Letter from the President: provided by Dick Heilman.

What a great turnout for the General Meeting and Cinco de Mayo on 15 May! There were more than 70 members in attendance (as per the sign-in sheet). We owe our thanks to the Social Committee, and especially Gerri Graham, Cookie Puckett, Shirley Wells and Ivy Parizek for putting it all together. THANKS!!!

As you will see in the minutes of the meeting, we have 3 new Board members, Homer Ahr, Dan Barnhardt, and Katherine Walther. This year we had 5 members vying for the three openings. Thanks to all the candidates. It is a healthy sign for our POA to have competition for the positions. And many thanks to the Board directors whose term expired. Cheryl Mann served as Treasurer for 2 terms and did an outstanding job. She has promised to stay involved and help out the new Treasurer as a finance committee member.

Cookie Puckett, Secretary, also served several terms and was my right hand helper. She not only did a good job with the minutes, but also was always ready to help whenever I needed it (often). Gerri Graham was our Parliamentarian who knows Robert's Rules and how to run a meeting. She made sure that our general meetings never went over an hour. Gerri and Cookie will continue to serve the community as key leaders of the Social Committee. Thanks Cheryl, Cookie and Gerri for all that you have done for Oak Ridge.

While I am speaking of service to our community, I'd like to put in a plug again for you to join one of the committees. The committees have contributed so much to our quality of life in Oak Ridge in the past year. I guess we all set a goal at the start of a new year to try to help others more. Participating with one of our committees is a way to do that. It almost feels like cheating though, because by serving Oak Ridge we are really helping ourselves. We could use a few more volunteers on some of our standing committees. The committees are: Architectural, Financial Review, Bylaws, Communications, Community Center, Roads/Roadsides/Storage, and Social. Please let the committee chairperson (oakridgepoa.org) or a Board member know if you want to be on a committee. Roads and Community Center could especially use additional help. I'm also thinking of a couple more committees we might want to form in the coming year.

1. It might be useful to have a committee that helps out folks who need a hand, are sick, or who need a ride, etc.
2. The Board has agreed that we need a committee, probably on an interim basis, to look into Oak Ridge firefighting services and/or to help negotiate our contract for next year. We want to get this committee up and running as soon as possible, so that we can have a fact-finding meeting early in the fall. Please let me know if you would be interested in serving on this committee.

At the March meeting, the Architectural Committee recommended some changes to the rates. We allowed until 15 April for comments, but received no comments regarding the rate changes. So the Board met with the Architectural Committee and approved the rate changes to be effective 15 June 2010. The applicable fees are:

The fee charged to review the plans of a new home is $1000.

The fee of $750 is charged for a major renovation, (including but not limited to additions and pools) defined as a project requiring the use of heavy construction equipment. An addition of greater than 900 square feet will be considered the same as new construction and the fee will be $1000.

The fee for a seawall or boat-slip/boat-house, if not included on the plan of a new home is $250.

The fee for all other projects, such as building a fence, garage, carport, workshop, paved driveway, greenhouse, etc. is $50.

The Board also decided to try to publish the minutes of Board meetings on email expeditiously after every meeting, rather than waiting for publication in The Acorn. All minutes will still be published in The Acorn as well, but sending them via email will allow the minutes to be available more quickly. The minutes will also always be posted on the front door of the community center.

It seems like this is the time of year when we all need reminders (just see previous Spring issues of the Acorn). This year I am only going to mention the item because we have had lengthy write-ups/discussions before and most of these are obvious. See a previous Acorn if you need more detail, or just give a Board member a call.

REMEMBER TO:

• Keep your yards/grounds/lots mowed and cleaned up.
• Cut and remove dead trees and branches.
• Keep the roadside weeds/grasses from encroaching into the road.
• Obtain a burn permit from HSB if you are going to burn yard debris.
• Oak Ridge does not have a public burn pile. Do not burn on anyone else's property.
• Do not drive cars/trucks/golf carts, etc., off-road in Oak Ridge.
• Fireworks are not allowed in Oak Ridge or HSB.
• For sale signs are not allowed.
• Remove junked vehicles. (Llano County has an ordinance requiring this.)
• Observe noise/light curfews. Respect your neighbors.
• Observe watering restrictions as applicable. (The LCRA Outdoor Water Schedule:
  • Addresses ending in odd #s: Wed & Sat
  • Addresses ending in even #s: Thur & Sun
  • Watering times: 1 inch /week during Midnight to 10 AM, and/or 7 PM to Midnight.
  • Watering months: May - Sep (1 inch/week), March, April, October (1/2 inch/week)

The boat ramp and community center are for the use of Oak Ridge residents only. Please do not give the combination number to anyone else.

