Santa Visits Saturday, Dec. 12 for Hugo Fire Dept. Food & Toy Drive

On Saturday, December 12, watch for Santa to come through Hugo neighborhoods on a Fire Truck. He and his helpers will be collecting toys and food donations for the "Hugo Fire Dept. Food & Toy Drive 2009" program. Santa will be traveling through the City from 11:00am to 3:00pm.

Donations can also be dropped off at Hugo Fire Hall on December 12, from 10am-4pm.

Volunteer Help needed for Welcome Packet

The Single Familly Board is looking for volunteer help. The Board would like to produce a welcome packet/folder/brochure for homeowners just moving to Victor Gardens Single Family Village.  In the early days of our neighborhood, the former developer CPDC, gave new homeowners an informational packet.  It included some basic facts about Hugo, the neighborhood, amenities, events, local resources, and info to help homeowners understand our covenants.  The Board thought since it had been a number of years since the last packet was sent, it would also be helpful for existing homeowners.  The information collected would also be a great addition to this website.  If you're interested in helping, please let me know.  Thanks!

Website & Calendar Improvements

Victor Gardens News has been updated and reformatted. Among the improvements, the new site can be expanded to accommodate wider screens, making reading the posts easier. Upcoming events and meetings are now posted within a much better Google-hosted Calendar of Events. Readers can view it in traditional calendar view, and in an "Upcoming Events at a Glance" list found on the right side of site's home page. Tech savvy residents can subscribe to new posts and import calendar events into Outlook, iCal, or other popular programs.

To make the information more searchable, many of the old site's pages have been reformatted into posts. Master and sub-association PDF documents, financials, minutes, ARC info, etc can be found by following the "Association Info" links on the home page's right side. Nearly three years of "old" content has been archived, and will be more searchable than ever before.

Inevitably, the upgrades will create some broken links. If you find any or notice any other problems, please report them. Suggestions for improvement are also welcomed.

As always, reader comments are encouraged in the posts. Many of the topics discussed in those comments have made their way into Board and ARC meetings. They have led to improvements at the pool, planting areas, parks and more.

Master Board Meeting - Thursday January 7 at 6:00PM

The Master Board has announced its quarterly meeting, set for Thursday, January 7, 2010, 6:00pm at Hugo's City Hall.  In addition to the election of officers, the board will discuss a variety of topics.

A few residents have already informed us of a few items that they would like to be placed in the agenda.  These include parking problems with the Fairview Clinic, re-starting the Landscape/Grounds Committee and noise complaints about the Blue Heron Grill.  It is important for residents affected by these issues to attend the meeting, and share their opinions with the Board.

Reminder: SFV Board Meeting - Thursday December 17 at 7:00PM

The Single Family Village Board is meeting on Thursday, December 17 at the Neighborhood Activity Center.  The meeting will start a little later than it has before at 7:00pm.  This and other future events are now posted on a new neighborhood calendar. The agenda is available here.  Residents are encouraged to attend, and address the Board with any concerns during the meetings Resident Forum.

The minutes for a few recent Master ARC, Master Board, and SFV Board Meetings have been posted with a redesigned resident website victorgardensnews.org

New Builder Proposes to Build in Single Family Village

During the last Master ARC meeting, Minks Custom Homes proposed a new home design for Victor Gardens East 6th Addition. Homes in this area, east of Clearwater Creek, has up until now been built mostly by Ryland Homes. Although Ryland had been expected to buy and close on all the lots in the immediate area, it was reported at the last Master ARC meeting that their plans have changed. After construction is complete on Ryland's homes currently under construction, they are not expected to purchase any more lots in Victor Gardens. That's where Minks is expected to step in, and complete VG East 6th Addition.

Minks' first home will be a model with a different front elevation, but similar sides and back for which Ryland had been approved. The infusion of a custom home builder may offer additional architectural diversity. The Master ARC will also be involved with the color approval process and reduce the possibility of color scheme monotony. Minks hopes to complete the model home in time Spring 2010 Parade of Homes.

Victor Gardens 'Eat, Drink and Be Merry!' on Wednesday, 12/16

Eat, Drink and be Merry!

Take a few minutes from your busy holiday schedules and toast your neighbors and friends up at Sertino's on Wednesday, December 16th from 5:30-8:00 PM.

Stop by for a few minutes and enjoy holiday crafts for the kids as well as hot chocolate and XMAS cookies. We will also have wine available to the adults (please note we have a limited budget so once the provided wine runs out, people will need to pay for any additional glasses...sorry!)

Let's also make this event about our other Hugo neighbors. Please plan to bring donations for both Hugo foodshelves. Please check back on victorgardensnews.org later this week for a list of current food shelf needs!

Hope to see you there!!

Any questions, please email Julie Bixby @ eventsbyjulie@gmail.com

Snow Removal 2009-2010

It is that time of year again to begin thinking about snow. As you know, your Master Association assessments provide for snow removal services. The Board of Directors has put together this memo so Homeowners will have a clear understanding of the level of service that can be expected this year.

The Board has selected Goetz Lawn as the snow removal contractor for this year’s snow removal season. They were selected because the Board believes they will deliver superior customer service at a reasonable price.

Snow Removal Guidelines
Snow will be removed from the following locations:
• Sidewalks
• Activity Center
• Bus Stops
• Alleys
• Mailboxes (to the satisfaction of the Post Master)
• Fire Hydrants (within 24 hours)
• City Sidewalks (within 24 hours)

Snow Fall Parameters 
2”-4” – All snowfalls of 2” or more will be plowed. Snow removal will begin when substantial accumulation has ceased.

4”-9” – Single storms that are forecasted to produce accumulations of 4”-9” inches will be plowed. Trucks will be dispatched when accumulation reaches 3.5”-4.0” at the job site. A final plowing will be performed when substantial accumulation has ceased.

The Association, working with the Contractor, reserves the right to push/pile the snow anywhere on the common areas where it is most cost effective for the Association. This may mean that areas adjacent to individual units and/or yards may be used for the storage of plowed snow.

Accumulation Clause 
In the event of multiple snowfalls of less than 2”, which in turn accumulate to more than 2”over a period of time, snow removal will commence. Accumulated snowfall of more than 2”requires plowing. Accumulated snow as a result of wind is part of the snow removal contract and is plowed.

Dispatch and Service Times
The Association must recognize this is subject to the rate of snowfall and the time any given snow fall begins. Upon completion of the snow our contract requires that all snow removal operations be completed within twelve hours.

Emergency Contacts 
If a questions or concerns arise regarding snow removal please contact the Associations Community Manager, Casey Groff, at 763-225-6498 or via email at cgroff@developcommunity.com.

Homeowner feedback is essential to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Your comments and feedback are much appreciated.