Q3 2020 Member Update

With the 3nd quarter of 2020 behind us, I wanted to give an update on several items that may be of interest to Members.

Vikram Shah, one of our newly elected directors from this year’s Annual Meeting has had to resign from the board due to unforeseen work commitments. We wish him well but this is disappointing news as Vikram was shaping up to be a valuable asset to the community. Hopefully he will be willing and able to serve at some point in the future. In the meantime, the Association’s Governing Documents empower the remaining board members to fill the open seat so there will be a fresh call for candidates going out and we’ll be reaching out to the other candidates from this year’s meeting to gauge interest and try to set up some interviews.

You may have noticed that the pace of repairs and maintenance has slowed considerably in recent months. We made the decision to cut back on our planned capital spending while we waited to see what impact COVID-19 would have on our cash position. Thus far, it appears that Member delinquency is only slightly higher than usual so we plan to gradually resume our planned maintenance and repair spending. If your household’s finances have been negatively impacted by the pandemic and you are unable to stay current with your HOA assessments, please reach out to Spectrum to work out a payment plan. This will allow you to avoid expenses related to collection on a delinquent account.

The last major project for this year is to rebuild the dumpster enclosure located in the community center parking lot. This project is currently out for bid and we are not expecting it to impact the use of any amenities at the community center complex. The basketball court remains closed due to coronavirus restrictions and we have identified a handful of repairs to the gate and fencing that we would like to undertake at some point but this may get pushed to next year. The tennis courts were resurfaced the week of July 20 following the installation of a retaining wall to address erosion and washout issues that were degrading the court surface sooner than expected and we hope our tennis players are enjoying the refreshed surface The pool will be closing for the season on October 31 and we want to thank everyone for cooperating with us on complying with the various and changing restrictions we were forced to implement due to the pandemic. We also want to especially thank our lifeguards this year, many of whom are from within the neighborhood. We do appreciate you all.

The Board did conclude its 2021 budget planning and adopted the new budget at the September meeting. In terms of direct operating expense, it looks very similar to the 2020 budget with a couple of exceptions. We did achieve a significant reduction in our property and casualty insurance premiums by switching carriers and in recent years, have placed a high priority on aggressive management and repair and maintenance of our irrigation system. This has resulted in big reductions in our water expense to the point that we are comfortable reducing the budgeted amount by about $10,000 heading into 2021. The big capital expenses for next year were identified by the independent reserve study and are primarily focused on some much needed repair and renovation around the pool including coping, tile, deck repairs and repairs to the plaster. In addition, we’re continuing to invest in overdue maintenance and upkeep of our landscaping, beds, trees, sod and hardscape including the concrete fence along Boulder Lane. The board welcomes input from Members at any time on other spending priorities which we may not have considered.

Our two primary management targets are: 1) an 80% or better operating expense ratio; and 2) capital expenses and reserve balances driven by the independent, triennial reserve study. With the series of assessment increases these last few years, we finally hit our target OpEx ratio of just under 80%. This has put us in a position to scale back assessment increases to a level in line with our annual 1.5 - 2% operating expense increases. I discussed this at the annual meeting and the feedback from members present was that having to remember to update auto-pay balances annually would be a source of error and likely lead to many unintended delinquencies and late fee expenses. In recognition of this, the board has elected to apply an approximately 8% increase to the annual assessment, bringing it to $526 annually. With this increase, we are aiming to avoid further increases until the 2024 timeframe assuming current trends hold and nothing dramatic affects our ongoing operations.

Finally, allow me to recognize a few individuals for their service to the community. First up is Sohum Sharma, shown here, who, as part of his Eagle Scout project, has done a very nice job constructing a new Gaga Ball pit at the community center. We are certainly grateful for his efforts and look forward to being able to use it when covid restrictions are lifted and this is possible. Congratulations to you, Mr. Sharma on achieving the rank of Eagle Scout!

Next up is current HOA member of the Board and licensed electrician, Mark Weaver, who, this year, has donated countless hours and literally tens of thousands of dollars worth of electrical work personally repairing and installing numerous security cameras, LED fixtures, wiring, conduit, breakers and all manner of gadgets; going so far as to even rent a scissor lift to replace a handful of lights at the pool parking lot with energy efficient LED lighting. Mark, thank you so much for your time and talent donated for our benefit - we appreciate you!

