January 1999 Newsletter

PHA  HOMEOWNER

PINERY TRASH PROGRAM RINGS IN
NEW YEAR WITH RECORD NUMBERS!

More than three years ago, when The Pinery was faced with ever-growing financial obligations to keep up public areas formerly maintained by the developer, PHA sought ways to provide income for these needs. Residents who previously lived in a community that had a revenue-generating trash program proposed that The Pinery explore this possibility. All of the trash contractors operating in The Pinery were asked to bid on providing service. Waste Management of Colorado came in with the lowest bid and their recycling program was the best.

The Pinery/Waste Management Trash Program was launched in May of 1996 with 334 customers who paid $12.25 per month for trash collection. This included their $20 annual dues. These dues are used to maintain the North Entryway, Lakeshore and North Parks, provide for recreational use of Bingham Lake, sponsor the Community Garage Sale, Large Item Drop-off, Community Cleanups and Pinery Pedal, publish this newsletter, run the PHA office and represent community interests in matters that impact residents. As a way of thanking those who support the community through their PHA membership, a catered picnic is offered free to member families at Pinery Pedal each year.

The original 334 Trash Program enrollment has grown to more than 1130, an increase of 238% in about two and one-half years! Your support is appreciated and is vital to the health and well being of The Pinery!

We know from calls we receive that there is still some confusion about how to be part of this program. Some longtime Waste Management customers thought that they automatically became members because of their Pinery addresses. Unfortunately this was not the case. It is necessary to fill out an application for the Pinery/Waste Management Program to receive service at the low $12.25 per month rate. If you are with Waste Management but are billed directly by Waste Management at a higher rate, please call us today so that we can send you an application. If you don’t know whose program you’re in, we can help you figure it out! New residents can give us a call and we will gladly set up an account. Let new residents in your neighborhood know about the program. The PHA office phone number is 303-841-8572.

The Pinewood Townhomes, Fairway Ridge and Pinery Pointe provide trash service to their residents, however, the Pinery/Waste Management Trash Program is available to all other Pinery area residents-Filings 1-8A, Filing 8B, Filing 11, High Prairie Farms, Pinery Estates, The Timbers, and Misty Pines. If you aren’t already part of the program, let us see if we can provide service at savings to you!

PHA TO ELECT 3 DIRECTORS AT NEXT MEETING

Elections for the PHA Board of Directors are held at the each year at the Annual Meeting that will occur on January 13, 1999. Three positions are open and incumbents, Peter Condoulis, Lou Elmo and Don Reschke, have agreed to serve again, if elected. Their profiles follow on page two under "Notes from the PHA". We also want to encourage anyone who is willing to serve the community by attending monthly board meetings, representing Pinery residents on matters that come before the Board, and providing leadership for community projects to contact the PHA office, so that he or she can be presented as a candidate for one of these positions.

AMICA DONATES EQUIPMENT TO SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD
TRAFFIC WATCH PROGRAM

Amica Mutual Insurance Company Donates More Than $850 to Traffic Watch Program

Amica, a national mutual insurance company, has donated more than $850 to the Pinery Homeowners’ Association’s (PHA) Traffic Watch Program. Pinery resident, Fred Percy, is the Regional Manager for Amica and solicited funds in support of the PHA. Amica’s donation will cover the expense of a radar unit that will help the association in its campaign to reduce speed on neighborhood streets. The Pinery includes 1,900 homes with additional homes in surrounding neighborhoods bringing the total to approximately 2,500 homes in the area.

The PHA’s award-winning Traffic Watch Program, sanctioned and sponsored by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and implemented by the PHA, was designed to allow neighborhood residents who are concerned about traffic issues to take an active role in reducing speed in local neighborhoods. PHA volunteers have been trained by the Sheriff’s Office to use radar equipment and monitor vehicles exceeding posted speed limits.

"The Pinery Homeowners’ Association is grateful for Amica’s generous donation," said PHA Vice President Dave Kristick, adding that the radar unit will be valuable to the association in its pursuit of safe streets and neighborhoods for residents.

