Living in the Neighborhood

Animal Lovers — Your Support Is Needed

In the June newsletter, it was announced that the Town of Davidson has contracted animal control coverage with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control. Unfortunately, this is currently the only option for Davidson residents. Due to over-crowding at the Charlotte facility, the euthanasia rate was over 70% last year – a sad fact. The state mandates only a 72 hour holding period. There is a temporary shelter (limited space) in Cornelius, but the Animal Control Officer there may service only the Town of Cornelius.

One of our neighborhood residents, Sherry Loeffler, has been trying to increase awareness of the planned North Mecklenburg Animal Shelter at Cornelius (19200 Meridian Street). Plans are to break ground for this new 3,265 heated square foot (plus garage) facility by the first of September and to occupy the new building by year-end. This is a partnership between the Town of Cornelius and local non-profit animal welfare organizations. Cornelius had requested both Davidson and Huntersville to join in the fundraising efforts so that all three communities may use it. However, both Davidson and Huntersville have decided not to contribute at this time.

Although the Town of Davidson has not “officially” supported the new shelter with funding, many of its residents and businesses are lending support. With this support, it is hoped that this wonderful alternative for lost and stray pets will be available to our community in the near future. The current shelter in Cornelius is under the oversight of the Cornelius Police Department and the paid Animal Control Officer. However, a total of 60 volunteers conduct daily feeding and care and all food and supplies are donated. It is hoped that the new shelter will also receive this overwhelming volunteer support.

The new facility will provide a shelter and adoption service capable of handling current needs, but will have space to expand for future growth. Services will include wellness, micro-chipping, and fostering programs. Volunteers want to secure funding to expand adoption and spay/neuter programs. The design includes dog/cat adoption rooms, on-call vet room, grooming room, laundry, kitchen, rest rooms and office space.

Animal lovers: Your Support is needed now! To get more information about the shelter or to volunteer your time, visit www.corneliusanimalshelter.com and click on the tab for “Shelter Questions? Web Site Questions?” An e-mail address will pop-up. If you wish to make a donation to the new shelter, you may send your contributions to: Town of Cornelius Animal Shelter Fund, Attn.: Finance Department, P.O. Box 399, Cornelius, NC 28031. There will also be a “Buy-a-Brick” program announced on the website. This will allow you to honor the memory of a pet and contribute at the same time.

Yard of the Month, August, 2008

The Landscape & Grounds Committee congratulates Karen & Peter Castoral of 618 Wolfe Street as the August 2008 winner of the “Yard-of-the-Month.” The Castoral home was the last house built in our neighborhood. This gorgeous home with its white paint, green shingles, and curved front porch makes an instant impression on anyone entering or leaving the neighborhood via Grey Road.

The Castorals have spent a lot of time developing their yard and creating a showcase following the construction completion nearly three years ago. The immediate focus goes to the large bright yellow flower pots planted with geraniums at both entrances to the porch. Additional summer color is added with flowers and plantings at the wooden bench next to the drive. The yard is well trimmed and the shrubs and plantings selected for the front compliment the house. Young trees will provide shade and an attractive future setting.

An American flag hangs proudly at the side of the curved porch. Additional plantings are in planters and baskets on the porch. Wicker furniture invites neighbors into a true “down South” atmosphere. The back yard has a trellis and bird bath that will provide an accent to the back yard landscape.

The Star-of-Excellence will reside proudly at this Wolfe Street address. Some of our new neighbors may not be familiar with the Yard-of-the-Month designation. Each month from May through October, a yard will be selected among single-family homes. Winners display a bronze star (the “Star-of-Excellence”) during the month of the award. The criteria for selection are established by the Selection Committee. Thanks go to our committee members for their time and service each month. If you have questions or suggestions regarding this plan, please call Judy McLean at 704.895.0940.

If you enter or exit the neighborhood from Grey Road, you cannot miss this month’s winner.
Slow down and take in the whole setting!
Congratulations to the Castoral Family!

Both Neighborhood Fountains Operational

Water restrictions kept our front fountain down for much of 2007 and into 2008. Current water restrictions do allow our neighborhood to operate both fountains again. Norwood Creek Water Gardens of Statesville is our contractor for fountain maintenance. Since renewal of the contract in April, the Clemens Place water feature has been planted and repaired and is extremely attractive. The front fountain required a new pump and some electrical work, but it is also performing well and providing an attractive entrance to our neighborhood.

Please help the Association to keep these fountains in good shape. Parents are asked to remind children that these features are not play areas for wading or splashing. The Clemens Place water feature bears particular caution as the rocks could provide unstable footing. The plants and Koi fish are particularly sensitive to disturbance and have been destroyed in the past by careless play. The front fountain can also experience equipment damage from walking in the water.

Residents are urged to report any inappropriate behavior to either fountain to a member of the Landscaping Committee or to the Council of Stewards. These water features contribute heavily to the neighborhood quality of life and we wish to keep them in good shape. Your cooperation is appreciated!

100,000,000 Seconds!

They say that time flies when you’re having a good time. It’s been over one hundred million seconds since we set up the member’s area of the neighborhood website. When you log in to the member’s area, you don’t need to log in again on that computer and browser combination for just over three years—100,000,000 seconds, to be exact. So those who signed up the earliest for an ID and password, and haven’t logged out, may soon have to sign in with a long-forgotten ID and password. If that happens to you, just click the link at the bottom of the form, and I’ll send you a new password the first chance I get.

