Dear Scofield Farms Homeowner,
I hope you enjoyed your summer and are off to an exciting Fall. The board has seen some nice improvements to the look of our neighborhood since the spring planting season. The Residential Homeowners Association (ROA) board has been doing its part to maintain the neighborhood integrity by working with homeowners to make improvements to their properties. Through this effort, we hope to continue to improve the overall look of the neighborhood. This adds appeal and value to all of our homes. Below are specific items we are working on to sustain your property values through our shared community space within the neighborhood. Please do your part by maintaining your own property so we can all live in a safe and appealing environment.
Below are items your neighborhood ROA has been working on to improve the property as well as updates from your neighborhood ROA board:
- Neighborhood Night Out: The neighborhood volunteers are hosting a neighborhood night out celebration on Friday. October 12, from 6 pm – 9 pm. The event will include live music, food, drinks, games, a bounce house for the kids and much more. Join us at the pool, meet your neighbors and enjoy the festivities.
- New playground equipment: Since our last communication, the playground has been completed. This has been a nice place for children in the neighborhood. The canopy has helped to keep the space a bit more manageable in the heat of summer. With the cooler days coming up very soon, we expect this space to be used even more by the children in the neighborhood.
- Website and Community Forum: The scofieldfarms.org website, the official online communication channel of the Scofield Farms ROA, continues to be improved and expanded to better serve residents. Check out the website to find out the latest news about current events in the neighborhood, as well as access important documents and information. Calendar events noted soon include the neighborhood night out event on October 12. Please see the “Events calendar” for details.
You can also sign up for the scofieldfarms.org forum as well as the Scofield Farms ROA email newsletter via the website. The scofieldfarms.org forum is a moderated discussion board whose primary focus is the Scofield Farms Residential Owners Association (ROA) and community. Some topics covered on the forum include ROA projects, contractor and professional suggestions, children, pets, security and items for sale. In order to post content on the forum and to read member private forums, you must register and be validated to be a member of the Scofield Farms community. To register, visit https://scofieldfarms.org/forum/ and select “Register”. The Scofield Farms ROA email newsletter is used several times a year to distribute information about Board of Directors meetings and agendas. To be added to the list, either join the scofieldfarms.org forum or sign up for the newsletter using the “Sign up for our Email Newsletter” form on the scofieldfarms.org website.
Please feel free to email webmaster@scofieldfarms.org with any questions.
- SF Instant Communicator: The Scofield Farms Instant Communicator group is ready for your participation and input! The Instant Communicator, created earlier this year, is a means of quickly disseminating important news regarding situations currently occurring (such as crimes in progress, suspicious activity, or severe weather warnings) to our community via a smart phone app or text message. Please visit “General Info/FAQ” on the scofieldfarms.org forum for additional information about joining the Instant Communicator group (forum registration not required to access this data).
- Architectural Control Committee: There are still some yards in the neighborhood that need attention. You are encouraged to survey your property and take appropriate action to replace dead grass, trees, shrubs, etc. If you are doing more than simple replacement of damaged landscaping such as redesigning your landscape, please submit an ACC approval request form. If your lawn is in sad shape, please take care of the required maintenance without the added expense of an ROA enforcement case against you. Do your part to keep our neighborhood looking nice. CMA, our property management company will be in touch if you are out of compliance and to help you establish a plan and timeline for re-establishing your yard, if necessary. Please note that the ROA board is very supportive of xeriscaped yards IF they are installed following an ACC approved plan.
- Architectural Control Committee (ACC) approvals – Your property covenants require you to have written approval from the ROA’s ACC prior to modifications to your property. Examples of items you need ACC approval for include but are not limited to: building a shed, deck, redesigning landscape or installing nonstandard fencing, and changing the color of your home’s exterior paint. We have a very fast and easy submittal and review process. There is no valid reason not to comply. In several recent cases, our ACC volunteers have used their expertise to alert applicants to problems in their contractor’s proposal. When in doubt – please ask for guidance from our property manager, Jennifer English at CMA, 512-339-6962, or jenglish@cma.com to avoid enforcement and fines.
- Fence repair/replacement – As mentioned in the past two newsletters to the community, many of our ROA’s homes have very deteriorated cedar privacy fences (rotted posts, pickets and gates). You are encouraged to survey your fence and take appropriate action. In many cases full replacement is warranted. Please collaborate with your neighbors on shared fence replacement/repair. Please note that our ROA guidelines require 1×4 Western Red Cedar pickets. Please specify only these type pickets when you purchase materials or talk to a contractor. Any deviations from the guidelines will require ACC approval. Review the new ROA website for the guidelines and to establish a list of contractors some of your neighbors have used to replace their fence.
- Community Pool – The 2012 pool season is coming to a close. While the pool is closed, we will be enhancing the space by providing a new shade area and an entertainment space. In addition, we are adding fencing and a gate to the adjacent playground area to make it more secure for residents with small children, as well as modifying the pool entrance area so that the restrooms can be accessed with a pool key during the off-season. Finally, we are adding wireless internet access to the pool and playground areas. We currently are checking into bids for the project. We expect the project will be completed while the pool is closed for the winter. Once it opens in April of 2013, there will be additional entertainment space.
- Fencecrete: The board will be working with the fencecrete vendor to replace parts of the fence. There are some areas that are in need of replacement. We hope to have a bid in the next month and hope to have the work complete by the spring.
- Trees: It appears parts of our neighborhood have trees that have been infected with Oak Wilt. We will have a Fall Oak Wilt education class. Be on the lookout for dates for this event. Most of the trees in our neighborhood are oak. Also, one of the reasons our neighborhood is so appealing is due to the beautiful trees. We need to take control by treating our trees as appropriate.
There are also a number of homes that need to trim their trees. Not only will trimming trees help with the growth of your lawn, it will also help keep your trees healthy. Check out the website forum for suggestions on certified arborists others have used in the neighborhood. In addition, if you do not cut your trees out of the street and keep them from blocking the sidewalks, the city of Austin will do this for you. They will charge you for the trimming and the trees will be trimmed very high at 14 feet. So please consider doing this yourself.
- Board Update: As a reminder to residents, the officers for 2012-13 are as follows: President – Shelley Karn, Vice President – David Negrete, Secretary – Deborah Southerland, Treasurer – Emmett Bills, Director-at-Large – Paul Maine. We welcome interested individuals to become involved in the Scofield Farms ROA.
In closing, I wish to commend our many volunteers for helping make our community a special place to live. We look forward to working with you to improve our community. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Shelley Karn, President
