CRIME LOWER IN RESERVATION
Your Reservation Crime Watch Patrol is still working hard to keep our neighborhood safer.
The Reservation area had no major crimes during July. During the month, the Reservation CWP’s 28 members had 49.8 hours of patrol time by 19 people,with Kim Stadelman logging the most patrol hours. During the month, we added three new CWP members — Zes and Mary Scott, and Ross Walker.
The Richardson Police Department has announced that the overall crime in Richardson was down during the first 6 months of 2010, and also noted that crime in areas with active Homeowners Association areas is 50% lower than crime in the non-HOA areas. Furthermore, the crime in HOA areas with Crime Watch Patrols — like the Reservation — is only 25% of the levels of crime in non-HOA areas.
Reservation HOA President Darrell Day said that if you’re interested in joining the Reservation Crime Watch Patrol and helping keep our neighborhood safe, the next CWP training class is on Aug. 23-24.
RESERVATION VOTERS TURN OUT
Mohawk Elementary had the strongest voter turnout of any polling place in Richardson Saturday, as 609 Reservation and JJ Pearce voters made their voices heard. Mohawk had 120 more voters than any other polling place in the city, with 23% of neighborhood registered voters casting their ballots.
All four City of Richardson bond propositions passed, but the margin was the slimmest in the city's history. According to the Dallas County Election website, Bond 1 for street improvements passed by a strong margin, 64%-36%, Bond 2 for park improvements passed by a narrow 57%-43% margin, Bond 3 for municipal buildings passed by a 56%-44% total, and Bond 4 for neighborhood projects passed by a 58%-42% margin. In the Richardson ISD race, Kris Oliver, Lanet Greenhaw and Karen Holburn cruised to victory by very wide margins.
RESERVATION HOA HITS 400 MEMBERS
Thank you to all the Reservation residents who have recently joined or renewed membership in the HOA. Because of your support, we have just surpassed 400 members!!
And a special “thank you” to all the Reservation Block Captains who have walked their streets to deliver information and to meet with their neighbors about this great neighborhood. Our Block Captains are the best!
If you’ve been meaning to join, the membership form is on the website under “membership.” Just $20 helps your HOA to unite the community and to improve the quality of life of our residents, while serving to protect you and your investment. Join the Reservation HOA today. It takes all of us make a neighborhood great and to keep the Reservation a special place to live.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
RESERVATION BOARD WORKING ON SURVEY ISSUES
Thank you to the residents who took the time to complete the last survey by the Reservation HOA Board. We had a very strong response to the on-line survey...198 respondents.
Based on these findings, the HOA Board has held a series of meetings with City of Richardson staff to determine which of the survey ideas were legal and financial viable, and began to devise solutions for some of the most pressing concerns. The most compelling finding of the survey was a tremendous majority of respondents - 90% - believed it to be "important," "very important" or "extremely important" to beautify our neighborhood. That number gives us very strong impetus to ramp up the beautification effort.
One interesting finding was that many Reservation residents want our neighborhood to be better lit, and the Board has begun to formulate some ideas to address that issue.
Very strong response was displayed for entryway signage and improvement or replacement of Coit and Arapaho walls. The strongest response was to the neighborhood eyesore - the Coit wall viewed by 53,000 motorists every day. Nearly 60% of respondents thought it was a "good" or "excellent" idea to replace the brick wall along Coit Road. As one respondent explained, "The Arapaho and Coit brick walls are so outdated and just an eyesore and need to be replaced." Another respondent said the Coit structure "looks like a prison wall." In response to this issue, the Reservation Board has been working with a Texas registered Landscape Architect who lives in the Reservation to develop design ideas to improve entryways and the look of the Coit and Arapaho walls.
To completely understand the feelings of Reservation residents, the Board is preparing a second survey to help us prioritize the issues that you want to address. Based on your ideas and concerns voiced in the recent on-line survey, the Reservation HOA has begun work prioritizing and studying the issues that were raised. There is a lot of work that still needs to be done, but here are a few issues raised by residents that have been addressed so far:
• Mimosa Park and adjoining creek were cleaned during April 3 "Trash Bash".
