Happy New Year

Princeton Landing!

For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.

— T.S. Eliot

Behold, I Bring You Good Tidings of Great Joy!

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you.

Merry Christmas to our Princeton Landing neighbors,

and to Sal, Matt, Pat, Crystal and Lori!

Vesele Vianoce, Walter!

A Great Miracle Happened There

To our Princeton Landing neighbors

celebrating the Festival of Lights,

Happy Hanukkah to you and your loved ones.

Winter Storm Update: Sunday

Saturday's hard freeze made it difficult to remove the snow that fell during Friday's storm. The freezing rain and sleet we got early Sunday morning posed additional problems. However, as Sunday's weather turned rainy and temperatures rose above freezing later in the morning, Shearer Penn was able to resume snow removal. Matt Lubas reports that by late afternoon Shearer Penn was able to clear driveways and walks throughout the community.

Winter Storm Update

Our property manager Matt Lubas has been working closely today with the Association's snow removal contractor Shearer Penn. In an email update late this afternoon, Matt said that slushy snow was being removed from roadways in the community and from walks in Parcels 1 and 2, where residents do not have driveways and garages. Matt checked in by phone again this evening and said that he and Shearer Penn's owner were keeping in touch to determine what additional work was necessary. With temperatures overnight forecast to remain above freezing, he is hoping the wet snow on walks and drives won't become ice. Matt will be on the property early Saturday morning to assess conditions again in person. Shearer Penn has done snow removal in the community for many years. Matt reports that their experience working on the property is very helpful.

Coming Soon: Rejuvenative Pruning

Right after New Year's, our landscape contractor Brickman will begin the second phase of their three-year rejuvenative pruning program. The program was developed by their regional horticulturist and is one of the services included in Brickman's contract. It is intended to enhance the landscape design, maintain the health of the plants and create a beautiful natural environment for the community. Brickman's long-range goal is to create a consistent look for the entire community while maintaining the health of the plants. Viburnum, Inkberry Holly, and Azaleas and Rhododendrons will be pruned during this phase.

Rejuvenative pruning is very aggressive and seems drastic, but it is very good for the plant. The highest impact will be on the large rhododendrons. In some locations in the community these plants are completely covering windows and even rising above the roof line. The height of these plants will be reduced dramatically. Plant material will be pruned using the proper horticultural techniques, but some plants may need a few seasons to redevelop a full and visually pleasing appearance. A rejuvenated shrub will eventually result in a new, vigorous, well-established plant.

Matt Lubas, our property manager for landscaping, reports, "Brickman recognizes our desire for an appealing landscape and our residents' need to maintain privacy. They will do their best to preserve each home's curb appeal and deal with individual privacy concerns." If you have any questions about rejuvenative pruning, please feel free to contact your parcel's landscape chair or management at The Smith House.

This Week at Princeton Landing

Summit Construction is continuing to clear leaves and debris from gutters. If weather permits, work should be completed by the end of the week. See our December 9 post for more information about this work, including total cost to the community. Brickman, the Association's landscape maintenance contractor, is continuing with fall cleanup and will be working through remaining parcels in the following order: 7, 6, 4, 3 and 1. If weather permits, Brickman also expects to complete fall cleanup by the end of this week. Contact the management office if you have comments, either negative or positive, about the work by Summit or Brickman. You can also post a comment on this blog by clicking the Comments link below.

New at the News

We're happy to announce that Princeton Landing News now has its own domain name, replacing the old one in the "blogspot.com" domain. That means we have a new address on the web that's simpler and easier to remember:

www.princetonlandingnews.com

Click the link above to go to the new address, then set a bookmark in your browser so you can come back regularly. But don't worry - if you use the old address, you'll be redirected automatically to the right place. 

Since we launched our blog, traffic to the site has been growing steadily. Let us know what you think about Princeton Landing News by posting a comment. And don't forget to tell your neighbors to visit us too. We'll be posting regularly to keep our readers up to date about what's going on in the community.

