Cat Mountain Villas - July 2015

CAT MOUNTAIN VIEW

VIEW

JULY 2015

VOLUME 3, NUMBER 7

President’s Message I sincerely hope you are enjoying the summer with friends and family!

I would like to thank everyone who has updated their dues payments to the new rate of $47.00. We will be sending invoices directly to any residents who are still behind at the end of June.

Please review Jesse’s Manager’s Report in this issue for updates on the pool, tennis courts and information on obtaining keys to each. If you are new to the Villas, please do not hesitate to contact Jesse if you have questions.

We have been very busy in the past few months dealing with issues regarding Short Term Rentals. Our covenants specifically restrict rentals for periods less than 6 months.

There are a number of homes in the immediate area, not just in Cat Mountain Villas, that are being rented for the sole purpose of hosting events and parties which is not in keeping with the Short Term Rental (STR) rules as defined by the City of Austin. Our district 10 council member Sheri Gallo and her team held a press conference on June 11th and are working with the Austin Board of Realtors, Austin Rental Alliance and the City Council to review the effectiveness of the rules and the enforcement of the rules

by Austin Code Compliance. For more information on this topic please see the article in this issue.

We are still working on the revisions to the HOA website and it will take on a more modern look and feel

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to be responsive to newer mobile devices. Our goal is to have it be the best resource for information regarding our neighborhood, it will host copies of our covenants, Bylaws, ECC Forms, Club house rental information, etc. We will also be modifying the clubhouse Wi-Fi available at the pool to make it a bit easier to use. Contact Jesse for the Wi-Fi access at the pool.

I would also like to thank Cat Mountain resident, Dwight Granger, for offering to host a FREE Child Protect event at the clubhouse on Saturday, July 11th. I would encourage residents with children and/or grandchildren to come by as this is an excellent opportunity to obtain some very valuable information. Including a FREE ID kit that gives authorities detailed information should your child go missing. For more information on this event go to our Social Committee News & Events Page. RSVP’s are required.

In closing I would like to request that you please update Jesse with any contact info changes. It is imperative that we maintain an accurate database with name, address and contact info (email /phone) for all homeowners in the association. We need to be able to contact residents in case of emergency. Please email Jesse at cmhoa@sbcglobal.net and share this information.

Best Regards, Bryan Harter Cat Mountain HOA | President

Cat Mountain View - July 2015

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CAT MOUNTAIN VIEW Cat Mountain Homeowners Association Board of Directors

Photo by: Elijah Merritt, EDM Photography • Bryan Harter, President...........Term February 2014-February 2016 • Marc Dully, Vice President......Term February 2015-February 2017 • Davison Grant, Treasurer........Term February 2014-February 2016 • Ken Nirenberg, Secretary........Term February 2015-February 2017 • Richard Schley, Vice President..Term February 2014-February 2016 For questions or to contact any board member please email the HOA Manager at cmhoa@sbcglobal.net

Cat Mountain Homeowners Association Manager: Jesse Chargualaf Club House Address: 6007 Mount Bonnell Road, Austin, TX 78731 Business Hours: Monday - Friday 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM Contact Information: Office 512.451.3884 Email:cmhoa@sbcglobal.net Website: www.catmountainhoa.com For Emergency after hours, during weekends & holidays, Please call 512.328.7316 (h) or 512.963.0940 (c) At no time will any source be allowed to use The Cat Mountain View Newsletter contents, or loan said contents, to others in anyway, shape or form, nor in any media, website, print, film, e-mail, electrostatic copy, fax, or etc. for the purpose of solicitation, commercial use, or any use for profit, political campaigns, or other self amplification, under penalty of law without written or expressed permission from Peel, Inc. The information in The Cat Mountain View Newsletter is exclusively for the private use of Peel, Inc. DISCLAIMER: Articles and ads in this newsletter express the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Peel, Inc. or its employees. Peel, Inc. is not responsible for the accuracy of any facts stated in articles submitted by others. The publisher also assumes no responsibility for the advertising content with this publication. All warranties and representations made in the advertising content are solely that of the advertiser and any such claims regarding its content should be taken up with the advertiser. * The publisher assumes no liability with regard to its advertisers for misprints or failure to place advertising in this publication except for the actual cost of such advertising. * Although every effort is taken to avoid mistakes and/or misprints, the publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors of information or typographical mistakes, except as limited to the cost of advertising as stated above or in the case of misinformation, a printed retraction/correction. * Under no circumstances shall the publisher be held liable for incidental or consequential damages, inconvenience, loss of business or services, or any other liabilities from failure to publish, or from failure to publish in a timely manner, except as limited to liabilities stated above.