• An idea for planting perennials around Mohawk Elementary has been forwarded to the Mohawk PTA.
• HOA Board has had meetings with City officials on safety issue at the Glen Cove/Arapaho intersection. Bushes obstructing the sight lines have been cut back, but the problem remains and City officials are further studying the issue.
• "Active Crime Watch Patrol" signs have been erected.
• A Texas registered Landscape Architect has begun working on entryway design elements for the Reservation.
• HOA Board has met with City officials on Arapaho Road design elements and plants.
• HOA Board has talked with City officials about Mimosa Drive crosswalk proposal, and awaiting definitive response.
RESERVATION CRIME WATCH PATROL BEGINS TRAINING
Members of the new Reservation Crime Watch Patrol completed their training at the Richardson Police Department and have completed their first few months on patrol in our neighborhood. We now have 26 volunteers who have stepped forward in this important effort, which features men and women volunteers patroling the neighborhood every day. Here are our current volunteers:
Mary Aasterud, Sam Barlow, Buff Buffington, Carole Buffington, Tom Calvert, Frank Conder, Bob Davis, Darrell Day, Eric Gollihar, Gil Hineman, Scott Hunt, Stewart Hunt, Bill Latham, Mick Nolen, Betty Monagham, Paul Rakofsky, Don Robins, Ladd Rowan, Hal Schroeder, David Smith, Jerry Smith, Stadelman, Joe Kim Stadelman, Diana Stein, Barbara Stiles and Mike Zolton.
If you are interested in joining the effort, please contact Tom Calvert at 972-235-6054 or Sgt. Tom Cotten at 972-744-4762, or Email Reservation HOA President Darrell Day at president@reservationhoa.com.
We could use more volunteers, and there's another Police Department training session in February, if you're interested in contributing to the safety and security of our great neighborhood!
HOA 2009 Annual Meeting Highlights Progress
Reservation HOA President Darrell Day called the recent Annual Meeting to order and gave a state of the HOA address, which included the highlights from the past year such as:
• Grew membership in the HOA by about 25%, and have doubled membership in the past two years.
• Began the highly popular Reservation Connection program, with nearly 150 people participating in various neighborhood events.
• Implemented Phase 1 of the sign topper program and beginning Phase 2. Look for additional sign toppers soon!
• Increased the number of block captains.
• Held the first Reservation Candidate Forum for candidates for the Richardson City Council race.
• Reservation HOA had great participation in events such as the neighborhood garage sale, pool party, 4th of July parade and picnic, and the first Big Band Block Party.
• Updated and improved our website.
• Initiated contacts with the City of Richardson about upcoming capital improvement needs within the Reservation.
We also welcomed the Richardson Police Chief, Jim Spivey, who spoke about the Neighborhood Police Officer Program and the desire for us to create a neighborhood Crime Watch Patrol. Several volunteers stepped forward to begin the process of creating the Patrol.
We recognized several volunteers for their work in making our neighborhood a better place to live. Mick Nolen - 2008 President, Dennis Guten - for redesigning our HOA website, and Amber McCreery - for her tireless efforts in starting the Reservation Connection program.
The HOA also approved two amendments to its bylaws - one declaring Jan. 1 as the starting date for new officers, and another to establish the Reservation Connection as a standing committee of the Association.
And finally, we held the election of the 2010 RHOA officers. The officers for 2010 are as follows:
• President - Darrell Day
• Vice President - Sean Weigler
• Treasurer - Brandi Kessels
• Secretary - Amber McCreery
As a reminder, the membership drive for 2010 will begin in January. Dues will remain $20 for the year, a small price to pay to invest in our neighborhood. As always, additional donations are always appreciated.
Our mailing address is:
RHOA Box 835253
Richardson, TX 75080-5253
Email Us:
Communications@reservationhoa.com