Entrance Project:
Cost Summary of Entrance Renovation, June, 2019
Cost Summary of Entrance Renovation, part 2
On Wednesday, May 1, 2019 the Englewood Isles community celebrated the completion of our renovated entrance with a ribbon cutting ceremony. We had a good turnout from the community and had in attendance Miranda Lansdale the Neighborhood Grant Program with Sarasota County. A reporter from the Englewood Sun also came to the event. After the ceremony we enjoyed conversation and cookies baked by neighborhood volunteers. It was a positive end to a project that began in earnest in early 2018. The people who worked on the project learned a great deal along the way. There was great teamwork and those who participated should be commended for putting forth the effort as volunteers to complete a major project for the entire community.
I would like to thank the following people for their time and effort on the project.
Englewood Isles Parkway Board of Directors—Lewis Stogner, Tom Komisak, Fred Nelson, Mike Booth, Jeanne Briggs, Linda Garcia, Barb MacIntosh, Rob Holborn, Bill Rowell, Jeanne Fullilove, Frank Collins
Design Artist—Jeanne Fullilove
Design Committee—Lewis Stogner, Bill Rowell, Jeanne Fullilove
Grant Committee—Rob Holborn, Tom Komisak
Englewood Isles HOA Presidents—Ed Johnston, Lynda Taggart, Lewis Stogner, Linda Garcia, George Durant, Amy Devaney, Rob Holborn
Medallion Artists—Jeanne Fullilove, Betsy Frank
Contractor—Joel Griefzu—Tuff Mudders Stucco, Inc.
Sarasota County Neighborhood Initiative Grant Program Director—Miranda Lansdale
The community should take pride in the fact that other than the construction phase of the project, it was the work of volunteers in our community.
We also thank the entire community for your generosity to complete this major project. We did have the $10,000 grant funding from the county but the remainder of the funds were donations from the community.
THANK YOU!!
Alice Anastasi, President
Englewood Isles Parkway Association, Inc.
Grant Update October 23, 2018
I am pleased to announce that the Sarasota County Commissioners unanimously approved the funding for the Cycle 31 Neighborhood Initiative Grant Program this morning. We will receive $10,000 from the county toward renovating our entrance walls.
Construction is slated to begin Monday, January 7, 2019 with Joel Griefzu, Tuff Mudders Stucco as the main contractor on the job. He anticipates the project will take a month or less to complete.
We have several people to thank for bringing this project this far. Jeanne Fullilove who drew the design, Rob Holborn and Tom Komisak who completed the grant classes at the county and completed the application, Bill Rowell and Lewis Stogner who met with contractors and made road trips with me to choose the stone veneer and medallions. The entire Parkway board has been very supportive of the project taking the design back to their respective units and obtaining support signatures for the grant. It has been a team effort to get us to this point. We can sit back and relax a little until the first of next year.
The Parkway board is planning to do the painting of the walls after they are constructed and stuccoed. We will need volunteers to assist as part of our volunteer hours for the grant.
Alice Anastasi, President
Englewood Isles Parkway Association, Inc.
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Progress Report on Updating Front Entrance Walls
I’m happy to report that our grant application for Cycle 31 Neighborhood Initiative Grant was approved by an advisory committee on Tuesday, September 11th. Several members of the Parkway Board involved in the process attended a meeting to answer questions posed by committee members and receive scores on our application. We were one of 15 groups who submitted grant applications. All but one application was approved so the next step in the process is to go before Sarasota County Commissioners on October 23rd for approval of funding for the grants. So, the only hiccup would be if the Commissioners don’t approve funding.
At this point, we have chosen Tuff Mudders Stucco to be the contractor on the project and he has met with T. A. Krebbs. LLC an architectural engineering firm in Englewood to do a preliminary drawing of the project for permitting.
We don’t plan to begin construction until sometime in January 2018 since we won’t know for certain that the grant has been funded by the county until October 23rd. That also allows time for permitting of the project.