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Cat Mountain View - July 2015

July Manager’s Report Tree Trimming: Many people wonder when the best time for tree trimming your oaks is. The fact is there is no one right answer. If possible you should avoid tree trimming during the spring which, in this case corresponds to February 1st and June 30th. The reason you want to prevent trimming trees during February 1st to June 30th is largely because of tree diseases like oak wilt, also known as Ceratocystis fagacearum. It’s the most destructive disease that affects live oaks and red oaks in this area. Many tree deaths are attributed to the tree-to-tree spread of this pathogen once an oak wilt center becomes established. New infection centers can occur when beetles carry the oak wilt with them to fresh, open wounds on healthy oaks.

Wounds include damage caused by wind, hail, vehicles, construction, small animals or pruning. You can reduce the risk of fungal spread when tree trimming your oaks by doing the following: • Paint fresh wounds with wound dressing or latex paint immediately after tree trimming or live tree removal whenever they occur.

• Clean all your pruning tools with a 10% bleach solution or Lysol™ between sites or trees.

• Debris from a diseased red oak should be immediately chipped, burned or buried.

• Avoid tree trimming during the spring as defined as February 1st to June 30th. The only reasons to prune in spring are to: • Aid public safety concerns such as having a hazardous limb in the way, if there’s a traffic visibility issue or you need to clear emergency utility lines of limbs.

• Repair damaged limbs from storms or other anomalous issues.

• Remove limbs that rub against a building or on other branches.

You will also want to raise low limbs over a street.

• On construction sites you should prune just the live tissue that is needed to require clearance.

• Get rid of dead branches where live tissue is not exposed.

• Tree trimming for any other reasons should be conducted before or after this period. No matter when you prune, you should use proper techniques such as making proper cuts and avoiding injuries to the tree such as topping or excessive crown thinning.

Swimming Pool: Please note the Pool Rules sign has been revised, please review and familiarize yourself with the rules. Glass of any kind is not allowed at the pool, please choose plastic or aluminum containers for everyone’s safety. Please take any trash home with you when you leave the pool area. We would also like to remind dog owners that dogs are not allowed in the pool. There is also no smoking in the pool area.

Pool & tennis court keys: Homeowners desiring to have keys need to obtain the key from the HOA Manager at the clubhouse office at 6007 6007 Mt Bonnell Rd. There is a $10 deposit for each key.

Also, we would appreciate if you want call Jesse at 512-451-3884 or email at cmhoa@sbcglobal.net, ahead of time, and let him know when to expect you to pick up your key.

As usual, if you see anything that needs attention or maintenance, please contact our HOA Manager, Jesse Chargualaf at any time.

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CAT MOUNTAIN VIEW

SHORT TERM RENTAL ENFORCEMENT PRESS CONFERENCE June 11th 2015 | Austin City Hall On June 11th Board Member Richard Schley and I attended and spoke at Council Member Sheri Gallo’s press conference.

Mayor Steve Adler and several other Council Members from around Austin expressed their concerns as to how some Short Term Rentals (STR) are disrupting neighborhoods.

Many of these problem STR’s are licensed and not operating in a manner which is consistent with the current Short Term Rental Ordinance and City Code. Some others are homes operating without a license in direct violation of City Code.

The goal of Council Member Gallo’s resolution is to direct the City Manager to address and focus enforcement on the short term rentals that are operating in violation of the City Code. We are asking the City Manager to determine whether the problem is the Code Enforcement Department not making full use of existing resources or if the enforcement component of the Ordinance needs to be strengthened.

