December 2015, Issue 6
From the President
Where did the year go? My thanks to all of the HOA Board members for all of the work they
accomplished during 2015! Also, I thank Chris Arena and Matt Gleason for their contributions during their
time on the Board. Lastly, I thank all of the owners who volunteer to help at the HOA meetings and for
diligently working on their selected committees! Your efforts are much appreciated!
I welcome Alison Stoll and Matthew Posniewski as the newest members of the HOA Board
of Directors. I’m pleased to announce your 2015 Board of Directors and their offices:
The Board and I are grateful to each homeowner for taking time to maintain their mailboxes, properly
mow their lawns and maintain their landscaping beds. A few owners have been asked by the Board to
improve their home sites. The Board is grateful for their cooperation to bring their homes into compliance with the
Declaration.
Based on input received at our recent annual meeting, the Board plans to replace shrubs as needed at the front entrance and weed and refresh landscaping beds in the Chatsworth Common area as well a complete yet to be determined repairs to the Chatsworth Way cul-de-sac. Your Board is interested in receiving other suggestions for future work.
On behalf of the Board, and myself we hope each of you and your families are healthy and that you enjoy the holiday season!
Rick Sturm, President Southwick
Meadows HOA
rsturm@nycap.rr.com
Town of Clifton Park 2016
Annual Winterfest
The Town of Clifton Park has announced its annual Winterfest scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2016.
Join your friends and neighbors during this day of fun and excitement in and out of the cold! There will be Local competitions, winter activities, family fun and more!
Including:
• “Taste of Clifton Park” best soup contest
• Clifton Park Idol singing competition
• Clifton Park Community Chorus performance
• Face painting and more!
• Angelo’s Prime Bar and Grill
• Peddler’s Bar & Bistro
• Primal, Your Local Butcher
• Ravenswood Pub
• Rocco’s at the Jonesville Store
• Rusty Nail Grill & Tavern
• The Vista at Van Patten Golf
• Wheatfield’s
Southwick Meadows Homeowners Association 2016 Board Roster
Rick Sturm, President
Term expires 12/31/2016
rsturm@nycap.rr.com
Alison Stoll, Vice President -Compliance
Term expires 12/31/2017
Alistoll77@gmail.com
Matthew Posniewski, Vice President Architectural Review
Term expires 12/31/2017
pos92@nycap.rr.com
Tiffany VanCleef, Treasurer
Term expires 12/31/2016
taza27@yahoo.com
Ed Aluck, Board Secretary
Term expires 12/31/2016
edaluck2002@yahoo.com
Treasurer’s Report – Tiffany VanCleef
Happy 2016! I hope this newsletter finds you well. Just a reminder that your 2016 homeowner’s association assessment bills were mailed or emailed (based on your waiver) and full payment of $350.00 is due no later than March 1, 2016. Please feel free to pay earlier, especially if you will be traveling or away for the winter. Payments received after this date will incur a 10% penalty of $35.
Make checks payable to: Southwick Meadows HOA
And mail to: P.O. Box 5143, Clifton Park, NY 12065
Happy 2016!
Southwick Meadows HOA Newsletter
Newsletter is published quarterly in January, April, July, and October. Your newsletter editor is Jo Anne
Robbins. All articles and photographs should be submitted by the 15th of the month prior to the month of
publication. We prefer Microsoft Word format. The deadline for submissions for the next issue is March 15th.
Your “Honey Do” List
Matt Gleason
Since spring has finally arrived, it’s time to start thinking about your honey-do list. What? It’s winter? But it’s 50 degrees outside. Are you sure? OK, whatever you say. As we sweat through winter, it’s easy to imagine all of the outdoor projects we want to complete in the spring. The Architectural Review Committee stands ready to help get those started. Whether it’s new landscaping, a patio, deck or pool, or even a new front door, don’t forget to submit your Architectural Review Form for approval prior to starting work. The form can be found on the neighborhood website and instructions for filling it out and submitting it are right on the form.
As I turn over my ARC duties to new board member Matt Posniewski, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the
ARC team for their help and fast approvals over the last 2 years. Jodi Schoen, Bryan Kelly, Janet Armedio, Charlie Ducar and Jessica Dembo have been instrumental in processing 50+ approvals during my time on the board and without them, I certainly couldn’t have done it.
Our HOA website
Rick Sturm
Our HOA web site, http://southwickmeadows.org, is available for your convenience. To date, we have created the initial site, and have added sections on our Board members, membership meetings, Architectural Review forms, and newsletters. I’m sure other areas will be developed in the near future. Access to the web site can be gained quite easily through user names and passwords.
Your user name is based on your address; for example, mine is SM64CH. This stands for Southwick Meadows, my street number, 64, and CH for my street, Chatsworth Way. The user name cannot be changed. Your initial password is the same as your username plus the last 4 numbers of your telephone that the HOA has on file for you. (If we don’t have current telephone numbers for you, please let us know) Upon logging on, you will be taken to your profile page where you can enter personal information if you like and change your password. For privacy, you should change your password after the first time you log in to the web site. If you have any difficulty logging into the web site, please contact me.
Winter Tips for Community and Home Safety
Chris Arena, Vice President for Compliance
A mild December has been the best holiday gift one could hope for. Unfortunately, the great weather won’t last much
longer! When winter finally does arrive, please keep in mind the following tips to keep your home safe and in
compliance.
• Please keep cars off roadways during snowstorms. This will allow plows to clear the roads completely.
• If you have a fire hydrant on your property, please shovel a path to allow access to it.
• Be sure to disconnect hoses from their spigots. If ice forms within the spigot, it could cause the pipe to burst.
