SPEHA Newsletter Page 1 of 4

Southmoor Park East Newsletter December 2013

Annual Meeting

The 2014 Annual Meeting of Homeowners will be held on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 at 6:45 p.m. As we did last year the meeting will be held in the cafeteria at Southmoor Elementary, 3755 South Magnolia Way, Denver, CO 80237. As always we will provide a state of the neighborhood report and reports from the committee members of the Board. Peggy Lehmann will update us on City matters. We will have other community speakers and refreshments. We will also elect Board members. See agenda by going to disrtubution email.

Homeowners Dues Notices The notices for homeowners’ association dues

will be mailed to all SPEHA homeowners in January. Dues for 2014 are still $25.00 per Lot. The dues fund various activities of the Homeowners Association including the annual picnic, summer concerts, and the garage sale. The funds are also accumulated for property manager fees and legal services as needed. Once you receive your dues statement, please send payment to:

First American State Bank Attention: SPEHA 8390 East Crescent Parkway Greenwood Village, CO 80111-1247

Unpaid Dues and Debt Collection Under the covenants, each lot is subject to an

annual assessment that must be paid to the Association to enable the Association to perform the duties allowed in the covenants. Those duties include expenses associated with the annual picnic, concert bands, betterment of the community, management fees, and legal services. Currently, the assessment is fixed at $25.00/year/lot. This amount can only be increased by a vote of 60% of owners of the lots in the Association.

After the first of the year, the Association notifies all owners of the lots by regular mail of the amount due on each lot owned by the owner. The notice is mailed to the owner’s property address in the neighborhood unless the owner notifies the Association of a different contact address. After a second mailed notice, and an owner fails to pay the assessment when due, then the Association may

file a lien on the property for the delinquent assessments plus costs and interest.

The current practice of the Association is not to file a lien until an owner is delinquent for three annual periods ($75.00). Upon a sale of the property, the seller will be required to pay the delinquent amounts, interest, and costs of removing the lien as part of the closing. Currently, there are eleven owners that exceed the $75.00 threshold and have liens placed on their property, nine owners who are in arrears by two years, and thirty two owners that are in arrears by one year. If you don’t recall getting the assessment or you are curious if you are on the delinquent list please contact me at cfunk@speha.org.

Under House Bill 13-1276, which becomes effective January 1, 2014, the Association may not take legal action to collect any unpaid assessments unless the Association has adopted a written policy governing the collection of unpaid assessments. It is likely the written policy will mimic the current policy of the Board. However, under H.B. 13-1276, the Association must permit the owner to pay off the delinquency in equal installments over a period of at least six months.

Monthly SPEHA Board Meetings All SPEHA homeowners have an open

invitation to at-tend monthly Board meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. on the 3rd floor Board Room of Citywide Bank building at Hampden and Monaco next to the Fire Station. At these meetings, the Board normally will review and act upon covenant and neighborhood issues. It is a great way to get to know your neighbors and neighborhood.

Snow Update from Denver Public Works The first measureable snowfall may soon be

here. Denver Public Works crews are closely monitoring the weather and will be ready to fully deploy if snow begins to

accumulate on Denver’s main streets, or streets with stripes.

SPEHA Newsletter Page 2 of 4

Keep in mind, that with initial warm pavement temperatures will facilitate snowmelt on the roadways as temperatures drop and may become icy. Public Works crews will apply de-icing materials as needed, paying special attention to elevated structures. Drivers are reminded to go slow and allow extra time and stopping distance when roads are wet or icy.

It is also important to remember that Denver requires property owners to clear their walkways so that EVERYONE has safe access throughout the City! Homeowners must shovel sidewalks adjacent to their property within 24 hours after the snow stops falling; businesses have four hours after the end of snowfall to remove snow. Residents can sign up to be a “Snow Buddy” and volunteer to help an elderly neighbor shovel their walks. More information on the Snow Buddy program is available here: http://www.voacolorado.org/Volunteer/Snow-Buddies.

