Sep 1, 2015 | President's Message
Our president, Phil Blagg, is temporarily unavailable due to unanticipated personal circumstances. The entire HOA BOD looks forward to his return as soon as possible.
As school’s opening day rapidly approaches, we look back on what was hopefully an eventful and fun summer for all. It’s certainly been eventful for MNW. First, I’d like to recognize a woman who is nothing less than an icon in our community. It’s with a great deal of personal sadness that I publically announce that Eleanor Naremore is moving on from MNW. Those who are associated with her know her as a dedicated resident, absolutely committed to the betterment of this community. Over the decades, Eleanor served with distinction in several positions on the BOD. Even when not actively on the board, she remained a force in bringing to light and addressing issues of public concern. Wherever your journey takes you, Eleanor, know that you have the thanks of this entire community for all that you have done here. You will be greatly missed.
Unfortunately, due to the absence of our president and his anticipated return, several key administrative issues that might have been resolved in August were deferred to a later date. Because we don’t know when exactly that’ll be, the BOD is exploring all lawful methods to proceed. One issue of particular import involved the naming of the nominating committee. This is an effort President Blagg was personally involved with. As the acting president, I am proceeding with caution to make certain the president’s concerns are addressed and his direction followed.
The final report from the Pool Committee was also delivered at August’s HOA meeting. This issue is of great importance to the community and the meeting was well attended. Unfortunately, because of miscommunication amongst some BOD members, critical mistakes were made and the report was released to the public before the BOD had a chance to review it. For this reason, I suspended public comment on the issue or the report. After the report was delivered, board discussion ensued and several items needed further research. As was originally directed, the objective of this report is to gather facts representing two options concerning the future of the community pool. These options will be presented to all homeowners for a final decision.
Finally, as 2nd VP of security, I have faced almost constant constructive and not-so-constructive criticism about the safety and traffic issues around Theiss Elementary School. The tactics from the past for addressing these problems have not been successful, nor do I believe they ever will be. We are not going to get speed bumps, bike lanes, sidewalks, etc., on Hidden Trail. I do not believe we will ever convince anyone outside MNW to redesign Theiss Mail in front of Theiss to accommodate our traffic problems. KISD police are not going to suddenly bump us up on the priority list and start showing up regularly for traffic enforcement. But we’re not helpless. We can do something! You can do something! We’re way beyond continuing to pointlessly talk about these issues. I have a plan to address the safety of our children at Theiss, but I can’t do it by myself. I’m asking those who can to step outside their comfort zones and recognize our children on those streets are in real danger, then resolve to do something about it beyond just talking. Our children face this danger twice daily: when they are going to school and then again when they are going home. I need volunteers to work with me during those times to ensure their safety.
MNW has a choice. We can continue to argue and debate the same safety issues that have been regurgitated ad nauseum for decades, to no successful results. I guarantee this will result in no actions being taken and we will continue to talk about this until a child is actually seriously hurt. Or we can join together and do something to protect our children. If you are 18 or over, can stand for at least a half hour, and can commit a little time during the week, please call me for additional details. I need you to make this work!
Please see the website at www.mnwcenter.com for ongoing information regarding the HOA upcoming election, etc.
Lawrence McKinney
Acting President
Aug 3, 2015 | President's Message
The Dog Days of August are upon us and air conditioners are running 24 hours a day! There are also not many more weeks until the new school year begins. To this end, it has been decided to hold a community ‘End of Summer Swim Party’ to put a cooling splash on all this heat. This wet gala will be brimming with pizzas, games, prizes and a giant-screen movie event, all poolside – happening the Saturday evening (8/22) before Klein ISD classes commence. Check out all the fun details (and a few swim rules) further inside this newsletter.
On a more serious note, we pick up a continuing theme from last month’s message regarding continuing concerns about overall traffic safety on our streets. At the July HOA meeting several homeowners expressed their concerns about local traffic conditions and, as well, raised quite a few questions as to what could be done. Later in that meeting, Lawrence McKinney, VP of Safety, gave an extensive review of new (and of renewed) efforts to not only elevate resident driver awareness but to also more effectively communicate resident’s concerns to our patrolling officers.
