
As I pen this letter it is the middle of September, and the “Windy Season” has been very quiet…so far. We have used only 5 letters of the hurricane alphabet so far which means that we are still several letters from the “i”s (such as Ian, and Irma) that ravaged our shores in recent years. Let us hope that we do not use the entire alphabet this year even though it has been predicted to be busier than normal!
Your Master (and probably your neighborhood’s) boards have been preparing for the usual hectic fall schedule. Driving around the community on trash day discloses that many of our neighbors are probably taking late summer vacations as they have, at last, no children to get off to school.
The Master Board Treasurer, Mickey Wheeler, along with the other Master Board Directors, are putting the final touches on our 2025 assessment budget which will be presented to the Master Board for approval in October. This is billed quarterly starting January 1 along with your neighborhood assessment. The Master assessment covers the expenses for the property and services used by all the Grandezza residents such as Comcast cable/ internet; landscaping for the common areas such as along Grand Oak Dr.; the access control services at
the gate house; and our vehicle patrol along the community streets. My thanks to Mickey and the other Directors for their work to produce the annual budget. As you know, our budget does not cover the services and facilities provided by the Club which are billed by the Club inb December. Interestingly, the Club pays the Master Association over $200K/year for the Club’s share of the expenses to maintain property that is jointly owned/used by the Club.
In November, the Master Association will host our annual reception to honor and thank our residents who serve us as directors on various Grandezza community boards including the Master and neighborhoods. It is an opportunity to recognize them for their efforts to maintain our community as an attractive and inviting place in which to invest your significant residential funds. This is very important, as we are competing with other established and new communities to attract new residents when we are selling our homes. I find it interesting how many of our residents who are downsizing/upsizing their residences elect to stay in Grandezza doing a “Grandezza Shuffle” where they
feel at home!
How about sharing your experience and talents to assist your community? We are approaching the Member Annual Meeting time. Why not submit a nomination to serve on your Master’s or neighborhood Board? The procedure is detailed in the Annual Meeting notices you will receive well before the meeting date.
Please remember that floor nominations are not allowed so members have an opportunity to research their vote choices. Speaking about new residential construction, the developments to our east continue to deliver quite a few new homes even during the recent mortgage interest rate increase. Through June, they have delivered over 350 new homes this year principally in Verdana and River Creek.
There are still over 1,000 vacant lots approved for the east Corkscrew area excluding the Kingston development that is expected to have its initial approval in early in 2025. Kingston is planning a 6,000-acre development with about 10,000 lots near the junction of Corkscrew and Route 82. If you have a reason to travel east on Corkscrew, stop in to view the new Publix store about 10 miles east of Grandezza in front of Verdana. It appears to be a possible new style of Publix store with significant different interior finishes and services including an area that will cook a takeout meal for a ready-to-eat dinner (that you may need by the time you drive that far on Corkscrew through the Phase 2 construction area).
All for now! Next month watch for a significant new Gazzette format that our new Editor, Susan Sherwin is planning to introduce with the November issue!