Swim Lessons Offered in Victor Gardens Pool

“The Northeast Family YMCA is thrilled to begin offering swimming lessons in the Hugo area.  Just minutes from your home, the YMCA will provide swimming lessons exclusively for Victor Gardens residents at the Victor Gardens Activity Center Pool on Wednesday mornings.”  - YMCA Flyer

1. •Parent-Child Swim Lessons
   

2. •Preschool Swim Lessons (Ages 3-5)
   

3. •Youth Swim Lessons (Ages 6+)
   

Registration Deadline is June 15.

Call 651-777-8103 for more info. 

New Features Introduced to victorgardensnews.org

I have added a few new features to our website:

1. •A search window
   

2. •Expanded contact info
   

3. •An RSS subscription button
   

Search Smarter

This site has always had an archive of all the news items since March 2007.  I have now added a powerful tool to search through the growing list of postings - a search window.  Enter the keyword or keywords of the topic you’re interested in.  The results will be displayed and sorted by relevance.  This is especially helpful if you’re researching a question that may have been addressed in a previous post.

More Contacts

I’ve added more people to the contact list and a few more phone numbers.  I still prefer to be contacted via email.  It allows me an easier way to follow up.

RSS Feed Subscription

For tech savvy neighbors I’ve added an RSS subscription link.  I don’t really use RSS, but some might find it useful.  To find out more about RSS, you can read this NY Times article or a more technical Wikipedia article.

Meeting Scheduled with Shelly Tompkins of CPDC

I have scheduled a meeting with Shelly Tompkins from Victor Gardens’ development company, CPDC, tomorrow.  I look forward to listening to her perspectives on our growing neighborhood.  We will also discuss other Victor Gardens subjects and address my list of CPDC’s follow-up items. After the meeting an update will be posted.

Maintenance Update - Fountain Troubles

Unfortunately we’ve had trouble with both the large Jardin fountain and the smaller fountain in Poet’s Green.  The Jardin fountain appears to have a water-supply problem and the Poet’s Green fountain apparently leaks.

Gina Higgins, our Commuity Manager, is aware of the problems.  I suspect the Poet’s Green fountain may be a more complicated repair.  She will update us on what will be needed to repair the fountains when she has the information.  Hopefully we’ll get them up and running too before long.

When I hear more info, I will post an update.

Maintenance Update - Arbre & Val Jean Parks Irrigation

According to CPDC’s Dave Hempel, “Northway Irrigation will be meeting with Chris Petree, [Director of Public Works for the City of Hugo] on Tuesday, June 5 at 10am to run through the irrigation systems in both city parks, Arbre and Val Jean.”

Weeds on Unsold Vacant Lots

Weeds are now nearly 3 feet tall in some of Victor Gardens unsold lots.  This is a familiar and unresolved problem for homeowners over the past few years. Since April, the following has transpired:

1. •April 24, 2007:  Homer Tompkins was informed of the appearance problem on unsold lots during the Victor Gardens Annual Meeting.
   
   

2. •May 1, 2007: I received an email from Dave Hempel, from CPDC it read in part, “Lot appearance - vacant lots are cut on a monthly basis or when the grass exceeds 8" high.”
   
   

3. •May 15, 2007:  During the walk-through, Mr. Hempel verbally agreed to modify the mowing schedule of CPDC’s unsold lots.  He agreed that the lots would be mowed every two weeks up until July 4.  Then they would be mowed on a monthly basis.
   
   

4. •May 18, 2007:  Narrow strips were mowed alongside streets.  It is unclear why the rest of the lots were not mowed
   
   

5. •May 23, 2007:  I sent an email reminder to Mr. Hempel asking for  follow-through.  I had hoped for a response within a few days.
   
   

6. •May 30, 2007:  As of today, the remainder of the lots have not been mowed.
   
   

7. •UPDATE:  June 1, 2007:  Neighbors have begun mowing large sections of the lots by themselves.

