New Board Members Elected at Annual Meeting

By Randy Simpson

At the annual Andover Glen Homeowner’s Association meeting on September 17^th,  the members elected five board members. Two of those elected, Debra Jones and Barb Powell, were re-elected and shall be returning to the board, and there were three new board members elected. Joining the board will be Derrick Laughlin, Dave Estes, and Dick Moore.

Board members serve three year terms.

Board members are elected to general board positions with their exact role (President, Vice President, etc) to be decided at the next board meeting.

Leaving the board are Cindy Wagner, who did not run again, Bill Windler, who moved out of Andover Glen, and Bob Meyers who ran unsuccessfully for a board position. We wish to thank all of three of these people for their service to Andover Glen, especially Cindy and Bob who gave numerous hours of their time helping on various projects from landscaping to developing a new set of policies and procedures for conducting of Andover Glen Business. Thank you!

Other meeting highlights

Some other important highlights from the annual meeting include:

·         A discussion whether or not there was an interest in a community sole-source trash collection company to reduce the number of days that trash trucks are on our streets and to also try and save association members money on their trash service. A straw poll was taken and it was decided that a completely voluntary program may be started where preferred trash service provider would be listed on our web site and in the Gazette. It would be up to individual homeowners to decide if they wanted to use that provider.

·         Andover Glen’s very active Xeriscaping efforts would be continued in 2008 with increased efforts to reduce our water usage. This was noted as a high priority for member at the 2006 Annual Meeting and the Board responded with strong efforts in 2007 and those shall continue next year.

·         Spiff Awards were presented to the following neighbors:  Secret Garden-Ted and Elizabeth Williams, Best Use of Color-Jay and Kathy Johnson, Best Architectural Improvements-John and Judy Keating, Best Use of Xeriscape-Ron and Linda Adams, Best Overall home-Lyall and Gladys Englestad, Best Darn Home-Norman and Edith Campbell. The winners received $25 gift certificates for Nick’s Garden Center and Best Darn Home also received a $25 gift certificate for Mama Louisa’s Restaurant.  Secret Garden was a new category and they received a month’s membership to Heartwood Athletic Club.

For the complete minutes from the annual meeting go to www.andoverglen.org ~

Final "Dumpster Days Weekend" Oct. 6th - 7th will also offer Document Shredding

By Debra Jones

Oct. 6 -7 will be the last "Dumpster Day" this year, so bundle up all of tree branches, bushes

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and anything else you can live without from around your house. We are also offering "Document Shredding"  once more, sponsored by Rich and Donna Foerster with Keller Williams. The shredding truck will be next to the dumpster on Saturday, October 6th from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. This is a safe, fast and easy way to destroy your unwanted documents and protect your identity. It destroys all paper, paper clips, staples, film, CDs, checks and checkbook registers into pea size. All of the shred will be recycled. Shredding will cost $2.00 for a 8x8 banker box and $3.00 for a 12x20 large/legal size box. Again, the Dumpster is FREE and the additional shredding is worth the couple of extra bucks! ~

Special Feature Article:

Cutting Your Energy Bills with programmable thermostats

By Donna Foerster, GRI

Keller Williams Action Realty, LLC

Tired of bills that soar whenever the temperature rises and falls?  A great way to get control of your energy costs is to install a programmable thermostat to operate your central air and heat.  These simple devices can turn your air conditioning and heat on and off, based on your schedule.  In the end, you save because you only pay for climate control when you need it – not while your house is empty.

Daily Routines

Most people have different weekday and weekend schedules, so most programmable thermostats allow separate weekend settings.  This feature is called 5-2, meaning there is a five-day schedule and a two-day schedule.  There are also models with 5-1-1, allowing you to schedule each weekend day independently.  Some models offer seven schedules – a different schedule for each day of the week.

Temporary Override

Sometimes you need the house to be cooler (or warmer) than usual.  Thermostats with a temporary override feature allow you to change the temperature without changing the programming.  Your programmed schedule will resume automatically after two or thee hours, so you don’t have to remember to change the setting back.

Hold Setting

Most programmable thermostats have a hold button.  Push it, and the temperature remains the same until you turn off the hold function.  Going on a vacation?  Change the temperature setting and press hold.  When you return, take if off hold and the thermostat will start following your schedule again.  Some models take this concept one step further.  You can program your return date, and the thermostat will release the hold setting in time to welcome you back.

