LATEST NEWS

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02/07/2010

Our spa is currently down for repairs.  During this time, the 'bubbles' will not work though the spa should still be hot.  Parts have been ordered and we anticipate that this will be fixed within a week.

08/05/2009

The pool area is closed until further notice.  Our main electrical panel has failed and we are obtaining permits and having it replaced.  We anticipate that we will be able to re-open the pool area within the week.  An announcement will be sent out once it is re-opened. 

05/07/2009

The pool area has re-opened!  Our pool is back up and ready for use with modifications that comply with new laws for public pools.

Our 2nd annual meeting and a board meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 13th at 7:00p.m. at our pool area.  Please note, the meeting will not be held on the 20th as previously reported.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

04/14/2009

Our annual meeting, scheduled for tomorrow, has been cancelled as we have not received enough ballots to have a quorum.  We will have a second annual meeting, along with a board meeting, on Wednesday May 20th at 7:00 p.m.

Our pool area is closed until further notice.  Many homeowners associations are subject to new laws concerning pools that require modifications to the pool drains.  We have already contracted for the work to be completed and are currently waiting for permits to be issued so work can begin.  We are hoping that this will take place within the next 1-2 weeks.  Our attorney has advised us that the pool area should remain closed until the work is complete.  We will send out an announcement once the pool area has re-opened. 

3/23/2009

The Village Homes North Board of Directors recently met. 

The board has authorized spending funds to again repair damages to the hillsides located along the paseos.  The damage is being caused by children climbing up and down the hillsides and sliding down.  Landscaping expenses represent one of the biggest expenses of our association.  The cost of these repairs are paid for by each homeowner.  Please help your association keep dues low by telling your children not to play on the hillsides.  Should the damage continue, we will have to make additional repairs and spend additional association funds.

Crime is a very real concern in our society and it is up to each individual homeowner to protect their own property.  Recently, an alert homeowner saw a young male with a flashlight loitering around a home in our neighborhood.  The sheriff's department was called and immediately responded but was unable to locate the youth.  While no crime was committed, the sheriff's department is saying that there have been increased reports of young kids committing thefts throughout our entire valley.  The sheriff's department recommends locking your car doors and not leaving valuables in your cars.  Furthermore, if you are out of town, notify your neighbors and ensure your house has a 'lived in' appearance while you are away.  Most importantly, should you see something suspicious, immediately call the sheriff's department at 661.255.1121.

2/17/2009

The board of directors will be meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, February 18th at the offices of Crown Management at 7:00 p.m.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

12/2/2008

The Village Homes North Board of Directors will be meeting tomorrow, Wednesday December 3rd at the offices of Crown Management at 7:00pm.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

10/06/2008

The board will be meeting this Thursday, October 9th at 7:00 pm at the offices of Crown Management.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

Village Homes North recently completed the re-painting of street names on the curbs/corners of our association.  We also have completed some improvements at our park.  A new table has been installed next to the playground.  We have also installed a dog waste bag dispensing station near the park.  VHN would like to thank Crown Management for this last item.  Crown Management gave it to us at no cost.

The board has also discontinued the skunk trapping services.  As you may know, we have received increased reports of skunks in our association.  We found that the number of skunks being trapped was not reducing the number of skunk sightings.  This service was also expensive and its continuance could not be justified.  We are recommending that all homeowners review this skunk prevention guide.  It is important not to leave out food and water that can attract skunks. 

07/30/2008

The VHN Board will be meeting tonight in the pool area tonight at 7:00pm.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

05/11/2008

We will be having a board meeting on Wednesday, May 21st at 7:00pm in the pool area.  We will also be holding our second attempt at our annual election.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend. 

04/26/2008

Our annual meeting was held on April 23rd.  We did not have enough ballots to have a quorum.  We will have to hold a second annual election.  At a second annual meeting, the percentage of ballots needed to have a quorum are lower.  We currently have enough ballots to have a quorum at the next meeting.  The second annual meeting will be held on May 21st at 7:00pm at our pool area.

Repairs are underway on our paseo.  Please be careful when walking on the paseo.  There are three areas where concrete has been removed, one at the end of Fenda Way, one at the end of Empalmo and another by our park.  We expect the work to be finished soon.

