Renaissance Ridge Report
The Renaissance Ridge Homeowners Association Newsletter
Meet your neighbors and join the fun! Every Friday night, now through the end of the summer at 6:00 pm, bring your picnic dinner, friends, and family to the Renaissance Ridge park on 242nd and 15th. Play on the big toy, eat your favorite foods, and enjoy hanging out with your neighbors. For questions or comments, send e-mail to social@rridge.org.
Fourth of July Parade
Are you ready for the second annual Renaissance Ridge Fourth of July Parade? Last year’s was a big hit, with a ton of neighbors participating! The Social Committee is planning the details this week, so check the Renaissance Ridge web site, www.rridge.org, to find out when and where to meet on Thursday the 4th. Questions or suggestions can be e-mailed to social@rridge.org. See you there!
Elections in August
The HOA wants YOU to run for a position on next year’s board! We need volunteers who have a genuine interest in improving the neighborhood, who have time to attend board meetings and participate, and who have great organizational skills. Don Corbett, this year’s President-Elect, will be next year’s President. Brett Waldbaum will complete the second year of his term as Secretary. We will be electing a new Vice-President, Treasurer, and Director At-Large at the next board meeting on Saturday, August 17th.
Each home will get one vote. Homeowners that have not paid all HOA dues and fines by the date of the meeting will not be allowed to vote. We need a minimum of 10% of the lots (30 lots) to vote in order to have a quorum. To help reach this number and improve attendance at the elections and board meeting, we are conducting the elections here, in the neighborhood. Ballot pick-up and registration begins at 9:00 am, at the basketball court on 240th, on Saturday, August 17th. Please bring your own chairs or blanket to sit. If you cannot attend the meeting, you can still vote by proxy. Please sign and give your proxy ballot to a trustworthy neighbor that will be attending the meeting, and the neighbor can vote for you. Proxy ballots will be mailed to everyone with the July newsletter. There will be no online or mail-in voting.
In addition to the two-year positions for Vice-President, Treasurer, and Director At-Large, next year’s board will also be looking for people to chair and participate in the committees for a one-year term. If you would like to help the neighborhood and participate in the committees, please attend the elections and there will be a sign-up sheet. You can read about the responsibilities of the board positions and committees on the neighborhood web site, www.rridge.org.
If you have questions about the election procedure, or if you would like to nominate any of your neighbors you think would be an excellent leader on the board, please call the HOA or send e-mail to elections@rridge.org. If you cannot attend and would still like to run, you can be nominated at the meeting or you can call or email the HOA ahead of time. Nominees will have an opportunity at the meeting to introduce themselves and provide a short statement about why they are running and what ideas they may have.
Two New Committees
At the Spring Meeting in May, homeowners expressed interest in improving the landscaping in the two neighborhood entrances, and in fixing the HOA CC&Rs and Bylaws to make them clearer and more enforceable. In response, the board has created two new committees, the Garden Club and Bylaws Committee, to investigate and address these issues.
We need volunteers to join these new committees. If you are interested in helping plan, investigate, and/or plant new plants in the front entrances, please contact the new chairperson of the Garden Club, Juana Jacomet, at garden@rridge.org. If you would like to join the new Bylaws Committee, please contact Gorman Colling, the committee chair, at bylaws@rridge.org. Thank you to Juana and Gorman for spearheading these campaigns!
Special Assessment
Okay, the bad news is that we all have to pay a special assessment again this summer. Due to unexpected expenses for tree removals, high water bills, and expanded landscaping costs, the board will be authorizing a special assessment in July that will be attached to the regular homeowner dues invoice.
The good news is that it will not be as much as last year’s $125 assessment. Exactly how much it will be has yet to be determined. If you would like to participate in the process of determining it, the Finance Committee will be meeting the first week of July to analyze the budget and to create a proposed amount for board authorization. Please contact Kyle Downey, Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair, at treasurer@rridge.org.
Need Donations for Renaissance Ridge Days
The Social Committee needs some items donated for the Renaissance Ridge Days events, which will be held on Labor Day weekend in September. For the barbeque, buns, soft drinks, bottled water, balloons (both air and water), and potato sacks for races are needed. Prizes for games and a possible raffle drawing are also needed. If you or anyone you know can donate these items or have their company donate these items, please contact Janice Merdgen and Susan Barth, Social Committee Co-Chairs, at social@rridge.org.
