Autumn Walk HOA News 10/1/24

We have quite a lot of important information to cover this time so I will try to summarize it and then provide links for more detailed information below. Please let us know if you have any questions, thanks!

1. Selling and Refinancing Your Home: New Online Platform for Getting Resale Packages

2. Auto Debit of HOA Fees: Emerson Form Updated

3. 2025 Annual Meeting & Board Elections in November (both Emerson and Autumn Walk HOA) + Budget (need 13 houses for AWHOA quorum)

4. Save the Date: Chili Cook-Off on Sat. 11/2/24 (weekend after Halloween)

5. Miscellaneous

• Pet Waste: please pick up after your dogs, especially on the large island!
• Maintenance and Repairs
• Shredding Events (Emerson HOA 10/5/24, Howard County 11/9/24)

1. Selling and Refinancing Your Home:

Emerson Clubhouse Update (April 2023)

The new Emerson Clubhouse is expected to be completed in August 2023 and on April 13th, residents were given the opportunity to tour the construction site with our Owner's Representative as well as the Project Managers from the General Contractor acting as guides and answering questions.

This unofficial report is a brief summary of that visit by one of our residents and as with all large construction projects schedules could be affected by events:

1. Tour was given by the Project/Construction Managers for the General Contractor as well as our Owner's Rep who manages the entire project.

They hope to give future tours as construction progresses if there is demand. Only about half of the 25 people who signed up attended.

2. General Schedule:

Emerson Clubhouse and Pool

Construction of the new Emerson Clubhouse began in January and is proceeding on schedule. 

1. The new Clubhouse will address many issues with the old building, including needed repairs, maintenance issues, and upgraded showers and changing facilities for the Pool.

2. In addition, by adding a second floor to the Clubhouse the new building will be able to support large meetings and events for the first time for community meetings and clubs, while also adding a fitness facility.

3. The project managers will provide a tour on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 4 pm for the Emerson Community. An RSVP is required so they can get a headcount and a waiver form must be signed to enter an active construction site (closed-toe shoes and long pants are also required).

Emerson HOA Meeting Rescheduled to Thu. April 13, 2023

The April meeting of the Board of Directors for Emerson Master HOA has been rescheduled to Thursday, April 13, 2023 via Zoom at 7:30 pm.

The meeting will begin 30 minutes later than usual so the Board can have a closed Executive Session prior to the public meeting.

There will be Residents Forum at the start of the meeting for you to ask questions.

Emerson Master HOA News

You may have seen the weekly newsletters from the Emerson Master HOA, but there are a number of significant items that I felt would be good to collect in one place:

1. Emerson has a new on-site General Manager, Jose Palacios, who has prior experience with managing a large HOA. Contact information has been updated on our web site.
• Steffanie Nollie will remain involved with Emerson as the Portfolio Manager, but now will guide multiple properties. 
• Lisa Fields is the assistant manager for Emerson HOA.
2. Demolition of the old Clubhouse was supposed to start last week and is expected to take 3-4 weeks.
1. The crews were to start at 7 AM which is the earliest permitted under Howard County noise regulations (quiet hours are 10 PM to 7 AM).
2. The Emerson Front Office will temporarily relocate to the Maryland main office down the road at 8920 Stephens Road, Suite 101. They will still be reachable at the same office number (301-317-4044).
1. Many issues that are the jurisdiction of Howard County can be reported via Tell HoCo or on the non-emergency line for police, fire, and EMS (410-313-2200).
2. Power, gas , and street lighting outages should be reported to BGE.
3. The Clubhouse rebuild will be led by Project Manager Antonio Cruz, who is also Vice President of Construction for Knott Realty. The General Contractor will be Whiting Turner. The Architect is DCS Design (Davis Carter Scott) and they have posted a web page with the design.
4. Emerson Master HOA Board:

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.

