vista ridge - september 2011

Copyright © 2011 Peel, Inc. Vista Ridge Reporter - September 2011 1

Vista Ridge Reporter

ReporterV I S T A

VOL. I, ISSUE IVSEPTEMBER 2011

O F F I C A L N EW S L E T T E R O F T H E V I S T A R I D G E HOA

R I D G E

(Continued on Page 3)

Leander Vista Ridge Homeowner’s Association Meeting

Saturday, August 13th, 10:00 am at the Leander Public Library’s conference room

Approximately 20 people were in attendance, including homeowners, Carl Gamble with Goodwin Management, and James Zimmermann with Gramercy Development Corporation (neighborhood liaison to MHI).

Attendance sheets were passed around for homeowners to initial. A packet (that included the meeting agenda, HOA balance sheet, income statement and budget detail) was passed out to everyone.

Terri Hall, Carl Gamble and James Zimmermann conducted the meeting.

Carl Gamble introduced himself and said that a need for a meeting had been called to his attention due to numerous concerns around the neighborhood.

Terri Hall introduced herself as the neighborhood liaison between Vista Ridge and Goodwin Management. Terri asked if everyone knew about the yahoo group and the neighborhood website.

Tim Lehner, the chairman of the Pool Committee, was absent, so Terri spoke on Tim’s behalf:

Membership to the pool committee is open; anyone can email Tim if they would like to join.

The pool committee needs help with taking out/bringing in the trash cans every

week, monitoring the pool (particularly with teenagers who don’t live here but use the pool nonetheless), general maintenance, taking down umbrellas for storms, etc.

Members of the pool committee are Tim Lehner, Mike Borden, Marissa Burill, Terri Hall and Lola Monaghan.

Renovations / updates that were recently done at the pool include new tables, textured floors, new lost & found, new bike rack, and new lights around the cabana.

Renovations that need to be done include a light in the pool that is in need of repair, and new stripes/re-surfacing of the parking lot. This maintenance will be done after the pool season has ended.

Terri Hall then spoke about the Social Committee:

The social committee needs help with Summer Splash and other events; the contact info is on the website.

The members of the social committee are Terri Hall, Karen Curtis, Marissa Burill and Jennifer Voith.

There was no National Night Out this year because of the stifling heat and because there currently is not a Crime Watch Committee in place. Terri solicited for volunteers to join the crime watch committee.

Marissa Burill, co-chair of the Lawn & Garden Committee, talked about the following:

Her husband and chairman of the Lawn & Garden Committee, Thad Burill, monitors the neighborhood frequently as he drives it often for his work. They have compiled guidelines for eligible lawns; need to be well-manicured, maintained, etc.

The winner each month will receive a $25 gift card to Lowe’s or another local vendor. While they display the Yard of the Month sign, the homeowner is expected to keep the yard well-maintained. The homeowner is also expected to be current on HOA dues.

The Lawn & Garden Committee will soon be looking for Holiday themes (Halloween and Christmas). They also need help with articles for the HOA newsletter.

The winner for June was the Coopers on Shamitas Court, and the winners for July were the homeowners at 308 Olmos.

Renters are not excluded from winning Yard of the Month, as long as the property owner is current on HOA dues.

Carl Gamble then spoke about the budget. He referenced the budget sheets in the packet:

There’s currently $76,425 in the account.A large upcoming expense is the re-

surfacing of the pool, which is expected to cost about $30,000. For large projects such as these, there needs to be big reserve in the HOA account. For example, sand filters cost

2 Vista Ridge Reporter -September 2011 Copyright © 2011 Peel, Inc.


The Vista Ridge Reporter is a monthly newsletter mailed to all Vista Ridge residents. Each newsletter is filled with valuable information about the community, local area activities, school information and more.

The Vista Ridge HOA hopes you enjoy this newsletter and welcomes this new communications tool for our neighborhood. Additionally, you may wish to visit our Vista Ridge website, www.LeanderVR.com. Directions on joining our Yahoo Group message board can be found there as well. If you have questions or would like to join any of the committees, please contact the appropriate chairperson below:

Our goal is to keep you informed!

A newsletter for Vista Ridge residents

NEWSLETTER INFOPUBLISHER Peel, Inc. ...................... www.PEELinc.com, 512-263-9181 Article Submission [email protected] Advertising................................ [email protected]

WELCOME

Please support the advertisers that make The Vista Ridge Reporter possible. If you would like to support the newsletter by advertising, please contact our sales office at 512-263-9181 or [email protected]. The advertising deadline is the 8th of the month prior to the issue.

