Resident Council

In a lightly attended meeting the Stoneybrook Advisory Council met April 30th. Turnover and security dominated the discussions.

There remains no word on when Stoneybrook is going to turnover from Lennar to resident control.  However the Resident Council has begun getting ready for it.  The Council agreed to interview 2 to 5 attorneys and select one of those attorneys to represent Stoneybrook during the next 60 day.  Based on the selected attorney’s recommendations other professional help such as CPA’s and engineers may be recruited to help in turnover.

Brenda has been instructed to begin developing procedures to handle resident voting at turnover.

The Advisory Council discussed proposed bylaw changes to be made by Lennar prior to turnover. 

A great deal of the meeting focused on security.  The sheriff’s department has made a number of recommendations on how to improve security at Stoneybrook.  Brenda is to develop cost estimates of each item and have it available for the May 15 meeting.  Items will either be approved at that time (low cost) or will be deferred until money can be budgeted for those items next year.

River Strand By One

After 31 matches, it came down to the final hole on Match 32 to decide the winner of the first annual Heritage Harbour Cup on Thursday. River Strand prevailed and pulled out a 20 1/2 to 19 1/2 victory over Stoneybrook.

The 2-day event pitted 14 members plus two pros from each club. The format was Ryder Cup with two nine-hole events played each day, the first two at Stoneybrook on Wednesday and the others at River Strand.

Members of the Stoneybrook team, which was captained by Lou Brodersen, Bill Landon and Lan Janecek, were: Pros Chris Brandt and Todd Pyle; Members: Doug Nooney, Bob Bystricky, Gary Panico, Cha Kim, Kerry Sigety, Bob Johnson, Eric Otterbein, Marc Charron, Chuck Barber, Rich Potts, Gene Gabrielson, Ed Murphy, Rick Boerstler and Tony Iannacone

The Cup was presented to River Strand honorary captain Jake Keough and its pros Corey Pion and Wes Miller at a dinner at River Strand following the matches. Both teams were treated to breakfast at Stoneybrook the opening day.

Earth Day

A group of our residents came together and helped improve our environment and celebrated our great planet. Details.

Road Completely Repaired

The intersection of Port harbour Parkway and River Heritage Blvd. has been fully repaired. On March 23 a 16" diameter irrigation line owned by the Heritage Harbour South CDD ruptured and destroyed a section of the roadbed. Under the supervision of Morris/Riley Development Management the road and pipe have been fully repaired. Work continues on which organization(s) should pay for this work.

Brookfield Terrace

Brookfield Terrace residents took getting to know their neighbors to the next level on Saturday night. Thirty residents of the street got together for their third annual progressive dinner on April 14.

A progressive dinner begins with appetizers at one house, then the group is split into multiple houses for the main course (a sit down dinner) and then everyone reconvenes at a final house for dessert. This arrangement keeps people mixing and allows several different families to show off their beautiful homes. This year’s event was the most attended of the 3 years and judging by the chatter as the evening wore on, will be even bigger next year.

The Best Chili

Friday the 13th was lucky for the 50 plus Stoneybrook residents that attended the April potluck. This month we were treated to the best chili recipes that our neighbors could make.

A local Boy Scout sold popcorn and talked about the work he was performing to earn his Eagle Scout. This young man represented what was best in our youth.

Rec Center Rampage

More than 50 young children rampaged across the Stoneybrook Rec Center grounds this Saturday in search of Easter eggs. Fortunately the Easter bunny with help from our staff and volunteers had hidden eggs everywhere. Some of the eggs contained tickets for special prizes.

This was a quality young family event and we should be proud that our diverse community has so many beautiful young children.

Basketball Prospects

Our two young sandhill cranes continue to grow and prosper in the wetlands between the 5rh and 6th holes of the Stoneybrook Golf Course.

Irrigation Line Break

(Editor's note. The irrigation line has been repaired and we are waiting the repair of the road surface.) Sometime during the night of March 22-23 a 16 inch diameter irrigation pipe broke at the intersection of Port Harbour Parkway and River Heritage Blvd. The resulting water fractured the road bed primarily on the Stoneybrook side of Port Harbour Parkway.

At first light the problem was discovered and the irrigation line was shut down. This particular line carries re-use water from State Road 64 down River Heritage Blvd and on to Port Harbour Parkway where it empties into Lake 71 (lake by Lighthouse Cove).

The repair is being lead by Matt Morris and Bill Riley from Heritage Harbour South CDD and personnel from Manatee County. Truscapes and the Master Association are also helping. Final cost is currently unknowable but will be substantial. Last year Heritage Harbour South CDD allocated $50,000 in reserves for just such events.

It is hoped to have the intersection reopened Friday night with the substantial work of rebuilding the intersection to begin the week of March 26. The were no injuries associated with this. The irrigation system is otherwise operational throughout the community.

Cordgrass Renovations

Heritage Harbour South CDD has begun renovating various cord grass beds throughout the community. These beds typically are adjacent to our storm water lakes and protect against lake bed erosion. These beds are also often next to golf course property.

Originally these were 100% cord grass but have in recent years been over run with weeds. Renovation will involve chopping and removing weeds (shown in picture). The remaining bunches of cord grass will be split and replanted. Remaining open gaps will be filled with new cord grass. Finally the bed will be mulched and maintained monthly. Pictured is the bed directly south of the intersection of Stone Harbour Loop and Stone Harbour Loop. It is adjacent to the 7th tee box.

This is a multi year project that has begun by working on a group of beds that were selected by Morris/Riley Consultants based on lake bed erosion, public access and were geographically dispersed through the community.

In The News

Actually they were not exactly in the news. Rather one should say that the Harbour Hatties were on the steps of the news station. Details.

