Creekside Village Newsletter - March, 2020
Message from the Board of Directors: By now you know Creekside’s monthly Board meetings
and workshops are closed until further notice. The Board hopes our Creekside
neighbors are well and taking precautions that keep them safe during this public
health challenge. At Creekside we want you to know there is a team in place to
help. I took advantage of
our Volunteers, already. One shopped for
me, another loaned me a thermometer, and another offered to walk my dogs, so I
could nurse my cold without spreading it around. Thanks to all.
Neighborly Support. Creekside’s Hospitality and Welcoming Committees
have stepped up to support our more vulnerable neighbors who might need help by
volunteering to:
·
Pick
up and deliver groceries and prescriptions.
·
Run
errands if businesses are open.
·
Walk
dogs, wearing disposable gloves each time so there is no personal contact with
leash surfaces. (You provide the poop
bags!
·
Make
daily phone calls to neighbors to check that they are doing well.
Monthly Meeting Change: The Senior Center and the Methodist Church are
closed to us until further notice, and until they reopen, the Creekside Board
of Directors (BOD) will conduct meetings and workshops “electronically.” In order to keep everyone up to date on
Creekside business, we will send agendas prior to each meeting to ensure we get
your input in advance. We will post meeting minutes on the web site and
continue to distribute them by email to those who have asked for them.
Parking Complaints and Enforcement: It’s that time of year—car prowls and residential
burglary increase in spring and summer months. Don’t make it easy. The BOD
fielded many complaints about parking this past year, including complaints about
a lack of timely enforcement. Enforcement
is an unpleasant process that takes time, but we get to it. Remember, except for rare and infrequent occasions residents may not park
overnight on driveways. Guest parking is only for non-residents and limited to
14 days. If you need more time, please ask us
about options. But, don’t test your neighbors’ patience or the Board’s!
Got a Service Request?
Write it up: Neighbors who call or email BOD members about a project or to ask
for maintenance and repair must follow up with a formal, written request. Creekside
Village has chosen to self-manage (1) to avoid the added costs associated with
professional property management, and (2) to provide greater transparency on
the Association’s work and money spent.
The trade-off is that owners must cooperate, as we rely on volunteers to
do more work. Please submit all work using the appropriate request form. You can find forms on the website and in the Appendix of your new Rules and
Regulations.
Where to send
Architecture, Landscape, and Maintenance requests
|
|
Email
|
|
Hand
Delivery
|
Dropbox
located at the mailboxes at foot of Creekside Circle
|
Postal
|
2002
Creekside Cir, Anacortes, WA 98221
|
Landscape
Changes: With
the Governor’s orders for essential services only, Simply Yards may not be able
to continue landscape services. They are
attempting to maintain one worker to mow front lawns only. We will keep you advised. Other landscaping news includes:
·
Simply
Yards completed the renovation prune on upper Lane and upper Place last week.
They pruned most shrubs, around the front of the home and front door, down to the
window level. Some shrubs due to age and
species were not amenable to this type of pruning. Some of this work will support our readiness
for 2020 painting efforts.
·
Pioneer
Tree Service removed the vine maples and two large fir trees. They will grind the fir stumps and remove the
debris. We will drill holes into the
vine maple stumps in May and fill them with Epsom salts to kill the roots.
·
Pioneer
will remove the dead cedar trees along the
northwest perimeter of the property.
Craig Illman is leading the restoration plan, selecting native, drought
tolerant plants. He has purchased
seedling plants through the Snohomish Conservation District. We will supplement with salal that is
overtaking the north berm. Creekside
volunteers will help remove invasive ivy, plant, and set up drip irrigation to
support the plantings through the first year.
We appreciate Craig’s knowledge and thrifty approach.
·
We have new landscape committee members. They will review landscape renewal requests,
work requests, and general complaints.
Creekside
Website. Creekside’s governing documents, request forms,
calendar of events, and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) are now
available on the Creekside website. Although
we haven’t added all the information, yet, you can view the site—sort of a
“preview of coming attractions” at csvanacortes.blogspot.com.
Thanks to Dave Wenning for
developing and maintaining the website.
Glad
you asked that: Crawl Spaces
Question:
If the Association maintains and replaces “external” stuff, why am I
responsible for maintaining my crawl space?
Answer:
Although they are located on the building’s “exterior,” crawl spaces and the pipes
and utility connections they house are located within the building’s foundation
line. Failure by owners to keep these areas dry and well insulated can result
in permanent damage to the building, for which owners are then responsible. It’s the owners’ responsibility, and in their
best interest, to inspect crawl spaces periodically, and especially during the
rainy season, to see that yours is dry. If it’s not, you might need a sump
pump. If you let it go, and the result is building damage, you’re on the hook!