NEIGHBORSHOODS UNITE TO SAVE

THE THOUSAND OAKS CORRIDOR

In a meeting on March 22 a number of zoning representatives, Councilman John Clamp, and residential property owners met to discuss the future of the Thousand Oaks corridor.  The commercial property owners and their real-estate agents were invited but none were present.  The residents were asked to give the city input concerning their desire for the Thousand Oaks corridor.  Please take action NOW!

• We need 1000 or more petitions.  We have around 525.  500 more petition signatures are urgently needed!  Petitions can be printed off the website (thousandoaksrezoning.org) and turned into the petition drop off box at 13902 Shire Oak. Anyone who believes in our cause can sign the petition.  They do not have to live in this area. They must be 18 years old. If you would like to pick up petitions to sign they are in the petition pick-up box at 13902 Shire Oak. It is not necessary to ring our doorbell to pick-up and drop off petitions.
• Email Councilman Clamp (john.clamp@sanantonio.gov) and ask him to rezone the Thousand Oaks corridor to comply with the Airport Vicinity Plan. The residential and commercial interests in our area will not be subject to the decay that happens with illogical and inappropriate zoning if and only if they comply with the zoning that was accepted in the Airport Vicinity Plan.  We are asking him to stop the neighborhood decay that is already in motion because this was not handled before now.  The future of the Thousand Oaks corridor community is in the hands of John Clamp and the zoning committee.  There are  approximately 10,000 residential property owners whose property values are at stake.  The integrity of our entire neighborhood environment is in question. We appreciate the fact that the Airport Vicinity Plan which the City Council passed into effect places logical zoning next to our residential communities. If the Airport Vicinity Plan is followed the zoning changes will save the integrity of our neighborhoods along the Thousand Oaks corridor.
• Call or e-mail Mario Hune (mario.hune@sanantonio.gov)  (phone:207-7063)  and ask him to continue working to protect our neighborhood environment by adhering to the Airport Vicinity Plan.  Ask him to get rid of the C3 and C2 zoning that goes against the Airport Vicinity Plan. What’s the point of the plan if they are not going to adhere to it? We appreciate the fact that the city’s plan places logical zoning next to our residential communities. This plan has already been accepted by the City Council, we are asking that they adhere to the plan.

Our Neighborhood Is Worth The fight!  Take Action today!!

Sharon Parry

490-9321

Construction should take approximately 14-15 months and the new station is hoped to be online by June of 2012.

What this means to Hunters Mill residents is a closer source of power which will change the path our electricty follows. Currently Hunters Mill residents are getting power from the CPS Nachodoches Substation and HM residents are on the end of that circuit. As a result, frequent outages have been noted.

This change will mean that our power will flow a shorter distance to our homes which means a higher chance of increased reliability.

CPS engineers tell me that they are currently performing a significant amount of work on the power line feeding our community. CPS says that it is “replacing all poles over 30 years old and all associated hardware and insulators that go with it. We also adding some additional fuse protection to better protect the main line from operations. We have completed approximately 65 poles so far and should be complete in the Spring.”

You can still expect to experience the occasional outage but since first being contacted about this problem, CPS has been working to address the level of reliability in our community.

For more information about this substation project, please visit: http://www.cpsenergy.com/Developers_Builders/New_Infrastructure/Blossom_Substation/index.asp or you can also view a brochure that was mailed to residents at the CPS site: http://www.cpsenergy.com/files/Blossom_Substation_Brochure.pdf

City of San Antonio Waste Management is hosting a free disposal day

•This service is free only to the City of San Antonio Residential Solid Waste rate payers.
•You MUST bring a copy of your recent CPS energy bill showing payment of City services and a picture ID.
•NO contractor, commercial, or industrial waste will be accepted at this event.

FIRST – Reuse & Recycle! Reusing materials and recycling are some of the most powerful ways you can protect the environment and make a difference for future generations. Before throwing away unwanted household items, consider donating the items to Goodwill, Salvation Army, your local church, or any other local charity. Place other household recyclables (newspaper, glass bottles and jars, plastic containers, aluminum cans, clean pie tins, steel and tin cans, and empty aerosol cans) in your blue container as part of your weekly curbside recycling collection. To learn more about other household recycling options, call the City’s Recycling Coordinator at 207-6416 or 311 or log onto www.sanantonio.gov/swmd/.

