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Residents Plan To Revitalize, Reconnect With Neighbors

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By LAURA FRAZIER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2007

Updated: 09/24/2007 10:55 pm

BRANDON - Gene Ramos and Cheryl Livingston moved to Lakeview Village in 1992 with their newborn daughter, when the north Brandon subdivision was in its infancy and the trees on their property were beginning to reach the roofline.

Fifteen years later, the Ramos family has grown along with the oaks that now tower over their house.

A few of the original neighbors moved through the years, Ramos said, but most have stayed.

'It's been great to watch our two daughters go to school and grow up with all their old friends,' he said.

Other changes haven't always been pleasant to witness.
Neighborhood pride began to dwindle about a decade ago, Ramos said, evidenced by trash and debris piled on the sides of houses, overgrown yards and many homes in need of exterior paint and maintenance.

'Honestly, we were thinking about moving out two years ago,' he said.

Things started to turn around in 2005, shortly after neighborhood volunteer Sandy Norman-Johnston was elected president of the Lakeview Village Homeowners Association.

'When Sandy came on the board, we started seeing a lot of things change, and there was an overall good vibe in the neighborhood,' Ramos said.

Norman-Johnston became a state-certified property manager in fall 2006. Her company, Sandyne Enterprises, manages Lakeview Village and several other neighborhoods.

While she's out cruising the neighborhood checking for violations of deed restrictions, she also stops to chat with neighbors. She's eager to refer those with physical or financial hardships that prevent them from maintaining their homes to county and state agencies for assistance.

'Since Sandy became the property manager, you can walk through the neighborhood and see that everyone's taking care of the grass; it's all clean,' Ramos said. 'She's done a phenomenal job.'

Her plan to revitalize and reconnect the neighborhood is simple.

'If people see that the community cares and is organizing things to help take care of their problems, they'll start taking more personal pride in their homes,' Norman-Johnston said.

Lakeview Village will hold a cleanup day Oct. 6, when residents can dispose of household trash, debris and yard waste for free at convenient drop-off spots in the subdivision. The event, funded by a Hillsborough County neighborhood minigrant, is the first organized activity held in the neighborhood in about 20 years.

'Getting this county grant is a godsend for us to kick things off, but it's just a start,' Norman-Johnston said. 'We want people to get to know their neighbors, to develop the sense of community they tell us we once had here.'

LAKEVIEW VILLAGE

RESIDENCES: 915 single-family homes off Lakewood Drive, south of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

INFORMATION: Sandyne Enterprises, (813) 425-4492 or go to www.lakeviewvillage hoa.com

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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