Clover

Greetings Neighbors,

During the monthly drive-through by JCHiggins (our HOA management firm), many lawns were flagged for visible clover blooms.  I know that it is really hard to get rid of the clover entirely, but please make an effort to keep it under control and at least keep it mowed when the blooms appear.  Due to the volume of “friendly reminder” letters that were to go out on this same topic, we directed JCH not to send the letters and instead we would do this post.  So, look at your lawn:  if you see clover blooms, pretend like you got a “friendly reminder” letter asking you to get that mowed or killed.

Thanks

HOA Board

Vegetation along property lines

Greetings neighbors,

It is that time of year when sometimes the vegetation starts to act like it just came out of the movie Jumanji.  When that happens along a property line (either between homes, or between a home and a county or HOA wetland or park), homeowners have the right to cut back any vegetation encroaching on their property.  It is not the responsibility of a landowner (be it homeowner, HOA or county) to prevent vegetation from their property from encroaching on another property.  So, if you are having issues with vegetation encroachment – especially if from an HOA or county tract – please feel free to cut it back.  It is your right to do so.

Thanks.

QW HOA Board

Spring notices

Greetings neighbors,

Just a quick announcement and a couple reminders:

First – The playset at the park is open!!  Enjoy.  We may have a neighborhood ribbon cutting party soon, but go ahead and enjoy.

Second – It is that time of the year that things – both nice and not-so nice – start growing.  Please consider if your lawn needs fertilizer or general weed/moss control.  And please a look at your landscaping (flowerbeds, driveway cracks, etc.)  for the spring spurt of weeds and moss.  I know JCHiggins will be sending out several “friendly reminders” this month for weeds and moss and such.  Remember, these are just friendly reminders to keep our neighborhood attractive for all.

Third – Water rates are still low (or at least not as high as they will be soon).  That makes this an ideal time for some power washing.

2025 Annual Meeting Reminder

Greetings neighbors,

This is a reminder that our annual HOA meeting is Tuesday, Feb 11 at 6:30 at Dieringer Heights Elementary.  If you cannot attend, please send your proxy with a neighbor as we will be voting on budget and board members.  Here are some of the things on the agenda for the meeting:

• Playset replacement: We are planning a neighbored workday on Feb 15 (weather permitting) to remove the old structure.  If you can help, please join us at the park at 10:00 on Feb 15.  Bring:
  • A truck or trailer if you want to keep any of the material for your own use
  • A truck or trailer if you are able to help haul material to the dump/recycling center
  • Gloves
  • Electric screw driver if you have one. We will provide special bits required to fit the screws.
  • A 3/4” and a 9/16” end wrench or socket.
• Other potential neighborhood upgrades
  • Pickle ball court?
  • Off-leash dog park?
• Finances/budget
• Board members. We have volunteers for 4 of 5 seats – so one is open.  Please consider volunteering.

We hope to see you there.

Playset and Annual Meeting update

Jan 8 – Greetings Neighbors, two things to share:

1. Annual Meeting: Our annual meeting is scheduled for February 11 at the Dieringer Heights Elementary School.  You should be getting a notice in the mail in the next few days.  Please plan to attend or to give your proxy to a neighbor that will be attending.  We will be voting on the 2025 budget as well as open board seats.  The budget will NOT have a dues increase.  Dues (still $600) will be due on March 1.  The dues/fees notices will be available sometime before February 1.
   There is one open seat on the board, so please think about volunteering.  So far, the ballot includes:
   * Mark Pampe (current term is ending, vote to serve another 2 years)
   * Colin Ury (current term is ending, vote to serve another 2 years)
   * Jerry Green (appointed in 2024 – vote to finish his term through 2025
   * Sonny Spencer (term goes through 2025, so no vote is needed)
   * Open Seat (please consider joining)
2. Playset: Weather permitting, we are planning to demo and remove the old playset on Saturday February 15.  We will slide a week (or two) if necessary for inclement weather.  Our biggest challenge will be the haul-away of the old material.  If anyone is willing and able to haul it away for scrap value, please PM Mark Pampe to discuss.  Otherwise, we will be asking for those with trucks or utility trailers to join in the effort to haul it to a dump/recycle facility.  Watch for more details as the date approaches.

Playset replacement decision

Greetings neighbors.  Thanks to all of you who participated in our play set survey.  I apologize for taking so long to announce the result, but we wanted to wait until we had the set fully negotiated and under contract before sharing the news.  We are now happy to report that we have contracted for the “Jungle Jim” play set, in Natural colors, to be installed this coming spring.  While the survey was close, Jungle Jim came out on top and going with Natural colors was a substantial (80%) winner.

Playset

Through the survey and other messages, we did receive several questions/comments.  Rather than replying individually, some Q&A is given below:

Q1: Do we need to vote on whether reserves should be used for this project?

A: No vote is needed.  The HOA Board has the responsibility/authority to use the reserves for big-ticket maintenance items.  The play set is one of the big-ticket items specifically listed in the reserve study/plan.

Q2: Will the play set be repairable? [For those that don’t know, the slide on the existing set broke a few years ago and was not repairable due to the company being out of business – and liability issues prevented adding a slide from a different manufacture to the existing set.]

A: We selected an established, nation-wide company with a long business record, so we have every expectation that they will be in business and able to support repairs in the future.

Q3: Can the existing play set be refurbished?

A: No, for the same reasons as Q2.

Q4: Can we include fixing the basketball hoops or adding a pickle ball court?

A: Maybe.  The board decided to first complete the play set and make sure that everything comes in as budgeted/expected.  We can then consider other smaller projects.

Q5: Can we add a swing set or a larger, expanded play structure.

A: Only with a special assessment and a vote.  The play set chosen fits within the existing playground site.  Anything larger or additional would substantially exceed our budget (mostly due to the need for extensive site preparation).

Q6: What is the cost/budget of the play set?

A: We recently conducted a reserve study update that recommended near-term replacement of the play set, targeting $40k.  We expect this project to come in at right about $40k.  The contracted cost of the equipment and installation ($30k) does not include removal of the old structure or refresh of play chips once completed.  We hope to do the removal via volunteers, but might have to hire some of that done, so the exact final cost is not known.

Thanks again for your participation in the survey, and stay tuned for:

• Opportunities to volunteer to help with the existing structure removal
• Announcement of an exact date when we will plan a grand opening of the new play set