We still need fingers crossed for the grant funding but are very pleased that we have been able to bring the project to this point and look forward to completion in early 2019.
We thank you for your continued support of the Parkway Association and this project.
Respectfully,
Alice Anastasi, President
Englewood Isles Parkway Association, Inc.
Update on Englewood Isles Entrance Project as of August 23, 2018
Our application for Cycle 31 Neighborhood Initiative Grant Program has been completed and delivered to Miranda Lansdale the coordinator of the program. We are one of 15 groups submitting applications for this cycle. She has reviewed the application and has asked only one question regarding the height of the wall. I responded with the information and haven’t been asked any other questions. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, September 11th at the Nokomis Community Center to answer further questions from the Neighborhood Initiative Grant Advisory Committee. The applications will then be scored by the Committee and our next step is to meet with the Board of County Commissioners on October 23rd. The maximum amount we could be awarded is $10,000.
The Parkway Board has voted to use Tuff Mudders Stucco as the contractor for the project. He submitted the lowest complete bid and lives on Bayshore Drive. He has consulted with T. A. Krebbs, LLC an architectural engineering firm here in Englewood to do a drawing of our project which will be submitted to obtain our building permit. The Parkway Board has also voted to pay this fee from the Improvement Fund so we are prepared to begin construction once the permit is issued. We don’t plan to begin construction until at least January 2019 since we won’t know if we will receive any grant money from Sarasota County until the end of October.
When we met with Miranda Lansdale and her associate for a site visit in May, it was determined that we had a Brazilian Pepper and a Carrotwood tree behind the north and south walls. These trees are both invasive species and we were advised by the county staff to have them removed. The Parkway Board voted in July to pay for the removal along with other shrubs that were either too close to the walls for construction purposes or would block the view on the front of the newly renovated walls. These trees and shrubs were all on the property owned by the Englewood Isles Parkway Association, Inc.
Our grant application contained support signatures from over 400 residents in our community as well as surrounding areas. We also had support letters from many neighboring communities as well as from the South County Alliance. We thank all those who support our efforts to update our front entrance walls.
We have several people in our community to thank for getting us to this point in our project.
I will continue to post updates as new information is available.
Respectfully,
Alice Anastasi, President
Englewood Isles Parkway Association, Inc.
It was noted in the 2017 Parkway Association newsletter that the walls and lettering at the front entrance needed attention. A committee was formed in the fall of last year to explore options, put together a design and obtain prices to renovate and update the entrance walls. The last time an update was done was in 1998-20 years ago- when SR 776 was widened.
We are fortunate to have a resident in our community put on paper the ideas of members of the committee. We have also obtained prices from a stone mason to replace with block the areas that have the iron fencing which is deteriorating as well as repair the foundation under the fencing in the last section of the south wall. Those areas will then have stucco applied.
Our design also calls for increasing the height of the end posts and to add an arch to the top of the walls. We are looking to move the medallions to the center of the new stucco areas. We have an idea to use a medallion made of foam coated with concrete and painted and have a price for that design from a local company. The committee has also explored many options for the new posts and have settled on a stacked stone in a grey color palate. The lettering will be in a different font than what we currently have. The walls will be completely different from what is currently there, and we hope much more updated and aesthetically pleasing.
The Parkway Board is looking to fund part of this project with a matching funds grant from Sarasota County. As part of the grant project we need to gather signatures of support from all residents in Englewood Isles. Since the grant is matching funds we will need donations from the community at large to complete this project which is roughly estimated to cost between $20,000 and $25,000.
The length of each wall is over 75’ which is a substantial area to transform. The committee is researching products and prices to achieve the greatest result at a fair price. There are 700 homes in Englewood Isles and if everyone gave as little as gave as little as $25-30 we would have enough money to transform the front entrance to our community and bring it into this era. Units 4,5 & 6 have pledged $4,600 to support this project.
Sign Support Form for County Matching Grant