SECOND – Clean Up!
We will accept household trash such as mattresses, appliances, sofas, or other junk in your home and a maximum of six passenger car tires per household. We will also accept clean brush and leaves (No plastic bagged leaves) for recycling at our Bitters Brush Recycling Center (see map).

No HAZARDOUS WASTE ACCEPTED. Paints, chemical pesticides, motor oil, batteries, solvents, etc. will NOT be accepted at the drop-off sites. These items should be taken to the City’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility located at 7030 Culebra Road, open Fridays 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and Saturday- 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

THIRD – Separate It, Load It & Cover It! Bundle your brush separately from your other household trash. Properly load (distribute weight evenly) and cover your load with a tarp or you may be subject to a penalty (Tarp Law-City Ordinance # 722272).

FOURTH – Choose the Location Nearest You!

For Hunters Mill and surrounding areas, take your refuse to:

TDS Starcrest Transfer Station 11601Starcrest Dr.

If you have any questions, please call 3-1-1 and ask.

Methodology

A 16-question, two-page survey was sent to all residents of Hunter’s Mill. Surveys were due November 22, 2010. In order to maximize participation, a reminder survey was provided with an extended deadline of December 1, 2010. Additionally, an incentive was put in place (two $50 Visa gift cards) to encourage residents to share their thoughts. In total, 84 residents replied, which corresponds to 22 percent of households.

Participation among street areas was as follows:

• Alder Creek: 3 surveys or 3.6 percent of total surveys received
• Auburn Oaks: 6 or 7.1 percent     
• Cassowary Hill: 2 or 2.4 percent
• Flamingo Basin: 9 or 10.7 percent
• Hickory Legend: 8 or 9.5 percent 
• Magnolia Brook: 6 or 7.1 percent 
• Mason Crest: 5 or 6.0 percent       
• Partridge Hill: 5 or 7.1 percent      
• Rowe Drive: 13 or 15.5 percent    
• Solitaire Hill: 8 or 9.5 percent       
• Stoney Summit: 1 or 1.2 percent   
• Victory Palm: 6 or 7.1 percent
• Wondering Oak: 9 or 10.7 percent

 Using SPSS, statistical software, we randomly drew two survey winners. These are:

• Survey number 70:  3350 Flamingo Basin
• Survey number 72: 12243 Victory Palm

 Spectrum Association Management, LP

Hunters’ Mill households rated the performance of its association management organization, Spectrum, on four aspects. For the most part, households indicated that they don’t have too much interaction with the Spectrum staff and are therefore unable to rate their performance (reflected by the percentages in the “N/A column”).

Among those who have contacted Spectrum on at least one occasion, performance ratings are generally favorable with “good” being the most common rating. This is also the case for Spectrum’s upkeep of the park, facilities and entrance.  

 Respondents provided a handful of further insights on Spectrum’s performance:

• Could be friendlier and helpful.
• If you take a picture of my house for any reason, I want to know about it that day!!!!
• No consistency with records. i.e. continuous complaint and new manager has no knowledge of the past.
• Not available online; no spectrum website.
• Not happy about the mis-mailing of meeting notice; shows carelessness.
• The sign in the front of the park is of little use or need (same info for months) money could have been spent more usefully.
• They seem fair, sometimes uninformed and acting without the facts. E.g. citations for violations.
• Sent letters about trash cans that don’t belong to me being left out. I don’t control rental homes.

HOA Communication

Next respondents rated the frequency and quality of communications with homeowners across the range of vehicles.

 Website: Respondents generally agreed somewhat that the Hunters’ Mill website has all the information they need, signifying some room for improvement of either the content or functionality of the website. However, three in 10 residents indicated they either didn’t know about the website or have never visited it. As the website is an inexpensive and quick way to inform residents of upcoming activities and meetings, perhaps more frequent mentioning in the newsletter, bulletin board or separate signs can increase web traffic and use of the website as an important communication tool.

Meetings: More than nine in 10 respondents agree that annual HOA meeting dates are announced adequately. A slightly lower 89.1 percent feel that the dates are communicated well enough in advance.