TIRED OF SPEEDING CARS?
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, AGAIN

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the PHA established a "voluntary" traffic radar program for the Pinery residents and the PHA again needs volunteers to continue the program. Speeders are monitored with a radar system and the registered owners of the vehicles are notified by mail of the infractions observed. The program is been designed to notify the owners of the vehicles who are observed speeding of the severity of the violation and the need to slow down in residential and school areas. This program does not cause citations to be issued but is designed simply to educate those who speed.

Volunteers are needed to serve on teams of 3-4 residents who are trained to operate the radar equipment and to assist in recording the details of the violations. The names of any violators are kept confidential in conformance with current privacy laws. Depending on the time of year, this outside duty may be uncomfortable, but the results of this program to date have been dramatic. The safety of our residents and the streets of our community are paramount issues of the PHA and a little time volunteered can make this program a continuing success in our community. If you can help, contact the PHA office, 303-841-8572, and sign up for a team.

BIRD SANCTUARY NEWS!!

Happy New Year from your Bird Sanctuary volunteers! Our project is resting for the winter, although our fundraising efforts continue!!

We were very disappointed to have our grant application turned down, but are optimistic about a couple of others. Start the New Year right!! Consider giving to your local bird sanctuary!! Just call Deb Dieter for information 303-840-4360. In 1998 we were able to get together a great group of volunteers, build a good foundation in our checking account, secure discounts from businesses and donations from homeowners, gather heaps of information, get the site marked and turned, apply for three grants, and pique the interest of students, scouts and passersby!! Dealing with knapweed on the site has remained a challenge and pushed back our start date by half a year, but we are optimistic about planting in the spring.

So, in 1999, we look forward to working with scouts, students and homeowners to plant a natural garden that will enhance our entryway to the Pinery, get everyone together for a fun and good cause, and, of course, benefit our feathered residents (and encourage more to come!!) Please look for more information in this spot when the weather warms up!!

SALMONELLA INFECTS WILD BIRDS

Pinery resident, Dana Heisey, has asked us to again warn you about Avian Salmonellosis that infects wild birds This is a group of diseases rather than a specific disease. Bacteria of the genus Salmonella cause it. All bacteria in the genus are considered to be potential pathogens for humans and other animals. Infections can be transmitted in many ways, including fecal contamination of eggs, food, and water by carrier birds.

Although different species and ages of birds may have different signs even if infected with the same type of Salmonella, weakness, drowsiness, depression, and diarrhea have been observed in infected birds. They may tremble and gasp for air, their wings often droop and they sometimes stagger and fall over just before death. Control of the disease begins with daily cleaning of feeders and removal of spilled and soiled feed from the area under the feeder. An occasional disinfecting of the feeder with household bleach is recommended. Bird baths and other watering devices should also be part of a prevention program. In the case of a large die-off, the use of the feeding station should be temporarily discontinued.

Food poisoning, characterized by acute intestinal pain and diarrhea, is the most common form of human infection. Preventing the infection depends on extra care with personal hygiene by personnel handling these birds or material soiled by bird feces.

PINERY LOGO BASEBALL CAPS & JACKETS

PHA has attractive denim green and natural colored caps, ideal for golf and other sports, available in the PHA Office. These caps are top quality, have an embroidered Pinery name and logo, adjustable leather straps and cost just $9.50. We also have three size small green/navy MicroFiber jackets with hood ordered at the Pinery Pedal, but as yet unclaimed, available at $50 each. To see or purchase caps or jackets, please drop by the office in the lower level of the Pinery Fire Station between 9 A.M. and 3 P.M. any weekday. Jackets can be ordered in all sizes.

COVENANT CORNER
The Pinery Architectural Control Committee in 1998

We are happy to report that your Pinery Architectural Control Committee is alive and well and working to maintain the standard of quality and beauty we all appreciate here in the Pinery.

