As a result of the recent election of new directors, a resignation, and the appointments of two board members by the president, we have some new faces on the Board of Directors. Please note their names and those of 2015 officers elsewhere on this page.

We regret to announce that senior board member Debe Van Pelt found it necessary to resign in December. Debe had served our Association long and well as secretary, president, and -- most recently -- as treasurer. Her service (since the turn of the century!) has been very much appreciated.

We offer congratulations and best wishes to the 2015 directors/officers.

The president's report also included information about the covenant amendment process. (See the article later in this issue for a review and update.)

All homeowners received an advance copy of the 2014 financial report as well as the adopted 2015 budget, and the treasurer was available to answer any questions about these documents. The annual dues for 2015 remain the same at $175 per household.

Denny Korinek gave a report on the activities of the Sorrento Dock Owners' Association, after which nominees for the SSPO Board of Directors were introduced and voted upon. Newly elected directors were Julia Baiardi (405 Bellini Circle) and Mike Cavallo (1904 Bayshore Road). The meeting was adjourned after everyone had an opportunity to ask questions, offer comments, and win a door prize.

Please note that the annual Sorrento South directory is included in this issue. We remind you that the directory is distributed as a convenience to our residents and that it is not to be used for solicitation purposes or shared with others outside the community. If there is an error in your listing, please notify Treasurer Julia Baiardi. The listings of Association Directors are highlighted in bold print.

Although email addresses are not published in the directory, the Association would like to have yours so that important information can be communicated quickly and without mailing costs. (If you have been receiving newsletters by email, thank you for already providing it.) You may

communicate your address by sending an email to Julia Baiardi at jbsspo@yahoo.com (Please indicate also whether you would prefer to have future newsletters sent by email.) Your email address will not be shared with anyone except those authorized to communicate on behalf of the SSPO Board of Directors.

The next highest-priced house, with 3,733 square feet also on the bayfront, sold for $1,200,000 and is “still” owned by the person who bought it back in January of 2014. In June, the buyer sold his existing 2,455 square foot bayfront home for $990,000. Moving is so much easier when you're only going down the street, right?

A canal home involved in foreclosure (3/2; 1,639 sq. ft.; with pool & dock) was acquired by the bank for $314,600 in April. They have since sold it for $359,000. Another canal home sold for $537,000 in June. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 1,844 sq. ft., a pool & dock, and was built in 1967. (There have been 8 different owners since 2001, so one could say this property has a history as a "flipper." We hope the current owners plan to stay awhile.)

Moving right along to the Sorrento South homes that are not on water, the top price went for a 1974 house that had been in foreclosure. The mortgage company sold it for $168,000 in February of 2014. The buyer did some major renovations and sold the 2,178 sq.ft. house with a pool for $335,000 in December. Not a bad return on investment!

Another "non-water" home that sold for $320,000 was a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house with 2,224 sq.ft. While it did not have a pool, it had a boat slip in the marina which added to the value of this 1972 house.

Five home sales on four different streets ranged in price from $215,000 to $290,000. At the low end was the smallest house (2 bedrooms, 1378 square feet) while the two highest priced homes in this category had 3 bedrooms and were closer to 2,000 square feet.

he homes priced below $200,000 included two that had been in foreclosure. One was acquired by the mortgage company in May for $185,600 and sold in November for $190,000. The other was the one mentioned above that initially sold for $168,000 and later (after renovations) was resold for $335,000.

There are any number of factors besides price that can influence home buyers, including the condition of the house and yard, the number of bedrooms, whether a dock is available, the view, the size of the kitchen, etc. Short of remodeling, a seller can't do much about layout and size, but there are lots of ways a home can have better "curb appeal" and be more attractive to potential buyers. Ideas can be found on the internet, in the library, by asking a brutally frank realtor, or by consulting with someone who "stages" houses to maximize their assets. (Your editor can recommend such a person.) This is an active market and sellers should be making the most of it. Good luck!

With all the property transfers, it won't surprise you to know that we have some Sorrento South newcomers since the last newsletter. We extend a warm welcome to the following folks, who certainly will never have a moment of buyer's remorse:

Tracey Preston & Eric Alan Sprouse - 406 Murillo Dr.

Tracey Preston & Eric Alan Sprouse - 406 Murillo Dr.

Andrzej & Alina Grabowski - 217 Cavallini Dr.

Jacquelyn & Roger Barnaby - 308 Cavallini Dr.

Amy Lynn Taylor - 422 Murillo Dr.