Newsletter: The newsletter is generally rated as being a useful tool to stay informed about community updates and activities (89.1 percent) and the vast majority believes the frequency should remain the same, if not increase. However, many residents comment on the types of articles and content of the newsletter and would like to see a greater focus on items that directly impact the neighborhood and leave out recipes and other nonessential information. Suggestions throughout the survey for newsletter articles include:
- Can steps be taken against excessive dog barking?
- What is the board meeting on? (Meeting minutes)
- How is the budget spent?
- Garage sale information or upcoming events in the neighborhood
- Share the survey results with us (one section at the time)
- Neighborhood sharing and recommendations for dog walkers/sitters, handymen, baby sitters,
  tutors, lawn services, etc. With letters of recommendation from neighborhood users.
- Which fences are automatically allowed, what do you need approval for?
- How we can help each other keep the neighborhood desirable?
- Rules on yard upkeep.
- General politeness on cleaning up after dog. Maybe bag availability in park by trash cans?
- Keeping music volume down in cars when driving through the neighborhood.
- Fences; negotiated deals or recommendations on replacement costs and best practices.

 Point of contact: 71.1 percent of household say they know whom to contact with calls and questions. That leaves some three in 10 who don’t. Perhaps a newsletter article with examples can be of use to increase this proportion.

 Additional thoughts relative to HOA communications are:

• Announce in advance when neighborhood garage sale is going to be. Some of us work weekends and have to take off work. June is too hot and not a good time to have a garage sale. I think that’s why participation is so low.
• Cannot find our website through Google.
• I look forward to the newsletter.
• I’d rather have all the information relative to the neighborhood. Don’t care for recipes and non HOA information. Maybe an 8.5*11 is enough some months so we can up the frequency. I do like it when information is provided on burglaries.
• Newsletter is good to have, but should be focused on real issues, not recipes and ants.
• Park police unresponsive unless one complains often on particular problem.
• Provide updates on events in neighborhood and link to newsletter on website. Better focus of newsletter articles; too much fluff.
• The front entrance bulletin board is a great way to communicate any news we need to know about.
• The news board needs to be updated more often. Weekly.
• There could be more communication with the home owners.
• Website should have community garage sale information.
• What is the board working on? The newsletter should be meeting business related. Include meeting minutes and post them somewhere where all can review them. Articles on how dollars are spent?
• When I first called the HOA they said no. Then they began explaining and educating me on what I needed. At first no customer service.

 Collections

Eight in 10 residents agree that the assessment notices are sent out with ample time to pay. Only 10 percent show some disagreement, while close to 8 percent have no opinion. A slightly higher share (85.5 percent) agrees that the notices are clear and provide all necessary information and a similar proportion believe that payment of annual dues is easy and convenient. Several respondents did comment that the end-of-year notices are a strain on an already expensive month and propose split payments or moving dues to June or July.

More than one-third has no opinion on whether adequate notice is provided to pay past due collections. Among those that do have some insights, 55.1 percent agree that there is sufficient time to do so.

While 21.4 percent indicate some level of discontent with the value for money, almost three-quarters of residents (75.0 percent) believe that the HOA provides adequate or good value for their annual dues.

Community Facilities and Activities

While 14.3 percent of respondents are not satisfied with the community look and feel, 17.9 percent believe the neighborhood is upholding its desirable look just fine. Somewhere in between, almost seven in 10 resident households believe that the neighborhood is upholding its desirable look, however, they do see some areas of improvement.

Respondents frequently mention improvements to the park and entrance areas and, secondly, point out residents who are not keeping up their yards and fences according to HOA regulations. With many fences approaching the end of their life span, perhaps a few fence companies can be contacted for specially-negotiated deals for home-owners to encourage prompt replacing.

