DEL ORO GROVES

June
Landscape Award Winner!
Congratulations goes to
**3321 San Domingo St**

June - Summer is here!

And with summer comes hurricane season. So do your part to test those generators, get some extra fuel, clear gutters, trim back trees, and have a plan for windows, doors, and yard items for when a storm is named.

It is also good to have your hurricane kit ready, to include fresh water and batteries. Copies of insurance documents, and some cash should the electricity be out for a long duration and you need to buy stuff.

May News:

The weather is beautiful so get out and enjoy it! Clearwater is hosting many events and so is Safety Harbor.

Keep in mind that this is the dry season. Cut your grass at a longer setting to retain moisture. And water only on your specific day allowed by the city.

In December and January, a traffic study was completed for our neighborhood. The results show that speeding along San Bernadino is the biggest problem, but not too big to require action by the City.
Instead they have informed the local police to patrol that street more often to catch speeders. Remember it is 25 mph on all streets in Del Oro.

Resident news:

We learned today that longtime resident Eunice Hubbard passed away peacefully on May 12th.

Services for her will be held on Saturday May 17th at Serenity Gardens 13401 Indian Rocks Rd in Largo Florida.

Her daughter Gail can assist with any questions. Email us and we will connect you with her.

April news:

Car Show was a Huge Success

With over 25 cars and trucks and over 100 residents in attendance, the day was perfect for our 4th annual car show and pancake breakfast.
Special thanks to Tom Argue who helped get the word out and contributed goodie bags for all the drivers.
Congratulations to the 6 award category winners, but all drivers were winners in helping us make this event possible.

Light that Night Walk!

The weather is great, and a walk at night sounds awesome. But bring a light or wear clothing that can be seen at night. We want you to be seen!

Neighborhoods Day Picnic was a day of residential harmony.

With over 100 people in attendance, we all enjoyed each other's company, the food, the visits from the city officials and the great weather too!.
A big thanks to all the volunteers to include Kate Gesling who handled all the food and table arrangements. And to Pindi for the use of her electricity and garbage cans for the event.

Together we are a better community! Also, a big thank you to the City of Clearwater, the Mayor, Bruce Rector, and the City Manager for coming to visit with what they say is their "favorite neighborhood"

Reminder:

Arbor Day Tree Giveaway April 26th from 8 am till 1pm at City of Clearwater Public Works location.

Help Wanted:

We have some beautiful artwork on our storm drains but to preserve that, we need a volunteer to help seal those using a paint sealer.

Please contact: Tamara Wilt at her email address below:

[email protected]

Older News from March:

We are pleased to announce that Jewel Vrabel – is our new Vice President!

Jewel and her husband Paul moved here from New Mexico and bring with them fresh ideas for our community!

2025 Calendar of Activities:

The board met and approved the following calendar of events:

Bunco and Billiards Night:

Bunco for the Ladies is the same night as Billiards for the men. This is usually the first Thursday of the first full week of any month. There are no gatherings planned in June, July and August.
Billiards are at Family Billiards at 1212 Rogers Street and usually starts at 7 pm.

Here are some other events for the balance of 2025:

March 22nd – Neighborhood Day Picnic –
11:30pm -Gather for a Prayer for our community 12:00pm to 3:00pm Picnic and visits from City of Clearwater Departments. Food and Prizes too!

April 8th – Board Meeting 7:30pm

April 12th – Car Show – Pancake Breakfast, from 9:00am -1:00pm Cars Wanted - Email us!

May 20th Board Meeting – 7:30pm (Wrap-up of 1st half of 2025 events)

September 9th Board Meeting 7:30pm

October 14th Board Meeting – 7:30pm

Fall Newsletter Deadline (Oct 31st) and will be sent out by 15th of November.

Nov. 1st – Neighborhood Garage Sale (8am till 1pm)

Nov 7th Fall back in Time Gathering 6pm-9pm

Nov 13th- ANNUAL Member Meeting 7:00pm (Zoom Meeting) Send email for invitation.

Red Holiday Bow Installation – Nov 28th,29th & 30th

Golf Cart procession and holiday caroling – (Dec 1st 2025) - 5:30pm

New Year Party – Jan 4th (TIME AND PLACE TBD but typically 7-10 pm)

Old News from February, January of 2025 and December of 2024:

Holiday Bows have been picked up and about 100 have been recycled and will be used for next year. We will also be working with a new supplier to get some better Ribbon material. We had some quality issues this year.

