Courtyard - May 2022

Courtyard Caller

May 2022

Volume 18, Number 05

Many Thanks to the participants at Park Volunteer Day!!!

A park volunteer day was held in the Courtyard Park on Saturday, March 26. If you enjoy the playground and trails of the park, please consider attending the next volunteer day. We have two volunteer days each year: The next volunteer day will be in the Fall on October 22.

We had over 45 yards of soil, rock and decomposed granite delivered to the park. Volunteers spread materials around the dock area, around picnic tables, around the bathroom entrance, and along the pathways. We are so grateful to those of you who generously give your time to make the park more enjoyable for us all!

A special thanks to the following volunteers for their involvement in this project: Denise Hogan, Amer & Anna Delic & family, Rob & Jennifer Nance, Jan Ueckert, Konavis Smith, David Kavanaugh, Firoozeh & Randall Tuller, Bill Hodges, Jim Vence, Dave Scholes, Jen Harold, John Harold, Margaret Harold, Claire & Evelyn Detrick, Costas Tzaperas, Waneen Spirduso, & Alex Backus.

We did not have enough volunteers to complete the work on Saturday, so thank you to the following people who came out for extra work on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday: Denise Hogan, Jan Ueckert, Jim Vence, Alex Backus, Justin Kloetzer, Scott & Jamie Moxham & Family, Aaron Parola & Family, Amer Delic & Family, & Richard Bryarly.

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CHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Denise Hogan.......denise.1.hogan@gmail.com, 214.403.4454 Vice President Konavis Smith........................................... konavis@gmail.com Treasurer Jim Lloyd.........................jlloyd@austin.rr.com, 512.231.0855 Secretary Waneen Spirduso......................................spirduso@utexas.edu BOARD MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Janet Wright ........................ ..............mightywrights@me.com ..........................................................................469-387-5632 Meredith Massey-Kloetzer......................meremass@gmail.com Henry Mistrot....................................................512.459.7313 COMMITTEES Environmental Control (ECC) Diana Apgar ................................ ..............fd1966fd@aol.com Community Park Terry Edwards......t.edwards54321@gmail.com, 214.392.4627 Welcome Erik Maye ......................erikmaye@gmail.com, 512.626.2404 Social & Decorating Joany Price....................joanyprice@gmail.com, 512.775.8942 Landscape & Decorating Ed Ueckert.........................................................512.345.6137 Security Jim Lloyd.........................jlloyd@austin.rr.com, 512.231.0855 Communications, Editor – Courtyard Caller Jen Harold.......... harold.jennifer@gmail.com, 281.773.2880 Compliance Denise Hogan................................denise.1.hogan@gmail.com Kayak Jim Vence .......................jimvence@gmail.com, 512.436.5678 Fire Safety Richard Stelzner................................... arebeess42@gmail.com Area Development and Zoning Liaison Denise Hogan....... denise.1.hogan@gmail.com, 214.403.4454

SUB-HOA CONTACTS Center Court: Amanda Gilliland... mandagilliland@gmail.com, 512-927-7118 Travis County Courtyard (aka "Backcourt") Terry Edwards .............................. t.edwards54321@gmail.com Villas at Courtyard: Thomas Hoy..........Thomas.Hoy@freescale.com, 512.231.1270 Wolf Court: Susanne Doell.................... Drdoell@gmail.com, 512.454.3400 4

Courtyard Caller - May 2022

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COURTYARD BOOK CLUB

Courtyard Caller FOUND WEDDING BAND

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson is a historical fiction account of one of the most unique New Deal programs of the Great Depression, the Packhorse Library initiative. A central theme of the book is the discriminatory treatment of a group of Kentucky residents known as Kentucky “blues” – people with a genetic condition that causes their skin to be blue.

This book will be the topic of discussion at the Courtyard Book Club at 1 p.m., June 7.

In this 1930s rural setting, women rode the Kentucky countryside on mules and horseback to deliver books and written materials to isolated rural citizens to help improve literacy among the people in these areas. Of interest in this particular story is a young woman named Cussy who is a packmule librarian. She is a “blue” and the story focuses on her trials despite being a valued member of the book program. Children and adults looked forward to the arrival of the bookwomen in their communities because it was often the only way they could access books.

The Courtyard Book Club meets at the home of its chair, Lou Blemaster, 5612 N. Scout Island Circle, at 1 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month. To receive monthly book club emails, contact Lou at LouBlemaster@gmail.com. Even those who haven’t read the monthly book are welcomed to join your neighbors for some interesting discussion. And if you have friends in other areas of Austin who would like to join a book club, feel free to include them.

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A wedding band was found in The Courtyard during the Dell Match Play. If you are missing one, please contact Denise Hogan at denise.1.hogan@gmail.com and she can connect you with the neighbor who found the ring.

