Andover Glen Gazette June 2004
“Communication is the key to a strong community”
June 2004, volume 2, issue 6
Monument Update: the saga continues…
By Barbara Harrington
As you’ve been able to guess by now, the road to rebuild our entryway property
identification monument has been long with several curves and bumps. Murphy sent
us over a real speed bump this month.
Based on a drawing CDOT sent me, we had calculated we were going to have to
modify the foundation by 1 to 3 feet to remove the monument from the CDOT Right
of Way. We needed help determining whether it was to be 1 or 3 feet. Feeling the
drawing may not be detailed enough; a CDOT Right of Way representative came out
to assess the situation. When he called with the results we found that our old
monument was built 120% in their right of way! For all intents and purposes, our
brick fence along Parker Road is the right of way line. Where the line crosses
our island is just a few feet in front of our first big pine tree. One of our
homeowners with a CDOT connection spoke to the Deputy Director on our behalf and
received the same information. So, it’s back to the drawing board!
The Board met at the monument site at the start of our regular meeting on the
15th so we could visualize where we can build our new monument. We have asked
our contractor to work up some new $ figures for us, since now we have to build
a new foundation and change the electrical as well as change location. We wish
to retain the new monument design and will either have the monument face
parallel to Parker Road or be in a V shape facing Parker Road.
We will also have to change some of the landscaping on the island. There is some
money left from the mini-grant which we will use to plant low growing shrubs
where the old monument was and to replace or add other plants.
We also had to have the city assign an address to the sign location since
building permits are only issued for a particular address, so now our sign has
it’s own address! Good luck trying to deliver junk mail to it!
Stay tuned for next months’ chapter of the saga! ~
The reconstruction of the old Andover Glen entryway monument has proven to be an
interesting journey into government red tape!
AG Garage Sale and roll off dumpster have some rain-mixed results
By Randy Simpson
One can of course never predict what Mother Nature will bring to this fine state
of Colorado. Our Father’s Day weekend neighborhood garage sale saw mainly rain
on Friday and then a pretty nice Saturday with some sun in the morning and a bit
of rain in the afternoon. A casual drive-by around the neighborhood showed that
overall activity seems a bit “dampened” by the weather, though there were some
bright spots where activity seemed brisk. As for our roll off dumpster on the
last weekend of June, the weather held out for most the weekend, and it seemed
like people were quite eager to load up the dumpster with all sorts of
interesting things.
The AG Board would like your feedback about having the roll-off dumpster on the
weekend after the garage sale. Is it a good idea? Please pass your thoughts on
to any board member. ~
Just a reminder: Annual dues need to be paid by July 1st
By Jan Guerra
Just thought we’d give one final reminder that annual AG Homeowner Dues of $321
for the 2004-2005-budget year need to be paid by July 1st. Please make your
check out to the Andover Glen Homeowners Association and return it to Jan Guerra
at 14190 E. Saratoga Pl., Aurora CO. 80015. Please be sure to return your
payment by that date or interest penalties will be added! ~
Neighborhood Watch Alert: Be Aware!
By Dave Kline
I have heard that there has been some vandalism and related problems for some
homeowners on Dillon. First, someone took 2 of the brass letters from our
Andover Glen sign. One of the homes had the rear garage door broken into and a
bicycle stolen. Another resident had a bicyclist run into his car and then
accuse the motorist of hitting him. A witness to this “accident” said the
bicyclist intentionally ran into the car and that another person hidden behind
some bushes was filming the incident! Vandalism and other crimes tend to
increase in the summer. With the warmer weather we tend to leave our garage
doors open more as we do yard work, etc. which provides the opportunity for
folks driving by, bicycling by or just walking by to assess our property and
belongings. So, everyone, please be aware of cars, bicyclists, and walkers whom
you don’t recognize. Wave to them, say “Hi”, or whatever you can do to let them
know that they have been noticed. Maybe they’ll decide to move on to another
neighborhood if they are in fact planning to do no good here. And if they’re one
of your neighbors, you may have just made their day by giving them some friendly
recognition! If the person or persons are truly acting suspiciously, contact the
police.
The warm weather and outdoor activities provide a great opportunity to meet your
neighbors. Exchange phone numbers so if something does not look right you can
call to check. If you notice that one of your neighbors has left his garage door
open and is apparently not outside or in the area, please give them a call. They
would undoubtedly appreciate not being the next victim of theft or worse! This
is what neighborhood watch is about, looking out for our neighbors and our
community. ~
Important Note:
The full minutes from the Andover Glen Homeowner’s monthly board meetings are
now available in 3 different ways:
1) On the Web at www.neighborhoodlink.com/aurora/
andoverglen
2) Email Association Secretary Randy Simpson at: rgatess@yahoo.com
3) Call Randy Simpson at 303-693-0546
Neighborhood Picnic Sept. 12th 4-6pm Annual Meeting Sept. 20th 7 pm
Comings and Goings in Andover Glen…
By Barbara Harrington
We don’t have any new neighbors this month and only one house for sale.
