Newsletter www.ausableacres.org Fall 2016

The Acres Reporter

brought to you by AuSable Acres Property Owners’ Association

Lake Eaton Pavilion

The end of a two year journey is here and now there is a beautiful pavilion at Lake Eaton. Loyd Brewer, Phil Dooley, Pat Hanley and Joe DeMarco were busy all spring and summer cutting, hoisting and nailing. Construction started in April with all major work com-pleted this summer. The July picnic was the first official use and everyone who attended raved about the new structure. A few finishing touches remain including fin-ishing the ceiling, staining the entire structure and in-stalling electric all of which will be completed this fall. Then, next spring, water will be run to the Pavilion. The board along with all the members we spoke to are so excited that the pavilion has been added to the all the other great amenities throughout the neighbor-hood. We’d like to thank everyone again for their contri-butions to this project and can’t wait to use it for years to come.

Neighborhood Enhancements: Two Major Projects Completed in 2016

Summit Lane Water Tower By Brett Keeney—FWWC President

The new 152,000 gallon Summit Water Tank was fully commissioned in mid October two months ahead of schedule. First it was partially filled and disinfected. There was no water interruption when we cut over to the new tank. We are starting the controls that will monitor all system components at the wells: mid-station turbines, generator, power supply, chlorine levels, and tank level. The sensors will notify us in real-time and we can see any problem via the web based system. We value engineered the project to allow us to install a mixer that keeps the water moving in the tank so it will not develop ice. Also, the cost avoidance allowed us to tie in the Kitzbuhel system to the controls so all of the systems will have the same monitoring capabilities. In addition with effective sub-contractor negotiation we were able to have the foundation built to meet the struc-tural requirements should we need additional capacity in the future by expanding the existing tank in lieu of hav-ing to incur the cost of building an additional tank. (cont. on p.6)

I am so happy to be writing to all of you with good news. First and best, our pavilion is almost complete and it's beautiful. It was used for the Labor Day Pot Luck Picnic and our storage room now holds all our equipment. What a pleasure. Loyd and Phil still have to do the electric, stain the sides and install the tongue and groove ceiling. The Johanson’s came through with their $2,500 dona-tion once we raised our $2,500. Our half was made much easier by an anonymous donation of $2,000 by one of our members. We are very grateful for all the generosity shown for this project. Another piece of good news is that the two boys who vandalized our bathroom and drinking fountain in 2015 have reimbursed us for the cost of the repairs as part of their sen-tences. Thanks go to our member who was a witness and called the police who responded and followed through. Justice prevailed, albeit slowly. Keeping the good news going, I want to add that FWWC has com-pleted the new tank construction ahead of schedule and under budget.

We have been waiting for this for a long time. Our old tank was on its last legs and fortunately didn’t fail. The AARCH tour of the Acres was a big success and they are even consid-ering scheduling it again because they had a waiting list for attendance. Our spot here in the Adirondacks is indeed special and popular! At our July 2nd meeting we held our annual elections for three board posi-tions. There was also a discussion on the proposed Incidental Business Document draft that was distributed last year and posted on the website. Some questions were asked and an-swered and a vote was taken. It was adopted unanimously. I thank all those who attended for your support of this new document which clarifies a section of the C & R’s for our current time. You can get a copy from our website. Our tennis court surface is five years old already. It should be resur-faced next year so it doesn’t become damaged and in need of more major work. Pete DeFina has been filling in the small cracks each year to help it remain in good shape. If you would consider making a donation to the ten-

nis fund when you pay your 2017 dues, it would go towards this job. Next year’s board election will have three seats to be filled. My seat, Loyd Brewer’s and Pat Levine’s seats will be open since we aren’t running again. Loyd has served on the board in all capacities for 18 years. Pat has served for six and I have served for 9, six as president. It is time for oth-ers to join the board. I have enjoyed the job which, while time consuming, has many rewarding aspects to it. Please consider running. You won’t be sorry. There are usually about five board meetings a year and two gen-eral membership meetings to attend. Board members also do a lot of the Association work as you will see from reading this newsletter. If you care enough to put in extra time that will benefit all our members and the Acres community as a whole, I urge you to run. Contact me if you want to discuss the responsibilities or have general questions. I can be reached at 518.217.8519 or by email at president@ausableacres.org. Enjoy the fall, the holidays and stay well.

