Village News. Working for our Neighbors and Neighborhood!

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1 Volume 2, Issue 3 September 12, 2012 Working for our Neighbors and Neighborhood! SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: The 2012 HOA Assessments are now past due totaling $225 which includes a late fee. Beginning October 1, 2012, 15% interest will be added to your account, making the balance $ On January 1, 2013, any account with a balance will be sent to our collection agency and a $60 collection agency fee will also be added to your account. Join the Branford Village Facebook group and network with the other 168 homeowners who have joined. Remember, you need an approval letter for a fence, shed, deck, patio, etc. Details are available on the Branford Village website. M e s s a g e F r o m T h e B o a r d We hope everyone enjoyed their summer. It s hard to believe the summer is over, but we re sure everyone s air conditioners can use a break. We are looking forward to the fall and to the exciting neighborhood activities we have planned. To start off the fall, East Fallowfield Township has scheduled their Annual Fall Park Day (page 6). Back by popular demand is the Branford Village Halloween Parade (page 2). Discussions regarding scheduling another Yard Sale took place on our Facebook Group and thanks to Kelly Kelly, another Yard Sale has been scheduled for Saturday, October 20th. Please join the Facebook Group to receive more details regarding the Yard Sale. Our HOA Fall Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 22nd. There will be a guest speaker and raffles will also be given out at the meeting. (page 2). Lastly, Trick or Treating is scheduled for Wednesday, October 31st, from 6-8 PM. Please be sure to have your porch light on if you would like visitors. You will notice that this newsletter focuses a lot on dues. Although we have drastically improved our past due balance, there can still be some improvements. To further encourage people to pay on time, we have increased late fees and interest on past due accounts. We will also send any account with a balance to our collection agency at the beginning of each year. We rely on advertisers in our newsletters to bring in additional revenue therefore, if you are a homeowner that would like to promote your business or service, please let us know. Also, if you had work done to your home by a contractor, ask them to advertise with us. I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Fall Town Hall Meeting 2 Halloween Parade 2 Open Board Positions for Insert: DZ General Contractors 3 Curb Appeal 4 Community Improvements 4 Insert: Shivak Lawn and Landscape 5 East Fallowfield Park Day 6 Back to School 6 Homeowner Advertisers 7 Advertisers 7 Thank you to all homeowners that have paid their 2012 HOA dues. We are currently at 77% of homeowners who are paid in full. Additionally our prior year past due is down by 40% from last year. Invoices are now past due and a late fee of $25 has been added to all those homeowners T r e a s u r y U p d a t e s that have not paid their 2012 dues. As we continue to look at opportunities to make improvements to our community it is imperative that all homeowners pay their dues on time. If you have any issues paying your HOA dues, please contact the board and we will work with you to make payment arrangements to get you current as best we can. Starting October 1, 2012 a 15% penalty will be added to all past due amounts. This is an increase over previous year s 10% penalty. The increase is not to make any additional money, but to get all homeowners to pay their assessments on time. Beginning January 1, 2013 any past due account will be sent to our 3rd party collections agency. All collection agency fees will also be added to those accounts. If you have any questions about the budget or your HOA invoice please feel free to the Treasurer at treasury@branfordvillage.org B R A N F O R D V I L L A G E H O A P O B O X 3 0, C O A T E S V I L L E, P A

