QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
September 30, 2010
Well, not much went on during the summer. Not even very nice summer, the weather just couldn’t make up its mind whether to be cold or warm. The dry winter caused a lot of loss with the trees and landscape plants. Most of the homeowners have responded to that by replacing the trees with new ones. Those trees will need extra TLC for two years. That means supplemental watering each week. The sprinklers just don’t give the tree roots enough water when they do the lawns.
The one uncompleted project is the sign post at the intersection of Paradise and Meadow Glenn. Monica has all the parts on-hand and the post on its way, so that should be taken care of soon. I think everyone who has taken the time to set the city’s sign back up after it has blown over needs a thank you, so Thank You!
ELECTIONS FOR HOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Just a heads up, but this is the third year for the present Board of Directors, so the homeowners in the Orchards need to think about volunteering for a Board position. I’m of the opinion that every resident homeowner if not every homeowner needs to be a part of the administration of the HOA by volunteering for at least a year. It is easy to criticize the Board, not so easy when you are in the position of implementing the CC&Rs and By-Laws. Please give it your serious consideration.
Due to the economic times we have a lot of homes in the Orchards sitting empty, some in foreclosure or short sale. The lawns and landscaping at these properties really look bad. Establishing landscaping is a long-term process; beautiful yards take a time commitment. When landscaping dies we look like a neighborhood in decline not one where the homeowners have pride in their homes and yards. If you are trying to sell your property the unkempt look is sure to make it harder to sell. Either you or your property management company isn’t doing the job you agreed to do when you bought into a homeowner’s association.
Those homeowners who have renters need to give them a list of the By-Laws so that they are aware of the rules associated with being in an HOA. The Rules and Regulations are shown on the back of this Newsletter, along with the associated fine. They include not keeping your garbage can out of sight, parking in the Fire Lane and nuisance activities, including parties.
The Board of Directors has not started having meetings again. I have been told that they are in the process of agreeing to a day of the month to meet. Remember that the meetings are open to all homeowners. If you have an issue that you want to bring to the Board, let them know ahead of the meeting date so they can arrange to put it on the agenda for discussion. The Blogspot should give you the date and time of the meetings. You can also send an email to the HOA address to ask about date and time or send in a request for an agenda item.
In accordance to Article III, 3.12 (4) and the State of Washington RCW 64.38.020 (11) the following is the fine schedule for violations of the Covenants, By-Laws, and Rules and Regulations for the Orchards: Revision 2/5-4-2007.
Property: including but not limited to unkempt landscape, lawn maintenance, junk or garbage in front yard or visible from the street (not screened with properly approved fence) -- $50 per week until resolved.
Fences and Outbuildings: including but not limited to damage to the common area fencing, private fences in disrepair, fences or outbuildings not approved by the ARC committee -- $50 each violation per month until remedied.
Parking/Vehicle Restrictions: including but not limited to: blocking the sidewalks, impeding the passing of an emergency vehicle, blocking another’s driveway, parking too close to a stop sign or intersection (curbs are marked with red paint) or parking in the front yard of a property -- $50 each vehicle per occurrence.
Animal Restrictions/Control: Primary response for animal issues in Cheney is S.C.R.A.P.S. No action will be taken by the Board unless that agency is proven to be consistently, unreasonably unresponsive.
Trash: including but not limited to cans being left out past the day of collection, trash in cans not being properly lidded so that the trash blows into other’s yards or the common areas of the neighborhood, trash dump in swales (including grass clippings that someone dumps. -- $50 per occurrence, per month until remedied.
Drainage Swale Maintenance: including but not limited to failing to plant the swales in grass and keep them trimmed and weed free, failing to make sure the flow of drainage water is not impeded, homeowners may not fill in any drainage area or degrade the swale in any way -- $50 per occurrence, per month until remedied plus cost of restoring swale to its correct state.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
June Newsletter (posted a bit late due to blog error)
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
June 30, 2010
There were several things accomplished in the this quarter in The Orchards. The curb and storm drain cover on the corner of Meadow Glen and Silverthorn was repaired. Didn’t fix the problem of the puddle collecting there, but that was an engineering problem caused by the developer. With the rain that we got this last winter and continuing this Spring, that is certainly evident. I think that the storm drains put in by the mailboxes on Silverthorn have helped with that runoff though. The other item was to have the asphalt cracks sealed and that was accomplished also. The street sweeper has also been through. In fact, he did Paradise also!
