Croissant Park Civic Association 

Minutes of the General Meeting October 26, 2021 

Hello Croissant Park Neighbors, 

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Heather at 7:02 pm. —Board members attending were Pat Rathburn, Michelle DiMaria, Virginia Russell, Joe Russell, Rhonda Kramer, Heather Cunniff, Jodi Perraud, and Larry Jackson.

Officers Gowans and Lopez reported a changing of the guard as to the officers who will be patrolling Croissant Park. The restructuring will include more officers and manpower. They will continue to coordinate with the civic associations, keeping us informed of the crime that occurs in our area. We had three residential burglaries and two auto burglaries. The officers continue to remind us to lock our cars, including in our driveways/carports. Both auto burglaries occurred in unlocked cars. They also remind us not to leave desirable items in plain view inside the car because that will lead to a broken window and theft. Also, key fobs in your house are often close enough to the car to cause your car to be unlocked. Test it to see if this condition exists. If it does, move the key fob further away from your car. Be vigilant in your neighborhood: is there a pool service truck at your neighbor’s house and your neighbor doesn’t have a pool? Or a landscaping truck is parked at your neighbor’s property and they take care of their own yard? These are some of the scams to beware of. While someone is “cleaning the pool” where there is no pool, someone could be casing the property. Get to know your neighbors.

The election committee for the slate of the CPCA Board of Directors was Jean Ready, John Mangione, Michelle DiMaria, and Jodi Perraud. There were no nominations from the floor and the existing slate of the Board was approved by the members attending the meeting. 

Our speaker tonight was Evan McCarthy from Happy Bee Honey Club. He is our locally famous bee guy who will humanely remove a beehive from your property. Evan stressed the importance of saving the bees that pollinate our world, rather than exterminating them. Evan and his bee-stung crew carefully remove the hive and relocate it to one of the four bee sanctuaries in Ft. Lauderdale. Happy Bee Honey Club is a non-profit organization. They sell the harvested honey at local farmers’ markets. If you eat locally harvested honey it may help to prevent allergies. 

—A discussion about the Poinciana Crossing apartment building that is nearly finished on SE 1st Avenue, just east of the railroad track and the playing field at Croissant Park Elementary School. We feel that we may have been misled when it was presented to our CPCA meeting. It is not within our physical boundaries but it affects our neighborhood. Our Board member Heather will follow up with the City to answer our queries. 

—Board member Jodi will bring neighbor, Ron B. Wilson to our January meeting to talk about his photography book Resilience. Should be interesting. That will be at our January meeting at the Community Center on January 25th, 2022. Wow, time marches on! 

Minutes by Virginia-Secretary 

Pictures by Rhonda - director

Croissant Park Neighborhood Meeting Tuesday, October 26, 2021

The Croissant Park Civic Association would like to invite you to our October Neighborhood meeting... in person! Join us at the Community Center on Tuesday, Oct 26th at 7pm. The Community Center is located next to the pools at 245 West Park Drive. Officers from FLPD will be there with the Crime Report for our area and to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Our speaker will be Evan McCarthy from the Happy Bee Honey Club to share his vast knowledge of bees. He and his team are locally famous for their humane bee hive relocation. We will also be voting on the slate of nominees for the CPCA 2022 Board of Directors. You may cast a vote if you are a member in good standing (dues paid for 2021 or paid at the door for 2022). Everyone is invited, member or not. Masks are required inside the building by Parks and Recreation. Hope to see you there.

General Meeting September 28, 2021

 General Meeting Croissant Park Civic Association September 2021

September 28, 2021

Hello CPCA Neighbors!

We had our first in-person meeting since January 2020 at the Croissant Park Community Center!  It’s been a year and eight months, wow! So good to see neighbors in person. We all wore face masks and were socially distanced, as required by the Parks and Rec Department.

The meeting was attended by Board members Pat Rathburn, Rhonda Kramer, Joe Russell, Heather Cunniff, Jodi Perraud, and Virginia Russell.

Officer Rodriguez

After the Pledge of Allegiance, our first speaker was FLPD Officer Rodriguez to give us our Croissant Park crime report for August and September 2021.  August had one vehicle theft.  September reported two residential burglaries.  This is an extremely low incidence of crime, compared to the past.  Ofc. Rodriguez reminds us that crimes usually happen to cars and homes that have vulnerabilities, such as an unlocked car door, or in the case of a locked car a valuable left in plain sight causing a broken window theft.  In our homes, we need to stay vigilant about open windows and easily accessed garages and sheds.  He also recommends doorbell cameras such as Ring and others on the market.  Cameras placed around the property will aid the police in the capture of the bad guy. Be vigilant, watch out for your neighbors if you see suspicious activity call the police at 911 before you post on Nextdoor!  