 Comments provided include:

• Entrance needs more foliage (i.e. landscaping).
• Fences and home colors.
• Fix potholes along Rowe and several fences in the neighborhood need to be repaired.
• Have examples of automatically allowed fences on the website, so we don’t need to deal with the HOA for routine fixes.
• Graffiti on mailboxes. Basketball hoops bring in undesirable people from outside our neighborhood.
• I don’t like seeing six cars parked in one drive way.
• I feel our front entrance needs more curb appeal, especially the park. They look below average. And I feel this reflects the whole subdivision appeal. We look average or slightly below average.
• Lack of maintenance on behalf of home owners. i.e. paint and fence.
• Landscaping at entrance is looking sparse, even adding mulch would be an improvement.
• Maintain park better. Either put basket ball nets back or take down the poles. It looks ghetto. Replace the landscape in the front. It looks bare. Mulch is needed to maintain current plants. Also start sending more letters to home owners who are not keeping up the yard.
• Many yards are out of compliance with grass and trash for months on end.
• Need to put more emphasis on the architectural committee. Are they approving all the decks, patio covers and sheds?
• Neighborhood is starting to look trashy. Broken fence boards, unkempt yards, etc. It’s going downhill.
• People’s yard, fences. A lot of ghetto people moving in. Renters I assume. They need to be put on notice kicked out, whatever. This subdivision and area of town is getting ghetto.
• Private homeowners are not keeping things up.
• The entrance is poorly kept and the park needs more attention.
• The park is nice but the basketball court is a waste of dues.
• There are a lot of houses that get away with their yards looking horrible. Blinds on the front of the house should be presentable.
• Too many fences need repair. Several houses appear neglected.
• Water new trees.
• Yard maintenance for some homes.

 Community Activities

Six in 10 households like the community programs such as the yard-of-the-month program, holiday decoration contests, etc. They believe these kinds of programs help the overall look of the neighborhood. Close to 30 percent say these efforts are ok, provided the expenses don’t come out of the HOA budget. Less than 10 percent believe these programs are not necessary at all.

The survey asked for suggestions on specific programs residents would like to see. A number of suggestions were made:

• Annual BBQ (eight times)
• A “spring fling” for everyone to meet their neighbors
• Easter egg hunt (four times)
• Block/neighborhood parties
• Concerts (three times)
• Community yard sale and community Halloween get together
• I think rather than spending funds on concerts and such, we should draw from the hat and help people with repairs.
• I want to see the community come together but we’re all busy. The board has to lead by example.
• Maybe a couple of get together’s a year. National night out and maybe a summer cookout.
• More focus on national night out.
• Singles event.
• Some regular community events to build momentum.
• The holiday decoration should be a whole subdivision work team project. Like Windcrest used to do. Call upon all residents to donate some holiday decoration or time.
• Potluck and quarterly neighbor get togethers.  

 Community facilities

Hunters’ Mill residents most frequently use the walking trail/jogging track with 39.0 percent saying they use it occasionally and 37.8 percent either regularly or frequently. Only 12.2 percent never use the trail. The pavilion and swing set area show much lower frequency of use, which may be a reflection of households with children versus without.

Basketball goals

Regarding the issue of the basketball goals, the neighborhood is divided: 16.0 percent believe the goals should be replaced and up year-around; 38.7 percent would prefer the goals to be replaced, but understand that some limitations should be put in place; and the largest share, 45.3 percent, vote to keep the goals down. Many did add comments that if the goals remain down, something else should be done with the space as the visual of the empty poles is not attractive when entering the neighborhood.

While the removal of the basketball goals decreased the frequency of visitation among some residents (20.3 percent), others report the opposite and now visit the park more frequently (27.0 percent).

The frequency of visiting the park is directly related to people’s opinion on what should happen to the basketball goals.

• Among residents who say they now visit the park less, 42.9 percent believe that the goals should be replaced and up year around. An additional 57.1 percent say the goals should be replaced, but with limitations in place.
• Among residents who now visit the park more, 85.0 percent believe the goals should remain down and the remaining 15 percent believe the goals should be replaced, but with limitations in place.

Next the survey probed for some solutions if respondents wanted to see the goals replaced, but with limitations put in place. Frequent suggestions include a fence, some sort of patrol or ID system, and metal nets/sturdier rings.

