SFV Sprinkler Blow Out Service - $50 - Scheduled Saturday,Oct.25

This following message is from Tony Schwab, who has been coordinating irrigation winterization services for interested residents.  

"The Sprinkler Blow out is scheduled for Oct 25th Saturday. That will allow those people who have their system in their house or garage to be home, I have seven people so far, The cost is $50.00 even. Check is to be posted at your front door if not home and made out to Shawn Herman. If you are not on the list now you can be added to the list   Cut off will be Oct 22   Thanks, Tony "   

Shawn will also open these in the spring and set your heads if want that service , We will send a message in the early spring.

Thank You 

Tony (651) 429-2000

Xcel Plans Another Elevated Electrical Line through Victor Gardens

At the last Hugo City Council Meeting (Oct. 6, 2008) Hugo city staff discussed with Hugo's City Council a new Xcel Energy plan to build an additional electrical feeder distribution line through parts of Hugo.  Xcel plans a (35,000 volt) line to run through parts of Victor Gardens' commercial and town homes areas on 45' tall poles along side the existing elevated power line.  Xcel's existing line can be seen near Kindergardens Day Care Center, Sertino's, Victor Square, our Neighborhood Activity Center, and portions of the Gables Association.

Xcel currently has a utility right-of-way easement along the existing line and wants to construct an additional above-ground electrical line that would run parallel to the existing line.  The City Council was informed by city staff of Xcel's desire to install an above-ground line rather than a more costly buried line.  

The Council discussed Xcel's plan, and voted to direct City staff to immediately begin working on alternative options, such as burying the cables, and other options. This discussion was part of the City Council's Oct. 6 Agenda (New Business Item J-3.  Minutes for the meeting have not been posted to Hugo's website yet, but the discussion is currently able to be viewed on cable subscribers channel 16 (Govt. TV).  

The issue is scheduled to be taken up again at the next City Council meeting.  

UPDATE 10/7/08: 

This afternoon I emailed our Hugo City Council Member, Becky Petryk; City Administrator, Mike Ericson; and Community Development Director , Bryan Bear.  I offered to publish and email any updates to Victor Gardens residents about information updates regarding the progress of this issue.

Council Member Petryk responded quickly to my email and wrote back in part, "This electric line is a very important issue and we will do our best to minimize the impact to our residents. Mike will keep me updated on any meetings and or progress in working out an acceptable solution."    I expect that we will find out more information within the next few days.

- Mark V

Master Board Meeting set for October 1 - agenda added

The next meeting of Victor Gardens Community Association's Master Board is scheduled for October 1, 6:00PM at Hugo City Hall in the Oneka room.  Residents are welcome and encouraged to attend.  A resident forum will be available for residents to address any concerns with the Master Board.  The meeting's agenda will likely be available in the next few days.

The last Master Board Meeting's minutes and recent financials are posted to the Master Associations page.  All Master and Sub-Associations pages can be found by starting with Associations page. 

UPDATE 2/29: The meeting's agenda has just been released by the Board and uploaded to our resident website.  It can be found on our Master Association page.

Hartman plans to build new home

Hartman Homes' model on Poet's Green recently sold to our neighborhood's newest residents.  Hartman now plans to build another new home west of Val Jean Park's tennis court, in a less built-up section of VG's Single Family Village.   This is welcome news for residents as this builder has a reputation in Victor Gardens of building high-quality, attractive homes. 

Gables Association New Website

Charles Kirk was the webmaster for our Gables Association website. Due to his relocation to Utah, we no longer have access to update that website. http://www.victorgardens.org The Gables Association Board of Directors feels there is still value in having a website for our association. We are in the process of establishing a new website. http://www.victorgardens.net/ Please start using the new website for information regarding the Gables Association. We still have alot of work to do to get this completed and appreciate your patience during this period of transition. June Fulton President Board of Directors, Gables

Lawn Care - Sprinkler Winterization Services

Thanks to Tony Schwab for coordinating aeration services for many homeowners.  Tony has also been coordinating with another lawncare professional, Shawn from Classic Lawnscape. Shawn is offering to perform seasonal blowing out and shut-down of resident's individual sprinkler systems.  In the past, Shawn worked with Tony quite a lot in planting perennials earlier this season, and has also worked alot in Victor Gardens on our community sprinkler systems.

