Hurricane Matthew

14 October 2016  

Venture Three was very lucky Hurricane Matthew decided to jog ever so slightly to the East as it passed by Hutchinson Island. The damage we sustained was minor compared to what it would have been without the movement to the East.

Although we dodged a bullet, we still had sufficient damage to V-3 property as well as owner's property.

At 12:00 pm on Friday, just after the storm had passed, a handful of volunteers began the tremendous task of beginning the cleanup effort. This work has gone on every day since then and will need to continue for the foreseeable future. These volunteers have managed to pick up and consolidate tons of debris found on common property and at the individual homes of our owners. They have saved the Community thousands of dollars by doing this work themselves. Otherwise we would need to get an outside contractor and there is no way of knowing when they could get to our property to begin the cleanup effort, we owe these people a huge Thank You!

We still have issues, which will probably cause us to charge our owners a special assessment for work we did contract for and for work that still needs to be done. The entire Marina dock system will need to be replaced, a section of seawall at the South end has major damage and will need to be replaced, several roads were covered in 2 inches of mud and had to be cleared by professionals, the canals were loaded with wood and was removed by Wilco Construction, who loaded 2 dump trucks of wood taken from the canals, we also lost 90 feet of fence in the RV storage yard and all of the debris that have been collected needs to be removed by an outside contractor.

I can't praise the volunteers enough for their tireless efforts in doing the work that needed to be done. They have worked every day for one solid week and there is still plenty to do. When many of you arrive you will see no indication that we had any damage or you had any issues at your house and it is because of these people and the work they have done.

At a time like this you see the best in people and the worst in people. You see the people who see something that needs to be done and do it and you see those who go around with blinders on not wanting to see the work or those who want to personally profit from the situation.

 

I'm glad these weather events come so infrequently because the people who do all the work will become totally discouraged by the major lack of interest of so many, combined with the lack of co-operation by so many.

                                         THANK YOU

 

 Lisa Harmon                                                                Mike Richards

 Janet Sigler                                                                  Don Edwards

 Gail Lembach                                                         John Griffin

  Cheryl Bryson                                                         Edna Geller                                       

 Vicky Stickrod                                                        Elvis R Rock                                                     

 Denny Doty                                                             Bill Reader                                                          

 Ann Barrell                                                              Rick Harmon

 

Thanks to Elvis R Rock and Bob McAllister for the work they did on the website which provided invaluable information to our non-Resident Owners

A special thanks to Rick Harmon and Bill Reader for being there all day, every day.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill

Bill Lembach, President Venture Three Inc.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

13 July 2016  

        

 

10701 SOUTH OCEAN DRIVE, JENSEN BEACH, FL 34957 (772) 229-2333 
FAX: (772) 229-5859 
EMAIL: ver7turethree@earthlink.net 

  

To: Venture Three Owners  

From: William Lembach, President Venture Three

Subject: Proxy Results for Pickleball Court 

 

At a special meeting held on July 13, 2016, in the Venture Three Clubhouse, the results of the proxy vote for the construction of a new pickleball court was certified and announced.

The results of the vote are as follows:

202 proxies were returned

Yes: 202

No:0

The court will be built based on the results of the vote.

If anyone wishes to make a contribution to the pickleball committee to help pay for the construction of the court, you can send a check to Venture Three and designate It as a contribution to the pickleball court. 

 /s

William Lembach, President Venture Three

  

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    

 

  

June1,2016 

To: All Board Members     

From: William Lembach, Venture Three President

Subject: Informal Survey Results

 

We had a very good response to our survey, regarding restrooms on our beach property. The following are the

results of that survey.

264 Total surveys returned      75% Response rate

  26 from Venture harbour       72% Response rate

  96 from Indian River              69% Response rate

142 from St. Lucie                   81% Response rate

 

Venture Harbour  Yes 18  No  8    69% favorable needed 75%

Indian River  Yes 55  No  41         57% favorable needed 60%

St. Lucie  Yes  81  No  61             57% favorable needed 66 2/3%

 Total Yes votes 154  58%

 Total No votes 110  42%

Based on the results of the survey we will not be spending $1500 to get drawings and go out for proposal at this time.