IMG_20200927_093607640.jpg

On behalf of the Board,

Brett Funderburg

President, CCHOA

Board Statement on Homeless in Trailhead Park

In July 2019, the Austin City Council voted to lift the ban on homeless camping in public spaces. Although camping without a permit remains expressly prohibited in public parks, since that time, the CCHOA board and many of our HOA Members have been nervously watching and waiting to see if and when Canyon Creek might be impacted by the growing population of homeless in the city . It has, unfortunately, recently come to the board’s attention that a homeless individual has begun loitering and sleeping overnight at the pavilion at Trailhead Park. Since Trailhead Park is operated by the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, there is no obvious direct action that the HOA can undertake except to inform Members that this is a police matter.

Read more

Clean up after your pet

Many people in our neighborhood have pets that they love to take on walks in our community. This is good for both the pet and for the owner.  While getting fresh air outside, dogs love to defecate and urinate while on their walks. Owners should pick up after their animals to keep the surrounding areas clean and sanitary. Feces on the sidewalk or adjoining grass is unsightly and unpleasant to neighbors that walk or live nearby. Owners should carry “poop bags”, pick up their animal droppings, either place them in containers that the HOA has provided along Boulder Lane, or place this trash in their own trash containers, not in the neighbors’ down the street. The HOA board believes this is a simple thing to request of our homeowners and asks that all of us comply with this request. We appreciate your compliance and your neighbors appreciate it as well.

Read more

Yard Cleanup and Fixup

With spring arriving and the weather warming up, it’s a great time to start working on your home’s landscaping. Spring weeds are poking through and our plants are starting to grow again. This cleanup activity will make your home, yard and neighborhood look more attractive. Our HOA provides some guidelines provided below for your reference. Thank you for your hard work, and we look forward to seeing great looking landscapes again this spring!

Read more

Architectural Review Committee Guidelines

Our community covenants state that improvements to residences shall not be started until a plan is submitted to and approved by the Architectural Review Committee. What needs ARC approval? Things that you add or change to the outside of your property. Examples include new landscaping, decks, sheds, pools, house additions, and house painting or roofing if it’s a different color or material. The only exceptions are routine maintenance - replacing your fence or deck, or driveway as long as the materials, color, and location are the same as what is currently installed in your home.

Read more

2020 Budget Prep

The next HOA Board Meeting is set for Monday, Sept. 16 at the Church at Canyon Creek in an upstairs room of the main church building called the “Cross Room”. At this meeting the Board will consider and adopt the operating and capital budget for 2020. Before this meeting, I wanted to give an update on where we are, where we’ve come from and where we plan to go over the next couple of years.

Read more

Canyon Creek 2019 Pool Season Registration Information

To ensure all residents continue to have access to the amenities, the Board of Directors has elected to run registration renewal for the 2019 season. Renewals are performed in an effort to ensure the amenity access is only granted to those residents who meet the criteria set forth by the governing documents and the Board of Directors. All residents, tenants included, will be required to register their pool card(s). To complete registration, you must complete the pool access waiver and provide Spectrum with the serial numbers listed on the pool card(s) you wish to register. Options for how to register are provided in this posting.

Read more

Sidewalk Strip Replacement Options

Many folks in our community would like to update their sidewalk strip for easy maintenance and to improve aesthetics in this area.  The sidewalk strip is the area between the sidewalk and street.  For those who would like to pursue this change, we’d like to encourage folks to use drought tolerant landscaping and plants.

Read more

Update on Parke 27 Retail and Office Development on FM 620

Update on Parke 27 Retail and Office Development on FM 620

At the Canyon Creek regular HOA board meeting on last Monday evening (May 14), a limited amount of time was devoted to discussing the planned new retail/office complex that will be located on the west side of FM 620, located essentially between the existing CVS at 620/2222 and the Home Depot near Vista Parke Dr. As previously reported, while this will bring some desirable new retail and other services to our community, this will have a significant potential impact on traffic congestion and traffic safety when completed. The HOA is carefully monitoring this planned development and has been in several meetings to date with both the developer rep's as well as City of Austin staff. The developer has made a very significant concession at our request. Namely, that only right-in/right-out turns will be allowed into the three shopping center driveways planned to face FM 620. This will prevent left turns against oncoming traffic that will cause mayhem at peak traffic periods.

The following is a quick update on what is currently being planned for this retail/office center:

-Staybridge Suites (3-story hotel)
-Discount Tire Center
-CleanFreak car wash
-Playhouse Pre-School
-An unidentified bank
-An unidentified restaurant (3750 sq. ft.)
-Chick-Fil-A
-Starbucks
-Panda Express
-A four building retail office complex (approx. 100k sq. ft.)
-Various smaller retail shops

This development site plan is expected to be resubmitted to the city planners by mid-June 2018 with construction anticipated to start in 2019 after receiving city approvals. We will post future updates to the community on this development as newsworthy events take place.

Randy Lawson