Please call Ann Williams (303-880-0597) to arrange for interviews. Phone interviews will be available after 5:30 a.m. Visit Denver Public Works website, http://www.denversnowplan.com/, for more detailed information on snow removal. During snowfall, this website is update in real time to reflect current conditions and Public Works strategies. Also, follow Denver Public Works on Twitter (@DenPublicWorks) for real time updates.

Denver Christmas Treecycle Program Your Christmas tree gave you so much joy

during the holidays. Now give it a second life and recycle it with Denver’s Treecycle program. All trees collected through the program will be chipped into mulch and given away for free to Denver residents in the spring. The 2014 Treecycle collection period runs from January 6 - January 17.

Denver Recycles Acceptable Materials Denver accepts the

following materials for recycling. No sorting required! So, Go Purple!

Download One Page List of Recyclables at https://www.denvergov.org/Portals/709/documents/Recyclables_Quick%20Print_2013.pdf

Mayor’s Letter Regarding Solid Waste Manage-ment Master Plan

Below is a letter from Mayor Hancock about Denver’s solid waste management master plan. The mayor has a sustainability goal to reduce by 20 percent the waste disposed of in landfills. This new plan is bold and allows every resident to play a part in keeping our city beautiful.

Discover Denver's Compost Collection Program Organic material like food, soiled paper and

yard debris is the single largest item we throw away in our landfill, and it is 100% compostable. Participants in the compost collection program receive a large, green composting cart and weekly collection. Organic material such as yard debris, food and soiled paper are all accepted in the program. Only material inside the green cart can be collected.

The Compost Collection program is a fee-based program. Participants may make $29.25 Quarterly Payments (every three months) or one Annual Payment of $117.00 ($10 discount if the Annual Payment is prepaid by February 15th). The majority of participants choose to prepay for the year and pay online. It saves money, paper and time!

How the program works: • Toss yard debris, food and non-recyclable

paper into your green cart for Denver Recycles to collect.

• Denver Recycles delivers the organic material collected to a composting facility run by A1 Organics.

• Organic material goes through a natural process that transforms it into compost that is sold to farmers and landscapers.

For more information go to https://www.denvergov.org/trashrecycling/TrashandRecycling/Composting/CompostCollectionProgram/tabid/438328/Default.aspx

Denver Property City Regulations As a reminder Denver requires that property

maintenance is important to our residents and non-compliance is subject to a fine. The following are regulated and not allowed by the city: • Unattended vegetation over 6” in height (grass

or weeds) • Accumulations of rubbish in yards or along

alleys • Appliances or furniture, intended for inside use,

in yards or on porches • Accumulations of cut branches in yard

SPEHA Newsletter Page 3 of 4

• Accumulations of dog manure in yard • Defective or illegal fences, proper height (4’ in

front, 6’ on sides and back for residential zones) • Fences must be in good repair with approved

materials (no barbed wire, corrugated metal or salvage materials)

• Trashcans and recycling containers must not be stored in the front of the house or on the street or driveway. Store the barrels on your property, out of public view, in between collection days.

• For the safety of pedestrians/motorists, the following regulations apply to your trees/tree limbs: o Tree limbs extending over the street must

be at least 13’6” above the street surface o Plant growth cannot extend over the

sidewalk o Low shrub or tree limbs obstructing the

sidewalk must be trimmed back and a minimum of 8’ above the sidewalk surface

o Trees with dead or broken limbs over 2” in diameter must be pruned or removed

o Dead, diseased or dangerous trees must be removed

Please visit www.denvergov.org or call 3-1-1 to report violations.

Home and Neighborhood Vigilance Over the holidays, and in the cold of winter, the

bad guys will be looking for homes that look or are vacant. Keep an eye out for your neighbors that aren’t home.

Recently one neighbors on South Niagara Way, foiled an attempted burglary. Someone rang their bell repeatedly at 11:30 p.m. but the owners did not answer the door. Then they heard someone enter their back yard and started to pry open a back window. They called police, but their house alarm scared the burglars away before the police arrived.