While attending the press conference Mr. Schley and I had the opportunity to meet others from Glenlake, Greenshores, the Cat Mountain area and Balcones West neighborhoods. We shared stories of how these homes that are being operated as short term rentals in ways that are having a negative impact on our neighborhoods. This behavior reduces the quality of life in our

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neighborhood and may negatively affect property values.

Some of these homes are being operated as wedding and party venues in violation of zoning and city code. Other short term rentals are housing a large number of unrelated people.

There is not a neighborhood in Austin where city code allows more than 6 unrelated people to reside in a single family home or condo. In fact there are many neighborhoods in Austin where the maximum number is 4. All of these neighbors standing before you today are frustrated because even after much communication with the City's Code Compliance department, these neighbors still see limited action to enforce compliance and revoke licenses of non-complying short term rentals.

Social media plays a large part in some of these problems. It is very easy for someone throwing a party to invite hundreds or thousands to a gathering in just seconds. If any percentage of these numbers actually show up, a small neighborhood street can be overwhelmed with 100’s of cars. Currently Austin Code Enforcement is very restricted in its ability to respond to these situations. The lack of manpower and related legal issues of private residences limit access to the properties hosting the parties.

We hope you will stand with us to strengthen the STR Ordinance and it’s enforceability.

Cat Mountain View - July 2015

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CAT MOUNTAIN VIEW Cat Mountain Homeowners Association

Social Committee News & Events Saturday, June 6

On June 6th we had a “play date” gathering at the clubhouse pool where many Cat Mountain neighbors brought their children to meet & greet each other. A contact list was compiled with neighbor’s names, children’s ages and parents email addresses. Should you be interested in meeting parents with similar age children please email charcasi@aol.com the above information. This is a private email list that will ONLY be shared with parents on the list and Jesse will have an updated copy of the list at all times.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Cat Mountain Club House Cat Mountain Resident Dwight Granger will be hosting a Child Protect Event where you will be able to receive a FREE ChildProtect ID booklet where you can attach a current photograph and record their vital statistics, finger print & dental records. The booklet is designed to give you information to pass on to the authorities should the unthinkable happen and a child is lost or abducted. This event is FREE and open to ALL Cat Mountain Villas Residents with children and/or grandchildren of all ages. However, an RSVP (with total of adults/kids attending) is REQUIRED to cmhoa@sbcglobal. net. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips & drinks will be served. For more information see flyers on this page.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

5:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Cat Mountain Clubhouse & Pool Bring out your families to swim & meet your neighbors at our annual End of Summer Bash! This year’s theme will be a Mexican Fiesta where we will be serving beef & chicken fajitas, rice, black beans, chips, queso, guacamole & salsa! We will also have Mexican Beers, soda, water & lemonade for you to enjoy! Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate in our annual Desert Contest voted on by our residents. For planning purposes an RSVP (total # of adults/ kids attending) is REQUIRED no later than Wednesday, August 12 to Jesse at cmhoa@sbcglobal.net.

Cat Mountain social clubs have been formed by residents who share a common interest. The clubs purpose is to bring neighbors together in a social setting. If you would like to start a new group, join an existing group or take part in planning future events contact Charlene Casillas, Social Committee Chair at charcasi@aol.com 4

Cat Mountain View - July 2015

Cat Mountain BOOK CLUB

All Cat Mountain Residents are invited to join the book club on Tuesday, July 21, 6:30 PM, at the Cat Mountain Clubhouse to discuss their latest selection, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize Novel, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and MarieLaure’s converge.

Doerr’s “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, a National Book Award finalist, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” (Los Angeles Times) The Cat Mountain book club would also like to thank local Author Ernie Wood for taking the time to come in person and discuss his latest book One Red Thread with our group. His personal insight into the characters and setting of the book really brought it to life and made for a captivating conversation. Thank you Ernie!

