Newsletter Mar-Apr 2017

Welcome Springtime!

It is my pleasure to serve as the 2017 Gahagan HOA President. Having lived in Gahagan for nearly 23 years, I felt the need to step up and serve the community in which I live. The Board Members and I, along with the Committees, are excited and eager to face the challenges of the upcoming year. Our goal is to approach all challenges with a positive attitude and to invite you to share your thoughts and opinions. The board is a voluntary group of individuals who spend a lot of time for the benefit of their neighbors, with the only satisfaction coming from within and the knowledge they’re making a difference. Every decision that is made will not please everyone. We’re aware of this and are always striving to do what’s best for the neighborhood.

Lily Tomlin once said “I always wondered why someone didn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.” Ms. Tomlin was on to something with that quote. In between her “one ringy dingy, two ringy dingy” she found that sometimes the best way to get something done is to just get busy doing it. This attitude of “getting things done” is part of what makes our country great and in many ways, it has made Gahagan great as well. Over the years here in Gahagan we’ve had some fantastic volunteers, people who sacrificed not only their time but gave their effort, ideas, and skills. Right now, the number of folks that are helping out has dwindled so that it is only a small handful of volunteers that keep the HOA running. The fact is we need YOUR help. Yes, you. Don’t look around the room, I’m talking to YOU!

In our next election we will have two open board member positions. Your HOA cannot operate effectively with two vacancies on the Board. Aside from the inefficiencies, it is unacceptable that we ask the remaining Board members to assume more responsibility once again. Without new members joining the HOA Board, we are in real danger of losing our HOA. Our Crime Watch Committee is looking for volunteers on each street in the neighborhood. Our ARC needs a couple volunteers. So, how about it? How about contributing a few hours a month to your neighbors, in service to one another, so Gahagan can continue to be a fantastic place to live? If you’d like more information, want to volunteer or just have questions, email me at gahaganhoa.president@gmail.com . We need you because you are somebody!

I would like to address a couple safety concerns. I need your help to make parking in our neighborhood safer. I can cite many instances where neighbors living across from one another both park vehicles on the curb at the same time. This causes the roadway to be much narrower than designed. If one of those houses is at a corner or intersection that makes it also precarious. Walkers have commented that they feel unsafe walking in areas where cars are parked on the street. At the next annual meeting, I will introduce language to change our current C&R parking language to cover “any motor vehicle for a period of no more than 2 hours unless approved by the board.” As a board, we have had more complaints about street parking than any other issue. We have heard and now will take action.

The rules of this community are the covenants and by choosing to live here, every resident (whether homeowner or renter) has signed a contract to agree to live by our covenants. The Board of this community volunteers to uphold our covenants. Neighbors, like family members, will in even our most optimistic dreams never agree all of the time. Agree or not, we’re neighbors and good neighbors are always civil, respectful, and offer a kind hand rather than a fist. We all should have a copy and be familiar with the Covenants and By-Laws that have conveyed with the purchase of our properties. If you do not have a copy of the Covenants, you can download them now in pdf at our website (here).

A second safety concern is the ability to reach our neighbors in the event of a crime, lost pet, events, special concern, etc. Having email addresses would enable us to be a good steward of the HOA funds. Instead of mailings, we could create on-line voting, surveys, and annual meeting announcements. We can’t get this information to you if we don’t have your email address. It’s true that many of you have provided one email address for your household, but 80% of you have not provided any. So, at this time, we are hoping to receive online addresses at least for one adult in your home. So….

PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL ADDRESS (with your home address) FOR AT LEAST ONE ADULT IN YOUR HOME TO gahaganhoa.resident@gmail.com.

One final issue to be addressed in the next annual meeting is the installation of solar panels in Gahagan. There have been many members concerned about unsightly solar panels coming into our neighborhood. In many neighborhoods, these panels have been installed creating undesirable views and potentially lowering the property values of surrounding homes. With direction from our attorney, we will introduce language to address this concern.

Again, please reach out if you have questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Tom Harness

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