2nd Quarter 2003

PRESIDENT'S NOTE

With the passing of the first quarter I am happy to report that the residents’ participation in our community affairs has remained undiminished. The most felt change to our community was the installation of the speed humps. Most of us at some point or the other have had the experience of driving over these along the length of Knollcrest. Some of us have accepted this as a necessary “evil” and other have experienced this as a thorn in their daily lives. No matter what our experience, some of our residents on their own initiative assembled a well organized team to inform the community of the pros and cons of the speed humps. This meeting was very well attended which showed the residents’ desire to be involved in the affairs of the community.

For those interested in how the speed humps were created, here is a summary of the process:

1. The speed humps have to be requested by the residents living along the affected road to the county.
2. The county will then determine, according to their criteria, if in fact there is a need for speed humps.
3. This is followed by a petitioning process.
4. If all the county criteria for the installation of speed humps are met and the petition is successful,
5. Speed humps are installed on the road in question.

The fact remains that the speed hump installation process is a county process governed by county regulations on county property. We the association members have no say in this process once the process has been requested by the community residents along the affected road. I would also like to emphasize the fact that neither the Board of Directors nor any office bearer of this association is required to initiate the speed hump installation process, the requests have to come from individuals residing along the road.

If the Board is requested to undertake a meeting such as we had on the speed humps the Board is willing and able to play the role of a facilitator to exchange information between the requestors, the county and the “don’t want it’s” so all are aware of the facts. I am taking this opportunity to invite all of you who have taken such an active part on the speed humps issue to volunteer your time to this community. There are more issues like this that need to be resolved. We need your help, and you have demonstrated your abilities admirably, so help all of us by participating in various committees.

For additional information on the speed hump process and additional
roads that are being considered for speed humps the following persons can
be contacted.

J. Kevin Lear - Construction and Maintenance Manager Columbia County
(706) 541-3949
Christopher L. Bland P.E.- Traffic Engineering Columbia County
(706)541-2171

SOCIAL

ANNUAL SPRINGLAKES PICNIC

WHEN: AUGUST 9, 2003 (SATURDAY)
WHERE: SPRINGLAKES CLUBHOUSE AND POOL
TIME: 5:00-9:00PM,
***DINNER WILL BE SERVED FROM 5:00-8:00PM.

ALL RESIDENTS OF SPRINGLAKES ARE INVITED TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD PICNIC. PLEASE CONTACT KRISTI BAKER TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR YOUR FAMILY.

SPRINGLAKES OUT TO LUNCH BUNCH

July 8 - Fr. Market West
Aug. 12 - Applebees (N. Belair)
Sept. 9 - Evans Diner
Oct. 14 - Cadwalladers
Nov. 11 - Poppyseeds (Walton Way)
Dec. 9 - French Market. (Surrey Center)

The Springlakes “Lunch Bunch” would like to invite all interested ladies to join us for lunch the second Tuesday of every month. This is a great way for new residents to meet their neighbors and for old friends to catch up. The lunch bunch meets at ll:30 am. Please call Sheila Pedraza at 868-0182 to arrange for seating ahead of time.

SPRINGLAKES.ORG WEBSITE

New Password
To access the protected sections of the www.springlakes.org website, please refer to the printed version of this newsletter (2nd Quarter 2003) for an updated password. 

For everyone’s convenience, this password is distributed to all Springlakes residents via the printed newsletter. As such, it is not tightly controlled. We ask that you not purposefully distribute the password outside of our community. Periodically, the password will be changed and you will be notified via the printed newsletter.

What’s In The Protected Section?
The Springlake’s Teen Services & Financial sections are available in the password protected sections of the website. This is the same information that appears in the printed Springlakes Directory. The advantage to having this information online is that it can be kept up-to-date throughout the year whereas the printed directory is only updated once a year.

The Teen Services section is a particularly great resource for all Springlakes residents! It contains the contact information for Springlakes teens who offer babysitting, plant & pet sitting as well as lawn care!

Questions, Comments Or Suggestions?
We welcome any questions, comments or suggestions that you may have about the www.springlakes.org website. Send them to any of the following points of contact:

Marianne Petras (Association Manager) – associationmanager@springlakes.org
Sujit Samaddar (Association President) – president@springlakes.org
Bill Phillips (Springlakes.org Webmaster) - webmaster@pcgraphix.com

CRIME WATCH REPORT

As always, the warm weather brings increased use of our streets by walkers, joggers, and bicyclists. Residents are asked to use extra caution as they drive through the neighborhood and obey posted speed limits. We want this to be a safe and accident free summer for everyone.

