issue.” Bottom line looks like the bridge is being built. Warren Dixon, Evelyn Romano and all of the people who worked so hard are to be commended for putting their time and effort into a cause they truly believed in.

From Ginny Ryan, President, Mayfair Board of Directors ~ Leslie Larzelere of Condominium Associates has replaced Cass Malloy as our property manager. You will be receiving a letter from Leslie introducing herself and explaining new procedures. The Board of Directors has arranged a meeting at Club Tampa Palms at 6 PM on Wednesday, March 2, to give you the opportunity to meet Leslie and become familiar with what this managerial change means to all of us and how it will affect the way we make inquiries and submit work orders. Although Leslie's letter will explain a lot, we felt it would be helpful for everyone to meet her in person to clarify any confusion and get answers to any questions anyone may have. Please put the March 2nd meeting on your calendars and make every attempt possible to attend. It'll be so great to see you all, I may even bake some goodies for you! Also ~ As you know, we have been putting together an updated directory and were progressing quite nicely when my computer crashed. I recovered as much as I could, but it's still incomplete. Please review your info and send any corrections and/or additions of email addresses and phone numbers to me at ginnyryan@mac.com. Thanks for your help and your patience!

And finally.....Sometimes when you are feeling a little low something will happen to remind you that you have the greatest neighbors in the world. February 14^th was that day for me. I was not expecting anyone when the door bell rang. A solicitor I assumed. I opened the door and to my surprise stood Kara Cain and her young son with flowers in his hand. As Kara prompted her son on what to say he was beaming ear to ear as he gave me the flowers. They had made my day and a sweet memory for life.