TGI Friday’s construction seems to be moving along and the Board received a
notice that Friday’s has applied to have extended hours of operation until 2
a.m. in order to serve people who want a late night bite to eat after a movie,
play, sporting event, etc. The Board replied that we are not opposed to the
extension of operation hours.
We have not received any updates as to what the plans are for the empty Eckerd
building.
AG Board approves 2004-2005 budget
By Jan Guerra
At the monthly board meeting in June, the AG board approved the 2004-2005
budget. A rundown of the budget is listed below, but one highlight includes the
fact that despite increases in water costs, the board has been successful in
controlling costs and homeowner’s dues were kept the same as they’ve been for
the past 4 years. Anyone interested in getting a complete copy of the budget can
call me at 303-766-0464. Remember, annual dues are due July 1, 2003. ~
Andover Glen Homeowners Association Budget, 2004-2005 Fiscal Year.
July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005
INCOME
Assessments 31779
Interest 500
TOTAL INCOME 32279
EXPENSES
Social 1625
Welcoming 50
Meeting Facilities 25
Secretary 50
Newsletter Print/Deliver 450
Insurance 1300
Grounds 16100
Plant/Tree Replacement 359
Water 9000
Tennis Court 1000
Electric 950
Garage Sale 75
Bank Charges 5
Tax Prep 350
Treasurer 50
Legal Fees 750
TOTAL EXPENSES 32279
Net Income (Loss) 0
Tales from the Underside of Things
By Max Reed
I’ve been watching the little “saga” related to our entryway monument unfold
over the past few months, and I certainly have great sympathy for the endless
red tape and hoops that Barbara Harrington has been enduring. It seems quite
amazing to me, that in these times of very lean government budgets, at both the
state and local level, there is always enough money to pay bureaucrats to make a
simple job into a “monumental” one – like getting an entryway monument that’s
existed for 20 years rebuilt! Sometimes you have to think these people are just
sitting in some office, collecting a fat paycheck, and waiting for some well
intentioned citizen to come in so they can figure out a way to make that citizen
do the “red tap shuffle”. The Red Tape Shuffle is the favorite dance song of
beaurcrats. They get to see citizens run endlessly around in circles, from
department to department, and jump through multiple hoops that usually tend to
lead to nowhere at all! Oh yes, the Red Tape Shuffle is a tune played at
government offices all over our great state. You can walk into almost any
government office and see citizens dancing to this little ditty 5 days a week,
(12 government paid holidays excluded of course). Barbara Harrington is to be
commended for dancing to this little tune for the past several months. She’s
become quite good at it – almost an expert. No doubt, it is not something she
probably wanted to be an expert at. I wonder how many government bureaucrats
collected big fat paychecks to make Barbara’s life a living hell? Oh, on that
cold winter night last December, when that motorist destroyed our monument, did
we ever suspect that the sound of crunching metal and broken brick would be
replaced by the endless melody of the Red Tape Shuffle. I for one, think we owe
Barbara and her husband a night out for all her voluntary dancing to this
painful melody…that is, once the music has stopped and our monument is rebuilt!
~
Did You Know?
You can get almost all the repair info on some 21,000 vehicles without leaving
the house! . The Auto Repair Reference Center is ones of the 60 or so databases
Aurora Public Library subscribes to for your convenience. Check it out at
www.auroralibrary.org at home or at your local Aurora Public Library.
Neighbor to Neighbor
Services and stuff for sale, cheap!
Baby Sitting: Red Cross Certified Babysitter!
Great rates. Responsible 8th Grader living right here in Andover Glen. Call
Elizabeth Melton 303-693-5183.
Baby Sitting: Experienced neighborhood Baby- sitter. Kristin Guerra,
303-766-0464.
Baby Sitting: Red Cross Certified, thoughtful and loves kids. Call Sophia,
303-693-9356.
Dog Walking: If you need your dog walked or bathed, or just played with, I am an
excellent pet handler. I have worked in a veterinary clinic and love pets!
Anjali Melton, 303-693-5183.
House Cleaning: Brandy and Morgan, age 13 and 14 will do housework at reasonable
prices. Call 303-248-6213.
Firewood Removal: If you’ve got some old firewood that you can’t use or don’t
want around anymore, call Norm Arlt at 303-766-7344, and he’ll haul it away for
free!
To place an add in this section, contact Randy Simpson at 303-693-0546, or
rgatess@yahoo.com
Meeting reminder:
The next AG board meeting is open to all Andover Glen Homeowners Association
members. It will take place on July 21st, 2004 at 7 p.m. at Randy Simpson’s
house. Randy will be providing cool-aid (in 4 oz. Dixie cups) and generic
saltine crackers for snacks, so come hungry!
Homeowners Association Board Members
President: Barbara Harrington 693-0868
Vice President: Vacant
Secretary: Randy Simpson 693-0546
Treasurer: Jan Guerra 766-0464
Preservation: Ron Adams 248-6213
Grounds: Norm Arlt 766-7344
Social: Curt Krall 400-9652
Welcoming: Barbara Harrington 693-0868
Neighborhood Watch: Dave Kline 720-870-6697