I will put this on the November agenda for discussion by the V-3 Board.

 

Another topic, which may interest you, is the current results of the proxy for the new pickleball court. As of today we have received 186 proxies and all 186 are in favor of constructing the new court. Based on these results we will be going forward with this project sometime in the month of August.

 

Have a good summer

  

Bill

 

 -------------------------------------------

 

 

 

           Date: May 13, 2015

To: Venture Three Owners

From: William Lembach, President Venture Three

Subject: Beach Pavilion

 

For the past 18 months a group of people have been working on bringing an idea to a completed project. That idea was building a beach pavilion and viewing platform on our beach property.  Most of you have seen the pictures of what the structure would look like. I'm sorry to report the project has been cancelled.

 

After 18 months of work the Project Committee has determined we are no longer capable of following through with our plans to build the Pavilion.

 

On March 18, 2015 we were informed by the County that our project was being re-classified from a Pavilion to a "Gathering place for leisure and relaxation".  With this new classification came new building codes we were forced to include in our plans.

 

The following is a list of those newbuilding codes:

•     Occupant load went from 75 pounds to 100 pounds per square foot.

•     Egress path of travel, including exit lighting.

•     All open risers need to be enclosed.

•     All cables along walkways need to be replaced with wood.

•     All stairways and ramps need low mounted step lighting.

•     Separate sex ADA compliant restrooms with one water closet and one lavatory for men and two waterclosets and one lavatory for woman, one drinking fountain and one service sink.

 

All these new requirements have far exceeded our original cost estimates. We originally had $100,000 set aside for the project. When the bids came in from the contractors we increased the project cost to $177,000. These new requirements will push the project cost to over $347,000.  Based on these new projected costs it is not feasible to continue with the project.

 

The Committee wants everyone to know that we are extremely disappointed that we have had to cancel the project. Our sincere thanks to our generous benefactor for his willingness to provide Venture Three with something that would have been enjoyed by all of us for many years.  It was a great idea.

           Sincerely,

William  Limbach PresidentVentureThree

CommitteeMembers:ChuckEichacker,JerryHerod,ElvisRock

 

 

 

 

 

President’s Letter

 

February 2015

 

 

All of the Sub-Associations and Venture Three have just completed their Annual Owners Meetings and Organizational Meetings. We should all take a minute and congratulate all 34 Board Members and Officers as well as thank them for their willingness to serve our Community.

 

I have been wearing two hats for the past 11 years; Venture Three President and Venture Out at St. Lucie President. This year I have stepped aside and did not seek to be elected as President of Venture Out at St. Lucie.

 

I have accepted the Venture Three Boards nomination and election to continue, for my twelfth year, as President of Venture Three. I Thank the V-3 Board for their continued support and appreciation for the work I have done for the Community. As a resident of Venture Three I have a vested interest in wanting to see Venture Three continue to grow and prosper. We continue to see new houses being built, new owners acquiring property and participation in our social events and activities get stronger. Our renters become involved in all aspects of the Venture Three lifestyle and soon these renters become our new owners.

 

As I begin my twelfth year as President I’m extremely proud to represent all of you, owners and guests and thank all of you for your trust in me.

 

 

 

 

 

                                     Presidents Letter July 2014

 

 Here we are in the middle of July. Every year the days,

 months and years seem to go by quicker than the year before.

Here at Venture Three there has been a lot of activity and still more to come.

 The water project started about June 1 and finished right on schedule,

July 3.

All of the houses on Tuna Drive have been hooked up to

 a new water main, the meters moved near the road and 3 new shut offs

 installed for each house. We can now turn off the water to a single house

and not disrupt service to the rest of the neighborhood. The final

 phase of the project is to resurface the entire road. Our road contractor

 is planning on starting the job this week.

