Landscapes and Security

Posted in: River Trails
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  • dfwjim
  • Respected Neighbor
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Not sure when the next meeting is, since we never hear much from the HOA except that once a year newsletter.  I, and a few others on here, have mentioned being behind the idea of a mandatory HOA, I'm all for it, as long as it's affordable (perhaps a little bit more than it is now, which is $25/year, maybe we can do $35/year, etc).  This would make sure that there is enough in the budget to keep up neighborhood things.  I'm not sure how far the push to go mandatory will go, a LOT of people got burned twice with the gas-lease thing and blame the HOA for lack of action.  There are a lot of variables and the story is long, plenty of blame to go around, partly for reasons of the pull-out of the gas lease company, suspiciously a few signatures short of their contracted agreement to put up a decorative cement wall around the neighborhood.  Anyway, I digress.

 

If you are a DIY kind of person, you can probably find some good camera systems at Sam's or Fry's.  I was thinking of putting in one from Fry's, it has multiple cameras, it's own storage system and can also output to an available input on your TV set.  The system, if I recall correctly, was less than $500 (more like $200-ish), and had night-vision ability.  A system at Sam's had 1-2 cameras, and didn't require any wiring (it provided a pin-hole camera as part of a corner/under-the-roof-eave flood light) and worked transmitting the images via the existing electrical wiring in your house (like some computer networking works), it only required a receiver to be plugged in somewhere in your house hear the TV to pick up the signal).

 

If you're not a DIY person, perhaps someone here who lives in the neighborhood does security work and can cut you a deal, or they can mention a reputable company for the work.  Our neighborhood is large enough to have a diverse group of good-people who have all sorts of background, some providing services to homeowners and are happy to do good & economical work for our fellow neighbors (everything from plumbing, landscaping, to dog-sitting services).

 

I would recommend attending the HOA meetings because Fort Worth has an NPO (Neighborhood Police Officer), Officer Choyce, who provides updates on crime (nearly NIL in our neighborhood due to how observant we are), crime prevention tips, and also emails out a weekly report of activity in the surrounding area.  He is NPO for a region so he is not dedicated to a particular HOA area, but several.  He will also answer specific questions you might have too, a good Police-Community partnership I think.  Our neighborhood is one of the best ones to live in due to the observant nature of our fellow neighbors, as well as recommending we call if any suspicious activity is noticed (and showing us what to observe on perps, so info can be provided).

 

Sorry for the long reply, but hope it helps.

 

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  • dfwjim
  • Respected Neighbor
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One last thing:  The HOA does have a white-board style sign at the exit points of the neighborhood advertising the next meeting or certain events, so just look for them and you can know when/where the next meeting is.  I wish we did have more communication from the HOA though.

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  • angiel
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The next HOA meeting is September 11th at 10 am at the Fort Worth East Regional Library.  PLEASE come!  And just to reiterate what has already been said, the HOA absolutely needs more people to step up and run for officer positions or just to volunteer whatever time they can (even one hour a month or every other month would help).

 

I am trying to get information on the officers' responsibilities and time commitment to send out to everyone.  If you or anyone you know might be interested, please let me or one of the current officers know.

 

The HOA distributes 2 newsletters a year every household in River Trails, whether they are a member or not. These go out around March/April and again in July/August.  RTHA members get an additional 4 newsletters each year (Jan/Feb, May, Sept, & Nov).  The members-only newsletters are sent through the mail.  The neighborhood-wide newsletters are delivered door to door, usually taped to the front door.  I know some people throw these newsletters away without looking at them, assuming they are junk mail left on their door (because they have told me so).

 

There will be a newsletter distributed either this month or next month, to everyone in the neighborhood, so be looking for it.

 

If you are a paid-member and are not getting more than 2 newsletters a year, please email me at alutts@att.net.

 

Also, the Summer Safety Fair and Picnic is coming up on Sunday August 8th at 4pm... info will be in the newsletter.

 

Thatnks for all of your comments and for caring about our neighborhood!

 

Angie Lutts

RTHA Membership

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