The Board directed me and Jessica Dempsey to meet with the City of Cheney Park and Recreation Department to talk with them about the park situation in the Orchards. In 2007 we voted and proposed to the city our wishes for the development of the park at the end of Meadow Glen behind the Holiday Inn. Paul Simmons and Todd Ableman came out and did a walk-around with us, and Paul seemed enthusiastic about going forward with the proposal if grant money can be secured. All of the paperwork that we had submitted to the City for consideration in the 2008 budget had gone missing with the change of personnel, and it has been a job to recreate that paperwork and get copies to him. We were also asked to talk with John Johnson, a city engineer, about the rainwater runoff from Murphy Road all the way down the hill through the Barrington’s parking lot and the undeveloped field to the north (?) of the apartments which is all draining into our runoff swales that run behind the houses on Silverthorn and then down Meadow Glen and the larger swale that runs behind the Holiday Inn. The outcome was not as satisfying as we had hoped for. The agreement with the city is that the swales are to be maintained with grass to filter the rainwater. There has been erosion along the runoff swale, causing the large river rocks to dislodge up at Silverthorn and areas along the Holiday Inn side, where there is no vegetation, are eroding and will need to be addressed. Bottom line is that we are a private neighborhood and can make some changes as long as we do not affect our neighbor’s property adversely.
The maintenance person has asked Mr. Sprinkler to address the sprinkling system. The repairs done to it following the first bad winter were incorrectly sized. This spring when they tried to start up the system two leaks were found in the soaker system which services the Silverthorn landscaping. I won’t know until the July meeting if those issues have been resolved, but Greg Bell who lives by the park, says that they are running, and I don’t see leaking.
Nothing happening with the Yard of the Month which was proposed. I have tried to interest the Cheney Gardeners in coming into the Orchards to look at some of our yards though. They are still young, but there are some of our neighbors who are doing a really nice job in plantings and architectural details. Please send me your email address if you want to receive further newsletters. (For those homeowners who got a hand delivered copy of newsletter this month)
June 30, 2010
There were several things accomplished in the this quarter in The Orchards. The curb and storm drain cover on the corner of Meadow Glen and Silverthorn was repaired. Didn’t fix the problem of the puddle collecting there, but that was an engineering problem caused by the developer. With the rain that we got this last winter and continuing this Spring, that is certainly evident. I think that the storm drains put in by the mailboxes on Silverthorn have helped with that runoff though. The other item was to have the asphalt cracks sealed and that was accomplished also. The street sweeper has also been through. In fact, he did Paradise also!
The Board directed me and Jessica Dempsey to meet with the City of Cheney Park and Recreation Department to talk with them about the park situation in the Orchards. In 2007 we voted and proposed to the city our wishes for the development of the park at the end of Meadow Glen behind the Holiday Inn. Paul Simmons and Todd Ableman came out and did a walk-around with us, and Paul seemed enthusiastic about going forward with the proposal if grant money can be secured. All of the paperwork that we had submitted to the City for consideration in the 2008 budget had gone missing with the change of personnel, and it has been a job to recreate that paperwork and get copies to him. We were also asked to talk with John Johnson, a city engineer, about the rainwater runoff from Murphy Road all the way down the hill through the Barrington’s parking lot and the undeveloped field to the north (?) of the apartments which is all draining into our runoff swales that run behind the houses on Silverthorn and then down Meadow Glen and the larger swale that runs behind the Holiday Inn. The outcome was not as satisfying as we had hoped for. The agreement with the city is that the swales are to be maintained with grass to filter the rainwater. There has been erosion along the runoff swale, causing the large river rocks to dislodge up at Silverthorn and areas along the Holiday Inn side, where there is no vegetation, are eroding and will need to be addressed. Bottom line is that we are a private neighborhood and can make some changes as long as we do not affect our neighbor’s property adversely.