Shawn's price for blowing-out sprinklers will be $50.00 per home.  He plans on performing the work around Oct. 20 - 25th.  

If you want this service performed, just follow these steps:

1.  Get on the list by Oct. 18 - Call or email Tony Schwab (email probe55110@yahoo.com)  (651) 429-2000 (home) or (651) 497-1447 (cell) or  to sign up. 
2. Leave a check at your front door, made out to Classic Lawnscape on your day of service.

VG's Intranet Site deleted

The original Victor Gardens "Intranet" site and the Victor Gardens original marketing website were apparently both recently removed from the internet.

In recent years the Intranet site had not been updated much, except for the Activity Center's calendar. A few months ago, the Intranet site was essentially abandoned. At this point, it's unclear why the site was removed.

Pool Closed for the Season - Security Upgrades Planned

The Victor Gardens pool has now been closed for the season.  It is expected to open again in time for the next Memorial Day weekend.  Residents concerned about vandalism that occurred this past summer can look forward to future security upgrades to the pool area and Neighborhood Activity Center.  The Victor Gardens Community Association (Master) Board is considering options including upgraded and motion sensitive lighting, security cameras, and devices for after-hours monitoring of the area.

FTTH Agreement Reviewed by Master Board

Internet servers and related equipment owned by FTTH Communications is currently located within one of the buildings owned by the Victor Gardens Community Association (the Master Association).  Lightblast subscribers may be familiar with FTTH as their internet provider.  In the past the company was closely associated with Victor Gardens former Developer, CPDC, and Homer Tompkins.  Unfortunately, FTTH's equipment is currently stored and electrically powered at the Master Association's expense.  With the departure of CPDC and Homer Tompkins from Victor Gardens, questions are now being raised about the agreement between FTTH and the VGCA (Master Association) before it was transitioned to homeowner control.  

The current Master Board has contacted FTTH, and is investigating the arrangement. According to a report from the last Master Board Meeting, the arrangement was apparently verbally agreed to by FTTH and Homer Tompkins.  Furthermore, since the agreement was verbal the Board researched it's legality.  Also reported: According to Minnesota law, agreements such as this must be in writing.

While the Master Association was still under CPDC control, and while I was Single Family Village Liaison last year, I raised this question with Mr. Tompkins and the Board   At that time I was told there was an agreement in place to store FTTH's equipment within the building, and I was given the impression that the Association was being compensated for storage and reimbursed for the significant monthly electricity expense.  Now it appears that neither were true.

The Board will continue further discussions with FTTH, keeping in mind the ongoing internet service needs of Victor Gardens Lightblast subscribers, charging a fair rent to FTTH, and other terms as they relate to protecting and compensating the Master Association in the future.

Master Board Examines Master Pet Policy

At the last Master Board Meeting, the Board briefly considered changes to the Master Pet Policy. The Board did not vote on the issue at the time.  Board Members and our Community Manager, Casey Groff will re-examine some of the new policy's details.  It is very likely that a new Pet Policy will closely resemble the City of Hugo's recently adopted Animal Ordinance.  The Board is expected to discuss the issue again, and vote on the Pet Policy's final language at a future Board Meeting.

Neighborhood Activity Center Security

Casey Groff, Victor Gardens Community Manager, has been working to tighten security at the Neighborhood Activity Center.  The building's locks have been re-keyed, and keys will be more closely controlled in the future.  

Residents wishing to reserve the Neighborhood Activity Center should contact Casey.  Click here for the Master Association page (including contact info).

Gables Association New Board Member

I would like to announce the election of a new member to the VG Gables Association Board of Directors as of our August 20th meeting. Jason Lanpher is our newest member. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Jason to the Board and look forward to working with him. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Charles Kirk for his participation on the Board. He has resigned as of August 20th due to family relocating to Utah. June Fulton President, Gables Association Board of Directors