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK by Rosemary Barry

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Holiday Decoration Contest Dec 19-23

Year Rounder’s Dinner TBD (check website)

Trail Maintenance Day May 6 8:30AM

Roadside Cleanup May 20 9AM

General Membership Meeting July 1 10AM

Summer Picnic July 1 2PM

Note: additional information is listed

on our website.

UPCOMING EVENTS

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AAPOA Committee Reports

ARCHITECTURAL

Joe DeMarco, Loyd Brewer and Jim Phillips make up the Arch. Rev. Comm. They review all

plans submitted and work with the property owners so there are no misunderstandings once construction begins. Once a plan is approved, a building permit is issued, which is valid for one year. No tree removal or land clear-ing should be done before a permit is issued. All the forms and instructions can be found at the top of the AAPOA website under “Governance”.

TRAILS The trails committee held maintenance days in May and October. In May, the team of Kevin McDonough, Frank Krueger, Greg Karl, Jim

Jacobs, Laurie George and Paul Longenderfer. The team replaced a few smaller, crumbling boardwalks with one long bridge over the stream on the Yellow trail. The entire area is stream and wetlands and this bridge will enable hikers, bikers and runners access over this area reducing erosion. In October, the group of Frank Krueger, Kevin McDonough, Greg Karl, Pete and Kathy DeFina, Susan and Steve Albert and Tyler Dabravalskas and his two children worked on the new Clark Mountain trailhead and trail around the new water tower. The team also cleared blown down trees on Clark Trail and spread more woodchips along the Silver Trail around the lake.

SECURITY PATROL

Thanks to those who drove around the streets this summer and insured our neighborhood was that much safer. Huge thank you to

Bob McDermott, Peter Yochum, Kathy DeFina, Joe DeMarco, Ron Levine and to Pat Levine for organizing.

ROADSIDE CLEAN-UP

Thanks to Elyse & Charlie Roller, Joe Demarco, Pat & Ron Levine, Frank Krueger,

Doug and Rosemary Barry, Lou Moriarty, Phil Dooley, Rick & Connie Bremer, Kathy DeFina, Loyd Brewer all of whom took part in the roadside clean-ups this year.

Our members are hard at work volunteering on different committees and here’s an update on their progress. To learn more about the committees including contact information to volunteer, go to www.ausableacres.org/committees

YEAR-ROUNDERS’ DINNER

Welcome in winter with your neighbors by at-tending the AAPOA Year Rounders’ din-ner. Check out the calendar on our website

(www.ausableacres.org) which will be updated soon with event details.

TENNIS

We are still looking for someone willing to help with the care of the court which includes sweeping and minor trimming of weeds and

branches. Please email president@ausableacres.org if you can help.

PLANTERS

The planters throughout the Acres are assem-

bled by a group of volunteers with green thumbs. This year our volunteers were: Mary Ann Dee, Lori McDonough, Fran Driscoll, Mary Lou Doo-ley, Barbara Signorelli and Sam Apelt. They looked beau-tiful, thank you all!

the AARCH program director, led the 24 guests on the tour. First, they were greeted by board members Loyd Brewer and Rosemary Barry. Loyd gave a great talk about the his-tory of the Acres and its develop-ment. Rosemary spoke about the AAPOA, its role and responsibilities. After answering many questions, the group went to visit six homes, the DeMarco's, the Krueger's, the McDonough's, the McAleveys, the Santisiero's and the Farkas's. They enjoyed seeing the different styles of architecture from original A-frames to

modern construction. Lunch was en-joyed in the pavilion. At the end of the day everyone agreed that the Acres is unique, beautiful and a great idea! Acres and the AAPOA came to be.

8. Jim Haig, Oak Hollow Rd., around lake and silver trail, Cherry St. and Butternut 9. Fran Shumway, sections of AuS-able Drive 10. Tim Fitzgerald, Cross St. 11. Barbara Hunt, River Rd and Si-gnor. An extra thanks to Marisol and Knut Sauer who cleaned AuSable Dr. from the lake to Church Lane on October 9. They made the job a little easier for Fran Shumway.