Advanced Recovery

If you don’t have this feature, and you set your return time to 6 pm, the thermostat will start to warm the house at 6 pm.  This means the house won’t be warm for 15 to 30 minutes after you’ve scheduled your return.  With advanced recovery, you can set our return time to 6 pm and your thermostat will automatically calculate when it needs to turn on the furnace to have the house at the right temperature for your return.  The recovery feature makes these calculations based on changing conditions inside and outside your home.

An ounce of prevention adds up to pounds of security for Andover Glen

By Randy Simpson

Despite a recent burglary and car break-in, overall Andover Glen has been fortunate to be a safe community to live.  But this safety is never something we should take for granted nor let our guards down, for you can be certain that criminals are constantly watching and driving through our neighborhood (as they do all neighborhoods), looking for any opportunity to commit a crime.

As a Board Member of Andover Glen, I want to let you know that I will personally be putting neighborhood safety high on my agenda in 2007. Expect a newly revived neighborhood watch program with active block captains to be holding meetings with homeowners to talk about safety issues. Though we have a safe community, in order for it to remain so, we must never let criminals perceive weakness or opportunity in Andover Glen. Well kept homes, good communication between neighbors, alertness, security systems, cars parked inside garages, and a host of other things are what make for a safe neighborhood and these will be the topics of the neighborhood watch meetings. We will be looking for block captains and others to actively participate in various ways to keep Andover Glen a safe community for all of us, and an unattractive place for criminals to conduct their activities. ~

Remember to cast your mail-in ballot vote on November 6

From the City of Aurora

Don’t forget to cast your vote in the Nov. 6 mail-in ballot election. This year’s election will include races for Mayor, Ward IV, Ward V, Ward VI and two At-Large positions. There will also be one ballot question for the entire city relating to the funding mechanisms for Aurora’s Neighborhood Fence Replacement Program, and two additional ballot questions for residents of the proposed Cherry Creek Racquet Club General Improvement District only.

The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 9. Emergency voter registration is available by calling the county clerk in your respective county. Ballots will be mailed to active registered voters between Oct. 12th and 22nd.

The election will be conducted only by mail-in ballot in Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties, so there will be no polling places. However, voters can drop off their ballots at the City Clerk’s office at the Aurora Municipal Center prior to election day, or at the drive-through ballot drop-off from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 6 at the Aurora Municipal Center, located at 15151 E. Alameda Parkway.

For a candidate list, additional election information and a schedule of election programming available on Aurora 8, visit www.auroragov.org and click on the 2007 Election link. For more information, call the Aurora City Clerk’s Office at 303-739-7094.

Thanks for a great season in the Glen

By Fred Mallard

It’s been a good year this season in Andover Glen for Ethel and me. Many a long lazy summer afternoon has been spent enjoying backyard grass, fountains, water features, and cozy shady spots under trees. Once more, everyone has really made us feel at home here and we appreciate that! As we prepare to head south for the winter in a few weeks, (Ethel wants to head for Taos but I’m thinking somewhere north of Phoenix), we both wanted to let you know that we have a lot of choices of where to spend our summers, but the quality of life in Andover Glen is beyond compare, and you all should be proud of your community. If you could see if from the air as we do, you’d immediately see if for the oasis it is. Keep up the great efforts and we’ll see you next year! ~

City of Aurora Emergency Management Creates database

Aurora’s Office of Emergency Management is compiling a database of residents with special needs so emergency planners can assist them more effectively during a large scale disaster. Residents can voluntarily submit information to the city, and the information will eventually be placed into a mapping system so planners can pinpoint locations where residents need extra help. Special needs include use of a wheelchair or ventilator, being deaf or hearing impaired, or could include any special circumstances that require additional assistance.

Aurora’s database is one of the first in the region. “It’s a way for us to be proactive and help people who need special assistance,” Aurora Fire Capt. Deanne Criswell said.

Residents who want to submit their special needs information can call 303-739-7636 and have a form mailed to them, or they can download the form by going to auroragov.org., clicking on the “Emergency Preparedness” quick link, then clicking on “Special Needs Registry.”

If you have an ad or notice you’d like to place in the Gazette under the Neighbor to Neighbor section, please contact Randy Simpson at rgatess@yahoo.com