Barton Creek Ranch Property Owner’s Association October 2007 Welcome – Joe Felkel, President Welcome to the October issue of the Barton Creek Ranch POA newsletter. We are hoping to make this a quarterly publication. Your POA Board of Directors is no different than any other elected group… we need member’s feedback. In the last newsletter we included a questionnaire about your likes, dislikes, desires, etc. We received exactly three of them back and two of those three were from the same household. It did not take a calculator for me to realize that out of 90 lots in our subdivision we sampled two and that is not a good representation. We live in a democracy and you can participate or not as you desire, but I submit that you will generally get out of something about what you put into it. You did not choose me for a neighbor, I had enough money and credit to buy the place and move in. I did not choose you for a neighbor, I just found you here so it seems like we are even and our choice is how do we move forward in a neighborly fashion and make sure that we both enjoy our subdivision. I believe that good communication is the key. jfelkel@austin.rr.com A Natural Gardener Fan – Mari Casserberg, Vice President Fall is my favorite season. Here in Texas it is the best time of year to diversify your tree plantings with non-oak natives. You probably know, Oak Wilt has been diagnosed in our subdivision and can be devastating to the oaks, decreasing the natural beauty and property values. For those who aren’t familiar with oak wilt, we encourage you to investigate more at the link below. Here are some basic tips:
Many of our neighbors are planting fall gardens and feeding their lawns at this time of year too. Several are using organic gardening methods which are friendly to our neighborhood pets (dogs and deer alike), children and the frogs and fish in Barton Creek. Organic methods build up the soil and its ability to retain water; over time this should help us endure the next drought better. Healthy soil also makes for healthy trees that can fight off diseases like oak wilt. Some terrific links for organic gardening are below. When you choose plants, please consider how unusual this year’s rainfall has been and select native Texas plants or drought resistant plants which are accustomed to our drought/flash flood cycles and our hungry deer. If we all work together, perhaps we can avoid some dry wells next time. Since drought is only a memory from last year, mosquitoes and fleas have been breeding and thriving (mostly on my dog, I think!) Remember to take care of any standing water and try to use the least toxic methods to treat these pests effectively. Beneficial nematodes are one method that knocks out fleas and fire ants, but not ticks. We don’t want to lose all the beneficial bugs and critters that make our neighborhood a retreat from the sterile suburbia. And if you have particularly effective tips, please email me at macasserberg@alum.mit.edu ! POA NEWS AND INFORMATION – Joe Felkel, President Ok folks, here is your two minute lecture (sort of like the two minute drill in football). We are a Property Owners Association and we have rules. We also have fees. You may have noticed that we don’t have too many rules or too high of fees. I think that the general consensus is that is how we tend to like it or we would move to somewhere more restrictive and pay higher fees. Now, the bottom line is that the rules that we do have are for all of our protection and benefit. If I understand this correctly then in civilized society the rules are to be followed and the fees are to be paid. Most of us are not thinking about selling our property right now but that day will come and all of us will want to be able to get the best price for our property that we can. It is incumbent on us as property owners to follow the rules and restrictions that we have in place. I took the time to read them and they are not onerous or overly restrictive. All that we really ask is that you use the ACC as a resource and request a review and approval before you add on to your dream house or property. The ACC is usually pretty quick and responsive to working with you so that your vision for your property fits in with the rules. I am aware of several instances where owners have either forgotten or neglected to fill out the necessary paperwork… it is not too late. Please fill out the approval request and submit it so that your file is updated. Part of the paperwork when you do sell your house is a check of the file to make sure that all improvements are properly documented and registered before Barton Creek Ranch POA signs off on the sale of your property. A copy of the approval request is attached to this newsletter. Please save it or copy it and have it available for your use when you decide to build or add on.
