October 2005 (Fourth Quarter )

A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT...JOE WHITE

It is the time of year to choose board members for the Springlakes Neighborhood Association. After three years, Julie Inglett and Becky Sharpton will be stepping down. Julie and Becky have brought so much to the board that will be missed. They are both great ladies. Unfortunately, we will need to replace them at the January meeting. Here is a general description of the duties: The board meets four times a year and discusses issues pertaining to the neighborhood, brainstorms, problem solves, and generally has a good time. The meetings typically occur on Tuesday nights once a quarter and last one to two hours. It is time away from families, that’s true, but it’s a great way to improve your neighborhood for your families.

Thanks to all the past board members who have made the neighborhood we all enjoy today. We always need to keep some seasoned members who can share their experience, but it is also good to get some new blood to step in and continue a tradition of service Springlakes is known for. John Capes (860-0003) has set up a selection committee to seek potential members. If you are interested and would like to know more about the process read below and/or contact John, Marianne (855-7987) or myself (Joe 373-3636). With the change in season, it is a great time to get out and spruce up your lawn. We always seem to have homes for sale, and they tend to move quickly. This is certainly due to how visually appealing our neighborhood is. Remember, the appearance of your lawn contributes to the overall property value of Springlakes. Thanks for taking the time to read this. And a special thanks to all the volunteers of the Springlakes Neighborhood Association.

Children’s Social Activities...Kristi Baker

There will be a children’s Halloween Drop-in party at the clubhouse on October 31, from 4:30 to 5:30. Bring a dish to share with the other goblins. Drinks will be provided.

Make plans now for the annual Kids Christmas Party, at the clubhouse, on December 4 from 3:30 to 5:30. Call Kristi Baker to RSVP.

Nominating Committee/ Annual Meeting

The next annual meeting of the Association will be held on January 10, 2006. At this meeting, residents will elect nine members to serve on the Board of directors, one of which will serve as the Association President. Residents desiring to submit nomination(s) must submit a written request containing the signatures of at least three(3) residents supporting each nomination to:

Springlakes Community Association, Inc.
Attn: Nominating Committee
P.O. Box 211112
Martinez, GA 30917-1112

This year’s nominating committee chairperson is John Capes. Nominations must be delivered to the Nominating Committee at the above address on or before November 30, 2005 to be considered at the annual meeting.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Special rounds of applause are due to our neighbors, Brenda and Terry Bland. Once again, they have organized a successful “It’s Spooky to Be Hungry” food drive held on October 15. And Terry continues to amaze us with his willing support and help with the annual picnic and the canoes on the lake. You are great people to know!!!!  

NEIGHBORHOOD YARD SALE!

Do you have things you have been wanting to get rid of but have not been motivated? Want to have a garage sale, looking for a good time? The neighborhood will advertise a “neighborhood yard sale” for November 12. What this means is: anyone wanting to have a yard sale that weekend can have it at their house and Springlakes will do the advertising. So clean out your houses and join in on the sale!

Lake Report...Terry Bland

Boy, where did the summer go? Fall is in the air along with the pine needles and falling leaves. Speaking of falling leaves, please take care to pile them where they will not be washed into the storm drains, ditches, drainage creeks, and/or the lakes themselves. The heavy rains we have had all summer has washed a lot of soil (as evidenced by the lake color) and debris into both Spring Lake and Cofield Pond. If the lake gets much more soil run-off in it, we will have to purchase mud flaps for the turtles!??! (Sorry about that!)

Anyway, yours truly has not been on the lake much this year, but in spite of the color, I have noticed several boats out enjoying the fishing. My motto—A bad days’ fishing is better than a good day at work. Enjoy.

Welcome Committee Report…...Brenda Bland

This continues to be a busy year for welcoming new families into the Springlakes community! I want to thank all of you who have called and reported new families in your neighborhood. It has been a big help to me and Joy Cook, who has been assisting me in distributing directories.

We would like to welcome the following families: Meiner, Charlotte, Ambrose,Melton, Wingo, Nichols, Zheng, Green, Ojimba, Dohoney, Patuba

Welcome Home to the Mims Family who suffered the loss of their home to fire last October, but have completed construction on a new home on the same site. We know you have had a hard year and we are glad to have you back!

Springlakes Wine Tasters

Our August gathering was enjoyed immensely by all. The food was varied and superb, while conversation and wine were flowing. And flowing. About 20 attended and many stayed late. We have two more wine socials scheduled for 2005 at the Springlakes Clubhouse. With the weather cooling down, maybe we can even spread our party outdoors!

Rita and Joel Andersons will handle the set up for October 21st gathering, before Kathy and Fritz Wurzingers take care of clean up (many of us look forward to seeing the Wurzingers again!)  For the November 18th social, Lucy Gonzales-Romero will ready the clubhouse and Tom & Rita Zange will get it back in order. Thanks so much for keeping our ever-growing group on track!