If anyone else is interested in adopt-ing a road, email president@ausableacres.org to be added to the list. Thanks for all the help we are getting. This program keeps our roads looking much better and makes our Roadside Cleanup a little easier since we only do that twice a year and get a small number of workers each time. It is a shame that there are still people who think it is okay to litter. We have asked the town to put up “No Littering” signs. AARCH Acres Tour: On Saturday, August 27th, visitors met in our pavilion for an AARCH (Adirondack Architectural Heritage) tour of the Acres. Karyn Norwood,

Year-Rounders Dinner: This year’s

dinner was held at the Hungry Trout in Wilmington in May. We had over 50 members who attended. Chairperson Joyce Phillips introduced some new activities which were a big hit. There was even a 50/50 raffle and the winner got $81. Not bad!! We hope to see many of you at the next one! If you check the box when you send in your dues for next year, you will be placed on the list to be notified of the date and location of every Year Rounders’ Din-ner.

Adopt-A-Road: We have added more people to our Adopt-A-Road campaign. Here are the volunteers to date: 1. Joyce Philips—Fir St 2. Fran and Steve Shumway-Tannenbaum & Spruce St. 3. Kathy DeFina-Sawmill from Sequoia Mtn to Summit Lane 4. Diane and John Mehrman-first sec-tion of AuSable Dr. off 86 5. Lynne and Bill Johnson-Oneida Lane and Sequoia Mountain Lane from the junction with Oneida to the turn -around at the end. 6. Marisol Sauer-Ridgetop, Hawthorne and Maple Lane 7. Frank Krueger-Ausable Drive from Lakeside to Ridgetop and Sawmill from Alder to AuSable Drive.

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Year-Rounders Dinner AARCH Tour

Acres Model Home Sketch

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the association every calendar year. For whatever reason, we always seem to have a group of about 30 or so members who fail to join annually. It’s not that these people don’t re-join, but they skip a year. For exam-ple, this current year we have slightly over 30 people who were members in 2015 who did not re-join in 2016. This coming year (as has been the case in each of the recent past years) a significant number of these 2015 members will, in fact, re-join for 2017. But, that skipped year does hurt our potential membership levels. Every year since 2012, when I took over as membership chairperson, we have added a significant number of brand new members to our roles. But, those potential membership in-creases are offset by the loss of an

On behalf of the entire Executive Board, I would like to extend our thanks to all 2016 members of the AuSable Acres Property Owners’ As-sociation for your support by being a dues paying member of our organiza-tion. The AAPOA is a voluntary or-ganization, as such, we begin each new calendar year with zero members, please consider using the 2017 enroll-ment form in this newsletter to maintain your yearly membership or, if you haven’t in the past, consider joining the AAPOA in 2017!!! Membership in the AAPOA has continued to slowly increase over the past 5 years. We now seem to be holding pretty steady at around 315 members give or take a couple of members in any given year. We could easily increase that num-ber into the 340’s if people would join

almost an equal number of mem-bers who don’t join every year. So, please if you are financially able to do so, send in your membership dues for 2017! Our yearly dues will remain (as they have since 2006) at $55 for a homeowner and $25 for a lot owner. If you own multiple lots and/or homes within the Acres you do not pay multiple dues-- you pay either the $55 or $25 fee. My guess is that not many other organi-zations, to which you might belong, have had a zero increase for the past 11 years. Once again, thanks for your con-tinued support and please use the enrollment form in this news-letter to join or re-new your mem-bership for 2017!

IT’S TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2017 by Pete DeFina

FUN IN THE SUN—AT BOTH NEIGHBORHOOD PICNICS

Our AAPOA July 2nd picnic was a big hit this year. Old and new friends gathered in the beauti-ful, new pavilion and admired the fine work of Loyd Brewer, Phil Dooley and Joe DeMarco. There were over 100 people in atten-dance and more children than ever. The children’s activities were popular and in-cluded a giant parachute and a few different ball games. Thanks to Karen Ramirez, Kathy DeFina and Stacy Spletzer for organizing. This years fe-sitivities included a giant bouncy house gener-ously loaned by Tom Jegen and Stacy Spletzer. Thanks also to Tom for bringing a PA system and playing DJ so there was music throughout the day. All of the great food was cooked by chef Pete DeFina along with Tom Jegen. Phil Dooley took great photos some of which are in this newsletter. A final thanks to Loyd Brewer, Pete DeFina, Joe DeMarco and Doug Barry for setting-up and tak-ing down the various tents and supplies. Our final picnic of the year was held on Sept. 4th. This picnic is Pot Luck and everyone brought a dish to share. About 40 friends, neighbors and guests attended. The weather was great and so was the food.

