Annual Meeting 2014

Our annual meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 17 at 6:00 PM at 7421 Howling Coyote Ln.  Please bring your own chairs.  Please attend!

The 4-1-1 on Texas Turfs

Maintaining a healthy green yard can be tricky in Texas, however, there are several resources available online to help take the guess work out if it.  Dead zones are not going to spring back to life without some intervention and not one type of grass is going to work for all neighborhoods. 

Below are links to help provide more information on the types of grasses used in warm weather states.  Each one has their pros and cons - for example some are better for the shade while others are better in high traffic areas.  Selecting the right type of grass for your home is only the start - regular maintenance such as spot treating and reseeding will also help continue to keep your yard looking healthy and green.

"Turf Answers For You" (AggieTurf, Texas A&M)

"Building a Lawn Worthy of the North Texas Heat"  (SMU, June 25, 2012)

"Warm Season Grasses" (american-lawns.com)

"Best Lawn Grass Seed for Texas" (Outsidepride.com)

Tips for Planting New Trees

Need help watering your new tree?

An irrigation bag may be the solution you're looking for!

If you are replacing a dead or missing tree then an irrigation bag might be helpful to you.  This is one solution for watering your tree until the roots build up enough to support itself.  Regular watering is important and it's not enough to leave it to the sprinkler systems.  New trees need to be watered once or twice every day for the first few months.  However, with an irrigation bag, watering is reduced to once or twice per week! 

When you purchase your tree, check to see if there is a replacement policy or guarantee - this will be helpful in the event that the tree doesn't make it and will need to be replaced again.  If you purchase your tree from a tree farm, they can also provide helpful tips to maintain a healthy tree.  

Converting PDF

We have the CC&Rs in PDF format and would like to post them on this blog, however, we lack the software to do so.  Is there a neighborhood member that has the ability to convert a PDF to text that can help out?  If so, please contact us with your phone and property address. 

Yard Maintenance - We're Listening

We've heard your concerns and understand there are problems with our current yard maintenance services.  When many of us purchased our homes, we were informed through Beazer that the entire front yard was taken care of by the HOA.  However, at the time Beazer handed over the association to the Bord of Directors (BOD) we noticed that the contract for yard maintenance did not include all that they promised.  What was included was grass mowing, edging and occasional hedge trimming. 

A few years ago we recontracted with Sunspot to include more services for yard maintenance.  We were able to include services such as fertilizer and weed killer applications, cleaning out the creek, trimming the trees and weed removal.  It wasn't everything that Beazer promised but it was much more than what was set up. 

The problem that we see now is that some of these services may be sporadic or not effective.  We are again reviewing the contract and figuring out what our options are.  We are looking for what is practical, what works and also what the cost will be for those services.  We may remove some services or we may add some services.  If you have any input, we encourage you to send us your comments and/or attend the next HOA BOD meeting.  Also, if there are services that are missed that you feel should have been completed for your yard, please contact Sunspot so they can come out for yard maintenance.

With all of this is mind, PLEASE NOTE, that it is ultimately the homeowner's responsibility to keep the yards in a respectable manner and to abide by the HOA rules and regulations.

Sincerely,
BOD

What we've done this summer...

This summer the HOA Board has authorized and completed various projects to maintain and improve our community.  First, a French drain was installed by the mailboxes on Grand Central to improve drainage and prevent flooding around the mailboxes.  Second, the gazebo was repainted and repaired.  And finally, debris was cleared out of the creek.  In the past, this had accumulated over time and had become a home for rats and other pests. These were all done with careful attention to costs.  No money was wasted on these projects.  We hope you enjoy these improvements and repairs to our community.

HOA Meeting

There will be an HOA meeting on June 27, 2014 at 1:30p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to meet the new contact manager for Principal Management and review old issues. This is an open meeting and homeowners are welcome to attend. Please email for location. 

We are looking for supporting members to help patrol the neighborhood and help give input at our meetings.

HOA Meeting

There will be an HOA meeting on April 11, 2014 at 1:00p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to meet the new contact manager for Principal Management and review old issues. This is an open meeting and homeowners are welcome to attend. Please email for location.

HOA Meeting

There will be an HOA meeting on March 27, 2013 at 2:00p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to go over the financials and review any outstanding issues. This is an open meeting and homeowners are welcome to attend. Please email for location.

Garden Borders Update

This year the members of the HOA Board are actively watching the neighborhood and making sure homes are in compliance.  In the past, a few issues have been bypassed, such as installing borders around the gardens and trees.  As these issues will come up and we will try to be fair to all involved.

This notice is specifically about the garden borders in the front yard.  Per the neighborhood's CC&Rs, this is a modification that requires Board approval and home owners are required to submit a request form to Principal Management Group with applicable fees.  However, we have decided that garden borders (which are not permanent and under 12" tall) can now be installed with a verbal pre-approval.  Any garden borders that are mounted to the house or that will be a permanent structure (i.e. fences or walls) will still need Board approval by submitting a modification request form.  (Please note, this is not a blanket permission and that all homes will be subjected to Board approval and the garden border guidelines that have been voted on.)

What this means, is that those who already have a border, will not be fined for not submitting a request form; and those who want to place new borders, can do so provided they confer with our border standards.

The materials used for garden borders should be designed and installed for garden border purposes and kept in good condition.  Garden borders should be installed in a tidy manner and kept clear of grass, weeds and debris.  For borders that weather poorly, annual replacement may be required to upkeep them.

Some border types are not accepted and homeowners will be asked to remove or replace them.  For example, unacceptable materials include tires, glass bottles, tin cans, wire (including scalloped wire borders), tree branches and so on.  In general, acceptable material types would be those designed and sold for garden border purposes that are found in the gardening department.  House bricks can be used provided that no brick holes are visible; suggested to be either buried level in the ground or used with mortar.

Borders not installed or meeting our criteria will be in violation and we will ask for them to be changed or removed.  If there is a garden border that you would like to install and want to know if it's acceptable, you may contact the HOA Board members at "villagesofchisholmridge@gmail.com" and include a photo with your proposal.


Thank you,

HOA Board

HOA Meeting

There will be a short HOA meeting on February 20, 2013 at 2:30p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the water drainage near the mailbox on Grand Central, garden borders, and information to include in a quick-guide brochure, plus any outstanding issues. This is an open meeting and homeowners are welcome to attend. Please email for location.