The Petition is making it's way around, and Stand up and Speak up!

While my husband Al and I have been out in the community getting signatures for my Poultry Petition we have met some of the nicest folks!  With only one exception so far, every time we are out going door to door we are met with welcoming, friendly people who are very, I might say eager to sign the petitions.  Many have no interest in having their own Chickens but see no harm in others having them.  I heard one neighbor telling another that he believes it may even hurt our property values out here - people move out here for a country lifestyle then they are hit with city-like covenants. I couldn't agree more with that kind of thinking!

One evening we were joined by another chicken lady who knew her neighbors were ready to sign the petition, so we went to her neighborhood and she pointed out the homes to go to.  It was a great night to be in a part of our community we weren't familiar with and meet new people.  They were eager to sign as well.

In another area a few homes had no idea there was a petition going around, had never heard anything about any issues with having chickens in Pawnee Hills.  We also get to hear about how some folks are just fed up with the entire HOA, some folks want more than just chickens.  All and all, folks just want some things to change.  Lots of frustration out there.  It's tough to get to too many homes in one night because people are so nice and we like talking to them!

So we go on, as often as we can we go out and get more signatures and it adds up, because folks want this change, the numbers show it.  Now if I didn't have responsibilities and grandchildren I could probably wrap this up in a couple weeks, but life is just not like that.  So hold on to your horses, because in a few months time there is going to be something to squawk about!

On a different note...
I, being the blog owner have decided that all who decided to comment on this blog can do so as long as they are willing to do so by name. We are grown ups here.  This is not a gossip chain.  If you have something to say.  Believe in it, don't be sneaky.  Stand up, say your name and speak up.  That's how it's done around here.

Poultry Petition hits the open road

If you haven't had an opportunity to sign the Poultry Petition, one of our community members who often talks to neighbors while on the bridal trail will have the petition available for signatures.  A note from this member:

I am typically riding a wheat colored dun horse with black mane and tail, and probably leading another horse (sorrel) with me. I ride in the late weekday evenings and sometimes on the weekends. I keep the petition with me the majority of the time, but if I don't happen to have it with me, I will make the effort to come back for the signature.

It's great to have folks that are excited to be involved in this movement to allow our community members to raise poultry.  It is such an organic movement across the country that many folks in urban areas are squeezing a few chickens in their backyards and reaping the benefits of fresh eggs, a natural compost system (they eat table scraps then their waste fertilizes the garden), plus the many varieties of chickens are just amazing.  There really are some beautiful birds.  Perhaps you were able to go to the County Fair and see some of the fancy breeds?  We are so fortunate to have a country lifestyle with more than enough room for up to 8 hens.  I have seen many designs on-line for coops and runs, some very stylish, some very simple.  Raising poultry can be a wonderful experience for the entire family.

If you are not a trail rider, I am still available and will bring the Petition to you, just give me a call at 303-887-7349.  I will also be planning a signing event in the near future.  Look for information posted at the mail building soon.

Rainwater Collection information

Here is the link to the information I spoke about concerning Rainwater collection her in Colorado.

http://water.state.co.us/DWRIPub/Documents/DWR_RainwaterFlyer.pdf

See the webinar on Rainwater collection here:

http://youtu.be/ZzjnDauEq3U

July 27th Homeowners Meeting. Will you be there?

I mentioned the meeting in my last post and see in some of our Community Issue comments folks are posting reminders as well.  One post was painfully true.  If we don't meet a "quorum" the meeting cannot be held.  The quorum is 30% of homeowners which roughly works out to 55 homeowners.  This is rarely done because in general folks avoid the meetings.  The last time it was done was last year when I raised the Chicken issue.  Now I have the Chicken petition going but am not seeing a lot of interest in the meeting.  I am hearing a lot of grumblings with the discontent with the board. Well folks the only way you are going to get a change is to ATTEND THE MEETING!  We can't just sit back and discuss amongst ourselves how we'd like things to change, we have to get out there and do something.  We have to go to the meetings, ideas in hand ready for discussion.  These meetings are our chance as a COMMUNITY to get together and talk about the things we want to change.  How we want to live on our land.  Are we getting what we need from our board?  It's not just about the chickens (although I will never give up on that) it is about our Community.

