the hickory reek newshickorycreekjax.com/newsletter/august2019p.pdfthe hickory creek news page 3 lot...
TRANSCRIPT
Board of Directors
President:
Justin Smith: (904) 608-6128
Vice President:
Nell DeCoursey [email protected] Secretary: Phillip Austin [email protected] Treasurer: Terry D. Wanbaugh: (703)508-9867
[email protected] Member’s At Large: Andre Boutte: (904) 333-4895 [email protected] Carrie Harrigan [email protected] Robert Hayeck (904) 866-2250 [email protected] Marti Wilmering: (904) 705-5118 [email protected]
Committees Architectural Control Committee (ACC) chair: Car r ie Harr igan Grant planning committee chair: Ed Hauver Lakes Committee Chair: Vacant Neighborhood Watch/Safety committee: Lia Anderson [email protected] Newsletter Committee Chairr: Robert Hayeck Social committee: Vacant Web Master: Nell DeCoursey Welcome Committee chair: Roseanne Norwood: (904)221-7352 roseanne.norwood @comcast.net
The Hickory Creek News
August 2019 A Note from the President
Welcome to the end of summer vacations and back to school in Hickory Creek.
Our collective yards are looking great for the overall neighborhood. I see some
heat stress and bug damage in some yards including mine. The lake water
levels are still down, but are up slightly with recent rain.
The current Board of Directors have been hard at work during the first 7
months of 2019 working to trying to keep Hickory Creek a great place to live!
The weir work was completed during April and the follow-up work was com-
pleted as well. We also received the grant check from the City of Jacksonville
from the grant program and it has been deposited. I walked through all the
lake areas where work was completed and the inspector from the city was
pleased with the work accomplished.
A few things to make sure we are all aware and being neighborly. Please try
to not park in the streets where possible. I know there are some homes in the
neighborhood that have more cars than driveway space, but we need to try
and keep it to a minimum. Parking in the street is in the CCRs and a City
issue. We have a lot of children in the neighborhood and this can be a safety
issue with children walking around cars in front of traffic. Police and Fire
trucks will have issues as well in cul-de-sacs and tight streets. Last but not
least, please don’t park in your yards as we don’t want to be like most of the
Joeandy neighborhoods.
If you live along the Hickory Creek fence line please make sure to trim back
the trees, shrubs and vines on the fence line. We want the fence to last as
long as possible and keeping the foliage off the fence will help extend the life
of those fence panels.
Please make sure to keep the street drains clear of debris and make sure no
trees / bushes are growing around the pipes from the streets to the lakes.
Okay, that was a much longer list than what I thought it was going to be, but
we all want to live in a great community. It is every home owner’s responsibil-
ity to maintain your yards, homes, lake banks, fence lines, etc. I appreciate
the opportunity to lead this community again and love this neighborhood.
Congratulations to our Yard of the Month winners in 2019
Regards, Justin R. Smith
Hickory Creek Association - President
PAGE 2 THE HICKORY CREEK NEWS
Hickory Creek HOA Board of Directors Meeting At Landmark Middle School Tuesday, July 2, 2019 AGENDA
Call to Order by: __Justin Smith______ ACC @ _6:39___ p.m. o’clock Board @ _7:09_p.m.
Per By-laws a quorum consists of a majority of 5 of the 8 Board of Directors
Purpose of Meeting: Report activity of previous month and planning for upcoming months.
Notice – Board Meetings are Recorded
Guest Speaker - Charles McBurney, Attorney – MRTA Discussion
Charles cancelled and did not attend the meeting.
ACC Committee:
Update of violations: This was only a verbal report – a hard copy of violations was not submitted.
Old violations:
Lot# xxx – Parked cars on the street – Terry spoke to homeowner and a letter was sent, but the cars are back on the street
New violations:
Lot #xxx – Yard needs attention
Lot #xxx – Yard needs attention
Lot #xxx – Trash was at the curb too early
Roll Call: Quorum NO
Board of Directors
President Justin Smith Present
Vice President Nell DeCoursey Present
Treasurer Terry Wanbaugh Present
Secretary Phillip Austin Present
Member at Large Andre Boutte Present
Member at Large Marti Wilmering Absent
Newsletter Editor Robert Hayeck Present
Committees
ACC Committee Carri Hannigan Present
Grant Committee Edward Hauver Absent
Lakes Committee Interim - Josh Keenan Absent
Safety Committee James Williams Absent
Safety Committee Lia Anderson Absent
PAGE 3 THE HICKORY CREEK NEWS
Lot #xxx– Garage door is falling apart – trash at the curb too early
Lot #xxx – Extended the drive way and cars (work trucks) parked on the street – no variance has been received
Lot #xxx (rental) – Yard needs attention
Complaints received:
NA
Variance requests
Granted variances
NA
New requests:
Lot #xxx – Repaving and extending of driveway - Approved
Lot #xxx – Would like to put a pool in – Approved
Lot #xxx - Would like to replace and extend their fence - Approved
Lakes Committee: Nell (email from Josh)
Sprayed Lake 8
Checked on Lake 5 – there is improvement
All the lakes are low
Will continue to spray the lakes – based on chemical instructions
Lake 1 - has a brown tint – Justin is going to call the Lake Line for advice
Lake 5 – Homeowner contacted us - when Lake 5 was treated – he had breathing problems – Possible reac-tion to algae?
