December 1, 2022

Dover Shores News - December

DOVER SHORES NEWS, December 1, 2022

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day celebration with family and friends last week. On behalf of your Dover Shores HOA Board, we would also like to wish everyone in our community a very Happy Holiday season, and a wonderful New Year. So once again, here is the latest update about what is going on in our community.

A Message From BHE Management Corporation:

Annual Election

If you were not at the Annual Election, you missed out on a very festive and informational meeting! Thank you to our outgoing President, Sherry Bilbeisi, who did a great “state of the union” address to all who gathered, and to Gail Jones for giving us a summary of the Association’s finances.

Congratulations to our new Board:

President: Tim Hawke
Vice President: Sherry Bilbeisi
Treasurer: Gail Jones
Secretary: Kristen Duntley
Member At Large: Steven Briggs
Member At Large: Tate Luesebrink
Member At Large: Michael Talbott
Member At Large: Anne Yahn

Committees Forming

While the Board has appointed the Committee Chairs, we are seeking members for some of the Committees! If you are interested in joining a committee, please contact Management to let us know, thank you!

Home Safety

Unfortunately, we have all heard about break-ins in Newport Beach this year – please be especially mindful around the holidays! If you are going away, it is suggested that you have your television and/or lights on an automatic timer to come on from time to time, and that you do not “display” gifts in your window. If you see something suspicious at a neighbor’s home, please call the NBPD(949-644-3717‬ or 911 in an emergency)…thank you!!

Happy Holidays to one and all!

On behalf of your Board of Directors, and from all of us at BHE Management Corporation, we wish you a very joyous and happy holiday season!!

BHE Management Corporation
Marla Hemmel, Managing Agent, MarlaH@bhemanagement.com
Lisa Parra, Community Manager, LParra@BHEManagement.com
Melissa Mora, Assistant Community Manager, MMora@BHEManagement.com
www.BHEManagement.com (949)363-1963

Dover Shores HOA General Meeting November 15, 2022:

The Dover Shores bi-monthly HOA meeting was held November 15, 2022, in person for the first time in almost 2 years! We were able to use one of the meeting rooms at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church across from Newport Harbor High School. As was our goal, we were also able to have a hybrid meeting so those who could not attend in person could attend via Zoom. Everything worked as hoped, and many thanks go to Cindy and Mike Talbott for all the work they did to make this happen.

Our next HOA meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 5PM at St. Andrews Church again. We will be using the same lower level meeting room – the Flannagan Room – for the foreseeable future as a hybrid with Zoom:

Join Zoom Meeting with your browser

Meeting ID: 826 7119 0329
Passcode: 893006
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In the meantime, here is a brief overview of the main discussions and actions taken at our most recent Dover Shores Board Meeting:

• Officers – An election of officers for 2023 took place. The results were as announced above by BHE. In January, Committee Chairs will confirm the members of their respective committees for the coming year. Anyone interested in serving on one of our committees is welcome to respond to this Newsletter and a Board Member will contact you.

• The Board once again discussed security issues. Although the Board had voted at our prior HOA meeting to approve re-keying Larry’s Beach and North Star Beach, during the homeowners’ forum, issues were raised again about whether it would be preferable to instead use key fobs. Although the Board had previously discussed this option and voted against it due to its cost, because of renewed homeowner interest, BHE was asked to obtain updated estimates so the Board could reconsider the use of key fobs. A final decision on whether to re-key or switch to key fobs will likely be made in January.

• Another option of using cameras that capture license plates was also discussed and will be further considered at the next HOA Meeting.

• North Star Beach – Further discussion on revised plans and estimated costs was tabled until the January meeting as those figures were not yet available. It was pointed out that this discussion is still at a preliminary stage and the community will have ample opportunity to question details of the plans and costs, and ultimately decide whether to vote to approve this capital improvement to our community.

• Children’s Halloween Party – following the tremendous success of the Children’s Halloween Party, Board Member Emily Leach and her committee have plans well underway for an equally amazing children’s holiday party. The Halloween Party - our first Children’s Party in over 2 years - was attended by close to 30 children and their families! It was a wonderful way for our Dover Shores families with young children to get to know each other.

Children’s Christmas Party

Join us for the Dover Shores Children’s Christmas Party on December 17 from 3-4:30 PM at Larry’s Beach. The festivities include cookies, crafts, Santa, and more!