The Pinery ACC is comprised of six Board Members who are elected for two-year terms. The ACC meets the first Tuesday of every month (unless otherwise announced via this newsletter) at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Pinery Fire Station. We are responsible for enforcing Protective Covenants for Pinery Filings 1 through 8A, Fairway Ridge, Pinery Estates, and Pinery Pointe.

In an effort to address homeowner issues as expeditiously as possible, our meeting order has been changed. From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., homeowner submittals are handled. Builder submittals begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Board serves without compensation, but does employ a part-time secretary. Office hours are Monday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesday 9 to 11 a.m.

Following is a summary of 1998 activity by the Architectural Control Committee.

New Home Plans Reviewed and Approved (36):   30 Spec. 6 Custom.

Homeowner Submittals Reviewed:

Discussion Items (Violations) Acted Upon at regularly scheduled meetings:

Includes repeat ACC letters and inspections until compliance achieved.

As we approach the busy warmer months of 1999, we want to thank Pinery residents for the pride they express in their community through compliance with Covenants meant to maintain the unique qualities that led us all to select the Pinery as our home. Please call the ACC office at 303-841-5305 if you have questions, or feel free to attend any of our open meetings. We welcome your interest.

PINERY ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL COMMITTEE ELECTION

There will be an election of the Pinery Architectural Control Committee (ACC) for three (3) board positions in the spring of 1999. Anyone interested in running for the board should contact Denise in the ACC office (303-841-5305) by Monday, January 25, 1999. At that time, candidates will be asked to submit their name, length of residency in the Pinery, background and qualifications for serving on the board for publication in the newsletter in advance of the election. Denise can answer any questions you have about board member responsibilities.

"ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL"

Contained in all covenants for Filings 1 through 8A is a paragraph describing the various activities that the Architectural Control Committee must oversee. Under Article I, Paragraph 2 of all covenants listed above, is the description of "Architectural Control".

"No building shall be erected, placed or altered on any lot until the construction plans, specifications and a plan showing the location of the structure have been approved by the Architectural Control Committee as to quality of workmanship and materials, harmony of exterior design with existing structures, and as to location with respect to topography and the finish grade elevation. No fence or wall shall be erected, placed or altered on any lot nearer to any street than the minimum building setback line unless similarly approved. Approval shall be as provided in Section 6, Article II of these covenants".

(Relative excerpts from Section 6, Article II)

"Prior to the commencement of any excavations, construction, or remodeling or adding to any structure, therefore completed, there shall first be filed with the Architectural Control Committee two (2) complete sets of building plans and specifications therefore, together with a block or plot plan indicating the exact part of the building site the improvements will cover and said work shall not commence unless the Architectural Control Committee shall endorse said plans as being in compliance with these covenants and are otherwise approved by the committee. The committee shall have the right to refuse to approve any such plans and shall have the right to take into consideration the suitability of the proposed building and the materials of which it is to be built to the site upon which it is to erect the same, the harmony thereof with the surroundings and the effect of the building or other structure so planned on the outlook from the adjacent or neighboring property. The committee shall promulgate and maintain a list of standards for guidance in approving or disapproving plans and specifications pursuant to this section."

Any questions about the application of these Articles and Paragraphs can be answered by calling the Pinery Architectural Control Committee office at 303-841-5305.

RV NEWS

Please let us know as soon as possible if you will no longer need your RV space. As we go to press, both of our lots are full and we have a waiting list! We’ve been bumping up against our lot capacity pretty consistently for a while now, so there is work going on to expand. Look for more news on this as the year progresses.

Please note that plowing snow in the lots is very expensive. Our experience is that it creates more problems than benefits when it is done. (The lot surfaces are damaged and there is no place to put the snow without piling it up in front of spaces.) Because of this, the lots will not be plowed this winter.

A two-wheel utility trailer has been abandoned in the RV lot. If you could use it, please call the PHA office.

VOLUNTEERS CORNER
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR RV LOT EXPANSION

We are still hoping to recruit two residents, who are Professional Engineers in the civil and/or electrical engineering fields, to work with PHA Board member, Dave Kristick, on getting a third RV storage lot built within the next year. There is need for more RV storage space as we are no longer able to accommodate all those who need to store vehicles away from the residential area. If this is something that you could help with, please call the PHA Office, 303-841-8572, and leave your name and number.

