Calmwater Shores Newsletter

BODY CORPORATE NEWSLETTER ISSUE NO. 6 : June 2011

Welcome to the 6th edition of the Calmwater Shores Newsletter.

24/9/2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 24/9/2011

Due to the success of last years AGM, we are again going to have the meeting in a Marquee in the park area near Pipers Point. Drinks and nibblies will be provided and we hope that all residents will take the opportunity to come and meet the neighbours and have a say about their estate or just become more informed about how it works.

Calmwater Body Corporate Letter Box located at the Gate. Oyster Cove International Management 5514 0633 Security 0414 944 472 SSKB Sallena Gibb 5504 2030 sgibb@sskb.com.au Website www.calmwatershores.com Newsletter calmwaternewsletter@ gmail.com

A broken record you may be asking yourself! Well that is how we are beginning to feel when it comes to speeding in the estate. From comments in the recent survey it is clear that the committee are not the only people who are concerned about the few individuals that persist in speeding through the estate. Some time ago a decision was made to increase the limit from 20 km per hour to 40 km per hour to make it more reasonable. It poses the question should we lower it again and hope that those who cannot keep to the set limit would then travel at somewhere near 40 km per hour? Please remind those in the household that are too young to remember records, and your visitors that the speed limit is 40 kph. We want this to be a positive, safe place for children so PLEASE SLOW DOWN.

Theyre on the Bite!

Other catches reported are of tailor in the canal between Mandolin and Parkview. Do you have any fishing photos or catch information that you would like to share with the neighbours? What theyre biting on, type of rig and where. Please email us on calmwaternewsletter@gmail.com

Over the last few weeks the fish have been on the bite in the estate waterways. Catches of good size bream have been made off residences in Mandolin Ave on re-cycled bait! Bream love the heads from Green prawns purchased at the supermarket.

Resident Survey.
Thank you to all the residents who took the time to complete our recent resident survey. With an over 50% return rate from resident owners, the information gathered during this process will prove invaluable to the committee to ensure we are attending to those matters that are important to all. It will also provide some strategic direction for both the current and future committees to provide the services and amenities to enhance the lifestyle we are all fortunate enough to enjoy here in Calmwater Shores. An overview of the survey has been prepared and included in the minutes of the last committee meeting. This would have been recently distributed to all owners. Many excellent suggestions have been offered and some of these have already been implemented. Unfortunately other items involving Saltwater Creek and areas outside our gates that are either on council or crown land are beyond the control of our Body Corporate. Residents are encouraged to pursue these individual matters with the relevant authority should they wish. The committee will however continue to advocate on behalf of the estate on matters affecting all residents. While the survey has been a very worthwhile exercise, please keep the ideas and suggestions coming. A short note into the Body Corporate letterbox at the gates is all that it takes.

Landcare.
Thank you to those who provided some excellent feedback in the survey on Landcare issues. As a result action has already been taken to address some of the points raised while some other projects that had already been planned have been given a good kick along in the knowledge that they had wide support from many residents. This includes: Additional planting at gates. Extra planting in Pipers Point gardens. Trimming back Birds of Paradise at Pipers Point to improve roadway visibility. Identifying and treatment of disease in street trees. Lopping of overgrown trees in Calmwater Crescent Easement Park. Future changes to the Landcare schedule to include additional weeding in summer months. Costing of Park Benches. Many other initiatives under consideration.

Estate Gates
In recent times our front entry gates have been hit by cars twice. This leads to the gates not functioning correctly or having to be left open which creates a security risk. We also have to pay for them to be repaired. If you observe anyone hitting the gates, please take a registration number and report it to Security. Your details will be kept confidential. Page 2

It is pleasing to note that most residents have noted a general improvement in the estates parks and gardens in the last 18 months following a rework of the maintenance schedule and are generally happy with the standard. I should like to point out that recent improvements have not contributed any cost pressure to our annual levies and have all been met from existing funds. Our expenditure on Landcare maintenance has remained fairly constant in the last 3 years. The objective we have set out to achieve is to stretch out the fixed pot of money we have for Landcare to get the best value possible. While it is not perfect and often involves some compromises feedback and suggestions from all residents is always appreciated.

Green Waste Pickup.

This has proved to be a popular and well used service, however those residents who place their piles out weeks early are jeopardising the future of this facility. Many complaints have been received about the unsightliness of having green waste stacked up on the verge weeks prior to the pickup. This does defeat the purpose of the pickup. Please only place your green waste items out no earlier than the weekend prior to the pick up (1st Monday each month).

Estate Intercom.
Many residents have reported issues with the estate intercom system in our recent survey. The problems have ranged from scratchy or faint audio to complete failure. Those with video have not seen a picture for some time. This is not news to those of us who have been it the estate for some time. Unfortunately we have a system that is both inadequate for the size of our estate and completely outdated, making parts near impossible to find. The system installed by the original developer is designed more for a high rise apartment block and not well suited for the long underground run that extends from the gates all the way to the lock. A variety of different contractors have connected houses using differing qualities and types of cable over many years. A short circuit in any one of these connections has the ability to knock out the entire estate system and this has occurred frequently, especially during wet periods. Over the years our system has had many band aid repairs to keep it going however this cannot continue much longer. So where to from here? The first step has been to identify the extent of the problem and canvas some acceptable alternatives your responses to the survey have greatly assisted with this. Also the committee has engaged Surfside Security to conduct an audit of every house connection to the main communication line to identify all connection issues and faults before addressing options with the main electronics. Other estates in Oyster Cove have had to rewire and replace their entire system. Our aim is to avoid this expense by looking for every other alternative first. So please be patient during this process. As always feedback and suggestions are always welcome.