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to keep vehicles away from the grade of the tank. It took 9 years to work through the red tape with the NYDPS to get the tank and funding approved. The old tank was literally ready to collapse and kept my staff and me up at night. Had we experienced this catastrophic fail-ure, the water system for AuSable Acres would have been inoperable and left all residents without water for a undefined length of time due to the fact that the NYDPS had no contin-gency plan if this had happened. The NYDPS represents themselves as the fiduciary for the customer but they do not necessarily act in that manner. The 435 homes in the Acres were not on their priority list so it took 9 years to get this project approved and built. The good news is, it is now com-plete. There will always be capital pro-jects for the water system to keep it up and running, however, this was the most challenging and most expensive project that the FWWC will see for years to come.

JLKN was very cooperative in allowing us to swap the land which allowed us to build the tank in the current location. The FWWC owned the land behind the existing tank. Constructing the tank in that location was going to be challenging as well as significantly more costly. We made a sq ft like-for-like land swap with John Eric Johanson in an effort to make the project easier and drive the cost down. There was a need to move the Clark Mountain trail head to the right of the new tank. The trail will lead you to the side of the new tank so hikers can avoid the steep hill that was created by the grade cut required to install the new tank. We reused boulders that were dug out of the site and placed them around the tank to keep people away from the tank and not have vehicles parking adjacent to the grade. Hikers can park on Summit Lane but we need

As you probably know our asso-ciation has to register 150 houses or lots with Essex County so that if and when JLKN develops their properties, any of those home owners will have to join AAPOA. A detailed explanation of the 150 lot project history and why it is so important, as well as the necessary forms, can be found on our website. The AAPOA president and I re-cently went to Elizabethtown to regis-ter 38 more properties. This brings us to a total of 116. Ideally, we would like to register more than 150 in case of any challenges. We are getting close to our goal and we need you to consider this worthwhile project. Let’s not wait until JLKN starts to develop their property. You can reach me at 518-217-8519 if you wish to discuss this further. Let’s get this important AAPOA project completed.

LAKE AREA CLEAN-UP

WATER TANK (continued from page 1)

150 LOTS STATUS by Doug Barry

Three board members were elected to three year terms at the July General Membership Meeting. Rick Bremer, Pete DeFina and Jim Phillips all ran for reelection unopposed. After the meeting the board elected officers for the coming year. Rosemary Barry was elected president, Joe DeMarco was elected vice-president, Pete DeFina was elected secretary and Phil Dooley was elected treasurer. There will be three seats vacated next July. Rosemary Barry’s, Loyd Brewer’s and Pat Levine’s terms are up, none of whom are planning to run for reelection. It is important that new people step up to serve on the AAPOA board. Those stepping down have been on the board for many years. If you are interested in running, please email presi-dent@ausableacres.org or call (518) 217-8519 and we will gladly let you know what the job involves, how much time it takes, etc. These are very important positions which need to be filled. Please consider running.

THE APPOA BOARD NEEDS A FEW VOLUNTEERS

This spring, a great group of vol-unteers helped clear a few dead trees and a massive amount of limbs taken down by winter storms. All of the cutting and chipping helped the lake area to be in pristine shape for the sum-mer season. And, all the wood chips have been a needed addi-tion filling in bumpy areas along the silver trail around the lake. Thanks to everyone who helped: Loyd Brewer, Pete DeFina, Kathy DeFina, Vern Gonyea, Frank Krueger, Kevin McDonough and Ian Elbogan.

In 1968 Bob and Ruth Santasiero were two of the original purchasers of a ski house in AuSable Acres. For many, many years they came with their young children every other week-end from Smithtown, Long Island to enjoy skiing at Whiteface and their little “munchkin” home away from home. I met Bob when Ruth met him, in 1955 in the second semester of our first year at Hunter College. That is a very long time ago and so I know that Bob’s rough exterior belied his love of family and loyalty and generosity as a friend. In 1986 Bob talked John and me into purchasing the chalet next door. We weren’t the only ones! There are many families here who discovered AuSable Acres after hearing Bob sing its praises. After we bought the chalet, Bob did not hesitate to call upon John to do chores which he was much too large to do! in attics and crawl spaces! He brought John into the legal fray at our very first community meeting 30 years ago, since he was earnest in his desire to assure that the Acres would remain as conceived by its developer. Bob served our community well, par-ticipating even as his health declined, serving on the AuSable Acres Board and managing the neighborhood watch. Bob, we are going to miss you and your wonderful sense of humor. Our lives were enriched by having a friend like you.

