Pool Opens Tomorrow!

The Victor Gardens Pool will be opened tomorrow,  Saturday May 23. This according to Gina Lampe, our Community Manager with Community Development, Inc. 

Other than the obvious safety rules, 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. 

2.  Swim Diapers!  This should be self explanatory.  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.

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 Master Association  

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

SFV Homeowners Needed to form Architecture Committee

POA Scherer/CPDC recently transitioned limited control of Architecture Review Committee (ARC)  responsibilities to the Single Family Village Board of Directors.  The SFV Board now has the authority to review, approve, recommend changes, or deny "Change Applications" to existing homes and landscapes in the Single Family Village.  POA Scherer/CPDC remains in control of the "new construction" and "new landscaping" ARC process in the SFV and other areas of Victor Gardens.  

The SFV Board would like to pass the approval process to a specialized sub-committee of the SFV Association.  Interested residents should contact SFV Board Members Michael Warner, John Roehrich, Dan Sjoquist, or Mark Vlker as soon as possible.  Applicants will be reviewed by the SFV Board and an ARC subcommittee will likely be formed of three residents.  The Board hopes to form the subcommittee at its next scheduled Board meeting, July 14, 2008.

The SFV Board has already reviewed one Change Application for new gutter installation, and is in the process of reviewing another.  Homeowners are reminded, for the benefit of everyone in the Single Family Village Homeowner’s Association, your plans must be submitted and considered by the Architectural Review Committee.  Projects such as paint color changes, retaining walls, fencing, lighting, major landscape changes etc. must be approved before work begins.  Clarification of the policy can be found in the book of rules & covenants.  Victor Gardens’ Community Manager, Gina Lampe (763) 225-6438, can help neighbors navigate the approval process, and can share copies of the required application forms. 

Grounds Commitee Meeting Results

We had a great informational 1st meeting for our official Victor Gardens Community Association Grounds Committee on the evening of Wednesday, May 21st. I'm writing this entry as our newly elected Chairperson for the committee. My primary responsibilities will be communication between our residents, the Grounds Committee and the Master Association Board of Directors. To that end, I'd like to post a couple of updates on topics I know many residents are interested in. These subjects and a few others will be part of our official report provided to the Master Association Board at our next meeting on June 2nd.

Landscape Maintenance Contract - After meeting with Early Bird Lawnscapes and doing a walk through of the entire Victor Gardens development, we've created a map that identifies the areas we want to see maintained as well as the level to which they should be kept. This map can be found on this site in the Maps area. We'll continue to update it as we learn more. The key areas of the map for landscape purposes are the Yellow, Blue and Light Grey areas.

The Yellow areas are common grounds that the Master Association is responsible for. They include areas like Jardin Fountain, Poets Green and all of the transition areas that get you from one part of the development to another. These ares require the full services of Early Bird including, Turf mowing, maintenance & irrigation, plus Shrub area trimming & weeding. Basically, everything we've come to expect in landscape maintenance.

The Blue areas are now officially Hugo City parks and will be partially maintained by the city. By partially maintained, I mean that they will be mowed and the structures & trees will be maintained, but the grass and shrub beds will not receive any weeding or fertilization like we've become accustomed to. In these areas, we have requested Early Bird to bid on supplementing the City's services. The Master Association Board will then discuss approving this supplemental bid.

The Light Grey areas are places that we are not technically responsible for, but we expect will have little to no maintenance done to them over the course of the summer. Specifically, these areas are the grass areas on the City Trails through our neighborhoods as well as the Boulevards in front of empty lots. We have asked for a 2nd supplemental bid for these areas to be mowed monthly. The Master Association Board will again discuss this bid.

Common Area "Grass Roots" Planting - As a way to cut costs and still maintain the look of common areas like Victor Square Park & Jardin Fountain, we have created a "Common Areas Sub-Committee" made up of teams that will plan and implement efforts to install annual and perennial plantings in these areas. At this point, these efforts are volunteer in their materials and labor costs. We are looking into creating a small budget to reimburse for materials costs this year, but nothing can be expected at this time. As for the former land office area, this land is currently in dispute and would require so much work, we have tabled any efforts in that area for now.