Following suggestions were provided:

• Basketball courts should be gated and HOA members should have access cards. Or a sign up reservation should be in place. But wouldn’t the space be better utilized another way
• Do not know how to limit use of the court for outside the neighborhood people but the good kids need a place to go and play.
• Fence it in — can’t use without the rims.
• Gate off the basketball court with code access.
• Goals always attract non Hunters’ Mill home owners who cause the problems in the park. You can see them leave the park in their cars.
• I guess that is the crux of the problem. I hate depriving our neighborhood of the nets but not sure how to prevent problems like we had in the past.
• I’m not sure but there should be consequences for issues and inappropriate behavior.
• More security patrolling the area during peak usage time of the court. Use chain link nets, they are sturdier. Get tips for neighboring park on how they deal with problems.
• No trespassing signs posted would been that violators could be given tickets.
• Only put them up in the spring and summer.
• Patrol to check.
• Several of our people were using the basketball courts that were not even from this subdivision. So maybe rules could be put in place with maybe member ID to show that players are from Hunters Mill
• Small children often don’t get to play there because there are lots of teens and young adults. Also lots of cigarette butts. Non smoking area?
• Spot check for resident and nonresident id?
• Tall fence with gate code for home owners. Would use occasionally when rims were up.
• Used to use all the time. Put up more signs or fences around the court or patrols.
• Used to use them occasionally, but didn’t know about the issues as outlined in the question.
• Used to use them very frequently.
• We used the courts when there were rims. Maybe a fence with a key pass.
• We would use them when rims were present. More security patrol, removable goals (?) allow goals in street of cul-de-sacs
• We’re an open community. We need to monitor our kids. Police should be called when problems arise. Raise HOA fees if necessary to upkeep the park.
• Would use very frequently when rims were present. As a parent I would show up often to walk the pathway while my kids played. That way other kids knew I was around and visible

Future amenities

When regarding interest for various features provided spending remains within current budget, nicer landscaping in the park and entrance draws the highest level of importance (58.1 percent), directly followed by street lights throughout the park (57.3 percent) and security patrols (54.5 percent).

Amenities for which the community shows the highest willingness to endure a budget increase include evening/night security patrols at 31.2 percent, followed by street lights throughout the park at 24.0 percent.

When combining the two levels of interest, security patrols and park lighting receive the highest level of interest. As seen earlier, 88 percent of residents use the park at least on occasion, so street lights and fitness stations would be features enjoyed by many.

Items that received fairly low levels of interest are tennis courts and a fenced-in dog park.

When asked about their interest in having a left turn signal arrow at the lights at Rowe Drive and Thousand Oaks, fully 99.1 percent of households expressed interest.

Volunteering

The survey generated participation among several residents to volunteer for the neighborhood safety program (COPS – Citizens on patrol), committees or events and even two sponsors:

COPS volunteers

• Amy Huebner 
• Craig Mester 
• Dave
• Joe Narro
• Matthew and Amanda Albright
• Sandy Franz
• Vic Basal

Committee or event volunteers

• Amy Huebner
• Anne-Marie Roerink
• Dave and Dena
• Gina
• June Fritz
• Ken Diehl
• Kristy Vidaurri
• Pat Lorrence
• Tricia Aleman

Potential sponsors

• Diva Nails/Mindy
• Tonie Grindle

HOA Report Card

Generally, residents of Hunters’ Mill feel very positive towards the HOA and its efforts on their behalf. While only 14.1 percent would describe the HOA as a “minor headache,” more than half say the HOA is ok, in addition to 16.7 percent who believe it is great.

Several residents shared insights or comments not yet covered by the survey:

Play area/park

• A cover for the playground would make it easier for the kids to play during hot days.
• A water fountain in the park would be nice, should water be put in. Trees near the playground would be great to provide shade for the children.
• Allocate the dues back to the park. Kids and safety of our trails. Please replace the basketball hoops. It looks bad.
• Swimming pool, swimming pool, swimming pool, please.