Our next guest speaker was Bob Wolfe from the Broward County Property Appraisers office, Mobile Exemption and Information Team.  He explained the Florida Portability Act, which allows you to take your equity with you when you sell your home and move it to the new home (in Florida) without an enormous tax penalty.  He also told us about a program called OwnerAlert, a free service provided by the Broward County Property Appraiser that notifies you of a deed changing ownership on your property.  You can sign up online for this service at

web.bcpa.net/owneralert or call (954) 357-5579.

Bob Wolfe with Virginia on left

We will be taking nominations for the Croissant Park Board of Directors and the vote will be held at the October General meeting.  The nominating committee is made up of two members in good standing and two members of the CPCA Board.  They are the following: Jean Ready, John Marangio, Heather Cunniff, and Jodi Perraud. If you would like to nominate someone or yourself, that person must be a current member in good standing (dues paid).  Submit nomination to: MyCroissantPark@gmail.com

Pat will look into the Public Notice that has been posted regarding the property located on 14th Court and 9th Avenue.  Stay tuned.

Our next General meeting will be on Tuesday, October 26th.  We are not sure if it will be in-person or on Zoom.  We will email and post on Nextdoor when we get closer to that date.

Minutes by Virginia-Secretary

Pictures by Rhonda

p.s. If you are not getting meeting notices but would like to, just send your request to MyCroissantPark@gmail.com and you will be added to the neighborhood list. We post on Nextdoor but not everybody monitors that site for info and it is easy to miss an announcement.

Neighborhood Meeting - Tuesday, September 28, 2021

AGENDA:

Appointment of the nominating committee for the 2022 Association board of directors.

Police Update.

Speaker- Representative from the Broward County Property Appraisers office who will explain their program for fraud prevention and also be able to answer questions about Homestead, portability, or the like.

Old business

New business

We strongly encourage our members planning to attend our first “in person” Civic Association Meeting in 18 months to be vaccinated, but we are not requiring proof of vaccination. Parks and Recreation is, however, requiring that all attendees wear masks while at the meeting. 

Thank you for your cooperation with these protocols to keep you, and your neighbors, safe.

The meeting is at 7:00 in the Community Center - 245 West Park Drive (next to the pools)

Patricia Rathburn, President

Croissant Park Civic Association

Property Appraiser News - Veterans

 

Veterans Receiving the Full Exemption for Service-Connected

Total and Permanent Disability May Be Eligible for a Refund

While refund requirements are very specific, a recent change in Florida law allows for certain veterans to receive a property tax refund. Some property owners receiving the Full Veteran’s Exemption for Total and Permanent Service-Connected Disability may be eligible for a refund on their new homesteaded property’s taxes. Effective beginning in tax year 2021, homesteaded property owners receiving the Full Veteran’s Exemption for Total and Permanent Service Connected Disability on a newly acquired Florida property - who also received the Full Exemption for Total and Permanent Service Connected Disability on another Florida property in the immediately preceding tax year - may be eligible to receive a refund of the ad valorem taxes paid for the newly acquired property in the year the property is acquired, prorated as of the date of transfer of ownership.

If you believe you are eligible to receive this prorated refund, please contact our office at (954) 357-6035 or email us at CSEmgmt@bcpa.net

BCPA Outreach Returning to Governmental Center West

Our Mobile Exemption & Information Team has returned to the Governmental Center West located at 1 North University Drive in Plantation on Wednesdays from 12:00pm – 2:00pm. Our staff is available to assist residents with filing for any exemption and is available to answer any property questions you may have. To view all our upcoming events, please visit https://web.bcpa.net/ExemptionsExpress/calendar

To schedule a virtual visit from the safety of your home, please visit our website at https://web.bcpa.net/virtualvisits

The absolute deadline for applying for any 2021 exemption is September 20, 2021.

If my office can ever be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at (954) 357-6904 or by email at martykiar@bcpa.net

Take care,

Marty Kiar

Broward County Property Appraiser

115 S. Andrews Ave., Room 111, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, United States

www.bcpa.net | martykiar@bcpa.net

Property tax help: +1 (954) 357-6830

CPCA General Meeting February/ March 2021

 Croissant Park Civic Association General Meeting

February/March 2021

Hello Croissant Park Neighbors,

—A Zoom meeting hosted by our President Pat was attended by Board members Michelle, Rhonda, Jodi, Joe, Larry and Virginia. We had a total of ten attendees.