HCCC Committee:
NA
Secretary Report:
Approval of June 2019 minutes submitted for review
Minutes were approved – all in favor
Approval of the minutes from June 6, 2019, Emergency BOD meeting
Minutes were approved – all in favor
Treasurer’s Report:
June 2019 Treasurer’s Report submitted for review
THE HICKORY CREEK NEWS PAGE 4
Are You Internet Secure? By: Nell McLeod DeCoursey If you use a “always on” cable connection, you should read this
article very carefully. Many of you may be novices to the computer and those of you that are “advanced users” will al-
ready know much of what you will read here. Security on the Internet is a concern. Each and every one of you that have
a computer, a wi-fi, laptop, iPad or tablet or a desktop, or a network at the office should be reading articles that inform
you of some measures you can take to protect your computer and the valuable information and files it contains, (excuse
the wee nag please!). A personal Firewall for a home computer is the perfect tool to help maintain your privacy while you
surf the net as well as a good Malware program. A great website to go visit to check your system for security leaks is at
Steve Gibson’s site, Steve is a noted security expert and President of Gibson’s Research Corp. His website is: http://
grc.com/ click on the “Shields Up” link and follow the instructions to test the security of your computer. I strongly recom-
mend you take the time while at this site to do some reading and learning about what can happen to your computer. Also
check out his “Freeware” tab at the top of the page, you’ll find some good utilities there. Make sure you have a strong an-
ti-virus program on your computer, I recommend Norton Security Suite (free is you use Comcast for your IP) and being
web savvy enough to educate myself on keeping my personal computer and the files it contains safe from an unknown
outsider. Make sure you bookmark this site, as you will want to return often. Steve Gibson has created several free pro-
grams to aid in computer security.
Remember readers, I can only lead you to the information; it’s your part to read and educate yourself on
topics that are of interest to you .
Here’s a website I simply cannot live without. PC World, also a wealth of information World (website: http://
www.pcworld.com/). I subscribed to this magazine for years and had piles of them lying around, always read the maga-
zine from cover to the back. I have included a link here that is on the pcworld.com website about how to update your pri-
vacy settings in Face Book. Easy to understand and way better info than Face Book gives you. Check it out, https://
is.gd/3KVLBG.
Here are the ten commandments of online safety that you must follow in order to remain secure. Courtesy of https://is.gd/
y2YNEo
1. Cybercriminals keep coming up with new ways and techniques to make people fall for the scam they create. Make sure
you read up about the latest scams once or twice a month. Just Google “how to browse safely.”
2. Never click on any links that you don’t totally recognize and trust. Links that appear in emails sent to you by
strangers are to be avoided at all costs. Such links can lead you to websites that can extract personal data from your
computer without your knowledge and consent. Also, be over judgmental about suspicious emails you receive from your
friends, in which they don’t sound like themselves. For example, is your friend suggesting that he’s in big trouble and
urgently needs you to send him some money? Beware, your friend’s account may have been hacked.
3. Online shopping can make you pay for ghost products. Multiple fake websites have been spotted across the internet
that looks just like an average online shopping website. The realism dies right after you are make a purchase. Always
make sure that the website has a padlock icon (or https) in its URL.
4. Wi-Fi router at your home must be password-protected. This is to make sure that only trusted users are connected to
the network.
