Creekside Village Newsletter -- April, 2020

Message from the Board of Directors: Welcome home, Snowbirds!! We’re happy to see you and wave a big hello--from a safe distance, of course, so we can all stay healthy and well. 

Neighborly Support Continues.  While maintaining social distancing guidelines, Creekside’s Hospitality and Welcoming Committees will continue to help neighbors who might need assistance. Contact the chairpersons of those committees to make arrangements.  You can find their contact information on the current Creekside phone list.

Hospitality Event: Our next scheduled lunch is tentatively planned at Bastion's Brewing, just off Highway 20, on June 10th. Hopefully, by then we will be able to gather and still accommodate our health and safety concerns.

Welcome, Neighbor!  New neighbor Pat moved to Creekside Lane this month from Oak Harbor, where she worked for many years at the Senior Center and coordinated world-wide travel and tours. Like most of us, Pat is looking forward to more "normal times," when we can attend lectures and arts events she enjoys so much here in Anacortes.  Waving you a warm welcome to you, Pat!  

“Virtual” Board Meetings and Workshops continue via telephone conferencing.  Please contact any Board member if you have a question or issue for us. Alice Dickey makes meeting minutes available within ten days of each meeting, and we post minutes on the Creekside web site, csvanacortes.blogspot.com

Tree Removal and Restoration. Following removal of dead trees along the northwest property line, Vice President Craig Illman planted fifty trees and shrubs, purchased from the Snohomish Conservation District at minimal cost to the HOA, and relocated twenty or more salal plants to the area from the north berm.  Craig installed an emitter water system and a schedule of weekly watering, putting about two gallons of water on each plant. As the weather warms and gets drier, we’ll likely increase the watering frequency to every three days through mid-September.  The soil is surprisingly good in this area, so we are optimistic about how things should grow. Finally, we have begun to kill the vine maple stumps—using Epsom salts.

Landscape Services Resume.  We are grateful to homeowner volunteers who mowed lawns over the last few weeks, but we won’t be doing that again. Creekside’s insurer has cautioned against any resident performing potentially dangerous work in common areas. The timing was good, though, as we are happy to turn this back over to our landscape pros. Although Simply Yards has re-started its routine maintenance, it will take a few weeks for the property to return to its usual well-manicured condition.  The rhododendrons look great this spring, which reflects our targeted feed in 2019. The BOD plans to budget another targeted feed in 2021.  Due to budget constraints we will try to do this every two years.

Painting.  Russel Swanson, Final Touch Painting, begins painting on Monday, May 4th.  He will be painting the upper Lane and the two buildings at the top of the Place.  He will start work at the Upper Place and end the painting season at the top of the Lane.  Owners, if you see areas around your home that need painting work, please send a service request so that we can get you on the spot painting list.  You can print a request form from the Documents page.

We hear you!  Repair and replacement of leaky gutters and downspouts and removing moss from roofs are projects we are working right now. Treasurer Norm Culbert is leading efforts to get quotes for gutter replacements on two buildings. This initial work will support and guide our strategy to replace gutters and downspouts throughout our community over the next couple of years.  Secretary Peggy Noethlich is leading efforts for quotes on moss removal and roof cleaning. We hope to have this work completed by mid-June.

Recreational Vehicle Facility. We have three 25-foot (no power) spaces available; everything else is full. Special thanks to owners who live close and make extra time to check and secure the gates intermittently. We appreciate you!

The Creekside word for the month is "Zoom."