The Villages at Maxwell Creek Home Owners Association (1st Quarter 2004)

Neighborhood Newsletter

Annual Dues

This is a reminder that all residents should have paid their annual dues by now, invoices were mailed during the week of December 22nd. Payment must be received by Saturday, February 28th, 2004, any dues received after this time will be subject to an 18% APR (retroactive to January 1st) as specified in the Covenants of the Association.

We still have not received payment from 144 (47%) homeowners as of the time this was printed. Over $500.00 in late fees were collected last year.

Bimonthly Open Forum Meetings

The next open forum meeting will be held on Monday, March 15th at the Allen Public Library (on McDermott), starting at 7:00pm. As with previous meetings, there is no specific agenda, the plan is to hold an informal question and answer session, and to help everyone meet their neighbors.

We had slightly better turn-out last time on January 12th, and are encouraged enough to keep holding these meetings. During the last meeting, several of the questions raised have come up in the past so we thought we should reprint them here:

When is / why isn't the HOA doing more to clean up the grassy area along the alley of Woodstream near the empty field for the new elementary school?

The property in question is neither owned nor maintained by the Villages at Maxwell Creek HOA -- it's owned by the Arbor Lakes HOA (the neighborhood "next door" with homes built by Woodhaven and First Texas). We have registered several complaints with the Arbor Lakes HOA, as well as the city of Allen, and some cleanup has been done. Ultimately, we have no jurisdiction over that property, and cannot make changes nor should we pay for the maintenance of property that we do not own.

When is the elementary school going to be built?

We've checked with the city of Allen about this several times over the past two years, and each time we ask the date is pushed back. Currently, the school is planned to be open and ready for the fall 2006 school year.

What's the status of the lawsuit with the city about the sewage lift stations?

The HOA is not involved in the lawsuit, so we don't really keep tabs on it. All questions about the lawsuit should be directed to either Jane Chism at (214) 547-9250 or the Godwin Gruber lawfirm at (214) 939-4400.

What's going to happen with the empty fields around the neighborhood along Shelley and Malone?

There is supposed to be quite a lot of development in the fields along Shelley, including several new lakes and a park, an upscale neighborhood (homes $300+), a new middle school, and a retail center / strip mall. A drawing of the proposed changes is available on the HOA web site.
We don't have any information about development occurring in the field along Malone, that area is actually within the Parker city limits.

Is it possible to get speed bumps installed on Bur Oak or Malone? A lot of people drive too fast on those streets.

We asked the city about this back in 2001, but it turns out to be against city policy:

Speed humps installation is still a controversial topic and there is a great deal of debate in transportation engineering circles to slow down traffic by using speed humps. Problems from the installation of speed humps, such as vehicle damage, street maintenance, slowing down emergency responding vehicles (fire trucks and ambulance), and inconvenience brought to the local residents, are still unsolved. Although there are a couple of cities in the DFW Metro area which have started speed humps installation policies to control speeding problems, complaints and objections from local residents have been continuously received by these cities.

We have asked the city to increase the number of police patrols on those streets, as well as occasionally setting up a temporary radar trailer. In late January, we also asked the city to install speed limit signs in the alleys, as we have received many complaints about people driving well above the 10 MPH limit.
If you have any questions or concerns about traffic issues, the city contact is Stanton Foerster at (972) 727-0175.

There have been many people canvassing our neighborhood for sales and donations. In some cases, they have become abusive for being told no! We suggest you post a "No Soliciting" sign in a window near your front door. These signs can be purchased at any Home Depot or Lowes store. If after you have posted such a sign you continue to receive flyers / donation requests, call the police. It is against the law to solicit a dwelling with such a sign posted.

Annual Meeting / Board Member Elections

Elections for the HOA Board will be held at the annual meeting on Monday, April 12th at the Allen Public Library (on McDermott), starting at 7:00pm. None of the current three Board members (Tres Moss, Stephanie Butler, or Mandy Diercks) are running again, so a completely new group of people will be elected.

So far, we've only received one response from individuals interested in running this year. If there are not enough candidates, then there are two potential solutions provided by the Bylaws:

1. The current board member(s) remain in place until such time as a successor can be named through subsequent elections.
2. The current board member(s) can resign, and the new board members can select a new person to replace them.

