Thanks so much to Pam Darland for organizing the Firewise Community Night for our neighborhood. Our informational meeting has been set for Thursday, June 5th at 7:30 pm via Zoom, hosted by Trace Richard, Community Risk Reduction Specialist for Kitsap County Fire and Rescue. This event is specific to Strawberry Hill HOA.

You received a flyer about this event next to your mailboxes today, courtesy of KCFR. This event will help us determine if our neighborhood would like to become a Firewise community, which requires 8 or more homeowners to commit to the program annually.

If asked for a passcode, use 016254.

The Firewise USA® program, administered by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), provides guidance to help communities reduce their risk of wildfire destruction.

• Wildfire Preparedness: The program offers steps to protect homes and neighborhoods from wildfire threats, focusing on ember ignition and small flames.
• Community Participation: Firewise USA® supports communities in organizing, planning, and taking action to increase wildfire resilience.
• Recognition Program: Communities meeting specific criteria can become recognized as Firewise sites and maintain their “In Good Standing Status.”
• Resources Available: The program provides toolkits, fact sheets, brochures, and booklets to educate residents on wildfire risk reduction.

More wildfire education opportunities

Learn more about best practices and the science behind wildland fire prevention and what you can do as a homeowner to proactively protect your home and property.

1. June 21st – Home Hardening – 9:00 AM via Zoom
2. June 28th – Defensible Spaces Around Your Home – 9:00 AM via Zoom

Register for either of these sessions by emailing Trace directly: trichard@skfr.org.

The HOA Board met this week (after a few postponements) and reviewed homeowner requests as well as planned for the summer ahead.

Important Dates

• Park portable toilet available: April 1 – September 30
• Annual membership meeting: July 21
• Neighborhood garage sale: July 26-27

Neighborhood Needs

• Garage sale coordinator – Someone to post to social media and hang a sign at the top of the neighborhood prior to the weekend.
• Sunshine committee – One, two, or three neighbors who would like to bring joy to neighbors in need. This could be done with handwritten notes, delivering a meal, celebrating a new neighbor, etc.
• Spring cleaning – Neighbors willing to plan a spring day for everyone to get out and tidy up litter, branches, and weeds in the common areas.

Other updates from the board

• The board nominated Pam Darland to lead the fire safety committee. She will be coordinating the Firewise community program with Kitsap County Fire and Rescue. Look for more news about this coming soon.
• The board is accepting bids and volunteers for the following annual tasks: park mowing, park flower bed maintenance, park shed roof replacement. Please contact us if you are interested in completing these tasks.

The next board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 4. Send any agenda items for the board to discuss to officers@strawberryhillhoa.org by Friday, January 31. Thank you!

Meeting schedules can be found by checking our HOA calendar on our website: https://strawberryhillhoa.org/calendar/.

As we begin to close out 2024, let’s take a moment to recognize a home that has demonstrated their holiday cheer! You might have seen in our annual dues letter that the officers would be distributing a form for voting, and here it is.

But wait – there’s more! At our last annual meeting, the officers gave out 11l community awards. We are planning to do so again, and we’d love your help in nominating a neighbor or home for something that stands out. We’ve added a spot for this in the holiday lights form, but you can also nominate a neighbor anytime through the contact form on our website.

Please submit your votes by January 5, 2025. Thanks for participating!

Join us for the annual neighbor Turkey Walk on Thanksgiving morning!

Meet at the main park entrance at 9:30. Dogs, strollers, wagons, bikes, and scooters are all welcome. Walk one loop with your neighbors before retiring to our homes – rain or shine!

First, a big thank you to Dean Fidecaro for volunteering to repaint the Strawberry Hill signs at the top of our neighborhood. They have been replaced and look amazing! This is a project we’ve been talking about for a long time.

Second, another big thank you to Cathy Keene, who coordinated the fence repairs to the chain link fence line that lines the HOA park along Bielmeier Road. Cathy worked to gather quotes from three different companies, ultimately getting two quotes after weeks of phone calls and waiting. Our first quote was the most responsive company, and the least cost. We used Star Fencing LLC. The owner, Chad Cravalho, was polite, on time, and completed all the work ahead of schedule. We had a great experience with Star Fencing (starfencing360@gmail.com or 360-865-0921).

And finally, we have been without a treasurer since the annual membership meeting. We had one neighbor volunteer to take the role is needed, but this neighbor is a part time resident and it is best to have officers who are living in the neighborhood full time.

Mary Mingles has agreed to continue serving as treasurer until another neighbor can fill this need. The board pre-approved this at our summer board meeting, anticipating that there may not be anyone willing to take the position. If you see Mary, make sure to give her a big thank you for serving for the past few years, and continuing to take on this position.

The board will investigate outsourcing our accounting needs in the future.

You may have noticed the Strawberry Hill logos from the brick signs at the entrance to the neighborhood are missing.

It’s okay!

