Dear Pinewood Residents:

It is an honor to serve as Pinewood Condo Owners Association President and I believe we are making good progress toward important goals. Due to some family obligations and a need to spend time with my wife and decompress, I will be doing some travelling beginning late June, and will be available only periodically until sometime in the early fall. Pinewood will be in good hands during my intermittent absence with an active Board and with Joe Jennings our VP standing in my place whenever I am not here. Joe’s contact phone number is 239-265-4524 and his email address is gijoejennings@yahoo.com.

Having lived at Pinewood for over 11 years, Joe has ties with both local law enforcement and the Fort Myers area business community. He has taken charge of the new owner and resident and screening process (working closely with Sentry Management) and is the Pinewood Director in charge of Document enforcement. Further, he is directly involved in locating and bringing on board several new contractors and business connections. I would urge all owners and residents to contact Joe directly for questions, concerns or problems on these matters.

Joe has personally communicated with Sherriff Carmine Marceno and with the Fort Myers police department. By his initiative, we have met and partnered with Officer Hernandez, the FMPD community engagement officer. We were able to thoroughly discuss some historical problems at Pinewood, which include misuse of the 911 system in the past by certain individuals and specific ways to address the problem should it recur. Joe also incorporated Officer Hernandez’s advice during composition of the new Pinewood Rules & Regulations #17, Quiet enjoyment.

The gutters and downspout clearing project has finally been completed as of our last update. The contractor enlarged the openings into the downspouts without additional charge which corrected an original installation defect. During our recent 3 days of heavy rain, the gutters handled it well, with no more gutter overflows. The runoff from Pinewood land into the West canal was a bit slow but a City Engineering Department official contacted Joe Jennings and informed him that the Fort Myers City had been slow to open some floodgates for faster drainage.

Another small project will soon be underway. Tuesday (6/18), I accepted a proposal from Southwest Pool to do a chemical shock treatment to rid our pools of an increased growth of black algae. The pools will close, one at a time, for 1 week each when treated. These closings should begin within the next week or two. Everyone should anticipate this work and use the other pool while your usual one is closed.

Slow but sure progress has been made toward the lanai deck repairs of which we spoke at the March 16th owners meeting. We have looked into permitting and better understand the permitting process now. We are speaking with both engineering and concrete firms. Our goal is to keep the project affordable while making sure we get repairs that are safe and long lasting. It is a challenge, for sure.

Recently, we had some permitting issues associated with the removal and replacement of the hurricane damaged Ficus trees along the South canal. Those issues were triggered by an irate owner that has long been known to feed wild animals (including rats that lived in the hollow roots at the base of those Ficus trees) in violation of Pinewood rules. After a considerable expenditure of time and expense, those permitting issues have now been resolved. New trees have been ordered and should go in within the next few weeks. These will be Live Oak (the species) and should be an attractive and high-quality upgrade to Pinewood over time as they grow big and beautiful.

For questions, problems or disputes, we ask that Pinewood owners and residents address concerns directly to the Board. Complaints made directly to the city about neighbors, or in pursuit of personal agendas, often trigger unintended consequences, not the least of which is expense to our Pinewood community. There has been at least 3 such instances recently, 2 involving the Fort Myers Fire Marshall and one involving the tree permitting situation. All were for trivial reasons and triggered a possible extra expense to Pinewood totaling as much as $80 per owner. The bottom line of these expenses is higher quarterly COA fees for everyone and at a time when inflation is already too high and Pinewood repair and maintenance needs are growing with age.

Our Pinewood document enforcement initiative continues. Most concerns have been corrected immediately by the great majority of owners. Please do not be upset if you receive a reminder. Simply fix the concern. It is no big deal. Reach out with questions or conversation if you have them. We must all make some sacrifices to share the benefits of living in our condominium community.

Thank you Everyone –

Gregory Grover, President, Pinewood South COA