2011 Summer Newsletter
Dear Wood Creek Owners and Residents
We hope you’ve been enjoying the summer and finding ways to beat the heat. In our last big notice (Spring), we informed you about some of the rules we’d be enforcing and some new services being offered for the community. This notice is designed to give you an update on what’s been happening since
Pest Control – As Spring arrived, so did the ants. Haley’s Pest Control treated the outside of the town houses (excluding units that declined service). If you’ve had problems with ants in the past, we hope you noticed a significant improvement this year. In addition, if ants have become a problem for your unit since the treatment, please contact Meadowlark Property Management (785-842-5930) and they will schedule a touch up treatment around your unit.
Termite Inspections – In June the board cancelled prior termite contracts with several termite companies. This was done largely due to uneven coverage and price. Some buildings lacked termite coverage and the buildings that did have coverage had varying prices. We chose Haley’s Pest Control as our new pest control provider due to their reputation and years of experience in the business—not to mention their prices being lower than their competitors. With Haley’s, we received a flat rate for each building and full termite coverage from the date of inspection (including coverage for treatment if termites were discovered during inspections). Total savings by switching to Haley’s allowed us to provide both termite and ant treatment services and still save approximately $600 annually from the previous termite warranties. The board would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the owners and residents at Wood Creek for working with Meadowlark and allowing Haley’s to inspect your homes. We are happy to report that all buildings are now fully covered and no termites were discovered (hurrah!).
Guttering – In early July, the last of the town houses were repaired and retrofitted with gutter screens and downspout extensions by Jayhawk Guttering. The project cost a little over $20,000 but will save on maintenance costs over time (i.e., regular gutter cleaning). In addition, by improving the drainage, owners and residents should see a significant reduction in basement water intrusion and flooding during heavy rains.
Siding/Concrete – With the seasonal addition of James Ochs, a contractor specializing in siding and concrete, repairs at Wood Creek have been in overdrive. Mr. Ochs has replaced large sections of siding on several buildings in the last few weeks. You may have also noticed a fresh 20 foot section of sidewalk near Building 15 and brand new curbs in front of building 7 and 3 that had been in desperate need of repair
Window Trim – Our resident handyman Genaro Fernandez has been out in the blazing heat working on the grounds, mowing, painting, helping James and fixing window trim. Our thanks to both for all the hard work and for all they’ve accomplished
Towing – Parking rules are being tightly enforced. Vehicles parked in yellow zones (or vehicles parked up on sidewalks!) are receiving notices to move. This is both a fire code violation and creates a “choke-point” making it difficult for vehicles to pass. One or two inoperable vehicles have also been notified to move and have done so. In addition, we’d like to remind owners and tenants that non-designated spaces (i.e. visitor parking) are not intended for storing a second, inoperable vehicle. If your vehicle is collecting dust and spiders, you’ll be asked to move it off Wood Creek property.
Parking Stickers – In March 2011 management handed out parking stickers for owner/resident vehicles. The board considered this a pilot program and received several inquiries regarding design improvement and privacy. At this time, the board is reviewing these concerns and working to improve the stickers. Once we have made the changes, we will reissue them to owners and residents. In the meantime, if management does not have your vehicle information on file, please contact Meadowlark Property Management at WoodCreekMail@gmail.com or call 785-842-5930. Please provide your full name, unit number, whether you’re a tenant or owner, vehicle make, model, color and plate number.
Speeding – Recently, both board members and owners attending regular meetings have noted vehicles traveling through Wood Creek at a high rate of speed (30-40mph). This is extremely dangerous. We ask owners and residents to adhere to posted speed limits (10mph) for their own safety as well as for the many children and pedestrians throughout our community. In addition, even if you are following posted limits, please be mindful of your surroundings. Last month a vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into the creek. Thankfully, there were no injuries to the driver or any pedestrians.
BBQ– On July 9th the Board and Meadowlark Property Management hosted a BBQ in front of the office. We had a nice turnout and took the opportunity to discuss the upcoming Community Yard Sale while sampling a wide variety of side dishes. Thank you to the volunteers and to everyone who brought a dish.
Community Yard Sale – On July 30th Wood Creek hosted its first Community Yard Sale to help raise money to improve our playground. Our board Secretary Jennifer Meitl did the lion’s share of the planning and organization for the event. Ads were placed in the Lawrence Journal World, Craigslist and several Lawrence online bulletin boards. Signs went up at key intersections. By Saturday morning we had 15 units signed up as well as several volunteers to man lemonade/snack stands, hand out maps and make sure sales ran smoothly. Our last minute preparations complete, we waited and held our breath.
We were not disappointed. Turnout was PHENOMENAL! We had a steady stream of people throughout the morning—some driving from as far away as Lee’s Summit, Missouri. The lemonade stand made close to $100 for our playground fund while pledges from participating owners are still being collected and counted. The most repeated phrase in speaking to owners and sellers was “When can we do this again?” After the sale, Meadowlark collected items left by the street to be donated to a local charity. Based on the community interest, and provided we have enough volunteers to repeat it, the board plans to make the Wood Creek Community Yard Sale an Annual or Semiannual event. Thank you to all the volunteers, participants and Meadowlark for making the day such a big success. In addition, if you weren’t able to participate but would still like to make a donation to the Wood Creek Playground Fund, Meadowlark will accept cash, check or money order. Please make checks payable to the Wood Creek Community Association.
Board Meeting Date Change – In the interest of accommodating board member schedules and easing management workloads, board meeting times and dates have changed:
- Condo Board meetings will be held the second Tuesday of the month at
6:00pm beginning August 9, 2011. - Town House Board meetings will now be held on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm beginning August 16, 2011.
We hope to see you there.
Board Member Vacancies – We currently have two available seats on the Town House Board of Directors. These seats are by board appointment so if you are interested in becoming a member and making a difference for your community, please e-mail Meadowlark WoodCreekMail@gmail.com and be sure and tell them a bit about yourself, your availability and what you hope to accomplish as a member.
Volunteers – Maybe becoming a board member isn’t for you but you still want to help. The association needs your ideas and your talent. We need computer savvy volunteers to help update our website once it’s up and running. We need volunteers to organize social events. We need volunteers to research community improvements. We need…YOU! Please call (785-842-5930) or e-mail Meadowlark (WoodCreekMail@gmail.com) and let them know what you’d like to help with.
Thank you and have a wonderful rest of the summer
Sincerely,
The Wood Creek CSA
Board of Directors