Thank you to Dean Fidecaro for coordinating repairs to the logos, including some glue and fresh paint. The logos will be replaced when the work is complete and dry.

Dean is also helping by looking for quotes to replace the logos, as the signs are quite old and broken.

Another question at the annual membership meeting was about the water filter project. Some homeowners noticed that there were drainage tubes and hay bales sitting outside the well house, and wondered if the project was complete.

Becky Keene agreed to call KPUD and check in on the project. The project manager returned the call and explained the situation.

Q: Is the filter operational? Yes. It has been operational since we were notified last year. There are no issues and the water is being filtered properly.

Q: Is the project complete? No. During the initial installation, the well lost a bit of production gallons. To run the backwash through the tank there is a minimum required GPM (gallons per minute) that isn’t reachable right now. Currently that part of the filter system is bypassed by the tubes shown, and the backwash is getting discharged into the silt mesh that is shown in the photo. This is temporary.

Q: When will this be complete? There is a well driller scheduled for early fall. They will pull the well and complete a pump replacement at that time to regain the lost GPM, then connect the backwash storage tank.

At the annual meeting, one homeowner asked about the rules governing signs and placards placed near the HOA fence line on Bielmier Road. The question was whether or not that is considered HOA property or county right-of-way. If it is HOA property, then it is private property and businesses and campaigns may be removed.

Becky Keene agreed to call Kitsap County Public Works to get advice on the answer to this question. You can view the plat map for our neighborhood here.

The county maintains the road and the right-of-way, which is “the strip of land over which facilities such as highways, railroads, power lines, or utilities are built and maintained.” Kitsap County has this handy image of a right-of-way, which is generally from the road to the back of a ditch, shoulder, or sidewalk.

According to Kitsap County Public Works, it is common for developers to “donate” a section of the plat to the road, if one does not already exist. You can see on our plat map that there is a 30-foot section included on our plat map that encompasses some or part of Bielmier Road.

You can see in these photos taken today that there is a fairly clear “line” between the county right-of-way, the ditch, and the HOA property beyond it. Since Strawberry Hill HOA owns the property outside of the county right-of-way, we are required to maintain it (which we do). This also means it is private property owned by the HOA, and it is Kitsap County’s opinion that we can remove any signage placed there.

Speaking of signs! We’ve had a few homeowners ask questions over the years about the sign rule in our CC&Rs, specifically how it relates to political campaign signs. Our CC&Rs state in section 15: “No billboards or signs may be permanently displayed to public view on any Lot except one sign bearing the name of the resident and one sign per Lot of not more than six (6) square feet in area advertising the property for sale or rent.”

We have some houses that have had yard signs up for a very long time… they’re starting to feel permanent! Yikes!

Meanwhile, Washington state law states that an HOA “may not prohibit the outdoor display of political yard signs by an owner or resident on the owner’s or resident’s property before any primary or general election. The governing documents may include reasonable rules and regulations regarding the placement and manner of display of political yard signs.” (RCW 64.38.034)

This law is specific to yard signs, which Wikipedia specifically defines as “small advertising signs that can be placed on a street-facing lawn or elsewhere on a property to express the support for an election candidate, or political position.” No other types of signs are covered by this law.

The board discussed the issue of long-term yard signs and political campaign yard signs at our last board meeting. We do not wish to set a board resolution to define the placement or manner of display (duration, etc) at this time. The board prefers to ask each homeowner to consider placing yard signs in a location close to your home and for a duration that is reasonable to the event itself. The board agreed that all election signs should be removed immediately after election day.

If you have any questions, just ask! Email officers@strawberryhillhoa.org or use the contact form on our website.

Thanks to the neighbors who came out tonight to attend our annual membership meeting and share some tacos, sides, and desserts together! We had 13 homes represented, which is barely a quorum. Phew! Your attendance matters.

A quick recap of the highlights:

• We currently do not have a treasurer. Mary Mingles served for three years and is ready for a break. We will need to fill this position. If anyone is interested in learning more about this important role in our community, just ask. All other board members and officers remain the same.
• Thank you to Paul Hoffman and David Benefiel for accepting nominations to serve on the Architectural Committee with Ann Boyett. This committee is now filled again!
• Dues for 2025 will be $165. The annual budget was approved by the membership.
• Big thank you recognition to the following people who volunteered to fill needs with their time, energy, and resources this summer: Duel Brown, Paul Hoffman, Paul Haarstad, Michael Rumpke, Marsha Rumpke, and Cathy Keene.
• Your 2025 garage sale coordinator is Joelle Price. She will hang signs at the top of the neighborhood and advertise on social media. Annual dates: last weekend in July. That is July 26-27, 2025. Mark your calendars now!
• We gave out 11 community awards and several special recognitions. If you weren’t at the meeting, Becky will drop your certificate by your house. Read the list of awards in our minutes. Due to privacy reasons, we will not post the addresses of the winners on our website.

Read the full minutes of the meeting at this link. See you next July!