A Message from Sherry Bilbeisi, Outgoing HOA President:

This is my last newsletter message as President, which also gives me a chance to say thank you for many reasons. First, thank you Dover Shores for the support you’ve given me over the last two years. Without that, I could not have done this. But I am very happy also to hand the “gavel” to Tim Hawke who brings tremendous professional and personal skills to the job. So thank you Tim for accepting the nomination to be our new president.

I believe an HOA Community functions best when there is a regular change of leadership, which in turn fosters an independent board who votes not as a bloc, but by personal choices of what each of them believes is best for Dover Shores. So it seemed like a good time for just that change of leadership, and I’m very happy Tim will be our next president.

Many thanks also to Sue Ashwell for her six years of service as a board member. Sue decided not to run again, and her presence at board meetings will be missed. During her time on the board, Sue served as Board Secretary, Chair of the Welcome Committee, and also as Chair of the Landscape Committee. Her commitment and the time she gave to this community is obvious from all the work she undertook on Dover Shores’ behalf. So thank you Sue from all of us.

Thank you also to Mike and Cindy Talbott – first for arranging The Bungalow as the location for our Annual Meeting – probably the best venue anyone has been to for that event. We also had a wonderful turnout – 48 residents. The food was wonderful and we all had a great time with so many of our neighbors.

And as mentioned above, we also want to thank the Talbotts for arranging St. Andrews as our new HOA meeting location. Some Board Members could hardly recognize each other after all that time on Zoom, so it’s great to be back in person.

Lastly, I want to thank all of our Committee Chairs and Committee members for all the work they have done this past year. All are listed at the bottom of this Newsletter. And for those of you who missed my “State of the Neighborhood speech,” here are some highlights of the work your Board and its Committees have done over the past year:

Architecture Committee

This year the ARC committee worked to promptly respond to all submittals for home remodeling or new construction with our HOA architect, David George. You only have to travel down the streets of Dover Shores to know how busy they have been.

The committee is also addressing homes that are in disrepair or in violation of the HOA CC&Rs. The committee members also survey the Dover Shores residences to ensure that no construction is occurring without the proper review and approval of the Architectural Committee to ensure compliance with the CC&Rs and the Architectural Guidelines. The committee’s next significant undertaking will be to revise and update the Architectural Guidelines to make it easier for our fellow homeowners to go through the process of new construction or remodel work for their homes.

Beach Committee

Over the past year we’ve installed security cameras at Larry’s Beach. To protect everyone’s privacy, only BHE has access to information recorded if it’s needed to investigate any potential crime or serious violation.

We also have hired an on-call security service should we need them to investigate a potential security incident not only on our beaches but anywhere in the neighborhood. However, we want to stress that anyone who believes there is trespassing, vandalism, possible theft or other suspicious activity taking place should first and foremost call the NBPD.

At Fisherman’s Beach, we finally installed a new rack of 5 more storage spaces for non-motorized boats and boards of a certain maximum size, bringing total capacity to 15 spots.

The most exciting beach news is that our plans for North Star beach are definitely moving along. Thanks to the efforts of Tim Hawke, we have finished engineering reports on soil, and utilities, and a general contractor is currently finalizing an estimate based on revised plans. Some of the revisions include elimination of the bocce ball court – which took too much room and did not fit in aesthetically. Instead, we might have one or two corn hole boards set up which would have more universal appeal. And also the concrete portion of the beach will be somewhat smaller which will also reduce costs.

After an estimate is finalized, we hope to have a town hall meeting – perhaps combined with our HOA meeting - to answer any questions before it goes to the community for a vote on whether to approve this capital improvement.

Communications Committee

We are in our third year of publishing Dover Shores News – which keeps everyone informed in a bi-monthly newsletter, and also in special announcements, of what is going on in Dover Shores and what the board is doing – so please look for Dover Shores News in your emails.

Dredging Committee

The committee has collected the most recent dredging reports from the management company, past board members and the City of Newport Beach that will enable the committee to move forward with collecting the needed survey of waterways and the Newport Bay Channel fronting Dover Shores. The committee is in the process of obtaining bids from several vendors who can perform a Bathymetric contour map of the Dover Shores waterway depths in 1-foot contours. Once this study is completed, the dredging committee will be able to advise the board as to the approximate timing to perform additional dredging work for the Dover Shores waterway. The committee’s goal is to obtain this information prior to the end of this year.

