April 1, 2009 Newsletter
Annual Homeowners meeting 3/18/09
Meeting Minutes
The Annual Homeowners meeting was held on Tuesday, March 18, 2009 at 7:00 PM in the Tool Yard.
Board members Present: Kevin Ott, Rick Jaksha, Stefanie Stevenson
Real Manage Representatives: Vice President - Fletcher McLemore and Julie Serrato
Board Members Absent: Harry Miller, Edward Giese
Approximately 34 homeowners attended, and 6 proxies were collected.
Quorum was met and verified by Julie Serrato.
Call to order: 7:10 by Rick Jaksha, President,
Rich gave the floor to Earl Parker form the Edwards Aquifer Authority
New Business - Water Issue - Lake
Earl Parker, Edwards Aquifer Authority Representative (210-222-2204) explained what our options are on the Water usage for the Lake.
Currently we are estimating to use 45 Acers of water from July 20, 2008 to July 20, 2009. Since we don't owe water rights it will currently cost $5,000 per Acre, which is a total of $225,000 or $1108 per Dwelling.
If we can secure water rights it will only be $37 per Acer, which would only cost $1665 yearly.
Water rights can be purchased from different people; they are posted on the Edwards Aquifer website http://www.edwardsaquifer.org/
Mr. McLemore from Real Manage, mentioned that he check with his management in Austin to see if they can hire someone to study the lake.
There will be a community meeting in June to discuss progress and findings.
Reading of minutes from 2008 annual meeting.
Mr. McLemore from Real Manage read the meeting minutes and motion was made to approve and seconded by Stefanie Stevenson.
Report of the officers
- - Rick talked about the past several years and some rocky roads. The community has improved and we were able to set some money aside, but we still face many challenges.
- - ACC - Architectural committee reminded homeowners to fill out their ACC request forms before they make changes to their property. Failure to get approval before structure change etc. could be costly to the homeowner.
Election of new board member
No resumes were provided prior to the meeting. The floor was opened for people to nominate. Kevin Ott nominated Scott Reuter. He was the only nominee and got accepted as a board member. Scott gave a short introduction of himself.
Old business
Rick mentioned to those homeowners that did not know that we are no longer considered to be on the flood plan. We are still waiting on official documentation.
Last year FEMA declared that Towne Lake Garden Homes were in the Flood Plan.
New business
- 1. Several homeowners ask to see alternative options on what can be done with the lake without spending a lot of money.
- A) Let lake go dry
- B) Landscape (Chris Adams volunteered to research)
- C) Build a park
- D) Get grants from wildlife organizations
- 2. A Question was asked on what happen to the Cameras and if they will be covered by Insurance. Answer: No they will not be covered by insurance. Homeowners had the opportunity to review the tape of the hooligan that vandalized the cameras. Homeowners noted that the quality of the video is very poor and they don't understand how the board could have spent $3,000 for something like this. Homeowners also asked if the Cameras will be replaced and the answer was yes.
- 3. A homeowner ask if she can pass around a petition to get the front Gate removed - she was told she could try but most didn't think she would get enough support.
- 4. Some homeowners ask if the board could hold quarterly meetings - the board was open to that idea but had a concern about the low turnout in the past.
- 5. Homeowners ask if the newsletter can be sent via email.
- 6. Homeowners ask if we could invite our safety officer to the next meeting.
- 7. Homeowners mentioned that we should probably have a lawyer present for the June Meeting that could advise us and help us with the Edwards Aquifer Authority.
Meeting adjourned 8:55 pm
Thank you
Thanks to Ethelyn Judkins and Jean Bible for cleaning up the front of the entrance. It looks so nice and clean. We appreciate you volunteering to do this.
Thanks to Kevin Ott for trimming all the trees and bushes. Your hard work for the community is greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all that helped at the "Work Party on Saturday" Although the turnout was small, those that showed up got a lot done. Great Job and we appreciate your volunteer work.
Goodbye and Thank you to a Board Member
We would like to thank Harry Miller for serving on the board, we appreciate all the work you did on the Board of Directors and the community appreciates your volunteer services. Good Luck and we'll see you around.
Please Welcome Scott Reuter as his replacement.
Board of Directors is as follows:
Kevin Ott - President
Edward Giese - Vice President I
Scott Reuter - Vice President II
Rick Jaksha - Treasurer
Stefanie Stevenson - Secretary
Monthly Meeting
We will start having monthly meetings at the tool yard until the Lake/water rights issue is resolved. The first meeting is on April 28th at the tool yard at 7.00 PM. Homeowners are encouraged to attend, help us do research and bring suggestions.
Architectural Control Committee
The basic purpose of this committee is to preserve the aesthetic value and appearance of the structures and landscaping of Towne Lake. Its goal is to maintain the neighborhood to the highest standards applicable. The governing guidelines can be found in the Covenants. The committee considers and approves or disapproves plans and specifications for private pools, fences, walls, home modifications/additions, sheds, removals of trees and shrubs, and other items affecting the value and/or appearance of the neighborhood.
Before you begin construction, removal, etc., please submit a Property Alteration request form with the supporting documents to this committee. It is very important that you include all necessary documents in order to receive an expeditious response. If you are in doubt as to how to proceed or whether you need to proceed, please contact a committee member. The committee is committed to assisting you in any way it can.
