All posts by robertpkwhoa

Uncategorized

Morrison Street barricade update May 30th, 2015

I was advised that the Planning Department was supposed to send the final report to everyone who sent letters to them, so many of you on this list have probably already received the report, but to those of you who did not, here are a few highlights.  As you will see, part of the report was a response to concerns expressed in our letters.
1.  The project was approved “with conditions.”
     –  The parcel will be divided into three parcels – one for the existing house and garage and two additional parcels
     –   According to the zoning, they could have tried to put as many as 5 parcels in, but with questions around the flood plain, they settled on three
     –  There will be a private road through the middle of the parcel, which will provide access to two of the parcels, and the third ( the one next to Peterkort) will have its own driveway
     –  This is not a building permit – that will come later
2.  The barricade will be moved
     –  It will move from where it is up Morrison Street to the eastern edge of this parcel
     –  The planners cite previous agreements when the Peterkort development was completed that indicate that the barrier was always intended to be temporary.  (they indicated that it had signs on it that said that, but I never saw any signs like that)
     –  They indicate that they will try to move the barrier prior to construction.  This is because they don’t want the increased construction traffic to have to go through the “substandard” eastern part of Morrison – up to 95th.  So, that means the construction vehicles will be going through Peterkort
     –  They also indicate that the barrier cannot be removed right now because Morrison Street up to 95th does not meet the County Road standards.  However, they also indicate that as soon as Morrison can be improved to those standards ( width, etc) then the barrier will be removed – no time frame on that
3.  They will provide screening and buffering along the western edge of the property ( the one next to the trail and Peterkort)
     –  This will be done according to the regulations for Type 2 Screening – a minimum of 2 canopy trees and 4 understory trees for every 100 lineal feet, with an S-1 fence (5 foot tall, wood/cyclone barrier
4.  Street improvements
     –  They will be putting in sidewalks on Morrison street
     –  Street lighting may be put in and they will review/decide if light shielding is to be installed to minimize glare impacts
     –  They will provide street trees, but I was unclear how that impacts the current trees
So, while our questions and concerns were heard and addressed, this is not the outcome we had hoped for.  We can, of course appeal, but given that the regulations appear to support their decision, my view is that that would be a waste of our time.
I do hope I captured the most important parts of the report, but if I missed something, please let me know.  I want to again thank everyone for their interest and their support in writing letters and making phone calls to the planners.  If anyone who did not receive a copy of this report wants to get one, the planner’s name is Ryan Marquardt and his phone number is (503) 846-3872.  ( the report was actually signed by Wayne Hayson, who is the Principal Planner)  The Casefile number is 14-472-P.  It runs about 40 pages.
Thanks,
Harlen Springer
Uncategorized

Pool is open!

As of Saturday May 23rd, the pool is open.

A new FOB system for the pool gates and clubhouse doors has been installed but is not fully functional until the internet connection is fixed on Tuesday.  For now, the pool gates will be chained and locked every evening after 900pm and unlocked in the morning.

The pool tables will be painted next week.  So if you see some of them missing for a couple of days, dont be alarmed.

Every effort was made to correct the two issues mentioned above before the pool was opened.  The gate lock vendor even made a trip to the clubhouse on a Saturday to work on the connectivity problem.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.  Let me know if you have any questions.

robert

meetings

Board Meeting May 11th

The HOA Board of Directors met at the Clubhouse on May 11th, 2015 at 600pm.  Items discussed included: Compliance issues, late fees, landscape proposals, a chemical controller for the pool, and the pool opening.

ARC:  The Board discussed at length issues regarding compliance and modifications to the exterior of some homes.  There were several violations reported to TMG this past month.  A couple of those home owners with reported violations gave input at the beginning of the Board meeting.  Some of the violations reported recently were: regarding work performed by Renaissance, approved by the Board, or were not in violation.  Some examples include: a keypad near the garage door installed by Renaissance, a flag pole approved by a previous Board, and a doorbell replaced by a home owner five years ago that used the existing holes and screws of the old doorbell.

The HOA is following the compliance policy regarding those homeowners in violation.  The Board urges all homeowners to submit any request to modify the exterior of their homes BEFORE they make the modification.

There are several ways a violation can be reported, including: compliance checks by the Association or reports from a homeowner.  As stated in Administrative Resolution 2010 number 1-Fine Schedule, Enforcement Procedures and Sanctions for non-compliance, “2. Direct resolution preferred: Owners disturbed by a neighbor’s actions, or believing that a neighbor is in a compliance violation with a Peterkort rule or regulation, are encouraged express their concern with the neighbor prior to reporting to the Association.” For the complete document, go to TMG’s Association website, or to the resources page of this site under “HOA rules”.  If you have been sent a violation letter and do not agree with the issue as stated, see section 13 of the above mentioned document for instructions to appeal.