The damage to our hillsides along the paseo appears to be continuing.  Our landscaping costs are increasing because of this.  We understand that our kids love to explore our community, however, sliding down the hillsides on cardboard and riding motorized and non motorized bikes up and down planted areas is ruining parts of our hillsides.  If the damage continues, we will have to spend homeowner funds to install deterrents on our hillsides.

If you have not been to our pool area recently, please stop by.  Our bathroom countertops are in, however, best of all our pool furniture is here.  This largely completes our pool area renovations, though our contractor is still finishing some minor detail work.  The new pool furniture looks great and matches the tile on our newly renovated pools and spa.  Please treat the new pool furniture with care as this was a significant expense for our association. 

04/23/2008

Our annual meeting is set for tonight at 7:00pm in our pool area.  All homeowners are invited to attend.  As of last night, we need an additional 25 ballots submitted to have a quorum for the election.  If you have not mailed in your ballot, please bring it to the pool area tonight.  If we do not reach quorum, we have to hold a second annual election.  The cost of this will be paid for by all homeowners.  If your neighbors have not voted, please encourage them to bring their ballots to the meeting!

04/14/2008

We have received an update from our contractor that is renovating our pool bathrooms.  They are still waiting for the new countertops to be delivered.  We expect these to be installed soon.  Once installed, they will be performing some minor additional work and everything will be complete.  We have also spoken with our concrete contractor.  He has behind schedule and has informed us that work will begin on our paseos soon. 

We have received reports that children are sliding down the hillsides on the paseos (sometimes using cardboard) and riding bikes and motorized scooters on the hills.  We are working with our landscaping contractor to get a bid to repair the damage that is being done.  We are also looking at ways to prevent this damage from taking place.  The damage that is being done to the hillside will cost all homeowners money.  The hillsides belong to the association and we are responsible for maintaining them.  Please remind your children to stay off of the hillsides.  If you see children playing on the hillsides, you may want to locate their parents and advise them of what their children are doing.

The Board of Directors would like to thank Kristy Bowman of Crown Management for her many years of service to our association.  Kristy is pursuing a new opportunity and has left Crown Management.  A search is currently underway for a replacement.  In the meantime, Pam Sabo has taken over temporary management of our association.  Pam can be reached at 661.799.1135 X224 or at psabo@crown-mgmt.com.

04/02/2008

Our annual election is here again.  All homeowners should have received a ballot in the mail.  We need the help of all homeowners in turning in a ballot.  If we do not receive at least 54 ballots for the election, we have to hold a second election (the number of ballots needed for a second election is reduced).  Holding a second election costs all homeowners money.  Crown Management must receive ballots by Wednesday, April 23rd.  You can return ballots by using the postage-paid envelope enclosed with your ballot.  You can also hand-deliver your ballot to our annual meeting.  The annual meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 23rd at 7:00pm at our pool area.  Please remind your neighbors to send their ballots in today.

Our spa will be closed for one day within the next week.  We are unsure of the actual day as it will depend on the weather.  Our pool vendor will be installing new spa rails which requires that our spa be closed for one day. 

Within the next week, our concrete contractor is scheduled to begin some work on our paseos.  Sections of concrete will be removed and re-poured at the end of Fenda Way, Empalmo Court and Ramillo Way.  Please use caution while this work is taking place.  Our contractor will be taping off the affected areas.  At the same time, our contractor will be grinding down any 'lips' on the paseos.  The areas where this work is performed will not be closed, however there may be brief periods of noise while grinding takes place.

The Board of Directors is happy to announce that we have ordered new pool furniture.  We have done extensive research to find a great deal on long-lasting and stylish pool furniture that will compliment our newly renovated pool area.  We expect the furniture to arrive within the next 6-8 weeks.  We will announce once we have received it.

3/19/2008

Construction is currently underway on our pool house building.  The bathrooms are currently usable despite having no sinks.  We are waiting for our new countertops to arrive. 

We would like to let everyone know that our pool is now being heated.  It is costly to heat our pool so please enjoy it!  We would like to remind everyone that we recently invested a significant amount of money to re-plaster the pool.  Please treat our facilities with care and respect as all homeowners have to pay for any damage to the common/pool areas.

