Meadowcreek Southgate HOA

Meadowcreek Times Vol 3 Issue 1 November 2005

Oct 27, 2005

MEADOWCREEK TIMES
Volume 3, Issue 1 November, 2005

President?’s Corner
By Michelle Balderrama
MNA President

Hello! It has been nearly one year since I joined the neighborhood association and I must say, my life has changed since. One year ago, I had no idea what went on in my neighborhood; I had no idea who were my neighbors. I have met so many incredible people that I would have never met had I never joined the Association. This has truly been an awesome journey.

It has taken me a full year to get my feet wet with this position. I was a bit overwhelmed when I first took this position because I wasn?’t sure exactly what I would be doing. It is now very clear what my role is ?…?… support the neighborhood and keep everyone informed.

On that note, I invite you and strongly encourage you to attend our general meeting that will be held on Thursday, November 10th at Grace Lutheran Church (Mc Cart & Columbus Trail) from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. This is your opportunity to become informed of neighborhood and district issues. It is also a great opportunity to meet your neighbors who hold the same interest as you?….the neighborhood. Last but not least, it is your chance to get involved to help make a difference in our community.

We are going to have several speakers including: Jungus Jordan (District 6 City Councilman), Ivory Pierce (Neighborhood Police Officer), Lesta Anderson (Neighborhood Response Team/Code Compliance), Kim Motes (Environmental Management) and the City of FW Legal Dept. Other neighborhood leaders will be attending to catch up on issues that may have concern to them. We are also inviting all of our Meadowcreek and Southgate neighbors who include residents who live between Roddy Drive and Risinger to join us at our meeting so they can also be informed of neighborhood issues. I encourage you to bring your children if you have any ?– we will have entertainment for them!

This meeting will also be the kick-off for our 2006 membership drive. Dues are only $40 per year and everyone who joins or renews at the meeting will be paid-up through January, 2007.

Now I want to take the opportunity to recognize and thank a few residents that have become friends of mine. I want to recognize them and thank them for their continuous support to our neighborhood. Thank you, Wayne Kerley, Ivanna & Clarence Wiesepape, Dee Ann France, Vint & Susan Boston, Denise Marin and Terese Davis. This is the group that cooks your hot dogs at the carnival, mows the right of ways on Mc Cart & Sycamore School Rd. (when they can), patrols your neighborhood almost daily to keep our neighborhood secure, picks up trash around the neighborhood, plants flowers at Creekside Park, waters the trees that were planted last year, sprays weeds along our neighborhood?’s main streets, volunteers for PTA events?…?…the list goes on. I hope you attend our meeting in November so you can meet these extraordinary residents. I also hope you will show your support by volunteering your time at some of our functions. It?’s important that we keep the neighborhood association active ?– to do this, we need more volunteers.

I hope to see everyone at our meeting.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
COP & CERT MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
PLACE: MEADOWCREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
TIME: 6 PM TO 8 PM, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD

Come learn about our Citizens On Patrol group and our Community Emergency Response Team. Get your questions answered, find out how you can help, and join one or both programs.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
PLACE: GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH
TIME: 6:30 PM TO 8 PM, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH

Come discuss community issues with your City Councilman, Jungus Jordan and representatives from several City departments. Childcare will be provided. Learn what we are doing to improve the neighborhood and find out how you can help.

Important Notice
This month, the newsletter is being delivered to everyone who lives in the Meadowcreek area including the area known as Southgate. This includes everyone who lives between Sycamore School and Risinger roads, east of McCart and west of the railroad track.

We want to include everyone so we can all get to know each other and learn about the issues that affect us all at the November Membership Meeting.

This meeting will also be the start of our annual membership drive. Dues are just $40 per year per residence. Everyone who joins or renews their membership at this meeting will be paid-up through January, 2007. Please bring your checkbooks and help us make a real difference in our neighborhood.

CONTACTS
PRESIDENT: Michelle Balderrama
(817) 294-1822
president@meadowcreekna.org

VICE PRESIDENT: Position Open


TREASURER: Terese Davis
(817) 346-2610
treasurer@meadowcreekna.org

SECRETARY: Position Open

COMMUNICATIONS & Wayne Kerley
Newsletter Editor: 817-263-1103
communications@meadowcreekna.org

CODE COMPLIANCE: Ivanna Wiesepape
817-263-6960
compliance@meadowcreekna.org

COP: Clarence Wiesepape
817-263-6960
cop@meadowcreekna.org

MEMBERSHIP: Position Open

LANDSCAPING & Position Open
IMPROVEMENTS:

DEVELOPMENT: Position open
YOUTH: Position Open

WWW.MEADOWCREEKNA.ORG

MAKING MEADOWCREEK
THE BEST IT CAN BE


JOIN TODAY!