ADVERTISING INFO

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS Interested in submitting an article? You can do so by emailing [email protected] or by going to http://www.peelinc.com/articleSubmit.php. All news must be received by the 9th of the month prior to the issue. So if you are involved with a school group, scouts, sports etc – please submit your articles for The Vista Ridge Reporter. Personal news for the Stork Report, Teenage Job Seekers, special celebrations and military service are also welcome.

NEIGHBORHOOD COORDINATOR Terri Hall [email protected] OF THE MONTH COORDINATORMarissa Burill [email protected] & PARK COMMITTEE CHAIR Tim Lehner ...................................... [email protected]

SOCIAL COMMITTEE CHAIR Karen Curtis [email protected]

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Lisa Naumann .......................... [email protected]

HOA COMMITTEES

MANAGEMENT CO.Goodwin Management, Inc

Carl Gamble, Property Manager [email protected]

502.7517

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HOA Meeting... (Continued from Cover)

$3,500 and the re-surfacing of the parking lot is expected to cost several thousand dollars.

The income for the HOA was $102,000. There’s a budget for social committee, hospitality, etc.

There is a new state law that recently passed: when a homeowner wants to review an HOA budget, the homeowner will have to make a formal application procedure. Carl agreed to be friendly and will simply provide the budget when asked.

Carl indicated that from the previous year’s budget, water and electric have gone up about 5%. They try to estimate costs the best they can.

Please let Carl know if anyone has any input or questions.

Question: Will the HOA fees be raised?Answer (Carl): Probably not for a year,

as they most likely have enough of a surplus for anticipated costs. After that, there will probably be a $10 increase for the year.

Additionally, new homeowners -- 10 to 12 new lots are open -- will help the bottom line with increased the revenue they will bring.

James Zimmerman, who drove in from Houston early that morning to attend the meeting, spoke:

The developer recently got approval to move on to the next phase of the neighborhood, which are 127 lots at the front of the neighborhood (tract on the left). They plan to do 80 lots first (in the Spring of 2012), and should have them ready by this time next year (late Summer/Fall of 2012). The remaining 40 lots will be done at a later date.

The lots of this new phase are 50’ wide by normal depth. The houses will be the same product as what is currently being built, but will obviously have to accommodate the narrower lot size.

The developer would like another builder to build in the new section. This other builder could be Wilshire, as they are owned

by the same parent company. These homes will have some different options / elevations.

Question: Is Lakeline Boulevard projected to go through soon to the back of Vista Ridge?

Answer ( James): Al l landowners contributed to the extension of Lakeline expect for the landowner backing up to Vista Ridge. This is now an eminent domain situation and the City of Leander is involved. The funds are in place, but have to wait for the legalities of the eminent domain situation.

Question (Karen): Will the developer help us fight if LISD tries to re-zone our neighborhood to another school? It’s been noted that the sign for Vista Ridge was placed directly across from Whitestone Elementary right after the rezoning was nullified.

Answer (James): Yes, the developer will do




what they can to keep Vista Ridge zoned for Whitestone Elementary. The developer of Crystal Falls was not happy that the Vista Ridge sign was placed on Crystal Falls Drive across from the school; however, MHI owns the land on which the sign was placed.

James Zimmerman talked briefly about his background:He was with MHI for 15 years, and recently retired in February.He is running MHI’s projects in Austin, and is the liaison for us.Lola stated that the sign outside our neighborhood says

“Community Pool”, and should be changed to say “Residents only”, as the community pool sign attracts undesirables to our pool.

Question (Christine): What belongs to the community, and what belongs to the residents?

For example, there are 3-inch gaps in the sidewalk near her house that are hazardous.

Also, screens in the bathrooms at the pool cabana seem more important than re-surfacing the floor of the cabana, as black widows and wasps have infested the bathrooms, and as a result people are urinating in the pool because they don’t want to go in the bathroom.

Lastly, who fixes broken fences that back up to public property? For example, there were exposed rusty nails near the mailboxes at Encino/Olmos due to a fence that was not fixed properly.

Answer (James/Carl): Property lines are behind the sidewalks; sidewalks are public

right-of-way. The issue is the county’s responsibility, but they usually don’t do anything. The HOA could take it on; may be the city’s responsibility as well, but plats are recorded in the county.