Enforcement/upkeep

• Be consistent with the emails regarding neighbors having garbage cans in sight and take actions or fines at neighbors that do not comply.
• Entrance pot holes at Rowe and Thousand Oaks.
• Neighbors who walk their dogs and allow them to go potty on our yard. Why don’t they let their animals go in their own yards? Could this be a newsletter item? There is a driver who plays his radio on “blast your ears out” day and night as late as 10.30-11.00pm. Newsletter item?
• Just about the other houses not being kept up.
• No complaints, is room for park upkeep improvement.
• Please, please, please continue to stress the importance of picking up after your pets and keeping them on a leash. My kids cannot play in their own front lawn without constantly stepping in dog poo.
• Get off our ass about trash cans. We all hate them. But give us a couple of days. We are very busy and trash cans are not at the tip of it. You’re wasting our money on letters.
• Stop sign at Auburn Oaks for park crossing/cross walk.
• Use our sign to say don’t litter. Do not use riding mowers around the sprinklers. They are too heavy and are a large part of the repair problem. We are both over 65 years old and spent the first six years in Hunters Mill doing volunteer work. The young need to take an interest.
• Walking trail needs to be repaved.
• We need to get the beauty of our neighborhood back. People need to pay their dues or be penalized as bylaws indicate so abiding neighbors are not penalized. Park area must be kept up as an example. We need to be informed and annual meetings must be better announced and organized.
• There should be some kind of regulation of dog barking issues. No comments are ever made in the newsletter about this problem. Anyone is allowed to let their dogs bark all night. Something in the covenants that could be enforced

Dues

• Get rid of the annual dues. Dues are due at a horrible time of the year (financially).
• I pay HOA dues and I don’t feel I get anything out of them.
• Move the annual dues to June 1 not Jan 1. Right before Xmas sucks.

HOA opinions

• HOA should be more accessible and proactive. Seems HOA is reactive and usually jumps the gun and does not consider the community when making decisions.
• I know they have a lot to do with minimal participation from the majority.
• More communication from HOA president and not by newsletter. Need more meetings for our community rather than one per year.
• My husband and I do not use the facilities but I feel they would encourage higher income families with more use and concern.
• Need a little more communication. Also, our streets are showing some age. Maybe we can work towards some repairs by calling SA for help.
• Overall, they are doing a good job with what they have.
• Perhaps the HOA could have representatives from all the sections of the neighborhood, maybe ambassadors who would be willing to speak to their neighbors and give input to HOA.
• See you at our next meeting. Let me know!
• Too many write ups about minor things, especially trash cans. Why couldn’t we have a security patrolling our neighborhood including the park? I feel our neighborhood needs more community contact with each other, along with a curb appeal. Our front entrance I feel is too plain, especially our poor park. It needs dressing up, by more trees, bushes, flowers, etc. It needs to be inviting. Our playground needs more things to do. Example, a merry-go round, see-saws, more balance poles, hop scotch or even the old 4 squares and a volley ball area to play besides our basketball. I definitely think our park needs to be gated. We get too many outsiders that vandalize our property. We need to have it gated with access cards. A restroom would be nice with a water fountain. I know this costs money but it would help bring our community together. Since we don’t have a pool why couldn’t we have a recreation room. We definitely need lights, especially in the dark areas of our park as well as a patrol watch. I also think we need a back access path to our park. The front Rowe access is dangerous to walk to the park. The speed bumps help the speed of traffic, but it doesn’t help when the vehicles want to go around them and they get too close to the curb while I’m walking with my child to the park. A well-lighted are by the greenbelt would be nice. If the lights could be timed to turn off for us living on Rowe. The newsletter is great, but I think as a community neighborhood we need to help one another. Example a listing of: baby sitter names, handymen names, tutors for children with school studies or computer techs for those quick computer questions. Mother or Father’s day out, work out club for people who need motivation. These are just my ideas and once again I know this takes money, but I would be willing to pay a bit more in HOA dues if there was a community joint effort

Miscellaneous

• Great survey.
• Thanks for the survey. It makes me realize I should start to do my share.
• Thanks for the feedback opportunity.
• Thank you for doing a survey.
• Yes as a police officer I warned the HOA about the consequences of having  park. Now we have people at all times of night behind my house smoking weed

In November, we mailed a 16 question survey to all residents.  Although the original intent was to have all envelopes postage paid, a mailing error precluded that; thus, we sent a second mailing, paid for by the company who performed the error, which included a postage paid envelope and an extension of the deadline.  In total, we had more than 80 residents respond (more than 21% of all households).  In terms of survey success, we rated quite high on the number of returns.  I would like to thank all of you that took the time to respond.  Congratulations to our survey winners at 3350 Flamingo Basin and 12243 Victory Palm.  Your input is very important to us.  Remember, if you have constructive criticism or positive suggestions to offer, they are always welcome.

Congratulations to our Holiday Contest Winners.  The addresses chosen were:13702 Rowe Drive, 13703 Rowe Drive and 13511 Magnolia Brook.  Each residence received a $50 check.  Thank you to all who decorated.