Waiting for Follow-up

As of today, I have not heard back from CPDC regarding follow-up to these items. 

CPDC follow-up list as of May 23, 2007:

1. 1.Unsold lot appearance – tall grass & weeds: 
   

2. 2.Signs: Remove or change remaining incorrect signs with references to the “Land Office”
   

3. 3.Signs: Replace missing lot identification signs
   

4. 4.Existing fenced garden: Finish off the fencing in the garden to a logical stopping point. 
   

5. 5.Garden expansion: Receive permission to temporarily expand garden to the East of existing garden.
   

6. 6.Save fencing & monuments: Preserve & store wrought-iron style fencing and decorative monuments (land office & main entrance).
   

7. 7.Remove silt fence & barbed wire fencing: Remove fencing, mostly near walking trails and roadways need to be removed.
   

8. 8.Remove debris: Remove barrels from the Northern side of the lake, East of the Community Center. 
   

9. 9.Displaced trees near main entrance: Ask new property owners to save & move shrubs and trees near main entrance to new locations if possible.
   

10. 10.“Welcome to Hugo” monument sign: Complete electrical and landscaping work around the monument sign.
    

11. 11.Trusses left by Nottinghome Builders: Please speak to Nottinghome Builders and/or the truss company to remove these items.
    

12. 12.Victorgardens.com website: Is there any timeline for updating the victorgardens.com website?  
    

13. 13.Intranet: Is there any timeline for updating the Victor Gardens Community Intranet?

Sprinkler Watering

Gina Higgins, our Community Manager was told last week by our HOA contractor, Early Bird, that the common area sprinklers were turned on.  Since I’ve received a few questions on this, she’s following up on this for us. She wrote,  “I spoke to Early Bird last week on Tuesday and was told that the system was turned on.  I will follow up with them right now to see what is going on.  Thank you for informing me of this.  I will let you know what I find out.”

There may be a separate watering issue related to the turn-over of the Parks by CPDC to the City of Hugo. Gina Higgins wrote to Dave Hempel of CPDC regarding this, “I just wanted to confirm that you would be coordinating with the City, the start-up of the irrigation system in the areas that they have taken over, per the letter... provided me.”

Mr. Hempel responded today, “Yes, that is still the plan. I will see if I can schedule for Friday this week with city and Tom at Early Bird.”

Lots Reserved for New Construction

According to Jack Broughton of CPDC, six lots are currently reserved in the Single Family Village.  He wrote, “The lots that have been reserved are 1st Addition Block 1, Lot 20, Block 2, Lot 7, Block 4, Lot 4, and in VG East, Block 3, Lot 6 and 8, and Block 4, Lot 3.”

City meeting set for Tuesday, June 5.

Two new items were recently pointed out in Arbre Park.  They have been added to the other questions we will discuss at an upcoming meeting with Chris Petree, the City of Hugo’s Public Works Director.  The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 5.

There are a number of questions and suggestions that fall under the control of the City.  I will share the list I have with Mr. Petree:

Val Jean Park:

1. 1.Consider adding a device to prevent wide opening of the tennis court’s doorway to physically prevent bicycles from entering.
   

2. 2.Consider adding signs to tennis court prohibiting bikes, skates & scooters, which damage the court’s surface.  
   

3. 3.Consider adding “dogs prohibited” signs in the tennis court as dog waste has been found inside the fence and on the court itself.
   

4. 4.Repair drinking fountain in Val Jean Park. Gina Higgins said last week“The City needs to come out and turn the water source on as it is 6 feet underground per the vendor that was out to repair.  I will contact the City to confirm this”
   

5. 5. Coordinate the sprinkler watering of the park with CPDC.
   

6. 6. Fix latch on tennis court door.
   

Arbre Park:

7. 7.Raking mulch needed near bleachers and playground equipment in Arbre Park.
   

8. 8.Repair edging near the playground in Arbre Park.
   