Nevertheless, the statistics are undeniable – most accidents take place within a short distance of home. You could add to this fact that most people believe ‘their home is their castle’ And, by extension, could we not also say that their surrounding neighborhood is ‘their manor?’ It is, at any rate, their ‘comfort zone.’ But this excess of familiarity of surroundings often breeds carelessness and unwatchfulness. There is often a lack of attention to the ordinary details – an accident just waiting to happen.
Try out this little mental familiarity test the next time you “arrive” at the corner grocery or at the school parking lot: ask yourself if you can honestly remember interacting with all of those two dozen stop sign intersections that you needed to traverse to your final destination. Or did you just “suddenly” arrive?
That is a familiarity that can (and will) breed carelessness; it happens NEAREST to home, your community. Traffic safety is an active mentally-engaged process; familiarity is most often not that.
Phil Blagg
MNW Board President
Jul 5, 2015 | President's Message
The Board of Directors regrets to announce that our president, Roy May, recently needed to resign his position due to urgent personal and business considerations. The entire Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Roy for his strong leadership role during his tenure as president. The policies and procedures of your Board of Directors provide for constancy of office in this leadership role and, as such, it is provided that the 1st vice president should migrate to the role of president. I, Phil Blagg, as your former 1st vp, do accept this interim role and its responsibilities.
To more personally acquaint you, my family and I have been happy residents of this great community for over 20 years. The three young sprouts (3 boys) that we brought in and raised up here have since moved on to other pastures and are pursuing great adventures of their own. Nevertheless, the ‘old folks at home’ (Jackie and I) are still firmly planted here and looking forward to the next 20 years of MNW community life. To that end, I do pledge these next efforts and civic responsibilities to maintaining and cultivating this family-friendly and diverse community for the benefit of all of our futures here.
On a more day-to-day but important note about neighborhood safety, I would like to remind our residents that the summer season is upon us. With that season comes an abundance of joggers, dog-walkers, bicycles, and multiple children on foot. All of our family drivers are cautioned to take extra care and precautions during this time. Parents: please caution your own young drivers again about the increased hazard potential. In addition, our non-resident-through-traffic has increased greatly over the recent years. To that point, your Board continues to communicate with our Sheriff’s patrols to aggressively target any and all of the careless and unrepentant stop-sign-rollers and excessive speeders throughout the subdivision. Personally, it is hard for me to imagine wanting it otherwise.
Thank you for taking the time to peruse your new president’s first monthly message. Comments from the community are welcomed at any time. (Email is generally the communication mode of choice.)
Phil Blagg
MNW Board President
May 31, 2015 | President's Message
Subsequent to the last newsletter in which I informed you about two board vacancies, I am pleased to announce those positions were filled at our last meeting. The 2nd vice president for security is Lawrence McKinney, who came to Memorial Northwest several years ago after a career with the San Diego, CA, police department. Lawrence served in a variety of positions and ultimately retired as Assistant Chief of Police for San Diego. Our new 3rd vice president for architectural control and deed restrictions is Ryan Pyle, who has lived in Memorial Northwest for almost ten years. Ryan is the sales director for Malin Industries, a material handling firm with warehouses all across the United States. His duties include oversight of not only sales but engineering of the warehouses, which brings him into contact with city and county building codes in numerous areas. Additionally, Ryan is heavily involved with the Memorial NW Marlins swim team. We welcome both Lawrence and Ryan to the Board and look forward to their contributions in these two, vital areas.
The Board was pleased to recognize one of our homeowners for her performance as a crossing guard near Theiss Elementary School. While we are happy to recognize her work and the work of other volunteers who perform this important duty, the circumstances that led to this recognition are of great concern. As some of you may know, on April 21st Carolyn was instrumental in preventing an accident that might have resulted in either serious injury or death to two school children. The driver of a vehicle came through the school zone with no attention or regard to both traffic laws and pedestrian traffic. It was only through the quick thinking and reaction by Carolyn that prevented one child from entering the crosswalk and ensuring that another, already in the crosswalk, ran safely to the other side. The driver of the vehicle subsequently crashed into the back of a day care van, and this accident led to ten people, mostly children, being taken to the hospital. Prior to the accident, as reported by a local news station, the vehicle driver ran a couple of stop signs and was speeding down a side street.
