Heritage Greens News

ACCU, Inc is the property management company supporting the Heritage Greens Homeowners Association. Homeowner questions or concerns can be directed to

Cheryl Witt, Property Manager at

(303) 339-9693

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news@heritagegreens.org

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May 2012

President's Pen

Welcome to the May edition of the HG Newsletter. I must say the neighborhood is looking fantastic. The pool will be opening in just a couple of weeks. The tennis courts are in full swing. And the raccoons, wild turkeys, and foxes are out in record numbers. Seriously, if you haven't seen them, each of these critters has been spotted on roaming the 'hood. Keep your eye out for them.

Your Board has been busy with a few issues as of late but nothing out of the ordinary. One such issue is the development of a new Heritage Greens website. Our goal is to create a more interactive and user-friendly website for important community notices, HOA documents, resident contact information, forms, dates for upcoming activities, calendars and a messaging system for the various HOA sponsored groups (such as Moms, Pops and Tots) and so on. We hope to have it up and running in a couple of months, if not sooner.

Also, we have entered the time of the year when many homeowners begin considering or actually starting home improvement projects. As a reminder, all exterior projects, including landscape modifications, patio additions, deck replacements, roof replacements, house painting (even if painting the same color), window replacement and home additions, must obtain Architectural Control Committee (ACC) approval prior to beginning your project. In order to keep your project on track and on schedule, please submit your architectural request form well before you plan for your contractor to begin work. Our ACC members, Joe Graziano, Todd Matta, and John Lundberg, will do their best to review your proposed project as quickly as possible, but the review process does take time to complete. These gentlemen are volunteers, as are the rest of the members of the Board, who have busy lives and cannot drop everything to review a last minute request. The Rules and Regulations of the Association provides up to three weeks for the ACC review and approval process. So please, be respectful of their responsibilities during this very busy time of year.

A list of approved roofing materials can be found at www.heritagegreens.org. Click into the Architectural Compliance tab. You will then see links in the left margin to the Approved Roofing Materials list updated on March 14, 2102 and the ACC Request Form for downloading and completion. If a request is not submitted and approved prior to the commencement of a project, the Board has the obligation to issue a cease and desist notice, and has on a several occasions. Please do not put your volunteer board members in the position of having to take this action. Your project planning process should allow for the time required to obtain all required approvals. It is through these requirements and the efforts of our volunteers that our neighborhood maintains its image as a wonderful place to live.

Also, as the weather warms and the days grow longer, many of us begin think of all things summer. For a number of us in the 'hood, this includes thoughts of evenings and weekends spent burning a few hundred dollars of fuel cruising on one of the many beautiful Colorado lakes in our boats, aka Break Out Another Thousand. So as a reminder, our HG covenants limit the parking of our boats, and other recreational vehicles, to 48 hours for loading and unloading only. As a lifelong boat owner myself, I understand the desire to keep my girl close, but not everyone shares our passion for these sleek, fiberglass mistresses, and every season the Board receives numerous complaints regarding this issue. So do me a favor, be mindful of the rules and courteous to your non-nautical neighbors. That way, I can spend my free time rafted-up at the lake rather than policing neighborhood parking violations...

Have a great Spring. See you around the hood, Tracy.

Gator Gallop - May 28

Please join your neighbors in support of our swim team at the annual Gator Gallop!

Memorial Day: Monday, May 28 at 9 am

This is a 2 mile fun run and walk that supports our Heritage Greens Gators. It is a great kickoff to summer and a fun way to reconnect with old neighbors and meet new ones! It is open to all Heritage Greens residents even if you are not part of the swim team. This year your t-shirt order includes the option to tie-dye on site. We have prizes for all ages and we have even created a new age grouping for our 30+ runners!

Registration forms can be downloaded here and they are also available at the HG entrance signs. Don't miss out on the 2012 t-shirt! Registration with t-shirt orders are due by MONDAY MAY 14! We hope you can join us for a healthy run, prizes and fun!

Would your family or business like to sponsor a Gator Gallop age group? We are currently soliciting prizes to award our winning runners. We welcome all prizes but you may also consider a simple cash donation of $40 which provides prize money to an entire age group of runners!

If you would like to donate, or have any questions about the event, please contact Suzette Loving suzetteloving@gmail.com 303-741-2239 or Kristen Dimig Kristen_dimig@yahoo.com 303-324-0181.

Gator Gallop Top Finishers 2011

Remember to click on the advertisements you see in this newsletter to visit the advertisers' websites. Please support those companies that support Heritage Greens.

The Pool is Opening!
Swim team starts practices start May 14 after school Pool opens to Heritage Greens Residents May 19 Weekends Hours from 10 am - 8 pm Weekday hours 3 pm - 8 pm Starting May 26 Pool hours 10 am - 8 pm

Gators Swim Team

Don't wait for your ship to come in - swim out to it.