Street Trees.
The committee has approved the final details of this project. All missing street trees will shortly be planted including those on the few vacant lots we have left in the estate. The project will be overseen by our Landcare supervisor Steve Price. The trees are to be planted on the common property adjacent to the verge. If you do not have a tree at the moment expect to be contacted by Steve who will determine if you have a preferred location or any irrigation lines etc that may affect the planting. Please note that the missing street trees will be provided by the Body Corporate. Some residents have expressed an interest in having additional trees planted along their verge. This can be arranged with Steve who will provide a quote and payments for this can be made direct to him. All the trees will be 100 litre pot size. If you have any queries on this please contact Steve Price on 0408 777 102.

Thank you again to all the residents

who completed the survey. We have a long list of ideas which we can prioritise and implement to create the living environment that everyone is seeking. Page 3

By Laws
The resident survey provided invaluable insight to residents expectations in regard to the enforcement of By Laws. Of the people who responded 88% were in favour of the ByLaws and Covenants being enforced to help protect house prices. The 88% were evenly split between rigorous enforcement and reasonable enforcement. Only 35% believed that enough was being done by the committee to enforce the ByLaws. Some issues highlighted in the survey were quite specific and others were of a more general nature but the committee now have a clear mandate to work to the wishes of the residents. Love them or hate them, By Laws are a permanent fixture to how our estate operates. They are attached by law to any contract of sale of property in our estate and by signing such a contract to purchase in Calmwater Shores we have all agreed to abide by them. If you are unaware of what the By-Laws are they can be found on the Calmwater website or can be obtained from SSKB. To assist with compliance without becoming a police state we will continue to feature some topical By-Laws in each newsletter. Boats parked in driveways and on vacant lots are a concern to many residents. 6.1 Parking and Repair (i) A person must not park or keep any Vehicle on a Lot except wholly within the parking area designated for it and except that a recreation Vehicle (which includes, but without limitation, a camper unit, car motor home or boat) may be parked or kept elsewhere on the Lot if it is screened so as not to be visible from any other lot. Many owners already comply with this ByLaw and it is one that we ask you to consider and move towards resolving so that formal steps are not necessary.

Security
Crime has been in the news a lot on the Gold Coast recently. We have been lucky enough to escape the statistics in our estate, however there have been some incidents immediately outside our estate with our own Security catching a burglar red handed whilst on patrol nearing the entry of one of our Oyster Cove estates.

Boat Ramp.
As you would be aware we have a boat ramp at the end of Parkview Place which is for the exclusive use of residents. Parkview Place is a narrow street and there is no provision for parking cars with boat trailers. Please take your car and trailer home after launching your boat. We have invested time, effort and money into the park area in this location and therefore dont wish to waste that effort by having vehicles parked on the grass.

Letterboxes.
For some time there has been much discussion about the problems with mail getting wet in the letterboxes. At the last committee meeting, members of the committee were nominated to investigate and obtain quotations so that a decision can be enacted at the next committee meeting. Your concerns are not being ignored but this could be a costly project and as such the best solution needs some serious investigation.

Other Housekeeping
BARKING DOGS At the last Principle Body Corporate Meeting there were complaints from other Body Corporate members in the Oyster Cove group about dogs in Calmwater Shores barking constantly. Noise travels across water. Please be mindful of the neighbours. The recommendation was that we should try to address these issues internally but if they could not be resolved then it is within the jurisdiction of the Gold Coast City council. .And please pick up your dogs parcels when walking
them.

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Solutions to Puzzles
Here are the solutions from the last issue: Did you unscramble the letters to find the 9 letter word? TARCMELAW Solution : Calmwater

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Classifieds.
As a result of a suggestion in the survey, we have decided to accept classified ads in the newsletter for a small fee ($20). This will offset the cost of producing the newsletter and hopefully help expand it further. We try to publish a newsletter 3-4 times per year, the timing is dependent on the time and resources available to the 2 committee members who volunteer their time to produce it, but generally follows each committee meeting. The classified ads are available to any local or resident owned businesses that may wish to promote their services to our estate residents. Additionally we will trial a free For Sale section available to all Calmwater residents. This section could also include items wanted and give-aways (freecycling). If you are interested in placing an ad in the next newsletter please e-mail the details (including your name and lot number) to CalmwaterNewsletter@gmail.com

www.hurlcon.com.au

For Sale.
Golf Clubs. Childrens starter set incl Bag and Buggy. $40. Mark: 0403 239 747. Wanted. 2nd Hand Kayak. Pay up to $200. Michael: 0403 333 107.

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