August 2005 Newsletter

NFHA E-Newsletter August 2005

WELCOME NEW NEIGHBORS
Neil and Debra Buckley, 10604 W. 121st St
Andrew and Julie Houts, 11009 W. 120th St
James and Laurie Kaylor, 12010 Goddard
Stephen and Nancy Parker, 12301 Melrose
Peter Vanderwarker, 12101 Nieman Road

From the Board

An update on the development on the NW corner of 119th and Switzer: As detailed in the June newsletter, the Overland Park City Council rejected the developers' plan as submitted at the June 6th meeting and instructed them to modify their plans to address NFHA and Ginger Creek concerns. The developers followed these directions and re-submitted a plan with lower structures, an additional entrance/exit on Switzer, and better management of storm water drainage. The City Council approved the revised plan. Considering other projects that might have gone in on that corner, the Board is cautiously optimistic that the proposed development will not affect the integrity of our neighborhood.

If you have a "No Solicitation" sign displayed at your front door, business/commercial flyers should not be left at your home. If they are, you may send the flyers to the City for further action. This does not apply to charitable or community awareness flyers.

We have received numerous complaints about the shoddy sidewalk repair that was done recently in our neighborhood. We have spoken with Greg Scharff, Public Works Supervisor with Overland Park. He informed us that under Kansas law, it is the homeowners' responsibility to maintain sidewalks on their property. However, the City has an informal policy in which it allocates approximately $100,000 a year to repair over 750 miles of sidewalk. Obviously, this money doesn't go very far. Until permanent repairs can be made to sidewalks, temporary repairs are done by in-house crews to sidewalks where there is a "tripping danger." This was what was done in NF. Unfortunately, Greg does not know when permanent, more attractive repairs will be done. To report sidewalk problems, email bvmaint @ opkansas.org. Should individual homeowners want to repair their own sidewalks with a private contractor, they are certainly encouraged to do so but must obtain a Right-of-Way work permit and locate all utilities.

Annual NFHA Fall Garage Sale
The sale is scheduled for October 13-15th, 2005. Preview night will begin at 4:00pm on Thursday, the 13th. If you plan to have a garage sale at your address, please sign-up by submitting your address along with a brief description or list of items for sale by visiting www.nottinghamforest.org/garagesale.htm . The list of participating homes, items, and printable neighborhood map are all available on the web site. No fee required to participate. A notice will be in the local newspapers.

Post Garage Sale Pick-up for Special Care Homes of Missouri
If you are participating in the NFHA Annual Garage Sale (Oct. 13-15th) and would like to donate any of the items left over, please call Wanda Knoles at (816)356-2955 or Paul Payne (816)761-3604. They will pick up your items for a group called Special Care Homes of Missouri. They raise funds to build residences for people with mental retardation or other diagnosis of developmental disabilities. The cost to run the homes is about $25,000./mo.

Trash Collection

Over the last year residents have seen deterioration in the trash collection service by Deffenbaugh Industries. NFHA has discussed this with DI and most homeowners have seen a return to the service we have received in prior years. Overland Park requires that collection services pick up trash at the curb or at the house line and return containers to the original location. After a long lapse, they seem to be doing this again. Please consult DI’s web page http://www.deffenbaughdisposal.com/guidelines_ks.asp for DI service guidelines for collection service. Be advised that a board or shingle may not be collected because it is ‘construction debris’ or a furniture drawer may be left because it is ‘furniture’. Most homeowners have received service better than that described but with inconsistency which DI ascribes to the driver’s discretion. DI is working to improve the consistency of their service. For ongoing concerns please feel free to contact Kelly (Residential Service) at 631-3300 or NFHA.

Trash Pick-up Rules, Requirements and Regulations
Visit the Deffenbaugh Disposal Service website at http://www.deffenbaughindustries.com .

Mailbox Maintenance
Please make a note of the change regarding maintenance and repair of our mailboxes. John Stack will be responsible for repair of faulty or damages mailboxes. His phone number is 599-3541. Be sure to give John your address, and phone number if you wish, plus a brief description of the problem.

Because of severe damage, some of our mailboxes have been replaced but the house number has not been added to the new box. Those of you with these mailboxes should notify NFHA or 897-3577 giving your house number and street name as well as your name or telephone number so we can order and replace the numbers on your box. Important: mark your house number inside of your mailbox door so that we know which house number goes with each mailbox.

Cooking Classes Resume
Please join us on 13 September at 9:30 am to kick off the 2005/06 cooking season! We meet the second Tuesday of each month September through May (except December) in a different resident’s kitchen and enjoy a tantalizing menu prepared by Dorothy Ebner, local cooking instructor and caterer. The cost is $18 and includes recipes and lunch! For further information, including class location, contact Mary Berg at maryberg @ sbcglobal.net .

Annual Meeting Reminder...
The NFHA Annual Meeting is scheduled for Oct. 17th, 7pm, Oak Hill Gym. Please plan to attend.

Board Members:
Nottingham Forest Homes Association Board: 685-1996
President: Nancy Hass, 681-4909
VP/Web/E-news/Directory: Lisa Harpold, 897-7295
Secretary: Lisa Moynihan, 851-1938
Treasurer: Ken Menendez, 681-8190
Mailboxes: Roger Moffett, 897-3577
Pool: Sylvia Warner, 685-0055
Neighborhood Perimeter-Trees: Jim Lewis, 814-8245
Landscaping: Susan Aistrup, 851-7751
Tennis Courts: Jack Zimmerman, 897-5225

Nottingham Forest Homes Association Dues
Statements have been mailed to our 572 homeowners in NF for the Fiscal 2006 (Oct. 1, 2005 – Sept. 30, 2006) Annual Dues. The Annual Dues are $400.

Your homes association dues are due by October 1, 2005, and after November 30, 2005, a late fee of $100 will be assessed. If you have any questions or did NOT receive a statement, please notify us via our web site www.nottinghamforest.org; or mail us a letter to NFHA, PO Box 25523, OP, KS 66225; or call 913-685-1996.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

Click the link below to review the Nottingham Forest Homes Association Financials Fiscal Year 2004 (Oct. 1, 2004, to September 30, 2005).

http://www.nottinghamforest.org/financial.htm

This page will be updated periodically and contains a link to Year-To-Date Balance and Expenditures, Capital Improvement Project expenses, and status of Dues Collected.

Services: See http://www.nottinghamforest.org/services.htm#services
Wanted: See http://www.nottinghamforest.org/services.htm#wanted
FOR SALE: See http://www.nottinghamforest.org/services.htm#sales