Newsletters

February 2015 Newsletter

Hello Trailhead Residents,

Here we are closer to the end of February and more than half way through winter…phew!

Hope everyone has been able to enjoy the winter! With spring just around the corner, please remember that if you want to make changes or additions to your landscape or exterior of the house, you will need to submit the appropriate forms.

General Items

  • The board would like to remind you to take the time to review our website occasionally as there are updates and notices posted.
  •  Continue to be mindful of your speed in and out of the community as the posted speed limit is 10mph.
  • Please continue to submit any ideas/ suggestions to the board in regards to the beautification of the community project. All suggestions are due byMarch 1.

Financial Items

  • 2014 year- end before expense and budget statement is attached.

Landscaping & Design

  • The landscape and design forms have been updated on the website. They now include a generic lot diagram. When you are submitting your request please include the rough locations of items, and be as descriptive as possible. If you have your own diagram, please feel free to submit it instead. This will provide the committees and the board with a better idea of your project
  • Remember if you are planning any landscaping or architectural/design changes to submit a landscaping or design form to the respective committee. All forms are available on the website. When you fill them out you can drop them off to the committee chair in person or email them to landscaping@trailheadvillage.com or design@trailheadvillage.com make sure to read the rules and regulations to see what is and isn’t permitted in the neighborhood. Please remember that the review process can take up to 21 days to complete.
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Community Reminders

Residents,
The Board had two quick reminders for the community:
  1. The Board would like to take a brief moment to remind the community that all holiday decorations are supposed to be down and put away by January 15.  This date has passed so if you still have decorations up please take them down.
  2. The Board has received several complaints about pet waste being left throughout the community both on the ground and left in bags.  Please clean up and dispose of your pets waste. It is not other residents/HOA responsibility to throw out your pet waste.
We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in these matters.
News

Notice of Change to Rules and Regulations

Residents,
Per our Bylaws we are providing 30 days notification of a change to the Rules and Regulations of our community.  The Board has made the following changes to the Rules and Regulations:
  1. In “Environment of Common Areas” Section A Subsection i. the Board has reversed the rule: “Children are not permitted to play in the street.” to its original language: “Recreation in the street is prohibited.”
  2. Various typos and formatting errors were corrected, no language was changed in these corrections.
These changes will go into effect 30 days from the date of this email.  If you have questions please contact the Board.
Uncategorized

Community Beautification

Residents,
The Board has put together a small committee that has been charged with coming up with a master plan for our neighborhood.  This master plan includes renovations and improvements that will take place over a period of many years.  The committee will take all the ideas it receives as well as the input of the committee/board and put together a plan that can be used by current and future boards as a guide for improvements as funds become available.  The committee will also prioritize items, emphasizing which items should be done first and which can wait.
Since the community is made up of far more people than those on the Board/committee we are seeking input from everyone who wishes to contribute ideas.  If you have something you want to committee to consider when putting together the plan please send your ideas to the Board (theboard@trailheadvillage.com) prior to March 1st.  This can include things such as landscaping, hardscapes, entrance enhancements, paths, pond improvements, or anything else that improves the look of our community.  Please remember to be specific.  If you have any questions about any of this please feel free to contact the Board!
News, Newsletters

January Newsletter

General Items

​The neighborhood was very festive this year with our decorations, and looked very welcoming. With that said, please remember that all decorations need to be removed by January 15, 2015. Hopefully (!) Mother Nature will provide the means to make snowmen and snow angels in their place.

According to the City of Berea, Christmas trees will be picked up for recycling (not in a bag), only on these days: January 9 and January 16.

In regards to snow removal for driveways, the company will not plow the driveway if a vehicle is parked outside.

In addition, according to the city ordinance, there is no overnight parking on the street, or anytime during a snow ban of 2 inches or more.

We would like to remind pet owners about being good neighbors. Please be mindful of cleaning up after your pet in all common areas and on personal property.

Please remember that there is no storage under decks.

Rules and Regulations

We would like to take a brief moment to remind everyone in the community about guest parking. When hosting an event where your guests will be parking in the street please remember that all cars must park on the non-hydrant side. Guest cannot park in front of our driveways. Our streets are not wide enough to permit double parking and still allow for the passage of cars past them. This is especially true of emergency vehicles which would have no way of getting through double parked cars. Our community can fill up pretty quickly if several people are hosting events. Please make sure to remind your guests to park on non-hydrant side of street, the parking pads, or Hobby Horse Lane. Ultimately, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure their guests follow the rules. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation with this.

 

Landscaping & Design

The landscape and design forms have been updated on the website. They now include a generic lot diagram. When you are submitting your request please include the rough locations of items, and be as descriptive as possible. If you have your own diagram, please feel free to submit it instead. This will provide the committees and the board with a better idea of your project.

​ If you are planning landscaping or architectural/design changes to submit a landscaping or design form to the respective committee.  All forms are available on the website.  When you fill them out you can drop them off to the committee chair in person or email them to landscaping@trailheadvillage.com or design@trailheadvillage.com and make sure to read the rules and regulations to see what is and isn’t permitted in the neighborhood.  Please remember that the review process can take up to 21 days to complete.

