Sandy Cove Condominium Association, Inc.
Final Grant Report - August 15, 2008

Sarasota Board of County Commissioners:

Sandy Cove Condominium Association owners are pleased to report that our landscape project has been completed and great improvements have been made to our 40+ year old complex. We are indeed very thankful for all the County’s expertise and financial support that enabled us to start this restoration process.

There was one major change to our grant proposal - however our goals remained the same. Due to the fact that Connie Anton, our landscaper, unexpectedly returned to Texas last fall we needed to find a new landscape designer. We were all pleased to hire Marilyn Eckberg, and she stated that she could definitely improve on the original design and stay within the proposed budget for the grant. We frequently consulted with Vickie French and Annemarie Post and we received approval for the design change from both.

Our Sarasota grant helped us to meet all of the goals stated in the application:

1. One of our most important goals was to develop a strong community spirit, improve communication and create a feeling of togetherness within our Association as well as develop better community relationships with our neighbors. This was done in a multitude of ways:

• We had a very successful kick-off barbeque (see pictures) in January, and we invited our neighbors at Sandy Cove 2, 3, and 4 as well as Sandy Hook and Sarasota County officials.
• We increased our Garden Club membership and also had a great time working together – lots of laughter and productive teamwork! We had at least 10 owners pitch in after they witnessed the sense of accomplishment and teamwork that was shared during the beginning stages of our project.
• We also enjoyed talking to neighbors who walked by and complimented us on a job much needed and well done. Our neighbors were impressed by the County’s support for such projects, and some were thinking of also doing similar projects.
• Many of our owners have been quite impressed with the results and are now enthusiastically volunteering to replant the areas around their personal entrances and decks to continue improvement to our grounds. Of course these landscaping projects will be guided by our landscape committee, the Board, and our Florida friendly philosophy.
• Our website www.sandycove1.com followed the progress of our landscape work with write-ups and pictures.
• Periodic emails were sent to owners keeping everyone informed about our progress.
• Safety was another primary goal and we wanted to improve two specific areas:
• We tackled our entrance first.
• Professionals removed a very large Australian Pine Tree, numerous smaller invasive plants, increased the fluorescent lighting around our sign and installed the new micro-irrigation system. Then our volunteers prepared the area for planting. What a wonderful surprise when we found many other owners also pitching in to help! Many owners commented that they were pleased to see that our Sandy Cove sign was much more visible at night due to the new lighting and that entering and exiting our complex was now much safer. Indeed walking on the sidewalk to the Village at night was also safer.
• We still have more work to do in this area…..our Association is planning on purchasing small signs to identify the Florida Friendly plants as well as placing a sign stating that Sarasota County supported this restoration.
• Our Association will also continue planting Florida Friendly plants along the south side of our entrance this next fall.
• The second area of concern was the north border of the greenway and part of our beach berm.
• There were many invasive Brazilian Peppers, Ficus, Naupaka and Vitex plants along the greenway border where many people walk to the beach. We removed them in order to make the walk to the beach safer as many people are allergic to the sap of some of these plants.
• Once they were removed we realized that there was more space available for planting than originally thought. Therefore, after planting all the grant plants the Association supported our project by allowing us to purchase more plants so that we could really do a complete restoration.
• We added a trex walkway from the greenway to the fishing pier in order to make a safer entrance to the pier at the Association’s expense.
• We removed an old and rotting kayak rack on the beach berm and built a much larger one further from the beach berm.
• We purchased many more Florida friendly plants (Cocoplums, green Buttonwoods, etc) to fill in the area around the border, create a wider and safer pathway to the beach and hide the new kayak rack. Once these plants grow the area will be lush and very healthy.

3. Our third major goal was to remove many invasive and exotic plants and replace them with plants that are Florida Friendly and beneficial to wildlife. We accomplished this in many ways.

• We removed many invasive and exotics – Australian Pines, Reclanatas, Brazilian Peppers, Naupakas, and Vitex.
• Instead of planting more grass around the greenway we decided to plant mimosa plants which can be cut like grass if needed, will produce pretty pink flowers and lush green foliage, will not need fertilizer and will attract wildlife to our greenway.

We have included some pictures of the volunteers planting and caring for the new plants as well as the improved areas. There are residents who have agreed to watch over the plants over the summer and make sure they receive enough water until they become established. Rob Wright has visited our condo both before and after our landscaping project, and he has strongly praised our accomplishments. We invite anyone who would like to see our restoration projects to come to visit so we can thank everyone in person.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Candy Spratt
Sandy Cove Condominium Association

Sandy Cove Condominium Association - Vacant Unit Policy  (Click to download the PDF)
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Sarasota County’s Neighborhood Grant Program
Project Description  |  Updates

The research has been completed, schematic diagrams have been created, the budget has been prepared and our 100+ page application for a Sarasota Neighborhoods Services Grant has been given to the County officials. We are now in the waiting stage!

Twenty-two applications were received by the county on August 13th and now officials will analyze the needs of various communities in our area. There is $200,000.00 available and each organization can request up to $12,000.00. Our total budget for the entranceway and north end of the greenway was $16,051.00 therefore we are asking the County to help us by contributing about $8,000.00 to our project.

There will be a public meeting on September 21st at 9:00 AM where the Grant Advisory Committee will discuss all the proposals with County officials, ask questions of the applicants and analyze the needs of the communities. Final awards will be given on October 24th, and this meeting will be televised on Comcast channel 19 or viewed at www.scgov.net by clicking the access 19 banner.

Many, many thanks to all the Sandy Cove owners who sent support letters, volunteered their time and/or donated funds to help put together this document. With many of our owners and friends pledging to donate funds ($3,260.00), bromeliads (30 plants worth $450.00) , and time planting and caring for the new landscape (300 hours worth $3,600.00) we will only need to put $754.50 from the general funds of the Association into this project. Therefore, designated Association landscape funds will be available for areas of improvement not included in the grant; for example, continued Florida friendly plants along the south entranceway toward the garage and a butterfly garden on the greenway in the Vitex bed area. What a great statement that makes about how our community has pulled together as a cohesive group to work toward a common goal!

In addition, friends from Sandy Cove 2, 3, and 4 as well as Sandy Hook, Whispering Sands and other Siesta Key friends and visitors contributed support letters to show the larger community support for this project. It certainly is very encouraging to see how many people believe in caring for the Florida landscape using eco-friendly practices. Our efforts will make a difference!

Click here for the Sarasota County’s Neighborhood Grant Program's Project Description

The Grant Committee:
Candy Spratt  |  candyspratt@hotmail.com
Ellen Michelson |  Goldie3A@aol.com
Connie Anton  |  connieanton@hotmail.com