If enough people do not attend the April 12th meeting to achieve a quorum, then elections will be held at the Spring block party on Sunday, April 25th. Below is the current list of candidates, with biographical and running platform information.

• Robert Butler

  My wife, Stephanie, and I moved in to the neighborhood in September of 2001, and we very recently added a new baby girl, Avery Grace, to our family. I've worked for Eastman Kodak in Plano for almost 7 years, and before that I was with Texas Instruments in McKinney. I've been involved with the HOA since the very first HOA meeting, when management of the Association was passed from the builders to the homeowners.

  I've spent thousands of hours volunteering for the HOA so far — I've almost single-handedly written and published the last three editions of the HOA newsletter; I've written, published, and operated the HOA web site for the last two years; I've help plan and run several Social committee events, including the neighborhood block parties, the Halloween kick-off party, and I also came up with the idea for the bi-monthly open forum meetings. Additionally, I've been chairperson of the Architecture Committee for the last year, and have done my best to include the dozen and a half committee members in every decision. While I have never served on a Homeowner's Association Board, my lovely wife, Stephanie, has been an officer of the Board for the last two years, so I've also had a behind-the-scenes look at most of the decisions and events occurring throughout the Association.

  As far as a platform, my primary interest is in doing what I can to continually improve the neighborhood, whether that includes landscape improvements to the Common Areas, enforcement of the architectural guidelines, or simply encouraging a community spirit by helping neighbors socialize and meet one another. Most importantly, I believe continuous, consistent communication between the HOA and homeowners is necessary to ensure that the HOA is truly acting with the will of the homeowners.

Bicycle Safety Rules

A helmet should be worn every time you ride a bike, scooter, skateboard, or in-line skate etc. It is also important to wear the appropriate helmet when skiing or snowboarding. Use the following guidelines for purchasing and correctly wearing a helmet:

• The helmet should fit comfortably and not be able to move when you jerk your head from side to side.
• The helmet should sit parallel to the ground, NOT tilted back, with a about an inch (two fingers) between your eyebrows and the lower edge of the helmet.
• Make sure the helmet straps are always buckled. The straps should fit snugly, but not too tightly. The sliding clasp on each side of the head should be situated just below the ears. You should be ale to put a finger under the closed strap against your neck.
• Getting the right fit is a matter of trial and error. Use the pads provided by the manufacturer and the strap adjustments. Try on several helmets in the store because, not all helmet styles fit all heads.

An estimated 140,000 children are treated each year in emergency rooms for head injuries sustained while bicycling. Bicycle helmets have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of head and brain injury.

Spring Block Party

The Spring neighborhood block party will be held in the cul-de-sac on Woodstream Ln from 4:00 - 6:00pm on Sunday, April 25th. We're hoping to have it be just a social gathering, but if we aren't able to reach a quorum at the April 12th meeting, then we'll have to take care of HOA business first.

In addition to free hot dogs, the HOA will also be providing free watermelon and soft drinks for everyone. Similar to last year, we're planning to have a bounce house and face painting - we need volunteers to watch over the bounce house and make sure that too many (or too old) children don't crowd inside. New for this year, we will be holding a raffle for a $50 Home Depot gift certificate! We are also hoping to have a member of the Allen police department there to provide information on starting a neighborhood crime watch program, as well as answer any questions people may have.

Residents are asked to bring a side dish to share plus any other food for their family if they don't want the food provided. You will also need to bring your own lawn chairs, picnic blanket, etc.

What are Covenants?

Neighborhood Covenants are a set of rules that govern various aspects of our whole subdivision. Some of these covenants are rules for the developer and homebuilders, and some of them are for the homeowners. Obviously, after the neighborhood is built out, the first set of rules are no longer as important. These rules are the ones that detail original construction standards, setbacks, home size, easements and so on. The section that stays viable after build out is that which pertains to homeowners and property use.

First, covenants are basically a standard. All of us were aware of them, or should have been, at the time we purchased our homes. Since everyone in the neighborhood is automatically a member of the HOA, the covenants are essentially a contract between one homeowner and another. What is covered by these covenants in a large part are things that are changeable on our properties or how we use them.

Some covenants are unlikely to ever be an issue, for example, nobody will probably want to drill an oil well in their back yard. But there are other rules that can have the potential to affect all homeowners at one time or another. These include things like additional structures on the property, the color of paint, landscaping issues, room additions and still other things that good neighbors would just naturally want to do like keeping property clean, keeping pets from being a problem, and so on.

