Keeping garbage can lids secured

Please remember: you MUST keep garbage can lids secured tightly. Straps are good; Cans with locking lids are great. But regardless of what you choose, lids need to be secured tightly.

When wind blows hard -- like it did last Monday night -- cans can blow over and trash can get spread around (especially on garbage day when the cans are on the street!). It looks bad when trash is scattered around (and it can attract rodents) so please keep your lids secured.

(Big thank you to the homeowners who took it upon themselves to clean the trash out of the wetland along our west side.)

More Landscaping Progress!

The beautification of our community will continue this Saturday (Nov. 28)!

Volunteers are going to put in additional plants around some of the utility boxes, as part of the approved landscaping plan. Check out this truckload of donated (yes, free!) boxwood bushes! They're awesome! Thanks to Sue Swanson, Caddy Swanson & Wendy Pynn for digging 'em out & transporting them here. The Landscape Committee plans to plant these around 3 utility boxes on Saturday.

If you can help, just gather on Hancock at 9:15 am on Saturday (in front of the utility boxes planted last month), and we'll git 'r done! Everyone is invited!

As before, no HOA funds will be used for this new landscaping.

The Landscaping Plan was presented by the Landscape Committee and approved at the November Board meeting. The approved plan includes a master landscaping plan, identified priorities, an approved plants list, and a funding plan (which does not require HOA funds). To learn more -- or to learn how plantings like these can be added near your home -- please contact Sue Swanson (Committee chair) or Jason Pynn (Board member).

Board Meeting: Budget & Dues!

November's board meeting will be held Monday, Nov. 16, at 6:30 p.m., at the Snoqualmie Library.

As always, any interested homeowner is invited to attend!

One main topic of discussion will be the 2010 budget and homeowner dues. Your board has been working hard on this over the past few months -- and this November board meeting will likely be the final discussion before the budget ratification to be held in December. If you want to participate in this discussion you're encouraged to attend!

Rodent Problems?

Are rodents a problem around your home or vehicle?

Unfortunately, rodents are difficult to control since we live in a wooded area (and impossible to completely eliminate). Rodents seek shelter & food -- so they will try to nest in unsealed crawl spaces & unattended cars, especially if they can find even the tiniest food source. And professional rodent control is very expensive -- and experience shows that even the best control is not entirely effective.

Fortunately there are some simple things we can each do:

• For HOMES, we should be sure that crawlspace vent screens are intact. Rodents can easily get in through broken vent screens.
• For VEHICLES, it helps to carefully clean all food crumbs & wrappers out. This stuff attracts rodents & makes a car an inviting home. It is also smart not to leave your car sitting for several days; it's good to drive it (or at least move it) frequently. Sedintary, unattended cars are rodent targets.
• For OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, it's important that we all take steps to prevent & pick-up wind-blown garbage. This stuff gives rodents a buffet to enjoy, and makes them feel right at home. We must all use straps (or locking lids) on garbage cans to keep them tightly shut & garbage in.

Homeowners are welcome to try traps or sticky boards inside their homes or vehicles. (Poison is also an option, but poison can often cause rodents to die in a crawlspaces -- a stinky problem, worth avoiding.)

Great New Landscaping!

HUGE thanks to the landscaping committee for the great, new landscaping on Hancock! (It disguises the utility boxes on the west side of Hancock Ave, half-way down the hill.)
Ten wonderful homeowners volunteered a portion of their Saturday morning on Oct. 24 to plant this beautiful landscaped bed.
No HOA funds were used, and all costs were covered by funds raised during the Spring Garage Sale. If you want to learn how similar plantings can be added near your home, please contact Sue Swanson (Landscape Committee Chair) or Jason Pynn (HOA Board Member).

This is the first of several projects likely to come, and the committee's first landscaping priority is planting around all of the unsightly utility boxes.

Do you get the e-mail blasts?

Are you getting the e-mail blasts? (Hint: the last one was sent on 10/26, titled "Mt. Si Cottages: Snow Removal Plans". If you didn't get this email, you're probably not).

You'll want to be sure you get these. These e-mails are the best way to receive important alerts, because we don't budget for frequent newsletters.

If you don't receive these e-mails, please confirm that CWD has your correct email address(es) on file:

• To check, just log in to the CWD website, click "Directory" and verify your information -- https://www.associationvoice.com/member/signin_secure.asp?assn_id=14539. (You can also check by calling Sandy Cobb, our association manager.)
• You can add/change your e-mail address by notifying Sandy Cobb, at 206-706-8000.
  
• To avoid spam filters, confirm that Messenger@AssociationVoice.com is added to your e-mail's "safe list".

Snow Removal

Winter will be here before we know it!

If it snows like last year, we want to communicate the Association's snow removal plans early. (Remember how crazy last December's snow storms were?!?!) Here goes...

• Professional snow removal will not be hired. (We explored this last year, but plowing could cost thousands of dollars, and the plow company will not take responsibility for any damage they cause to your vehicle.) The city plows the streets, but the parking lots & walkways are up to us.
  
• Homeowners are encouraged to work together to keep walkways clear, and make parking lots accessible. We recommend that each home purchase an inexpensive snow shovel, and be prepared to pitch in when help is needed.
  
• Homeowners are requested to shovel the walkways in front of their homes within 24-hours of snowfall. If you need help, please contact the Board & we will try to help connect you with willing volunteers (or hired help).

• Please let the Board know if you are willing to serve on a volunteer snow removal committee, or if you are available for hire. Our community can use this information to organize ourselves for snow removal.
  
  

23 Trees!

Update: Planting will begin on November 16th.

Quadrant Homes is replacing 23 dead (or dying) trees throughout our community (at no charge to the HOA), thanks to the big effort of two homeowners!

Thanks to Doris Shelton for educating the Association about the bond that qualifies us for these replacement trees. And thanks to Sue Swanson for working hard with the City of Snoqualmie & Quadrant Homes to makes sure these trees get replaced. Great work Doris & Sue!

Budget Philosophy

The Board has adopted this budgeting philosophy. It will guide our budget decisions on the 2010 budget.

1. We will use the least amount of funds to obtain maximum benefits.
2. We will protect home values, and maintain our community’s established standard of living.
3. We will enhance home values where possible, while remaining true to our community’s origin as an “affordable community”.
4. We will encourage a sense of community, and look to homeowner volunteerism as a means of maintaining standard of living and keeping assessments as low as possible.
5. We will properly insure the Association.
6. We will adequately fund our Reserves, for planning purposes and to protect against special assessments in the future.
7. We will use a zero-based budget approach (which assumes a $0 starting point for all line items, and requires each to be justified before we fund it).
8. We will remain open to homeowner recommendations & input.

Garbage Can Bandits

Apparently a few garbage cans have disappeared from our street after being left out for garbage day. (At least three homes have reported this.) Please be on guard. You might consider marking your cans with your house number so they're identifiable.

And a related reminder: with windy fall days here, it's important that we each strap our lids down (to keep trash from blowing all over). This will help keep our community clean.