Please let this editor know if we've missed any new owners who have purchased a home in Sorrento South between October 2014 and March 2015. (The last issue covered most of 2014's newcomers.)

Even if you don't use the entrance at Bayshore Road, we encourage you to take a look

at the work that has been done to spruce up the main way into the Sorrento South community. The entrance walls are once again white, a bed of plants has been situated at the base of each wall to protect the spot lights from mowers, and the median (island) has been adorned with new plantings, borders, decorative shell, seasonal flowers, and additional landscape lights. SSPO Vice President Mike Cavallo, who also was responsible for the addition of holiday lights in December, has been working with our landscaper and his crew to transform the main entrance. We thank him for the time he has devoted to this project and for the classy result now that everything has been planted.

If you're feeling inspired by how things look when you drive into our community, and by the homes that are being given a facelift by new owners, perhaps there are some things that need doing around your own house. If you have a lawn, is it green and healthy? Does the house need painting or pressure washing? Is the tile roof dirty? Do you need to replace the mailbox, trim the shrubs, or invest in some new plantings or trees? These are all things you can do to enhance your property without getting approval from the Association. If you want to erect a fence or replace a roof, however, a request for approval must be made to assure the change complies with existing covenants. Once a written request is submitted, it will be reviewed at the next regular board meeting. We'd like to make home improvements as easy as possible and encourage everyone to get in the spirit this spring!

We can't talk about fences without telling you about the last owner who had one put in. Although approval for the fence was granted by the Association, apparently neither the owners nor their fence installer knew to call 811 first to have the utility lines marked. When the installer drove his post hole digger into the ground, he hit a water main that no one knew was there. Several homes on Bayshore were without water for hours until a crew could come out that night to repair the pipe. Even after the water was restored, it had to be boiled for the next 48 hours so homeowners could safely use it.

With all the cable, sewer, water, electric, and phone lines buried underground, it's essential that you arrange for the utility companies to mark your yard before any digging commences. Go online (www.sunshine811.com) or call 811 for information about this free service designed to prevent the kind of unfortunate mishap that occurred in this case.

Do you have a boat that needs a watery home? Boat slip #313 on the C-dock of our marina has come on the market! The owner is asking $35,000. Call Tracey at (941) 735-7400. Interested buyers must be Sorrento South or Sorrento East homeowners to qualify.

The Sorrento Dock Owners Association held their semi-annual meeting on February 26, 2015 and elected the following directors and officers:

President: Bob Coffey
(Sorrento East) 966-7768

Vice President: Denny Korinek (Sorrento South) 966-9797

Secretary-Treasurer: Barbara Lechky (Sorrento East) 966-1208

Dockmaster A Director: Rick Matthews (Sorrento South)

Dockmaster B Director: Don Glogovsky (Sorrento South)

Dockmaster C Director: Mike Lechky (Sorrento East)

Director at Large: Howard Lutz (Sorrento South)

Note: The director at large is appointed by the Sorrento South Property Owners to represent the interests of those who reside in Sorrento South but do not own a boat slip in the marina.

tThere is very little room left in this issue, but then there is not a lot of progress to report in the effort to obtain signatures for simplifying the way Sorrento South votes to change its covenants. If you had the opportunity to vote on new or revised covenants, which method makes the most sense to you?

a) One vote per property (we have 123) with a minimum of two thirds voting in favor.

b) Within each unit (there are 5), measure the frontage (feet on the street) of each parcel and count up the total "feet in favor" until the threshold of 80% of frontage in each unit is reached.

It's a no-brainer but, unfortunately, our current covenants require us to use (b) to even vote on whether or not we want to switch to (a) as an alternative method for future voting on covenant changes. Do you wonder why this has taken so long to accomplish? Without this amendment, there is little hope of ever being able to replace the developer's 1960's covenants. (For those new to Sorrento South who would like to know why we are governed by 48-year-old covenants, the editor would be happy to send you previous articles on the subject.)

There are still three units in Sorrento South that have not reached the 80% threshold. If you have not yet voted on this matter, please call President Diane Miller (966-6422) to arrange for your vote to be taken. (A notary and witness will be supplied.) If you live on Bellini or Picasso, don't be surprised if Association representatives come to your door in the near future.

The board of directors has decided to change the date of the Association's annual meeting from November to January when more "snowbird" members are in residence. The Sorrento South by-laws have been revised to reflect this and related changes, and you may have aleady received them in the mail.

(Unlike changes to the covenants, our by-laws can be amended by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.)

Sorrento South property owners are always welcome to observe meetings of the SSPO board. Directors meet on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Sorrento Clubhouse located next to the golf course office.