The Lamppost Vol. 2006/7 July 2006
The Official Newsletter of the Walden Pond Homeowners’ Association
On the Internet at http://waldenponddurhamnc.org
Regularly Scheduled HOA Board Meeting
NEW TIME!!! Saturday, June 29, 2006, 10:00am
McMannen United Methodist Church
4102 Neal Road, Durham
All Walden Pond owners and residents welcome
Walden Pond HOA Hires
ANOTHER New Manager
Effective July 3, Morgan’s Property Management, Inc., is the new property agent for the Walden Pond HOA.
HOA members should have received a letter from the HOA board of directors (shortly after June 23) announcing the new management.
The HOA board chose Morgan’s after a search that began about June 1. At that time, Mr. Harold White, of Property Management, Inc., submitted his resignation, effective at the end of June.
Mr. White started as the HOA’s property agent on May 1, but he soon notified HOA president Don Barry that White would have to resign due to health reasons.
Ms. Frankie Johnson will be Morgan’s Property Management’s principal contact person for the Walden Pond HOA. She can be reached weekdays at 479-5762, weekdays, or at morganpropmgr@aol.com by Email, anytime.
As of July 3, all outstanding payments to the HOA (including the regular $68.00 monthly assessment) should be mailed to:
Walden Pond HOA
c/o Morgan’s Property Mgt. LLC
PO Box 71294
Durham NC 27722-1294
Make all checks to “Walden Pond HOA.”
IMPORTANT!
Membership Fees for July 2006
-- and after
If you have NOT paid your standard $68.00 monthly fee to the Walden Pond HOA, or you need to pay past monthly fees that are delinquent, all payments after July 3, 2006 should go to:
Morgan’s Property Mgt. LLC
PO Box 71294
Durham NC 27722-1294
Ph. 919.479.5762
Email: MorganPropMgr@aol.com
BUT – be sure to make your check to:
Walden Pond HOA
HOA Board Holds July Meeting This Saturday at McMannen
July vacation schedules have forced the Walden Pond HOA board to reschedule its regular monthly meeting to Saturday, July 29, at 10am at McMannen United Methodist Church.
Ms. Frankie Johnson, representing Morgan’s Property Mgt., plans to be present.
Please take the time to welcome her to the Walden Pond community!
This 'n' That …
Pressure Washing: Thanks to all HOA members who allowed use of their home's water during our community-wide pressure washing project in May. According to the water-use records submitted by the contractor, the HOA board figured that, based on the standard pricing of city water, all but three of the units tapped for water incurred an expense of less than $5.00. Those whose expense was greater than $5.00 should have received a reimbursement check from the HOA. The board is asking that the owners who incurred less than a $5.00 expense consider it to be a donation to the HOA and the community. However, those who want repayment, or who think their water bill was significantly increased because of water use during the pressure washing, should contact the board about reimbursement.
"Trash Can Wars:" That's what one Walden Pond resident calls the ongoing campaign to keep our community looking neat on the weekends following Thursday's city trash pickup. Please make sure that you take your green "solid waste container" off the street and back to your townhome within 24 hours of the Thursday morning pickup -- preferably, by Thursday night. Also, remember that city sanitation workers will not pick up discarded items that are not in the containers. And, if you see an empty container with its lid open -- especially on rainy days – be a good neighbor and take a couple of seconds to close the lid.
Big Boxes: With many people moving into Walden Pond this summer, some newcomers may not know the routine about trash pickups. Don’t be shy – if you see someone leaving trash improperly on the curbside, fill him or her in on the right and wrong ways to discard. (See below.)
Good Neighbors Make Good Fences: If you're walking along the fence that borders Prestwick Place, and you see a rail that's fallen -- well, it takes only a few seconds to put the rail back in place. A very small thing, indeed, but one that can enhance or detract from our community's appearance. (If you have a guest who parks along that fence, please be sure the guest doesn't accidentally knock down a rail.)
Gone Fishin’: Well, not in Walden Pond. Our pond may look inviting on a warm summer’s day, but the fishing there is strictly for the birds – not for humans. Please observe the “No Fishing” warnings.
Newsletter Contributions
The editor is always looking for items of interest to ALL Walden Pond HOA members. You can leave submissions at 10 Prestwick Place, or
emcintyre@waldenponddurhamnc.org
for Email submissions.