As usual, attendees should bring a bottle of wine and plate of finger to food to share. The party begins at 7:00. Now, mark your calendars, go to the wine shop, and get out your favorite recipes (or bag of chips.) We hope to see you all soon. No RSVPs needed and all adult residents are invited. Newcomers, it’s a great way to meet some neighbors..

TENNIS...RON LOTZ

Many changes have happened at the tennis courts over the past several months. In June we resurfaced all three courts, significantly improving their playability and appearance. At the same time we replaced one of the nets and painted the net posts. In August the trees that had been causing erosion of the court surface were cut helping ensure the expected life of the surface. New ball holders and trash cans were installed a few weeks ago and new rollers to help clear water from the court were also added.

We have three teams playing league tennis, a men’s 3.5 team, a ladies 2.5 team, and a juniors team all will play on our courts. These leagues will play on Saturdays at noon and the juniors team will play at 2:00 PM on Sundays. The men’s team also practices on Tuesdays from 6:30 PM until 9:00 PM.

There have been several instances of vandalism at the courts so please make sure the gate is closed and locked when you finish play. Due to this vandalism we still need to replace one of the lights in the near future.

If anyone needs a key to the courts please give me a call and I will make sure one is supplied. We have handed out eight keys in the last two months indicating that play is increasing. These courts are an asset to our sub-division so please confront anyone who is using the courts for anything other than tennis. Bicycles and skateboards will damage the court surface so please do not use the courts for these activities.

If anyone has any ideas on how we can help increase the level of play I would be glad to discuss them. Tennis is an excellent way to get in shape and improve eye hand coordination.

Finally, join me in congratulating Ron Renn, a Spring Lakes resident, for winning the men’s 3.5 singles championship at this years Banana Open held at Petersburg Tennis Center. Way to go Ron, keep up the good play.  

A LETTER FROM A RESIDENT: TREES

Springlakes is a community of tall and beautiful trees. But with that is the responsibility of every landowner to maintain trees on their property to prevent damage to not only their own property, but to that of their neighbors. Trees that overhang a neighbor's property are not only a safety problem, but also an imposition on the neighbor to continuously clean up the mess from broken branches and fallen leaves. With the violent storms that pop up quickly in the summer months and the ice storms experienced in the months of January and February, it is important that trees be trimmed or cut down to overcome safety concerns and/or infringement on your neighbors property before damage and possibly personal injury occurs. And lastly, if your neighbor asks you to trim your trees don't use profanity toward him or her. Try to recognize their concerns. The last thing wanted is legal action or the loss of residents of this community. Preventative action is a much more viable means of avoiding problems, and congenial neighbors can together solve potential problems. Remember, Springlakes covenants require HOA approval prior to cutting down trees.  

Covenants and Fall….Jay Jennings

Parking on our Streets: Parking on our streets continues to be a concern within the neighborhood. Unfortunately, as long as vehicles are properly registered, they are not in violation of our covenants. However, they do detract from the overall beauty of the neighborhood, and in some cases create a possible safety issue. We have talked with the association lawyer on this issue. Our only recourse is to ask the Columbia County Traffic Division to conduct a study of a specific area, and if it is deemed a safety issue, residents will be asked to stop parking vehicles on the street. This is a long process, and depending on their workload, might take months to complete. If you have a neighbor regularly parking their vehicles on the street, just ask them to consider other options. Finally, PLEASE don’t park your vehicles in your front yard. Gosh, this looks so tacky and makes us look like a second-rate neighborhood.

Yard Appearance: Springlakes has always has been a neighborhood that prides itself on the trees and beautiful lots. It has been brought to our attention that some lots are not what they used to be. In fact, some of our yards are looking awful. Please remember our pride in the neighborhood. We have a couple of houses that are difficult to see from the road because of all the weeds and overgrowth of trees and shrubs. Lawns are brown and bare; weeds have overtaken what were once were flower beds; driveways have more pine on them than the trees and shrubs are so overgrown that they are hiding windows, thus creating a possible invitation to burglars. The curbs in front of some homes have so much overgrowth on them that you can’t even see the cement. All residents need to take a very hard look at their LOT and take a day to do some cleaning up. Let’s try and get the “Springlakes Pride” back.

Beautiful Yards: Speaking of yards, there are some outstanding displays of hard work and maintenance. Houses to particularly notice are at  140 Springlakes Dr, 142 Springlakes Dr, 4175 Quail Springs Cir, and 222 Kestwick Dr. Residents like these make our daily commute a beautiful one indeed.

Fall projects: Since many of us are beginning to think about Fall projects, be sure you understand and follow the covenants in your planning sequence. Any project that alters and/or changes the exterior appearance of your home or lot in any way must receive prior written approval before you may even start. If you have any doubts if Covenant Committee approval is required, call first and discuss plans before proceeding. Court action has been required to resolve some past issues when a simple call might have easily settled misunderstandings.

If you have questions about our covenants or to report a possible violation, please contact Jay Jennings (covenants@springlakes.org). The Covenants Committee meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm at our club house. We are always seeking new members.