~Author Unknown

WHAT BEGINS MAY 14TH?

THE START OF THE 2012 HERITAGE GREENS GATORS SWIM SEASON!

On Monday May 14th swim practice will begin after school. Then once we finish celebrating Memorial Day we will begin our morning practices, afternoon stroke clinics kicking off with starts and turns, and a week full of fun age group field trips and activities.

Registration has been a big success. We are thrilled to have so many returning swimmers and we would like to welcome many families that are new to Heritage Greens or swim team. If you haven't yet registered, our online registration is still open. Please go to http://heritagegreens.rmsl.org for registration information.

If you are registered, but missed the Gear Nights, you can order your suits and other Gator gear at Out Of Breath Sports on Arapahoe at Broadway.

We've already introduced our capable and enthusiastic coaching team, but wanted to share with you their specific roles for the 2012 season.

Cate McPherson, Head Coach, Age group coach for 13-18 and Pre-Team
Silas Getz, Age group coach for 11-12
Christopher McCoy, Age group coach for 9-10s
Chad Fesler, Age group coach for 7-8s
Nate Kiszla, Age group coach for 6 & unders

All of the coaches are excited to get the season started and are looking forward to working with our Heritage Greens kids. They will be working more formally with goal setting for our swimmers this year. Click here to see a sample of the "Goal Setting" booklet each swimmer will have to work on with their coach.

Our 2012 schedule is coming together with a great balance of hard work and fun. The Gator Gallop is the first family fun event on our calendar.

May 14th - After school practice begins
May 21st - LPS students morning practices start. After school practices continue for any kids still in school
May 24th - New Family Meeting at the pool
May 26th - Fun Meet
May 28th - Gator Gallop and Volleyball Tournament
June 1st - Pasta Pep Rally
June 2nd - Away Meet @ Cherry Knolls
June 9th - Home Meet against The Knolls
June 14th - Triathlon
June 15th - 11-12 year old sleep over
June 16th - Away Meet @Willow Creek II
June 18th - Gator Golf Tournament
June 19th - Pirates Cove
June 23rd - Away Meet against The Preserve
June 23rd - Wine Tasting and Movie Night
June 27th - Pre-Team Mini Meet
June 30th - Home Meet against Forest Park
June 9th - Prelims Week. HG will host 11-12 Prelims on July 12th.
July 14th - Finals & Awards Night

Please visit our team web site http://heritagegreens.rmsl.org on a regular basis for the details of upcoming events all through the swim season.

If you have any questions or suggestions for swim team, please contact the parent managers - we are always happy to hear from you.

Amy & Sue

Sue Carothers (720) 529-8042, sailkerry@comcast.net

& Amy Kurtz (303) 888-3084, amy_m_walker@yahoo.com

Grounds and Landscaping

Spring came much earlier than expected this year but our landscape contractor, JLS, is now on top of things. We have already accomplished our spring cleanup, first fertilization and sprinkler activation. The lawns have gone from brown to green in less than two weeks. Unfortunately, with the grasses coming out of their dormant state earlier than usual, the pre-emergent weed control was not applied soon enough. So, you may notice a few more dandelions, clover, and other weeds than normal. Future applications of weed control should catch up on this. We are also keeping an eye on some known problem areas where the grass dries out quickly.

I have had the opportunity to walk all common areas with our landscape contractor including the grounds surrounding the new pool and tennis facilities. Overall, everything looks pretty good. We only lost a couple of trees and bushes to winter kill, but most should be replaced as warranty claims with our pool/tennis contractor. Some left over scars remain from the sprinkler line trenches dug over a year ago, but most of the fill-in work from last year has held. Some additional fill and patching may still be necessary but we want to see how it grows in.

The flowers for the entry gardens and pots at the Otero, Links, and Colorado entrances as well as for the pots at the pool have been pre-ordered. Flowers will probably be planted the second or third week of May. We are also seeking a bid to supplement the perennials in the planters underneath our entryway signs, along the medians and at the "T" intersections at Otero and Links. The goal is to establish a higher density of perennial plants which will flower from spring through the fall. We also plan to re-mulch these areas and the tree rings throughout the common areas.

There has been some inconsistency in the removal of trash from our nine common area trash cans. Please keep in mind we have contracted to have these receptacles emptied only once per week. In monitoring this issue over the past few weeks, we have learned that part of the problem is these trash cans being filled with items not intended to be discarded at these locations. For instance, placing a large bag filled with dog feces, quite obviously collected from a homeowners' yard and then discarded in the community trash can, is prematurely filling receptacles. This and other larger items being placed in the community cans has caused multiple overflow situations. And they are very difficult to empty. We would appreciate everyone recognizing that these trash cans are intended for the convenience of all, and not for personal use. Also let me know if you observe contractors using these cans to dispose of their trash.

