In addition to being the host of this blog, I belong to a local Face Book gardening group called Peninsula Gardner's. This large group shares gardening information and many pictures. Several days ago I came across a scene of real beauty that reflected community pride and involvement. I shared the photo's on several face Book sites. Because it is so close to Surfside, I thought that many members, especially those from out of the area, would enjoy seeing. Street, walking path, homes, trees and flowers, all in harmony.
The pictures below are from Ocean Park of the Ocean To The Bay walking path. This portion goes along Bay Avenue, East to Sandridge Road.
Click on the pictures to enlarge.
22 comments:
Very pretty George! Thank you for sharing. It took lots of work to plant everyone f those daffodils .
For a nice contrast I suggest you post pictures of your street and the entire loop.
The Observer had a short article about an arrest of a man who drove down a stretch of this ditch to mow down the flowers a couple of weeks ago. They popped back nicely, but we thought some folks may have had to clean-up some debris. It's odd for someone to resent the effort spent to bring joy to everyone who sees this. As we were arriving last visit we were thrilled to see the daffies as far as you could see.
Fair and consistent covenant enforcement could lead to a more attractive and safe community.
I don't know why 9:40 would make that kind of comment. If they are trying to hurt my feelings or insult me and the neighborhood, it does not make sense. I feel only pity for someone like that. It's not about me, it's just an observation of something pretty. Nothing more.
To those new here on the blog, the comment by 9:40 does not represent Surfside or those who participate on this blog. It only takes a few to give our community a bad reputation.
Poor 9:40, so full of hate they can't even enjoy the beauty around them. Must be a miserable life.
1:58.... What does that have to do with pictures of thousands of daffodils blooming in Ocean Park ?
Enforcement of trivial nonsense will have no positive or corrective effect on the community. A massive failure of management has put the community in non-compliance with County, State and Federal regulatory agencies, and the membership will pay the price. The HOA has already paid out well over $100,000 in fines and asbestos abatement costs, not to mention on-going legal costs in dealing with the Federal EPA Investigation, still in progress.
Wasteful spending on legal retaliation of two minor issues of enforcement cost the community about $125,000 taking the cases to Superior Court, and BOTH lawsuits were withdrawn. That is just very poor judgement - and probably very poor legal counsel as well.
Failing to properly site and permit projects at the Waterworks may result in having to disassemble the Carbon Plant, and re-site it. Where ? And at what cost ? How will the community keep clean water available at the tap ?
You're in lala land. The issues at hand are very real and much more substantial than shed overhangs and trees inches too high.
Seeing as this is the first positive topic and a long, long time, it appears someone is trying to make a good impression on any new readers. Pretty transparent.
The shocking cluster of serious issues the community faces are the result of HOA management failure, and are not the creation of the blog. On the other hand, the Board of Trustees are pretending nothing is wrong, even publishing a warning that what members may read (Chinook Observer, "Chat" Blog, or ?)cannot be trusted as true. That's the best they can do ? Cast doubt on the facts that have been verified and published ?
George is a passionate gardener, so your comment misrepresents reality.
The bog has and will continue to depress property values more than the ineptitude of this or any other board.
Yes indeed, the "bog" will depress property values. Think about all those mosquitoes, frogs and snakes.
The Blog has nothing to do with property values funny man. Failed HOA management and Federal Investigations are required by law to be fully outlined to prospective buyers in Surfside and elsewhere. Chew on that a while.
Some changes have been afoot. We now have a new business manager/water manager, an old water manager, and a new compliance officer (who used to be the office manager). So perhaps this is why the BOT Pres earlier ordered the (then) office manager not to hire a compliance officer, because he had already selected the new compliance officer, a job with full benefits. I believe we do need a compliance officer, maybe not one so tied in with the Board, and since when do we skip the opportunity for open competition within the job market?
Well 6:38 I hope you are right that the property values have tanked, but I haven't seen it when I pay my annual Property Taxes, in fact, mine have risen substantially in the last couple years. Looking forward to that evaluation tank you are referring too?
Pricing are only going up up up, regardless, this is a value area.
Taxes are based on county wide values. Get a clue.
People have been saying property values are down for years, which is not true. People in my area for the last few years have been getting what they asked and have sold fairly quickly. Now if you have a small lot or are in an area that's not great than it might not be the same. But nobody, nobody has provided any proof that Surfside properties are any different than most of the peninsula.
So you are saying u would be dumb enough to buy into shoa with what is and has been going on? You buy in now, n u are libel for the cost of all this too.
1:13.... I didn't say anything about values "tanking". HOA policies are leading to many properties removing trees altogether. Tree restrictions negatively impact property values, and that will continue to be true so long as the policies remain the same. Incompetent management that has led to huge fines and money wasted on legal issues, poor water quality, and non-compliance with County, State and Federal government regulatory agencies are the pitfalls prospective buyers are warned to avoid.
These are facts. Deny them if you like, but the reality is, buying in Surfside at this time, is risky. It is not known if the Water Dept. will be able to continue to operate as it is not permitted for the site it has been built on. A half-million dollar investment, unprotected from the Coastal weather, cannot currently be properly maintained, is long overdue for carbon replacement, and it may need to be REMOVED from the current site.
The prospect of providing water under the circumstances, is uncertain. We have not yet seen the results of the various investigations. Will Bill Neal or any of the Trustees be found guilty of criminal wrong-doing ? We don't know. Mr. Flood never attends BOT meetings in person, though he claims to LIVE in Surfside. That makes him look pretty guilty of something.
What does it say to a new resident, that they cannot ask questions about the EPA Investigation, or the legal status of our HOA, cited for a long list of violations and fined tens of thousands of dollars ? Obviously, the community will continue to suffer as a consequence of member money pissed away on legal missteps and blatant disregard for regulations, rather than on budgeted projects and maintenance.
The HOA is mum about it all, and will not answer owner questions. They have in fact denied there are any problems. That dynamic can't be trusted by the membership to manage the community honestly and transparently as required by State Law.
At the board meeting I attended I never heard one Trustee deny there were problems when asked and instead have said they can't comment on them until the investigations have run their course and there is an outcome.
Please look in the mirror. Here is a nice post about some daffodils and what does it turn into? Daffodils are actually Narcissus - so narcissism is pretty clear if everything has to be turned around to be about you. It's pretty freudian, actually. A picture of Narcissus, and then the conversation morphs into negativity. I guess next time we ought to choose pansies.
There is only so much can be said about the flowers, beautiful and uplifting as their presence be. Second comment threw the topic into George's face. Fourth comment is totally unrelated to the topic. Other sarcasm follows intermittently. oh well. Some folks are uncomfortable with George bent on getting the truth out there, but he is dedicated to his mission.
From the heading : "A BREAK", it was assumed this segment was A moment to appreciate the flowers. It is just disappointing to see there are those among us who just can't "Give it a Break". We can certainly get back to the deeper subjects, but thank you George for the uplifting effort.
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