Newsletter: Jan-Mar 2015

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New board members in 2015

We voted in two new board members, elected as officials at December’s Board Elections/Meet & Greet event:

Cesar Afanador, Vice President
Michele Suite, Secretary

We appreciate all of our board members, present and past, for volunteering your time to make our community a better place!

View our 2015 Event Calendar

Signs on Common Area Property

CLHA’s common area property, located at the corner of Asher Road and Cox Drive, includes the basketball court, tennis court, pavilion, playground, ball fields, and the area around the lighted message board. This property is for the use of association members, which includes you.

Each year, random promotional signs have been placed on this property without prior consent from the HOA.   We do remove and dispose of such signs without notice. We understand this may result in the unfortunate disposal of your sign, possibly costing you money. However, these are our rules.

This policy was implemented previously by the HOA board to protect residents from fraudulent or misleading advertisements. We appreciate your cooperation with regard to posting.

Do you Have Spring Fever?

Believe it or not, the warmer weather will be here soon! What is on your to-do list? Is it gardening, yard work and/or other outdoor home improvement projects?

When you are outside working in the yard, please be mindful of snakes, mold, mud and other unpleasant things that could be lurking under the leaves and wear proper protective gear.

Have to dig? Please check with Miss Utility before digging to be sure you can safely plant that beautiful tree in your yard or build that new deck without interfering with the underground utilities.

Virtual Neighborhood: Facebook Update

Have you seen the CLHA Facebook page? It’s an easy and quick way to communicate with your neighbors and board members directly. We currently have 280 followers (16 more since December) and our posts often go viral, extending to “friends” of those followers as well. Our most popular post in the 1st quarter of 2015 reached more than 350 people on Facebook; It was about a lost cat in the community. Fiesty Leo went viral and found his owners thanks to our Facebook page! Join The Conversation at Facebook.com/CLHOA

Special Announcements

Neighborhood Safety

We just wanted to remind you all to be mindful of your surroundings. Get to know your neighbors. Look out for one another. There is safety in numbers! If you are interested in joining our Neighborhood Watch Program, please contact Donald “Pud” Graham at 301-884-5236 or 301-717-6474.

Lock Your Vehicles

The Sheriff’s deparment has recently reported a number of vehicles being broken into within the neighborhood. We can’t stress enough the imporantance of locking your vehicles, even if you have never had any issues in the past. If you see anything suspicious happening in Country Lakes, or witness any crime, please call the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Dept. at 301-475-8008.

Looking for Board Members

We always welcome you to join our board meetings and consider joining the board of directors. We are a group of residents that volunteer to help manage the maintenance and events throughout the community.  It is because of all of our (and your) dues that we are able to maintain the park and have these fun events.  We are always looking for help and volunteers, so please consider participating.  New ideas and suggestions for events and community interaction are always welcome and encouraged.

Yearly Dues Reminder

The past due dues notices have been mailed out to the delinquent residents.  We need your dues paid promptly as there are a few very expensive projects that the HOA will be undertaking in 2015.  All of your paid dues ensures we will be able to operate at our fullest capacity and offer events to you for your enjoyment such as Trunk or Treat, National Night Out, Santa’s Visit, Meet and Greet, and keeping the park, ball fields, basketball court, and tennis courts maintained.  Please drop your check in the mail to us today to avoid possible further action as outlined in the Declaration of Covenants and Conditions and Restrictions. Questions? Submit a request form on CLHA.org or Email: propertymanagement@clha.org

Reserve the Pavilion or Lighted SIgn

The CLHA pavilion is a great place to hold a gathering of family or friends and it’s FREE. The common area playground and ball fields are located nearby. An electrical output is available and two fixed charcoal grills near the pavilion can be used for outdoor cooking.
The CLHA pavilion can only be reserved for private, personal get-togethers such as birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, family reunions, and picnics. The pavilion cannot be reserved for organizational meetings or for any fund raising efforts.

Personal, non-commercial messages (for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, etc.,) can be posted on the CLHA lighted sign.
The charge is $5 per day for a maximum of 5 days, payable in advance.

To request a CLHA pavilion or lighted sign reservation, go here. Remember to give a 2 week lead time on all requests. You can also call our voicemail line for reservations. A response should follow within a few days.