Golf Cart and Bike Procession and Caroling was a huge success. We processed around the neighborhood bringing candy canes to the children. We then visited 10 senior neighbors who needed a bit of extra love this season. Thank you to all our volunteers and the city officials who joined us for this wonderful holiday event.

Photo above shows how volunteering brings the community together. These ladies helped serve over 500 pancakes at this years car show and pancake breakfast.

Older News:

Thank you for the wonderful donations for the Holiday Season. These were given to Mattie Williams Family Center in Safety Harbor and Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa. All on behalf of Del Oro Groves HOA residents!

2024 Holiday Bows:

A big thank you to the volunteers who helped install over 330 bows on the mailboxes of Del Oro Groves!
This holiday tradition was started by Allen and Betty Arnold over 20 years ago. Alan, who is over 80 years of age, made 440 bows this year! Thank you, Alan!

A look back at prior events of 2024:

Holiday HOA Party :

Thank you for the over 100 people who attended this year's Holiday gathering at Applebees. The staff did an amazing job and fun was had by all.

HOA Annual Virtual Meeting was well attended on November 21st at
7:30 PM

Officer and Director Positions were thanked for their support and the new officer team was sworn in for 2025.
Cathy Breen - President
John Breen - Acting VP for Kristin Langley who recently went on medical sabbatical
Kate Houck - Treasurer
Dodie Burnett - Secretary

Minutes available by request. Send request to [email protected] for members only.

Fall Back in Time Gathering (Hurricane Blown Away) Gathering
Friday 11-15-24

Over 100 neighbors joined the event. It was a great time for collaboration and discussing the many challenges of this past hurricane season. Great food, music and ambiance, made the gathering a huge success!

Billiards:

The men of the neighborhood enjoyed a nice evening at the Family Billiards place located on 1212 Rogers Street in Clearwater Florida

Hurricane Milton Recovery.....
Amazing Resident participation!

Pinellas County officials and FEMA have done all they can to help us after hurricane Milton, but it is the local resident volunteers who are the real heroes of this storm.

Countless stories have come in about neighbor helping neighbor and teams of volunteers canvasing the neighborhood to help out clear debris and do necessary repairs to reduce further damage.

The Del Oro Groves HOA helped coordinate the needs of the residents and the volunteers did the rest.
Great work Team Del Oro!

Other updates:
Trash and Recycle will begin on Monday 10-14.

Please keep storm drains clear and do not put debris on top of them.

All homes have power restored! Thank you Duke Energy!

Storm debris will take many weeks to be removed. Please secure it from future windstorms.

HOA Meeting moved to September Meeting later in October on the 17th

Save the Palms!

On this website you will see how the beautiful Washitonia Robusta Palms lined the streets back in the 70's and 80's. Each storm seems to claim another palm, and these past two storms have been very damaging.

If you would like to replace that palm, that is your choice. Here is what we believe to be the species most popular in the community:

File:Washingtonia robusta and can be found on Wikipedia if you need more information

Thank you to our Chain Saw Gang !

Residents from across the neighborhood came together to help clear debris. Within 48 hours of the storm, all resident issues were addressed and streets clear of major debris.

Airport Expansion News:

For many years, our HOA has been a voice to the PIE Airport in an effort to reduce air traffic noise over our neighborhood. Modern quieter aircraft jet technology and insulated windows has made this more comfortable for some residents, however the traffic volume is increasing because of the popularity of the Tampa Bay region. Due to this popularity, the PIE Airport has plans to expand substantially its number of terminals and daily flights. Mark Sprague, Deputy Director of Operations and Facilities, PIE, talked at the Safety Harbor City Commission Meeting on Monday August 19th. Below is the link to the agenda.