SPRING LAWNMOWER BRIGADE NEEDS MORE VOLUNTEERS!

The "Stealth Lawnmower Gang" has picked up two recruits since the last issue, but they still need a few more if the entire North Pinery Parkway is to be done. Anyone who is interested in joining this great group of volunteers should call the PHA Office, 303-841-8572. With 10-15 volunteers, the job would be manageable and the whole community would benefit!

BINGHAM LAKE NEWS
Canadian Goose Alert or…Watch Your Step!

Bingham Lake is a gathering place for Canadian Geese each fall. Unfortunately, the geese create a problem with their droppings. Exercise caution when walking on the dock or around the lake as footing has become "slippery". To enjoy wildlife, we have to be alert to occasional problems they create.

After hours activities at the lake have damaged or destroyed facilities at the lake. We are again asking all residents to please take note of activities at the lake at night and promptly report them to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, 303-660-7500. We need your help!

NEWS FROM THE WATER BOARD…

David Eyre, Director
Civil Engineer, P.E.

The Water District recently sent out the December 1998 "Water Line". The lead article dealt with investigations of possible agreements with Castle Rock and Franktown on extending wastewater services to these areas. We have heard many comments (both pro and con) from outside agencies, but we are most concerned about how current members of the District feel about these issues. Public meetings will be held after the first of the year by Franktown with some of the various involved parties and we would appreciate any written comments about the whole concept before Franktown and the District develop these issues any further. Any possible agreement with Castle Rock is currently on hold pending Castle Rock’s resolution of issues that pertain to future growth in that area. The article contains many specific issues as to why we are entertaining discussions about extension of services. It is our intent to view these issues in a systematic and open process and therefore we solicit written input from members of the District to help us gauge support, pro or con, on the feasibility of these potential agreements.

Also in the newsletter was an article about an invitation to conduct visits to the facilities of the District. If this is of interest to you or any groups within the Pinery, please feel free to contact the District Office to make arrangements for a tour. One of the benefits of living in an area such as the Pinery is the chance to more fully understand how services such as water and sanitary sewer are provided and just what it takes to keep the area nice and pristine. We all have a part in the process and learning more about it helps everyone to make the "systems" function better.

Winter is a time of contrast here in Colorado. One day it can be 60 degrees, and the next it can be 20 degrees. I bring this up to point out a safety issue for Bingham Lake. In years past, people have attempted to go out on the ice of Bingham for various reasons. While the ice may appear to be sound, because of the constant temperature changes and the effects of sunshine on the structure of the ice, it never really "sets" long enough to be able to support the weight of a person on it. This also applies to children. We ask that you, your children and your guests be mindful of this. Please heed warnings and posted regulations on the use of the lake for safety’s sake.

If you or any other member of the District have questions or concerns on this issue, please contact the District at 841-2797. If you wish to discuss this or other District business, we would encourage you to attend the regularly scheduled meetings, held at the District Offices, the second Tuesday of every month, at 7 P.M.

PARKER FIRE DISTRICT NEWS

The Miller Lifesafety Center is a not-for-profit organization and is Parker Fire’s prevention education partner. The Miller Lifesafety Center is working to raise $450,000 to build a driving facility where teenage drivers can be taught accident avoidance driving skills. Colorado Department of Transportation studies have indicated that teenagers in the Parker Fire District and in the rest of Douglas County, have the highest risk of being involved in a crash compared to all other metro areas.

The Town of Parker Water and Sanitation District are donating the land, Parker Fire is giving $50,000 to help with construction, and RG Engineering and Western States Surveying have donated their services; the balance must come from private donors.

Please consider the Miller Lifesafety Center as the recipient of your charitable giving; for work place programs please identify the Center by name and notify the appropriate person of your designation. Your tax-deductible donation may also be sent to the Miller Lifesafety Center at:
10795 S. Pine Drive, Parker, CO 80138.