We tried to put as much information about the neighborhood as we could on pages accessible to all. Realtors and potential buyers can read, for example, the covenants and various neighborhood policies. But we restrict access to most personal contact information so that you have to be logged in to see it. Spammers and robots will have to get your contact information from somewhere else.

Before the summer is over, we hope to have the online database updated. A committee is working on compiling all the changes needed.  Many people have asked when we will do a new printed neighborhood directory. “Never” seems to be the most likely answer. So when most of the corrections are in place, I plan to post the directory on line in .pdf, .doc, and .xls format, and you can print out your own, as well as a copy for your neighbor who does not have a computer. When this is ready, notice will be given on the home page and in the newsletter. You will still be able to search for individual records by first or last name or by house number. Note that you can update your information in the database from the member’s area. Please help us by making any needed corrections.

The neighborhood site as a whole has 400 to 600 visitors per month. Other than the home page, the calendar is the most popular page. Internet Explorer users are about evenly split between Version 6 and 7, and, thankfully, hardly anyone uses Version 5 anymore to visit us. About 25% of visitors use Safari, and Firefox users now account for 10%. As more people use more modern browsers, I’ve made cosmetic tweaks to the site to support them. We are linked from new urbanism and college town sites, and over 250 visitors so far this year have visited us from there. Over 700 pages have been viewed from Spain this year. I have no idea why!

—— Steve Lee, Webmaster

As always, we should all thank Steve Lee for his outstanding work in creation and maintenance of the neighborhood website. His dedication and time to this task are beyond the call of duty!

Home Security Alarm Batteries

Hopefully, we are all familiar with our home smoke detectors and the fact that these devices have a 9-volt battery installed as back-up. Residents are urged to change out these batteries on a periodic basis (usually once each year). If the battery fails, the device will emit an annoying “chirp” until new batteries are installed.

There is another battery that requires change out from time to time. This is the back-up battery for your home security alarm system. This battery is advertised to last from 3 to 5 years, but it may last longer in some units. The equipment set-up and type of battery may vary with different security systems and installation companies. If you are unsure of how your system operates, please contact your service provider for the information.

Security South installed many of the units in townhomes. This system is programmed and controlled from a panel box located in a closet somewhere in the home. (Note: This is not the same panel as the one used to arm and disarm the system.) The control box has electrical connections to individual alarms and contains a 12-volt battery for back-up. This is not a small battery like the AA and 9-V sizes used in other devices. It more closely resembles the old “dry cell” batteries most of us used for science fair projects as a kid. This battery has a finite life and is not rechargeable.

When this battery reaches the end of its life and starts to drop in voltage, the system will provide a warning sign. Upon disarming the system under normal circumstances, the constant alarm tone will go off after punching in the PIN. However, as a warning of reduced battery voltage, the alarm will continue to emit alarm beeps until the PIN is re-entered. Again, systems will vary according to service provider, but they should all have some means of indicating a weak battery.

If you have experienced this symptom, please contact your service provider for instructions regarding battery change-out. This can be done by the home owner. However, it is very important to replace the battery with the same or similar type and with one that has the same amp-hour rating. The Security South batteries are rated at 4.5 amp-hours. [Note: It is extremely important to be sure that you connect the battery leads correctly upon replacement (i.e.: positive to positive, negative to negative) to avoid system damage.] One final point to remember: These 12-volt batteries should not be thrown into regular trash, but should be taken to a recycle center for disposal.

Neighborhood Fences Painted

During June and July, Foreman’s Painting Company (the same contractor that painted our townhomes) completed painting of those fences belonging to the Association, including the arbors on Clemens Place. This work included touch-up of the fencing along Wolfe Street since this was last painted only two years ago.

Several neighbors have called to ask about painting of the fencing around Town of Davidson parks, including arbors in Faulkner Square. Unfortunately, the fencing around the children’s play areas and soccer fields and the arbors in Faulkner Square all belong to the Town of Davidson. In order to paint these fences, an item must be included in the budget approved by the town commissioners each July. The Association approached the commissioners over two months ago with a quotation from Foreman’s Painting to do this work. There has been no response to this proposal and the status of a painting schedule for these fences is uncertain.

Some of the park fencing is beginning to look bad and, in many cases, is covered in mildew, particularly along the lower edges. This is a finance issue with Davidson. Our residents expect the town parks to be maintained to neighborhood standards. This was an agreement between our founder, Doug Boone, and the Town of Davidson when these areas were deeded to the town.

In order to perhaps “speed up” the process, residents are encouraged to make your concerns known to town officials, commissioners, and the mayor. A polite request and expression of concern may be all it takes to get action on this issue. Please visit the town website at www.ci.davidson.nc.us and make contact via e-mail.

Newsletter Delivery Volunteers

Thanks go to all of our delivery volunteers!

Our July team included Adria & Woody Appleby, Barbara Dillman, Barbara & Tom Doster, Tom Fischer, Sherman & Nancy Kahn, Norm Reid, Norman Richards, Dave Smith, and John & Marcia Williamson. If you see our hard-working delivery volunteers in the summer heat, please offer them a cool drink!

If you wish to volunteer, please call Dave Smith at 704.987.1472
(e-mail at davidbsmith@bellsouth.net).

 

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