The maintenance person has asked Mr. Sprinkler to address the sprinkling system. The repairs done to it following the first bad winter were incorrectly sized. This spring when they tried to start up the system two leaks were found in the soaker system which services the Silverthorn landscaping. I won’t know until the July meeting if those issues have been resolved, but Greg Bell who lives by the park, says that they are running, and I don’t see leaking.
Nothing happening with the Yard of the Month which was proposed. I have tried to interest the Cheney Gardeners in coming into the Orchards to look at some of our yards though. They are still young, but there are some of our neighbors who are doing a really nice job in plantings and architectural details. Please send me your email address if you want to receive further newsletters. (For those homeowners who got a hand delivered copy of newsletter this month)
October 2010 Meeting
The next HOA board meeting will be Monday, October 11, 2010 at 6pm. If you would like to attend, please email the board or contact a board member for meeting place.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
2nd Quarter Newsletter
SECOND QUARTER NEWSLETTER
March 31, 2010
The election ballot for the selection of the Treasurer finally went out in February. The new Treasurer will be Kelsey Brookreson. Thank you and Tom Neubauer also for volunteering to be on the Board.
There was no meeting of the Board in February, so no news from that month.
Seventy-five percent of the Dues for 2010 have been paid to-date. The Board voted to have the Treasurer deposit the budgeted amount into the Reserve Fund for major HOA repairs.
They also decided to go forward with a Yard of the Month acknowledgment for the residents of the Orchards. Kim Best will be in charge of this committee and Erin Klaus will be helping her. Janet was asked to contact the Cheney Gardeners and find out what they use to decide their monthly winner.
The vice president was asked to contact Half-Moon Construction and get a bid on fixing the curb on the corner of Silverthorn and Meadow Glenn.
The Board also discussed the continuing problem of people in the Orchards driving up onto the sidewalks around the speed bumps. They will try a change with a speed bump on Silverthorn and monitor to see if it is working. The Board decided to call Lisa at Specialty Asphalt and get a maintenance quote for sealing asphalt cracks in the roadways.
Under new business, the Board was asked if they had set a date for having AAA Sweeping come in and sweep the streets. Tabled until next meeting. Also, the question was asked about repainting the street corners with the red paint. Travis said he wanted to investigate painting in front of fire hydrants also, and would talk with the Fire Department in regard to this. Tabled until next meeting.
Board meetings will be held the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm. The next meeting was set for April 6th at Keith’s house.
Ah, the homeowners association….A RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION NEAR ENGLAND’S HAMME-ON-RYE UNEARTHED A 14th CENTURY DOCUMENT THAT SUGGESTS THAT HOAS ARE NOT A NEw PHENOMENON..
“REFUSE SHALT BE REMOVED ON EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY. Homeowners Should
Throw any mullok and other unwanted materials out of their windows to the
Footpath below. Barrels are available near the commons for the recycling of
Parchment and chainmail.” Proper Manners by David Martin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OMG! It hasn’t changed! I find McDonalds, Starbucks garbage and beer cans, all over the Orchards every day/week, HOA owners and tenants please remember that garbage pickup is Friday, the cans need to be put in garages or out of sight after pickup. The City of Cheney asks that the cans be placed in the street for ease of pickup by their truck.
March 31, 2010
The election ballot for the selection of the Treasurer finally went out in February. The new Treasurer will be Kelsey Brookreson. Thank you and Tom Neubauer also for volunteering to be on the Board.
There was no meeting of the Board in February, so no news from that month.
Seventy-five percent of the Dues for 2010 have been paid to-date. The Board voted to have the Treasurer deposit the budgeted amount into the Reserve Fund for major HOA repairs.