If you believe there is a violation of the Covenants, please submit a Covenant Violation Complaint form to the committee for consideration and action. The committee is here to protect our largest investment - our homes and property.
Camera Vandalism
On Feb. 25th at 1:01 am, an SUV entered the neighborhood; hit the brakes as they went over the speed hump. The vandalist showed up around 1:05 am. White male, dark short hair with no bangs 110 -130 lbs. between the age of 14-17. A photo and a video were made available at the annual homeowner's association meeting. If you can help identify or have this suspect arrested there will be a $100 reward.
Tagger/Graphite
On late Saturday early Sunday morning on 3/21-3/22 some Hooligan tagged/graphite the entrance sign. Thank you to the kind sole that cleaned up the mess.
If you have information about this please contact our Safety Officer Mr. Bierman 210-394-9273 or email him at david,bierman@sanantonio.gov (best means of correspondence)
From the Desk of Kevin Ott, President - about our Lake and Water rights
This is what I know, as one of your neighborhood volunteers on the BOD.
I've had to learn on the fly as I have no previous experience with wells or water rights. Until I got on the board, I had no previous knowledge of a well. I live on the lake.
Last Spring a letter was received from the Edwards Aquifer Authority telling us that our well was non compliant, not registered & withdrawing water without a permit.
We were given options: Abandon our well & plug it or put a meter on the well & begin monitoring our usage for a one year test period. After a meeting at the management companies office a majority vote by your board members chose to install a meter at a cost of around $1,600. The meter was installed on July 20th, 2008.
Harry, another board member or I would turn on the well pump on as needed & turn it off when the lake reached the grass. As the neighborhood does not have a caretaker it falls on the shoulders of your BOD. If the lake is not added to, the water drops every month. It is low right now.
It became apparent that it takes a lot of water to keep the lake at a desirable level. The lake is estimated at seven acres & is about eleven feet deep. Where is all the water going? 1. According to Johnson Lake Management in San Marcos, we can expect a normal evaporation rate of up to 3/4" in one day during the summer.
One long timer told me the lake drops about one foot per month if not added to. Johnson lake management thought that this was acceptable. He told me with a country twang, "Boy, we are in an extreme draught, Do you know how many ranchers have dry tanks?"
We use the lake water to irrigate the area around the lake & the two parks. Last summer, when I began monitoring the irrigation around the lake, the system was set at twice per week. It is a five station system running 45 minutes per station & 15 minutes on the small park. After seeing the water use, I cut back the watering to once per week. During Nov, Dec, Jan & half of Feb, I only watered the parks once per week for 15 minutes. The surrounding lake areas were not watered at all. The parks are high visibility areas & deserve a little more attention.
Earl Parker of the Edwards Aquifer told me that we have a couple other options. Extend our well to the deeper Trinity Aquifer or contact SAWS about using recycled water. So I called James Sotack of Well Done, installer of our meter. He told me our well is probably 500 feet deep; the trinity is about 1,500 feet deep.
We cannot simply extend our well; a new one would have to be drilled. The trinity is not a good reliable source of water, we could spend $100,000 & he will not guarantee our water quantity/quality. The Edwards Aquifer Authority does not have any jurisdiction for the Trinity Aquifer. Sounds like a risky option.
I also contacted SAWS about recycled water. The closest supply is at I-35 & Ritterman. The cost of running a dedicated pipe is $250 per foot. Let's see 5,280 feet times seven miles is $9,240,000. Not a viable option.
The hot button! Had we registered our well in 1996 or 1997 we would have owned water rights. Who was in charge & why can't we get grandfathered in? I don't have the answer to this one. I've only been an owner here for five years.
I'm not an expert on our bylaws. I've been told that they require all residents to pay the same assessments, lake or no lake. Can't those Lakers foot the bill?
Securing water rights. We must first find a person to sell us water rights; sorry HEB does not carry them. We can either buy or lease them. We estimate that we will need 45 acre feet based on our historical consumption from the past nine months. Leasing runs about $500 - $600 per acre, buying rights is around $5,000 per acre foot. Once you buy you will own them for life.
The Edwards Aquifer Authority classifies our lake as an amenity pond; as such it's really not essential to reality.
Any & all comments are welcome. You can get mad if you want to, but knowledge & understanding will get us all further in life.
Yard of the month starting in April
Our Yard of the month selection will start in April; we are looking forward to seeing your fabulous yards.
Neighborhood Garage Sale - May 16, 2009We will have a Neighborhood Garage Sale May 16th. If you participate you must purchase a permit at HEB. If you like to save money, ask your neighbor if you can have the Garage Sale together, so you only have to purchase one permit. You can share the cost. The Garage Sale will also be advertised in the Express news.
Look for the following improvements in the neighborhood soon:
- 1. Painted Speed humps
- 2. Lower Speed Limit 15 MPH. (It is currently 20 MPH)
Delinquency on Home Owners Association Fee
If you owe $200 or more on Association Fee's Towne Lake is considering putting a lien on your home. Please understand it is not fair to the other homeowners that pay their association Fee. The money is used to keep our neighborhood maintained and good looking. Please pay up, don't ignore them problem. Email Rick Jaksha, Treasurer @ jaksharp@sbcglobal.net to work out a payment plan.