Our pool service company asks that we remind everyone that the emergency shutoff switch for the spa should only be used in an emergency.  Activating this switch turns off the entire spa, including the heater.  Bringing the spa back up to a hot temperature not only costs money, it takes away from others ability to use it.  For homeowners with children that use the pool area, please remind them of this.  Also, children under 14 need to be supervised by an adult at all times when in the pool area.  While you are welcome to bring guests to the pool, a homeowner must be present with them at all times.

Thank you for helping us keep our pool expenses low!

3/13/2008

The board of directors recently met.  We anticipate work will begin very soon on the pool house structure.  We are providing information to our potential contractor and should receive a work schedule from him soon.  Once we have dates and information on potential closures, we will let everyone know.

Spring is almost here and this is the time of year when many homeowners make improvements to the outside of their homes.  Please remember that changes to the outsides of homes (especially those visible from the street) require the approval of the architectural committee.  We have a new updated submission form available on our forms page.  Please use this form to submit requests in advance.  While every effort is made to speed the review of requests, you should allow 60 days to receive a decision.

As a reminder to everyone, please lock your car doors and keep your garage doors closed when not in use.  We received two reports of thefts recently.  One homeowner reported that someone took misc. items including papers from their unlocked car during the night.  In another incident, a juvenile was caught by an alert homeowner trying to take items from an open garage.  The police were called and this person was arrested.

Our sheriff's department has reported an increasing number of these types of thefts all over our valley.  In many cases, thieves are canvassing neighborhoods trying car doors.  If an unlocked car door is found, contents of the car are taken.  Even if you remove valuables from your car, thieves have been known to take papers and registration information.  This information could be used to commit identity theft.

This second incident in our community also demonstrates the importance and effectiveness of being alert.  If you see something happening out of the ordinary or suspicious persons in our neighborhood, notify the sheriff's department right away at 661.255.5152.

2/21/2008

The board will be meeting on Wednesday, February 27th at 7:00p.m.  We will be meeting at the Baker residence located at 25867 Fenda Way.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.  We will be finalizing our 2008 meeting dates so they can be distributed to all homeowners. 

We are also planning to vote on renovations to our pool bathrooms.  Our goal is to have all work on the pool area complete before the swim season begins.  We hope to see all homeowners at the meeting.

12/16/2007

Our pool, spa and children's pool have all been replastered.  The pool area is again open, however the heat has not been turned on yet.  While everything is safe to use, the plaster is finishing a curing period where it cannot be heated.  Our pool contractor has indicated that he expects to be able to heat the spa beginning Tuesday, December 18th.

The replastering work was a significant expense for our association.  Please help keep this work in good shape by not using the emergency shutoff button to turn on and off the spa.  This shuts down the entire spa and filter and heating system and allows the water to get dirty and stain the plaster.

The board is also reviewing bids for new pool furniture, which we hope to have in time for the summer swim season.  We are also in the final stages of putting together a contract to perform repairs on our pool area restroom building.  Putting together a contract that ensures we get what we pay for has been challenging with this project.  We hope to be able to move forward soon.  In addition to renovating the inside of the bathrooms, the outside of the structure will be painted and the peeling paint repaired and repainted.  Look for updates on when this will begin.

We will be posting other updates to our site within the next month.  This will include board meeting dates for 2008. 

The board wishes all of our fellow homeowners a safe and happy holiday season.

11/05/2007

The board will be holding our next meeting on Wednesday, November 7th at 7:00pm.  In addition to our normal schedule, we will be reviewing our budget for 2008.  For this reason as well as the lack of light at the pool area, the meeting will be held at Crown Management offices.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

At our last meeting on 10/11, the board welcomed homeowners Dave Fencil, David Goldman and Jeff Sims all of whom have volunteered to serve our community on the architectural committee.  The committee is now comprised of five homeowners, three of whom are not board members. 

With the summer season behind us, the board has voted to move forward with work on our pool area.  The pool, spa and children's wading pool are scheduled to be re-plastered beginning November 26th.  The entire pool area will be closed beginning 11/26 while this work is completed.  Our contractor is estimating that work will be complete by the end of December.  We will post an update on our website once it is re-opened.

The board is also in the final stages of review for repairs to the pool house/bathroom building.  These repairs include siding replacement, interior/exterior paint and upgrades to the bathrooms.  Some board members requested face to face meetings with one contractor to review the scope of work.  These board members will be reporting back to the board on 11/7 and we anticipate that work will be voted on at that time.

