2022 Issue 6 by Northdale Civic Association

WWW.NORTHDALE.ORG

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

NORTHDALE CIVIC ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER

Greetings to all Northdale residents and homeowners. I hope everyone is doing well and in good health. If you just joined our community, the Northdale Civic Association, Inc. (NCA) wants to take this opportunity to welcome you to the greater Northdale community. Northdale is a highly respected, low crime, family-oriented neighborhood that offers residents many amenities. Northdale businesses offer a wide variety of goods and services. What You Need to Know. I would like to introduce myself to the everyone. My name is Anthony Rodriguez, my family and I moved to Northdale in 2012 and truly enjoy living in an area with such great friends and neighbors. This is truly an exceptional area that I have grown to love that offers much convenience, overall safety, and cleanliness. My goal with being involved on the NCA board is to be informed of activities and

issues that go on in our neighborhood and hopefully maintain or even improve the quality of living that we have in Northdale. I will be acting in place of President Marcano for an undecided amount of time, please bear with me as I adjust to the new responsibilities and please feel free to reach out to any of us on the board with questions or issues you may have.

official Deed Restriction documents for each village are available on the community website www.northdale.org. They are the first place to look for answers to what is, or is not, permitted. If you’re still not sure of the answer, we’re here to help.

Disaster Preparedness. As we all know, we got extremely lucky with Hurricane Ian. I feel this was a great “dry run” for everyone to re familiarize ourselves with what is needed in preparation for such an event. Please prepare ahead of time so that actions are precautionary, not reactionary. Hurricane Season kicks off, June 1 through November 30. Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center is urging residents to prepare for incoming storms by building supply kits and having a plan. For more information, please visit the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center; Hillsborough County -Hurricane and Tropical Storm Preparedness

In closing, it is this board’s intention to not only act as a transparent organization, but to set best practices and support the entire Northdale community. We also need your help and highly encourage all members or potential members of the association to contact myself or your community representative with any questions, concerns, or suggestions. We invite residents to attend NCA Board meetings. They’re held the 3rd Tuesday of every month, except in December. Meetings begin at 7 P.M. at Northdale Park in the Bill Castens Gymnasium.

Northdale Deed Restriction. I want to remind residents that the

Vice President, Northdale Civic

The NCA will not get involved in animal issues or conflicts between neighbors.

Sincerely, Anthony Rodriguez

PUBLISHED BY IKARE PUBLISHING INC. WWW.IKAREPUBLISHING.COM • 813-991-7843

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Winners of each individual subdivision in Northdale will receive a $50.00 gift card! NORTHDALE.ORG

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HURRICANE INFORMATION James Salgado Another thing to consider - in Florida and elsewhere - is to have your real estate or property management company do the research. They are paid well and should know the answers ... before you ask. Other resources are county-specific sites, where more information can be found for your area and community. Hurricane season is officially underway as we all witnessed most recently with Hurricane Ian and the devastation it created. Here is some information to help you prepare in case we find ourselves in

Hillsborough County <https://hillsborough.maps.arcgis.com/apps/ webappviewer/index.html id=960017149a5c40d0a43860aad988d2ec>

the path. Whether you are new to the command / Florida or not, take

Pinellas County < www.pinellascounty.org/emergency/

a minute to ensure you 'Know Your Zone'.

knowyourzone.htm >

Florida has several options for determining what Evacuation Zone

Pasco County <https://safe.menlosecurity.com/doc/docview/viewer/

your home is in. Every Florida resident should know what risks

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might affect their home, as well as at work, school(s), and along the

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way. 'Know Your Zone' is something all of us should factor into our

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plans (< www.floridadisaster.org/knowyourzone/ >). Polk County <www.mymanatee.org/gisportal/apps/webappviewer/ The Florida State interactive Evac Zone map can be used to search

index.html?id=9edb374ac6ef492ea2d66e3314a08b82>

for an address or zoomed into for searching areas to live. <https:// floridadisaster.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?

Other county sites can be found online, or visit their offices for

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Emergency Planning information.

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WHAT IS THE NCA? The Northdale Civic Association is a volunteer organization whose mission is to make Northdale a better place to live and increase property values by enforcing the deed restrictions to which each homeowner is legally subject. The NCA is also the organized voice of Northdale, and represents residents when issues affecting Northdale are raised by Hillsborough County, the State of Florida and other governing bodies. The NCA issues this Newsletter and organizes the following events and programs: Welcome Wagon, Easter Egg Hunt, Community Garage Sales, Family Fun Festival, Northdale Pumpkin Run, Holiday Decorating Contest, Meet the Candidates, and the Northdale OWLS (Older, Wiser, Lively, Seniors). Board meetings are open to the public and held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month except December. HOW TO JOIN THE NCA Forms are available in each edition of the Northdale Newsletter. There are forms online at www.northdale.org. HOW TO JOIN THE BOARD ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP IS ONLY $50.00. All members are eligible to run for NCA Board positions in elections held each January. Elections for those positions are made by the sitting board at the monthly board meetings. The dates of those meetings are posted in the Community Calendar. NCA BOARD OFFICERS President: Nelson Marcano - Golf Club Estates II - 813-732-9998 Vice President: Anthony Rodriguez—The Hammocks - 813-390-7143 Secretary: Destiny O’Brien – Claywell - 813-395-4530 Treasurer: Bill Castens – The Woodlands - 813-833-0102 NCA BOARD DIRECTORS Nelson Marcano – Silverhill - 813-732-9998 Gerald Johnson - Golf Club Estates I - 813-787-3103 Robert Demeo – Golf Club Estates III - 813-546-0873 Martha Hughes – Fox Hollow - 813-477-0924 Hector Hernandez Jr. - Gables I - 516-643-7385 Jesus Blasquez - Gables II - 813-892-4588 Amar Dembla - Gables III - 813-265-3225 Alicia Moreno - Bay Levitt - 813-963-1412 Graham Batte - Fairway Villas - 813-956-9055