If you are interested in helping our planting teams with your money or time, please contact me and I will put you in touch with them. I can be contacted at baileyhome@lightblast.net.

Retail Shop & Residential Areas Shared Landscaping - We are investigating the ownership of the various retail shops to the north and south of Frenchman Rd. in an effort to propose sharing landscaping & holiday lighting costs with them. Early indications are that each free-standing building in the retail development appears to have separate ownership. This process is in its early stages. More updates will follow.

Thanks to all who have volunteered for the Grounds Committee. We look forward to maintaining the high quality appearance in Victor Gardens while being fiscally responsible with our limited resources.

Grounds Committee to Meet May 21

An important first meeting of Victor Gardens' Grounds Committee will begin Wednesday, May 21 at VG's Neighborhood Activity Center, 7:00PM.  We will update everyone about the City's new Parks responsibilities, the level of service and cooperation we can expect from our landscape vendors and the retail businesses along Frenchman Road.  Committee members will choose a coordinating Chairperson, discuss priorities, and break up into the smaller groups according to everyone's interest.

The Grounds Committee is always open to new volunteers.  Please email Mike Bailey, baileyhome@lightblast.net to sign up.

SFV Board Makes Limited Change to Pet Policy

Last night, the Single Family Board addressed its pet policy.  There were two areas of discussion: Control and Waste.  After hearing resident opinions, debate and discussion.  The Board voted to change the language of the SFV's pet policy related to pet waste, and recommended the Master Board take the waste issue up as an Agenda item.  The pet waste language closely mirrors the City of Hugo's ordinance, as seen below.  The board did not change policy in regards to control.  It was felt that existing neighborhood rules and City ordinances covered the control issue sufficiently.

NEW LANGUAGE - (7.13.7):

Any person who owns, keeps or harbors any dog must remove all dog feces, on a daily basis from all enclosed dog runs or kennels, and must remove, on a daily basis, any accumulations of dog feces which are visible from any location outside the border of the person's property. Owners and Occupants shall be liable for the cost of repair of any damage to the Property, or any personal injury, caused by pets kept by them.  Pet owners are responsible for reimbursing other offended parties for damage to landscaping and/or buildings caused by their pet and/or services to repair, remove, or replace damaged property.

SFV Board to Consider Changes to Pet Policy

Victor Gardens' pet policies will be on the agenda for May 19th's Single Family Village Board Meeting.  SFV Residents will be welcome to share their opinions about the issue during the meeting's resident forum.  The SFV Board will be considering changes to its Village Rules,and will discuss recommendations to Master Board regarding its own pet policies. The City of Hugo recently changed its Animal Ordinance.  Some residents have expressed support of aligning VG's rules with the City's new ordinance in regards to "control" and "sanitation".  Some residents have expressed concern over the impact that new rules may have.  

Possible changes under consideration may be:  Changes to existing rules are bold/brown.

7.13.4  Pets shall be under control by leash at all times when walked or exercised on the Property. No person shall allow a dog to run at large at any time.  At Large means off the premises of the owner and not under the physical control by leash of the owner, a member of the owner's immediate family, or a person designated by the owner.

7.13.7  Any person who own, keeps or harbors any dog must remove all dog feces, on a daily basis from all enclosed dog runs or kennels, and must remove, on a daily basis, any accumulations of dog feces which are visible from any location outside the border of the person's property. Owners and Occupants shall be liable for the cost of repair of any damage to the Property, or any personal injury, caused by pets kept by them.  Pet owners are responsible for reimbursing other offended parties for damage to landscaping and/or buildings caused by their pet and/or services to repair, remove, or replace damaged property.

For more detailed information, including existing rules and ordinances, please download the PDF document that the SFV Board will consider on May 19.