Meadowcreek Citizens On Patrol
By Clarence Wiesepape
COP Group Captain
The three most asked questions when we, as COP Patrollers, are out in our neighborhood are:

What is going on in our neighborhood?
What is being done about what I saw the other night?
Can?’t something be done to stop that?

Well, this is your chance to get those questions answered, or ask one of your own. Our Citizens On Patrol group, along with our Neighborhood Police Officer and the Meadowcreek Neighborhood Association invite you to come to Meadow Creek Elementary School, on November 3, 2005, between the hours of 6:00 and 8:00pm.

This is not going to be a formal meeting, but a chance for you to come when you can and stay as long as you would like. Come meet the residents who volunteer their time to help make our neighborhood a safe place for you and your family to live. It is your chance to learn more about the C.O.P. program and how you can join the effort to keep our neighborhood as safe as we can. There are no set hours or days that you have to volunteer, it is whatever time you have available. It can be as little as 15 minutes to 1 hour. The free training consists of an 8-hour training course, a ride along with an officer for one shift, and a ride along with one of our C.O.P.?’s until you feel comfortable. Help us continue to discourage the undesirable elements that would like to come into our neighborhood. Demonstrate that we care what goes on here, and that this is not a place where they can do as they like. Let them know they are being watched. That alone discourages their activity as they would prefer to go unnoticed.

As well as doing their neighborhood patrols in the month of September, our C.O.P. group has several C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) members who had over 200 hours of volunteer work helping the hurricane victims that were brought to Fort Worth. This included everything from answering phones, preparing and serving food, to sorting clothes. All C.O.P. Groups in Fort Worth as of 9/30/05 have a total of over 2000 hours and are still working wherever they are needed.

The neighborhood is still averaging three to five offenses per week compared to a higher crime rate last year. This is not bad when you consider Meadowcreek contains more than 2,000 homes. You can help keep the crime rate low by not leaving your garage doors open, don?’t leave valuables in your car overnight, and don?’t leave equipment out in your yard while you run in to get a drink of water. Thieves are looking for whatever they can get quick access to. If you have a security alarm, use it! Look at your house in the dark, does it have outside lighting? Not the kind that blinds or keeps your neighbor up all night, just soft outdoor lighting that eliminates a place for a thief to hide. A thing as simple as leaving your porch light on can make a big impact on security for your home.



DON?’T LET YOURSELF BECOME A VICTIM!




Be a Responsible Pet Owner
By Ivanna Wiesepape
Code Compliance Chairperson
I usually write about Code Compliance issues, but would like to take this opportunity to discuss a more serious matter. On September 29th, at approximately 6:45 A.M., a 15 year old was walking to the high school for band practice. He was approached at the corner of Country Creek Lane and Cloverglen Lane, by a large dark colored dog and bitten in the calf of his leg, breaking the skin. This dog then ran off with a companion, a black cocker spaniel, heading east on Country Creek Lane. A search for this large dog by the teen, his family, and Animal Control failed to locate the dog.

On Tuesday, October 4th, this young man had to start a series of painful rabies injections for a three week period. The cost to his family is $1,271.71 and is not covered by their insurance. This is a very painful reminder that all dogs must be secured in their yards. Large dogs receive plenty of exercise in their yards with owner interaction. If you feel your dog needs more, please be reminded that City ordinance states all dogs and cats must be on a leash if they are to be out of their backyards or homes. If you like to sit out in your front yard with your dog, it must be on a leash of some kind. If you allow your dogs out of your yard to run, please be advised that you are breaking the law.

Animal Control patrols our neighborhood, and if your dog or cat is picked up, there can be a hefty fine to get him out of ?“Doggy Jail.?” We don?’t want to see another child or adult bitten again. We have too many ?“walkers?” and small children in our neighborhood to let animals run loose. Please keep your dogs and cats in your house, your backyard, or on a leash at all times.

One more note about animals. It has been brought to my attention that a large number of cats are out at night. We have dogs that are turned lose or ?“break out?” to run. There has been an occasional coyote sighting as well. BOTH are dangerous encounters for cats and would be healthier if kept inside after sunset.

If you have any concerns please contact me via email at compliance@meadowcreekna.org.



Help! We Need To Get Meadow Creek Off Grass And Crack!
By DeeAnn France
A Concerned Meadowcreek Resident

Now that I have your attention, I am talking about the grass growing in the cracks of sidewalks, driveways, and in the street at the curbside. Are you tired of reading about this subject? Then do your part! Take care of these issues in your yard and roadway surrounding your yard.