Meeting Location Note: Northdale Civic Association & Northdale Special District meetings are held in Building B - game room Northdale Park & Rec Center 15550 Spring Pine Drive Tampa, FL 33624 November 1, 2022 December 6, 2022 OWLS Meeting 10:00 a.m.

DEED RESTRICTION VIOLATIONS The Deed Restriction documents for each of the “villages” that make up Northdale are available on the community website www.northdale.org. Select “Deed Restrictions” from the left side of the Main Page and click on the picture of the entrance to your “village” (e.g. Bay Levitt, Gables I, etc.) The deed restriction file will be displayed and can be printed off for your records. The NCA has contracted with Merit Management Association-Perfected (“Merit”) to conduct periodic neighborhood inspections and act on their findings of deed restriction violations. In addition, residents may request an investigation of a possible violation themselves from the Northdale website, www.northdale.org. From the left side of the Main Page, click on “Deed Restrictions”, page down and Select “Complaint Form” and fill it out with all pertinent information. A photo can be attached with the form to help document the problem. Select “Submit” to transmit the form directly to Merit at NCA@MeritFL.com. Deed Restriction Complaints must be in writing. When a deed restriction violation is found, Merit will send a letter to the homeowner(s) with a request to correct the problem(s). Merit will then complete a second inspection. Merit will send a second letter if the homeowner has not corrected the violation(s). Merit will then complete a third inspection. If the violation(s) remains after the third letter, legal action will be pursued. The resident will be notified of this step in the fourth letter. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent a homeowner from correcting the violation(s), it is recommended they document the reason by writing to Merit at NCA@MeritFL.com. The NCA will not get involved in conflicts between neighbors, animal complaints or landscaping issues due to drought. NORTHDALE.ORG

November 8, 2022 December 13, 2022 NSD meeting 7:00 p.m.

November 15, 2022 December - No Meeting NCA meeting 7:00 p.m.

Residents are always welcome and your input is truly appreciated. 7

NORTHDALE SPECIAL DISTRICT We continue to keep those in the Ft. Myers area affected by Hurricane Ian in our thoughts and prayers. Their recovery will, unfortunately, continue over the next several years. We certainly dodged a bullet as most of the experts originally had this major hurricane aimed directly at Tampa Bay and our extraordinary community. While most of the damage sustained was barely south of us, Hurricane Ian produced quite a bit of debris in the Northdale area. I’m pleased to report the County is continuing trash / debris pickup through the month of October. Please do your best to clean and neatly stack any debris for them to pick up curbside. As a reminder, you may not open burn debris or trash, ever. As we enter the dry season, this is extremely dangerous and causes a risk to you and your neighbors. I’m extremely proud to live in Northdale. Once Hurricane Ian passed, I took a drive through the community I not only looked to assess damage but also to see if there was anything I could do to help a neighbor in need. I saw a ton of tree debris and some broken fences but thankfully nothing major. In Golf Club Estates, I came across a downed tree. It looked like it caused no damage to structures and was not blocking the road, but I saw something spectacular. I witnessed 8-10 people helping to cut it up using a chainsaw, they picked it up and disposed of it properly! I expect nothing less in Northdale and this is the class of kindness that is great to see after such a tragic event. Great job! In the month of August, the Special District / Merit sent out 482 letters with deed restriction violations. These are vital to keeping our community one of the best in the Bay Area. Maintaining your home and property neatly and presentable is your responsibility. We do our best to work with homeowners of Northdale. But we also have a responsibility to the rest of you to keep our community up to deed restriction standards. As some of you know, in August the referendum increase passed with about 60% of you voting ‘Yes.’ This means the yearly fee will increase from $130 per year to $160 per year. However, the increase will take effect over a 3-year cycle. Next year the fee will be $140, the next $150 and finally in 2025, $160. This will give us a better opportunity to maintain the necessary common areas and keep our community safe by hiring more off-duty officers. Also, this year, Hillsborough County Board of Trustees approved our Special District to decrease the number of our Trustees. You’ll notice we have modified our number from 9 trustees to 7. Prior to the approval we were the only district in the County that has 9 trustees, everyone else has 7. While we encourage public participation at our meetings, as of this month, there are no vacancies for our Special District. On behalf of the Northdale Tax District and the board of trustees we would like to thank Earl Albright and Ray Klaus for their service to our community. Their objective over the last several years has been to make our community a better place to live. They have been crucial to the success of our community, and we will certainly miss their leadership and commitment. During our last meeting they were each presented with a plaque from President Tom Murray for their service. Good luck to you both and enjoy retirement. Thank you Tony Romano NORTHDALE.ORG