• Snow plows have been known to destroy mailboxes during severe storms. Although the town will replace a
mailbox, the replacement wood post and white box is not compliant with the HOA bylaws. It is the
homeowner’s responsibility to repair and maintain mailboxes.
• Inspect gutters and be sure that they are clear of leaf debris. Clogged gutters will not allow water to flow
properly and freezing temperatures can cause ice formation.
• Please drive slowly through our community! Poor visibility at dawn and dusk, frequent storms, and icy
roadways can create hazardous conditions.
• Winterize your sprinkler system to avoid cracking your pipes.
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
Recycling Electronics
Jo Anne Robbins
It is definitely the season to be jolly and a time when many of us purchase electronics to give for holiday gifts. Often, the gifts replace older items, thus requiring the disposal of out of date or no longer wanted equipment. What can you do with this unwanted equipment? Recycle it at the Clifton Park Transfer Station located on Vischer Ferry Road.
For several years, the Town accepted all electronics for recycling, free to Clifton Park residents at the Transfer Station. By providing this drop off service throughout the year, the Town provided a convenient option for the collection and subsequent recycling of unwanted electronic items. After conducting a bidding process, it became clear that the entire industry had established fees for certain items. Thus, the Town began charging for certain items. The paragraphs below detail the electronics the Town continues to accept for free at the Clifton Park Transfer Station. Items accepted for free: Computer towers & desktops; laptops; servers – free standing, racked, blades & arrays; computer accessories including mice, keyboards, and speakers; LCD flat panel monitors; desktop and portable printers; scanners; FAX; desktop copiers; network
switches, routers, hubs, and modems; cell phones, and commercial/residential telephones; PDAs/palm pilots; cameras,
camcorders and video equipment; flat panel and plasma TV’s; VCR’s, DVD players, stereos and turn tables; batteries, circuit boards, and video gaming systems, Items Accepted for a Fee:
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT’s) Televisions,
CRT TV’s and CRT Monitors under 17” or less, $10.00. CRT TV’s and
CRT Monitors larger than 17” and 27” or less, $20.00. CRT TV’s and
CRT Monitors above 27,” $35.00. Wood Console/ Projection TV’s, $45.00.
Friends of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library Announce the Winning Book of the year
Jo Anne Robbins
On November 2nd, Two Towns – One Book, Clifton Park Halfmoon Read program, announced The Martian by Andy Weir as this year’s winning community read book. This was the result of community nominations made in April and May, reader groups actually reading 20 nominations during the summer, and voting by community members in September and
October.
The Martian is the story of astronaut, Mark Watney, who becomes stranded on the planet Mars. The book is a thrilling page-turner with a “pop” style, written with enjoyable alternate narration chapters, and told from the perspective of flight staff on both the planet Earth and the Hermes spacecraft, and the abandoned astronaut on Mars. Important themes of the book are: American ingenuity, survival, problem solving, space exploration, morality of our choices, and the need for our world to unite for a common cause. A movie version of The Martian was released in October 2015 starring Matt Damon and is being mentioned as an Oscar contender.
The Kickoff Event for 2016 is The U. S. Space Program, scheduled for Saturday, January 30, 2016 at the CPH Library at 2 PM. Join the FOL to explore answers to important questions about the book of the year and about our US space program.
Is The Martian science fiction or, perhaps, realistic fiction? Is travel to Mars possible? Why should Mars be explored? Discover the development and successes of the US space program with Lester Gerhardt. Dr. Lester Gerhardt, Engineer and RPI Professor in both Engineering and Science Will Kick Off our Two Towns – One Book 2016 Events on Saturday, January 30th!
Dr. Gerhardt was personally involved in the development of space flight simulation for astronaut training. He
coordinated Space Week, celebrating the 30th anniversary of man landing on the moon and mentored many students who have lived and worked on the International Space Station. The event is appropriate for families with school-age children. Registration on the Library website is recommended.
TTOB Project Partners include: Town of Clifton Park,Town of Halfmoon, Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library, CAPTAIN Youth and Family Services, Shenendehowa Central Schools, Southern Saratoga YMCA, Halfmoon Senior Center, and Shenendehowa Adult Community Center.
Community members interested in volunteering for project activities or events should contact Linda Conklin at lconklin@nycap.rr.com.
For additional information, visit the TTOB website:
http://www.twotownsonebook.org
Other events for The Martian are in the planning stage and will start in January 2016 and be offered through May 2016. This year we are opening up nominations for the 2017 book in January and will have ballot boxes available at every function and in place at the library and both town halls as well as on our website: www.twotownsonebook.org.
So when you read a book that would lend itself to a community read, you can nominate it right away instead of waiting a few months.
Kids Read, Too! has chosen companion books for children. The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins recommended for grades K-3 and Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce recommended for grades 4-8 were selected for younger readers. More information is available on the TTOB website.
Kids read too! Featured Junior Companion Books Have Been announced
The Friends of the CPH Public Library Community Read Program, Two Towns-One Book, have announced their selections for children’s companion books. The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree- Loving Woman Changed a City Forever
By H. Joseph Hopkins
Unearth the true story of green thumbed pioneer and activist Kate sessions, who helped San Diego grow from a dry desert town into a lush, leafy city known for its gorgeous parks and gardens. Nobody thought it was possible, “but she did.” Recommended for grades K-3.
FEBRUARY 7 IS TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE LIBRARY DAY. EXPLORE!
First Night Saratoga
Don’t miss this annual event to ring in the New Year! This year, Saratoga Arts Presents First Night Saratoga with the theme “Art After Dark”! ntertainment runs from 5:30 pm December 31, 2015 to 12:30 am on January 1, 2016 all throughout downtown Saratoga Springs. It’s the state’s biggest New Year’s Eve event outside of NYC!