Area Homeowners’ Association
Community Newsletter
A Message from the President
Dear Residents,
The holiday season is here…
Winter is upon us and hope-
fully we’ll be done with all
the crazy weather we’ve
experienced during the
summer and fall and have a
mild winter season.
The board has worked very
hard as a close knit group of
volunteers in taking care of
the pool, tracking and watch-
ing our finances and
continuing to collect the
dues of the neighborhood.
We have been diligently
working on forecasts and
budgeting for the future.
This process is quite lengthy
and I applaud the continued
efforts. If there is something
you have seen, or a request
you might have, please feel
free to forward it to me or
ACAHOA Board of Directors
Mission Statement
The Arbor Creek Area
Homeowners’ Association
(ACAHOA), represented by
the Board of Directors
(BOD), who serve on a
volunteer basis, is committed
to (promote) maintaining the
integrity and property values
of the Arbor Creek subdivi-
sion by understanding and
enforcing the Arbor Creek
Declarations of Restrictions.
The ACHOA Board of Di-
rectors is committed to edu-
Volume 5, Issue 4
December, Ja nuary
we must continue to respect Inside this issue:
one another as we came into
this neighborhood with
understood regulations to be Introducing... 2
followed.
I also want to personally Save the Date 3
thank a small group of
residents who stepped up
and helped with the locking Fire Safety 3
and monitoring of the pool
this summer. We would
anyone else on the board and
welcome additional Welcome 4
we will review the requests
volunteers and encourage
and how they will benefit the
you to do what you can to
neighborhood. help out. We are already
Reminders 5
While we cannot promise looking for volunteers for
spending requests, we do new year.
continually positions Advertisements 5
Cheers!
ourselves to work hard and
look good fiscally. Matt Holstin
HOA President
As a reminder going Arbor Creek 2010
forward, next spring, boats Board of Directors
need to be stored properly,
garage sales must happen at President
the neighborhood dates, and Matt Holstin
Vice President
Dan Horton
Secretary
Diane VandeLune
Treasurer
cate and empower residents vision wide social events and Doug Goehl
by: acting as liaisons with the
Arbor Creek area shops and Members-at-Large:
1. Maintaining a family-
the City of Olathe; Allan Ain
friendly environment that is
Karen Griffin
clean, crime free and aes- 4. Protecting Arbor Creek
thetically pleasing; subdivision assets by acting Don Kehres
as good stewards in collect- Chad Mudloff
2. Fostering unity among
ing all dues and responsibly
neighbors and promoting
managing Arbor Creek re- Managing Partner
pride, prosperity and health
sources. Doug May
in our community;
Home Association
3. Creating a sense of com-
munity by sponsoring subdi- Solutions
 Page 2
Request for
Bids
Our grounds maintenance contract
is up for renewal in 2011. We are
currently looking for bids to help
us maintain the beauty of our
community.
If you are interested in participat-
ing in this process, please contact
Doug May, Home Associate
Solutions, at 913-825-0001 for
details and more information.
Resource
Requests
Several of you have requested
information about resources avail-
able in our community, like snow
removal. These resources are
currently listed in the back of our
Community directory; however,
they have not been updated in a
few years.
If you provide babysitting, pet
sitting or snow removal, please let
us know by e-mailing your name
and contact information to arbor-
creekolathe@gmail.com. We will
work to provide an new, updated
list of these services on our new
website.
Looking for
Readers..
Monthly Book
Club
Are you devoted to reading and
love to discuss the books you’ve
read? Elaine Ain is starting an
Arbor Creek Book Club and is
interested in having your participa-
tion. Please contact her at 913-
764-3850 if you would like to join
this group. Happy reading!
ACAHOA Community Newsletter
Introducing….
Allan Ain was elected to the
ACAHOA in January 2010 as
a member-at-large. This year,
in addition to serving as a
Board Member, he is serving
as chair of the Safety Com-
mittee.
Allan retired almost two years
ago from Pioneer Electronics,
a car audio and entertainment
theater products company,
A Letter to the Residents (Annotated)
— Doug Goehl, ACAHOA Treasurer
As we plan for the 2011
budget year, we wanted to
update you on the status of the
ACAHOA finances for the
year. 2010 has been a fairly
uneventful year for the
neighborhood. Financially,
the individual line items are
coming in at or slightly below
the amount budgeted at the
beginning of the year.
