Pride Civic Association Newsletterwilly-nilly. You still need to do some paperwork. But it won’t...

Inside this issue:

Tree Tip 2

Hurricane Preparedness

3

Treasurer’s Report 4

Ham Radio Emergency Communications

5

NextDoor 6

you are not on our email list you can still email us at [email protected].

A few years ago we added a home Halloween Decorating Contest to our activities. We judge at night and found that there are only have a few homes that decorate. We are trying to decide if we should continue with the

contest. In the beginning of September we will be sending out an email asking if you will be participating with your address. Depending on the response we’ll decide whether to continue with the contest or not. If

Halloween by Judy Carey

Pride Civic Association Newsletter

Special points of interest:

Next committee meeting: Tuesday, Sept 17, 6:30pm, Largo Family Restaurant Visit us on the web at: pridecivic.org Email us at: [email protected]

P r i d e C i v i c A s s o c i a t i o n

August 2019

The new museum opened on June 15, 2019 at the South Ward School on Fort Harrison Road. A dedicated group of volunteers made this come about. They hope to continue adding to the

displays currently available. You or your family may even have some items that they would be interested in displaying.

Currently the museum is open on

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10am-2pm. Thank you to all the volunteers who are preserving the history of Clearwater.

Clearwater Historical Museum By Judy Carey

Congratulations! At the time of writing this article, we are at an amazing 20 weeks crime free. Neighbors have been doing a great job locking their cars

and taking precautions against burglars. Video cameras have made a big difference in catching burglars. Keep up the good work.

One problem area that continues to be a safety concern is excessive speed within the neighborhood. The speed limit in Pride

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Crime Report By Stephan Klein


How do you handle a tree that is potentially endangering your home?

Most people will say that you need a permit. Well, prior to the 1st of July, that was true. You would have had to fill out a permit application, pay fees, etc. You would have also had to prove to the city or county that the tree was a danger. And then there was the waiting… and you may not have gotten it approved.

If approved, you would likely also have been required to replace the tree with a new one. More money, just to handle something you know you need to do to protect your property.

A new Florida Law has gone into effect as of July 1st of this year. It is House Bill 1159, Private Property Rights.

This new law prohibits local governments from getting involved in your tree problems. If you have a tree that is endangering your home, car, etc., you can handle it yourself. You do not need to file an application, post notices, or pay permit fees for pruning, trimming or removing a tree.

However, it doesn’t mean you can just start cutting down trees willy-nilly. You still need to do some paperwork. But it won’t involve your local government.

The new law requires that you obtain a letter from a certified arborist (certified by the International Society of

Arboriculture) or a Florida licensed landscape architect which states that the tree presents a danger to persons or property. Keep the letter with your home documents in case someone comes around asking about it.

The new law also prohibits local government from requiring property owners to replant such trees. Obviously, you can if you want but it’s your choice.

Interestingly, this law also applies to power companies.

Apparently, power companies were required to get permits from each jurisdiction to trim trees growing near power lines.

I always thought the easement for power lines gave them the right to work in these areas. But I guess the cities must have decided they

could make a few extra dollars by making them get permits. Gee, I wonder who ultimately paid for it?

The new Bill also includes a Property Owner’s Bill of Rights. It lists seven specific rights a property owner has, but it also mentions that Florida Law provides other property rights besides these.

The first three are:

The right to acquire, possess, and protect your property.

The right to use and enjoy your property.

The right to exclude others from your property.

For the rest, you can find the new law on our neighborhood website: https://pridecivic.org

Since Hurricane season is here, you can now act faster if trees on your property are a hazard to your home, cars, etc.

A little more freedom to act in a responsible way is always a good thing. Take advantage of it if you need to.

Tree Tip by Randy Young

We are now solidly into hurricane season and if you haven’t prepared already, here are a few tips: Even if you are not planning to evacuate, make a list of local shelters you can go to if your home gets damaged. Stock up on supplies now! These include food and water for 2 weeks, batteries, candles, weather radio, flash lights, medications, pet supplies and cash. Place important documents in a go-box in case you need to leave quickly and have backup scanned digital copies stored remotely that are password protected. Shoot pictures and/or video inside and out of your property to help with filing insurance claims. Have an inventory of valuables and

Hurricane Preparedness by Stephan Klein serial numbers if possible.