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HISTORY OF AUSABLE ACRES (first published in Dec ‘06) by Virginia West

HIGHWAY DEPT WORKING HARD IN THE ACRES by Rosemary Barry with info provided by Robbie Lincoln

The Town of Jay maintains 176 miles of road. 48 miles of road are in the Acres. Of the 51 roads in the Acres, 47 are dirt which require more maintenance. It takes three trucks 9 hours to plow and sand our roads just once. Here is a summary of their work from Jan. 1-Sept. 27, 2016. From January through April our roads were plowed and/or sanded 33 times. Cleaning culverts, in roads and driveways also took place in the win-ter. In addition to plowing and sand-ing, in the spring roads were raked, groomed and potholes repaired. As the weather warmed, holes were patched and several intersections were widened, brush removed, roads graded, gravel placed, trees cut, grass cut and silt removed. This sum-mary doesn’t give totals of materials used, which are extensive and ex-pensive. The staff hours for all this work (plus more not itemized) came to 604.5 through 9/27/16. The high-way department has a staff of 8 when everyone is on the job but if someone is ill or on vacation they work with fewer people. The work is never finished and the AAPOA board sent a letter to the Town Supervisor, Archie Depo, and

the members of the Town Board ask-ing for more money in the highway dept. budget for next year so more of our tax money can be used for main-taining and improving our roads. No word yet on whether that will be done. I think everyone would agree there has been a noticeable improve-ment to our roads this year. The roads should not wash out as badly as they have in the past. Hopefully, next year Robbie and his staff can do even more. I know he still has a list of jobs to do here. Thanks, Robbie and the staff, from all the residents of AuSable Acres, for all the time and effort you have put into our roads.

be traveled as the “back way” into town. In winter, roads were plowed but never sanded. You could cross coun-try ski from your front door. Oneida Path was a favorite tobogganing spot since there was only one home. Hardy souls cleared sections of the lake for skating and ice hockey games. Ours was the first home to have an oil-hot air heating system. We had a special red light in the window that would go on if the heat failed. Crews rode around to check on the homes and fixed the heat, charging you later. There was a wonderful feeling of sharing, helpfulness and camarade-rie. AuSable Acres was truly a vaca-tion wonderland in the Adirondacks.

(continued from spring newsletter) The summer was sometimes buggy, but we were having such a wonderful time no one really cared. The (man-made) lake had a clear, dredged swimming area. The beach, twice as wide as it is today and twice as deep was repaired every year. If you could manage a shallow dive, there was a diving board at the end of the dock. There was a water slide into the lake, too. Couples without children spent mornings on the lake, families with children usually came after lunch. Lifelong friendships were formed here. Fall brought brisk, cool breezes and sparkling color. Sequoia Mt. Road continued all the way down to the tennis courts and Sawmill could

SO LONG GOOD FRIEND by Marlene and John McAlevey

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What are Covenants and Restric-tions (C&Rs)? C&R’s provide information on each homeowner’s property obligations, restrictions on use of the property and architectural control issues. In addition to the provisions in the C&R’s, the Architectural Require-ments are standards that must be followed when building a new home, modifications or improvements to the exterior of an existing home or to your property. C&Rs are legally bind-ing and cover all property within AuS-able Acres, regardless of AAPOA membership. History In 1963, when John Eaton began developing AuSable Acres, he in-cluded eight C&Rs in all deeds to property sold in the Acres to help protect and maintain the community. Clarifications over the years While the original eight C&R’s are part of all Acres deeds and can’t be changed, they can and have been clarified over the years. For instance, a list of Architectural Requirements were created to better outline the guidelines to maintain a reasonable standard of visual appearance and construction quality in our commu-nity. More recently, there was an update to the Incidental Business

section of the C&R’s to better outline which businesses are incidental in nature. Any proposed update must be sent to the entire Acres commu-nity well in advance of a discussion and vote at a General Membership meeting. Enforcement The AAPOA board has a duty to rea-sonably enforce the C&Rs. All com-plaints to the board are investigated and if the complaint has merit, a letter is sent to the homeowner outlining which C&R is being violated and the corrections that need to be made. If the letter is unanswered, the AAPOA’s attorney then sends a letter to the property owner. If the com-plaint is then unanswered or the vio-lation is not corrected to the board’s satisfaction, a lawsuit could be filed. Lawsuits are a tool of last resort and violations are normally satisfied well before this step. Where to find them All Acres property owners should read the C&Rs which can be found on the AAPOA website under the ‘Governance’ menu. Our C & R’s are what helps keep the Acres looking good and maintains our property val-ues and quality of life. Please read them when you get the chance.

