The LABR Board meeting began with a lengthy presentation from AA Sign Lines about making some changes to our sign monuments to give them more design consistency. The diversity of our existing sign monument designs is a legacy of the many builders and developers who created them in the 80s and 90s, except for the one on Cain and Yamato.

AA also proposed a whole new design for our directional signs, which has been discussed at Board meetings for years. These would replace the tall signs along Cain and the one in front of the Recreation Center that are intended to direct visitors to a particular subdivision. The existing ones seem dated, hard to read and don’t even have the correct spelling of some of our subdivisions.

Current thinking is to replace them with more attractive directional signs that have less subdivisions per sign and would be luminescent at night.

A similar presentation from another sign/monument company was made at the May Board meeting, at which the presenter urged the Lakes to create a logo and tie it in with an overall design for monument and sign lettering.

Rental Policy

Property Manager Martha Basal and Rental Committee Chairperson Ann Bradley reported that all preparations were in place to implement the new HOA rental policy effective July 1. For details, please click on the Rental Policy tab on this website’s main menu.

Sidewalks

Exec VP Mike Lungarini noted that the vendor who recently cleaned all the Common Area sidewalks did an excellent job.

Rec Center Parties

The Board had a discussion about recent weekend parties in the pool/pavilion area of the Rec Center. Concern was expressed about the large number of non-residents who were attending these parties, some of which monopolized the four grills and the 30 lounge chairs and triggered overflow parking on the swales.

Some partygoers brought their own portable grills into the Recreation Center, prompting the Board to pass a new rule banning portable grills on all Common Area property because of safety and liability concerns.

Umbrellas and Tables

In response to resident complaints about the lack of shade around the pool, the Board voted to purchase four umbrella tables with upright deck chairs such as we we used to have around the pool until about four years ago.

Ride on Toys, Sidewalks & Streets

The Board also addressed the issue of motor vehicles in the Lakes. The Declaration was amended by homeowner vote last year to prohibit all motor vehicles that do not require registration and licensing from operating on the Community’s streets, and all motor vehicles from operating on the sidewalks. However, this clause (Article VI, Section 19 (h) ) does not define the term "motor vehicles."

The Board therefore adopted the definition of a motor vehicle as used in Florida state law. That definition does not include ride on toys such as "Barbie" cars for young children. The Board then passed the following new rule:

"Battery-powered ride on toys with a maximum speed of less than 5 miles per hour are permitted on sidewalks, provided that those who ride them are supervised by an adult who is at least 21 years of age. Such toys are forbidden on any streets within the Community, including cul-de-sacs. This clause is subject to compliance with state law."

Golf Carts

As for golf carts, of which there are a growing number in the Lakes, state law does not allow them on public roads. PBSO enforces that law in Palm Beach County, and also tickets anyone seen riding a golf cart on a sidewalk. The HOA, therefore, will continue to regard the driving of golf carts on streets and sidewalks within the Lakes as a fineable offense.

Scooters

The more powerful scooters with seats are subject to registration similar to motorcycles. Drivers must be at least 16 years of age and licensed.

Smaller scooters with no seats like the various Razor models are forbidden on public roads and sidewalks in Florida, and those regulations are enforced by PBSO, which advised that such scooters can only be ridden on private property (for the Lakes, that means driveways only).

In light of the large number of smaller scooters in the Lakes, the Board decided to revisit this issue at a future meeting.

Comcast Service

This writer reported to the Board on the results of the latest Lakesite News email survey on Comcast bulk cable TV service. Overall the situation has improved considerably since an angry Board demanded a meeting with top Comcast officials in South Florida about poor service. Just over 60% of the 135 survey respondents reported that they no longer had problems with their bulk cable TV service.

Many of the remaining respondents said their TV service was better than before, but still had some problems they wanted Comcast to fix. Some, unfortunately, have not seen any improvement in service since the April survey, and a number mentioned switching to AT&T’s U-Verse or hoping the HOA would cancel the 10-year contract it signed with Comcast a year ago.

All remaining service issues are being reported to the Comcast officials who met with the Board in April. The HOA will urge them to continue working on these problems until we are getting everything that we are paying for.

Alan Kellock