Cottonwood Heights Neighborhood Association

Fall Neighborhood Meeting November 14, 2013

Welcome!
Membership Information
CHNA represents approximately 900 homes in this neighborhood. CHNA advocates for the neighborhood with the City, Richardson ISD and other business, civic and governmental entities. CHNA also sponsors programs throughout the year benefitting its residents. Regular membership is $20 annually. Lifetime memberships are available for a one-time payment of $1,000.
Benefits:
Youll never worry about dues again! Substantial financial support for your neighborhood association, including long term improvement and beautification efforts.

Special Guests

Meet your CHNA Board and Committee Chairs:

President: Jason Lemons Vice President: Chris Davis Secretary: Suzanne Juliussen Treasurer: Cynthia Armstrong External Vice President: Barry Hand Civic Chairs: David Knepper (COR)/Larry Breazeale (RISD) Environmental Co-Chairs: Anne Bienfang and Karen Tanker Communications Chair: Stephen Kinnane Programs Chair: Leona Hinsley and Joe Stephenson Crime Patrol Co-Chairs: Tom Norman and David Clark Membership Chair: TBD Publicity Chair: David Chenoweth

Recent Neighborhood Activities

Summer: Heights Recreation/Aquatic Centers and Durham Park open October 1: National Night Out October 31: Neighborhood Halloween activities November 4: Fall Neighborhood BBQ Social and Seed Swap
Thank you Wendy Wright Realtors, for your generous food donation!

Keeping Up with CHNA

The official CHNA website/blog: http://blog.cottonwoodhna.org.
Updated frequently!

Keeping Up with CHNA

Facebook: 180 members on the CHNA page, as of today.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/34729276287

Keeping Up with CHNA

Google+: established earlier this year; same information as on Facebook

Keeping Up with CHNA

Nextdoor: geared for neighborhoods; Richardson PD is very active.
http://www.cottonwoodheights.nextdoor.com

Door Prizes!

Dover Elementary Update

Expansion:
Earlier this fall, RISD announced that it was considering adding six additional classrooms to Dover Elementary to accommodate anticipated growth in enrollment at the school. On October 10th and October 22nd, RISD and Dover staff met with residents and parents to discuss the preliminary expansion plans and solicit public input for the project. The second meeting provided a more detailed plan for the work to be done and also addressed some specific concerns raised by residents, including traffic impact and the effect of expansion on other facilities, such as the cafeteria and gym. On October 30th, RISD officials made their recommendation for expanding Dover to the Board of Trustees at a study session. On November 4th, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously in favor of adding six additional classrooms to Dover Elementary, with anticipated completion by the 20142015 school year.
A-Care Chiropractic and Acupuncture

Dover Elementary Update

Coming up: Dover PTA Math and Science Night takes place on Thursday, November 21 at 6 p.m. Welcome Dover Elementary Principal Brona Hudson for remarks and Q&A!

Neighborhood Construction Update

So far:
April 2013: City Council awards $2.9M contract to RKM Utility Services for street paving, sidewalk repair, drainage improvement and water line replacement on Dublin and Dover and improvements to the Dumont bridge over Hunt Branch. Estimated completion is May 2014. June 2013: Construction begins, with installation of storm drain improvements and replacement of paving at Dublin Drive between Dumont Drive and Beltline Road and on Dumont Drive between Cottonwood Drive and Dublin Drive. September 2013: Construction schedule for remainder of year and beyond is announced. Includes Dover Drive from Beltline to Colfax (beginning in 2014) and Dumont Drive from Dover to Shadywood Lane. Traffic is also routed westbound only on the Dumont bridge while work on the bridge decks is done.

Neighborhood Construction Update

What can we expect in the coming months? Welcome Don Magner, Assistant City Manager, Community Services!

Door Prizes!

Police/Crime Update
Crime Statistics from the Last Six Months:
One (1) Assault with a Deadly Weapon One (1) Burglary of a Habitation (600 block Decca) Six (6) Vehicle Burglaries (200 and 700 blocks of Dover, 1200 and 1400 blocks of Dumont, 1200 block of Dearborn and 1200 block of Donna) Two (2) Criminal Mischief reports (damage to property) both on 1200 block of Dearborn Five (5) Graffiti offenses (1400 block of Stagecoach, 400 block of S. Cottonwood, 600 block of Dublin, 800 and 1200 blocks of Ridgeway) Seven (7) Theft offenses (1200 block of Colfax, 100 and 600 blocks of Dover, 600 block of Dublin, 600 block of Decca, 600 block of S. Cottonwood) One (1) Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (200 block of Murray)

Police/Crime Update
Takeaways from Crime Statistics
The Neighborhood Crime Watch Patrol is working well in most of the neighborhood. Lots of property crimes:
Dont forget to remove valuables from your car and lock your doors.
These are crimes of opportunity, so take necessary precautions.

Report any and all suspicious activities. If it doesnt look right, dont take any chances.

Lots of complaints this summer about shady or overzealous solicitors.

Remember that the City requires door to door solicitors to carry visible identification. They also have to observe certain time and date restrictions:
Lemons & Hallbauer, LLC
Attorneys and Counselors at Law

They are allowed to go door to door from 9 a.m. in the morning to 30 minutes after sundown. They are barred from soliciting door to door on most holidays.

Police/Crime Update
Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Lamp Post Lane on Labor Day)
Lots of concern about group homes in the neighborhood; a citywide problem. What can be done about group homes?
Currently, there is no viable legal solution for getting rid of group homes in our community.
Federal fair housing laws and the ADA protect group homes from being zoned out of existence.

Other strategies are needed to help manage the situation:

Write your congressman: https://sessions.house.gov/index.cfm/contact-form Report code violations consistently. Use the MyRichardson smartphone app for reporting violations.

Police/Crime Update
Other Police news:
New program: Neighborhood Video Crime Watch
The Police Department is seeking residents with video surveillance systems to be an additional resource in crime prevention efforts. If a crime occurs nearby, the police may contact participants and ask to review the surveillance system for video that may help solve the crime. Note: the RPD will not have direct access to surveillance systems and volunteers can choose whether or not to share any footage with the Police. For more information, call 972-744-4955.

Crime Watch Patrol Training: December 5th from 6 to 10 p.m. Applications for Richardson Citizens Police Academy are being accepted through December 16th. Call 972-744-4955 for more info.

Lightning Round!
The 42nd Annual Richardson Christmas Parade will take place on Saturday, December 7th at 9 a.m. This years parade route will travel north on Plano Road from Richardson Square Mall to Apollo Road.
Parade entries forms are due by November 27: http://cor.net/index.aspx?page=333.

Santas Village will open with a tree lighting ceremony at 5 p.m. on December 7th. Santas Village is free and open to visitors Thursday through Sunday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. until December 22nd. Winter Stage 3 Water Restrictions took effect on November 1st, which restricts landscape watering to twice a month.
If your address ends with an even number, you may water the 1st and 3rd Saturday. If your address ends with an odd number, you may water the 1st and 3rd Sunday.
Hi Five Auto Care 972-744-0040

Door Prizes!

Closing Remarks
Questions? Block captains: get ready for Christmas garland duties. Thank you to all of our sponsors, door prize donors and advertisers! Thanks for joining us tonight!