Please accept this as notice that the Grand Oaks Owners Association Board of Directors will meet virtually on Thursday, May 13, 2021, at 7:00 p.m.

The move to an online system for submitting and processing improvement requests has been delayed, but should be up and running in April. More information will go out at that time.

The Beautification Committee was able to get some new plantings in. Unfortunately, the plantings occurred before the winter storm. They are monitoring the plants now and working with our landscaper to  trim back what can be saved. Thanks to Rusty Ulrich and Morgan Witthoft for your efforts.

The Board has approved a new poop bag station to be installed on the trail on the South side of the Menchaca and Keepsake intersection. The exact placement is still pending. 

We've had an increased number of individuals selling firewood on HOA property. Whenever this occurs they have been asked to leave and have complied. A private property sign will be installed a the concrete drive that leads to the trail just South of the Menchaca and Keepsake intersection. 

There is a run-down section of fence that sits along Campfield Pkwy and borders the neighborhood to the West. That section is redundant as the homeowners behind it have their own fence. The Board has approved the removal of that redundant section of fence.

The CCRs state that the only flags allowed in the neighborhood are official US flags and official Texas flags. Enforcement on this issue had not been happening, but will begin again in April. If you have a flag of any other type you'll receive a standard first-notice. This notice will state that you have 30 days to take the flag down.  

Please accept this as notice that the Grand Oaks Owners Association Board of Directors will meet virtually on Thursday, March 11, 2021, at 7:00 p.m.

Following the guidance of the city, the signage at the park has been updated. The new signage indicates that if you use the amenities you should follow the following guidelines.

• Maintain 6-foot distance
• Do not use if you are sick
• Do not use if you've had contact with someone with confirmed COVID-19 virus
• Wear a fabric face covering
• Wash hands for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiizer

Thanks to those who attended the annual meeting tonight.  Attached is a PDF of tonight's presentation along with a written report from the Architecture Committee.

Notably, I'd like to welcome Susan Rossi to the Board and congratulate Morgan Witthoft, Ellen Ward, and Matthew Mintz on their re-elections

Not captured in the attached file were the Finance report and Beautification Committee report.

Finance
The Board was unanimous in agreeing that while we would like to contribute more to our Reserves fund it is not the right time to increase dues. I'd also like to remind anyone that if you have any concerns with being able to pay your dues on time please do reach out to CAM to begin a conversation. You can reference the packet in the meeting announcement for details on the budget as a whole. Overall we were able to redistribute some funds to cover the 2021 cost increases without raising the dues.

Beautification Committee
Rusty Ulrich heads the committee and provided detail on the work that's been done this year to plan for 2021 planting and landscaping. He made some excellent points on how we can organize some volunteers to save some cost in removing old landscaping and possibly planting. Be on the lookout for more information and volunteer opportunities coming in 2021.

The 2020 Annual Meeting will be held virtually this Thursday, November 12th, at 7:00 pm CT

Hope to see you there!

By now you may have noticed a couple of new signs around the neighborhood. Back in September we approved some signs to be placed in the neighborhood. Those are finally up. You can see the large one at the end of the parking lot by the playground. The small sign is up at the trail head on the western intersection of Campfield and Sweet Clover. 

The previously approved trail maintenance Is scheduled to begin work as early as Wednesday. They will begin delivering materials tomorrow and commence the work as soon as weather allows. At that time the company doing the work, LoneStar Ranchscapes, will block off the trail to make sure people know it is inaccessible. Included is a map of the four areas where the work will be done.

First, we want to thank Ryan Steans for his service this past year. Ryan will be resigning his role as a director come November. Thanks for all you've done Ryan, we appreciate your contributions.

That brings us to open positions. We currently have four out of the five director positions up for election. We have our two regularly scheduled positions in the three-year term up as well as the replacements for Ryan Steans and Russell Hackworth.  Currently Matt Mintz is serving in the Board-appointed position for Russ' previous term.

If you're interested in being on the ballot please let CAM know. You can download the form here. There was also an email sent out with the form and a postcard is being sent.

Due to the limits on gatherings we will be hosting the annual meeting over Zoom. The HOA lawyers have advised us that based on our governing documents we will need to hold a mail-in/email vote for the election of the directors.

The timeline will look like this.

• Now until October 1 – Send in your "Candidacy Interest" form to be placed on the ballot
• October 1 – This is the last day to receive the interest form that will place your name on the ballot
• October 12 – The annual meeting packet will be mailed out along with the absentee election ballot
• November 5 – This is the last day for ballots to be received.
• November 12 – Annual meeting and announcement of election results

The Board approved maintenance on the trail and work is expected to begin on September 21. More of the pavers will be installed to improve the trail and prevent future erosion. This work was originally discussed in the May meeting, but scheduling was delayed until now. The map below indicates the sections of the trail that will be improved. We will communicate out to everyone when we have more information on scheduling so that everyone can avoid those sections of the trail and be as safe as possible during the work.

As part of our contract with our landscaping company, Valley View, they will go through the neighborhood once a year and raise the tree canopy to 8 feet above the sidewalk in the common areas. They will be performing this maintenance soon and could be out as early as this weekend. For more information on the city of Austin right of way regulations see the city page on right of way maintenance.

There are a number of trees along the trail on the southern end that need to be cleared. Some of them are leaning across the trail and others are dead and pose a threat to individual passing underneath them. We will work with our landscaping company, Valley View, do you have those trees cleared as soon as possible. Below is another map that shows the placement of the trees that will be cleared.

With the increase use of the park and trails along with concern expressed by homeowners the Board has decided to move forward with posting signage indicating that this is private property along with other useful information. One large sign will be posted at the park and another smaller one posted at the Western trail entrance near Keepsake and Campfield. Future small signs may be added. The signs will explain that it is private property, list hours, remind folks about pet waste, and include the HOA web site. Below is the expected text of the sign.

When you need to make a change to the exterior of your house or yard approval is required by the Architecture Committee. Currently, that approval is achieved by sending an improvement request to CAM who then forwards it on to the Architecture Committee for discussion and a vote. Beginning in 2021 we will move the improvement request process online. We will be utilizing a site called SmartWebs and their SmartArchitecturals product. We currently use their SmartViolations product for CCR enforcement. This will allow better tracking and visibility into the product for the submitter, the Architecture Committee, and the Board.

We began discussing the particulars of the annual meeting coming up in November. The election of the board members will be held ahead of time via a mail in vote. The meeting will then be conducted virtually over zoom. In the meantime if you are interested in running for one of the three open board of directors positions you can contact CAM. During the annual meeting will give a review of the board activities for the year and review the upcoming 2021 budget.

As the Board has no medical experts we are following the example set by the city of Austin. So far the city has slowly began reopening various elements but have yet to reopen any playgrounds. As such, our playground will continue to be closed. It's just been announced that starting Saturday, Sept 12 the city is reopening tennis courts, outdoor adult equipment, and disc golf course (among other items). This information was not known and will be taken into consideration as we discuss a possible partial opening of the park.