For Sale and For Hire
There is a page on the Renaissance Ridge web site where neighbors can advertise items they have for sale, including cars, homes, furniture, clothes, electronics, pets, and much more. This is a free service, exclusively for Renaissance Ridge homeowners. E-mail forsale@rridge.org.
Another free service is the For Hire page on the web site. Kids can advertise themselves as babysitters, pet sitters, or yard workers. They can also set their pay rate. Email forhire@rridge.org.
If your company would like to advertise on the web site, please contact ads@rridge.org. Homeowners have reduced business advertising rates; see the web site for more details.
Grass is Lookin’ Green!
Give yourselves a big pat on the back – the front yards in the neighborhood are looking great! The April newsletter made a loud call to homeowners to fertilize, mow, and maintain their front yards and lawns, and the response has been outstanding. You may have noticed the many large-scale landscaping projects going on around the neighborhood. While there are a handful of homes that have not been maintaining their yards (they are being contacted and fined by the HOA), the majority of the neighborhood has been very diligent. The HOA board sincerely thanks you for taking pride in your lawn and landscaping and for helping to keep the neighborhood looking great.
To keep up the good work, please pay close attention to lawn watering this summer. While this spring we have been blessed with enough rain to keep the sprinklers away, there will undoubtedly be periods this summer when we need to water the lawn. Please follow the water district’s rules (see http://www.sammplat.wa.org for more information). If they enforce water restrictions like they did last summer, please only water on your designated day.
Reminders
Common complaints the board has been receiving lately from homeowners that we would like to pass along to everyone as reminders:
v Basketball hoops: Please move them into the garage or side of the house when not in use. Neighbors do not want to look at hoops that are tipped over or standing in the rain. To better the look of the neighborhood, please hide your hoops when not in use.
v Grass dumping: Neighbors who live in Division II, whose homes border the end of the trail on the south side of the neighborhood, have been caught dumping their lawn clippings over their backyard fence onto the common area grass. While it is true that grass is biodegradable, no part of the neighborhood’s common areas are a designated dumping ground. Those who continue to dump will be fined. Please contact Rabanco if you need a yard waste bin, or use a compost bin.
v Dog poop: Still seeing it in the common areas and on front yard lawns. Still bad behavior. Please be a responsible pet owner and bag it when your dog does it.
v Parking on the sidewalks: It is illegal and a safety hazard; please do not do it.
v Kids in the streets: As the weather improves, more kids are playing outdoors. While most kids stay on the sidewalks, some are running out into the street, cutting corners on skateboards, scooters, or roller-blades, and their safety is at risk. Please speak with your children about not playing in the streets. And please drive slowly in our neighborhood.
Congratulations!
v On April 26th, Tammi and Rob Johnson (930 243rd PL) gave birth to their first child, Peyton Robert Johnson. He was born at 7:14 pm, weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz, and was 20 inches tall. Congrats to the Johnsons!
v At 5:44 pm on June 1st, Carter Michael Schlect was born. Weighing in at 9 lbs, 3 oz, and measuring 22 inches long, he was welcomed into the world by his proud parents, Chris and Stefanie Schlect (940 242nd CT).
Next Meeting
Saturday, August 17th
9:00 am: Ballot pick-up and registration
9:30 am – 10:30 am: Elections
10:30 am – 11:30 am: Rest of board
meeting
Renaissance
Ridge Basketball Court on 240th
Please bring your own chairs or blanket to sit.
Address: Board of Directors:
Renaissance Ridge Homeowners Association Martin Dunn, President
c/o Century Small Business Solutions Don Corbett, Vice-President
229 South 4th Place Kyle Downey, Treasurer
Renton, WA 98055 Brett Waldbaum, Secretary
Katherine Hall, At Large
Email:
hoa@rridge.org Chairpersons:
Eva
Gordon, ACC
Phone: Gorman
Colling, Bylaws
(425)
369-2110 Elisa
Watkins, City Liaison
Juana Jacomet, Garden
Janice Mergden, Social
Susan Barth, Social
The
Renaissance Ridge Report is a newsletter provided by the Renaissance
Ridge Homeowners Association, a neighborhood homeowners association in
Sammamish, Washington, for the neighborhood homeowners. It is posted online and sent to homeowners
every month except for the four months when there is an HOA meeting. Please contact Brett Waldbaum, Secretary, at secretary@rridge.org, if you have
questions or comments about this Report or would like to make an
announcement in the next newsletter.
A copy of this month’s newsletter is posted on www.rridge.org, along with all previous newsletters.