Miscellaneous news and information. Do not use this if a post belongs in another category. This category is for “announcements” that do not fit into other categories well.

Clubhouse & Pool Access and Security System

The keycard system we currently have to control access to the clubhouse grounds and the pool is outdated.  I believe that it should be  replaced with a system that is easier to use and provides better control and monitoring. Management of the cards is handled by Chelsea Ewton. She is a volunteer, and while she has spent countless hours organizing the system, she has a real job – like many of our volunteers. Many other HOAs have the management company include these things in what they do for an additional cost. Not only is this approach more expensive, but (I believe) not as effective as our volunteers. It is incumbent on us to ease the workload on our the volunteers: otherwise, we will lose them and have difficulty recruiting new ones. This note is divided into three sections.

  • Current System – The current system and its drawbacks
  • Improved Access Control – A proposed system that would overcome shortcomings of the current system
  • Surveillance System – A proposed camera surveillance system to improve security

Current System

Chelsea has worked hard to take the data that have been gathered through the years and to organize these data into something that can be analyzed and used. However, there are obstacles that are difficult to overcome.

  • She has taken all the pool waivers she received on paper, combined them with a “Master List” that she received by email, and organized them by address in a spreadsheet to facilitate tracking and analysis.
  • We do not have a good handle on where all the cards are. Of the more than 650 cards that we believe have been distributed, we can associate less than half of the card codes with households.
    • Some have left the area when people moved out. 
    • Some were lost. 
    • The data associated with distributed cards may not have been captured.
    • Some of the key codes are duplicates and, therefore, demonstrably incorrect.
    • According to the data we have, we estimate that 294 cards have been distributed to 264 homes. Note that there is a total of 312 homes in the neighborhood
  • Assignment and deletion of valid key codes is difficult: it requires going physically to the two readers at the grounds entrance and at the pool with a keypad. We recently had one of the readers fail and it was replaced. Because of the uncertainty as to the whereabouts of all the cards, the system was programmed to validate all the cards we have received for both readers. Although we could correct this by disabling all the codes we cannot account for, this would be very time-consuming (requiring the recruiting of additional volunteers to avoid locking some valid cards out.

Improved Access Control

Our current system could be replaced by a cloud-based system that is easier to use and gives us better control over access to our facilities by residents and contractors. 

 Current SystemProposed System
ConceptLocal reader that allows access to all keys that have been enabledCloud based system that allows timed entry to each gate by user
Programming methodKeypad in close proximity to readers at gateInternet Access by computer or smart phone
Access DeviceKey cardsFobs, keycards, and/or smart phone apps
Access controlManually turn on or offAccess schedules specified by system administrator and changed remotely.
Data availableNoneData reporting what access codes were used and when.

The cost of this system would be about $5300 (installation) plus $60/mo. 

Surveillance System

I also propose that we add a four-camera surveillance system. The features of this system are summarized below:

  • Four high resolution cameras would be installed on the outside of the clubhouse, aimed as follows.
    • Clubhouse entry and parking lot
    • Grounds entry gate and entry to playground
    • Pool gate
    • Tennis courts
  • Cameras would be motion activated
  • Cameras’ live feeds could be shared with security service
  • Cost of the system would be about $3100 plus $25/mo.

2nd Annual Holiday Party

is this Friday, Dec 2. 5:30-9:00pm at the clubhouse. Stop by!

January Book Club Meeting

The Heathlake Book Club will be meeting next in the New Year, and we are excited about our book choice!! The book for January 11th is  Blake Crouch’s book Dark Matter.

The meeting will be held at Patty Campo’s house, 1115 Heathwood Ct. at 7 p.m. Anyone wishing to join us is very welcome!!

Laura Leib

Contact List Released

I have recently become aware that our Heathlake contact list, of which includes emails, was shared by a board member.  I would like to personally apologize for this having happened as we committed to “respect the privacy of our neighbors” when you provided us with your personal information. As some of us transition off of the board in 2022 and hand off our responsibilities we will make sure to share the importance of keeping our information confidential and will work to ensure the same mistakes do not happen again.