AMERICAN RED CROSS BABYSITTING CLASS:
Parker Fire Station #1, 10795 S. Pine Dr.
January 10 & 17 or 23 & 30, 1:00 - 5:00 P.M. $40.

WELCOME A NEW NEIGHBOR
…and "Buy a Brick"

Parker has a new neighbor! VICTORIAN HOUSE, and assisted living facility, broke ground on August 28. The home is being built on Victorian Drive and has a projected occupancy date in the late summer of 1999. VICTORIAN HOUSE will provide housing and services for 24 of our senior citizens and be a valuable addition to downtown Parker.

VICTORIAN HOUSE is the third assisted living facility developed by Castle Country Assisted Living, Inc., a local nonprofit organization formed by three Douglas County nurses in 1989 to meet special housing needs for seniors. Cantril House, opened in 1992, and Valley House, opened in 1996, are both located in Castle Rock and provide housing and services for up to 38 senior citizens from Douglas and Elbert Counties and employment for 30 full and part-time employees.

With the growth of Parker, a number of our local residents began working with Castle Country to bring an assisted living facility to our community – the result is VICTORIAN HOUSE which will provide many of our long time residents the ability to stay in their community when they can no longer live alone. There are several residents in the Castle Rock homes who will move to VICTORIAN HOUSE next summer and there are additional people on Castle Country’s waiting list specifically interested in VICTORIAN HOUSE.

But help is needed. The local committee working with Castle Country is raising funds through a "Buy a Brick" campaign, similar to that used by the Parker Library when it moved into its current facility. The bricks can be engraved with the name of your business, a personal name, or some words of wisdom for future generations. Your brick will join the more than 70 others already purchased and be part of Friendship Walk at the entrance to VICTORIAN HOUSE. Contributions will help provide furnishings and supplies for VICTORIAN HOUSE. 

For more information about Castle Country and VICTORIAN HOUSE, call Jeanne Schwarz at 303-688-5365; for information about the brick campaign, call Dennis Winn at 303-840-1379.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

 Dear Sirs,

I want to comment on a program of the PHA here in the Pinery, which you reported in your newsletter. I will state that I did not receive a ticket under this program, so I have no personal animus. My views come from personal conviction.

I watched with horror the implementation of the voluntary traffic patrols in the Pinery, for which the PHA won an award. I was most impressed with the fact that I never spoke with one person in my neighborhood or with any of my friends throughout the Pinery who liked the idea of neighbors monitoring neighbors and turning them in to the Douglas County Sheriff.  Our instincts are right, and they come from our inate belief in our individual rights in this country, and our belief in the concept of representative governments for which we pay our taxes.  This entire program came out of left field and was based on the concept that the government at all levels must control and dominate the citizenry. That is very frightening.

I understand that the Douglas County Sheriff cannot be in all the places in the entire county which need monitoring, but the use of non-professional law-enforcement personnel to control their neighbors is an abomination. Adolph Hitler and the Nazis, Joseph Staling and the Russian Communists, and Mao and the Red Guard also utilized neighbors, family members, and even children to gain information about citizens under their regimes. They, also, found them quite effective in creating a system of complete control and domination, even if no one gave them an award for doing so.

I first heard about this program at a meeting about the “park” on Bayou Gulch.  I was shocked that a program like this was being started by our representatives. I had not heard about it, and I certainly was not asked to vote on it. My vote would most certainly have been a negative. The woman at the meeting, who was so elated to be one of what we in our neighborhood call “the local Nazi patrol” and was recruiting participants, was my worst nightmare of what a Nazi concentration camp guard would have been. Both of the people who spoke at the meeting appeared to be individuals who had a rabid compulsion to control and/or dominate those around them.  I am certain that there is therapy for that, which does not include making them into quasi-law-enforcement officials with the power to submit the names of their neighbors to the real law-enforcement officials for punishment. It is reminiscent of the Brown Shirts who were untrained individuals who assaulted and pointed out the “unsuitables” to the later “real Nazis”, the Gestapo, who moved in to finish off the job.

