Highland Park West Balcones Area
HIGHLAND PARK WEST BALCONES AREA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION VOLUME 18, NUMBER 08 • AUGUST 2022 • WWW.HPWBANA.ORG
ANNOUNCING THE NEXT HIGHLAND PARK WEST / BALCONES AREA NEIGHBORHOOD JEEP MEET-UP! Come meet your Jeep-lovin’, Jeep-drivin’ and Jeep aspirin’ neighbors and enjoy fresh coffee and breakfast tacos at a friendly, casual, and informative gathering for all-things Jeep in the parking lot of Highland Park Elementary School on Saturday, September 17th from 9 - 10:30am. A Jeep expert will be there to answer questions and offer tips, and we’ll also gather feedback for future events (including a future day-trip to Hidden Falls w/ Jeep trail guides) to make them as fun, social and informative as possible! Come on out!
HPE PTA CORNER
Friday, August 12 - Rally Day (Meet your teacher) 9-9:45 Last names A-M (all grades) 10-10:45 Last names N-Z (all grades) Monday, August 15 - 1st day of school
Sponsored by: Trey McWhorter, Moreland Properties & Bart Gunkel, General Sales Manager @ Covert Dodge / Jeep
The Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association News - August 2022
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IMPORTANT NUMBERS Highland Park West Balcones Area
Austin Citywide Information Center... 974-2000 or 311 Emergency Police, Fire and EMS.............................. 911 Non-emergency Police (coyote sighting, etc.)......... 311 Social Services (during work hours)........................ 211 APD REP. - Officer Darrell Grayson........ 512-974-5242
BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Jason Lindenschmidt................ president@hpwbana.org VICE PRESIDENT Bill McMillin.........................................vp@hpwbana.org TREASURER George Zwicker........................ treasurer@hpwbana.org SECRETARY Dawn Lewis.............................. secretary@hpwbana.org NEWSLETTER EDITOR Carolyn Heath........................ newsletter@hpwbana.org WEBMASTER Henry Tang.............................webmaster@hpwbana.org BOARD MEMBERS Bill Hyland...................................... board@hpwbana.org Rebecca Spratlin............................. board@hpwbana.org Shannon McNeil............................. board@hpwbana.org
The HPWBANA Board meets on the fourth Monday of each month except December. Please go to HPWBANA. org for our current meeting location or contact president@ hpwbana.org. HWPBANA is bordered on the north by 2222, on the south by 35th Street, on the west by Mt. Bonnell Road, and on the east by MoPac and by Bull Creek Road between Hancock Drive and 45th Street. Mail your membership dues to HPWBANA, P.O. Box 26101, Austin, Texas 78755.
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The Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association News - August 2022
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FALL IS A GOOD TIME TO TRIM TREES
Because the risk for oak wilt is low between July and January, now is a good time to trim trees to allow for visibility of pedestrians, traffic and traffic signs. Limbs which extend over sidewalks and roadways pose a potential hazard and should be addressed. Regardless of seasonality, residents are encouraged to follow proper pruning techniques. TexasOakWilt.org recommends the following: •
Always paint fresh wounds on oaks, including pruning cuts and stumps, with wound dressing or latex paint immediately after pruning or live tree removal at all times of the year.
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Clean all pruning tools with 10% bleach solution or Lysol™ between sites and/or trees.
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Debris from diseased red oaks should be immediately chipped, burned or buried.
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Pruning should be completed before February 1 or after June 30.
If uncertain about trimming, consult with a Texas oak wilt certified arborist, an oak wilt specialist from a city, county or state government agency such as the Texas Forest Service or Texas AgriLife Extension Service, or visit texasoakwilt.org.