 

 As soon as Tuna Drive is resurfaced the contractor will be heading to

 the front entrance and repaving the entire area of our entrance and 

 exit. When this job is completed we will be getting bids from landscape

 companies to re-plant the center Island with new plants, mulch and 

 decorative grasses. It will be a whole new look when you enter the 

 Venture Three property.

 

 Tree trimming is just about done. The contractor has one more day of

 work to complete that job. You might be interested to know that we

 have 365 trees on property that need to be trimmed. It is a big job

 and takes about a week to complete.

 

  A community wide inspection of all properties was recently completed,

 to insure all of us, that our neighbors property is free of possible items

 that could cause damage in the event of high winds and rising water

 from a storm. All owners with potential problems have been notified,

 in writing, to secure their belongings.

 

 Although we have not started any construction on our beach project,

 We are moving forward with all of the necessary approvals from the

 County and State. The final plans were approved by the Committee last

 week and we are going out for bid, no later than Friday of this week. 

 The potential contractors will have 2 weeks to submit their proposal

 and then we will select the contractor to do the work. The final stage

 is approval from the State and then we can begin construction. Our

 hope is to begin work by September 1. We did get permission from the

 County to trim the sea grapes and Chuck, Elvis and I spent 3 days at the

 beach, cutting and removing a large amount of sea grapes. It was much

 harder than any of us anticipated. 

 

There are currently 4 houses under construction and 3 more waiting

 to begin. 

 

 All in all a busy start to our summer season.

 

 Enjoy the rest of the summer.

 

Bill Lembach, Venture Three President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presidents Letter  - June 2014

 

 

      As we conclude another beautiful Winter Season here at Venture Three our thoughts turn to summer and the many projects that are planned while the majority of you are away.

 

 

 

This summer season is busier then past seasons and will keep Elvis and me coordinating multiple projects.

 

* Re-surfacing the basketball/pickle ball court

 

* Re-surfacing the shuffle board courts 

 

*Repairing the tennis court

 

*Water project on Tuna Drive 

 

*Re-surfacing the entire Tuna Drive road 

 

*Re-surfacing the front entrance and exit

 

*Construction of our viewing platform at the beach

 

 

 

All of these projects have been approved by the Venture Three Board and all the necessary funding is available.

 

 

 

In addition to these Venture Three projects we also have 7 new seawalls being installed and at least 5 new homes being built.

 

 

 

All in all it will be a busy summer season and when you return you should notice some very positive additions to our Community.

 

 

 

Have a safe and healthy summer and keep your thoughts with our members who are fighting very serious health issues.

 

 

 

Unfortunately I was just informed that Chuck Robertson passed away Monday night, April 21 after a very short battle with cancer. Chuck was one of the first residents of Venture Three. His major contributions to Venture Three have been enjoyed by all of us.

 

 

 

Thank you Chuck - We will miss you

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

Bill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

February 2014

Webster defines a Volunteer as “a person who performs or offers to perform a service willingly and without pay”.

 

Volunteering is defined by Google as “any activity that involves spending time doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individual or groups). This can include formal activity undertaken through public, private and voluntary organizations as well as informal community participation.”

 

Volunteering is what we do here at Venture Three and I estimate I have contributed about 22,000 hours as your President.

 

Today as I conclude my 10th year and begin my 11th year as V-3 President, I wonder if I just won an election on my merits or I won by default because no one else wants the position.

 

If the second option is true, then we have a major problem. If we don’t have people who are capable and willing to work into these positions of Authority Venture Three’s current management structure could come unraveled.

 

I know there are people who think I do a good job and want me to stay as President and there are others who think the position would be better served without me. That is fine and I know both positions have merit. As President I often act as an arbitrator or mediator, as I try to satisfy all parties involved on both sides of an issue that may be dividing us. That, by the way, is the most difficult and stressful aspect of the job and very few people see it or are aware of it. But I believe that is the main reason people take sides on my value as V-3 President.

 

It is time to send a message to all of our 350 owners and our 25 current Board Members. The message is simple.

