Emerson Master HOA Notes 3/25/13

Highlights from the Emerson HOA Meeting on 3/25/13 are below. More detailed notes are posted to our Facebook page.

Sell It, Shred It, Give It Away

A couple of opportunities are coming up over the next month to get rid of things you no longer want or need:

• Howard County Greenfest (Saturday 4/13/13) - paper shredding, recycling of electronics/bikes/sewing machines/denim, charitable donations
• Emerson Yard Sale (Saturday 5/4/13)

Details:

Please Watch Out for Children at Play

As the weather starts turning warmer, all of us will be outdoors more, and the layout of our street means we will see many children playing outside. Please remember to moderate your speed and ask your guests to do so as well.

As you all know by now, the speed limit was reduced to 15 mph last Fall, and The Green Guy continues to make special appearances:

Our cul-de-sac allows parents to monitor their children at play in front of their houses, but even with the best of intentions, there are times when kids will be in the street when a car comes through, so we ask that parents and drivers all work together to keep the kids safe! 

Playground @ Palace Hall?

Note that some of our neighboring communities have asked Emerson Master HOA to put a playground or park on Palace Hall (about one-third of Emerson lives along Palace Hall). Emerson initially stated that they do not own the land to do so but the conversation is continuing.

Emerson Board Meeting - Monday

The next meeting of the Emerson Board of Directors will be Monday, March 25 @ 7 pm in the Clubhouse. This will be the first official public meeting of the Board since the election of the new slate of Directors.

Emerson has also announced that they will have a guest speaker from American Pool to discuss the upcoming pool season.

Please stay tuned to this space as we will be addressing issues important to Autumn Walk and Emerson. We likely will call a special meeting for Autumn Walk in April and expect our own elections to be in May or June.

The 2013 calendar of events will be updated soon:

2013 Emerson Calendar of Events

All Your Streets Are Belong to Us

I talked to Howard County this week to find out when they plan to take over maintenance of the street, also known as "dedicating" the street. We had been told that this would happen in February.

As you know our Builder (Miller & Smith) picked up the cost of snow removal this past winter, and perhaps even more fortunately we received virtually no snow.

Howard County's Real Estate Services Division told me we will probably be on the June 2013 agenda. For those interested in the details, read on:

2013 Landscaping Contract (Autumn Walk)

Update 5/16/13: Brickman has clarified that the two fenced yards with gates are grandfathered into the service only for the length of the contract (through 2015) and that new fenced areas will not be included. 

Update: Please note that the community-wide mulching is only in the Spring. Any other mulching outside of the Common Areas is your responsibility.

You may have noticed that Brickman is in the process of tending all of the mulched beds throughout Autumn Walk.

We asked every one of you individually last year for permission to contract for full maintenance, but since we're getting a little more than we expected, this seems like a good time to discuss what is covered under the 2013 contract.

Note that opting out does not reduce your Autumn Walk dues, but we can ask the contractor to skip your lot. This service is costing you $30/month ($360/year) total, including the maintenance of the Common Areas which we are obligated to take care of regardless.

If you have any concerns please let us know immediately. 

Hopefully you will agree this is an incredible bargain for this community, and has the added benefit of keeping the entire street looking trim and well-kept!

Items included in the service are listed in detail below.