SOCIAL NEWS – Sybil Boyter, Treasurer In July, the Neighborhood Watch and the POA got together to host an Ice Cream Social for National Night Out. There were about 40 people in attendance. There was a fire truck, games and a bike course for the kids. A local Police Officer came and spoke to us about safety and gave us a local crime report. We finished off the party with desserts and ice-cream. Thank you to everyone who put this thing together and a special thanks to the Folgers for letting us use their front yard for the event. Things to come…. Neighborhood Potluck & Play Day Saturday, January 12 th 11:00 am - 3:00 pm Sign-up sheet will be posted at the first of the year near the mailboxes. Location TBA. The POA is interested in planning more events but would like some feedback first. Please let us know if you are interested in attending any of the following events and/or have suggestions (date, location, etc…)
Easter Egg Hunt – possibly Sat., Mar 22 nd mid-morning Annual Meeting – late April / Early May Independence Day Neighborhood Parade – Friday, July 4 th late afternoon Progressive Dinner- summertime 2008 SAVE A TREE Please add yourself to our newsletter email list, so you can get paperless quarterly news from the POA. Your email will remain private, only to be used in blind copies of the newsletter, unless you elect to have it added to the directory. Please email sybiljane@yahoo.com with your preference.
Holiday Safety – Joe Felkel, President As summer ends and we edge into fall (as much fall as we have in Texas anyway) we enter into the holiday season with Halloween leading to Thanksgiving closely followed by Hanukah and Christmas. Most families experience a quickening of their social schedule with school and family events keeping us on our toes. While safety should not just be a seasonal consideration, it is prudent to remind ourselves of a few pointers that will keep our holidays happy. Change your clock; change the batteries in your smoke detectors. In our age of high tech devices this is still the best bang for your buck. Spend the money to buy good quality batteries and change them every time the time changes (twice a year). Halloween is scary with all the little ghosts and goblins but observing a few tips keeps them and us safe. Observe proper candle safety when lighting those jack-o-lanterns, make sure that they are situated where nothing else can catch fire. Make sure that all matches and lighters are handled by adults and put away safely. Kids should not carry candles as any part of their costume. Light sticks and flash lights as well as plenty of reflective material will make sure that your little monster or princess will be clearly seen. As drivers we need to remember to take special care in driving to regulate our speed and be extra vigilant in watching for trick or treater’s. Costumes should be well inspected to make sure that they do not pose tripping fire risk or strangulation dangers. In today’s world parents should consider only taking their to trick or treat in known neighborhoods or one of the many organized Halloween parties put on by area churches. Holiday lighting makes our homes festive and helps us get in the holiday mood. Use great caution in checking and installing your holiday lighting. Protect your electrical system by not overloading outlets and circuits. Make sure that grounded circuits are used and that your electrical lighting is not in damp or wet areas. Inspect extension cords and light strings for damage or fraying; appropriately discard any defective ones. Be especially careful with candles. Never leave candles unattended. Be extremely vigilant with candles if children or pets are present and can either play with or knock them over. Care should be taken in candle placement making sure that nothing flammable such as curtains, drapes, bed clothes or wall hangings are nearby. Appropriate containers should be used to hold candles and contain wax and flame if it should fall over. Trees, wreaths and decorations are potential sources of fuel for fire. Extra thought and care should be taken to inspect all holiday decorations and their proposed locations. Natural trees and wreaths can dry out and provide tinder for the start of a fire. Some artificial materials are not much better. Common sense and good judgment will serve you well in putting together your holiday displays. ROADS, GRASS AND TREES One of the three questionnaires that was turned in last time asked about trimming and clearing of trees and brush that obscure the line of sight around some of our curves in the subdivision. This is a reasonable safety issue. I passed on the request to County Commissioner Karen Ford and I noticed that a county mower has been in the area and earlier this week a crew was doing some trimming. I will follow up on this since I don’t feel that the job was completed in certain problem areas. If your property has trees with branches that block line of sight on the curves please help us by doing some preemptive trimming. I have also been asked to request some patching of the holes by the mail boxes which I will pass on to the county. We hope that some of the tips and reminders provided above prove beneficial to you. We have proposed some neighborhood social activities but we need your feedback on what you are interested in. Please share those ideas with us and get involved in your neighborhood. Have a safe and restful holiday season!
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