News

This weekly update is provided to help inform residents of upcoming active work areas. Residents are asked to use caution near construction areas and understand that weather or other unforeseen conditions could affect this schedule.
 
SCHOOL BUS ROUTE CHANGE: As of Monday, April 24, the Orange County Public School (OCPS) bus stop will be changed to the stop sign on the northwest corner of Sweetwater County Club Drive and Sweetwater West Circle. Notes from OCPS transportation will be going home this week with the students.
 
THIS WEEK: Work will be ongoing Monday through Saturday. Gravity sewer line construction to Wekiwa Highlands will begin. Road base and temporary asphalt will be placed on Longhill Drive and the intersection of Longhill Drive and Sweetwater West Circle. Milling for the road base will take place on Valley Pine Circle. Concrete curb and sidewalk work continues at the pump station. Meters will be installed on Sweetwater West Circle homes from Northfield Drive toward Valley Pine Circle. Also, meter adjustments as needed will take place. Driveway access may be impacted at homes located on the following roads:
 Longhill Drive
 Sweetwater West Circle intersection at Longhill Drive
 Valley Pine Circle
 
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES: The construction focus is now on connecting homes to the sewer service beginning in early May and other work, including concrete, road work, and repairs. Sod installation will occur at the end of the project.
 
IRRIGATION AND OTHER DAMAGE DUE TO CONSTRUCTION: If you have a broken irrigation pipe, sprinkler head, or other damage due to construction, please contact Lisa Mark (contact info below) to alert the contractor and follow up until the repair is completed.
 
TRASH PICKUP: If construction activity on your street could inhibit the trash truck, you may want to move the container to facilitate access. The construction team has been helping with this as well. If you are concerned about container mix-ups, you may want to mark your container for easy identification. I was told each container should have a unique serial number.
 
WASTE/YARD WASTE PICKUP: If your trash, recycling, or yard waste is missed, please call the Orange County Solid Waste Hotline at 407-836-6601 to request a pickup. Issues may also be reported via Orange County’s 311 phone number.
 
OCPS SCHOOL BUS ROUTE: Orange County Public Schools Transportation has designated one stop in the community at the northwest corner of Sweetwater County Club Drive and Sweetwater West Circle. To allow for school bus movement and visibility, please do not park near the bus stop. If needed the OCPS Transportation Area Manager Denise Delapaz in Apopka may be contacted at 407-884-2208 IP 5003210 or denise.delapaz@ocps.net.
 
For concerns or questions, please contact Lisa Mark at 407-338-3650 or lisa.mark@qcausa.com. This number does not receive texts. Thank you!

As of Monday, April 24, the Orange County Public School (OCPS) bus stop will be changed to the stop sign on the northwest corner of Sweetwater County Club Drive and Sweetwater West Circle. Notes from OCPS transportation will be going home this week with the students.

As explained in previous septic-to-sewer construction project updates, Sweetwater West homeowners have the option of installing an irrigation meter. The required form and additional information are accessible from the links below.

 

 

Sweetwater Residents:

 

Regrettably, after numerous discussions, Orange County has refused to pick up the Hurricane Storm Debris, even though this service has been provided for all Hurricanes prior to this year.  The reason given for their declination is "we don't service gated communities."  If you feel so inclined, please address your complaints to Mayor Jerry L. Demings of Orange County.

 

Because of their declination, your HOA Board has contracted with a service to remove the storm debris.

 

J&J Lawn & Tree Service will be picking up Hurricane Storm Debris on:

 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1 @ starting at 8:00 AM

 

Please insure that all storm debris is placed curbside prior to Thursday morning.  If debris is in any of the manholes in the area, it will need to be removed and placed curbside also. J&J WILL NOT remove debris from these structures.

 

Any storm debris that is not placed curbside, will be the homeowner's responsibility after Thursday.

 

Let's all work together to get this mess cleaned up.  Thanks for your help.

 

Regards,

 

Bob Richcreek

SWW Board President

 

Happy Spring!!  I have seen so many of you cleaning up your yards, cutting lawns, trimming hedges, deadheading all the frost damage, getting trees trimmed and planting those annual flowers/plants in the ground. It is such a good sign that Spring has arrived.