Landscape Committee

Earlier this year, the Board approved the installation of a new smart controller irrigation system for the entire community of Dover Shores. We have already begun to see the benefits of this new technology at work, as our water usage is lower than it’s been in the past and we will continue to monitor the smart controller irrigation system to make sure that it is functioning optimally in the future. In recent months, the Landscape Committee also implemented the renovation of three adjacent slopes on Westwind Way and will continue to address the ongoing challenges that are inherent in a community with aged landscaping and irrigation system.

The Dover Shores Landscape Committee continues to meet on a monthly basis, with the following priorities:

1. Identifying areas on the slopes throughout the community that require replacement of plant material, and other maintenance.

2. Monitoring any changes or impairments to the landscaping of the slopes during one’s home improvement or reconstruction. If a homeowner is found to be in violation of the CC&R’s, they will be asked to replant and restore their slope to either its original condition, or one that is acceptable to the Landscape and/or Architectural Committees.

3. Preserving homeowners’ natural views. As a result of ongoing plant growth, trees and shrubbery from some yards and slopes can become restrictive of views. If a homeowner complains about potential view blockage, BHE Management Company is asked to contact the homeowner to ask that tree trimming or shrub removal be done to prevent such view infringement to other homeowners.

Legal Committee

Good news here – our legal committee has barely had any work to do again this year thanks to everyone in our community getting along and resolving disputes informally. That also saves us from having to increase HOA dues for what everyone would agree should be a very unnecessary expense – legal fees. So thanks to everyone for all the good work here.

Social Committee

Dover Shores had another great summer of Tuesday Night Beach BBQs this year in July and August. For eight weeks our Dover Shores families stepped up and volunteered to host each week, bringing neighbors together. The grand finale was our traditional Fiesta Party in September. We hope to be able to do the same next year and are currently hoping to find a volunteer for Social Chair for the summer BBQs. Please let us know if you might be interested in volunteering for this brief 2 month job.

Our Children’s Parties also started up again this year with the Halloween Party. A Christmas/Holiday Party is next and then an Easter Event. It’s been a great way for families with children to get to know each other.

CERT Committee

Our CERT team continues its work to maintain an emergency response plan for our neighborhood. The CERT Committee is also in the process of replacing supplies and other necessary equipment in need of updating, and earlier this year put together a comprehensive inventory of CERT supplies for the Board. The CERT team would also like to hear from anyone interested in helping with neighborhood watch.

So again, all the people serving voluntarily on these Committees – your neighbors – have accomplished a lot this past year, and they are certainly deserving of our thanks!

CERT – NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH UPDATES:

As BHE noted, crime tends to increase around the holidays, especially package thefts so don’t let crooks spoil your holiday. Garage burglaries and bike theft continues to be a problem, but to put things in perspective, the following are some statistics from the NBPD. Crime, including residential burglaries, is up this year but still mostly below the averages for the last five years (overall down 14.7%):

Pick pocket incidents have increased substantially this year. Pick pockets often work in teams using one person to distract you while another steals your wallet or cell phone:

To avoid becoming a victim:

• If you carry a purse, choose one that secures at the top – preferably with a zipper.

• If you set your purse in the shopping cart, buckle it in with the child safety belt and make sure the top is zipped closed.

• If you carry your purse on your shoulder, make sure that you carry it next to you or in front of you – never behind you.

• Keep valuables – especially your wallet- in the bottom of your bag.

• Be aware when someone gets into your personal space.

• After you pay or retrieve something from your purse, remember to take a moment to secure your wallet & purse again.

• Whenever you are out & about, always try to keep your property in your line of sight.

Finally:

If you would like to submit an article for publication in the Newsletter that you think might be of interest to Dover Shores, please let us know by responding to this Newsletter by email.

Please let your neighbors know how to contact us at board@dovershoreshoa.org if they are not part of our email list and would like to join. Or please forward this email to them. Our goal is to reach every Dover Shores neighbor.

Note that past newsletters are always available at our archives.

Thank you from your Dover Shores Board and Committee Members:

• Architecture: Mike Talbott, Tim Hawke, Darren Houck
• Beach: Sherry Bilbeisi, Tate Luesebrink, Dan Converse, Jacquelyn Beauregard Dillman, Jodi Cassutt
• Cert: Jim Gula and the CERT team
• Communications: Sherry Bilbeisi, Jim Gula, Cindy Talbott, Esther Fine
• Dredging: Tim Hawke
• Landscape: Sue Ashwill, Robin Wright, Julie Patterson, Allison Pence
• Legal, CC&Rs: Steve Briggs, Sherry Bilbeisi
• Social: Tate Luesebrink, Emily Leach
• Welcome: Kristen Duntley