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The Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association News - August 2022
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Highland Park West Balcones Area
THE MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILROAD This is the fourth in a series of history articles about our great neighborhood.
by Trey McWhorter The railroad you see running down the middle of Mo-Pac first arrived to Austin on December 28, 1876. It was constructed by the International-Great Northern Railroad Company. That railroad company had been formed on September 30, 1873 by the consolidation of the International Railroad Company and the Houston and Great Northern Railroad. The International had been chartered on August 5, 1870, and at the time of the consolidation with the Houston and Great Northern, operated 177 miles from Hearne to Longview. The Houston and Great Northern operated 252 miles of track extending out both north and south from Houston. Despite a financial panic in 1873, the consolidated company continued to slowly expand, reaching Rockdale in 1874 and Austin on December 28, 1876. It would go on to reach San Antonio in 1881. Much later, on March 1, 1956, the International-Great Northern was merged into the reorganized Missouri Pacific Railroad Company.1 Hence, Mo-Pac! According to one neighborhood resident, the train would stop and stone would be unloaded to build some of the houses in our neighborhood!
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George C. Werner, “International-Great Northern Railroad,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed July 19, 2022, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ international-great-northern-railroad Camp Mabry railroad switch and arsenal, photograph, 1915~, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library 1
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The Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association News - August 2022
FIREWISE AUGUST
Highland Park West Balcones Area
2022 has been an out of the ordinary year. Winter mimicked 2011 and 2021, summer started in the spring and although the Hill Country is usually hot in summer, this year Austin seems to be challenging Phoenix and Las Vegas for heat advisories. Would golf be considered a dangerous sport in this weather? West Texas and the Panhandle are on fire and in early July there were multiple acre fires near Dripping Springs (Hays County) and Florence (Williamson County). We share local climate, weather and wildland vegetation with these communities. Even in Austin the AFD responds to multiple grass and brush fires. Since February there has been an almost continual Burn Ban in effect in Travis County. Travis County and Courtyard are not immune to wildfires. The fire risk assessment from the Texas A&M Forrest Service did not focus on specific homes, but examined the community as a whole. Individual home risks are a function of our Wildland-Urban Interface and each home’s interrelationship with its immediate surroundings including the homes next to it. For up-to-date risk assessments and information on how community homeowners can respond to the risk, go to the Wildfire Hub at https://wildfire-austin.hub.arcgis.com. While our community is residential with housing, streets and landscaped yards, we are also located adjacent to undeveloped land and preserves that are heavily vegetated and in a wildland state. To avoid a home ignition, a homeowner must eliminate the wildfire’s potential to bring fire to the house. This can be accomplished by interrupting the natural path a fire takes. As a homeowner, you can interrupt or change a fire’s path to your home by clearing a home ignition zone (HIZ). This is nothing more than pruning, maintaining and consistently doing vegetation management in your yard. It is an easy-to-accomplish task that can make a home more defensible against fire loss. To accomplish this, flammable items such as dead vegetation must be removed from the area immediately around and on top of the structure to prevent flames from contacting it. Also, reducing the volume of live vegetation will affect the intensity of the wildfire as it enters the home ignition zone. Keeping grass mowed, bushes trimmed and tree limbs off roofs help establish defensible space. Observing Austin’s watering restrictions is important to maintain supplies and pressure, so to keep vegetation alive set watering systems to early morning, evening or overnight to avoid evaporation and runoff. Residents can substantially reduce exposure to loss during a wildfire by taking preventive actions within our home ignition zones to address wildfire vulnerabilities. Relatively small investments of time and effort reap great wildfire safety rewards. Take steps now to reduce the ember threat to your home. To sign up for an HIZ evaluation email: fire-safety@courtyardhoa.org . The Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association News - August 2022
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Highland Park West Balcones Area
LETTUCE RECYCLE by Dena Houston
WHAT ARE YOUR RECYCLING/REUSE INVENTIONS?
RECYCLING CONTAMINATION CAMPAIGN
One of the best things about Lettuce Recycle is receiving questions and ideas from my readers. I would love to know what great recycling projects my readers have produced. Please send pictures to recycling@hpwbana.org I will publish them in a future Lettuce Recycle edition. Below are two projects from my household.