I am not advocating that we all run amok here in the Pinery, but neither would I ever advocate quasi-military action by civilians against their neighbors. This is not an acceptable solution to a perceived problem between civilized adults. 

The saddest thing is that there really are that type of frustrated individuals in the Pinery. We used to be an enclave of individuals who appreciated each other for our independence and respected each other enough to work out problems and concerns among ourselves. We always talked to each other, wrote letters, and otherwise communicated between ourselves like civilized human beings. When problems proved unsolvable by these means, we asked for help from the ACC or PHA. They always proved to be willing to help, and usually they resolved the situation. Individuals have made complaints to the Douglas County Sheriff concerning specific situations, times, and places. However, this is the first time that I can remember turning in neighbors to the police en masse. One question on our street was: Would these same Nazi patrol members turn in their own spouses or children as readily as they would a neighbor? Another question was: Would a neighbor with a barking dog or a teenage child be more likely to receive a traffic ticket in retaliation without some prior attempt to deal with the real problem?

There were too many variables which were not addressed before initiating this program. These include the personality problems of those who are so eager to dominate and/or punish their neighbors, the questionable ability of already obviously frustrated individuals to be impartial in giving out the citations, the use of non-professional personnel to carry out police functions in a free society, and last – but definitely not least – the will of the majority of the residents of this development.

To my knowledge a vote was never taken. Exactly how many dictatorial programs will be imposed upon us in the name of someone else’s knowing what is best for us?  We were not given the opportunity even to identify the problems with which we felt we most wanted to deal. We had no idea who these people were.  They do not represent the majority views here.  Minority opinions do have a place in a representative society, but they are imposed on the majority without a vote only in a dictatorial society. We were never given the opportunity to hear these peoples’ platforms or qualifications for performing duties like this. They were not elected by the majority here as having views with which we agree and which we would all support. Their methodology also was not approved by the residents of this community. We were not given the chance to approve or disapprove of their training program as something which we would feel was adequate before they were turned loose on us.

This program came as a very rude shock to the majority of us. We assumed that our Association would always adhere to the will of the majority here. That appears not to be the case. Well, I guess we all know what we do when we assume. We also know what power and absolute power, in particular, do. Trust is a lovely intangible which is earned and easily lost. There are a great many of us who will not trust our PHA again to do what is right for the residents here in a manner fit for a free society.

                                                                                                                                                                Respectfully,
Joan Beasley                                              

EDITORIAL RESPONSE

It has always been our policy to welcome comments and suggestions from our residents. We have printed Joan Beasley’s November 14^th letter with this policy in mind.  We are, however, saddened to have our traffic safety program maligned and compared to the atrocities and misguided politically motivated policing practices of World War II or the other tyrants mentioned in her letter. Living in a free society as we do, her letter will be printed for all residents to make their own decisions.

To set the record more correctly, during our Traffic Safety Watch, no names of those who were observed by our volunteers were turned over to anyone for any action of any kind. No citations or tickets were (or will be) issued based on our observers’ notations. The names of people, to whom we sent letters, were destroyed after the letters were prepared. There is no list of the letters we sent and the Sheriff’s Office, that trained the volunteers, instructed us to destroy all names and addresses that we used, and we did! The Pinery Traffic Safety Watch was (and always will be) an educational program designed to solicit the voluntary adherence to traffic and speed laws within our community. If anyone has a better solution to these problems, we welcome their input.

The Pinery Homeowners’ association responded to the constant complaints from our residents about speeding in a way that we felt would not penalize our residents and by appealing to their community interests by making them aware of problems in a personal manner. If the community wants the Traffic Safety Watch program to stop and the speeds to continue, we are convinced that the safety of our citizens will continue to be in serious jeopardy. As for our volunteers, the PHA thanks them for their community spirit and dedication to a very successful program.

Dave Kristick
Vice President
The Pinery Homeowners’ Association