—FLPD Officer Eric Petrol provided us with the Croissant Park crime report from January to March 2021. There were 6 car burglaries, all in unlocked cars.  3 residential burglaries which included jalousie windows as a point of entry, a side door in a carport as a point of entry, and a bicycle taken from a shed on the property. 3 petty larcenies. Ofc. Petrol said “no shootings in CP neighborhood, while the rest of the City is blowing up”.  All in all, we have an excellent low crime area. He offers reminders that we need to remember to lock our cars.  Also, jalousie windows provide the easiest entry into our homes.   Someone asked about the Wells Fargo Bank incident on S.R. 84 The City of Fort Lauderdale has passed a a few months back. There was gunfire but I did not get the details to put in this report.  Ofc. Pekrol mentioned that most bank robberies occur in “bank follow-outs”, that is when the bad guy follows a bank customer out after making a withdrawal.  Be extra careful, be vigilant. Our crime report team of officers will be working the beach for Spring Break.  They will still respond if you need them.

—We are in the process of bringing our CPCA By-Laws up to date, making some needed changes, namely adding the necessity of conducting our General and Board meetings on Zoom for as long as needed. We hope to have the amended By-Laws available for the members of the Association to vote to approve them at our next meeting in May.  Stay tuned.

—The City of Fort Lauderdale has passed an ordinance requiring landlords to register their name and rental property addresses on a website. Pat is against this ordinance because she believes it is over- reaching.  However, they do need to enforce the ordinances regarding short-term vacation-type rentals.  AirBnB and the like are promoting different systems depending on the various cities, because of the differences from one city to the next. They want to see individual cities enforcing their own jurisdictions, rather than State enforcement.

—Someone asked about the big building being built behind the new fire station.  It happens to be the “affordable housing” that was proposed to our Association over a year ago. One of our Association members, Greg McA, a land-use attorney, has said that we should expect to see more affordable housing coming our way.

—We have all become aware of the danger for pedestrians who attempt to walk on SW 15th Street heading east from 4th Avenue.  There are no sidewalks and the auto body/repair shops just west of the RR tracks park their customers’ cars on the shoulder, forcing pedestrians to walk in the traveled roadway.  

—Our next CPCA General meeting will be the last Tuesday of May. We don’t know yet whether it will be a Zoom meeting or back in our regular spot at the Community Center.  Stay tuned for an announcement. 

--Don't forget to post your photos for the Pet Pandemic Photo Contest!  We will decide the winners at the May meeting.

—Minutes by Virginia, Secy.

Property Appraiser Newsletter - Feb 2021 'PORTABILITY & SENIOR EXEMPTION'

Timeframe to Use Portability Extended

Portability allows eligible Homesteaded property owners to pay less in property taxes on their new home by moving their “Save Our Homes” savings (up to $500,000) from one Florida property to another Florida property when establishing Homestead Exemption on the new property. Beginning with property owners who establish a new Homestead Exemption for tax year 2021, applicants may now transfer portability savings from a Homestead Exemption held in any of the three immediately preceding tax years. To be eligible to move this SOH benefit, the new property must receive Homestead Exemption within three tax years – not calendar years – of the “abandonment” of the Homestead Exemption at the previous property.

Note: Homestead Exemption and Portability do not automatically transfer. You must apply for Homestead Exemption on the new property and submit a Portability application. Portability does not require you sell your previous home, but merely for you to no longer receive the Homestead Exemption on it.

Additional information about Portability can be found on our website at web.bcpa.net

Annual Senior Exemption Renewal

If you received the Senior Exemption in 2020, you will be receiving your Senior Exemption Renewal Card in the mail this month. Florida law requires you to renew this exemption annually as it is an income-based exemption. To receive this valuable exemption for 2021, you must sign and return the yellow postcard renewal notice to our office by September 20, 2021. The signed copy of your renewal card can be emailed to Homestead@bcpa.net or faxed to (954)357-6188 or mailed to our office. You can also renew your Senior Exemption online at web.bcpa.net/renew

If you did not receive the Senior Exemption for 2020 and you believe you may qualify, please visit our website at web.bcpa.net and click on the “Senior Exemption” icon to view this exemption and all the other exemptions available to qualified applicants. You can also apply online at https://web.bcpa.net/bcpaclient/#/SeniorsAppForm The deadline to apply for any 2021 exemption is September 20, 2021.

Virtual Visits

If you prefer face-to-face communication, you can meet with one of our team members virtually. To schedule an appointment, please call 954-357-5579 or email ExemptionExpress@bcpa.net

If my office can ever be of assistance to you, please call us at (954)357-6830 or email me directly at martykiar@bcpa.net

Take care,

Marty Kiar
Broward County Property Appraiser

Broward County Property Appraiser

115 S. Andrews Ave., Room 111, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, United States

www.bcpa.net | martykiar@bcpa.net

Property tax help: +1 (954) 357-6830