They also decided to go forward with a Yard of the Month acknowledgment for the residents of the Orchards. Kim Best will be in charge of this committee and Erin Klaus will be helping her. Janet was asked to contact the Cheney Gardeners and find out what they use to decide their monthly winner.
The vice president was asked to contact Half-Moon Construction and get a bid on fixing the curb on the corner of Silverthorn and Meadow Glenn.
The Board also discussed the continuing problem of people in the Orchards driving up onto the sidewalks around the speed bumps. They will try a change with a speed bump on Silverthorn and monitor to see if it is working. The Board decided to call Lisa at Specialty Asphalt and get a maintenance quote for sealing asphalt cracks in the roadways.
Under new business, the Board was asked if they had set a date for having AAA Sweeping come in and sweep the streets. Tabled until next meeting. Also, the question was asked about repainting the street corners with the red paint. Travis said he wanted to investigate painting in front of fire hydrants also, and would talk with the Fire Department in regard to this. Tabled until next meeting.
Board meetings will be held the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm. The next meeting was set for April 6th at Keith’s house.
Ah, the homeowners association….A RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION NEAR ENGLAND’S HAMME-ON-RYE UNEARTHED A 14th CENTURY DOCUMENT THAT SUGGESTS THAT HOAS ARE NOT A NEw PHENOMENON..
“REFUSE SHALT BE REMOVED ON EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY. Homeowners Should
Throw any mullok and other unwanted materials out of their windows to the
Footpath below. Barrels are available near the commons for the recycling of
Parchment and chainmail.” Proper Manners by David Martin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OMG! It hasn’t changed! I find McDonalds, Starbucks garbage and beer cans, all over the Orchards every day/week, HOA owners and tenants please remember that garbage pickup is Friday, the cans need to be put in garages or out of sight after pickup. The City of Cheney asks that the cans be placed in the street for ease of pickup by their truck.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Juanuary 2010: Quarterly Newsletter
FIRST QUARTER NEWSLETTER
January 11, 2010
I have felt for almost four years now that because the attendance and participation at the monthly board meetings and the annual homeowners meeting is so low, that a newsletter is needed to at least let the homeowners know what has been happening in the neighborhood.
You all received an insert in the notification of the annual meeting which showed the Actuals for 2009. Last night we discussed the breakdown a bit more, and I thought you would like to know what I heard. The numbers I will list for Repairs & Maintenance will be rounded, but should be very close.
Repairs to asphalt on Silverthorn: Because of the water runoff problems on Silverthorn, the asphalt streets were showing cracking from sinking. Specialty Asphalt was called out to rebuild the crown just past the mailboxes as you go into the Orchards, and they also resealed the cracks that were opening up in the street. That cost was around $800.
Installation of two storm drains on Silverthorn: We asked the city officials to come out and look over the water runoff problems with us. Todd Ableman, Elisa Rodriquez and John Johnson came out. Firstly they made it very clear that the city had no responsibility to install the drains because we are a private, homeowner neighborhood. We knew that but wanted to make sure they would not stand in the way of our doing this project, and also wanted to pick their brains regarding who to send requests for quotation. The city said we need no permit, and to just send them a letter of intent.
Requests for quotation were sent out and Half Moon Construction installed the drains for $6,100. The recent rain has pointed out that there are still issues to be dealt with, fences in the swale blocking the flow to the catchment areas, and the fact that the Barrington Apartments are just not capturing their runoff, and it is flooding Silverthorn. The creek draining from Normal Park Road is also dumping a great deal of water into our system.
These two projects accounted for $6,900 of the $7,386 shown as expended for repairs and maintenance in 2009.
Snow Removal costs were $13,033.
Another cost which blindsided the HOA was a notification from the Assessor’s Office that we were in arrears for the last three years on property taxes. This lead to an investigation and we found that Clifford Mort of Mort Construction, the original developer of the Orchards, had not signed these two common areas (the park and the RV/guest parking area) over to the HOA. He must have been getting the bills for these two areas, but ignored them, so the end result to the HOA was back taxes plus penalties of $2,631. Ouch!