2 Page 2 F a l l T o w n H a l l M e e t i n g Please join us for the Fall Town Hall meeting scheduled for Monday, October 22, 2012 from 6:30 9:00 PM. The meeting will take place in the East Fallowfield Township Building. (Located 1 mile away from the Village) An agenda will be ed and posted on our web site a few days prior to the meeting. If there are any topics you would like to have discussed, please them to us at Board@branfordvillage.org There will be a 45 minute presentation prior to the HOA business from 6:30 7:15 PM by DiMatteo Financial Group. John DiMatteo is a neighbor and his company is an independent Investment Advisory Firm. They focus on building relationships with their clients so they can better understand their investment goals and financial needs. John will discuss retirement planning, the importance of Life Insurance and 401k & 403b saving advice. Due to the success of this year s spring meeting, we will have 2 $50 cash drawings. You must be present by the beginning of the HOA business and be current on your assessments to be entered into the drawing. Please note if you have not paid your 2012 Annual Assessments, you can attend, but will not be given the opportunity to vote on any topic. B r a n f o r d V i l l a g e H a l l o w e e n P a r a d e Get ready for the Annual Halloween Parade taking place Saturday, October 27th at Noon! Since the fall is quickly approaching, it s time to start thinking about the annual Branford Village Halloween Parade. Last year the parade was led by the Modena Fire Department and East Fallowfield Police Department and we had approximately 150 neighbors walking in the parade. This year s Halloween Parade will take place on Saturday, October 27th at Noon. Sunday, October 28th will be the rain (or snow) date. We will provide hot dogs, snacks, and drinks for everyone afterwards. Parade details will be provided closer to the date through Facebook and . For those who we do not have an address for, please send it to us to ensure you are kept informed. O p e n B o a r d P o s i t i o n s f o r Currently, there are 5 board positions on the Branford Village HOA. They have recently been staggered so that all board member positions are not up for reelection at the same time. This ensures that the board is consistent as it transitions old members out and new members in. In March of 2013, 2 of those positions will be available for election. Even if the 2 members would like to be re-elected, they need to be voted back to the board. The board term is 3 years. One of the board members will not be running for re-election. The other is undecided. If you have any interest in being on the board and helping our neighborhood remain a great place to live, please let us know. An official announcement for nominations will occur in the December 2012 Newsletter. Remember, if all positions are not filled, it leaves more work to be done by less people. This may delay any response to you, the homeowners. For example, it usually takes one week for an approval letter but with 3 board members, it may take a month to obtain an approval. If you would like to help the board by being on a committee, but are not able to be a board member, please let us know. PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESSES: Board@branfordvillage.org. Treasury@branfordvillage.org, Compliance@branfordvillage.org

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4 Page 4 C u r b A p p e a l Does your yard look like this after you mow your lawn? If so, please take the extra 5 minutes to clean it up and blow the grass back on your yard. Not only is this an eye sore, but it also can clog the water drains. Now that our homes are 10 years old, there should be some general maintenance done to ensure they maintain a nice curb appeal. The fall is a great time to ensure you add fertilizer to you yard. It is also the best time to aerate and over seed your grass. Please make sure to trim your shrubs and trees. If your trees hang over the sidewalks, please cut them back so other homeowners can walk on the sidewalk rather than having to duck to get by your house. Letters have also been sent to a few homeowners to ensure they maintain their landscaping. A lot of homeowners have painted their shutters. You do have some freedom on what color you use but please ensure all the shutters are one color. We also need to ensure that the color is harmonious with the rest of the neighborhood. If your shutter color is considered nonharmonious, you will be asked to have the shutters repainted. Not sure if your color is harmonious? You can always paint one shutter or show a sample color to the HOA Board. Make sure you seal your driveway. Unless your driveway is adequately maintained, cracks and potholes will appear. Excessive heat, ultraviolet rays and substances such as salt, oil, gas and grease all take their toll. Make sure you power wash your siding. If your siding looks like this, it s time to have it power washed. When you find exterior house mold, the first step is to thoroughly clean the area, killing the spores before they can reproduce and spread further. I m p r o v e m e n t s t o t h e N e i g h b o r h o o d Over the past year the HOA, along with homeowner suggestions, has been looking into which areas of our neighborhood need improvements. Our permits are almost approved for the installation of the new sign at the Cranston entrance. We have met with the homeowners affected by the sign to get their approval regarding the sign placement. The sign will consist of 2 stone pillars with a 6 foot section of wrought iron fence between them. Our Branford Village Logo will be installed on the fence and electric will be supplied to the area to light the sign. Lastly, we will install landscaping and mulch to add to the beauty of the sign. We also plan to have lighting added to our front entrance sign. Along with the spot lights that will shine on the sign, we plan to install low voltage landscape up-lighting on the trees that line our entrance. Our goal is to have all of these neighborhood enhancements completed by the end of October. Additionally, repairs are needed to the large open space located behind Hatteras, Milbury, Ivy, and Danbury. There are some large areas within this open space that are all rocks and were never treated with grass seed. We plan to spread a few inches of top soil on those areas; then seed the area and cover it with hay for protection. Please refrain from walking on this area to allow the grass to grow. Also, as part of our landscaping contract, our landscaper will apply the 3rd and final round of fertilizer this year to all open space within the next week. At the end of the month, they will also be aerating and over seeding all of the open space. B R A N F O R D V I L L A G E H O A P O B O X 3 0, C O A T E S V I L L E, P A

