Reminder: Our annual membership meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 21, at 6:00 PM in the park. Come at 5:30 with a side dish and chair for tacos and mingling with your neighbors!

Meeting agenda:

1. Approve minutes from last year’s annual meeting
2. Treasurer’s report
3. Community recap and awards
4. 2025-2026 Budget approval
5. Review proposed board resolution: CC&R Violations
6. Appointment of Architectural Control Committee members
7. Election of officers
8. Election of additional board member(s)
9. Open forum

Following the official close of the membership meeting, we will welcome Trace from Kitsap County Fire and Rescue, who will be presenting information about the Firewise community program. Homeowners are welcome to attend to ask questions and learn more about Firewise.

🚒 Update 1: Firewise Presentation

Trace Richards from Kitsap County Fire and Rescue hosted a Zoom meeting earlier this month for neighbors to learn more about fire safety and the Firewise program. Attendance was low at the live meeting, so we requested a recording of the content for anyone interested to view.

Trace will also be hosting a live Q&A session after the annual membership meeting for anyone interested in joining the neighborhood program. We need 8 homes to participate. Pam Darland has been working hard to organize this program and recruit participants.

🤝 Update 2: Summer Board Meeting

Our summer board meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 7 at 7 PM. Please submit any agenda items for discussion to the board by Sunday, July 6 for consideration. You can do this through the contact section on our website, or by emailing officers@strawberryhillhoa.org.

Current agenda items include:

• Volunteers for officer positions (still need a treasurer)
• Community clean up requests
• Dues amount for 2026
• CC&R enforcement by board resolution

🏠 Update 3: Annual Membership Meeting

Our annual membership meeting is on Monday, July 21 starting at 6:00 PM. Come early for dinner, and bring a side dish to share and a chair. Tacos, bottled water, and paper products sponsored by the HOA. Dinner will begin at 5:30 PM.

The agenda for the annual meeting will be available by Monday, July 14.

💵 Update 4: Annual Garage Sale Reminder

Our annual garage sale weekend is scheduled for July 26-27. Consider joining the neighborhood at this time if you are looking to sell items to increase visibility and visitors for everyone. During the annual meeting, we will ask for volunteers to post signs and notices on social media.

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.