Late Fees:  A request to wave late fees by a homeowner was denied by the Board.

Pool: The pool is scheduled to officially open on Saturday, May 23rd.  A party for the HOA is scheduled the same day at 400pm.  The Board agreed to repaint the pool tables.  This could not be done prior to May 23rd and will most likely be done the week of May 26-29th.  A chemical controller for the pool was installed.  The model purchased by the Association was not available. Orca installed an upgraded model at no additional charge.

Landscaping: The Board approved the proposal to plant the remainder of the community not covered by the Fall plantings.  The Board also approved  proposal to make some needed repairs to our irrigation system.

Draft minutes of the meeting should be posted soon on TMG’s site.  The minutes become official when approved by the Board, usually at the next Board Meeting. The next scheduled Board Meeting is June 8th at 600pm.

community, Public safety and crime

Crime in the neighborhood

At least five PKW residents had items stolen from their front porch the night of May 13, 2015.  The stolen property ranged from flower pots to outdoor furniture.

While crime is relatively rare in our neighborhood, it is important that it is reported to the authorities as soon as possible.

Peterkort Woods is located in unincorporated Washington County.  Your police services are supplied by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.  The WCSO divides its patrol area into 14 districts.  PKW is located in the 20 District.  It is also located within the Enhanced Sheriffs Patrol Districts (ESPD).

Staffing in these districts is determined in part by the number of reported crimes and calls for service in each district.

If you see a crime occurring, call 911.  If you need police or fire anywhere in Washington County and it is not an emergency, call 503-629-0111.

For more information about ESPD or other services provided by the WCSO, visit their website at:

http://www.co.washington.or.us/sheriff/

For an interactive map of police services in Washington County:

http://webags.co.washington.or.us/espd_lookup/espdlookup.html

 

community

Peterkort Woods Community Summer Kick-Off!

Pool Opening BBQ/Potluck
Saturday, May 23, 2015

Come join your neighbors on Saturday, May 23rd from 4-8 pm
at the Clubhouse/Pool for a Summer Kick-Off BBQ.

Provided:  Brats, Hot Dogs, Buns & Lemonade plus all paper products Brats & Hot Dogs will be cooked at 5:00 pm

Bring: A side dish, salad, or dessert to share

This will be a great time to connect with neighbors you already
know, meet new friends and take a dip in the pool!

Questions?
Contact:  Mike and Gail Hildenbrand (or fill out a contact form at the bottom of this page).

No RSVP is necessary…Just come!

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

community, Maintenance

Window Cleaning Updated May 11, 2015

Dear neighbors, Several of you mentioned that you would like to participate in getting a group discount to have your windows washed in the spring.  Well spring is here! Rsvp back to me and confirm if you are interested.  I am thinking early to mid May for this event.  If you know of others that would like to join in please pass the word to them.  Once we find out how many are interested we will get a firm price and let you know what that is. Thanks, Mike Hildenbrand

From Gail Hildenbrand, May 11, 2015

Hi neighbors,
We thought we had a great idea to help facilitate spring window washing for our Peterkort residents.  However, facilitating the project for about 50 residents who responded indicating an interest isn’t going to happen.After contacting four ‘smaller’ window washing contractors none were available to take on that many homes and of the four larger window washing companies contacted one responded and said they would only do the project if all HOA members participated and one quoted ‘quite high’prices.  The other two did not respond.Here are the names and contact information for the ‘smaller’ contractors so that you can contact them individually and discuss their services and costs.

Bright Look Window Cleaning (Tom)  @ 503 841 4440
Clear Choice (Bob) 503 821 9963
Distinctive Services (Aaron) 971 226 5141

Here are three larger companies (including one with high prices) we contacted:

A1 Retrofit 

·         | 360-513-9848 | Vancouver, WA

·         Clean Services Northwest 

·         | 503-762-5915 | Troutdale, OR

·         Fish Window Cleaning

·         | (503) 591-7000 | Aloha, OR

·

I am sorry this did not work out as a large group project.  I encourage you to talk with your immediate neighbors and see if you could organize something together.

Your neighbor,

Gail Hildenbrand
Landscaping, Maintenance, meetings

Board Meeting April 13th

The HOA Board of Directors met at the Clubhouse on April 13th, 2015 at 600pm.  Items discussed included: the appointment of a new Board member, a chemical controller for the pool and a vendor to clean the pool, ARC requests,  staining of Forest unit front doors, and ongoing maintenance issues.