HOW THE C&Rs HELP OUR COMMUNITY by AAPOA Board

AROUND TOWN HAPPENINGS by Archie Depo

Route 9N Main St. Bridge Update - It is expected that the road will open to two lane traffic by mid-November for the winter months. Construction will begin in the spring, 2017, to replace the bridge. One lane traffic will re-sume at that time until the comple-tion of the project. Rome Dam - under an engineer’s study to determine whether the dam needs to be lowered or removed to meet DEC and DOS approval. It is currently rated as a class C High Hazard Dam. A determination should be made by mid-November. The project is being funded by NY Community Rising. AuSable Forks Water Control Build-ing & Wells Update - Project moving forward. There will be a joint meet-ing with the Town of Black Brook & AES-Northeast Engineering Service. The Water Control building is out-dated, piping is in a confined space and only one of the 3 wells is work-ing at 100%, one not at all and the other at 40%. NYS Health Dept has ordered a remedy. New wells will be drilled and we are applying for a grant to the EFC. Grant projects - Grove Youth Field $54,000 to put in playground, new scoreboard for ball fields, new goal nets and posts for soccer field and field upgrades. Community Center upgrades $200,000 for new roof and possible handicap ramp. ACAP - will be starting an early start program to go with their head start program for pre-kindergarten age children. More Summer Picnic Pics

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Please Note: The AAPOA no longer gets new owner information from the Essex County publi-cation called “The Bugle”. The county has discontinued publishing “The Bugle”. It is now more difficult to find out names and mailing addresses of new owners in a timely manner. We send out informative new owner packets whenever we learn of a new owner. If you know of anyone who has purchased land or a home in the Acres, please contact Rosemary Barry at president[at]ausableacres.com with the information. If your mailing address changes, please email the above address with the new information so you will con-tinue to receive the newsletter. Thank you!

AUSABLE ACRES WELCOMES NEW OWNERS by Rosemary Barry

The AAPOA is very happy to welcome these new owners to the Acres since the spring 2016 newsletter: 1. Alan Watnick & Tricia Kock - home on 108 Spruce Street. 2. Layne Wolfe & Rodney Huribut - home/lots on 102 Cottontail Ln. 3. Michael Newman - home on 24 Algonquin Lane. 4. Paul & Cheryl Berthiaume - home on 35 Cottontail Lane. 5. Christopher Stall & Shannon St. Louis - lot on Sawmill Rd. 6. Stephen Sheward - home on 80 Beech St. 7. Kathleen & Justin Rogers - home on 60 Algonquin Lane. 8. Ryan Cox - lot on Ridgetop Lane. 9. Christine & Shannon Brown - home on 14 Cayuga Trail. 10. Gerald & Nancy Hand - home on 5 Seneca Trail. 11. Bill McCoskery & Nikki Moreschi - home on 15 Hawthorne Lane. 12. Bradley & Jessica Cayea-home on 74 Spruce Lane 13. Martin & Loretta Lynch - home on 9 Red Fox Lane. 14. Lori Nese - home at 52 Evergreen Lane. All of your neighbors are happy to have you join our community and wish you many happy years in the Acres. We hope you will become members of the AAPOA this year.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD SECURITY PATROL NEEDS YOU by Pat Levine

The AAPOA organizes a security patrol of volunteers who drive around our neighborhood at some time each day, depending on the vol-unteer's own schedule. The volunteers check that all common areas are in order and that our neighborhood is without apparent problems. This year Pat Levine is coordinating the security patrol schedule. There is a small core of volunteers who patrol but many more are needed to make a workable schedule and have everyone do just one week or part of a week. The patrol is in effect all summer, ending at Labor Day and takes about one hour a day. Different sections of the Acres are patrolled each day in addition to the common areas. If a volunteer encounters a prob-lem, 911 is called. The volunteer does not get involved. If you can vol-unteer, please call Pat at 917-941-4618 who will answer your questions and sign you up. An active security patrol helps reduce vandalism. It is an important service, so please volunteer. Unfortunately, if we don't get enough volunteers the security patrol will cease to exist.

It’s that time of year. The holiday decoration contest is right around

the corner. See page 2 of this issue for more details.