Take some time this Saturday morning, jot down a few notes about what is important to you in this community and head on over to the clubhouse around 9:45a.m. to sign in and find a seat. Hope to see you there!

Chicken Petition Signing goes Mobile!

In light of everyones varied schedules we are trying to make it easy for all to have an opportunity to sign the Petition.  Simply give us a call and we will hop on over to meet with you or make other arrangements.  This is not to say there won't be another site for signing, but in the meantime give us a call.  303-887-7349.

Don't forget our HOA meeting is coming up on Saturday, July 27th.  Are you planning on attending?  I will have the Petition available for signing Before and After the meeting.

This is a bit off topic but I have heard folks are having a hard time finding the community map the HOA provides on their website so here is a link to it: (you may need to copy and paste into your browser).

 http://www.pawneehillshoa.org/media/PHCA_BridlePaths.pdf

Petition Signing Opportunity this Wednesday!

We will be at the Mailhouse this Wednesday, July 17th between 5 and 7pm with the Petition available for signing.  Join with your neighbors and come over and sign.  We have enjoyed talking to you and meeting our new neighbors.  The conversation has been interesting and not always about chickens.

Petition Signing to allow poultry in Pawnee Hills- Sat, June 29. 8-12.

There will be an opportunity for the community to sign a petition to allow poultry in Pawnee Hills this Saturday, June 29th from 8am to 12pm at the Mail house.

Last year we put this to a vote and had a very positive response.  76 members (actually more but they were not eligible to vote due to past due balances on HOA dues), voted yes to allow chickens in our community. This is a very large percentage.  There are still members of our community that do not vote and from talking to those many are still suffering from misconceptions of the last Chicken Wars.  This community has a history of tattletales which left a fear of participation.  I can attest that participation is difficult but that doesn't mean we should just sit back and let things stay the same.

Many folks like to remain anonymous when voting or signing a petition.  This petition will allow for that. For more information regarding this petition, please stop by on Saturday morning.

Also, if you would like to volunteer some time to get signatures, send me an email at barbstc@gmail.com.

Summer....please be kind.

Have you ever noticed the saying on the home page at the top right?  It states "Be kind whenever possible, it is always possible."  I recently read a posting that requested we get this blog going again.  Here is why I have been a bit laid back.  As stated in the description, this blog was started for the residents of the community to have a place to discuss issues or just talk about things in our community outside of an HOA board meeting.

I want to re-emphasize that is the purpose of this blog.  For our residents to communicate outside of an HOA board meeting. The posting were beginning to have the feel of a board meeting.

Speaking of being kind, I hope the summer will be kind to us.  The heat has come on strong and our small plants have struggled in the garden.  Our dusty roads leave clouds behind those coming and going through the community reminding us of the dryness.  Surely everyone has smelled the fires from the south.  Kindness comes in many forms and although it may seem we have had a rough start, there are many wonderful things that summer brings.  Days at the pool if you so desire, cool evenings as the sun retires.  Gardens will flourish eventually and BBQ's with friends & neighbors celebrate the season naturally.

Our community is a wonderful area to live.  Let's be kind to one another.

Mumbo Jumbo

This months Newsletter (May 2013) is...well, I really don't have any words that can really describe it. Let's begin with the front page with "News from the Board".  April Meeting Held.  Good to know.  I look forward to reading the minutes on the website.  Oh, well I will have to wait a bit seeing how February minutes aren't up yet.  The next news is "Annual HOA Meeting", reminding us of the date and time.  Usually we have a barbecue, but it looks like it has been zapped this year.  And no issues up for vote. Hmmm, seems some homeowners tried to get some items on the agenda at the May Board meeting but it was canceled.  Last year the agenda items were announced in the June Newsletter. Hopefully the June meeting won't be canceled so this can be brought up.