The law office who originally handled the paperwork transferring the Orchards to the HOA was contacted. Steven Drummond spent a lot of time researching and getting Mr. Mort tracked down to sign the quit claims. They have been properly filed now, and all common areas are in the association’s name. No Charge to the association.
The last large dollar item for 2009 is Grounds. That figure represents the mowing and weed whipping of the common areas, spraying for weed control and the pruning of the trees along the Silverthorn entrance.
A committee was set up to meet with Elisa Rodriquez and Mayor Tom Trulove in regard to the drainage issues affecting the Orchards.
The annual meeting had less attendance than was required for a quorum (we need 34 homeowners in attendance). The current President, V. President, Secretary and 5th Board member will be staying for a third term. The Treasurer position had two candidates, and the Board will be sending out a ballot for your vote. Invoices will have been sent out by the time you receive this newsletter.
Written By Janet Prendergast (The Orchards Home Owner)
January 11, 2010
I have felt for almost four years now that because the attendance and participation at the monthly board meetings and the annual homeowners meeting is so low, that a newsletter is needed to at least let the homeowners know what has been happening in the neighborhood.
You all received an insert in the notification of the annual meeting which showed the Actuals for 2009. Last night we discussed the breakdown a bit more, and I thought you would like to know what I heard. The numbers I will list for Repairs & Maintenance will be rounded, but should be very close.
Repairs to asphalt on Silverthorn: Because of the water runoff problems on Silverthorn, the asphalt streets were showing cracking from sinking. Specialty Asphalt was called out to rebuild the crown just past the mailboxes as you go into the Orchards, and they also resealed the cracks that were opening up in the street. That cost was around $800.
Installation of two storm drains on Silverthorn: We asked the city officials to come out and look over the water runoff problems with us. Todd Ableman, Elisa Rodriquez and John Johnson came out. Firstly they made it very clear that the city had no responsibility to install the drains because we are a private, homeowner neighborhood. We knew that but wanted to make sure they would not stand in the way of our doing this project, and also wanted to pick their brains regarding who to send requests for quotation. The city said we need no permit, and to just send them a letter of intent.
Requests for quotation were sent out and Half Moon Construction installed the drains for $6,100. The recent rain has pointed out that there are still issues to be dealt with, fences in the swale blocking the flow to the catchment areas, and the fact that the Barrington Apartments are just not capturing their runoff, and it is flooding Silverthorn. The creek draining from Normal Park Road is also dumping a great deal of water into our system.
These two projects accounted for $6,900 of the $7,386 shown as expended for repairs and maintenance in 2009.
Snow Removal costs were $13,033.
Another cost which blindsided the HOA was a notification from the Assessor’s Office that we were in arrears for the last three years on property taxes. This lead to an investigation and we found that Clifford Mort of Mort Construction, the original developer of the Orchards, had not signed these two common areas (the park and the RV/guest parking area) over to the HOA. He must have been getting the bills for these two areas, but ignored them, so the end result to the HOA was back taxes plus penalties of $2,631. Ouch!
The law office who originally handled the paperwork transferring the Orchards to the HOA was contacted. Steven Drummond spent a lot of time researching and getting Mr. Mort tracked down to sign the quit claims. They have been properly filed now, and all common areas are in the association’s name. No Charge to the association.
The last large dollar item for 2009 is Grounds. That figure represents the mowing and weed whipping of the common areas, spraying for weed control and the pruning of the trees along the Silverthorn entrance.
A committee was set up to meet with Elisa Rodriquez and Mayor Tom Trulove in regard to the drainage issues affecting the Orchards.
The annual meeting had less attendance than was required for a quorum (we need 34 homeowners in attendance). The current President, V. President, Secretary and 5th Board member will be staying for a third term. The Treasurer position had two candidates, and the Board will be sending out a ballot for your vote. Invoices will have been sent out by the time you receive this newsletter.
Written By Janet Prendergast (The Orchards Home Owner)
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