Our neighborhood has 303 families in it and that means there are 303 different ideas about decorating, painting, and just about everything else. Our covenants standardize certain things not just to be restrictive, but to be protective. That's right, protective. Without some general standards, our neighborhood could become a hodgepodge of colors, styles, and landscaping. What is appealing to one person, such as pastel purple paint with highlighting lavender, might not be appealing to someone else — especially if you lived next door or across the street and were trying to sell your home.

By keeping certain things within the bounds of the covenants we protect the values of all of our properties. These covenants help those of us who will move get the most from our biggest investment — our home — by making the neighborhood more desirable for the prospective buyer. Your most important investments can be affected very negatively if the quality of the neighborhood goes down. In a very real sense, covenants are like the FDIC insurance on banks. You wouldn't put a couple of hundred thousand dollars in cash in an uninsured savings account, would you?

Poopin' & Scoopin'

A large number of Maxwell Creek residents have household pets, and these pets are a large part of a pet owner's life. However, sharing your pet's life with neighbors by allowing your pet to poop in their front yard and not picking up after them is rude, arrogant and inconsiderate.

When walking your pets throughout our neighborhood, please carry a plastic bag to pick up your pet's poop. Then take it home and flush it down the toilet. Please don't throw it down the storm drain in the street since it ends up in the closest creek and leads to even more pollution.

Those of you that let your pets run free to poop where they please are violating the city's leash ordinance for pets. Take the time to walk your pet on a leash in the neighborhood. You would be surprised how many nice residents you will meet on the way!

As a last resort, there is also a "pooper-scooper" ordinance where any resident can file a complaint against the offending party that doesn't pick up after their pet. There is a hefty fine if you are convicted.

Please be considerate of your neighbors when you walk your pet!

Committee Updates

Architecture Committee

No news is good news, they say, and that's where the committee is today. There haven't been any big changes or meetings in the last two months, as things have been fairly quiet in the neighborhood.

However, now that spring is rolling around and yards are starting to green up, we'll be more stringent about enforcing the Community Beautification Standards. This is the best time for weed control and fertilization. If you don't have a green thumb consider a landscape company or a contract with Chemlawn or a similar company. While all weeds cannot be controlled, proper pre-emergent and feeding will make summer weeds much easier to treat.

The chairperson of the Architecture committee is Robert Butler.

Landscape Committee

As one of several Common Area beautification projects that the landscape committee proposed last year, we started 2004 in a hurry by taking advantage of the city's Trees for Allen program, and ordered 35 trees to be planted along the entire length of Malone. Depending on how quickly the city's grower can respond, the trees should all be planted, staked, and mulched by the end of March.

Later in the year, we are looking at adding additional landscaping in the cul-de-sacs, to help define an area where pedestrians can walk through. We've received numerous complaints from homeowners living at the end of the cul-de-sacs about not only people walking through their yards, but also bicyclists and even cars and trucks driving through their grass!

Several members of the committee have resigned in the last year, and we are in need of additional members. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact us!

The chairperson of the Landscape committee is Stephanie Butler.

Social Committee

The committee has been busy planning for the Spring Block Party, as well as for a repeat performance of last year's well-received neighborhood garage sale.

Last year, there was excellent turnout for the garage sale, both in terms of the number of homes participating as well as the number of shoppers touring the neighborhood, with several homes reporting several hundred dollars in sales! The HOA will be placing ads in both the Dallas Morning News and Allen American, and will also be posting signs at the neighborhood entrances. There is no cost to residents and all profits are yours to keep.

Several members of the committee have resigned in the last year, and we are in need of additional members. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact us!

The chairperson of the Social committee is Mandy Diercks.

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Want to Advertise?

For just $25 per quarter you can have your advertisement (approx 3in x 2in) in this newsletter and a banner ad (468p x 60p) on the HOA website!

Free for Residents! Individuals living in the neighborhood can have their advertisement posted for free!

All proceeds received from advertising fund the HOA budget. Layout and creation services not provided.

Presidents' Day Trivia

President George Washington was born on February 22nd, 1732, and was president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. The celebration of his holiday on February 22nd was a firmly rooted tradition in the United States at least by the early part of the 19th Century and was changed to the 3rd Monday in February by federal legislation (HR 15951) in 1968. Though the holiday is officially known as Washington's Birthday, it is commonly called Presidents' Day and is considered by many Americans to celebrate the birthdays of both Presidents Washington and Lincoln.

President Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th, 1809. This date is not a federal holiday. Many States do, however, celebrate this day either as a holiday or as an observance.

• George W. Bush is our 43rd president, but there actually have only been 42 presidents: Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and is counted twice, as our 22nd and 24th president.
• Eight presidents were born British subjects: Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Jackson, and W. Harrison.
• Nine presidents never attended college: Washington, Jackson, Van Buren, Taylor, Fillmore, Lincoln, A. Johnson, Cleveland, and Truman. The college that has the most presidents as alumni (five in total) is Harvard: J. Adams, J. Q. Adams, T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, and Kennedy.
• Presidents who would be considered "Washington outsiders" (ie. The 18 presidents who never served in Congress) are: Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Taylor, Grant, Arthur, Cleveland, T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, Hoover, F. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and G. W. Bush.
• The most common religious affiliation among presidents has been Episcopalian, followed by Presbyterian.
• The ancestry of all 43 presidents is limited to the following six heritages, or some combination thereof: Dutch, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, or German.
• The oldest president inaugurated was Reagan (age 69); the youngest was Kennedy (age 43). Theodore Roosevelt, however, was the youngest man to become president — he was 42 when he succeeded McKinley, who had been assassinated.
• The tallest president was Lincoln at 6'4"; at 5'4", Madison was the shortest.
• Fourteen presidents served as vice presidents: J. Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, A. Johnson, Arthur, T. Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, Nixon, L. Johnson, Ford, and George Bush.
• Vice presidents were originally the presidential candidates receiving the second-largest number of electoral votes. The Twelfth Amendment, passed in 1804, changed the system so that the electoral college voted separately for president and vice president. The presidential candidate, however, gradually gained power over the nominating convention to choose his own running mate. For two years a president and a vice president who were not elected by the people ran the nation. After Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in 1973, President Nixon appointed Gerald Ford as vice president. Nixon resigned the following year, which left Ford as president, and Ford's appointed vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, as second in line.
• The term "First Lady" was first used in 1877 in reference to Lucy Ware Webb Hayes. Most First Ladies, including Jackie Kennedy, are said to have hated the label.

What To Do Now In Your Landscape
• Plan spring color planting.
• Prune summer flowering shrubs and trees (e.g. crepe myrtle, butterfly bush vitex, etc.)
• With the lack of rain, water trees and shrubs deeply (6 inches) before a hard freeze.
• Use floating row cover fabric to protect flowers and vegetables from hard freezes. Available at Calloway's, Home Depot, etc.
• Don't forget to feed the birds!
• James Buchanan was the only president never to marry. Five presidents remarried after the death of their first wives, two of whom, Tyler and Wilson, remarried while in the White House. Reagan was the only divorced president. Six presidents had no children. Tyler — father of fifteen — had the most.
• Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy were assassinated in office.
• Assassination attempts were made on the lives of Jackson, T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Ford, and Reagan.
• Eight presidents died in office: W. Harrison (after having served only one month), Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, F. Roosevelt, and Kennedy.
• Presidents Adams, Jefferson, and Monroe all died on the 4th of July; Coolidge was born on that day.
• Kennedy and Taft are the only presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
• Lincoln, Jefferson, F. Roosevelt, Washington, Kennedy, and Eisenhower are portrayed on U.S. coins.
• Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Jackson, Grant, McKinley, Cleveland, Madison, and Wilson are portrayed on U.S. paper currency.

HOA Contact Information

The Home Owners Association and its agents may be contacted in several ways:

• Through the HOA web site, at http://www.maxwellcreek.org/,
• By emailing the officers of the HOA, at officers@maxwellcreek.org,
• By calling or faxing the HOA at (972) 739-5221.
• Through U.S. postal mail at:
  Villages at Maxwell Creek HOA
  P.O. Box 2265
  Allen, TX 75013

We welcome any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. Please include your name and street address on all correspondence in order to expedite a response. Please allow two business days for your call or message to be returned.

Is there anything that you've wished to know more about or is there something you would like to share with other association members? If you want to suggest a topic, write an article, make a suggestion or even correct a mistake, please contact us! The deadline for all submissions is the end of the first month for each quarter-year.