The screens needed in the bathrooms in the cabana are an HOA issue. There are some reserves in the HOA budget, but for maintenance items such as these, they have to see if they have enough money to take of it and have to decide what top priority is.

Lola stated that the Pool Committee has looked at this problem and received a quote to fix the problem, but the cost is too exorbitant as angled screens would be needed and the roof would need to be re-done (roof is currently open at the top). Terri suggested we need more pest control as a short-term solution. Lola solicited for more volunteers for the pool committee to get more quotes for this issue.

Question (Christine): According to the HOA regulations and CCRs, on-street parking is not permitted. However, there are so many cars parked on the street, which is a hazard to children and impedes traffic flow. Why is this not enforceable when it’s in the CCRs?

Answer (Carl): The city cannot enforce it; the HOA has to enforce it. The CCRs cannot be taken as a guarantee. If a car is parked on the street on Friday and is moved by Monday (less than 72 hours), the HOA cannot do anything about it. However, action can be taken when the vehicle is parked for longer than 72 hours. According to Texas Property Code 209, they can send a registered letter to the individual, asking them to move the car. Then the individual can be fined if they are still in violation. According to the Texas Riding Code, they cannot tow a car. They can have a Constable come, but that costs money that would be taken out of the HOA budget. Big

trailers, commercial vehicles and boats are violations and can be sent letters immediately. If a driveway is completely blocked and the homeowner cannot get out of his/her driveway, they can call the police. Pictures of violations need to be emailed to Carl so that he can send a registered letter and begin fining the individual.

Question (Lola): Why are the fences different on each side of the neighborhood? When you come into the neighborhood on the right (north) side, its stone pillar/wood fence; the left (south) side does not match.

Answer (James): James noticed this discrepancy when he drove through the neighborhood prior to the meeting. They intend to re-do the fence so that both sides match. However, it also depends on if the backs, as opposed to the sides, of the houses are facing Vista Ridge Drive. The fences behind Olmos (east side of Olmos) will be shared with the new phase.

James talked about the new streets of the new phase. Three streets will be built: two will go straight, while one will loop back / connect to the neighborhood.

Question (Karen): What to do about incessantly barking dogs and feral cats?

Answer (Carl): Carl/HOA can send a notice/letter to the homeowner, but it’s hard to prove that it’s a nuisance. One can also call animal control.

Question: Why is the sprinkler system not working at the front entrance?

Answer (Carl): Carl receives a monthly report from the landscaping company. The sprinklers will be fixed and there will be new landscaping in October. New plants are done two times a year, and new mulch is done once a year.

Question (Lola): What to do about trash cans that are left out? A particular resident has a handicap and cannot put his trash can in the garage, but because of this other residents are also leaving out their trash cans.

Answer (Carl/James): The special permission was made for one person due to their handicap. All others need to bring in their trash cans. The Burills made a garbage can divider to hide the trash can from public view; the HOA may be able to make one for people with handicaps who are unable to put their trash can in their garage or backyard.

Question (Marissa): Will the developer ever construct a small building with meeting space for the residents to rent?

Answer (James): It would depend on the budget; the developer can look into it with the addition of 127 new homes and the revenue that will bring. James pointed out that many lots were sold before the current amenity center was built.

Carl said that a new state law was passed that there now has to be a website for the Home Owners Board to post HOA notifications. This is another charge for the HOA that will cost approximately $30/month.

HOA Meeting... (Continued from Page 3)



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Question (Jennifer): What about installing cameras at the pool?Answer (Carl): Oak Park is another neighborhood under Goodwin Management

that is similarly-sized to Vista Ridge. Oak Park has had similar problems with their pool that Vista Ridge has had. Oak Park is built out, with houses in the $250K to $350K range. Cameras were just installed in this neighborhood, and need fine-tuning (cameras not up and running yet).

Lakeline Ranch, just south of Vista Ridge, has also had similar problems and is getting cameras installed, too.

Carl is going to monitor these neighborhoods’ situations to see if Vista Ridge can benefit from it so that we can implement it here.

Brevo, the vendor of the pool key cards, installed the cameras in the aforementioned neighborhoods. They will be able to be accessed from any website, but it is a closed system. Monitoring will not be open to the public

The cost is about $11,000. Carl stated there may be enough of a surplus in the HOA account to do it. The system can also be upgraded so that the pool key is required to exit the pool cabana.