New Board member: Board VP, Bob Balaski sold his home last month and moved to a nearby neighborhood.  The Board unanimously agreed on Ken Cumings to replace him on the Board.  Mike Hildenbrand will now be the Vice-President and Ken will be the Board Member At Large.

Pool: Orca Pacific has been contracted to install an automatic chemical controller.  This should keep the chlorine and PH levels consistent and reduce the need to close the pool or call someone to fix the imbalances.  Wet Kat has been retained to clean the pool.  They did our pool maintenance last year and were the only vendor wiling to respond on Saturdays and Sundays.  We are in the process of hiring a pool monitor.  The Board decided to have them start in June rather than wait until July as in previous years.

ARC: There were two requests form a homeowner to modify the exterior of their home.  The first request was in regards to an exterior mounted security camera.  The Board approved the request with some conditions regarding color and installation method.  The second request involved attaching artwork to an exterior wall using a screw.  The Board denied the request to penetrate the exterior with screws.  An alternative method of displaying the artwork was suggested.  The Board urges all homeowners to submit any request to modify the exterior of their homes BEFORE they make the modification.

Door staining:  Routine staining of the Forest doors was not scheduled for a couple of years.  However, several of the doors are in poor shape and many others are getting close to being in need of refinishing.  At the last meeting, the Board selected a vendor to do the work.  Since then, the Board members have surveyed the 110 Forest unit doors and selected approximately one third for immediate refinishing.  All of the doors in the following buildings will be refinished: 1, 4, 11, 14, 17, and 18.  There are a few other doors in poor shape that will also be done at this time.  Affected homeowners will be notified before any work is done.

Maintenance: Metal railings throughout the community are in the process of being repaired and repainted. There are also several landscape projects that are in the process of completion, including: plant replacement, tree pruning, and general hardscaping. This is just a summary of the Board Meeting and should not be considered as a replacement for the official meeting minutes.

Draft minutes of the meeting should be posted soon on TMG’s site.  The minutes become official when approved by the Board, usually at the next Board Meeting. The next scheduled Board Meeting is May 11th at 600pm.

community, Landscaping, meetings

Board Meeting March 9th

The Board of directors met at the clubhouse March 9th and discussed the following topics: landscaping issues, maintenance of entry railings and Forest exterior doors, pool maintenance vendors, and a system for the pool that would monitor and adjust the chlorine levels.

Landscaping: Robert Littleton (Landscape Committee Chair) gave a report.  Half of our community had new plants installed.  The second half will be done in the next few months.   We have sent  plant list to our vendor for a quote.  Some rock has been installed in the landscape.  This also is still a work in progress.

Pool Maintenance: The Board agreed to install a system that will automatically monitor and adjust the chlorine in our pool.  At the next meeting will choose a maintenance vendor and pool monitors.

Forest doors refinishing: ‘Color Perfexion’ was hired to work on two Forest doors.  This work was compared to the work of Two Brothers.  The Board has decided to go with Color Perfexion.  Approximately 30 of the most needy doors will be addressed in the first phase this year.  (If you believe your door should be included in this group, please let the Board know ASAP.)

Ongoing maintenance: Crews will be in our neighborhood in March cleaning gutters (Windwood, Trillium, and Foresta), fixing some metal railings, and tree trimming.

In addition to the Board and a TMG representative, twelve homeowners were in attendance.  After the meeting, there was an informal gathering downstairs.

Meeting minutes will not be official until approved by the Board at the April 13th meeting.  All meeting minutes are posted on TMG’s site.

community, Public safety and crime

Rules, rules, rules.

We are a nation of laws.  From the Federal level to the state, local, and even our HOA.  As rules and laws are developed, they start with an idea to make our community better (the spirit of the law). When the ideas are memorialized in writing, the words give us clear instructions for enacting and protecting them (letter of the law). Laws and rules are abolished or modified when they are obsolete (don’t leave your horse on Main Street after sun down) or society’s needs change (don’t block the electric car charging station).  It is the citizens’ duty to know and obey the laws and the government’s duty to uphold the laws.

Now, I said all that to say this, the law exists to make us better. It dos not exist just to be enforced.  For example.  Driving your car over certain speeds is dangerous, so speed laws were written. They are enforced to make the roads safer.  Depending on the conditions, most traffic cops write citations for more than 10 miles per hour over the limit. The fines increase the faster you go. The fear of financial penalty will make you drive slower and thus safer.  Now imagine if every car going more than 1 mph over the limit was stopped and the driver cited. The letter of the law allows for this but the spirit of the law does not.

As we draft new rules or enforce existing ones, I would like us to focus on the spirit of the law as we consider the letter of the law.

robert phillippi