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	CreeksideRequest@gmail.com
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!