All submissions are subject to editorial consultation for length, content and style.
Newsletter Delivery
We also need help in distributing the newsletter door -to-door (which saves the HOA approximately $80 a month of your money in postage costs, compared to mailing it to every townhome). If you can take 15-30 minutes to cover one court, once a month, please contact the Email address above.
Cleaning House – and Keeping a Clean Community
Several Walden Pond residents have been doing some very late spring cleaning, getting rid of items large and small. There’s a right way and wrong way to do this, in terms of maintaining a neat neighborhood appearance in which all WP residents can take pride.
THE WRONG WAY: Leaving the worn-out sofa, dead fridge, or empty box on the street in hopes that the city garbage collectors – or the trash fairy – will come along and remove it. FYI, there ain’t no trash fairy, and the City of Durham weekly garbage collections take away only what you can put into your solid waste container. That also applies to impromptu curbside “help yourself” giveaway of small items.
THE RIGHT WAY: Take your small household stuff to the local Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, or Habitat for Humanity collection stations; give your unwanted clothing to the Durham Rescue Mission; donate books and your old LPs and VHS tapes to the Durham County Public Library for resale. (Check the phone book.) Or try to sell your stuff on eBay! Recycle papers, containers, cardboard, etc., in the Thursday pickup, or at the Kroger parking lot on Hillsborough Road. To get rid of large furniture or appliances, or empty containers, YOU have to make arrangements for someone to pick them up (that is, if you can’t haul them away yourself). Here are some solutions:
That large item you’re trying to discard might still be useful to someone (remember, it’s trash only in the eye of the beholder), so consider these options:
• Goodwill Industries, 483-1182. Free pick-up for large furniture donations in our area only on Wednesdays. Call at least one week ahead of time. Goodwill will pick up smaller items only if you have at least one large piece of furniture for them to take.
• The Salvation Army, 477-5457. Free pick-up of a large furniture item (and smaller items with the large item). Schedule the pickup at least one week ahead of time.
• Habitat Hand-Me-Ups, 403-8668. Call about free pick-ups, or check out their website at http://www.hhmu.org
• For decent furniture or a working appliance that someone else can use, try selling it at a low price, or giving it away if the recipient promises to haul it away. The Durham Herald-Sun (daily), 419-6910, offers free classified ads (up to four lines for seven days). The Independent Weekly, 286-1972, also offers free ads; check them out at http://classifieds.indyweek.com.
• Try listing your stuff for sale or give-away on “Craig’s List,” the all-purpose web-contact site at http://raleigh.craigslist.org (it covers the whole Triangle). It’s free.
If what you have to discard is trash in anyone’s bin, your best hope for pickup is from the City of Durham’s “bulky items” service, 560-1200. They will take away up to five large items free if (a) you call them on a Tuesday and (b) you are one of the first 20 people to call.
However, you may have to wait two weeks for that pickup. The city also will remove up to five large items if you pay a $20 fee (added to your city water/sewer bill). Call 560-1200 for that service, any weekday. Ask a neighbor or two to split the cost with you.
Be sure to find out THE EXACT DAY that the pickup will be made. Please DO NOT put the discarded item(s) out on the street until the night before, or the morning of, the scheduled pickup. Put smaller items at your front door or on your walkway (don’t block the common sidewalk). Have the item taken away in 24 HOURS OR LESS. Coordinate your purchase of a replacement appliance, etc., with discarding the unwanted one.
If you schedule a pick-up but the picker-upper is a no-show, it’s up to you to reschedule a pick-up -- and to get the discarded item out of sight until the next appointment. And … if one of the organizations listed here fails to show for an appointment, you should express your displeasure to the organization AND let the HOA directors know so we can complain to them too. More squeak for the wheel!
The WPHOA will be enforcing appearance standards by personal notification and, if need be, with fines for ongoing violations.
All Walden Pond residents should take pride in the appearance of our neighborhood. Please do all you can to keep your discards from becoming eyesores that detract from the livability (and value) of your Walden Pond home.
You can help the Walden Pond HOA save your money by switching to Internet delivery of this newsletter! Please send your E-mail address to:
latkinson@waldenponddurhamnc.org
OR
morganpropmgr@aol.com
Be sure to specify that you want to receive the Walden Pond HOA monthly newsletter via the Internet. Your E-mail address will be kept confidential. If it changes, please keep the HOA updated.