bserver O THE TRAILS
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
COMMITTEE
WHO GOES THERE?
Amenities group has big plans for the club house.
Meet the Shylam family: From Russia, with love of classical music. PAGE 6
PAGE 3 A message from the
PRESIDENT + Hello, neighbors! On behalf of The Trails Homeowners Association Board of Directors, it is my honor and privilege to address you in this inaugural issue of the Rob Bridger quarterly publication of The Trails Observer. After November’s resignations of seven board members and the notice of termination from our longterm property manager, the only remaining board member, Wes Collier, and I were thrust into a Disney Worldlike experience. There was the initial Space Mountain-like roller coaster, with ups and downs, twists and turns in the dark, as we worked together to reconstitute a new board. On Nov. 18, residents were in harmony, applauding the new board members as they were seated. Our journey continued when, on Jan. 1, the board arrived in Frontier Land, ready for new adventures. We have a new landscaping vendor, Austin Outdoor, and we also got a new sheriff in town, Aegis Community Management Solutions Inc., who’s ready to work together with the board and homeowners to re-establish The Trails as one of the best places to live in Ormond Beach. So much for the analogies. I can assure residents that your board is committed to the mission of inflating and increasing your property values while keeping maintenance assessments as low as possible. How do we do this? First, with our new property management and landscape vendors, we will work to ensure that “our house” is in order — that our community’s club house building and pool, our islands, bike paths and other commonly owned areas are maintained in pristine fashion. Then, in accordance with the deed-restrictions of our community, we will expect and require homeowners to do likewise.
SEE PRESIDENT / PAGE 2
Vol. 1, No. 1
MARCH 2014
REAL ESTATE
Check out the top sales in the past three months, in The Trails. PAGE 4
pool to reopen april 12 By Emily Blackwood | Staff Writer
‘THE POOL GUY’ TWO DECADES OF SWIM LESSONS
Carl Harrell reflects on memories of being The Trails’ pool manager.
W
hether it’s as “the pool guy,” “the swim teacher” or “the lifesaver,” everyone knows Carl Harrell. Being the pool manager for The Trails since 1987, Harrell is known for his five-day guaranteed swim lessons and has taught almost 5,000 kids. Many of his students have grow up to be his pool attendants. He always hires teenagers from the
neighborhood. “I’ve been thrown up on, peed on, and bit,” Harrell laughed recalling his years as a swim instructor and pool manager for The Trails. “I know them all. I’ve seen them come here as kids, then they come work for me as an attendant, and then they are off. Each year I get a new batch.” Through his instruction, he has not only taught kids how
to float, but even how to rescue themselves and others. “I had a lady call me and tell me her son, who was 3, fell off a dock at a party,” he said. “Nobody saw him. He swam all the way to the shore and walked up to the pool deck to where everybody was at and told them he fell in. She felt I had saved his life.”
SEE POOL GUY / PAGE 2
Carl Harrell, The Trail’s pool guy for more than 20 years, said he has taught almost 5,000 kids to swim.
POOL TO REOPEN The pool opens for the season on April 12. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Pre-registration for yearly pool passes will be available at the pool from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays, beginning April 1. From May to September, the pool will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and till 6 p.m. Sundays.
Courtesy photo
ISLAND OF THE BEHOLDER By Emily Blackwood | Staff Writer
HOA approves $25,000 for landscaping During their March 13 meeting, HOA members passed a proposal that will tidy up the islands. Some of the busier Trails roads will get a little TLC in the next few weeks. The Trails Homeowners Association Board, at its March 13 meeting, approved a $25,000 proposal with Austin Outdoor to clean up the main islands in the neighborhood. Austin Outdoor representative Bruno Perez presented a slideshow that went over the specific areas that would get revamped, including the island outside the community building, the large island
on Main Trail and Shady Branch Trail and the main entrance off North Nova Road. Perez said though this project will only covered between 10-15 percent of the islands in The Trails, it will greatly reduce some driver visibility issues. “We can’t do it all at one time,” Perez said. “It’s one phase of a really big plan.” Though all members agreed on the proposal and the goal of
SEE HOA / PAGE 4