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6 Page 6 E a s t F a l l o w f i e l d P a r k D a y The township is having it s East Fallowfield Community Fall Park Day on Saturday, October 13, 2012 from 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM. There will be food, live music, a car show, yard sale/craft tables, games, door prizes, military services and much more. If you would like to register for the car show, yard/craft tables or chili cook off please call Denise at Please bring one can of food to be donated to the C.C. Food Bank. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Clown 8-12 Car Show All Day Face Painting 8-12 Hay Ride All Day Petting Zoo 11-3 Train Ride 9-3 Pony Rides 11-3 Moon Bounce and Slide 8-12 This event is brought to you by: East Fallowfield Township, East Fallowfield Park and Recreation, East Fallowfield Friends of the Park, and TD Bank in Thorndale. B a c k t o S c h o o l It s that time of year again in the Village. The summer has officially come to a close and fall Back to School has begun. As we move into the school year here are some things to keep in mind for the safety of our neighborhood children: BUS STOPS CAUTION: Please pay special attention as children cross the streets to get to their bus stops or to head home. Children are easily distracted and may not look to see you coming. Assume they do not see you and please drive slowly. PARENTS: When dropping / picking up at Bus Stops, please park on the sidewalk side of the street. This allows space for your neighbors to come and go as needed and creates less chaos especially during inclement weather. PARENTS and STUDENTS: While waiting at the Bus Stop, please do not stand on your neighbors lawn. Please use the sidewalk. STUDENTS: When the bus arrives please line up on the sidewalk, not the grass. STUDENTS: When walking to the bus, please do not cut through yards without permission from the homeowner. You may walk across the open space. SIDEWALKS HOMEOWNERS: Please keep your sidewalks clear of trash, recycling, and overgrown trees and bushes so the children can walk to and from the bus stops safely. (This also includes removing snow and ice during any and all winter storms.) BUSSES HOMEOWNERS: Be aware there are numerous busses coming and going throughout the day. Please stop for all stopped school busses for the safety of our children and because it is the law. PARENTS: If you need to speak to the school bus driver please be very brief as there are people waiting to move on. HOMEOWNERS: If you are parked on the street, be sure you park on the sidewalk side only and do not block any turns. Driving through the neighborhood is challenging and dangerous when cars are parked on both sides of the street - imagine the challenge for our school bus drivers. We all want this to be a safe and enjoyable year for everyone and if we all do our part it will be. Thank you! B R A N F O R D V I L L A G E H O A P O B O X 3 0, C O A T E S V I L L E, P A

7 Volume 2, Issue 3 Page 7 t h i s I s s u e o f V i l l a g e N e w s i s A l s o B r o u g h t t o y o u b y t h e F o l l o w i n g A d v e r t i s e r s W h o A r e H o m e o w n e r s : Homeowners: Advertise Your Services Here! See Insert on Page 3 t h i s I s s u e o f V i l l a g e N e w s i s B r o u g h t t o y o u b y t h e F o l l o w i n g A d v e r t i s e r s : Shivak Lawn and Landscape Jason Shivak (610) shivakja@yahoo.com Branford Village s Landscaper See Insert on Page 5 I f y o u k n o w a n y o n e w h o w o u l d l i k e t o a d v e r t i s e t h e i r B u s i n e s s o r S e r v i c e s, p l e a s e h a v e t h e m c o n t a c t t h e b o a r d. D i s c o u n t e d A d v e r t i s i n g P r i c e s f o r R e s i d e n t s!