Observer
EAST COUNTY
SPORTS:
Braden River makes history
spotlight: smooth moves!
In this issue The Pirates basketball team earns first district title. 23
Daughters, dads share special night at BRE dance. 11
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
SHORT STACK KUDOS, QUOTABLES AND COMMUNITY
+ Now, we have an app for that!
Now, you can get all your Observer news — on the go. The Observer Group last week released its new iPhone app. Developed by atLarge Inc., the app features all the content featured on YourObserver.com from the East County, Longboat and Sarasota Observers. For the first 60 days, the app is absolutely free. To download, search for “Your Observer” in the iTunes Store.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
in-depth
EFFECTIVE
ENFORCEMENT?
on the hunt
Pam Eubanks
“We have an extraordinary talent for finding the right people,” Colin Baenziger said.
IDA banks on Colin Baenziger’s experience Colin Baenziger, of Colin Baenziger & Associates, has begun the process for recruiting a new executive director for Lakewood Ranch Town Hall. By Pam Eubanks | News Editor
intended to protect property values and community aesthetics. But homeowners and associations alike are finding themselves in a somewhat precarious situation, particularly in foreclosure cases, where homeowners often are absent and banks prove unresponsive. Neighbors in Greenbrook have raised concerns over a home in the 6200 block of Macaw Glen in Greenbrook Haven that burned in September 2008. The home’s front is charred black and boarded up, and a hole in the roof has only gotten larger over time. When The East County Observer first reported about the home in
LAKEWOOD RANCH — Colin Baenziger supposedly has a knack for placing the right people in the right position at the right time. Now, members of the Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority are banking on that talent. The board on Feb. 10 hired Baenziger to conduct the search for a new executive director for Lakewood Ranch Town Hall. The position, which is being vacated by its current director Bob Fernandez Feb. 18, is one that will require a unique set of skills — one he or she will need to guide a community still in transition while overseeing daily operations and the operations of its homeowner’s associations, among other responsibilities. Baenziger, based in Wellington, beat out The Mercer Group and Slavin Management Consultants for the job after presentations from each company last week. Of the three contenders, Baenziger brings the most experience unique to Florida and was the only candidate with experience in managing a special district that oversaw homeowner’s associations as well. “That kind of sold me,” IDA
SEE HOAs / PAGE 4
SEE IDA / PAGE 4
+ Couple celebrates V-Day engagement
River Club resident and Lakewood Ranch High School graduate Karlie Pleasant celebrated a special Valentine’s Day with her sweetheart, Caleb Esler, as the couple celebrated their engagement Feb. 14 at Summerfield Park. As part of the proposal, Caleb gave Karlie a series of gifts — each representing a different reason why he’d come to love her over the last two-and-one-half years — and a Bible verse to go with it. The last was the engagement ring featuring Karlie’s great-grandmother’s diamond. The couple has not yet set a date for the wedding but hopes to marry in June.
INDEX Business Directory.................. 28 Classifieds................................ 28 Cops Corner...............................5 Crossword............................... 27 Neighborhood......................... 10 Real Estate............................. 22 Sports...................................... 23 Vol. 12, No. 7 One section www.YourObserver.com
Courtesy photos
Clockwise from bottom left: Summerfield Riverwalk Village Association documents require commercial vehicles be parked in a garage. | This home on Macaw Glen in Greenbrook burned in late 2008. | A shopping cart sits in front of a home in Greenbrook Dale. | Homeowners in Summerfield Crest worry this damaged garage door could pose a safety or security issue.
As the upholders of the community’s covenants, bylaws and regulations, Lakewood Ranch’s homeowner’s associations can issue punishments in the form of fines and liens for violations. But what happens when those yield no results? By Pam Eubanks | News Editor
LAKEWOOD RANCH — The shopping cart in his neighbor’s front yard is just the first of many annoyances in Brian Blanco’s once pristine Lakewood Ranch neighborhood. As the Greenbrook Dale resident steps out his front door, he can’t help but cringe. The foreclosure-stricken home across the street — and the unauthorized tenant living in it — have become the talk of the neighborhood. Ordinarily, Blanco said he wouldn’t be one to complain. But the stacking pile of violations — leaving the trash cans out all week, failing to maintain the yard and others — have made
this yard, at times, what Blanco considers an “embarrassment.” And much to his chagrin, there’s only so much his homeowner’s association can do. “The most frustrating thing is you can do nothing,” Blanco said. “Even though Lakewood Ranch Town Hall and the people at Town Hall are trying, and they are doing their best, there’s nothing they can do. Until the sheriff comes and kicks them out, we can just sit here and issue them notices.” Unfortunately for Lakewood Ranch residents, Blanco isn’t alone.
MORE EYESORES
By design, deed restrictions are