Plastic bags in the blue recycling bin are the main contributors to recycling contamination at the recycling facilities in Austin. The picture above shows workers at a recycling conveyor belt dealing with the non-recyclable materials that come into the recycling facility. Austin Resource Recovery is launching a new campaign to keep plastic bags and other contaminants out of the recycling stream. To support the campaign, I am presenting some of the reasons why this happens and how we can all help solve the problem. The reasons people are putting plastic bags into the recycling bin: • People put their recyclables into plastic bags to take them to the blue bin. The solution is to dump the recyclables into the blue bin and reuse the plastic bag for trash. • People who have lived in apartments are often used to collecting their recyclables in bags and therefore think this can still be done in residential recycling. Commercial recycling is processed differently from residential recycling. • Hefty sells a plastic bag labeled “for recyclables.” Although these bags may be accepted in other places, they are not recyclable in Austin’s residential recycling market. • People don’t know what to do with the plastic bags they get from shopping. These can go in the plastic bag collection bins found at most grocery stores.
QUESTIONS FROM READERS A very old wheelbarrow became a caladium garden.
HOW DO I RECYCLE PVC PIPE? PVC pipe that is at least 3 feet long is accepted by Austin’s Habitat for Humanity. WILL THE RECYCLE & REUSE DROP OFF CENTER ACCEPT DIRTY STYROFOAM? They accept only clean Styrofoam. The Styrofoam can have some dust on it but no oil or food product stain. CAN I PUT GREETING CARDS INTO THE BLUE BIN? Cards can go into the blue bin as long as they are not adorned with glitter or foil. DO I NEED TO REMOVE PACKING TAPE AND STAPLES FROM CARDBOARD BOXES BEFORE I PUT THEM INTO THE BLUE BIN? No, you do not. Tape and staples are fine to leave on the cardboard. Everything will be processed and baled at the recycling facility. At the secondary recycling paper mill, cardboard and paper go through a pulping process to remove any impurities. Here is a very informative City of Austin recycling website: http://www.austintexas.gov/what-do-i-do
Old wood from a major deck repair became a grill cave – we no longer have to cover our grill with the $50 plastic grill cover that wears out in 6 months. We just roll our grill into the grill cave! 8
Stay tuned for future tips that will include creative ways to recycle or reuse. If you have any questions or recycling ideas, please send them to: recycling@hpwbana.org
The Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association News - August 2022
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The Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association News - August 2022
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CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY TREE PRESERVATION
The City Arborist Program administers the City of Austin's Tree Ordinance and issues permits to remove or impact regulated trees. Trees less than 19 inches in diameter are not regulated on residential property. Tree preservation requirements are detailed in Section 3 of the Environmental Criteria Manual. What is a Protected Tree? A Protected tree is any tree with a diameter of 19 inches or greater, when measured 4.5 feet above the ground. TIP: If you wrap your arms around a tree, and your hands don't overlap, it is likely a Protected tree. Which species are considered Heritage Trees? Any of the following tree species when it measures 24 inches in diameter or greater: Texas Ash, Bald Cypress, American Elm, Cedar Elm, Texas Madrone, Bigtooth Maple, Pecan, Arizona Walnut, Eastern Black Walnut, and all Oak Trees. What does CRZ mean? Critical root zone is the distance from the trunk of the tree that is regulated. What if my Protected or Heritage tree is dead or diseased? Apply for a permit to remove a tree that is dead, diseased, or an imminent danger to people or property. This can be done by completing a Tree Ordinance Review Application through the Austin Build + Connect (AB+C) Portal on the City’s website. How to Measure a Tree? Use a flexible tape measure to measure the circumference (around the tree) from 4.5 feet above the ground. Divide the circumference by 3.14 to get the diameter. • If the tree is on a slope, measure 4.5 feet above grade from the high side of the slope. • If the tree has irregular swelling in the trunk, measure 4.5 feet above grade above or below the swell(s). • If the tree is a multi-stemmed tree: 1. Measure all the stems at 4.5 feet above grade. 2. Take the largest stem diameter, and add it to half of the subsequent stem diameters. For Example: A Cedar Elm has two stems measuring 18 inches and 16 inches at 4.5 feet above grade. The larger stem is 18 inches, so take half of the subsequent stem diameter (16 inches / 2 = 8) and add it to the largest stem measurement. Calculate multi-stem diameter: 18 inches + 8 inches = 26 inch diameter. • If the tree is a leaning tree, measure at 4.5 feet above grade within the center area of the leaning tree.
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Highland Park West Balcones Area PO Box 1148 Round Rock, Texas 78680
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PEEL, INC.
HP
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The Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association News - August 2022