City Commission Agenda (granicus.com)

Come Join the FUN!
Get involved with your HOA! It is a great way to meet your neighbors and make new friends too! And if your child has a "Service Project" assignment this school year, well, your HOA is a perfect place to start. Email us at [email protected]

Clearwater Neighborhood Coalition Meeting update

The CNC met this past Monday and here are the highlights:

1. Capital budget of $745M approved by Council. Jennifer Poirier gave a summary of the capital investments for 2024. Del Oro does not have much, but only some side walk repairs.
2. Jayme Lopko, Clearwater Long Range planning made us aware that "artificial lawn turf" requires a permit from the city since it is not grass. A permit process and rules are being worked on. We suggest you avoid this purchase till the rules for care and installation have been established. The ordinance is 9775-24.
3. The police encouraged neighbors to register their home outside cameras with the police department so they can pull video if necessary for a crime scene. See link below for how to do that. (far below)
4. Kate Blaxberg, a friend of several Del Oro Residents announced she is running for the School Board for Clearwater. She has a family of 3 and is passionate about ensuring our schools stay top rated. Good schools mean property values stay high, and our community is enriched by the new talented children. She also plans to tackle social media pressure on children that in some cases has led to bullying and teen suicide.
5. All were encouraged to attend City Council public meetings or to see them on You Tube where you can submit comments.

Drivers BEWARE:
Speeding on San Bernadino by local residents is discouraged. The Del Oro Board is working with Traffic Management to come up with solutions and police will be patrolling this area for offenders.

You can help by not speeding. The speed limit is 25mph

Electric Bikes and Skateboards:
Many children and some adults have been seen speeding through traffic stop signs in the neighborhood. San Bernadino gets a lot of traffic, and this is a dangerous combination! So please advise children to stop at all intersections while riding on an electric or manually powered device.

PIE Expansion leads to more Air Traffic Noise:

The price of paradise is not just more expensive housing, but is also more air traffic bringing tourist money to our city. However, when they arrive by plane that means more noise. Del Oro Groves does participate in the Noise Abatement Task Force, but your voice can be heard too. Email us at [email protected] to file any complaints and we will deliver that to the next meeting.

Here on this link is details of the planned $110M expansion.

St. Pete-Clearwater Airport undertakes $110M expansion (baynews9.com)

Keep the Lights ON! Trim those trees, it's storm season!

Duke Energy is doing some proactive work to prepare for the storm season, as seen along Bayshore Drive. However, for our neighborhood, we have 4 main streets with utility lines in the back yard. If you see something that could cause damage to the power lines, report that to Duke Energy and they will be obligated to respond.

The HOA is also notifying Duke on behalf of the community but the customer, like you, has priority.

Also, for your trees that are in the yard, now is the time to have some of the weight removed by getting them trimmed up before high winds cause them to come crashing down.

Ladies Bunco and Men's Billiards, what a fun time for all!

The ladies have been meeting monthly for Bunco night for the past 9 months and now will take off for the summer and restart in the fall. Thank you to all the hosts!
he men's Billiard's night is gaining momentum, and we look forward to others joining us at the next event in September at the Family Billiards center located at 1212 Rogers Street in Clearwater and will be on the same night the ladies gather for Bunco. See the Bunco and Billiards tab for more information.

Our 3rd annual Classic and Cool Car Show and Pancake Breakfast was a Big Success!
This show was the best ever! Beautiful weather, over 36 cars and trucks, and over 100 residents in attendance.
A big thank you to our volunteers and to the city officials who came out to enjoy our event.
Thank you also to Tom Argue and Tom Mitchell for the many cars added to the collection this year.
See photos below.

Community Links:

Check out our Community Links Section for recommended local dining places, Del Oro Residents who own Businesses, Vendor Testimonials from our residents, and other related information.

Security is Fundamental

Clearwater Police encourage you to register your home security camera location so they can resolve crimes faster!

Residents, if you have a home security camera, that video may be key to helping solve a crime. Now you can register your camera at

Home - Clearwater Camera Sharing (connectclearwater.org)

The registration helps the police and detectives know that your camera may have helpful information for a crime in our area.   Help us keep Del Oro Groves Safer by registering your camera location today!

Your 2024 HOA fee was due in January.

If you have not paid, you can email us for instructions on how you can use Zelle to [email protected]
Or send a check to our PO Box,

Del Oro Groves Estates HOA, Inc.
PO Box 1426
Safety Harbor, FL 34695

Either way, we look forward to your contribution that helps keep our neighborhood safe and valued.

Event Photos
Below are more photos of 2024 Holiday Party, Christmas Caroling, Ribbon decorating of Del Oro Groves Mailboxes and Monuments.

Also, the Fall Back in Time Gathering, Neighborhood Day and Car Show and Del Oro Park Grand Opening. All of these were key events in 2023 supported by your volunteer Del Oro Groves HOA!