LADIES’ BUNCO NIGHT AND MEN’S POKER NIGHTS HAVE RESUMED! FOR BUNCO Contact Joany Price 512-775-8942 joanyprice@gmail.com FOR POKER Contact Terry Edwards 214-392-4627 t.edwards54321@gmail.com

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AREA DEVELOPMENT NEWS

FIRE SAFETY COMMITTEE The Travis County Fire Marshall declared Burn Bans in January 2022, in February and in March, which at this writing, ended April 8th.

There is a possibility of more throughout the year due to dry weather, low humidity and high winds. The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for Central Texas in early April for the same reason. Whether April, May and June are wet or dry, summer will come, stalking with heat and drought, waiting impatiently for a spark.

Site Plan Submitted for Four Seasons Residential Development (previously known as Camelback). Construction is planned to begin in the spring of 2023 and is expected to take between 30 to 36 months.

Stephen J. Pyne, the noted author and oft-quoted Fire Historian, has written, “Fire is more than an ecological process or an environmental problem. It is a relationship.” That is an unexpected but accurate description. Humans grew up with fire, we used it and abused it throughout history and we use it everyday. We warm our homes, cook our food, travel with its power and are entertained by its glow. We fear flames that race across fields and forests threatening structures and lives, but rarely fear the flames threatening our burgers on the grill?

Each partner in a relationship has needs and responsibilities. Fire needs Heat, Fuel and Oxygen plus an ignition to enhance our lives.

Without any one of these the fire goes out. We need fire in our lives, but are responsible for controlling it. Fire can take advantage of our carelessness, inattentiveness and malfunctions to rage out of control in both structures and wildlands. Wildland fires are especially difficult to control because of abundant fuel, open space, weather and wind spewing burning embers into its path.

The Firewise Alliance, National Fire Prevention Association, Fire Departments and multiple organizations dedicated to track, research and experiment with fire, provide knowledge and experience to describe and demonstrate how we can maintain some control over our part of the relationship. Forest Services attempt to reduce fuel in overgrown forests and grasslands and respond to suppress wildfires.

And we have the responsibility to reduce the fuel around our homes and create a defensible space so embers cannot get a foothold.

Plans to Extend Bridge Point Parkway. Johnathan Coon has submitted plans to extend and connect Bridge Point Parkway at City Park Road to Bridge Point Parkway at West Courtyard. At first it will be used for construction vehicles and materials to build the Four Seasons Residential development. It will take around 4 years before we can go to the ribbon cutting ceremony and drive through.

City Park Road drivers will then have a second way to access Loop 360, and another route to use in case of emergency evacuation.

Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2023.

Screening off dryer and attic vents, keeping roofs and gutters cleared, raising the height of tree limbs above roofs, pruning bushes and tree branches, maintaining lawns, moving plantings 18 inches from the side of the house, using nonflammable material five feet from the house and many other steps. Most of the ways to strengthen our homes against wildfires are available in the Fire Safety section on the Courtyard Community website, http:// www.courtyardhoa.org plus how to schedule a Home Ignition Zone Evaluation to help.

Oh, and when you’re done grilling, douse the charcoals or put them in a metal container off the grass.

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KAYAK & CANOE COMMITTEE COMMUNICATION CHANGE Dear Neighbors, The Kayak and Canoe Committee (KCC) is changing its communication policy. Going forward, email will be the primary form of messaging from the KCC to homeowners, via a distribution list. If you lease a storage slot in Tait’s rack, an email about this year’s renewal procedure has been sent. Please check your Spam folder if you did not receive an email, or contact the KCC. To lease a space in the rack, homeowners will need to provide at least one email address and a phone number. To contact KCC, send an email to kayak@courtyardhoa.org . Responses will be sent from my personal email address, so please check your Inbox and Spam folders for communications from jimvence@gmail.com .

Thank you,

A REMINDER TO ALL RESIDENTS: The leaves continue to fall! As we are all cleaning up our yards, please remind your yard crews: NO YARD WASTE should be left in the street or piled along the curbs. Any yard debris should be swept and bagged for collection. Help keep Bull Creek free and clear of leaf litter. DO NOT allow your leaves to accumulate along your curb, as all of this debris will be deposited into Bull Creek through the storm drains. Leaf litter can build up in Bull Creek causing a vegetative sludge and hampering recreation. It may also serve as a breeding ground for mosquitos.

Please trim back any plants, bushes or trees that cover the sidewalk – especially those at eye level. The City of Austin collects yard trimmings curbside each week. Please place your lawn and garden waste in your green compost bin or in city-approved yard waste bags. Yard waste bags are available for purchase at area grocery and home improvement stores. Thank you!

Jim Vence, KCC Chair jimvence@gmail.com

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