2021 Autumn Walk HOA Annual Meeting

The 2021 Autumn Walk HOA Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 as a virtual (videoconferencing) meeting.

Attendance:

• Board of Directors: Dharmesh Patel (9811), Allie Stegner (9832), Fred Leong (9854)
• AJ (9838), Mike (9853)
• Proxies (11): 9808, 9810, 8914, 9815, 9823, 9825, 9838, 9840, 9843, 9852, 9860 [Dharmesh will send to CAS]
• Management: April Day, Community Association Services (CAS)

Agenda:

• Approval of 2020 Minutes
• Report on past year
• Landscaping
• FY22 Budget
• Elections

Meeting Notes:

1. Meeting was called to order by Dharmesh at 6:05 PM
1. Quorum was achieved (12 houses needed, Dharmesh will send proxies to CAS)
2. 2021 Annual Meeting minutes (written by Allie)
1. Approved 2020 Minutes 3-0 [Dharmesh motion, Allie second]
3. Report on past year
1. No events in 2020 due to pandemic
2. Ice Cream Social in August 2021
3. Halloween Parade on Oct. 31 (Allie reported most residents and children in attendance of any previous event)
4. Landscaping
1. Discussion of what has been done, what the contract calls for, and what needs to be corrected
2. Fall mulching and aerating with overseeding completed
3. However, Fred asked:

Winterizing Your Home Reminder

With Western Howard County experiencing freeze warnings this week, it's a good reminder to start winterizing your home.

In particular you may want to turn off your outside faucets this month to avoid frozen pipes later this winter, and consider changing the airflow in your ducts if your basements get cold in the winter.

Related Posts:

• Winterizing Your Home (11/15/12)
• Adjusting Your HVAC Vents (7/3/14)
• Whole House Humidifiers (9/9/14)

Stephens Road Bridge Construction

The construction of the new Stephens Road Bridge, which raises it 8-10 feet out of the floodplain, is nearing completion.

Stephens Road will be closed during working hours 7 AM - 5 PM the next two days (Wednesday and Thursday, 11/3/21 - 11/4/21) for construction of the new traffic medians. Information is available on a voice recording by calling Howard County at 410-313-3638.

Photos of the construction are also available on Howard County's Web Site:

• Stephens Road Bridge (Project J-4202) Construction Photos (10/7/21)

From Howard County Transportation Department Web Site:

Content

Update (Aug. 2021)

Phase 2 of the capital project (construction of western half of the bridge) is currently underway. The bridge deck concrete pour is complete; remaining work includes: superstructure, roadway fill, paving and sidewalk along the southbound portion which is to be completed by the end of August. 

Vehicular traffic is scheduled to be shifted to the newly built portion of roadway in early September to allow the contractor to build the sidewalk along the northbound portion and finish grading of the shoulder areas.  In early October, the contractor will complete the concrete median areas. This project also includes rehabilitation and grading of the existing storm water management facility behind the Hammonds Promise Overlook community. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.

Recent construction photos can be found here:

• Stephens Construction Photos

Replacement of the existing bridge over the Hammond Branch of the Little Patuxent River.  Included in the project is continuous sidewalk construction along both sides of Stephens between Whiskey Bottom Road and Gorman Road.  Bicycle accommodation along roadway is also included.

• Estimated cost of project: $5-10M
• Actual construction start: Summer 2020
• Estimated construction completion: Fall/Winter 2021

Displays presented at 3/7/2018 public meeting can be found here: 

• Display 1: Stephens Road Improvements
• Display 2: Stephens Road Typical Section

Autumn Walk HOA Annual Meeting (11/2/21 @ 6 PM)

For clarification, the time listed on the Annual Meeting Proxy for the Autumn Walk Annual Meeting and Elections is correct, the meeting will start at 6 PM via Zoom. Please see your mailed letters or emails for the link.

Autumn Walk HOA 2021 Annual Meeting
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
6 PM EST

Agenda:

• FY22 Budget
• Discussion of homeowner fees
• Elections (one position)

2021 Maryland Tax-Free Week August 8-14

 Don’t forget: Maryland’s Tax-Free Week this year is August 8-14, 2021 when you can save money by not having to pay the 6% Maryland sales tax on qualifying purchases of clothing and footwear (below $100), and backpacks (up to the first $40).