So keep vigilant.

Beware of Strangers Bearing Gifts! By Technician Anthony Burkhardt, Denver Police District 3

Watch out for this credit card scam! You receive a phone call from someone wanting to deliver a package. Shortly after the call, a uniformed deliveryman arrives at your home with a basket of flowers and wine. If you inquire about who sent you the gift, the deliveryman will respond, that he is only delivering the package and that a card has been sent separately.

The delivery man will explain that because the gift contains alcohol, there is a "delivery charge" as proof of delivery to an adult, so the sender knows it

was not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen.

He will not accept cash because the company requires payment to be by credit or debit card only. He will ask you to swipe the card on the small mobile card machine and ask you to enter the card's PIN and security number.

By doing this you have provided all the information necessary to use your card. If you provided a debit card it will be used at ATM machines to access your funds – and a bank will not reimburse these charges.

WARNING: Be wary of accepting any “surprise gift or package” that you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if a payment is a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything if the sender is not personally known by you or if there is no proper identification of who the sender is.

Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card Information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!

Denver DA’s Fraud Line: 720-913-9179

Nextdoor Southmoor Park East A few years ago SPEHA piloted NEXTDOOR, a

private social network for neighborhoods. Interestingly without any promotion our Southmoor Park East virtual community has grown to over 237+ members.

For those of you not familiar with NEXTDOOR it is a private social networking service for neighborhoods. It allows users to connect with

people who live in Southmoor Park East’s community and is restricted to resident’s only living

within the SPEHA boundaries. Addtionally, you can connect with ten nearby neighboorhoods.

This site does NOT take the place of our official website at www.SPEHA.org, but is be a private addendum.

Southmoor Park East NEXTDOOR members are using this site to:

• Track down a trustworthy babysitter • Find out who does the best paint job • Ask for help keeping an eye out for a

lost pet

SPEHA Newsletter Page 4 of 4

• Find a new home for an outgrown bike • Seek assistance in finding a used piano,

car, etc. Nextdoor’s mission is to bring back a sense of

community to the neighborhood. Early this year, the Denver Police Department

Partnered with NEXTDOOR, for sending out crime notifications. At that time Denver Police Chief Robert White said, “Our main goal is to prevent crime, and with the additional eyes and ears of members in our community we will be safer. We encourage our community members to work together and look out for one another.”

To become a member of SPEHA NEXTDOOR Community go to https://spehahomeowners.nextdoor.com/login/ and sign in by establishing a new account.

SPEHA Web Homepage To connect with the SPEHA Board, see

upcoming Southmoor Park East events, or to update/add your email address for newsletters and special announce-ments, visit SPEHA’s

webpage @ http://speha.org/. To either update or add a new email address, use the “Sign-up for E-Newsletters” area and follow the instructions.

Annual Southmoor Elementary School Auction The Auction will take place on Saturday, April

12, and could use your help.

First, we’re looking for auction items (all donations are tax deductible). Ideas include baskets (e.g., martini basket, red wine basket, movie basket), sports paraphernalia (e.g., Peyton Manning autographed football), electronics (e.g., iPad, TV), and much more.

Second, if you own a business, you could submit a sponsorship to the Auction, which come with various levels of community advertising.

Third, we could use your time in the form of solicitations to local businesses. We are planning to ask all the businesses on Hampden for either an auction item or sponsorship and could use the man power of the neighborhood to help us accomplish that task.

For more information on any of the ways you can help, please visit the Auction Website at http://southmoorauction.weebly.com/. All forms are available on the website. You can also contact the Southmoor Elementary School Auction co-chairs for more information: Jill Bowman @ jill_d_bowman@yahoo.com, or Jean Steimel @ jsteimel@gmail.com.

Slow Down You have read it here many times, SLOW

DOWN! One of the biggest complainnts that the Board hears, is in regard to traffic going faster than the speedlimit. We have too many drivers, including some of us, who are going just too fast through

Southmoor Park East. Remmber, all Southmoor Park East streets have speed limits of 25 MPH.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS