CAT MOUNTAIN VIEW
AUGUST 2016
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 8
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
The heat of summer is bearing down on us and our trees are going to go thru some really stressful weather for the next few months. Now that we are into July many of you have begun to prune your trees. We have also had many trees fall in the neighborhood in the common area or even on some private lots, probably due to stress from the past drought. Jesse has moved quickly to remove any dangers such as trees in the road or the one that fell on the clubhouse, I applaud his efforts. With the large amount of rainfall we have received this spring, the trees have grown thick and heavy. I would suggest trimming them so they don’t break under the weight especially when wet after a storm.. I would like to remind everyone who might want to remove a tree on their own property, that the City of Austin and Travis County oversee such activities and will fine you if you remove what they refer to as protected or heritage trees. Please review the information on the city website before doing so. For those of you who might want to trim trees in the common areas or remove them completely to maintain a view, I would urge you caution. The Board takes its roles as protector of the Common Areas very seriously. We are often asked to review requests for trimming trees in our common area. We are happy to do it, but we won’t grant approval to remove a tree unless we are given time to review it. Don’t expect an answer in 24 hours just because you scheduled a crew to trim it, we don’t work on your timeline. If you trim or remove a tree from the common area without consulting us or getting written approval, we will use every means possible to recover our loss. Trees are valuable HOA assets and each tree is worth thousands of dollars and takes years to re-grow. We’ve had numerous residents who claim ignorance even when it is obvious they know full well the rules involved and the property lines. How would you treat a neighbor if they sent a crew into your yard to cut down a 30 year old oak or sycamore tree on your property, just to maintain their view from both floors of their house? If you see anyone cutting a tree or doing any landscape modifications in the common area, please notify Jesse asap. As a reminder, you can receive this newsletter online in color by Copyright © 2016 Peel, Inc.
signing up at www.peelinc.com. The online format is a bit more colorful and it’s green, saving the environment from the cost of paper, printing and delivery. Finally, I would like to direct you to the events page in this issue for information on the end of summer BBQ which is scheduled for Sunday August 14th! Hope to see you there! Keep Cool! Bryan Harter Cat Mountain HOA | President
AUGUST 2016 MANAGER’S REPORT Common Areas: The common areas throughout the Cat Mountain Villas are owned by the Association and managed by the board. We would like to remind anyone that wants to modify the common area adjacent to their property that doing so will result in legal action if necessary. Trees are not to be trimmed, nor should grasses be cut without written approval from the Cat Mountain Board of Directors. No landscaping or cleaning of debris should be done without approval. Also please refrain from dumping trash or piling lawn clippings or cut vegetation on the common area as it is a fire hazard and we are in the beginnings of a dry spell that will likely last several months. Trees: We have had to remove a few dead trees that have fallen in the common areas and two that fell on one of the few empty lots into Mt. Bonnell Drive. Please monitor your trees for signs of disease and stress due to the drought. Proper care can save some trees and avoid some dangerous situations. Tennis Courts: Tennis court fences took a beating in the storms at the end of June. We will be repairing the bent / broken fence posts as soon as (Continued on Page 3) Cat Mountain View - August 2016
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