 

Our first of the year Food Truck Event was held last Friday and many of our residents attended and a fun time was had by all. Again, kudos to our Board member, Sarah Gumina for making the arrangements to make this happen.

 

Also, our first of the year Garage Sale will be held on Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24. The hours will be from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. It is time to clean out our garages and make a profit on things we no longer use!

 

I am glad to report that the Septic to Sewer Project is proceeding, though behind schedule. The contractor advised that Sweetwater West Circle, between Northfield Drive and Sweetwater Country Club Drive is to be temporarily repaved following the installation of the gravity sewer and the “force” main leading from the lift station to the County’s sewer that parallels Wekiwa Springs Road. Also, the electric service to the lift station was installed last week. It appears, that the garbage, recycle and yard waste collection issues in the construction area have been resolved between the contractor and Waste Management. I hope you find the weekly construction update notifications helpful. A few of our residents have not completed and returned the License Agreements. The County sent out registered letters to those homeowners and some if not all, have been contacted by a Board member. If you have not done so, please complete the License Agreement and return it as indicated.

 

You might not have noticed that we have engaged a new landscaping contractor, RLC Landscaping. They have over 50 years of landscaping services for both commercial and residential clients across Central Florida. I am interested in any feedback you have regarding their work.

Commissioner Christine Moore notified me to let our residents know that the County Board has voted to reduce the speed limit on several local streets from 45 MPH to 40 MPH. The street, most affecting us, is Wekiwa Springs Road. Soon, the County will be changing the speed limit signs. The change is made because of the number of accidents and speeding tickets issued. I wanted to make you aware of the change, please be careful.

 

Our Annual Members Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. We are holding the meeting at First Baptist Church Sweetwater, 3800 Wekiva Springs Road, Room A115 in Longwood. If you are unable to attend in person, a virtual link will be made available. By now, all of you should have received your meeting packet mailed to you. In the event, that you are unable to attend the meeting, please execute your Proxy to ensure the necessary quorum of owners is established. You may also sign your proxy and give to a neighbor who will be attending the meeting. We also included in the mailing, a Contact Information Sheet. In case of an emergency, our Property Manager and/or a Board Member may need to contact you. We ask that you return this sheet with your updated information to our Property Manager, Ramona Leccese or bring them to the meeting.

 

Regards,

Bob Richcreek

SWW Board President

Dear SWW Residents:

 

At last night's Board Meeting, the issue was raised again regarding the activity of Bears in our community getting into garbage containers, etc.

 

Please see the attached article from Commissioner Christine Moore.  She has arranged for bear proof garbage cans to be purchased for $50.00.  These cans normally sell for $245.00.

 

The article linked below details how they can be purchased at this reduced price.

 

Regards,

 

SWW Board

 

PS: Commissioner Christine Moore's office has corrected the problem we have with the county's website, indicating we do not live in a bear management area.  The County has a glitch in their system.  When ordering the bear proof can, DO NOT LIST....Circle, Court, Street, etc.  For example,

 

Link: http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ocfl.net%2FBearCarts&h=AT2OM6vbzYf8M9i9mymVJdgU2-a76k_NNzNQcB3W0IjmmP3tmbiriJFiOgREQ6oytN7XtYt0E-sm9bezbu0pffiTByZanZn_CN5-K9uHr54w0JigcOSApDtxYJYrN3-wJGKj1qIw3erAUcGq&s=1&sfnsn=mo

SWW Residents:

 

A question was raised at last night's Board meeting regarding identification flags placed on yards by the septic to sewer contractor.  

 

These flags mark underground cables and water piping.  If possible, please do not remove them.

 

If you have any questions, please call Bob Richcreek or Laurie Windham.  Thanks for your cooperation.

Dear Residents:

 

With some reluctance, the Board has reinstated the Orange County Sheriff Patrols in our Community. These Officers will be issuing citations to offenders. The Board has received additional complaints of speeding and ignoring stop signs.

 

We ask that all residents adhere to the 25 MPH speed limit and obey stop signs.  

 

Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

SWW HOA Board