The Payne County Assessor’s Office is in the neighborhood today taking pictures and knocking on doors. Wanted to let you know who you’re seeing walking around the neighborhood taking pictures of houses.

Please help our community by referring to the no soliciting sign posted at the entrance and ask them to leave our neighborhood.

Typically we have groups of solicitors come through our community several times per year. Most of the solicitors going door to door will say they are doing work in the area but they are not. They can also be rather demanding and try many things to keep your attention. When asked to leave they might try to show that they have a permit from the city. The city can issue soliciting permits however it’s up to each neighborhood policy if it is accepted or not. The last group of pest control solicitors had at least 4 people going door to door. It is important that each one is informed of our policy and asked to leave. When we all do our part in asking them to leave then they will have no reason to be here.

If you are uncomfortable with asking them to leave and you suspect a solicitor please feel free to simply not answer your door.

Between the weather, some equipment issues and general issues the cleaning and mowing of the dam has been delayed. We are still on the list and Gerald is keeping in touch with them. If you have any questions please contact the board via the Let’s Talk option on this web site.

Please be aware that The Payne County Conservation District (PCCD) will be doing maintenance work on our pond, dam, spillway and plunge basin area. They hope to complete their work this week (June 14-18). They plan to mow the dam and emergency spillway, as well as remove and grind some trees that area. This is at no cost to the HOC. The PCCD has a very limited budget and we are grateful to be on their list for maintenance this year.

The annual neighborhood garage sale will be September 18, 2021 from 8am – 12pm. Whether you’re doing some spring cleaning or bigger purges the neighborhood garage sale is a great way to help re-home items and make a little money in the process.

The annual HOC meeting was held last Sunday, May 23. The topics discussed are listed below:

The shoreline of the lake is experiencing some erosion. This years increase in dues is in an effort to start building the funds needed to address this. These funds are being set aside and we are starting the process for finding a solution.

The bushes and trees in the center median of the entrance were impacted by the cold weather and will need to be significantly trimmed back.

There is a tree on the north side of the lake that is dead and a few others that are broken and needing trimmed. These will be attended to as soon as the weather permits.

The trees and fencing at the edge of Lakeview Road were brought up. The trees need to be trimmed up and the garbage underneath them needs to be cleaning up. Some of the fences are in disrepair and there was some discussion on how to improve the appearance of the area. A work day will be announced soon and there will be further discussions about the resolution.

New board members were elected. Find the new list of board members on this website by hovering the mouse over Let’s Talk tab on the upper right side of the home page then selecting Board Members drop down.

Feel free to contact the board through the Let’s Talk page on this website with comments or questions.

We are hoping the rain stops from 2-4 today so we can have the meeting as planned. Meg has graciously agreed to let us meet in her driveway since the ground is so soft. Please bring yourself, a chair and an umbrella. We look forward to seeing you there!

It looks like rain is heading our way so rather than get into the meeting only to get rained out we are postponing it until next Sunday, May 23rd.

Thanks to Parker Jackson we now have a free neighborhood library located at the south west corner of the lake! Parker created the design and built his design on his own as a Boy Scout of America project. Stillwater Building Center and Buckley’s Sticks and Stones donated the materials. Parker and other members of Troop 818 installed the library and created a pathway from the street. We would like to thank Parker, Troop 818, Stillwater Building Center and Buckley’s Sticks and Stones for this wonderful contribution to our neighborhood. Check out LittleFreeLibrary.org for this and other little neighborhood library’s like in your area.

This years annual HOC meeting has been set for May 16 at 2:00 pm. Have you ever wondered the purpose of the annual meeting?

The annual meeting is a requirement for our HOC to operate legally. It is also a time for all the home owners to discuss general management of our common areas as well as any projects or ideas anyone has. We hear minutes from the previous meeting to refresh our memories on past projects, we hear were we stand financially, and we hear updates on past projects as well as possible up and coming projects.

Have you ever been scared of getting signed up for something during the meeting so you avoid them? You’re not alone. Often times when we think about getting involved in anything we think of long hours, drama, or other unpleasant thoughts. General board members main requirement is to vote at the annual meeting as needed. The annual meeting is the only required meeting but if meetings are needed outside of that then it is kept short and often done over email. We value your time and want to keep things streamlined.

We work hard to keep from ambushing anyone at the meetings unfortunately it seems to be difficult to find home owners that are willing to participate. We have tried approaching owners prior to the meetings to avoid ambushing but that can be difficult to do. Please know we appreciate your fears on this and are working hard to navigate it.

We really appreciate those past and present board members. Without you we would have to outsource the duties of the HOC and that doesn’t sound appealing, financially or for our community.

If you’ve never been a board member or a committee member please give it a consideration. We need home owners to participate in keeping this community great.