Recently, we installed “doggie” litter stations in the park.  These are meant for the convenience of those walking pets in the park and to act as a deterrent to leaving your pet’s waste for someone else to unexpectedly and unhappily find. 

A Turn Signal is in our immediate future!  The City has agreed to install a left-hand turn signal from Thousand Oaks onto Rowe Drive.  Expected installation is January of 2011.  Further, the City expects to repair our portion of Rowe Drive no later than the Spring of 2011.  Thank you to all of who have been instrumental in achieving these improvements. 

Some of you may have been recently contacted by the City regarding the acoustical improvements slated for your house.  What this means, is that some homes in the Hunters Mill subdivision qualify for sound treatment due to noise from the arrival/departure of flights.  For particulars or to see if your house qualifies, please contact Mary Lou Kubena at (210) 824-1440.  Not every home in Hunters Mill will qualify and the boundaries can be quite frustrating.  For example many houses on the opposite side of the street may qualify while you discover yours does not.  These boundaries are constantly in flux, so if you do not qualify at this time, please check back at a later date.

I’d like to address the issue of why Board meeting minutes are not posted in the newsletter.  First, it is a matter of space.  The space we have for articles is a direct correlation to the number of advertisers Neighborhood News (the publisher) has for that month’s publication.  Meaning, fewer advertisers, less space available to run articles.  Secondly, minutes are approved at each subsequent board meeting.  Therefore, minutes will always be approximately 3 months behind.  I intend to ask Spectrum to publish approved minutes to our website and as always, they are available upon request to Spectrum management (210) 494-0659.  Please ask for your community manager Jason Green.

Many residents offered ideas on articles they would like to see in the newsletter and criticized the content of the newsletter; however, no one offered to volunteer for the Newsletter Committee.  This letter, along with all articles written by Anabell Otto, are prepared strictly on a volunteer basis.  The newsletter is not a requirement of the HOA; therefore, without the volunteered time and effort, we would not have a newsletter.  One article submitted by a resident would be extremely helpful in reducing the burden on others.  If there is no input from the community (i.e. articles), Neighborhood News is obligated to the advertisers to prepare a newsletter for publishing and will therefore include articles that have no bearing or interest to you as a resident of Hunters Mill (e.g. Ants article).  Please keep this information in mind if you would like to have a meaningful newsletter as a forum for communication.  See “Survey Results – Newsletter” article in this publication for further information.

The Board does its best to ensure the appearance of the neighborhood meets acceptable standards and many of you addressed concerns over the appearance of lawns in the summer.  Please remember, we are constrained to act within certain boundaries and cannot act in a rash manner in order to correct an “eyesore”.  All residents are entitled to the same notice and procedure for correcting a violation.  For example, when the neighborhood site manager (employed by Spectrum Management) drives our neighborhood, it is on a bi-weekly schedule.  Once a violation is noted, it is given immediate attention and a letter requesting correction is sent to the homeowner.  The homeowner then has 10 days to correct the violation.  If not corrected, the Board is advised and a decision is made to implement a “force-mow”.  When a force-mow is authorized, the landscape contractor must then be contacted and will execute the mow upon return to the neighborhood for our regularly scheduled maintenance.  Unfortunately, this can result in a 2 – 3 week delay.  For those who constantly violate the procedure, it can seem as though the process is never implemented.  Again, I assure you it is just as much an eyesore to the Board as it is to you and we are doing everything possible to correct it.

In addition to the above paragraph, I would like to add that at no time are we precluded from approaching our neighbor and offering assistance.  You would be surprised at how often a lawn is not maintained due to illness, finances or other hardship.  Sometimes, a simple gesture towards a neighbor can go a long way.  Likewise, if you are in need of assistance, please contact Spectrum Management or a Board Member and inquire as to whether or not assistance may be available for you.  This is our community and it will not grow in a positive direction unless we all work towards the common goal together.

The next Board of Directors’ Meeting will be January 12, 2011  at 7:00 p.m.  All homeowners are invited to attend; however, if you intend to address the Board you will need to be placed on the agenda.  Please contact Jason Green with Spectrum Management for more information (210) 494-0659. 