There exists an Emergency Notification System (Reverse 911 System) that you should know about. This service is offered by Llano County and is designed to alert people in a certain area when there is a probability of an approaching disaster (high water, wildfire, etc.) A telephone call will come from an Austin (512) exchange and will be in the form of an announcement. The announcement will begin, "Do not hang up, this is a message from the Emergency Notification System." Currently calls will go to your landline phone, but if you'd like these messages to alert you on your cell phone, you only have to register your cell phone number. To do that, go online to: www.wireless.capcog.org and follow the prompts.

Have a safe and fun summer.

Dick and the Board

Back to Top

Board Meeting Minutes

5-11-10   Dick called the meeting to order at 4 P.M. Others present were: Jan, Cookie, Gerri, Cheryl M., and Inger Lise. Cheryll Mabray was absent.

Wilda gave a report on an in-house financial review. It is complete and submitted to the board as per their request.

Cheryl asked us to look at a letter that goes out to the membership for changes/improvements. The board made a few minor changes and approved the letter. We will not ask for a donation for Roadside Maintenance because of monies left over from last year due to the drought conditions.

We will ask for donations of $150.00 from each member for the Paved Road Maintenance fund. We have 4.1 miles of roads to maintain. It is planned to resurface and seal the roads in 2011. This will cost approximately $60,000. We currently have $15,000 in the reserve fund for roads. We have already approved $4,000 of that to be spent this year to repair some large holes in the roads. That leaves us a balance of $11,000. We need to come up with $50,000 before the work is done next year. Llano County provides the manpower, fuel and equipment. We provide all the material. If each member pays $150.00 this year, with another $150.00 next year we will have enough money. If any member cannot afford this donation all at one time, partial payments throughout the year are more than acceptable.

Cheryl moved to accept these changes and Jan seconded. The vote was unanimous.

Jan Harris voiced a concern that our liability insurance that we carry is outdated and actually does not cover the replacement cost of the bldg. She then asked John Puckett to prepare a Broker's Price Opinion on the replacement cost of the community bldg. Because of his findings, she feels that we need to increase our coverage. She submitted some bids for to us consider. Dick noted that we have some wiring on the outside of the bldg that is not up to code. He will be responsible for getting that corrected. Cookie moved to increase the cost of our insurance to include the replacement cost, and Gerri seconded. The vote was unanimous.

Architectural Committee has requested an increase in fees collected for each new home or addition/pool. Jan Harris moved that we accept the new fees as suggested by the committee. Cookie seconded. The vote was unanimous.

Jan moved to adjourn and Gerri Seconded.

5-15-10   Dick Heilman called the meeting to order at 5:05 PM. Board members present were: Dick, Jan Harris, Cookie Puckett, Cheryll Mabray, Gerri Graham, and Inger Lise Blount. Cheryl Mann was not present. Jan moved to waive the reading of the minutes because they were published in "The Acorn" online newsletter. Gerri Graham seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Dick asked each person in the room to introduce themselves, as there were several members who had not attended a meeting before.

Dick reported that the board had asked for an in-house financial review for the year. He was pleased to report that the review was finished and had been submitted to the board by the Financial Review Committee. The Architectural Committee will meet with the board of directors this week to discuss the previously submitted report concerning clarifications to the Deed Restrictions. The proposals were sent out in the last edition of The Acorn and comments were solicited with a cut off date of 15 April '10. Some comments were received and they will be discussed. No comments were received on the proposed rate increases. The Architectural Committee's responsibility is to "ensure compliance with our deed restrictions." The Architectural Committee needs to establish the ground rules by which it will operate (as based on the Bylaws/Deed Restrictions, and inform the community. One example is that LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority) has made a few changes that need to be noted, so that this committee can better serve the residents of Oak Ridge Estates. Fee changes that this committee felt were necessary this year have received tentative approval by the board.