 

WE NEED TO GET PEOPLE INVOLVED IN OUR BOARDS WHO HAVE THE ENERGY, EXPERIENCE, AND DESIRE TO HELP WORK WITHIN OUR LOCAL ASSOCIATION BOARDS TO LEARN AND GROW AT THAT LEVEL AND THEN MOVE ON TO THE VENTURE THREE BOARDS TO HELP MOLD AND SHAPE THE DECISIONS THAT AFFECT ALL OF US.

 

Currently the 25 Board Members who represent us on the Harbour, Indian River and St. Lucie Boards have not expressed any interest or desire to move into one of the four Officer positions of V-3. You may be asking yourself, how does he know this? Good question. I know this because I have spoken directly too many of your 25 representatives and asked them their interest for future consideration as a V-3 Officer and for those I did not speak to directly I spoke to the Presidents of the Associations and asked them to tell me about their Board Members desires to become a V-3 Officer. The results of both conversations were very disappointing.

 

To be perfectly honest in October I spoke with Elvis and Cheryl and a few close confidents, including Gail, and told them I was not going to put myself in a position where I could be elected as V-3 President for the 11th year. After 10 years of success and making major personnel changes in our hired staff, introduction of a new accounting system, going after the elusive water leak problems, getting a Property Manager, going through the after effects of 3 hurricanes, working through the land mines of revising our Operating Documents and developing a budget that truly reflects the Million Dollar Business we run and trying to treat everyone with the respect and dignity they each deserve –

 

I’m tired and I deserve a break. When I take on a job I only know one way to do it and that is to give 100% every day.

 

During these 10 years I’ve had some personal highs and agonizing lows but throughout the highs and the lows I’ve always had one thing in mind – Do the best for Venture Three and the 351 property owners and guests who I am here to serve.

 

It won’t happen this year, because I’ve just committed to serve another year, but it needs to happen soon. I’ve recently worn out my second bicycle as I’ve traveled the roads of V-3, doing the work of V-3 President and I don’t want to wear myself out and be thrown on the scrap heap like I need to do to my bike.

 

To the Venture Three Board: Thank You for your support; and to all of you, Thank You for your friendship.

 

Bill

 

 

 

 

 

President’s Letter – June 2013

 

June 1st is a few days away and as I will be traveling for a few weeks, I wanted to bring you up to date on Venture Three projects.

 

Those of you utilizing the V-3 website have the opportunity to see some great pictures of the beach and dune project. The contractor did a great job! Our new dune extends out about 25 feet from the old dune and the beach has been extended by about 35 feet further out toward the ocean.

 

The dune has been planted and we have our first turtle nest on our sand. The turtles don’t seem to be getting their nests as far back from the high water marks as in years past. I hope the high tides don’t wipe out the eggs.

 

The biggest problem we have now is keeping people off the new dune. There are footprints all over the new dune. The plants on the dune are small and they need the opportunity to grow. It’s hard to understand why people think it’s okay to walk on the dune and trample the new plantings.

 

Elvis and I have begun our annual hurricane inspection and will finish it up this coming week. It’s obvious that complacency has set in since we have gone 8 years without a major storm hitting our area. We were quite surprised to see all of the patio furniture, storage containers, bikes, grills and potted plants that have been left to blow around, or end up in the canals, if we should have a hurricane. Elvis is sending out letters to the owners requesting they take care of their property. It’s each and everyone’s responsibility to help protect theirs and their neighbor’s homes from damage from flying objects that were not put away properly.

 

The V-3 Water Project has started. The company boring under the roads and driveways had a May 28th completion date, to be followed by the plumbing company hooking up the new lines. This entire project should be completed by the first week in June.

 

When you come back, you will see a new look at the office. We have pulled out all of the old silver buttonwoods and replaced them with Arbor cola Trennette, a very colorful bush, which will give a different look to the entrance to the office.

 

While most of you are away, the work at Venture Three continues as we strive to continually improve our community.

 

Enjoy your summer!

Bill Lembach, President Venture Three, Inc.