News

Notice of Dues Increase

Dear Resident,

Each year the Board of Directors is charged with budgeting for the cost of the community’s services, insurances, taxes, supplies, materials, and general maintenance.  The Board has met several times in the last two quarters to determine the budget for 2015 and after extensive review and discussion we concluded that resident dues assessments must be increased.

Dues will be increased to a sum of $160.00 (one hundred sixty and 00/100 dollars) per month, effective January 1, 2015.  This is approximately a 10% increase from where dues are currently (the first dues increase since 2008).  This modest increase will insure that the association can continue to deliver the services our residents have come to expect while continuing to build our reserve fund.

The largest cost driver is grounds management, making up 62% of costs.  This includes lawn care in the spring/summer/fall and snow removal in the winter.  The Board attempted to negotiate with the City of Berea for assistance with our snow removal.  The Board’s goal was to procure salting from the city or raw salt that could be used by our contractor during the season.  Our councilman, Nick Hashka, told us that the city will not provide any services or resources for our community since it is a private road.

The second largest cost driver is community maintenance.  This category is made up of things such as road repairs/preventative maintenance, common grounds maintenance and beautification, repairs to existing structures in the community, maintaining and repair the split rail fences throughout the neighborhood, and entrance maintenance.

On the back of this this letter we have included some basic information about where your dues are being spent in 2015.  An official budget, with an itemized breakdown, will be emailed to all residents in mid-December.

We accept dues payments in various amounts depending on your preference:

  • Monthly (Due on the 1st day of each month): $160.00
  • Quarterly (Due on the 1st day of each quarter): $480.00
  • Yearly (Due on January 1st of each year): $1,920.00

Payment Methods:

  • Check made payable to Trailhead Village HOA place in the community mailbox (located at the mailbox cluster).
  • Check through your bank’s online bill payment service. Checks should be made payable to Trailhead Village HOA and sent to O. Box 841 Berea, OH 44017.

If you have questions or concerns about any of this please feel free to contact the board via email at theboard@trailheadvillage.com

 

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors

Trailhead Village Homeowners Association

News

Mowing Day

Residents,
Green Horizon, our new landscaping contractor, is scheduled to begin work tomorrow.  Our normal mow day with them will be Wednesday (subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen events).  It is late in the season so there will not be much mowing, however Green Horizon did state they are aiming to mow twice this month and perform clean up as well.  They will also be putting markers up for plowing soon.
Newsletters

November Newsletter

Hello Trailhead Residents,

Here is November’s newsletter.

General Items

  • A quick maintenance note to everyone. The Board is aware there are several areas throughout the neighborhood that have been worn out from vehicle traffic, specifically the turn from Trailhead to Side Saddle. The Board’s intent is to wait for construction to be completed before repairing these areas.
  • The Board would like to thank all residents who participated in the survey. This gives us valuable feedback on operations in the community and aids us in our decision making process. Attached to this month’s newsletter are the summarized results of the survey.
  • An updated roster is attached. Please remember if there are any typos, phone number changes, email updates, or name changes you may simply email the board with the update. If you are updating what information you wish to be displayed we will need a new Information Submission form filled out from the website.
  • The Board has scheduled crack filling for our road. We will notify the community prior to this maintenance occurring. Crack filling is a vital part of the long term maintenance of our road. It protects our road from water/ice damage through the winter months by filling cracks in the road with tar. However typically tar is worn away over time from traffic and therefore has to be reapplied every year or so.
  • The pond fountain will be turned off and put away before the end of the month.  It will be put back out in early spring.

 

Financial Items

  • Q3 Financials are attached. Finances are in line with the budget. The difference between the budget and actual expenses is due to an accounting change with our wall. This item was reclassified as a capital expense.
  • The Board is finalizing the 2015 budget and will have it completed by the beginning of December.
  • The Board anticipates a dues increase for 2015 of approximately 10%. Keep in mind this is the first dues increase since January 2008. All residents will receive official notification in December with the new amount and further details

 

Rules and Regulations

  • Residents are reminded to be mindful of their speed when driving in the community. We have had several complaints in regards to people driving too fast throughout the community.
  • A reminder that seasonal flowers need to be removed as winter approaches. In addition hose reels should be put away.
  • As a reminder, since elections are here, there are no political signs allowed in the community.
  • With the holidays around the corner we would like to remind everyone that holiday lighting cannot be on prior to Thanksgiving.

Landscaping & Design

  • Remember if you are planning landscaping or an architectural/design change you must submit a landscaping or design form to the respective committee. All forms are available on the website. When you fill them out you can drop them off to the committee chair in person or email them to landscaping@trailheadvillage.com or design@trailheadvillage.com and make sure to read the rules and regulations to see what is and isn’t permitted in the neighborhood. Please remember that the review process can take up to 21 days to complete.
News

Fall Pruning

Residents,
Moscarino has informed us that they will be in the community to prune either Monday or Tuesday depending on weather.  If you have any questions please let us know.

A website for the Trailhead Village community.