The board would like to bring to everyone's attention the damage that is being done to the hillsides at the end of some streets.  We have received reports that children are playing on the hillsides, riding their bikes down them and 'sledding' down them using a variety of items.  The hillsides are obviously not intended to be play areas.  In addition to damaging our hillside plants and sprinkler system, it makes our hillsides look ugly.  Landscaping is one of the top expenses for our association.  Money spent to replant hillsides and fix sprinkler systems comes from all homeowners. 

10/11/2007

Today's board meeting will start at 7:30pm and not 7:00pm.  The board will be in executive session from 6:30 until 7:30.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.  Due to the colder weather (and lack of light) the meeting will be held at Crown Management offices. 

10/3/2007

The 10/15 board meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday, 10/11.  The meeting will be held at Crown Management offices.  The board is scheduled to decide on several key common area improvements.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

7/9/2007

The 6/27 board meeting was well attended with about 14 homes represented (possibly a record).  The main item discussed was crime and what role the association can take in providing security.  A presentation was made by Golden West K-9 (our current security company).  Currently, they provide locking and unlocking services for the pool only.  We talked about enhanced services they can provide, including patrolling our neighborhood. 

Ultimately, there is a cost for this, and we are not budgeted for this expense.  The board has asked Crown Management to obtain competitive bids and develop a plan to put the item to all homeowners for a vote.  Look for more information about this soon. 

Some of the other items discussed included:

Neighborhood Watch was discussed at the meeting.  Homeowner Gary Baker took down contact information of people that wanted to get involved.  Gary has setup a meeting which will be attended by the Sheriff's Department Community Liaison Deputy.  The meeting will be held on Monday, July 23rd, 7:00 p.m. at Gary's house located at 25867 Fenda Way.  All interested parties are encouraged to attend.  For more information, please contact Gary at 661-259-9262.

6/27/2007

As a reminder to everyone, our Board of Directors meets tonight at 6:30 in the pool area.  There are many items we plan to address and will be looking to our fellow homeowners for their opinions.  The Board encourages all homeowners to attend.

6/15/2007

The Board of Directors has sent a letter via mail to all homeowners regarding the recent activities in our neighborhood.  You can also download this letter by clicking here.

Most importantly, the date of our next Board meeting has changed.  Our next Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 27th in the pool area at 6:30pm.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

A homeowner has notified us that they are forming a walking patrol in our neighborhood.  This may evolve into a neighborhood watch program, once we receive more information on this from the Sheriff's Department.  If you are interested in seeing how you can help, please contact Jay at (661) 253-4461.

6/14/2007

A glass pipe (used for smoking methamphetamine) was found this evening, stuck into the children's play equipment at our HOA park.  There was also a significant amount of odds and ends scattered about the park.  These other items included DVD's and CD's (most of which were broken), a map and a first aid kit.  The Sheriff's Department was called and two patrol cars were sent out.  The deputies removed the items and wrote a report.  The deputies said that a car was probably broken into, possibly elsewhere, and the people that did this came to our park to go through what they stole.  We have not received any report of a car burglary happening in our association.  We are particularly concerned about the glass "meth" pipe, since a child playing on the equipment could have easily stepped on it.

New graffiti was also found written in chalk on the paseo.  The deputies did take down information on this as well.  They said that the new graffiti was likely done by the same "group" that did the graffiti reported on 6/3 (based upon what was written).  The "group" doing this is a "tagging crew"/"wanna-be" gang.  The Sheriff's Department is actively investigating this group.

A homeowner on Fenda Way also reported that last night (6/13) they heard someone at their gate around 11:15pm.  Whoever was there may have been frightened off by their dog.  The Sheriff's Department was called.

The Board of Directors has drafted and will be sending out a notice to all homeowners, advising them what can be done to address these issues.  The best thing we can do is be observant, and call the Sheriff's Department right away if you observe anything suspicious.  It is better to call the Sheriff's Department if you see something minor, than to wait and find out that more was going on than you thought.  If you are out walking in our association, carry your cell phone. 

As stated in our 6/3 update, if you are calling the Sheriff's Department from your cell phone, they recommend NOT calling 911 but instead dialing them directly.  All cell phone 911 calls are answered by the California Highway Patrol.  Getting through to them (and being transferred to the SCV Sheriff's station) can be a lengthy and frustrating experience.  The direct number for the SCV Sheriff's station is 661-255-1121, your call here should be answered right away.  The Sheriff's Department also recommends programming this number in your cell phone.  For more information on this, please click here.

