Author Archives: Board of Directors

Violation Inspections / Sidewalk Cleaning Reminder

Dear Residents, 

The monthly inspection for violations will be conducted on Wednesday, July 26th, 2023. With all the recent rain, it has come to management attention that the sidewalks and drives need to be a focus on this inspection. We are asking everyone to please look at your driveway, sidewalks, and pavers. If they are dirty, please have them cleaned. There have been reports of people slipping on some sidewalks and there is a safety concern for the community.

The board has worked diligently in getting the common area landscaping back to par. Next month the focus will be on landscaping. 

Thank you, 

Sincerely, 

Specialty Management Company on behalf of Mabel Bridge Homeowners Association, Inc.
(407) 647-2622 | greatcommunities.com

Newly Adopted “Mabel Bridge HOA Official Color Schemes”

Dear Homeowners, 

All homeowners who are signed up for email alerts were emailed a copy of the newly adopted “Mabel Bridge HOA Official Color Schemes” document. This document contains detailed instructions on what you need to know and what you need to do if you plan to repaint your home. The official house paint colors schemes for the community are included. Whether you received the email or not, the document is available for your reference in the Community Portal. 

Please note that changing the color of your home always requires approval by the Architectural Review Board (ARB). An application is not required to repaint a home with the same, existing color; however, the Architecture Review Board (ARB) kindly requests that you submit an ARB application so the committee can assist you with ensuring the correct colors will be used.

Separately, the Board is considering reviewing our Governing Documents for areas of improvement. These include our Declaration, Bylaws and Recorded ARB Standards. These documents are also available to you in the Community Portal. If you have any questions or suggestions on “rules” that should be evaluated, please send them to Jessi Oquinn joquinn@greatcommunities.com. 

If you are receiving email alerts, please ensure you have signed up for the Community Portal.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Specialty Management Company on behalf of Mabel Bridge Homeowners Association, Inc.
(407) 647-2622 | greatcommunities.com

Please Register for New Community Portal ASAP

In December, we announced that Specialty Management has been hired to replace Leland Management as the Community Management company for Mabel Bridge. If you missed it, you can review that announcement here: https://www.mabelbridgehoa.com/specialty-management-to-replace-leland-on-jan-1-2023/

As of Jan 1, 2023, Specialty is managing all the affairs of our community. All homeowners should have received payment coupon books and a welcome letter from Specialty in the USPS mail by now.

Upon receipt of your welcome letter, we ask that you please set up your account in the Community Portal as soon as possible. This new portal will give you:

·        Access to important community documents

·        Ability to view and pay your balance as
well as make payments

·        Ability to submit ARB requests

·        Option to receive electronic notifications from
the HOA

·        and more

The setup instructions that were mailed are below. You will need the Account Number and Registration Key provided in the letter that was mailed to your address on file.

Please CONTACT Specialty Management if you need assistance with this process. Thank you.

Specialty Management to Replace Leland on Jan 1, 2023

Dear Mabel Bridge Homeowners and Residents,

The Mabel Bridge Board of Directors is pleased to announce that we have hired a new management company to manage the affairs of Mabel Bridge Homeowners’ Association.

Specialty Management Company of Central Florida will replace Leland as the managing agent for our community beginning January 1, 2023.

We want you to be aware that we are currently working with both companies to transition operations. There are many moving pieces involved and all parties are working diligently in an effort to make the change as smooth as possible for you. Making a complex change like this is always difficult and it’s especially so during the holidays, so please allow us some time to get everything in order.

Your patience is appreciated through this transition, which we believe is in the best interest of the community overall.

Here are a few things you should know:

  • Leland Management is our acting manager through Dec. 31, 2022.
  • Specialty Management will begin Jan. 1, 2023.
  • A volunteer is in the process of updating this website and Facebook page to reflect the management change. This will be completed over time.
  • MabelBridgeHOA.com will remain available for the time being, but much of the same information will be made available to you in a designated community portal provided by Specialty Management. The portal provides 24/7 access to association-related documents as well as the ability to view your balance, make payments on-line, submit architectural review (ARB) forms and receive important information about the Association. We encourage you to register as soon as it’s available!
  • Community portal registration and access instructions, including your account number and registration key, will be mailed to you in early Jan 2023.
  • A link to the community portal is available on the home page of this website.
  • HOA DUES INFORMATION

    Coupon books have been ordered and will be arriving soon via USPS mail. Dues for 2023 are $296 per quarter. The first payment is due Jan. 1, 2023.

    If you have already sent a payment electronically or via USPS mail to Leland, do not worry. Payments will be accepted and forwarded to Specialty Management to be applied to your account.

    If you still need to send your Jan 1 payment, please check your mail for the payment coupon books, which will be arriving soon with payment instructions.

    As mentioned previously, you will be able to make payments through the portal once you have received the instructions by mail and register for an account.
    Additionally, the mailing address is:

    Mabel Bridge
    c/o Specialty Management
    1000 Pine Hollow Point
    Altamonte Springs, FL 32714

    Please expect there may be a delay in processing your payment due to the change of banks and management companies. No late fees will be charged during this transition period.

    THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE

    Again, we ask you to please be patient with HOA volunteers as well as the staff from both management companies while this complex change is occurring. You can continue to contact Leland Management with any questions or issues through the end of 2022, and Specialty will be happy to assist you in the new year.

