News, Updates, and Reminders:
Thank you to the members of the 2024 SRHOA Election Committee (Geoff Cohen, Francis Cordero, and David Kuczenski). We appreciate the time you took to manage the March 27th elections.
Davie PD’s Vacation Watch has been an enormous success! A plus to this is an extra police presence in our community. Thank you to all who utilize this valuable resource. Also, keep up the excellent work and vigilance…there have not been any reports of mail issues or car concerns. The USPS provides a service called “Informed Delivery” that might minimize people becoming victims. Anyone in a household can sign up on this link: https://informeddelivery.usps.com/
Sunshine Ranches will be receiving three traffic speed signs. Locations will be on Mustang Trail (between Volunteer and Hancock), Luray Road (between Volunteer and Hancock), and Hancock (between Stirling and Griffin). We have applied for grant funding to secure another.
Per holes created by bulk pickup, please read the following: Section 5. Residential Collection Service B. Residential Bulk Waste Collection (5) on page 11 of the Agreement also outlined below: (5) The Contractor shall promptly restore the soil and grade at any location where the Contractor’s Collection creates a depression that is six (6) inches or more below the surrounding grade (e.g., when collecting with a grapple/knuckleboom). The Contractor shall fill such depressions and restore the grade to match the surrounding area. The Contractor also shall replace any sod that was removed or killed by the Contractor’s actions.
Emergencies happen…for our elderly, at-risk, or vulnerable population, we are here for you. Here are a few items I would like to bring to your attention (if you need anything, do not hesitate to reach out to your SRHOA board):
You may register with the Vulnerable Population Registry online at Broward.org/atrisk. If you do not have access to a computer, you may call Town Hall at 954.434.0008, the Broward County Call Center at 311, or 954.831.4000.
The following link will take you to the Directory of Resources for Broward County Senior Citizens (an extensive guide of senior services and help agencies) https://www.adrcbroward.org/sites/default/files/documents/20192020adrcresourcedirectory.pdf
The Davie Police Department provides services as well through their At-Risk Resident application.
Please visit https://www.frontlinepss.com/daviepd to apply.
If you believe you are witnessing illegal fishing or hunting of our local wildlife, please call the Davie Police Department immediately at 954.693.8200. Try to gather visual information (vehicle color, plate, descriptions of persons involved, etc.) but do not get physically involved or put yourself in harm’s way. We live in an amazing area with abundant environmental gifts. As a result of development, Florida’s wildlife and human populations encounter each other more than ever before, and the circumstances which create conflicts with wildlife are as varied as the environment of Florida itself. As people develop more open space and wildlife habitat is reduced and fragmented, conditions are often created which attract wildlife. Such contacts between people and wildlife often result in conflicts. Understanding wildlife behavior can help you appreciate and coexist while reducing negative impacts. Here is a link with humane, safe alternatives: https://predatorguard.com/. The FWC is here to help. Please visit the following link to learn more. https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/
The property appraiser’s office has vital information on protecting yourself from fraud, keeping your deed safe from thieves, and new exemptions on the horizon. Please visit Marty Kiar’s property appraiser site at http://bcpa.net/
Work is continuing with the town and volunteers who are working to oppose the incinerator plans near Sheridan and 27. Please read the SWR Rancher. Please attend or watch the bi-monthly council meetings. Check our SRHOA Facebook and emails. Stay informed and/or get involved. This will be our biggest issue to date. A new town board has formed to assist with ideas for composting, recycling, etc.
There are preliminary discussions concerning a round-a-bout for the Volunteer/Stirling intersection. We will keep you posted.
Community Events:
Thank you for your continued support of the SWR Farmers’ Market, open Saturdays at Southwest Meadows Sanctuary.
March had many town-related events: The Diversity Run, Water Matters Day, Barn Dance, annual Easter Egg hunt at ROCA, and the inaugural Mayor’s Chess Open. Everything was wonderful! Thank you for your support and love of community. Your participation is key to a vital and vibrant town
Stay Connected:
Remember, the Council meets face-to-face at Town Hall on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month. Occasionally, dates may change. Please check the Southwest Rancher and/or www.southwestranches.org for meeting dates, times, and agendas. Internet viewing is also an option, just go to your YouTube connection and type “Town of Southwest Ranches Official Channel.”