Although an ultimate tragedy was averted in this instance, obeying traffic laws in our subdivision seems to be difficult for some people, both residents and nonresidents. There are daily occurrences of drivers going through stop signs and speeding. The incident related above must be a warning to all that these laws serve a distinct purpose. We have asked our sheriff’s department deputies to continue doing their utmost to enforce traffic laws in every respect. That said, however, we can never afford to have enough deputies present at every location to stop and ticket violators. Obeying traffic laws must become second nature to all, but of greater importance is the need to watch out for our children as they go to and from school. A driver can be driving within acceptable speed limits and still cause serious injury, or death, to a child on a bicycle, or walking out into the street. To put it bluntly, it’s a matter of putting someone else first, other than yourself, when you are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
Last month’s newsletter highlighted a need to conform to deed restrictions, particularly those that have an impact on the appearance of our subdivision to both residents and visitors. Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, lawn bags and other detritus from cleaning up our yards are not to be put curbside for pick-up until the late afternoon of the day before the scheduled pick-up by the waste company. Doing otherwise will result in sending a written notice of the violation to the homeowner. While much less noticeable, backyard pools can also become the source of violating deed restrictions. The lack of routine maintenance can lead, and has led, to several complaints in the past concerning mosquito outbreaks. The subdivision has a mosquito spraying program, but it cannot overcome the problem when a huge, mosquito breeding ground exists in a homeowner’s pool. The forecast for this summer calls for a wetter than usual summer, and controlling mosquitos and other pests will be difficult enough without any of us adding to it. I urge each of you to do your part in making MNW a better place to live.
Roy May
MNW Board President
May 1, 2015 | President's Message
With the return of spring, Memorial Northwest has come alive with color: trees leafing out, azaleas in full bloom, and green lawns. All of this, and more, combines to make MNW an attractive neighborhood. Coincident with this natural beauty, though, is the need to cut grass, trim plants, and all of the other chores such as spring cleaning that goes with home-owning. The down side of these activities is the amount of trash and debris that comes from maintaining our homes and property. Since a number of us do this work, or have it done, on a Friday and Saturday, there is a natural accumulation of lawn bags that remain until the next schedule trash pick-up day. Left curbside for several days, the bags present an unsightly picture of MNW. Deed restrictions require that we put out all trash no earlier than the evening before scheduled service. Here are some of the things that can be done to make an immediate, visible impact on our neighborhood:
• Take lawn bags to the curb on the evening before scheduled service
• Keep trash cans and lawn bags out of public view on non-service days
• Instruct lawn care personnel to either remove the debris or place it out of sight until you can move it to the curb
• Keep roofs and gutters clean and free of debris
• Pressure-wash the exterior of your home, driveway, and other places that accumulate dirt, mildew, and algae
A committee was formed to address the swimming pool issue, and it is comprised of four homeowners and three Board members. Sandy Remson, Area 7 Director, will chair the committee. The homeowner members are Michelle Eubank, Pamela Evans, Vince Glocksien, and Kay Hughes. The other Board members are Eileen Koscho and Bryan Thomas. I have asked the committee to present two options for homeowners to consider in the upcoming months. Under any circumstance, homeowners will have the opportunity to vote for a specific option. A tentative time frame is by the end of the summer, and sooner, if possible.
At the time I am preparing this article, I want to inform the homeowners that we have two Board positions that need to be filled on an interim basis until the next election for that office. Oran Woody, 3rd Vice President for Architectural Control and Deed Restrictions, has resigned due to business reasons, and Bill Burton, who has served as 2nd Vice President for Security, is stepping aside for health reasons. Bill will continue to serve in that position until we find a replacement. I want to thank both of them for serving Memorial Northwest, and particularly, Bill Burton, who has poured a significant amount of time and effort over many years into our community.
As a final note, there is one issue outside of our more narrow concerns that will impact each of us in a significant manner. On May 9, 2015, a bond election for Klein ISD will be held, and voters will be asked to approve $498.1 million in bonds for Klein ISD use in building and maintaining existing facilities. I think it is imperative for each of us to participate in this election and express your opinion on the issue. Early voting commences April 30th, which will be shortly after you receive this newsletter.
Roy May
MNW Board President
Recent Comments