As a storm approaches, install window protection, fill cars with gas, propane for gas grills, and set your refrigerator to the coldest setting so if the power goes out, it will keep food cold a little longer. If you are using a generator, do NOT run it in your garage and have a carbon monoxide detector in the house.

Everyone knows you need to prepare for storms but what about after? This is when you will see Pride neighbors come together, helping each other. Trees and power lines will be down, water and cell services will be out and you are on generator power and grilling meals.

Consider having supplies such as tarps for roof damage, some lumber, nails, work gloves, eye & hearing protection to name a few. Wet vacuum, bleach for cleaning, garbage bags, paper towels will be needed. Working cleanup will be hot, humid and dirty. Mosquitos, sunburn, cuts and scrapes will be the hazard of the day. Make sure your first aid kit is fully stocked. Have a

(Continued on page 4)


is 25 mph. We have seen some cars doing 50 mph. We understand you’re in a hurry to get home to the lovely family or to your terrific job but please, drive responsibly.

After 4 years of serving as our neighborhood contact within the

(Continued from page 1) sheriff office, Deputy Jessica Hughey, has moved on to a new position. Our new neighborhood liaison is Kenisha Deg. Hopefully, she will be able to attend our next neighborhood picnic and spend some time meeting everyone.

Crime Report by Stephan Klein

March 2019 - March 2020 $5.00 Donation per Household Annually

Name _____________________________ Address ___________________________ Phone _____________________________

I would like to Volunteer for the following . . . (check as many as you would like)

Block Captain Distribute Newsletters Christmas Decoration Judging Newsletter Articles Garage Sale Committee Other _____________________ Activities Committee Committee Member Add me to email alert list: My email address ____________________________________

Pride Civic Association Membership & Volunteer Form

Mail Donation to:

Pride Civic Association 1303 Norwood Ave Clearwater, FL 33756

Please do not send cash in the mail !

sure if you are up to date you can contact Judy Carey 727-298-0082 (Linda Bassett is unavailable but is still our treasurer.)

Treasurer’s Report by Judy Carey

All bills are paid, and we have no upcoming expenses. Reminder that we request a voluntary $5.00 annual dues to cover expenses. If you have any questions or are not

camera available to take pictures of the damage for insurance purposes.

We are probably missing a lot of items for the list, and we will try

(Continued from page 3)

Hurricane Preparedness By Stephan Klein to post a better list on the Pride website in the future. The most important thing is to help each other in good times and bad.

During times of natural disasters, amateur radio is relied on for emergency communications. During Irma, the 6-7 days Pride was without power and communications, we were able to send messages to friends and family using HAM radio. After the Puerto Rico hurricane, licensed amateur radio operators provided communication services for disaster relief and coordination with Red Cross and other agencies. In addition to

emergencies, amateur radio operators assist with parades, marathons like the Turkey Trot, air shows, auto racing events, to name a few.

If you enjoy electronics, becoming a licensed amateur radio operator is easier than ever. There are many modes of communication with some HAMS communicating by bouncing radio signals off the moon, satellites and space station. Morse code is no longer a requirement for

licensing and some modes use computers to generate and send digital messages over the radio (my favorite). If you would like more information, email [email protected]

HAM Radio Emergency Communications

by Stephan Klein


Pride Civic Association Committee Members

Chairperson: Judy Carey 298-0082 Secretary: Dot Tonks 447-1245 Treasurer: Linda Bassett 442-0818 Crime Watch: Stephan Klein 441-3824 Newsletter Editor: Candy Helber 441-3824 Zone Captains:

A. Randy Young 447-9019 B. Alveta Bastarache 441-3377 C. Dean Robinson 475-9377 D. Charlie Frago 501-580-3829

The number of neighbors on NextDoor continues to increase with 57% of the Pride households signed up. If you are unfamiliar with NextDoor, it is a private social network for neighborhoods. It’s a way to stay informed about what's going on within the Pride neighborhood, interact, discuss community news, and recommend local services and businesses. In addition to NextDoor, we also use an email alert list for pride news and information. If you would like more information, email [email protected]

NextDoor By Stephan Klein

Pride Civic Association Newsletterwilly-nilly. You still need to do some paperwork. But it won’t...

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