For the rules and to find out what’s eligible go the Maryland State Comptroller’s web site:

• 2021 Maryland Tax Free Week

Picnic Replaced by Ice Cream Social Friday 8/6/21

Our apologies for the change, but the 2021 Autumn Walk Picnic has been cancelled.

However, because there have been so many new families that have moved into Autumn Walk in the past 2 years, we still wanted to give you an opportunity to meet each other.

So we will have an ice cream social this Friday on the large island at the end of our street. We know it's short notice!

Walk-ups are welcome but please help us with our planning by going to the RSVP link (you don’t need an account to RSVP, but we ask that you give us your name and house number):

• https://bit.ly/3xca3pi

You're also welcome to bring something to the social and we hope you'll be able to attend if only for a little while! Hope to see you there!

Date: Friday, August 6, 2021
Time: 6 pm - 8 pm
Location: Large island in cul-de-sac

Emerson Clubhouse Construction Begins

The rebuild and renovation of the Emerson Clubhouse will begin soon, with the parking lot fenced off beginning Wed., June 30, 2021. The construction trailer is already in place.

A second story will be added to the Clubhouse, creating usable space for the first time for large meetings and events, and also adding a small fitness center.

The pool pumping equipment was also evaluated during the pre-construction phase and it was discovered that the equipment would need to be repaired or replaced. Rather than perform this work in two phases the Emerson Board of Directors decided to close the pool entirely for 2021.

Originally slated to begin in Winter 2021, the project was delayed in getting permits and is now scheduled to be completed in early 2022.

During construction the Emerson Food Trucks (every Friday, and alternate Wednesdays) have located to the Enclave at Emerson parking lot at 8450 Upper Sky Way, Laurel, MD 20723.

Howard County, MD Ranked #8 in US Healthiest Counties

US News and World Report has ranked Howard County, MD (where our Autumn Walk at Emerson community is located) as the #8 healthiest county in the United States, from among almost 3000 communities rated in 2021.

This is the highest ranking in Maryland with Montgomery County coming in second at #65. (Though two counties in Northern Virginia, Falls Church and Loudon are #3 and #4 respectively.)

To read more:

• Howard County, MD at US News & World Report
• Howard County Ranks #8 as 2021 Healthiest Community (Patch.com)

Save the Date! Autumn Walk Picnic Sat. 8/28/21

Save the Date on your calendars! The 2021 Autumn Walk HOA Picnic will be on Saturday, August 28, 2021 (with the next day the Rain Date). More details will be coming in a month.

It's been two years since we've had a Picnic due to the pandemic, making it harder to meet the neighbors including several new families.

Thanks go out to AJ (9838), Swapnil (9846), Jenny (9847), and Fred (9854) for volunteering to organize the event. Let them/us know if you want to help in any way, even if you can't participate in the planning!

Emerson Town Hall with State Delegation

The next Emerson to Action Town Hall on Thursday, July 8, 2021 from 6 pm to 7:30 pm will feature three members of Howard County's delegation to the Maryland legislature:

• Vanessa Atterbeary, Maryland House of Delegates, District 13
• Jen Terrasa, Maryland House of Delegates, District 13
• Guy Guzzone, Maryland Senate, District 13

Emerson is soliciting questions ahead of time via this survey:

• https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MFCDPNN

You can find more information on Emerson's Facebook page:

• https://www.facebook.com/events/981126556052548

Changing the Fencing Standard

 Our townhome community is unique in Emerson in that the "cluster standard" (required architectural design elements) were specified by our builder and Emerson to what the Emerson Architect considers to be a higher grade of material.

This includes the divider fences, which Emerson has always required be made of wood and painted white. However, due to the current shortage of building materials (along with a case being made that vinyl is easier to maintain), Emerson has given us a process whereby we can designate an alternate material:

1. Consult the Autumn Walk HOA membership on the proposed change
2. Submit a formal letter to the Emerson ARB with the proposed change, as well as sample pictures and specifications
3. State whether all fences will be vinyl, or whether this will be optional
4. Obtain approval by the Emerson HOA Board

We are proposing that for the small dividers, that vinyl fencing be permitted as an "option," using vinyl fencing as shown in the attached pictures. These have not been approved yet as our first step is to consult the membership on the change.