Pool issues were discussed at
length at the last annual meet-
ing. While we did have sev-
eral incidents at the pool over
the course of the summer,
they were handled by Board
members, our Management
Company and concerned
homeowners near the pool.
Annual dues collection is a
topic that always comes to the
forefront as we consider the
next year’s budget. While we
have made good progress in
this area, we are forced to deal
with a few foreclosure and
where he worked as the Mid-
west Region Sales Manager.
He was responsible for a 12-
state territory.
Along with his wife Elaine,
the Ains have lived in Arbor
Creek Community six and one
-half years.
Allan is the proud father to
three grown children, and the
proud grandfather to eight
grandchildren.
If you see Allan out and
about, be sure to say hi and
thank you for his service to
our community!
bankruptcy situations within
our community. Currently
less than 4% of last year’s
dues are uncollected.
Reserve funding is an area
that we need to consider when
putting together next year’s
budget. While we have maxi-
mizing reserves for the current
year, there is one project that
will need to be addressed in
the early spring. We will be
working on an area off the
pathway that runs through the
Villas that continually pools
with water and algae.
As we prepare for next year,
projects being considered are
the following: Aeration and
over seeding of the associa-
tion grounds, painting of the
Pavillion and pool cabana,
pool re-keying and gate main-
tenance, and additional pool
furniture.
As we illustrated in last year’s
Board
Elections
As part of our Annual Mem-
bers meeting, we will be call-
ing upon the community for
volunteers.
Each year, you receive a
nomination form with your
ACAHOA dues statement. If
you are interested in becom-
ing a member of the ACA-
HOA Board of Directions,
please complete that nomina-
tion form and return it with
your dues check.
It is vital we have volunteers
from our community serve.
We encourage everyone to
participate!
special and annual meetings,
both the Board and HAS,
LLC have worked on a com-
prehensive reserve analysis
for Arbor Creek. This analy-
sis was undertake so that this
Board (and future Boards)
would have detail on reserve
requirements and expenditures
over the next two decades.
After analyzing future reserve
needs and annual budget infla-
tion over the last 4 years, we
approved a slight increase in
dues for 2011. The dues in-
crease will 5% to $367.50.
While the official budget for
next year is still being final-
ized, if you have any ques-
tions feel free to contact Doug
May or myself as we have
worked together to establish
our financial thresholds and
strategy. We appreciate your
support and look ahead to a
successful 2011.
Volume 5, Issue 4
A Season for Sharing in Fire Safety
— U.S. Fire Administration
Each year fires occurring dur-
ing the holiday season claim
the lives of over 400 Ameri-
cans, injure 1,650 more, and
cause over $990 million in
damage.
According to the U.S. Fire
Administration (USFA), there
are simple life-saving steps
you can take to ensure a safe
and happy holiday. By fol-
lowing some of the outlines
precautionary tips, individuals
can greatly reduce their
chances of becoming a holi-
day fire casualty.
PREVENTING CHRIST-
MAS TREE FIRES
Special fire safety precautions
need to be taken when keep-
ing a live tree in the house. A
burning tree can rapidly fill a
room with fire and deadly
gases.
SELECTING A TREE FOR
THE HOLIDAY SEASON
Needles on fresh trees should
be green and hard to pull back
from the branches, and the
needle should not break if the
tree has been freshly cut. The
trunk should be sticky to the
touch. Old trees can be iden-
tified by bouncing the tree
trunk on the ground. If many
needles fall off, the tree has
been cut to long, has probably
dried out, and is a fire hazard.
CARING FOR YOUR TREE
Do not place your tree close to
a heat source, including a
fireplace or heat vent. The
heat will dry out the tree,
causing it to be more easily
ignited by heat, flame or
sparks. Be careful not to drop
or flick cigarette ashes near a
tree. Do not put your live tree
up too early or leave it up for
longer than two weeks. Keep
the tree stand filled with water
at all times.
DISPOSING OF YOUR
TREE
Never put tree branches or
needles in a fireplace or wood
burning stove. When the tree
becomes dry, discard it
promptly. The best way to
dispose of your tree is by tak-
ing it to a recycling center or
having it hauled away by a
community pick-up service.