    We are optimistic about the change and we look forward to continuously improving our community together with your help. In the meantime, we wish you all the very best this holiday season.

    Sincerely,
    Mabel Bridge Board of Directors

    Board Meetings with Potential New Managers

    The BOD will be meeting with two prospective Property Management Companies to possibly replace Leland as our community manager.

    The first meeting will be with Beacon Property Management on Friday Oct 21st at 4PM. Beacon will be presenting their company to the BOD and providing a quote for consideration. 

    The second  meeting will be with Specialty Management Company. This meeting will be held Wednesday 10/26 or Thursday 10/27. The exact date and time is TBD.

    We will update once the second meeting has been scheduled. 

    Meeting details are available to homeowners that would like to listen in on the Meetings page on our website.

    Holiday Decorations Committee Volunteers Needed

    In the September 2022 Board meeting, a new committee was formed — Holiday Decorations Committee.

    The Committee’s first project is to establish a plan for additional Christmas holiday lights and decorations around Mabel Bridge.

    If you would like to participate in this committee, please submit your information by emailing Maria Gomez at Leland Management using this link. Please add “Mabel Bridge Decorations Committee” to your message if it does not automatically appear in the Subject Line.

    Power Washing Friendly Reminder! 💦

    Hello, Mabel Bridge Neighbors!

    We hope your school year is off to a great start. We are happy to see many families in our community walking or biking to school each morning!

    With regard to this, we are providing this friendly reminder to all homeowners that the sidewalks along your property are your responsibility to keep clean in appearance and free of slippery build up for the safety of all residents.

    You may have noticed that the Board of Directors (BOD) has organized power washing services for HOA and common area sidewalks. The cleaning project is currently in process and should be completed within a few days.

    We encourage you to check your sidewalks. If your property is showing signs of buildup, please address it now to avoid receiving a violation notice. As a BOD, we do not want to send a violation letter that can be avoided; however, we will always do what is in the best interest of the community.

    Let’s all work together to keep Mabel Bridge beautiful and safe!

    Thanks, Neighbors!

    MB Pool Has Reopened

    UPDATE: UPDATE – The Pool has reopened. Thank you for your patience during the repair.

    —————

    MB Pool Closed for Repairs (AUG 21, 2022)

    Attention Residents: due to an issue with the pool pump, the Mabel Bridge pool is temporarily closed until further notice. Our property manager and pool vendor are working on it and we will reopen as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience while it is repaired. Please check back here or on Facebook for updates.

    Happy 4th of July + Reminders

    We wish everyone a Happy and Safe 4th of July!

    As a reminder, there’s a great view of Magic Kingdom fireworks from our soccer field. Fireworks will take place at 9:20pm July 3rd AND 4th.

    Please do not bring alcohol or fireworks to the field and remember the entire pool area closes at dusk. Please do not enter the pool area after dark this weekend or at any time.

    Thank you and enjoy the holiday!

    Temporary Variance Grants for Signs thru Sep 5, 2022

    To all Mabel Bridge Residents:

    It has been brought to our attention that some residents have recently received violation letters regarding the placement of congratulatory yard signs on their property. For this, we would like to apologize.

    We would like to you know that the Board of Directors (BOD) has no intention to discourage a proud parent or family from expressing their support for their child’s recent accomplishments, or a family seeking to support a family member who serves our great country. The intent of the rule is to prevent inappropriate content, divisive materials, advertising, solicitation, marketing, and business signage from being placed in our community. 

    The rules about signs in our governing documents currently state:

    “No signs, flags (other than the US flag or Florida state flag), banners, advertisements, billboards, logos, contact information, solicitation or advertising structures or materials of any kind shall be displayed and/or placed upon any Lot.”

    That said, the Board of Directors has decided to grant a temporary variance to allow for the reasonable placement of a celebratory or congratulatory signs until Labor Day (September 5, 2022).

    This variance is being issued for a fixed amount of time so the board can use this time to seek assistance from the HOA’s legal counsel on how best to codify this type of rule change/clarification. Although it sounds like a simple change, the HOA and our associated documents are ruled by Florida statutes, so changes must be handled with the proper processes and due diligence.

    Again, to those who have received a violation notice due to one of these celebratory or congratulatory signs, the BOD extends our apologies. The community’s property manager was simply following the rules contained in our documents to the letter. This is her job, and she does not have the authority to deviate from the rules as defined per those documents. We, as a Board, will be discussing this category of violation at an upcoming meeting as well as how we may be able to address similar issues in the future. 

    Please understand, the BOD are volunteers who care a lot about this community and each resident in it. Our intention is to make this a community where each resident is proud to be a member. Although, we cannot easily make permanent changes to the established Governing Document that we inherited from the homebuilder and we are obliged to enforce them as they are, we are always open to hearing suggestions on how to make the community better for everyone in it. If you have a concern about how things are being handled, please send a message to the Board via our community manager.

    For those of you who would like to get more involved, please reach out to our manager to express your interest. We welcome those who wish to make Mabel Bridge a better community! 

    Thank you for your understanding in this complicated situation.

    Mabel Bridge Board of Directors

    Andy, Rick & Jim

    Contact

    Community Association Manager (CAM): Ms. Maria Gomez.

    EMAIL: MGomez@LelandManagement.com
    PHONE: 407-781-0782. Please leave a message if you reach voicemail.

    https://www.mabelbridgehoa.com/contact/