  

President’s Report – May 2013

 

I hope you have had the opportunity to view the pictures of the beach and dune project on the Venture Three Website (www.venture-iii.org). Many of you had left before the project arrived at our V-3 beach. Although we are not 100% complete, the “before” and “after” pictures are striking!

Our beach has been pushed out about 40 feet into the ocean and our dune is about 25 feet wider.

We are waiting for the equipment to come back and smooth out the dune and slope the sand from the dune down to the sand. We had 5 steps covered in sand at the location of the new dune. The large equipment was unable to get close to our steps and deck so I enlisted the help of about 20 volunteers who spent 2-1/2 hours shoveling sand under, around and over our steps and platform.

As soon as the dune gets a final grading, it will be planted with sea oats. They will leave us a path to walk from the dune down to the beach.

All in all, the project appears to be very successful, but the test will come when we get our first offshore storm and we see what the wave action does to our dune.

My thanks to all of our volunteers who worked so hard to move the many tons of sand to its’ final resting place!

Check out all of the pictures.

Bill Lembach, President Venture Three, Inc.

 

President’s Report – April 2013

 

I am always surprised to see how fast the months fly by! And now we’re beginning to say “see you next year” just when it seems like people have just arrived.

 

We have had another busy season at V-3. Our community was almost 100% occupied. There were about 115 renters this year. The renter community is a key component of the overall success of Venture Three, and we thank each and every one of them for their participation in our activities.

 

The sand and dune restoration project is just getting under way. I was on the beach today and saw the huge pipes extended out into the ocean. Soon, we will be hearing the bulldozers and trucks moving down our beach, changing the dunes and extending the beach.

 

The money we have spent replacing our old water distribution system has garnered the results we were hoping for! This past quarter, we recorded a 1,000,000 gallon improvement in our water loss calculation; a calculation done by comparing the water our meters read versus the meter readings from the County. Despite that, we still have a quarterly loss of about 773,000 gallons. Obviously, our work is not done!

 

As all of our friends begin their journey home, we won’t say “good-bye”; instead we say “See you in the fall”!

 

Have a great summer.

 

Bill Lembach, President Venture Three, Inc.

 

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT - FEBRUARY 2013

 

I want to thank the Venture Three Board of Directors for having the confidence in me that resulted in my election to another term as President of Venture Three, Inc.

The other officers elected are: Jim Ormiston, Vice President; Cheryl Bryson, Treasurer and Bill Tranmer, Secretary.

At the Annual Meeting of the Members, the following questions and comments were raised:

How can residents be notified when the water will be turned off due to a water line break?  

Can owners get a copy of the “New Resident’s and Renter’s Guide”?

 Can the recycle bins be emptied more frequently?  

How can we get people to break down their cardboard and plastic items?

Is there a better option than Comcast?

We should establish a long range plan for additional assets that may need a reserve fund.

Do we have any written agreements with Holiday Out?

At the Boat Ramp, we should install cleats on the waterway, fill in the hole at the end of the       west ramp and eliminate employee parking alongside the building.

What can be done about open fire pits being used at unit owner’s property?

What is the schedule of the Beach Renourishment Project?

And can we tell the County we want the entire dune to be closed, with no opening?

Ask the County to trim the bushes along the dog walk as they are pushing over the fence.

How much of our condo fees go into reserves?

Some of these topics are easy to answer and take action on.  Others will require investigation before determining a response.

We will, however, address each item that was brought up and report back to the Community at our February, March and April Board meetings.

 

Owners are urged to come to the office and speak with Elvis or me when they have questions or concerns. We are here to serve the Community!

 

Thank you for your support!

 

Bill Lembach, President Venture Three, Inc.

 

 PRESIDENT’S REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2012

 

As we turn another page on the calendar and the temperatures begin to drop, many of you are thinking about Florida and your return to Venture Three.

When you arrive, you may not notice any changes, but there has been a lot of activity since you left here in the spring.

The water project to bring a new distribution system to the owners on the west side of Stingray is complete, and we are waiting to see the impact on our water loss.

An ongoing sewer problem in the women’s and men’s’ restrooms has been identified and corrected.