Sudden Death In Stoneybrook

Pam Mauriello won the Stoneybrook Golf Club women's club gross Championship on a 2nd-hole sudden death playoff over Kim Brierley. It was Mauriello's first title.

In the A Flight, which was net scoring, Brierley was first followed by Paula Kelly and Betsy Monsalve. In the B Flight, JoAnne Pytlik was tops with Sharon Alexejun, second; Avril Young, third, and Cher Johns, fourth.

Photo attached:

LtoR: Pam Mauriello, Kim Brierley, JoAnne Pytlik and Coordinator Carole Bakalar

Golf Championship

Kerry Sigety bested a field of 27 golfers over this past weekend to win the Stoneybrook Golf Club men's championship. Sigety shot gross rounds of 80 and 77 to beat second-place Tim Brierley (79-83) by five shots. It was Sigety's first title.

In the first flight, which was net scoring, Marc Charron (73-69-142) won on a match-of-cards over Brierley. Mark Flaim took third place with a 71-73-144.

In the second flight, Kenny Wilson was crowned the champ with a 141 (71-70) net total. Gene Gabrielson was second with a 144 (72-72) and Chuck Barber, third at 147 (73-74).

In the third flight, John Moehrle was a big winner with a net score of 136 (67-69). He was followed by Lou Brodersen 150 (77-73) and Jim Torpie (76-75-151) on a match-of-cards over Chris Crombie (75-76-151).

Following the final matches on Sunday, awards were presented to the golfers by Head Pro Todd Pyle. There was also "all you can eat" buffet on the clubhouse patio.

Bill Landon, Greg Laskowski and Brodersen headed the Stoneybrook Men's Golf Association this season. In order to qualify for the championships and the upcoming Heritage Harbour Cup, golfers had to be Stoneybrook residents or outside members. Golfers had to participate twice during the monthly Sunday Stableford tournaments that began in September.

The association's season will end next month with the first annual Heritage Harbour Cup, which pits 14 golfers and two pros from Stoneybrook against River Strand. The dates are set for Wednesday, April 25 (11 AM) and Thursday, April 26 (11:45). The matches will be under the Ryder Cup Format with the first day play at Stoneybrook and the second at River Strand. Golfers will be announced shortly.

picture:
LtoR: Kerry Sigety, Kenny Wilson, John Moehrle and Marc Charron

Babies Are Growing

Our two yound sandhill cranes continue to grow and prosper in the wetlands and lakes betweeen the 5th and 6th hole of the Stoneybrook Golf Course. Thanks to Joe Jaudon for the continued reporting. You can scroll down this page for other earlier photos of our two favorite twins.

Babies Born

Our twin sandhill crane eggs in the wetland between the 5th and 6th holes on the Stoneybrook Golf Course were born the first week of March. Look carefully for the two light brown spots close to the protective parents. Photo courtesy of Joe Jaudon.

Stoneybrook Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) continues to train its members

Stan Wrubleski, Tad Parker, Sonia Mosinskis and Patti Sue Peotter-Bettes attended training classes in the month of February. The first three completed the CERT Manatee County training on Feb 25th, while Patti Sue, who could only attend three of the four training classes, will finish her training with the next session.  Even though the Stoneybrook CERT is growing, it is still extremely small in the event of a disaster.  In a community like ours, with approximately four thousand people, the Stoneybrook CERT needs to develop more teams to adequate cover the 947 units in our community.

For any kind of disaster the volunteer work of CERT is helpful, since they are trained in disaster survival and rescue skills. Besides, by being an organized group with knowledge of the neighborhood, they can effectively support emergency services personnel in their actions.  In such situations, when even public services can be disrupted, roads blocked, communications restricted, and utilities shut off, the community can be on its own for many days.  Specifically in our area, it is likely that firefighters, ambulances and paramedics will be headed first to the areas most vulnerable to winds and floods -Anna Maria Island, for instance - since chances are that most of the casualties will be there.   CERT people will be the only trained and organized help for the community during this period, until the County First Responders arrive.  

Our team, led by Tony Iannacone, thus far has the following trained members: Dave Arras, Gene and Barbara Aulenbach, Ira Tropp, Stan Wrubleski, Tad Parker and Sonia Mosinskis. Lakewood Ranch Team leaders, Manatee County paramedic and firefighter officials, provide training consisting of theoretical and practical instruction for self-help and mutual-aid emergency functions such as disaster preparedness, fire safety, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, post-disaster psychology,  CERT organization and Terrorism aspects. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter and commitment to it, there was still room in this training course for a lot of fun.

Please consider volunteering to be a CERT member by contacting Tony Iannacone at 941-567-5882 or aaitony@yahoo.com.

Eagles In Stoneybrook

A resident on Brookfield Terrace recently photographed an American Bald Eagle next to the lake between Brookfield Terrace and the 17th hole of the golf course.

Most likely this is one of two eagles that are part of a mated pair currently raising two chicks in a nest on the western edge of Heritage Harbour. The nest can easily be seen by driving north on I-75 and looking right and slightly back. The nest is part of three bare tall trees that stand by themselves.

The dot on the right is where the eagle was seen and the dot on the left is where the nest can be seen. Typically one parent hunts while the other protects the chicks. The hunting eagle will only range 1-2 miles during the 20 weeks it takes the chicks to hatch and then learn to fly.

Bald eagles are highly protected and everyone should stay away from this nest.

Heritage Harbour and Stoneybrook should be proud that our natural lands can support such magnificent birds. Come celebrate our natural world April 21 when the Stoneybrook Homeowners Association and the Heritage Harbour South CDD co-sponsor this year's Earth Day Celebration. Mark your calendars and details will follow.