9. 9.Consider adding drinking fountain to City-owned Arbre Park: CPDC has completed its plans for this Arbre and Val Jean Parks.
   

10. 10.Repair railing on playground equipment and consider adding step to playground equipment.  Chris Petree, City of Hugo is aware of the situation and wrote yesterday, “I met with the playground equipment rep. today…he will repair/tighten/etc. all equipment on the play structures today.  He will also supply me with options/prices for the stair area that was of concern….we’ll figure something out shortly.”
    

11. 11. A large Cottonwood tree in Arbre Park needs attention.  It may need to be trimmed or removed to prevent a dangerous situation.
    

12. 12. Coordinate the sprinkler watering of the park with CPDC.
    

Signs:

13. 13.Repair leaning stop sign at Garden Way and Arbre near Arbre Park.
    

14. 14.Consider adding “Children at Play” signs.
    

15. 15.Consider adding “Teeter-totter” graphic sign in close proximity to playgrounds.
    

16. 16.Consider adding “Speed Limit” signs on key roadways, especially on Garden Way & Victor Hugo Blvd.  
    

17. 17.Additional asphalt onto V.G. streets:  Determine schedule with City on the final layer of blacktop on some of our streets.
    

18. 18.Are there any city-related issues which prevent CPDC's completion of the "Welcome to Hugo" monument?

Follow-up : CPDC’s Marketing of New Home Sites

A question was asked and posted in the “News” section on May 16 about how Victor Gardens’ developer, CPDC, intends to show or sell single-family home site lots without a Land Office.  

Jack Broughton, of CPDC has responded,  “To let you know, the phone number on the realtor-sized signs sprinkled around the single-family area that say "For Neighborhood Information or Model Home Tours, call..." is forwarded to my cell phone and I either drop everything to run up to Hugo for interested prospects or I schedule a future appointment with them.  In the past month, we have taken 6 new reservations for single-family homesites, 3 in the 1st addition and 3 in VG East.  These do NOT include the Ryland sales.  So, yes, sales efforts are continuing even though we don't have a sales office, and in fact, Victor Gardens sales this spring have been the best of any of our neighborhoods.”

At the Annual Meeting and during the Walk-Through, Dave Hempel and Homer Tompkins were made aware that marketing signs contained outdated information.  They also know were informed that many lot identification signs were damaged or missing.  It was also re-iterated that the victorgardens.com marketing website contained inaccuracies, and should be updated.

As of today, there is no word yet whether these remaining three items will be addressed by CPDC.

Pool Opens Today!

The Victor Gardens pool will open later this afternoon. Other than the obvious safety rules, 3 sometimes overlooked rules should be highlighted: 

1.  No Glass!  Please leave your bottles at home.  If broken glass is discovered in the pool area, the entire pool may need to be drained, cleaned, and refilled.  How will you explain to your neighbors that your Iced Tea bottle effectively closed the pool on the warmest weekend of the Summer?

2.  Swim Diapers!  This should be self explanatory.  Last year, unfortunately, the “Baby Ruth-in-the-pool” scene from the movie, Caddyshack, was re-created in our very own Victor Gardens Pool.  Pool contamination requires closing, draining, cleaning, and re-filling. It’s a process that’s expensive for the Association, and closes the pool for many days. It’s also completely avoidable.  Please put swim diapers on kids that need them.

3.  Math Quiz:  

Question:  What do 65 families in the Single Family Village plus all of our Victor Gardens Townhomes neighbors equal?
Answer:  A crowded pool.

Don’t feel like a summer “Grinch” when someone you don’t know tells you the old line, “I forgot my pool key at home.  Please open the door for me?”   In addition to overcrowding, allowing non-residents into Victor Gardens’ pool unfortunately presents a legal liability issue for all homeowners in the Association  

Click here for the complete set of rules for the Activity Center and Pool.

Don’t forget the Pool Opening Fiesta, will be hosted by The Victor Gardens Social Committee on June 3.  Check our Upcoming Events page for details.