The kitchen renovation project has been completed and we are excited for all of you to see your new kitchen.

All of the Federal, State and County approvals have been collected for the Beach and Dune Project.

The final statement of assessment for the Beach and Dune Project was received on September 11, 2012, due in full by October 15, 2012. The amount charged to Venture Three, Inc. as our share of the total project is $8,163.65. When that amount is divided by the 350 units, each owner’s total share due is $23.26.

Unit owner payment will be billed through a special assessment to be paid with the October 2012 Unit Owner Maintenance Fee billing. This process was approved by the Venture Three, Inc. Board of Directors at the March 2012 meeting.

We are looking forward to seeing all or our owners return in the next few months!

Bill Lembach, President Venture Three, Inc.

 

 

President's Report for June 2012

I hope our owners are looking at our website, as they enjoy the beautiful summer 
season. Our Manager, Elvis, has put a lot of important information on the 
Manager's Page, and it is a way to communicate with everyone, wherever you 
may be.

Hurricane Season officially starts today, but we have already had two named 
storms. The property has been inspected and the majority of our owners have 
done an excellent job in securing their property, prior to leaving Venture Three.

The kitchen renovation project is moving along extremely well. We have the 
room ready to receive the new cabinets, which are due to be delivered today. 
Once the cabinets are installed, the counter tops will be put on, and the new 
roller door will be the final piece of the puzzle.

July 12, the Stingray water replacement project will start, and at its conclusion, 
we will determine how much water we were losing on this section of our water 
system.

During the first week of July, the tree trimming will begin to get us in compliance
with our hurricane preparation schedule.

As you can see, there is major activity taking place while many of you are gone. 
My thanks to Elvis, our staff, and a host of volunteers who continue to insure 
Venture Three is a quality place to live.

Sincerely:
William Lembach, President Venture Three

 

President’s Report – May 2012

 

I have sent the following letter to Board Members of Venture Harbour, Venture Out at Indian River& Venture Out at St. Lucie:

“From: William Lembach, President Venture Three

Subject: Proposed Amendments to the Venture Three By-Laws 

The proposed  Amendments to the Venture Three  By-Laws  that were approved by the Venture Three Board at our November 2011 meeting have not yet been approved by all three sub Association Boards, as is required by our Articles of Incorporation. As we leave for the Summer, this item remains an open action  item on the Venture Three Board and it will appear on the November 2012 meeting agenda.

As of the April 2012, Venture Three Board meeting, Venture Harbour and Venture Out at St. Lucie have approved the proposed amendments as well as the clerical changes  that had been approved by the Venture Three Board at their March meeting, both of which were sent  to the sub Associations for their approval at their April meetings. Since the Indian River Board took no action on the proposed amendment, r18c, at their April meeting, that proposed amendment is  valid and active, and it requires action by the Indian River Board to approve it or propose additional amendments.  

The Indian River Board conditionally approved the proposed By-Laws amendments, r17c, at their March meeting, but only if a definition of “Common Property” was included in the final version of the By-Laws Document. That definition was rejected by the Venture Three Board and thus the approval of the By-Laws document by the Indian River Board was rescinded. As a next step, the Indian River Board must again consider to approve the proposed By-Laws amendment, as presented in r17c, if however, the Indian River Board wants any other language changes to be included in the document, they must submit the exact proposed language, in final amendment format, to the Venture Three Board for their approval. If the Venture Three Board approves the new  proposed language, it will be sent to the Boards of Venture Out at St Lucie and Venture Harbour  for their approval.   

I have tried to reconstruct what has taken place and delineate what needs to take place going forward, so there is no confusion on the action items each of us has when we return to Board business in November. I felt it was better to do it now, when it is fresh in everyone’s minds, rather than wait and do it when we got closer to November. In this way we can all enjoy the vacation from Venture Three business and enjoy the summer, no matter where we are.

A safe and healthy summer to all of you and when we return in November, we need to conclude this very important piece of Venture Three business.

Sincerely:
William Lembach, President Venture Three”