Feel free to shoot me an email if you notice any grounds keeping issues, and we will try to address them right away. Have a great summer! shawn@mcdermottlaw.net Shawn.

Tennis

There is a lot of activity on the courts and leagues started in late April. The windscreens are down, the cabana covers are up, the new furniture is in place, and we are ready for another great year of tennis!

Just a reminder, it is up to all of us to keep the tennis area clean and nice.

When you see the small trash cans on the court full, please empty them into the large containers (yellow is recycling).
Please do not remove any of the furniture from the seating area and make sure not to put it on the courts as it can harm the surface.
Always keep the entrance gate to the tennis area closed and the door to the bathrooms should never be propped open, this is meant to be a secure area and leaving gates and doors open does not accomplish that.
Court and reservation rules are posted on the bulletin board at the courts. Please read through them. Everyone's cooperation is appreciated!
Sign up sheets are posted every Sunday evening.
IF YOU SIGN UP AND DECIDE NOT TO USE THE COURT, PLEASE ERASE YOUR NAME FROM THE SIGN UP SHEET so other people know it is available.
Keys can be obtained from Marty Smith at mlsmiff@msn.com or 303-507-9605. First key is free, extras are $5 per key.

Heritage Greens Summer Junior Tennis Program

GOALS:

1) to provide quality tennis instruction to kids of various ages as one of the many alternatives they have during the summer months.

2) to provide parents an option to get their kids out of the house and turn off video games, at least for an hour per day.

3) to get more kids ready to play Junior Team tennis, as well as to help those already playing Juniors get ready for High School caliber tennis.

4) to provide another avenue for kids to get to know and interact with a different group of kids who live in the same neighborhood but may not know each other.

5) to provide group classes that have a lower student/teacher ratio (max 8 kids per court), compared to other name brand clubs with larger group lessons.

6) to enhance the overall ambiance and quality of life in the neighborhood and to get full utilization out of a sometimes neglected resource.

COST: Each session consists of six 1-hour flights as shown below. Cost is $90 per session. Sign up sheets and payment will be due 2 weeks prior to the start of the first session in order to properly establish rosters, create groupings and to put adequate staffing in place.

Teaching Professional: Kathy Pepper

SESSION ONE: Tuesday and Thursday, starting June 4, ending June 25. Six total one hour groupings.

1 pm: Five to Seven years old. Emphasis on eye-hand coordination, having fun, improving athletic ability and just being exposed to the sport.

2 pm: Eight to Ten years old. Emphasis on basic skills via clear, simple instructions that can be replicated after the lesson is over. Games and mini-competition will keep it fun.

3 pm: Eleven to Thirteen years old. After mastery of forehand & backhand, focus on serving and volleying, progressing to strategy and how to compete with proper enthusiasm and etiquette.

SESSION TWO: Tuesday and Thursday starting July 9, ending July 23. Six total one hour classes.

RESOURCES: I will provide all tennis balls, tennis equipment and the instructors. Students need to supply their own racquets and wear tennis appropriate clothing and shoes. (i.e no denim and preferably no running shoes).

CONTACT: Please do not hesitate to call me at 303-725-2892, or email at thepeps4@aol.com

Moms, Pops & Tots

Moms, Pops and Tots would like to celebrate the end of school and beginning of summer for many of us on Friday, May 18 from 2 to 4 pm. Please join us for an ice cream social at Beth and Eric Thompson's home, 7744 S. Elm Ct. This will also allow us to welcome Beth as the newest moms, pops and tots coordinator, along with Heidi Larson-David. Please let us know if you will plan on attending this event so that we will have enough ice cream on hand!

Jennifer Gruidel jenandjeffgruidel@comcast.net

Heidi Larson-David hldavid4@hotmail.com

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

Summer is upon us and the pool is opening soon. Please continue your efforts to REduce - REuse and REcycle.

Recycle: Second Annual Electronics Recycling Event.

When: Saturday, August 4, 2012

Where: Heritage Greens Pool Parking lot

What: Drop off your old electronics to be recycled. A full list of acceptable electronic items will be in future newsletters. There will be a recycling fee for CRT Monitors and TV's. All other acceptable items are free to recycle.

Why: We need your help to keep harmful electronic waste out of our landfills. Electronics contain toxic pollutants such as lead, mercury and cadmium among others. Electronics that are dumped in the trash often end up in landfills, where these substances can leach into the groundwater and soil. Research estimates that electronic waste accounts for 80 percent of American's toxic garbage and is growing exponentially. Join us in making a positive impact by dropping off your unwanted electronics and help keep our community beautiful.

Special Thanks to Tim Morton of Luminous Recycling for helping us set this up.