Pool is open, Yay!  Now the entire county can come back to Pawnee Hills like they do every year and swim here.  Yes, we pay our dues so Elbert county can hop on over and enjoy our pool.  You and I know that is what happens every year.  Suggestions have been made to hire security, too expensive.  Security camera?  Too expensive, who will maintain?  How about we charge admission to the public, announce it and use that money to pay for upkeep and security and a lifeguard so we don't get sued when a pool hopper drowns one night.  Yes, officer we know they hop the fence and there was a danger and we called the police, but we stopped calling because we felt you wouldn't do anything.  Could we be held liable?  I would rather be safe than sorry and wait to do something until some teenager loses their life because we didn't want to make it safe.

By-law reminder:  Article X, Amendments 1. & 2.  Read them.  Have no idea what context they are pertaining to.  Is this secret code to something that is going on that not everyone is privy to?  This reminds me of a Supervisor at work that doesn't want to talk to the one person who is not coming in to work on time so they send a reminder to everyone.  Guaranteed that little reminder did nothing for 98% of the residents, how about we become a bit more community geared and explain why we are sending out a reminder?

That about covers page one.  Page two has a Covenant reminder and lets just suffice to say a little note along with the mumbo jumbo would be appreciated.

Skip to page 3 to the Website:  Meeting minutes.  Still waiting for February, March......

I am just a bit disgruntled and apologize for my seemingly negative attitude even if it is justified.  You see I really want positive communication from the HOA board.  I don't want this feeling of us against them.  It is our money that they are managing and I take offense to any attitude that doesn't acknowledge that.  I do appreciate encouraging comments from the Vice President to continue homeowner involvement

I get the feeling that perhaps our HOA board has lost sight of the fact the homeowners have contributed monies that with interest now add up to $110,378.79.  That is a lot of money in this or any economy.  Every one of the homeowners should be treated with the utmost respect and courtesy.  Let us help you, let us become involved.  Throwing mumbo jumbo at us doesn't foster a healthy relationship it confuses most and annoys many.

May Board Meeting Canceled

Some neighbors had agenda items for the May board meeting to be held on the 9th at 6pm. To be on time arrangements were made, work schedules were changed to be sure all were there on time for the meeting.  At the very last minute a sign was hung on the door of the community building indicating the meeting had been canceled.  The facility manager came to us and explained that the decision had been made due to not enough board members attending do make a quorum.

A few days later I sent an email to the board members asking if there was a forum to which we could send Agenda items ahead of time to avoid this in the future. I  received a timely response indicating a discussion on a more effective way of handling schedule changes is in the works.  I appreciated this and am glad to see the board is open to discussion.

The response I received also indicated the the Board of Directors (BOD) are volunteers.  I have to assume this was brought up as a possible reason not all members could make the meeting??? That is understandable, our lives are busy this time of year. That being said as members of the board, they accept the responsibility that goes with the position.  I was also directed to the By-laws and Covenants if I had any issues or problems with policies or actions of the board. I can only assume that this refers to the By-laws that indicate the board can cancel a meeting if a quorum is not met without further notice. However I think that when the board posts a statement at the mail-building stating "Homeowners Welcome" to the meetings, then they should stand behind that statement. If there had been 100 neighbors waiting for the doors to open would things have changed?

Calling all Gardeners!

Just want to give a shout out to our residents out there who are Gardeners.  Some might wonder if we are crazy trying to garden in this climate, with this wind. That is not the case at all.  Typically we garden for the sheer love of it.  Watching something you plant grow successfully, whether it be eaten at your table or providing nectar for the bees, it is a beautiful thing.  I have met a few in our community that have the same passion for gardening as I do.  We must deal with the same challenges such as wind, pocket gophers, deer, rabbits and to me the most challenging of all, Grasshoppers. 

If you could share some tips for successful gardening that would be greatly appreciated!   Our local http://elbert.colostate.edu/ office is a wonderful resource, but usually I find the best tips from the gardeners themselves. 

In our garden we only use drip watering due to the high winds here.  In the past I have used "soaker" hoses however this year I will be going with emitter hoses.  They are smaller, easier to get directly to the plants.  

My favorite thing to grow every year is pumpkins for my grown daughters living in the city.  They enjoy picking their pumpkins to take home and carve with their children.

How about you?  What are your gardening tips?  Favorite things to grow?  How you keep the pests out of the garden?  

Board of Director's Meeting tonight, April 11, 2013 6:00 pm.

