Neighborhood Watch

BY RUSS KELLY Public Safety

Here we are in the midst of summer, more concerned about the lack of rain than worried about Covid as we were a few years ago. As I am writing now, things are dry, and the forecasts are projecting beautiful weather. But if you are a gardener or farmer, you would really like to see a little rain occasionally. There was not much snow this past winter, does this mean a dry spell? Hopefully by the time this edition gets to you, nature will catch up and get us back to normal. Now if you are golfer, rain is okay in small amounts, and mainly at night. A few wet holes occasionally can be lived with, but the guy that has his Scotts lawn, it cannot be wet enough.

By now, I assume everyone at least has looked at the new pool. What a great asset this is for the community. While the cost was significant, after the gulp we all took when the estimates came in, the results have been rewarding. For those of us that have been here for many years, the pool has been a big part of the community. So many children have learned to swim and competed with the swim team. New friends and competition with other communities made the kids see the importance of working as a team and appreciate all the effort that each kid put into his or her effort to excel.

Crime Watch Patrol has become a Neighborhood Watch Patrol. Several years ago, we went through a period of break-ins and mischief predominately by teenagers or young men. Most of these problems were taken care of by the cooperation of our security officer and local police. The police always said these problems occurred periodically, but seldom lasted for any length of time. It has been a long time since this was a problem. We were always told, by using a crime watch system, the police have always had fewer reports of crime than in the non-participant communities. So, we do our best to keep an eye out for anything unusual, not just reporting garbage drops or high grass. But all of us should not feel reluctant to call our security officer if something does not look right. He will investigate it; it is part of the job.

In May, the patrol logged about 144 hours, many of those by drivers taking multiple turns. So, while we are putting in a lot of hours, more drivers could relieve 570-894-4435, they can get you going in the right direction, or leave a message for

BY ARTIE FURMAN - CMCA, AMS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY & COMPLIANCE

July has arrived and so has summer! July has always been a busy month for us, and I see no reason why that should change. New construction is happening around the Farms. Not as much as in the past few years, but a few new homes have gone up. I am sure a few more homes will be built before the end of the year. Tree and building permits are comparable with past years. High grass citations are up. Remember everyone, it is grass, it will grow regardless of if you are here or not. Please be mindful of that and plan to have it taken care of in your absence.

Now for the main topic of July’s article. What is the major thing we do not want to happen this month? That’s right, you guessed it. Fireworks! Now come part two of this game. We have written three citations for fireworks up to the beginning of June. Were they written to residents of Pocono Farms or to short-term renters? (Airbnb, Vrbo, and similar entities). All three citations went to residents. Please, I cannot implore you enough, do not set off fireworks. Besides the automatic fine of $500.00, we here in Coolbaugh Township are on a burn ban. That includes firepits. Burn bans are put in place when weather conditions are extremely dry. I have mentioned in past articles, but this is my third large scale HOA I have been employed at. In my combined 17 years working at HOA’s, 12 being at Pocono Farms, I have seen five fires that have resulted because of fireworks. Forget the fine, I assure you, you do not want that on your conscious. As always, should you have questions or concerns, we are only a phone call away.