HOLIDAY LIGHTS
MAINTAIN YOUR HOLI-
DAY LIGHTS
Inspect holiday lights each
year for frayed wires, bare
spots, gaps in the insulation,
broken or cracked sockets,
and excessive kinking or wear
before putting them up. Use
only lighting listed by an ap-
proved testing laboratory.
DO NOT OVERLOAD
ELECTRICAL OUTLETS
Do not link more than three
light strands, unless the direc-
tions indicate it is safe. Con-
nect strings of lights to an
extension cord before plug-
ging the cord into the outlet.
Make sure to periodically
check the wires—they should
not be warm to the touch.
DO NOT LEAVE HOLIDAY
LIGHTS ON UNATTENDED
HOLIDAY DECORA-
TIONS
USE ONLY NONFLAM-
MABLE DECORATIONS
All decorations should be
nonflammable or flame-
retardant and placed away
Page 3
from heat vents.
NEVER PUT WRAPPING
PAPER IN A FIREPLACE
In can result in a very large
fire, throwing off dangerous
sparks and embers that may
result in a chimney fire.
ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS
Save the Date...
TREES ACAHOA will hold the Annual
If you are using a metallic or Members meeting on Tuesday,
artificial tree, make sure it is February 1, 2011.
flame retardant.
Additional information regarding
CANDLE CARE this meeting will be published
both through Block Captain News
AVOID USING LIT CAN- and Updates and on our Facebook
DLES
page, Arbor Creek Community,
If you do use them, make sure Olathe, Kansas.
they are in stable holders and
This is an open meeting, and all
place them where they cannot residents are encouraged to attend.
be easily knocked down.
Never leave the house with
candles burning.
NEVER PUT LIT CANDLES “We can never get re-creation
ON A TREE
of community and heal our
Do not go near a Christmas
tree with an open flame— society without giving our
candles, lighters or matches.
citizens a sense of belonging..
Finally, as in every season,
have working smoke alarms
-- Patch Adams
installed on every level of
your home, test them monthly
and keep them clean and Block Captain
equipped with fresh batteries
at all times. Know when and Messages
how to call for help. And
remember to create and prac-
Are you receiving the Block Cap-
tice your home evacuation
tain News and Updates?
plan.
All Block Captain News and Up-
For more information con-
dates are being sent via gmail.
tact:
Should you have any messages to
The U.S. Fire Administration be posted about “lost and found”
items or any comments and/or
16825 South Seton Avenue
concerns regarding our commu-
Emmitsburg, MD 21727 nity, please forward those to arbor-
www.usfa.fema.gov creekolathe@gmail.com or contact
Doug May, Home Association
Solutions, 913-825-0001.
 Page 4
Reminder
Holiday Lighting: Holiday lighting
can be put up now, but must be
taken down by January 15, 2011.
Holiday
Celebrations
Hanukkah, also know as Festival of
Lights or Festival of Rededication,
is the eight day Jewish holiday that
starts on the 25th day of Kislev, that
can fall in late November, Decem-
ber, or on rare occasion , early
January. This year Hanukkah
begins December 2nd.
Kwanzaa is a week-long secular
holiday honoring African-American
heritage, celebrated from December
26 to January 1 each year.
Neighborhood
Wa t c h
In a Neighborhood Watch pro-
gram, the community works
closely with law enforcement to
inform and encourage members to
be aware of crime in their
neighborhood.
If you are interested in forming a
Neighborhood Watch on your
block, the National Crime Preven-
tion Council has published sug-
gested steps to take to organize a
one at http://www.ehow.com/
how_1902_form-neighborhood-
watch.html
If your block already has a
Neighborhood Watch established,
become a part of the activities!
ACAHOA Community Newsletter
w w w. a r b o r c r e e k o l a t h e . o r g — P l e a s e R e g i s t e r ! !
We have a new website!!!
Over the last few years, the Board of Directors has util-
ized a couple of different sponsored, inexpensive web-
sites. One was free and another was a blog site, neither
were easy to adminster and regularly updated.
