PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

By Paul McShea 

Recently one of our Board members was telling me a story of a neighbor who had told him that he wasn’t interested in joining the Civic Association because he didn’t think it did anything that helped him. I was dumfounded. Not only at the selfishness of that individual, but at his ignorance as well. So, for the sake of enlightenment, I present the following scenario.

Imagine that our Civic Association was not around, that support had dwindled to the point that it simply ceased to exist. What would happen as a result? The first thing you would notice is the lack of landscaping on the roadside medians on Woodbridge, Northbridge, Webb, Elm and Town ‘N Country Blvd. The grass would not be getting cut, so after a few weeks it would be 3 feet tall. The County would not be mowing it. The trees would not be getting trimmed, so there would be plenty of dead palm fronds hanging. The County would not be trimming them. 

The next thing you might notice is the amount of trash and debris lying on these medians and along the side of the road. It is currently picked up by volunteers who donate their time and labor. The County would not be picking it up. There might be a prevalence of gang graffiti sprayed throughout the neighborhood because no one is taking the responsibility to report it and stay on top of it until it is cleaned up. There would an increase in crime as well since no one is taking the time to meet with the Sheriff’s Department and work at pro-active solutions. Without the Civic Association no one is working with the various departments of our government trying to ensure that we get our fair share of service – from Code Enforcement, Roads and Maintenance, Solid Waste, etc.  When it comes to getting attention, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Without our organization fighting, the area would receive far less services. The County would not be volunteering for more work if no one were bugging them for it. 

So there you have it. Without your Civic Association our neighborhood would have overgrown trashy street medians, more crime, less code enforcement and less public area maintenance. Does that sound like somewhere that you want to live? Of course not. The moral of the story –continue to support your Civic Association. We need more people who are willing to get involved.

It does make a difference.