The Cat Mountain Book Club, established in 2012, invites new residents to join us at any time and new members are always welcome and encouraged.

For more information contact Book Club Leader Adrienne Boer at adrienne@rennlist.net or look for updates on the “Cat Mountain Community” Facebook Page and on Nextdoor.com.

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CAT MOUNTAIN VIEW

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Cat Mountain View - July 2015

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CAT MOUNTAIN VIEW

Welco ming Co mmittee I would like to thank resident Lisa Castillo for joining the welcoming committee!

Lisa is a Recruiting Manager at Dimensional Fund Advisors and has lived in Cat Mountain for a little over 3 years and has been an active member of the neighborhood since she moved here, not only has she volunteered to help with every HOA social event since she arrived but she has also hosted a very successful wine club social and is very friendly & outgoing.

Both she and Faye Van Haren could not make a better team co-chairing the committee and they are both excited to meet all current & new homeowners in the neighborhood.

If you have any questions, have a business you would like to promote products that might be included in the welcome basket, please let them know. Lisa can be reached at lisadcastillo@yahoo.com & Faye at faye@austin.rr.com.

Again, if you have any additional information questions regarding the neighborhood Home Owners Association please contact Jesse Chargualaf, HOA Manager at cmhoa@ sbcglobal.net.

The Welcoming Committee would also like to welcome the Lavis, Tye & Sarosdy families to the Cat Mountain Villas!

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Cat Mountain View - July 2015

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CAT MOUNTAIN VIEW

Meet Our HOA President Bryan Harter moved into Cat Mountain in 1993 with a friend and coworker on Northwest Place, purchased his home in 1994 and has really enjoyed being part of the neighborhood for over 21 years.

He is originally from Wisconsin, born in Milwaukee, spent his early years in Grafton & graduated from Cedarburg High School where he was an honor student, member of the varsity tennis team and President of the ski club.

After high school he attended The University of Wisconsin at Madison where he originally was going to study biomedical / electrical engineering but eventually decided to pursue a degree in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.

He began his professional career working in the Midwest developing software for manufacturing and enterprise resource planning, he accepted a position working with JIT Resources an Aerospace ERP solution provider in Austin as a project manager. After traveling extensively in the United States and Europe he took a position in Austin as product manager which gave him time to actually live in and enjoy Austin. During his time at JIT he developed software for Disney Imagineering, UC Berkley Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Johnson Space Center / Shuttle Program and Boeing.

He founded Enterprise Applications Group, LLC in 1995 after JIT was taken public and moved to Minnesota. Currently EAG specializes in Oracle Database Design and Application Development. They develop web, mobile (Apple) and IOT applications in a variety of vertical markets in Manufacturing, Aerospace, Timber Products, Inventory Management and Digital Advertising. He currently also works with several agencies in Texas, the Railroad Commission, Texas Register and most notably the Secretary of State’s office.

Bryan has a daughter who will begin her Senior Year at Leander High School, is on the Varsity Volleyball team and plays club volleyball for Austin Performance Volleyball Club.

When Bryan is not spending time with his daughter you will find him outside tinkering on his vehicles as he is a huge car & motorcycle enthusiast.

He is also a past president of the Mercedes Benz Club of America-Lone Star Section Car Club and is Lifetime member of “H.O.G.” the Harley Owners Group.

When not working or restoring vehicles, he can be found at car shows, following F1, on the ski slopes of Utah, visiting his favorite vacation spot Cabo San Lucas or cheering on his home state Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers. Go Bucky! Bryan will also make his movie debut after being selected to portray a TCU Coach in the upcoming movie “My All American” about the life of former Longhorn Freddie Steinmark.

Bryan has served on the HOA Board for 4 years as President and really enjoys the comradery and dedication of his fellow board members who all volunteer their time so selflessly.

He has enjoyed watching Cat Mountain transform over the past 20 years from Austin’s Premier Retirement Community as it was designed in the 1970’s to its current position as one of the most beautiful and diverse neighborhoods in Austin.

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Cat Mountain View - July 2015

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Cat Mountain View - July 2015

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