The HOA board of directors meeting is tonight.  Homeowners are welcome to attend.  One of our homeowners told us a story of their experience with an HOA they were a part of where homeowners looked forward to the meetings!  They gathered in neighborly friendship at each meeting and these meeting were highly attended.  As in the MAJORITY of all the homeowners came to every meeting.  That is a wonderful story.

How can we get there from here?  Well, may be it starts with just a few people.

Board Meeting 3-14-2013

I attended the Board Meeting last night in order to propose a locked bulletin board for Community notices.  I had hoped the Community would have the same advantage as the board by having a protected environment for our notices.  The board voted unanimously against it due to costs, not wanting control of it, fear of vandalism.  It was mentioned that if homeowners want their notices seen they will have to be diligent an keep putting up new notices if someone rips theirs down.  And so it goes....

What about the conduct at the HOA meetings?  Anyone else ever gone to a meeting and felt a bit beat up?  This was discussed last night for just a few minutes at the end of the meeting.  What bothers me is the statement that was said by more than two of the board members is "You can't control how people act".  Excuse me? Let's all take a minute to meet this here document. I would assume the board is familiar with it, but maybe it needs to be dusted off and read again.


http://www.pawneehillshoa.org/media/PHCA_ConductOfMeetings.pdf

There are absolutely rules for meetings.  Now the argument that it was not a meeting deserves a bit of discussion as well.  Due to the fact that our community rarely meets a quorum, the official meetings are often adjourned, then the option of discussion is offered. That is great!  We need to be able to discuss issues, but not without the same rules as a meeting.  It is ridiculous to accept that it is OK for Homeowner's to get attacked at meetings because of their views.  This is why the community doesn't want to get involved.  The board may enjoy conflict, but the majority folks don't.

HOA Meeting

The HOA board meeting is coming up next week on Thursday, March 14th, at 6pm.  Anyone planning to attend?

Community Meeting Tuesday, March 19th 6:30 pm

From discussions on this blog a meeting has been set to meet together for a casual potluck and begin to discuss community issues at our Clubhouse.   This is not an HOA meeting it is meant for residents to get together to discuss any issues we have with the intention of finding solutions.  Please come with ideas that can be explored.  We welcome you, please tell your neighbor about our meeting and that your heard about it here on our blog. The one for our community!

Solutions and Forward Thinking

On one of our tabs, "Facilities" it has been mentioned that our sign has been recently re-stained and while it looks nice there is a bit of dribble into the white lettering.  When I look at the sign I don't see the dribbling, I see a community that is struggling with moving forward. I am tempted to suggest we call the subdivision "Pawnee Hills 112" because that comes up over and over and over again. I believe everyone is very much aware that it takes the 112 yes votes to change the covenants. That message has been sent and received.  Now let's talk about solutions and start thinking outside the box a bit.  Let's do the math again and question it.  Let's talk about changes we'd like to see and get started on writing the language.  There are things we need to change inside the community like how we treat each other as well as how the outside community perceive us and our community.

112 is based on 167 homes in the community and needing 2/3 of those homes to provide a yes vote for the proposed change.  How about some discussion on out of those 167 homes are they all occupied by owners or bank owned - shall we change the language to be fair so that the banks are expected to vote?  Or is that beside the point. We need to get to a reasonable calculation amount while still protecting our community. We also need to understand that some changes won't affect all of us.  Let's break through the need to control others and let each of us have the right to express our interests.  We own our land, the HOA does not.  A new homeowner belongs here just as much as someone who has been here for 30 years.  We are all one in the same, residents of Pawnee Hills so please let's work together and make Pawnee Hills an amazing and friendly community where our children and grandchildren can learn about living in the country.

Take a look at the Community Issues page, one of our residents is voicing concerns about the Grasshoppers.  We fight them too every year.  I can't want to hear your solutions too.  I haven't tried the NoLo but that is what I was leaning towards this year.  Today as the snow is blowing around I have a terrible case of Spring Fever!

We Welcome Your Comments

Please feel free to comment on proposed changes no matter what your position is.  We want to hear from everyone.  You can place your comments here anonymously if you prefer.  And if you are a resident here that does not participate in the voting process, please tell us why and what we can do to make it better so you will vote.