I wish each one of you a happy and prosperous New Year.

                                                            Yours truly,

Tammy L. Wincott, HOA President

(210)366-9606 Office

(210) 535-6943 Cell

Twincott@wincottlaw.com

As stated in the President’s Letter, the Hunters Mill Newsletter is not an HOA requirement.  Our Newsletter is put together by volunteer residents, primarily just me (since August 2008), with restrictions.  All articles must be approved by a majority of the HOA Board and Spectrum Management prior to publication by Neighborhood News.  Publication deadline is the first business day in a month that we are to publish (we are currently publishing on a bi-monthly basis).  As you are aware, local businesses advertise in our Newsletter for a fee established and collected by Neighborhood News (you may recall the article regarding advertising fees that is published on occasion in our Newsletter).  The fee charged to advertisers by Neighborhood News depends on the frequency of the Newsletter, the number of homes receiving the Newsletter and the size of the advertisement itself.  The number of advertisers directly effects the size of our Newsletter.  The more advertisers in our Newsletter, the more space we have to include articles of our choosing.  Several of you commented on the inclusion of the ‘Ants’ article and recipes as fluff – you are indeed correct.  Truth of the matter is, the ‘Ants’ article was added by Neighborhood News.  We had space to fill and I did not have time to draft an article to fill the space.  The recipe articles are to fill space.  Recipes are a lot easier to find than to research a topic and do a formal article. 

Those of you who attended the Annual Meeting will recall that I discussed the possibility of changing our Newsletter from a bi-monthly status to a quarterly status.  We were unable to locate a publisher who would be willing to do so and so I have continued to volunteer my time and talents to writing articles that I hope benefit at least one resident in our community. 

Recently our HOA President has begun to forward me her communication with Officer McDonald in relation to crime statistics.  While she has sent me a couple months worth of crime stats for uploading onto our website, I have not had the time (or energy) to extract the information from the documents received into a format compatible with our website but hope to do so this month – keep checking our website for updates!     

Several residents made suggestions for potential articles via the survey.  It would be helpful if the suggestor volunteered their time to do the research and draft the article on the topic of choice.  Upon submission of an article, the Committee Chair will review the submitted article and make suggested revisions (if necessary) and allow the author to review the proposed changes prior to submission to the Board for approval and subsequent publication.

Another idea I presented at the Annual Meeting was to create a system that would allow residents to opt out of receiving a hard copy of the Newsletter and go green by logging in to our website: www.huntersmill.org to view the Newsletter.  It is important to note that the HOA pays a fee for the print production and mailing of the Newsletter.      

On a personal note, like many of you, my personal life can be quite hectic and I am stepping down as the sole member and Newsletter Committee Chair as my husband and I are expecting our second child in the spring.  I am willing to continue to research and draft articles as time permits, but I am officially hanging up the mouse and choosing to no longer burn the midnight oil (lunch hours, weekends and toddler nap time) to research articles to add substance to our Newsletter.  Therefore, we may be seeing a lot more fluff in our Newsletter in coming months.  If you have an extra hour here and there, consider writing an article for the Newsletter.  The Newsletter Committee can be contacted through our website e-mail address at help@huntersmill.org, include: Newsletter in the subject line.

I hope this article has inspired some of you to get clicking on those keyboards.

                                                                         Sincerely,

                                                                        Anabell Otto

There was one crime reported during November and December 2010:

Burglary of a Habitation, 12000 Blk. Victory Palm.

The information reported herein is accurate to the extent possible; however, for direct crime activity information in our neighborhood, please refer to the information provided by the San Antonio Police Department on their website.

If you have any information on the actor(s), please notify the SAPD or their Crime Stoppers unit.

 Often times, new homeowners are under the mistaken assumption that their dues have been paid for the next year out of closing costs.  Be advised that this is seldom the case and before you know it, you are indebted for delinquent charges plus the original dues. 

Please do not ignore the letters from Spectrum Management whether they are addressed to the old homeowner or to the new resident.  Often, the management company is not made aware of the new homeowner information and therefore will continue to address all billings to the previous owner.  This does not excuse your responsibility to pay as the homeowner within a Homeowner’s Association community.

Payments can now be made online.  If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the management company at once.  Payment plans may be available.