In an effort to make a more permanent, easy to admin-
ster site, the Board moved to develop a site through
HOA Sites that is specifically designed for homes asso-
ciations and is simple for any communications commit-
tee person to administer. The site may be found at:
www.arborcreekolathe.org
As any site, it is a valuable tool that requires regular maintenance and will be updated to contain
the latest news concerning the HOA.
Please take the opportunity to register online by following the instructions. We will then have
email and address information that we can eventually utilize to build a community directory, send
e-mails, advertise, etc.
We l c o m e N e w N e i g h b o r s !
Adam & Karen Spence— 6005 W. 160th Terr.
Lawrence & Annette Staszkiewiez—16019 S. Locust St.
Steve & Nicole Wall—16187 S. Brookfield St.
David & Lynn Stoneking—16044 W. 160th Terr.
Natalia Borth—16114 S. Bradley Dr.
Jared & Kari Liggett—16260 S. Brookfield St. Vincent Peters—16270 S. Locust
Robert & Mary Walters—15922 W. 161st Ct. Richard Yunghans—15981 S. Sturgeon Dr.
Ti p s f o r Wi n t e r i z i n g Yo u r H o m e
The first day of Winter is 2. Prepare your fireplace. dioxide detectors.
quickly approaching. The
3. Check your exterior doors 8. Prevent plumbing freezes.
Earth will be closest to the sun
and windows. 9. Prepare outdoor landscap-
on December 21st .
4. Inspect your roof, gutter ing and surfaces.
According to
and downspouts.
www.about.com, there are a 10.Prepare an emergency kit.
few things we should do to 5. Service weather specific
For more detailed informa-
prepare for the cold of winter: equipment. tion, visit http://
1. Have your furnace in- 6. Check your foundation. homebuying.about.com/od/
spected. buyingahome/
7. Install smoke and carbon
Volume 5, Issue 4 Page 5

Information Needed Lawnmowers? Now?

The ACAHOA is still looking
for updates to each commu-
nity member’s information.
We have asked for residents
to verify name, address, and
contact information, including
telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses, to arborcreeko-
lathe@gmail.com.
Some of you responded
quickly and chose to “opt-out”
of any future print publica-
tions. However, we are at
only a 12% response rate to
date.
For those of you who have yet Now that prime mowing sea- why not now?
to verify your information, son is over, we should try
Each year we should change
please do so by December 31, winterizing our lawnmowers
the oil, clean the air filter,
2010. to be prepared for spring.
sharpen the blade, and check
And these things generally
More information will be and clean the spark plug.
should be done once a year,
forthcoming about the Com-
munity Directory via Block
Captain News and Updates.
If you currently do not receive
these e-mails, and would like
to be placed on the distribu-
tion list, again, contact us at
arborcreekolathe@gmail.com.
Note, this information is kept
CONFIDENTIAL.

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ACAHOA Community
Newsletter
Newsletter Submissions
Please contact arborcreekolathe@gmail.com
by Febuary 1, 2010, to make the next edition
of the ACAHOA Newsletter. Information
printed in the Newsletter is subject to ACA-
HOA Board of Directors approval.
V ISIT US ON THE WEB AT
WWW. ARBORCREEKOLATE . ORG
February 1, 2011
Annual Open Meeting
Important Reminder:
E-mail: arborcreekolathe@gmail.com
Fax: 913-825-0003
Phone: 913-825-0001
Overland Park, Kansas 66225-6145
P.O. Box 26145
c/o Home Association Solutions, LLC
ACAHOA
“The Arbor Creek Area Homes Association Community News-
letter” (Newsletter) is a publication of the Arbor Creek Area
Homes Owners Association (ACAHOA), a private, not-for-
profit organization of voluntary members. The ACAHOA re-
serves absolute editorial discretion over the contents of the
Newsletter and may reject a submission for any reason. Adver-
tisements in the Newsletter should not be construed as an en-
dorsement of products or services by the ACAHOA. The News-
letter is the medium through which the ACAHOA communicates
with it’s members. It is not a forum for the views of individual
members of the ACAHOA or other individuals or groups.
Reach over 350 homes instantly—Advertise in the next ACAHOA
Newsletter. Business card size ads are $25 per issue or $75 for four is-
sues; quarter page ads are $50 per issue or $150 for four issues. Only ads
that have been paid in full will appear. Contact arborcreeko-
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