Because there is no longer a place at Horseshoe Bay to burn brush, there has been some discussion about having a community burn pile for Oak Ridge. There is, however, some liability to this. After reviewing a number of options, the board has tabled this issue until an acceptable option comes along. Each resident will be responsible for disposing of his own brush. Burning must be approved by the HSB Fire Department.

There will be some changes in "The Acorn". Presently, we send it out online to all who have e-mail. We then mail to the remaining members. Due to increasing printing and postal costs, however, the board has voted to send it only to those who request it. It will always be posted at the community bldg. There are also other opportunities in the surrounding areas, where someone could view online or print a copy for themselves.

The nominating committee submitted three names for new board members: Pete Coffee, Katherine Walther, and Dan Barnhardt. Members at large submitted two names: Homer Ahr, and John Klepper.

After a blind ballot vote, we welcome Homer Ahr, Katherine Walther, and Dan Barnhardt to the board. The board members going off this year are: Cheryl Mann, Gerri Graham, and Cookie Puckett. Appreciation was given for their time and commitment.

Jan Harris moved to adjourn and Cheryll Mabray seconded.

The membership then enjoyed the annual picnic with a "Cinco de Mayo" theme and a variety of choice Mexican dishes prepared by the residents.

17 May, 2010   The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by President, Dick Heilman. Those Present: Dick Heilman, Jan Harris, Inger Lise Blount, Cheryl Mann, Homer Ahr and Katherine Walther.

Those Absent: Cheryll Mabray and Dan Barnhardt. Officers were elected for 2010-2011, followed by a discussion of duties for Treasurer and Secretary. The new officers for this year are:

The quarterly meetings were set for the coming year. Meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the community center unless otherwise noted. Meeting dates are:

The annual Thanksgiving luncheon will be November 18, 2010. Pending input from the Garage Sale committee members, October 23, 2010 has been set as a tentative date.

Cheryl Mann presented a proposed budget for the coming year. Approval was tabled pending input of committees and creation of the budget by the incoming treasurer.

Jan Harris submitted 2 proposals from Whiteside Insurance for the community building. The first proposal had a $500 deductible and the second a $1,000 deductible. Katherine Walther/Inger Lise Blount made the motion/seconded to accept the quote including the $500 deductible as the cost was only $24 more annually than the $1000 deductible. Motion passed and vote was unanimous.

Inger Lise Blount suggested a special general meeting of the community be held prior to approval of the fire contract for 2011, specifically to address the First Responder Contract with Horseshoe Bay. A committee will be formed for fact-finding.

We are going to attempt to forward the minutes of Board Meetings as they occur. They will be forwarded to Sandra Thompson for e-mail distribution and a copy will be posted on the door of the Community Center.

Respectfully Submitted,
Katherine A Walther

Back to Top

Miscellaneous Items

The community and those who visited in the area have certainly enjoyed the spring flowers this year. Our area was used time and again for 'bluebonnet pictures' and the LYFs (little yellow flowers) were in abundance to follow. Usually the road sides are mowed in time for the annual meeting but this year that was postponed to make sure the bluebonnets had a chance to go to seed. A. D. tells me that we are on the mower's list and he should be here soon. Please make sure you are being responsible with regard to keeping your property in good shape. See Dick's list of 'things to remember' in the President's Letter above.

Question: What is the difference between a weed that blooms and Texas wildflowers? Answer: Its location. In my flower bed it is a weed. On the road side, it is a wildflower!

Dorothy Gaisbauer shared this information from a very proud 'Nana', Oak Ridge resident Bertie Dettman:
My youngest granddaughter's name is Kate Lutek. She graduated from McKinney High School as the valedictorian on the 4th of June. Her sister, whose name is Kristin, was valedictorian in 2006 from the same high school. My oldest granddaughter graduated from John Foster Dulles High School as valedictorian in 1997. Needless to say I am very proud of these, my granddaughters.

Back to Top

Sad News

Ray Nix lost his battle with cancer and was laid to rest on Saturday, May 29.

Back to Top

Oak Ridge Estates Financial Statements

OAK RIDGE ESTATES
Income Statement
5/1/09 through 4/30/10

OAK RIDGE ESTATES
Balance Sheet
As of April 30, 2010

Back to Top