Do you know how some potholes are born? The number one reason is that grass is allowed to take root in the cracks, which causes the asphalt to break down. Next thing you know, you have a pothole!

I realize we?’re all busy in our daily lives, but our homes are one of our biggest investments. Let the outside run down and it affects everyone?’s investment in the neighborhood. Don?’t let this be you! Do your part and we all win. All it takes is a Ground Sterilizer, or Weed Killer and very little effort.

From the Fort Worth Neighborhood Outreach Office

The City of Fort Worth has opened its first permanent drop off station at 2400 Brennan Ave. The newly reconstructed Brennan Drop off Station is more user friendly and also accepts electronic waste. Do you have extra trash, brush or recyclables? Take it to any Fort Worth drop-off station for free. A recent water bill or drivers license is required to prove Fort Worth residency. No commercial waste is accepted.

A second temporary drop off station at 3244 Yuma Ave. remains open while the second permanent location is being constructed. Since Yuma Ave. is a temporary site and is closing in the fall, computer equipment will not be accepted at this site.

Hours:
Drop off stations are open six days a week for your convenience
Monday ?– Friday: 9a.m. ?– 7 p.m.
Saturday ?– 8 a.m. ?– 5 p.m.
Sunday ?– closed

Drop off stations are closed on the following holidays: New Years Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. They close at 5 p.m. the day before the above holidays. Call 817-392-EASY (3279) to verify opening dates for the Southeast Drop-off Station and the closing date for the Yuma Drop-off Station.

Locations:
Brennan Drop-off Station Southeast Drop-off Station
2400 Brennan Ave., 76106 5100 MLK Freeway, 76119
West of I-35W off North Side Drive Village Creek exit off Hwy 287
And Cold Springs Road (Mapsco 93F)
Opens fall 2005 after construction is completed
Yuma Temporary drop-off Station
3224 Yuma Ave.
Off Berry Street
Closes permanently Fall 2005

HOW TO USE A DROP-OFF STATION:

Show proof of Fort Worth residency such as a driver?’s license or recent water bill
Drop-off stations are self-serve. City staff cannot assist residents with unloading
Children younger than 12 and pets are not allowed outside vehicles

THE SWAP SHOP
In order to reduce waste sent to the landfill, an area known as The Swap Shop has been created for residents to drop off reusable items such as lumber or useable appliances. Staff will direct drop off station users to this area if their items are deemed acceptable. Residents are welcome to pick up items for free. Items are available on a first come, first serve basis. City staff cannot hold items for later pickup. No donation is required to pick up an item. Items left at The Swap Shop are not eligible for tax credits. The city is not a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency, therefore, no receipt can or will be provided. If you wish to donate an item to a charity such as Goodwill, do so at their locations or any one of the local charity organizations within Fort Worth.

QUESTIONS? CALL 817-392-EASY (3279) or visit http:www.fortworthgov.org/dem

NOTE: District 6 Councilman, Jungus Jordan has informed us that the Yuma drop-off station will remain open until a decision is made to keep it open permanently, or a new drop-off station is built to serve the south side of town.

REMINDER: MEADOWCREEK?’S REGULARLY SCHEDULED BULKY WASTE PICKUP WEEK STARTS THE THIRD MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH.


With this coupon you will receive your first full month's rent at half price. This offer is good on any size storage space and applies to both climate controlled and non-climate controlled spaces. We are a new facility with resident managers and competitive rates. Additionally, we will donate $10 to the Meadowcreek Neighborhood Association when you use this coupon
Membership in MNA is not required.
This offer presented by:
Alamo Self Storage
7600 McCart Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76133:


Meadowcreek Neighborhood Association
Membership Application

Your Name: ______________________________ Spouse?’s Name: ______________________________
Street Address: _________________________________________________________________________
Home Phone: ________________ Work Phone: __________________ Cell Phone: _______________
E-Mail: ___________________________________________________ Rent or Own? ______________
Profession(s): _______________________________________________________________________________________
Would you be willing to serve on one of the following committees? Check all that apply.
Citizens On Patrol ___ Communications ___ Code Compliance ___
Landscaping & Improvements ___ Membership ___ Youth ___ Development ___
Would you prefer to receive our newsletter via e-mail or USPS? _________
Do you have a business that you would like to advertise in our newsletter or on our website? If yes, please describe it: _____________________________________________________________________________

I?’ve enclosed a check for the following: Membership Dues through 1/31/07 $40
Scholarship Fund ______
Security Light Fund ______
Other (explain)_______________________ ______
Total amount enclosed ______

Mail to Meadowcreek Neighborhood Association, 3501 Sycamore School Rd., #125, PMB 182, Fort Worth, TX 76133