The City of Austin regularly inspects and requires maintenance for all water-quality features. You may have noticed that over the years the pond has seemed to get bigger. What's actually happened is it has gotten more shallow. 

Absolute Commercial and Environment Services has been contracted to bring the pond up to code. They have been working on our behalf with the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department and will begin work today. The process will take about 2 weeks (weather permitting) and will result in the removal of approximately 237 tons of built up sediment. When completed they will also reestablish the grade at the bottom of the pond and clean the inflows.

In order to not incur fines from the city, work had to to begin quickly. Unfortunately, it comes at no small price. The cost of the project is just under $70,000. We are able to utilize our reserve accounts, but will be analyzing the impact on the reserves and other projects using our 30-year reserve plan. We will be sharing more information about this during our annual membership meeting on November 12.

Today, October 10, there is a crew cleaning up the tree line along Menchaca Rd just North of Keepsake Drive. At the recent board meeting a proposal was approved to improve the visibility and appearance of that section of the community property. Our current landscaping vendor Valley View is removing the overgrown vegetation and  mulching it back onto the property. This will now only make it easer to see when turning from Keepsake Drive onto Menchaca, but will also balance out the aesthetics of the entrance. At the same time, they will also remove a few invasive species of trees near a large tree just on the other side of the trail to help support its growth.

In the image below the tree clearance is outlined in yellow and the general vegetation clearance is roughly outlined in red.

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

• Wet Pond Maintenance – dredging & no fishing signs
  
• Poison Ivy in Common Areas
  
• Insurance Renewal – July 1, 2021
  
• Financial Report – review of March/April Executive Summaries
  
• Portable Storage Units – policy regarding notification to the HOA by members and length of stay 
  
• 87th Legislative Session – Laws affecting Property Owners Associations & required actions

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.