You may have received emails in the past and may receive more in the future related to our community but not sourced from our website, the secretary, or other board members. If you have any questions about HOA business, affairs, or future plans, please be aware the information that does not come through a board member or www.heathlake.org may be false, fishing and or a personal opinion.

Again, I am sorry that your private information was shared and ask for you to increase your awareness on communications not sourced from our website, e-blast, or a board member. If you have any further questions or concerns about the release of your personal contact information you can reach me at president@heathlake.org

We are currently discussing if any further actions can or should be taken to prevent this from happening again in the future.

Your neighbor and president,

Stephen Read

The Heathlake Holiday Party is 2 weeks away!

We hope to see all of you at the clubhouse on Friday, Dec 2 starting at 5:30pm. We will have a food truck (for purchase), desserts, drinks, movie, music, etc. And Santa is coming!!

If you wish to volunteer to bring a dessert or drink to share, please see the sign up at Heathlake Community: 2nd Annual Heathlake Holiday Party! (signupgenius.com)

Contact Evelyn Nordin with any questions. eveadele@gmail.com

November Ladies Nights

Calling all Heathlake Ladies! Please join us Thursday, November 17th for our November Ladies Night. We will be hosting our Country Village neighbors and decorating pine cones for the birds. This is a great way to expand our neighborhood connections and make new friends! As always please bring a beverage and/or an appetizer to share.

It’s almost time! The 2nd Annual Heathlake Holiday party is less than a month away!

We will have our holiday party at the Clubhouse on Friday, December 2 at 5:30. Very much like last year, we will have a food truck, snacks, desserts, drinks, music, an outdoor movie, and………Santa! It is free to attend. The only cost is the food truck, which is optional. You can bring your own food if you wish, and we will have snacks, desserts, and drinks available for free as well. We had a great time last year with nearly 100 attendees.

We do need help to make the party a success. Please see the linked sign up for ways to help.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040A48A8AC2FA75-2ndannual

Block Parties were a hit!

We had a great time at the block parties last week. On October 23, we had 7 block parties across the neighborhood. Each party had a good number of participants bringing the total to easily over 125 (maybe more). This makes the block parties the single highest attended social event that we have had in a very long time….particularly an event where residents stayed and visited a while. I want to send a special thanks to all of those who hosted….and thank you to the residents who attended making it worthwhile.

Evelyn Nordin – Heathlake Social Chair

Reminder – November Book Club Meeting


The next meeting of the Heathlake Book Club will be Wednesday, November 9th at 7:00 pm, hosted by Martita Schmuck in her home at 12114 Gladewick Drive.

The book is Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant (290 pages).  The author writes with humor, love, and clear-eyed revelations on the Mississippi Delta, which he describes as “the best kept secret in America.”

Come one come all! If you read the book (never a requirement) be prepared to share who is your favorite character!
Martita

Clubhouse Fencing

Here are some pictures that show the havoc that time and Hurricane Harvey have wreaked on our Clubhouse fences.

OCTOBER LADIES NIGHT

Lets meet our Country Village Neighbors!

LETS MEET OUR COUNTRY VILLAGE NEIGHBORS!

Mark your calendar for October 20th Ladies Night! This month we have been invited to Join Country Village’s Women’s Club. Their program this month includes a speaker on the topic of Trees. A member of their women’s club will host everyone at her home on Summerdale St. from 7-9pm. This is a RSVP Event as they need to plan for the appropriate numbers so please RSVP to the neighborhood Facebook invite or to Carolyn at slade.carolyn13@gmail.com or Sarah at sjh6v8@gmail.com so we can add you to the list and get you any additional details. Below is the invite description from Country Village.

“It’s that monthly time for wine, tasty food, and catching up with lovely neighbors! For this month’s program, Brian and Bridget, the husband and wife team of ArborTrue, will be giving us a talk “All about Trees”. So bring all your pressing questions about trees. We sure have a lot of lovely ones throughout Country Village!”

Summary of 2022 Outlook and 2023 Preliminary Budget

I have attached a PowerPoint presentation shown at the September 21 meeting as well as a pdf that shows a bit more detail.