Photo Exhibit in Bucks County

If you are interested in great photography or you just enjoy seeing pictures of well-known people, you might want to check out "Saving Face: Portraits from the Collection of Robert Infarinato," at the Fred Beans Gallery of the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown, PA. Mr. Infarinato, a Bucks County resident, has assembled a collection of portraits by renowned photographers Ansel Adams, Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, among others. The collection includes photos of painters, writers, musicians, celebrities and more. Subjects include Picasso, Matisse, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and many others. The exhibit runs through March 15, 2009. If you take the drive to Doylestown, post a comment and let us know if you enjoyed the show.

Congratulations Pat and Sal!

Pat Hill and Sal Pirrera, two members of the Princeton Landing management staff, have been selected from among over 80 of their peers at Signature Property Group to receive awards based on their hard work and efforts during 2008. Pat received the Property Administrator of the Year award. Sal was given the President's Service Award. Lori Kenyon, Assistant Vice President and Regional Manager for Signature, reports, "We are pleased that we are able to provide Princeton Landing with a top-notch management staff and are grateful for the opportunity to serve your community." Congratulations to Pat and Sal on their well-deserved awards!

This Week at Princeton Landing

The Association's landscape contractor Brickman will continue with fall cleanup. The crew will be finishing up in Parcel 9 and will then move to Parcels 8, 7 and 6 in that order. This work is included in the services Brickman provides under its overall landscape maintenance contract with FVCSA. With winter coming it is also important to remove leaves and other debris from roof gutters to allow proper runoff of rainwater and melting snow. This year the Association has hired Summit Construction of Cranbury, New Jersey, to clean roof gutters throughout the community. Work began this week in Parcel 2 and will proceed parcel by parcel around the inner loop, then back around the outer loop ending in Parcel 1. Along the way, the contractor will also identify any gutters needing repair. Property Manager Sal Pirrera will discuss those repairs with the appropriate parcel committees. Weather permitting, gutter cleaning should be completed by December 20th. The Board authorized this service at its meeting on December 2, 2008, at a total cost not to exceed $11,100 for all homes in the community.

Tell Us What You Think: The Front Entrance

This week a new winter foliage display was installed at the entrance to the community. The project was initiated by the Landscape Committee to add seasonal color and was carried out by Princeton Landing's landscape contractor Brickman. Tell us what you think about it by clicking the Comments link below. You can click the photo in this post to see a larger image. You can see more pictures here.

Thank You, Bernie!

At the end of the annual meeting, outgoing President Bernie Siebers was honored for his long years of service to the community. Bernie has been actively involved in community affairs for more than 15 years and has been a fixture on the Board — so much so that it's hard to imagine what the Board will be like next year without him. Board members and residents gave Bernie a standing ovation and everyone enjoyed sharing a cake decorated with a "thank you" message.

2009 FVCSA Officers

As required by the Association's Governing Documents, after the annual meeting the newly elected and the continuing members of the Board of Directors met in executive session to elect officers for 2009. The following officers were elected:

Paul Nolting, President

Av Magram, Vice President

Elliott Eisenberg, Treasurer

Mary Ryan, Secretary

The Board will meet again in executive session on January 13 to discuss plans for the coming year. The next monthly meeting will be at The Smith House on Tuesday, January 27, 2009, at 7:30 pm. The meeting on the 27th is a regular meeting open to all Members of the Association.

Election Results

Results of the 2008 election for the FVCSA Board of Directors were announced at the Association's annual meeting on December 2. Paul Nolting was re-elected to a two-year term. Av Magram was re-elected to a one-year term. Rich Ciarciello and Mari Molenaar were elected to two-year terms. Rich and Mari replace outgoing directors Bernie Siebers and Beth Dalzell, who were not candidates for re-election. Votes were counted by the Election Committee earlier in the day, and Pat Miele of Parcel 6 read the tally at the meeting. The Board thanked committee members Kay Bingeman, Pat Miele and Lennie Libes for their service again this year. Former FVCSA President Dave Grant and Parcel 1 resident Mary Beth Dixon were also present for the vote count and assisted the committee. The Association's auditors Wilkin & Guttenplan observed the count. Click the title of this post to see the election results in detail. Minutes of the meeting have been posted here.

Voting Deadline

Just a reminder to everyone that today is your last day to vote in the board election. All ballots must be delivered to The Smith House by 4 pm. Results will be announced at the annual meeting which is tomorrow at 7:30 pm at The Smith House. All are invited to attend.