The fall Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 28.
Homeowners who have agenda items for the board to discuss should submit them to officers@strawberryhillhoa.org by September 27.
Contact a board member if you need to discuss anything in person prior to the meeting.
Thank you!
Dave Epperson, director of operations at KPUD, spent half an hour on the phone with me (Becky) this morning answering questions about the progress of the water filter.
Short story: the water filter went online on time on Monday, July 17. Water mains are being flushed today, Tuesday, July 18, and individual home lines will be flushed by six KPUD crew members tomorrow, Wednesday, July 19. This is the planned and communicated timeline on the door hanger we received.
More notes on this topic are below.
Why does it seem like there is a part near the well that isn’t hooked up yet? That’s true. Part of the new filter process is a backwash water tank that lives outside the filter. The filter vessels trap iron and manganese in their core materials. On a schedule, the filter automatically reverses 10% of the flow of water into the backwater tank for storage so these minerals are flushed out of the filter. Water must be discharged from this backwash tank at intervals. In most systems the water is dumped into a wastewater pond constructed near the tanks. Our system will recycle the water instead, which is the most up-to-date way to conserve resources. The backwash tank was delayed in delivery and is not yet plumbed in. The work for that is scheduled for next week. Meanwhile, the filter system is completely online.
What is flushing the mains supposed to do? KPUD will use a higher flush pressure than usual in an attempt to proactively dislodge mineral build up in the main line and house lines. This should break free excessive inorganic materials that accumulate inside the pipes. Removing this material allows for a higher flow rate and helps speed up the process of cleaner water flowing to the homes. KPUD recommends homeowners run an outdoor hose for 5-10 minutes (at a water cost of about 50 cents) after the lines have been flushed to aid in the cleaning process.
What’s with the chlorine comment? Previous to the water filter, our chlorine level was 0.1 parts per million (ppm). After the water filter came online, our chlorine level is 0.5 ppm. While this is higher, it is still one half of one part chlorine per million parts water and the iron and manganese levels will be much lower at only 0.2 ppm. Yes, there is a possibility some more sensitive palates will notice the change in taste due to the reduction of minerals and increase in chlorine. This is uncommon. Adding lemon slices to a pitcher of water will neutralize any chlorine and is recommended for people who are highly sensitive.
What are the next steps? After the backwash tank is complete next week, KPUD will continue monitoring the levels in the filter monthly and will flush water mains quarterly for approximately one year. Water main flushing will reduce to semi-yearly, yearly, and then biyearly after that. The surcharge for the filter system has not yet been distributed to our water bills because the work is not officially complete. Mr. Epperson will continue to communicate with the officers on that point.
Further questions can be sent to officers@strawberryhillhoa.org or left as comments on this blog post. We’ll do our best to get your questions answered.
Thank you to the 36 homeowners from 21 homes who attended our 2023 annual meeting!
The tacos were a big hit, and there were plenty of yummy sides and desserts. Even the weather cooperated, as it wasn’t too hot or cold.
The meeting lasted about an hour and we got a lot accomplished. View full meeting minutes here. Here’s a quick recap:
As a point of interest, Becky made a chart and pointed out that our expenses had a large jump between 2018 and 2022, while dues have remained fairly level. While our spending has been stable for the past few years, our current dues income just covers our expenses. We will not be able to save for any larger projects like we have in the past. See chart below.
*In 2018, we received a lump payment of unpaid dues with interest with the sale of a home. The normal dues income would have been below $12,000 otherwise.
After two days of pressure washing, the courts were ready for pickle ball lines.
A huge thank you to Dustin Schmidt for taking time on his Friday evening to purchase supplies and to Sean Drew for helping Dustin complete the lines. They look great!
Both courts are now available for outdoor pickle ball. In the past month, we’ve seen many more families enjoying the courts. What a great investment in our community.
The pressure washing work will be complete on Monday, July 10, in the morning hours. The outer edges are not yet finished.
Information on the neighborhood pickle ball clinic will be shared at the annual meeting on July 17. See you there!
It’s time for our annual meeting! Mark your calendar (and set a reminder) for Monday, July 17th. We’ll start at 5:30 PM with food. The HOA is providing chicken and beef street tacos from Taqueria del Rey, bottled water, and paper goods. Homeowners are welcome to bring side dishes or desserts to share. Bring a chair to sit in!
The membership meeting begins at 6:30 PM. This is our one meeting for the year, and we’d love to see as many homeowners as possible in attendance. If you have an item to add to the agenda, please email it to officers@strawberryhillhoa.org.
Mary Mingels has served as treasurer since January 2022. She is willing to continue but would also be happy to pass this responsibility to a new officer. For more details about what is involved with being our treasurer, view this post.
Meeting agenda
Our tennis courts are receiving their biannual cleaning services on Thursday and Friday, July 6-7. The pressure washing and cleaning is being completed by Confia Paintings and Coatings. The courts will be closed during daytime hours these two days.
After pressure washing is complete, Dustin & Melanie Schmidt offered to paint the pickle ball lines back on the courts using a line kit. The HOA will reimburse the Schmidts for the supplies and is grateful for their volunteer time to make this happen!
Jim Cole and Nancy Fairweather have volunteered to run a neighborhood pickle ball clinic for interested homeowners. More information to follow.
Thank you Michelle Gaska for organizing our first 4th of July kids bike parade!
Join Michelle at the park at 2 PM if you’d like to decorate your bikes together. She will have some supplies.
All kids are welcome (bikes, strollers, scooters, wagons, and more) to decorate their own wheeled transportation and join in the parade starting at 3 PM at the park entrance. The parade will travel up Cabrini toward the water tower.
We invite all residents to walk outside and wave at the parade.
Pickleball is a game that was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, by three neighbors, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum, to entertain their bored children. They used a badminton net, table tennis paddles, and a wiffle ball to create the game. In 2022, pickleball became the official state sport of Washington!
With the rise of pickle ball as a family pastime, Jim Cole suggested that we make our tennis courts more usable by more people by adjusting one net to pickle ball size.
A few weeks ago, Jim added stanchions and a height marker to show the proper width and height for a pickle ball net using the existing tennis nets. This cost the association nothing and allows pickle ball players to use a proper net.
Jim also pointed out that the pickle ball lines were not repainted when the courts were refinished years ago. The lines are very faint at this point. Jim volunteered to provide a quote for painting the lines again to the members for voting at the summer annual meeting.
If you’re interested in playing at the courts, head on over! What a great time of year to try a new activity.
Entrance clean up day is tomorrow, Saturday May 6th, and we’re starting at 10 AM. Thanks to Melanie Schmidt for organizing and providing donuts! Meet at the neighborhood entrance to volunteer.
Clean up areas:
We are providing large trash bags and buckets.
If you have small trash bags to bring, please do so…that might be easier to use as you walk and discard after it’s full.
Thanks for all your willingness to help and clean up the hood!
The map below contains our target clean up areas. Blue is the “high traffic” area that is best for adults (or teens with parent permission).
Melanie Schmidt has organized a community clean up event for our neighborhood on Saturday, May 6th. Please consider joining your neighbors as we walk and tidy our streets of litter, branches, and other rubbish. Gloves and trash bags provided.
Mark your calendar, and thanks Melanie for coordinating this!
Strawberry Hill HOA