SUMMER 2010 You can view a color version of this newsletter at www.FiannaPOA.org. If you haven’t yet paid your 2010 dues...mail them today! Covenant Enforcement New Website Address This year, your FPOA has committed to As many of you have noticed, the FPOA website has increased covenant enforcement as a result been off line for several weeks. Turns out the renewal of member surveys and comments we have deadline passed without us being notified by the received from residents. We have made domain registration company and we lost access to this our #1 priority for this year and while the website name. After weeks of trying to re-acquire we have had some success in correcting the address through the registration company and violations, we have met with some other secondary parties with no success the board resistance in some areas. decided it would be best to just purchase a new domain name and quit trying to acquire the old one. Through mid year we have addressed over The new address is only slightly different than the old 50 complaints with a large amount of these one and we paid for 10 years of renewals so that we being trailers, boats and campers. Just to will not have to worry about this problem again for a clarify the Fianna Covenants do not allow very long time. the exterior storage of any trailer, boat, RV or camper on any lot whether in the Please make a note of the new address: driveway or the yard. You are allowed to www.FiannaPOA.org keep such items in your driveway for up to 48hrs for the purpose of loading, Just as before you can find all Fianna covenants, color unloading or minor repairs. Another copies of each newsletter edition for downloading recent issue that has arisen is the use of and printing as well as other neighborhood chain link dog pens. The Architectural information and contact info for residents to ask Control Committee of Fianna Hills has a questions and report violations. We also hope to be published statement of position on fences able to include a membership list in the near future. to clarify the covenants regarding fencing Please feel free to email suggestions or newsletter and any type of chain link fencing is articles to us at [email protected] prohibited on any Fianna property. This includes temporary and permanent structures. Neighborhood Garage Sale Day We will continue to look for violations The spring garage sale weekend was a tremendous success! and take action to correct when We heard numerous stories of what a successful sale appropriate. The procedure in place for everyone had that participated. We will be sponsoring a correcting violations is that the FPOA first fall garage sale day so mark your calendar for October 9th! sends a letter to the resident notifying The POA will once again purchase a two day ad in the them of the violation and gives 30 days to comply. If there is no compliance at that Times Record advertising the neighborhood sale day. time the FPOA attorney sends a certified Our intention with this program is to reduce the number letter with a warning to comply within a of garage sales that are in the area during the year and specified time or face possible legal action. concentrate them to one weekend in the spring and one If there is still no compliance, a paid in the fall. Remember to keep the median and member of the FPOA must file suit to get landscaping areas free of garage sale or other signs. All the violation corrected, the suit cannot be signs placed in the median will be removed . initiated by the FPOA board itself. SUMMER 2010 www.fiannapoa.org Page FROM YOUR FPOA PRESIDENT Friends and Neighbors, From the triple digit temps in the past week, it looks like we are not going to have a mild summer again like we did last year. Your FPOA has been quite busy in the past 3 months with everything from the usual covenant enforcement to sign replacement and landscaping enhancements. We will be sending out ballots for a covenant change for those homes in Fianna Heights this fall. We will be asking for these property owners to approve a 2010 update to the covenants for Fianna Heights which will include some clarifications in the satellite dish section, boats and watercraft section and also adding a paragraph requiring payment of dues to be mandatory. This is essentially the same update we will be requesting for Fianna I-X when it renews in 2013. In order to assure the future protection of all Fianna Subdivisions we have to make mandatory dues part of all Fianna covenants. This will be a 10-15 year process to get this change made to all subdivisions as they can only be changed at time of renewal which is different for each area and most are 10 year renewal periods. As covenant enforcement continues to be a challenge, it will be necessary for the FPOA to incur the cost of some legal action in the future as violations are becoming increasingly hard to get corrected without this threat. While the POA cannot file a violation suit against a resident, it can pay the legal fees associated with such a suit provided it is initiated by a member of the FPOA. The board is currently considering financial support for two such suits this year. This year has been a good year for membership, with nearly 400 members paying their dues and many taking advantage of the discount to purchase multiple year memberships. We also had a great response from the request for specific donations on the membership invoices this year and the year to date totals for each are $725 for the flag display maintenance, $675 for landscaping upgrades and $580 for general fund expenses. We replaced several worn flags and damaged poles this spring and with the great response to our request have funding in place to maintain the flag display in top condition for a long time to come. The landscaping upgrades which included enhancements to the irrigation system has been completed at a cost of just under $800 which was partially funded by the landscape donation s and the balance from the general fund additional donations. We will have an increase in annual maintenance costs associated with the new landscaping, but it greatly enhances the main entrance to the neighborhood. We are also looking to add some decorative street lighting in the Jenny Lind median in the near future! As many have noticed, work has started on painting the water tower on Jenny Lind and will be complete in a few weeks. The golf ball icon of Fianna will receive its new coat of paint along with the historic “dimples” that have been a part of our neighborhood since it was developed. Also, this fall the Parks department will begin removing many of the trees in the Jenny Lind median on top of the hill. Many of these have been damaged over the years from ice storms and vehicles and just don't look very good anymore. After the old trees are removed, the FPOA in conjunction with the Fort Smith Parks Dept. will begin replanting new trees that will be more resistant to winter storm damage and also provide some color in the springtime. Please be patient as this project will take some time to complete. October 9th will be the fall Fianna Neighborhood Garage Sale day! Your FPOA will again purchase advertising in the newspaper and would request that all residents refrain from having garage sales except on the two official Fianna Garage Sale Days. According to city ordinance, residents must not have garage sales closer than 6 months apart. The FPOA will sponsor one in the spring and one in the fall in order to reduce the number of garage sales and non-resident traffic in the neighborhood throughout the year. For the protection of the neighborhood, we will also notify the police department so we may have extra patrols and security that day. Mike Lorenz 2010 FPOA President SUMMER 2010 www.fiannapoa.org Page 2 Handle Your Biggest Summer Lawn Care Problems Summer days mean lots of sun, fun and hopefully a yard that will hold up to the weather as well as outdoor gatherings. If you are like most of us, you want to know how to have a nice lawn all year, and especially dur- ing the summer when you spend more time there. The following are some of my best tips for keeping your lawn healthy and looking great throughout the summer months. Raise the mowing height a little bit. Taking the mowing height up a notch will do wonders for your lawn during the summer. First, it will make scalping less likely. You never want to cut more than one-third the height of your lawn in a single mowing. If you don’t scalp your lawn, it will make weed encroachment more difficult. The greater amount of leaf blade showing will keep your yard appearing greener while the roots have a chance to grow deeper, which helps the lawn during times of drought. Manage high traffic areas. Before mid-summer, you know where these are. If the grass is being worn down on the walkway off the patio or other high-traffic areas, you can do a couple of things. First, give these areas a little extra shot of fertilizer (this can be the extra 0.5 lb.