NORTHDALE SPECIAL DISTRICT WHAT is the NSD? The Northdale Special District is a Hillsborough County dependent tax district. The Northdale Special District was originally set-up under a State ordinance, but in 1992 was adopted under County ordinance #92-35. The County collects the taxes for the District and provides the ordinance or regulations that give authority to the District. Funds are derived from the County non-ad valorem tax of $130 per residential unit. Residents in single family homes, along with apartments and condominiums are assessed $130. Also, all properties within Northdale boundaries including businesses

Northdale Special District Board of Trustees Tom Murray President Anthony Romero Vice President Anthony Rodriguez Treasurer

and other non-profit groups are taxed based on an equitable per residential unit basis. The Northdale Special District is responsible for maintaining the common areas throughout Northdale. These areas include the main entrances coming into Northdale, landscaping in common areas alongside roadways and medians, neighborhood entrances, the outer surface of the block walls and along the roadside. The Northdale Special District also maintains selected lakes and wetland areas along the main roadways in Northdale. The Northdale Special District is governed by a Board of seven trustees who are elected by the public or appointed by the Board. Board members must be registered voters and reside in Northdale. The trustees receive no compensation for their work. The board has hired an administrator, Merit Management, to complete many of the day-to-day details of the Northdale Special District, including deed restrictions. The administrator is a sub-contracted (paid) position. The Northdale Special District, unlike the County, does NOT maintain roads, street lighting, street signs, installation of speed humps or animal safety concerns. These issues should be directed to Hillsborough County. The main purpose of the Northdale Special District is to keep Northdale a neat and attractive community. Although separate from the Northdale Civic Association, the Northdale Special District is partnering with the NCA in the enforcement of Deed Restrictions. Together, the Northdale Special District and the NCA will continue working towards their goal of making Northdale a great place to live.

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Don Hachey Secretary Bill Castens Ronny Garcia Bill Loring Contact Information 813-381-5435 Northdale Special District 3433 Lithia Pinecrest Rd #301 Valrico, FL 33596 rick@meritfl.com Northdale Special District meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. Building B - game room Northdale Park & Rec Center 15550 Spring Pine Drive Tampa, FL 33624 Next meetings are: November 15, 2022 December - No Meeting

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Monthly Meetings on 1st Tues 10 AM @ Northdale Park Our Mission is to create a growing network of co-ed seniors, to provide social activities, local events, travel, entertainment and educational seminars in common interest groups as ways to safely enjoy our lives.

“Bring on Some Cold Weather, but NO BAD WEATHER!!” Nov 1, Tues –4Rivers Catered Meal & Peggy Morris “SAX & Flute – performance. Nov 1, Tues – OWLS Friends & Fun Club – 3rd Round of “Eight makes A Group”. Nov 2, Wed – Brooker Creek Headwaters Preserve Stroll & lunch at Panini’s Bar & Grill. Nov 3, Thurs – Tampa Bay Lightning hockey vs. Carolina Hurricanes – GO BOLTS! Nov 9, Wed— Tampa International Airport Tour & lunch at Maggiano’s Restaurant. Nov 10, Thurs – “Powder Puff” Mechanic Classes – Avoid being ripped on auto repairs! Nov 15, Tues – Homosassa Springs Adventure! Nov 16, Wed – Lunch Bunch Shopping Premium Outlets & lunch at Bahama Breeze. Nov 21, Mon – Bunco Party Luncheon at Brunchies, 14366 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. Nov 26, Sat – “White Christmas” at Suncoast Theater – Dinner & Professional Show. Dec 1, Thurs – Winter Park, FL. via bus for “Christmas Concert” Dec 6, Tues – Spiral Ham & Holiday Trimmings & Metropolitan Ministries “toy drive”. Dec 8, Thurs– Tampa Bay Lightning hockey vs. Nashville Predators – GO BOLTS! Dec 9, Fri – Holiday Movie in the Park with Tree Lighting & Santa Appearance! Dec 11, Fri – A Christmas Story presentation at Suncoast Broadway Dinner Theater. Dec 14, Wed – Rapture Viewing at Honeymoon Park – lunch at Café Alfresco, Dunedin. Dec 19, Mon – Bunco Party Luncheon at Brunchies, 14366 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. Jan 13, Fri – Annual Health & Safety Fair at Northdale Park. For other scheduled events and more, See Owls website at: www.NorthdaleOWLS.com Got Questions? Talk to any member of the OWLS, Or contact Raheem Douglas at (813) 450-6502, Or contact Bill Castens at (813) 833-0102. NORTHDALE.ORG

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