Algonquin Acres Community

News e-mailed to neighbors on 6-20-10

Happy Father's Day,

Here are several news items that may be of interest to you…..

Congratulations to all of our recent neighborhood graduates.  I know we had a few High School seniors that graduated last month and a few adult neighbors that graduated with college degrees. 

On Monday, June 21, 2010 (tomorrow) at 6pm City Council will be discussing ‘dangerous property’. (Such as the burned home in our neighborhood on Blackhawk Street)  You may remember that they had a discussion on April 5, 2010 about ‘dangerous buildings’.  I have attached the most recent city staff memo to this e-mail.  If you would like to listen to the discussion, you are welcome to attend the meeting or go to the city’s website and listen to it live during the meeting.  Just go to www.centenialcolorado.com and click on the ‘city council live audio’ button from the home page.  If you have comments you would like to e-mail to city council members, you can contact them via the city website too.  Please note that the 6pm meeting is a Study Session and there is no opportunity for public comment during that meeting.  There is public comment time at the 7pm Regular meeting. 

After many months of trying to find someone at CDOT that would speak with our neighborhood about the frontage road fence (south side of the neighborhood), I have finally found someone that is willing to answer and/or find answers to our questions via e-mail.  So, if you have questions, concerns or comments regarding the frontage road fence/sound barrier, please e-mail your questions to me at we4liv@aol.com.  I will gather all of the questions for about two weeks and then e-mail them to CDOT.  When they respond, I will share the information with all of you.

The City of Centennial has prepared an official development proposal of the Civic Center Park which will be on the north and west side of the Civic Center Building.  If you would like to review and/or comment on the proposed plans, please send me an e-mail and I will e-mail the plans to you.  (I don’t want to add too many attachments to an e-mail unless you specifically request this info.)

There is a lot of talk/rumors about the I-25/Arapahoe Interchange.  CDOT is currently making the improvements to add additional lanes under the over pass.  For more info, please visit www.coloradodot.info/projects/arapahoeI25

An Environmental Assessment is now underway for the I-25 Arapahoe Interchange.  There have already been some public meetings about this assessment.  For more information please visit www.I25ArapahoeRoadEA.com

FIREWORKS of all kinds are illegal in Centennial and our neighborhood.  FIREWORKS are illegal.  Soon you will see a fireworks sales tent near the south side of our neighborhood.  That site is in unincorporated Arapahoe County.  If you purchase fireworks there it will be illegal to bring them into the City of Centennial.  Fines of up to $1000 can be imposed for possession and/or use of fireworks in Centennial.  Deputies have already begun writing tickets for illegal fireworks in Centennial.  To report violations please call the Sheriff’s non-emergency phone number at 303.795.4711.

Enjoy fireworks the free and safe way.  The Valley Country Club usually has a fireworks show just after dark on the Fourth of July (just look east from your yard or bring a chair and sit in my front yard) and Centennial Medical Plaza will have a fireworks show after dark on August 7^th.

The City of Centennial is in the process of creating a Transportation Master Plan and they are asking for your participation in the process.  Transportation includes many methods such as bicycling, walking, driving, public transportation, school busses, etc.  To find our more information and/or to express your comments please visit the city’s website at www.centennialcolorado.com and look for the ‘transportation plan’ button on the left side of the home page.

The City of Centennial is hosting several free family events this summer.  There are two events close to our neighborhood.  The first one is on July 9^th from 7pm to 10pm at the Trails Rec. Center at 16799 East Lake Ave.  It will be a move night featuring the film ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’.  The second event will be on August 7^th from 6pm to 10pm at Centennial Medical Plaza (Jordan and Arapahoe).  This event will celebrate health, wellness and summer fund.  It will include free health screenings, interactive fitness demonstrations, entertainment, food and the movie ‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian’ ending with a spectacular fireworks show.  For more information call 303.754.3443.

Beginning June 30, 2010, you can meet the Mayor on Wednesdays during lunch from 12am to 1pm.   Mayor Cathy Noon is available at the Centennial Civic Center to meet with you to hear your comments and questions.  No appointment is needed, first come, first served.

Recently I have received questions and comments from some of you about Centennial Code Enforcement versus Covenants.  I would just like to emphasize that most cities will NOT enforce HOA covenants.  Covenants are considered a ‘private agreement’ between an owner and an HOA.  Centennial has certain codes and those are the only codes that the city will enforce.  The city does not ‘actively’ enforce all codes.  This means that most codes are enforced upon request if the issue/concern is relevant to a specific city code.  So, if you have a concern with a neighbor’s junk pile in their back yard and a code enforcement officer cannot see it from the public street, then that concern/issue cannot be addressed or enforced by code enforcement officers.  There are many items that are included in HOA covenants that are not (and may never be) addressed by a city code. The current city council members are not in favor of code enforcement officers entering private property to observe something in someone’s yard.  So, please don’t assume that Centennial’s Code will match the concerns/issues we may have in our neighborhood.  They can’t make someone clean up something or fix something if code enforcement officers don’t have a city code that applies or if they can’t see the issue/concern from the public street.

Over the past few months some neighbors signed a petition to change the covenants.  The former AAOA Board was not aware of the petition, nor did we have anything to do with its contents. Two neighbors (not AAOA board members) have filed that petition with the county clerk’s office.  You can view it on the county’s website at www.co.arapahoe.co.us click on ‘online tools’ click on ‘legal document search’ enter ‘algonquin’ in the search name and look for the date of 6-8-10 on about page 3 of 4 of the list.   I have received many questions and comments about that petition.  Some neighbors never knew the petition existed and want to know if all owners must be informed about all proposed covenant changes, some neighbors refused to sign the petition, some neighbors wonder if it is a valid document because not all of the names on the document include actual signatures, some neighbors were told that the petition was ‘only to see if the dues should be changed from mandatory to voluntary’ and some neighbors that signed the petition were not told that several paragraphs from the 1990 and 2005 covenant amendments would be repealed.  I don’t have answers to these questions because I don’t have access to the HOA attorney now that I am no longer an AAOA Board member.  It appears that the covenants have been changed.  The changes include repealing the 2005 amendment to the covenants (the increase in dues to $50), repealing Article 1, Paragraphs 1, 2, and 4 of the 1990 Covenants Addendum.  Those paragraphs (1) designate AAOA to administer the covenants, (2) make each owner a member of the association and (4) assessment dues of $35.

If you are unable to access this petition that changed to covenants, please let me know.  I can e-mail it to you as an attachment or let you read the paper copy at my home.

I am in the process of starting a new community news website so that I can continue to keep you informed of community events and other news and concerns.  As soon as a new website is available I will send you an e-mail to let you know.    

If you no longer wish to be included on my confidential e-mail list please just let me know.  If you have a neighbor that does not receive this community news, please share my e-mail address with them and ask them to sign up.  I never send ‘spam’ or ‘junk’ e-mail and will keep your e-mail address confidential.

Thank you,

Rhonda Livingston

Your neighbor