Residents who operate golf carts and other motorized vehicles, such as scooters, at nighttime are reminded that they must utilize lights. Driving or riding bicycles without the required lights and reflectors is extremely dangerous and creates an unnecessary roadway hazard. In Georgia, the law requires that golf cart drivers be age 16 or over. Parents are urged to closely supervise the operation of golf carts by children under this age and realize that they are subject to enforcement action by the Sheriff’s Office for failure to comply with this law.

The Springlakes neighborhood has been fortunate to remain virtually crime free for the past several months. However, as recently announced via the Calling Post notification system, residents should be cautious about door to door solicitors who do not have proper credentials. In particular, we have had a problem with men posing as cleaning product salesmen. Working as a team, these individuals may try to gain entry to your home in order to steal valuables or “case” the residence for future thefts. Any suspicious persons or activity should be reported immediately to the Sheriff’s Office. A follow up call to the neighborhood Crime Watch Coordinators is also helpful to ensure timely information sharing on crime trends or problems.

Together we can make a difference!

TENNIS REPORT

Springlakes 3.5 Men's Tennis Team has won the Winter Season of the CSRATA Adult Tennis League out of eleven teams. Team members from the S/D include Mike Frits, Adarsh Taggar, Ron Lotz, Steve Hall and Henry Lam. The team represented CSRA in the State Tournament during the Memorial Day Weekend at Macon, Ga.

The team has won its group among the five teams, but has lost in the quarterfinal. Great effort for the group!

SPRINGLAKES STINGRAYS SWIM TEAM

The swim team may have started out to a slow start, but we’re having a great season.  Adam Lewis is this year’s head coach. Sharon Rogers is the assistant coach. They’re doing a great job training the swimmers and with team spirit. Look for big things from the Stingrays as the season progresses.
This year we added evening practices which as meant many more children could swim and the serious swimmers could get more practice time in. We’ve registered about 100 swimmers this year.

If you’re interested in summer league swimming be sure and check out the CSRA Swim League’s web site at www.csraswim.org.

LAKE REPORT

Summertime… and the living’ is easy !! Summertime at Springlakes. It sure is good to see a lot of folks taking advantage of the lake and it’s attributes. It seems like there are more wild ducks and geese settling down on our shores. Children (of all ages) have been witnessed feeding and being harassed by the feathery critters. I've even seen some of the Canada geese take food directly from a child’s hand. The cold weather did not clear up the unwanted vegetation as well as we had hoped for. The duck weed appears to be under control, but the coon tail moss is thriving. During Master’s week we introduced over 90 grass carp into the lake and they are merrily munching away. (Sooo much grass, so little time) However, it will take time for these finned friends to make a dent. Please bear with us. Fishermen, please do not keep any of the grass carp should you catch one. Thanks.

Cofield Pond -- This monsoon season has helped us with the algae problem. It has cleared up to a safe level. However, we are looking into the purchase of an aerating device for the pond to help curb the algae. Also, our grounds contractor will plant permanent grass on the dam, and once established, we can remove the less-than-beautiful silt retaining fence. I’ve not heard any reports of fishing activity, if you have any, please let me know and I will report it in the next newsletter. Have a safe and restful summer.

GROUNDS REPORT

WE ARE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH YARD TRASH BEING DUMPED
ON SPRINGLAKES COMMON GROUNDS AREAS. OUR LANDSCAPE SERVICE HAS TO REMOVE IT
AT AN ADDITIONAL COST, AND IT'S GETTING TO BE A PROBLEM. IT'S PARTICULARLY A
CONCERN BEHIND COFIELD POND, AND TO SOME DEGREE HAS CONTRIBUTED TO BLOCKAGE
IN THE DRAINAGE PROCESS. WE ASK IF YOU SEE THIS OCCURRING EITHER FROM AN
INDIVIDUAL OR YARD MAINTENANCE CONTRACTOR, PLEASE CONTACT EITHER THE
SPRINGLAKES BUSINESS MANAGER OR GROUNDS PERSON.

  WELCOME NEWEST RESIDENTS