Please stay connected…join our SRHOA Gmail (sunshinerancheshoa@gmail.com), visit our website (www.sunshineranches.org), or view our posts at facebook.com/SunshineRanches.
Support Southwest Ranches’ Certified Community Habitat status by certifying your own backyard through the National Wildlife Federation’s backyard habitat program…it is easy, plus you may purchase and proudly display a certification sign. Go to nwf.org/certifiedwildlifehabitat today to certify. (It is migratory bird season. Please welcome our feathered friends travelling along the Atlantic Corridor Flyway. Extra seeds and supplemental foods assist these weary travelers as they make their annual journeys.)
As always be safe, be happy, and be loved.
Chris
Our February Homeowners Association meeting was very special for many reasons. It was held at Geoff Cohen’s and Lori Parrish’s home, and we had some special agenda items, including thanking some of our out-going board members for their years of service to the Board and the community. It was wonderful to be together to celebrate our Town on this great evening in February!
President Christina Brownlow called the meeting to order at around 7:05 pm and welcomed all the residents. She thanked Geoff and Lori for receiving us at their lovely home for the meeting. Chris expressed a heartfelt thank you to Jason Halberg for all his work through these years. Jason has served as Vice President of the Board, and most recently as Treasurer, and he will be stepping down this spring after the elections. He will be greatly missed, and Jonathan Pirie will be taking the role of treasurer from now on. Pres. Chris also introduced and welcomed MaiLin Beckman, who will be a new board member this year. MaiLin is the owner of an equestrian ranch on Melaleuca.
And, in the continued spirit of celebration, Chris again congratulated our neighbor Bob Parker for his 90th birthday!! Wishing him more to come!! We all said the Pledge of Allegiance as usual.
Officer Eddy Gonzalez of Davie Police Department gave us very good news since burglary and citations had decreased this month. One neighbor suggested we would get speed bumps on different streets of our neighborhood since speeding keeps being a problem on our streets. All the neighbors agreed we have to look for solutions since it’s not very safe to walk around anymore, unfortunately. Mayor Steve recommended to take a survey, and our Town Vice President David Kuczenski explained that in order to have speed bumps, it is required to add guardrails, so it’s something to consider. Our neighbor Carlos Martinez suggested to put additional stop signs, which might be easier and faster on different streets, specifically on Appaloosa, so it’s pending to find out the cost of this.
Further, we had an update on Zero Waste. The new advisory board is forming. Efforts are underway to stop incinerator; we all are aware of how this would affect our environment, our house values and much more.
Also, Lori encouraged to keep dark skies, something that our Mayor explained we already have and maintained. She motioned for more proactivity, and it was approved by a majority of the members present.
Other updates of events in our town were provided: The Barn dance tickets are all sold out. The 5K Run is coming up, and this helps raise money for our scholarship fund. The Water Matters event is on Saturday, March 9, and it’s important to go and support. And finally, the Chess challenge at the end of the month; no experience is necessary, let’s go and have some fun!
Marianne Allen, our neighbor, was very grateful to our Mayor, councilman Jim Allbritton and the Davie PD on how they took into hands and managed the protesters in our area.
There will be no meeting in March, since the elections will take place that day. Please drop off your ballots at Town Hall on Wednesday, March 27.
Next meeting will be on Wednesday, April 24 at 7 pm.
President Christina Brownlow called the meeting to order via a Zoom call at 7:05 pm and welcomed all the residents. She asked Mayor Steve Breitkreuz to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chris started the meeting with some updates regarding our HOA Board elections, which will be held in March, and advised that there will be some changes on our board, since there are some folks that will not be running for office this year: Jason Halberg will not be running for Treasurer again. On the slate will be Jonathan Pirie for Treasurer and Mailin Beckman for Board. Another change is that Isolde Cahill will be stepping down as Editor and Chris will fill her shoes. Chris also reminded people that the Waste Management mailer came out. She also gave some updates about our board members. Jason’s uncle and his mom are both in assisted living facilities. Also, DaNell is in the hospital for 2 days for severe dehydration. And she also announced that Dennis Hugdahl, long-time resident of Mustang Trail, passed away on January 30. She also shared some happy news about some of our residents: Bob Parker turned 90 years old, Lori Parrish’s granddaughter got married, and Tommy Crivello gave us a check for $2500 for the Scholarship fund.
Detective Eddie Velazquez from Davie Police provided his monthly report. From December to January, we had 3 vehicle burglaries and 1stolen equipment vehicle, which is an improvement over the past. In District 4, DP spent almost 11 hours doing traffic enforcement. There were 34 traffic citations in January and 29 in December. He has not seen one mail theft in our area. Ed Gonzalez advised that we are going to start up the public safety board again in February, and one of the requested items will be a report by each Officer on the cases they’re working on, including citations written.
Chris then turned it over to the Council members, and Mayor Steve gave his update first. He said that we had a great presentation at the end of January about the FPL underground wiring, and he was very pleased by how they are moving forward. A large chunk of our town will be done by the end of this calendar year 2024, which is very encouraging. He also talked about the Vince Falletta canal dedication, which was such a great way to recognize Vince’s contribution to the Ranches. This was spearheaded by Councilmember Bob Hartmann and will take place on February 24. He gave Bob full credit for this great idea. So much of our drainage works so well because of the great work that Vince did for our Town. Steve also said he met with the South Florida Wildlife Center and got a tour of this amazing facility; we are in the process of working out the details for their move from their current location to the Ranches at the school board property on the west part of our town. Chris echoed in on the praises for the SFWC!
Councilmember Jim Allbritton spoke about the Safety and Traffic Board, which is back together and tentatively plans to meet on February 15. Many of the 12 ideas presented last year were implemented, and we will plan to continue to work to control traffic issues in our area. Griffin Road and Dykes are the busiest areas, and Jim is very interested in also controlling the speeding in the areas where the speed limit is 25 MPH due to the residents walking, riding their golf carts, etc. If anyone is interested in joining, please reach out to him directly.
Councilman Gary gave various updates about construction and events. He also talked about the recognition we gave to Laura Warren for her efforts in doing the mural. President Chris asked for clarification about who is responsible for filling in the residents’ swales.
Councilman Bob Hartmann talked about the Annual Davie Police and Fire Expo, which is a free family friendly event, as well as the canal dedication for Vince Falletta.
Vice Mayor David Kuczenski asked for the other Councilmembers to drop off because he had to discuss items which were subject to votes; hence, he asked the others to step away for 20 minutes. He also gave updates regarding important items: the removal of the anonymous code enforcement, which was really good for us. David clarified that the Governor signed a law that removed the anonymous code enforcement; so now, if someone has to make a complaint, they have to put in the complaint or go to their Councilmember, and we need to be in agreement in all districts on this matter. Another issue is related to the number of commercial vehicles allowed on a resident’s property (currently, 2). Other issues are related to the swales, storage containers, building/construction without a permit, tree removal without a permit, dark-sky ordinance, roundabout in Volunteer Rd. and other road issues. And he also talked about the Next Zero Waste Broward Task Force which Debbie Green is heading up, and about his recommendation to the administration to get a new magistrate. Finally, we discussed the speeding flashing signs and where they should be located.
Councilman Gary then confirmed (after having clarified during the meeting with a phone call) that Waste Management is responsible for repairing any damage to our swales.
Chris then opened it up for public comment and questions. One was related to helipads, and it was clarified that it is illegal for helipads to be in SW Ranches residences. There was also a rich conversation about providing more awareness to residents about Zero Waste initiative to help combat the Incinerator issue and recommendations on how to get the word out to our folks.
Next meeting will be at Lori Parrish and Geoff Cohen’s house on February 28, 2024. We will honor both Jason Halberg and Isolde Cahill at this meeting.