There are other questions need to be answered about the system, such as how long the video can be viewed, who monitors, who has access.

Carl has read the emails on the yahoo group and agrees that something should be done about the pool situation.

Lola stated that people need to step forward and take note of the situation and help take care of their surroundings.

Carl pointed out the useful websites on the meeting agenda/front page of the packet:

www.poolkey.comhttp://lvr.goodwintx.comwww.leandervr.comTerri asked for article submissions to our monthly newsletter that

is published by Peel, Inc. Articles can be submitted to her by the 10th of every month. Terri stated that this newsletter is paid for by advertisers, not HOA dues.

HOA Meeting... (Continued from Page 4)



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PEEL, INC.community newsletters

CORRECTIONS:We apologize for the misprint in last month’s newsletter. The

Yard of the Month gift cards are for $25 each, not $50.

Crime in Vista RidgeIt’s not a matter of “If”, it’s a matter of “When”Currently the position of Crime Watch Committee Chair for our

Vista Ridge Community is vacant. Local law enforcement personnel can’t be all places at all times and it’s up to us to come together to stand up to crime in our neighborhood. The Chair person is an integral part of the crime watch team and is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the block captains and working with local law enforcement to educate our neighbors. It’s the perfect opportunity to help create a safer environment for all of us. If you are interested in volunteering for this important position please email Terri, at [email protected].

UPCOMING CITY OF LEANDER EVENTS• Monday, September 5th - Last Day at the Bledsoe Pool • Friday, September 9th - Movie in the Park – The Blind Side• Wednesday, September 14th - Active Adult Trip• Friday, September 23rd - Movie in the Park – Toy Story 3 • Saturday, September 24th - 6th Annual Suddenlink Bluegrass

Festival• Wednesday, September 28th - Active Adult Trip • Friday, September 30th – Last Day at the Bledsoe Water

Playscape

Recipe of the Month

IngredientsTORTILLA SOUP

• 1 Onion, chopped• ¼ Cup oleo• ¼ Cup flour• 6 cans chicken broth• 3-4 chicken breasts; cooked and chopped• 2 - 4 oz. cans chopped green chilies• 1 can diced Rotel tomatoes or 1 can diced tomatoes• 2 T chili powder• 2 tsp. garlic salt• 1 T Cumin• 8 Corn tortilla chips, cut up• 2 chopped avocados• shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Combine oleo and flour. Brown. Add broth, tomatoets, chilies, chicken, chili powderr, cumin, garlic salt. Simmer for 1 hour. Saute onion and chips. Add to soup. Pour over cheese and avocados. Optional: Add sour cream.

Enjoy!



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DISCLAIMER: Articles and ads in this newsletter express the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Peel, Inc. or its employees. Peel, Inc. is not responsible for the accuracy of any facts stated in articles submitted by others. The publisher also assumes no responsibility for the advertising content with this publication. All warranties and representations made in the advertising content are solely that of the advertiser and any such claims regarding its content should be taken up with the advertiser.* The publisher assumes no liability with regard to its advertisers for misprints or failure to place advertising in this publication except for the actual cost of such advertising.* Although every effort is taken to avoid mistakes and/or misprints, the publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors of information or typographical mistakes, except as limited to the cost of advertising as stated above or in the case of misinformation, a printed retraction/correction.* Under no circumstances shall the publisher be held liable for incidental or consequential damages, inconvenience, loss of business or services, or any other liabilities from failure to publish, or from failure to publish in a timely manner, except as limited to liabilities stated above.

9th Annual Barktoberfest& PLEDGE WALK FOR HOMELESS PETS

Have a howling good time and help the Central Texas SPCA save homeless pets in our community. This year’s event will be bigger and better than ever on Saturday, September 10th at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock, Texas. The morning starts with

a 2K pledge walk for homeless pets and then the festival fun begins. We’ll have music, food, vendors, fun games and

activities for kids, activities for dogs, low cost microchippping, a costume contest for

dogs and humans, and much more. The top fundraisers in

the 2K pledge walk will win great prizes! Please visit www.centraltexasspca.

o r g f o r m o r e information.


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vista ridge - september 2011

Documents

pool committee

social committee

terri hall

lawn garden committee

pool season

marissa burill

neighborhood website

e t t e r o f t h e