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Scofield Farms Instant Communicator

Folks,

This is to invite you to try GroupMe, a mechanism to quickly communicate important news to our neighbors.  It is like the email list, but provides a method of instant communication using your SMS enabled phone.  The news could be something like

  • “Suspicious car driving south on Scofield Farms drive”,
  • a fire in the neighborhood,
  • tornado or hurricane news,
  • help me messages that warrant a quick dissemination.
  • Scofield Farms’ neighborhood watch messages.

We are trying this out with an initial group of volunteers.  In a couple of weeks, and depending on feedback from the group, it would be made generally available to whoever would like to be texted instant neighborhood messages.  We’ll make sure that this is used for appropriate messages, and that non-residents are not added to this group.


So if you would like to volunteer to be an early adopter, please use one of the following methods:

1) If you are already a member of the Forum just email the webmaster from the same email account as the one you use for the Forum and indicate that you desire to join SF Instant Communicator. The webmaster will add you to the group and provide you with additional instructions.
2) If you are not a Forum member please consider joining the forum. If you choose to not be a part of the forum please email the webmaster your name, pool card number and either your SMS enabled phone or email address. After verification the webmaster will add you to the group and email you additional instructions.

Here is the email address for the webmaster:
webmaster@scofieldfarms.org

SF Instant Communicator uses GroupMe. Any users, whether sending or receiving text messages with GroupMe, should be aware that standard text messaging rates may apply. Text messaging rates can normally be found by asking your provider.
Thank you, Kevin for suggesting this application. Special thanks to Piyush Mehta and Jerry Sachs for their work in researching and testing this solution.

Paul Maine
Scofield Farms
Webmaster
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New Assistant Webmaster

We would like to welcome Debbie Southerland as our new assistant webmaster.  Debbie and her family have lived in the Park section of Scofield Farms for 7 1/2 years.  She is looking forward to the chance to build community among neighbors through the Web site.

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Connect With Your Neighbors

In this day and age it can be difficult to meet your neighbors or to have any of their contact information. A friend of mine gave me the following link to a website that makes getting the contact information easy:

http://neighbors.whitepages.com/

I tested it and it seems fairly accurate.

I hope this helps you to better connect with your neighbors.

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Letter from the President Fall 2011

Dear Scofield Farms Homeowner,

I hope you and your family enjoyed some memorable times this summer. I know I am ready for the cooler days of Autumn. Noted below are a few informational updates for your use:

 

Update topics: 1) Tree trimming, 2) Community Pool, 3) Neighborhood Night Out, 4) Fence replacement, 5) Yard maintenance, 6) ACC required approval, 7) Community Website, 8)Pro security pilot test 9) Board update

  1. Tree Trimming – many of our public sidewalks are partially blocked by encroaching tree and shrub limbs. You are required to maintain a 7 foot high clearance over sidewalks and streets at all times. Please have your cut limbs at the curb by 09/20/10 a.m. to take advantage of the City of Austin’s large brush and tree pick up on that date. See the attached letter from our property manager with more details on tree trimming.
  2. Community Pool – Thanks to the outstanding oversight by our volunteer pool committee and our maintenance contractor, we have experienced one of our most successful pool seasons on record (as measured by our consistently sparkling pool and very little vandalism or trespassing). If you have any suggestions related to the pool for next season, please let me or other Board members know.
  3. Neighborhood Night Out This year our HOA will celebrate “Neighborhood Night Out” (NNO) on Saturday, October 22 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. This year we are advocating crime prevention through awareness of your closest neighbors by promoting “block parties” for streets or sections of streets. The HOA will reimburse the costs of the block parties up to $50/event. Please step forward and be the one that makes this event happen on your block! If you are interested, please contact our 2011 NNO event coordinator, DJ Loberg , dj.loberg@ni.com
  4. Fence repair/replacement Many of our HOA’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 HOA 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.
  5. Yard maintenance Many of our HOA’s homes have sparse and damaged lawns and landscaping as a result of drought and neglect. You are encouraged to survey your property and take appropriate action to replace dead grass, trees and shrubs. 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 and of an HOA enforcement case against you.
  6. Architectural Control Committee (ACC) approvals – Your property covenants require you to have written approval from the HOA’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,jenglish@cma.com to avoid enforcement and fines.
  7. Community website – Please bookmark this link and refer to it any time you need updated “forms” or “contact” info. See https://scofieldfarms.org/scofield/. The User name is “Scofield” and the password is “78727.” You are also encouraged to sign up for listserve emails by clicking the” listserve” link. We have recently loaded the 2011 Annual meeting slides and minutes to this site.
  8. Pro Security pilot test – Scofield HOA, in collaboration with The Ridge HOA, has hired a security firm for a 60 day trial period to patrol the two neighborhoods at random times. We will be evaluating the data from the trial patrols in the near future to determine if there is sufficient benefit to justify a continuation of the patrol. The board will be sharing what is learned from the patrols with the HOA members. In the meantime, you may see a “pro security” car driving the neighborhood at random times.
  9. Board Update – The officers for 2011-11 are as follows: President – Shelley Karn, Vice President – David Negrete, Secretary – Emmett Bills, Treasurer – Paul Maine, Director-at-Large – Stephen Walden. We welcome our newest members, Emmett Bills and Paul Maine and give thanks for many years of service to our outgoing members, Stephen Walden and David Negrete. The Board invites you to our next Board meeting to be held at the pool on 09/20/10 from 7:00-9:00 p.m.   Please let me know soon if you have any specific topics you wish to discuss at the meeting.

In closing, I wish to commend our many volunteers that help 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

Shelley.Karn@gmail.com