• As part of that we are conducting an online survey to determine whether the majority of our owners are in favor of this change.

• We are also asking if members would like to participate in our first Picnic Social since 2019, as it was cancelled in 2020 by the pandemic.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BWHHTD8

PVC Fence Panel Full Privacy 6' Height by 8' Width

Post Caps: "New England" Style

2021 Fee Booklets Are Late

For those who use coupon books to pay your Autumn Walk HOA fees, you may not have received them yet due to COVID-related delays at the printer and mail. The 2021 coupon book should arrive in the mail within a week, so just send your payment when you receive the book.

Because of this no late fees will be charged for the month of January.

If you don't get the coupon book by then please email julia.tredway@casinc.biz in the accounting department for our management team.

As you should have seen in a letter, the dues will remain $75/month this year.

2020 Autumn Walk HOA Annual Meeting

 2020 AutumnWalk HOA Annual Meeting 11-16-2020

Attendance:

• Present: Dharmesh (9811), Allie (9832), Mike (9853), AJ (9838)
• Proxies:
• Management: April Day, CAS Inc.

Agenda:

Quorum Established (12 accounted for)

• Adopt 2019 Minutes
• Financial Review
• 2021 Budget 
• Presidents Report
• Yearly Overview
• Community Gatherings/Events
• Landscape
• Snow Removal
• Misc
• Election (One open position) 
• Residents Forum

1. 7:05 Call to order
2. Introductions
1. AJ and Mike were in attendance. They are new to the neighborhood this year.
3. Adopt 2019 Minutes (Motion: Dharmesh, Second:Allie; Passed uncontested)
4. Financial Review
1. No need to raise dues
2. Working with slightly less income because of lowered interest rate
3. Not a lot has changed as far as expenses
4. No delinquency problem
5. Current management contract was due for an increase this year
6. Current landscaper contract was a 3% increase this year.
5. Adopt 2021 Budget (Motion: Dharmesh, Second:Allie; Passed uncontested)
6. Community Gatherings
1. Due to Covid the community picnic and Halloween chili cook-off was canceled.
2. We were able to have a social distant pumpkin carving activity and Halloween parade with goodie bags for the kids.
7. Landscaping
1. Johnson Landscaping will be out to trim low hanging branches around the sub-division.
2. Bushes will be planted in the large island in the back to replace ones that have died.
3. Leaf collection will be happening within a week.
8. Snow Removal
1. Haven’t had a large need for this the past couple of winters Johnson is in touch with Dharmesh prior to a snowstorm coming.
9. Elections
1. One position open
2. Allie, Member at large
3. Bindu (9811) nominated Allie for re-election.
4. Motion to reappoint Allie made by Dharmesh, AJ Carew second motion.
5. Passed uncontested.
10. Residents Forum
1. No one had any additional concerns or questions
11. Best wishes to Fred for a speedy recovery
12. 7:50pm Meeting Adjourn

Columbia, MD #5 on Money's Best Places to Live for 2020

Autumn Walk at Emerson is located adjacent to Columbia, MD which has perennially been a top pick in Money Magazines "Best Places to Live in America" lists for more than a decade, including taking the top spot in 2016. Columbia and Howard County define much of the quality of life for our community including the top-rated schools, a safe environment, and a diverse community.

For 2020, Columbia was ranked #5 in the US (and tops in Maryland). Their introduction to Columbia states:

"A mainstay on our Best Places to Live list, Columbia ranked 20th last year and took the top spot in 2016. This suburban town’s enduring appeal is the result of its racially and economically diverse population and its proximity to both Baltimore (15 miles away) and Washington, D.C. (22 miles). It helps that housing in the community is relatively affordable for the region."

These factors are among the reasons many of us chose to live here: proximity to jobs and amenities in a welcoming community with good schools.

Refinancing and Selling

With rates hitting historic lows, some of you may be looking to refinance your mortgages. The place to get forms filled out certifying your HOA fees and obligations is HomeWise Docs (www.homewisedocs.com).

This is also where you can obtain Resale Packages for Autumn Walk HOA when selling your home.