5. Step up your password game. Gone are the days when BroCode420 was considered a strong password. Now, a strong
password must contain small letters, capital letters, numbers, and even special characters. It becomes more difficult to
remember such a strong password, but it’s still better than getting your account hacked. Always use a different password
for each of your accounts. Keep changing or rotating them, say every six months. For more tips on how to create strong
passwords, go to http://passwordday.org/
Hickory Creek is on Face Book
PAGE 5 THE HICKORY CREEK NEWS
Lot #xxx is in bankruptcy – Terry called to get some additional information and was advised to send an email
Lot #xxx– invoices were being sent to the wrong address, since been corrected Terry went to the house to try to meet with them – but wasn’t able to meet them – she would prefer not to send this one to collections because the home-owner has been in the house less than a year
4 homes for sale ranging from $259k to $319k
Several homes have gone though sales and we were not aware of them being listed
Ansbacher has provided us a few additional resolutions regarding our collections process
– they are recommending we put a formal process put in place – they suggest we define the length of the time when notices are sent out
HOA payments are due on January 31th each year – the process going forward will be:
Invoice sent
1. notice of delinquency is sent on or about the first week of February
2. notice of delinquency is sent out at 60 days late
Final notice of delinquency is sent at 90 days late – also sent to collections
Motion to approve the above process was made – Approved, all in favor
Motion was made to approve the Treasurer’s report – Approved – all in favor
Website Committee:
NA
Newsletter:
Next edition will be in August
Please submit articles by August 10th
Welcome Committee:
Email submitted:
5 welcomes in the past month
Grant Planning Committee:
Everything on the original list is complete
Neighbor Watch/Safety Committee:
NA
PAGE 6 THE HICKORY CREEK NEWS
Yard of the Month:
1st
month of the new Facebook process
Most FB likes – Lot #xxx – concerned that they don’t want the Winner sign in their yard
If the winner doesn’t want the sign in their yard – the award goes to second place, etc…
Not sure if Josh is pressure washing winner’s driveways
Old Business:
New Business:
New Hickory Creek flags were ordered
Paint was purchased for the fence
Tabled Items: NA
Open Forum: NA
Meeting Adjourned Motioned: Justin Smith
2nd
: Phillip Austin
Time: 8:13pm
Keeping the Neighborhood Safe and Beautiful Safety Tips
The number to report a streetlight outage is 665-6000. You need to give them the number of the pole and the
nearest intersection.
Lock your cars! This neighborhood and a number of the surrounding neighborhoods have had issues with people
“testing” car doors at night to see if they are open and then taking things that are in the car.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s non-emergency number is (904) 630-0500.
Make sure that your house numbers are visible. Emergency services need to be able to quickly find your house, it
could be difference between life and death.
PAGE 7 THE HICKORY CREEK NEWS
6. Browse the internet safely and beware of phony websites. You may have heard about a lot of fake news
websites during the recent US presidential elections. What many people don’t know is that fake websites ex-
pand to hundreds of other categories as well, apart from news and media. Some of them even look like a real
and reputed website but contain only minor discrepancies, such as a misspelled URL, or a differently spelled
brand name. Whenever any website asks for personal information, such as your account details or contact in-
formation, make sure the website is authentic.
7. Improve your system security. Keep your devices and machines equipped with strong malware protection
software such as antiviruses and VPNs. This can greatly reduce the chances of your device being hacked or
infiltrated. It also allows you to browse without being tracked.
8. As a contingency security plan, back up your important data at least once a month, just for the rainy days.
It is also a good idea to check your bank statements regularly for any suspicious activity – such as changes in
your registered authorization details i.e. email address or mailing address – without your permission.
9. Install a strong firewall. This can prove to be a savior against cyber-attacks and hacks. Though firewalls
are now embedded in most OS, it’s always better to have a specialized piece of software just for the purpose.
10. Use common sense. You don’t need to be a computer genius to understand that a prince from Dubai who
wants to give you a million Dirhams is not a prince but a scammer who wants to fool you into giving him some
money.
City of Jacksonville Matching Grant Program
The Jacksonville City Matching Grant Program provides matching funds up to $5,000 for projects that improve the
quality of our community. The 2018 - 2019 project was for the repair of our weir system. Examples of possible pro-
jects, but not limited to, are 1) clean up graffiti, 2) repair and install new fencing, 3) replace neighborhood street
and entrance signs, or 4) providing community gardens. Our selection is not limited to any of the above but must
improve the quality and beautification of our community.
The Board of Directors would like to invite members of our community to submit suggestions for the 2019 – 2020
project. Please email your suggestion to [email protected]. Your suggestions will be presented to the September
Board of Director meeting for consideration.
Thank you
Ed Hauver
Grant Committee
School is now open.
The students will be waiting for the school bus early in the morning and coming back in the afternoon, so please drive safely and be on the
look out for your young neighbors.
Thanks,
Editor
Hickory Creek Homeowners Association
P.O Box 350323
Jacksonville, FL. 32225-0323
www.hickorycreekjax.com