6/11/2007

We have received two reports in the past month about homeowners on Fenda Way that were victims of a prowler or attempted burglary.  On one occasion, a homeowner heard someone trying to get into their front door in the late evening.  This person was apparently frightened off.  On another occasion, a homeowner was woken up at about 4AM by someone trying to pry open a door on their house.  The homeowner confronted this person, who then ran away.  The Sheriff's Department was called but they did not find the suspected burglar, who was described as a male Hispanic in their late teens to early 20's with a shaved head and tattoos.

Please be vigilant!  If you see anything suspicious in our neighborhood, please call the Sheriff's Department right away.  Also, ensure that your windows and doors are locked and secure at night and when not at home.  This also includes your vehicles.  Recent reports from the Sheriff's Department indicate that unlocked cars are being targeted by thieves in the Santa Clarita Valley.

6/3/2007

Our 2007 board elections are complete.  All board members were re-elected to serve for another term on the board.  The board wishes to thank Richard Cooper (one of our fellow homeowners) who served as our independent Inspector of Elections. 

The board is aware that our spa is in need of more maintenance than a simple cleaning will provide.  We are currently getting estimates to have the spa either acid washed or re-plastered (whichever is recommended).  The spa is safe to use despite it's poor appearance.  The board is acting to have this work done as soon as possible.

Recently, graffiti was sprayed on the sidewalk near the pool area and on a utility box at our entrance.  We immediately notified the sheriff's department.  They will be photographing the graffiti (they have a full time detective that tracks vandals down).  The city is also scheduled to remove this very soon (possibly Monday).  Additionally, there have been two reports recently of 'teens' on our paseo using drugs after dark.  Summer is here and with kids out of school vandalism seems to become more of a problem.  All homeowners have to pay for this.

If you are out walking at night and see vandalism or suspicious activity taking place, please call the Sheriff's Department right away.  If you are calling from your cell phone, the Sheriff's Department recommends NOT calling 911 from your cell phone but instead dialing them directly.  All cell phone 911 calls are answered by the California Highway Patrol.  Getting through to them (and being transferred to the SCV Sheriff's station) can be a lengthy and frustrating experience.  The direct number for the SCV Sheriff's station is 661-255-1121, your call here should be answered right away.  The Sheriff's Department also recommends programming this number in your cell phone.

5/21/2007

Skunks!  We have discovered there are at least two active skunk dens on our hillside along the paseo.  Skunks and their babies have been seen along the paseo and in the backyards of numerous homes.  The board has hired a pest control expert to remove the skunks from our association.  There will be live traps placed in the hillside/brush area of the paseo for about a month.  The traps catch and do not kill or injure the skunks, allowing them to be released in a more rural area.  Please do not disturb the traps or the skunks.  They are the primary carrier of rabies in California.  Please read this page from the USDA, which details how to deter these animals from seeking out your house for food or shelter.

For those of you with children, please advise them not to play on the hillsides along the paseo (including climbing in the trees).  In addition to the skunk problem, our landscaping gets damaged.  This also creates a liability for all homeowners should someone be injured.  The association spends a considerable percentage of our funds on maintaining landscaping.  This is paid for by each homeowner.

The board will be holding a second attempt at an annual meeting this Wednesday, May 23rd at 7:00p.m. in the pool area.  All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

5/2/2007

The shade structure in the pool area will be torn down May 3rd through May 5th due to dry-rot.  The structure will not be replaced at this time.  The board is reviewing options to install a new, more functional shade structure in the pool area, possibly next year.  What this will be replaced with (and if it will be replaced) will depend on our reserve funds and homeowner feedback.  The pool will remain open during this time.  The contractor has been advised to keep their work area clean and roped off while performing demolition work.  If you see something that concerns you, please contact Crown Management right away.

Additionally, the summer season is here!  Keeping the pool clean and at the proper temperature is a constant challenge for our contractor.  If you feel the pool is in need of maintenance, please call Crown Management right away so our pool technician can correct the problem.

4/26/2007

The Village Homes North website is launched! Please be patient while we build the site.  In the meantime, please send comments or questions to webmaster@villagehomesnorth.com.