While no one wants to pay more than necessary, the thinking  behind a need for a higher annual fee follow:

  • While we will likely be able to increase our Capital reserves this year slightly. This is the result of
    • the reduction in patrol costs by moving to State Patrol private security
    • and, n spite of the unanticipated need to replace the clubhouse roof, 
  • Capital Reserves have been on a general downward trend over recent years. We need to build the reserves to avoid having one-time assessments when unexpected problems occur.  
    • We currently have a real need to repair/replace much of the fencing in the clubhouse/pool area.  Bruce Nelson has been working on defining the costs. The original estimate of about $19, 000 was included in the latest Budget Proposal. It now appear that the estimate may need to be increased by about $4,000. The next version of the proposed budget will reflect this increase.
    • Many of you may have noticed the uneven floor of the clubhouse. I am sure you are aware of the uneven floor in the clubhouse floor.  We really aren’t exactly sure of the nature of the problem.  However,  I have included an arbitrary cost of $8k for next year.  
    • As you know the air-conditioning system is long past its expiration date.  It is likely to fail at any time.  I have not included anything for its replacement next year, though maybe we should.
    • As the facilities age there will likely be a need to repair or replace many things.  James Healy will be heading up a committee to investigate the future needs as well as capital improvements the community might want.  Please contact Jim or a board member if you would like to participate in this work.
  • Right now, we are up in the air as to what we may have to do with respect to landscaping at the Kirkwood entrance.  An arbitrary amount of about $4k is included to cover whatever we can’t get the COH to cover.  The amount is uncertain at this time.
  • Our neighborhood is showing signs of improvement that reflect an attitude of residents who care.  This can be attributed to projects like the Cul de Sac Landscaping upgrades along with other projects pushed though by our volunteers.

Let me know if you have questions.

October Book Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Heathlake Book Club will be Wednesday, October 12 at 7 pm. We will be discussing the work of historical fantasy,    Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro (672 pages). We will meet at Mary Puccini’s home, 12211 Maple Rock Drive at 7:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to join us is very welcome!!
Thanks!
Mary Puccini

September Ladies Night – 9/22/22

Calling all Heathlake ladies!! Please join us for a fun filled night next Thursday 9/22 as we mix, mingle and play our favorite board games. We love to see new faces and catch up with familiar ones. See you at the clubhouse!

Family Photos – mini sessions!!

For the 2nd year in a row, we will have a photographer doing mini sessions on the clubhouse grounds on the afternoon of November 13. If you need family photos and want an easy and beautiful outdoor location, hre is your chance. All are invited to signup if they wish.

The photographer is Long Shots Photography. Her portfolio can be seen here. Sara Long (photoshelter.com)

Sessions are 15 mins, $225, 10 edited digital photos There are limited slots and so please sign up here… Photography Clients: Family Mini Sessions (signupgenius.com)

If slots fill up, we can request an additional date.

For questions, please ask me Evelyn Nordin eveadele@gmail.com

Block Parties Oct 23

Save the Date for Heathlake Block Parties! Our goal is to have 7-8 block parties across the neighborhood. We will post updates on facebook and the website. These are casual […]

September Book Club Meeting

The Heathlake Book Club is excited about our fall book choices!! The book for Wednesday September 14th is John Grisham’s book    The King of Torts.The meeting will be held at Laura Leib’s house, 1223 Heathwood Dr. at 7:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to join us is very welcome!!
Thanks!
Laura Leib

Anthills Family Bike Ride – Wednesday due to Monday Holiday

Hey everyone! I’m sorry that last Mondays night ride was cancelled due to the muddy trails.

Next week we will not being having the ride on Monday due to the holiday. We will instead have the ride on Wednesday evening 5:45 meet and 6:00 roll out assuming no rain or muddy trails.

Dairy Ashford and the Bayou Parking Lot

5:45 Meet

6:00 Roll-Out

Bring your helmets and water.

However, if you are looking for a friendly family hiking and biking event on Labor Day there is one at Timber lane. There will be a parade, bike riding, and inflatables for the kids!

See attached flyer for details. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and we will see you all on the trail soon!