Autumn Walk at Emerson News 8/24/20

1. Stephens Road Bridge Project: Closure next week o/a 8/30/20
2. Night Hours: After 10 PM
3. Welcome new neighbors!
4. Landscaping & Maintenance
5. Clubhouse Plans Revealed 8/27/20
6. Emerson Food Trucks: Wed, Fri, Weekends
7. Emerson Upgrades & Initiatives (driven by Emerson Community volunteers)
8. Hammond High School: $76M Renovation/Expansion Has Begun

News Items August 2020:

1. Stephens Road Bridge Project: Closure on/about Sunday 8/30/20 

• Stephens Road to close for about a week to relocate water/sewer lines during work hours (7 AM - 4 PM)
• Afterwards, construction of new bridge to begin, may take as long as 2 years
• Project lifts the bridge out of the floodplain (raising it 7-8 feet). Will also widen Stephens, add sidewalks, and add a median for traffic calming.
• Will have two spans, so for the most part should always have one span open without major detours
• Full info at bottom

2. Day/Night Hours: After 10 PM

Special Emerson Town Hall with HoCo Executive 9/24/19

Emerson held a Special Town Hall with Howard County Executive Dr. Calvin Ball in the Emerson Clubhouse on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 from 7 PM to 9 PM.

Dr. Ball also brought many of his senior leadership team and Department Heads with him to answer a wide-ranging set of questions (posted below for easy reference).

The video feed was also broadcast live to the external Emerson Facebook Page and to the Emerson Forum:

• https://www.facebook.com/emersoncommunityassociation/videos/2317221785208611/

Some highlights:

Emerson Special Meeting (Mon. 9/30/19)

Emerson's Board of Directors has scheduled a Special Meeting for Monday, September 30, 2019 at 7 PM for the membership (Emerson Owners in good standing) to vote on the question of whether the Board will be expanded from 5 members to 7 members in this year's November Emerson elections.

If the proposal passes, there will be three positions open rather than just one.

Because a very high quorum of 1/6th of the membership (168 residential units) is needed for the results to be valid, we need for you to return your proxy forms to the Clubhouse by Monday's meeting, or via email to snollie@cmc-management.com.

You can also provide the form to someone who will be attending the meeting. (Fred Leong in 9854 is collecting them if you want him to take yours over on Monday.)

The meeting announcement and proxy forms were mailed to each household in Emerson last week and are also available from the Emerson web site:

http://emersoncommunityassociation.com/picture/SpeciaMeetingNoticeMailing.pdf

Emerson Community Facebook Forum

Did you know that Emerson has a Facebook Forum, a closed group open only to residents and owners, that has become the place to go to get recommendations, find out what's going on in the community, and do a little buying and selling?

Join in the fun! You'll be asked to provide an Emerson address.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/emersonhomeowners/

Emerson Mailbox Painting

Emerson's newest Board member, Richard Flinn, has created a huge number of initiatives, ranging from revitalizing Emerson's committees with a new Community Affairs Committee, to systematically trying to improve the state of the common area property throughout Emerson.

As part of the latter, we got a very visible sign of progress on our street when our mailboxes were painted on Thursday (along with mailboxes throughout Emerson). The painting is part of a campaign to ensure that everything within Emerson will look spruce and in good repair, to show off our community to the world.

On our street, the slight difference in the colors of our mailboxes created an interesting, and perhaps even fashionable, two-tone effect.

A list of various Emerson initiatives this year:

1. Emerson Clubhouse Renovation (Chair: Fred Leong) - first meeting is 5/16/19

2. Community Affairs Committee Open House - Open House 5/23/19

3. Emerson Food Truck Fridays - Organized by Emerson resident Khaleda Hasan - EVERY FRIDAY through August

Thinking of Selling Your Home in Emerson?

Posted by the Emerson Master HOA:

https://www.facebook.com/emersoncommunityassociation/posts/2160050284062841

Thinking of Selling Your Home in Emerson?

There are a few things you should know:

1. You need to order a Resale Package. 

Emerson Food Truck Fridays

*** Update: A dinner truck has been added for Friday, October 5th! ***

Emerson's first Food Truck Friday on Sept. 7th was a big success, with The Taco Bar serving up 72 lunches in a 3 hour span!

That success means that plans are underway to expand Food Truck Fridays by adding evening dinner hours and perhaps more days. Stay tuned for details!

In the meantime, two more trucks have already been scheduled:

• Friday, October 5, 2018 (Lunch and Dinner): 
• Lunch (11 am - 2pm): T&J Waffles
• Dinner (5 pm - 8 pm): RB Grill
• Friday, November 2, 2018 (11 am -2 pm): Jammin' Flava Jamaican

Emerson Annual Inspections Begin Aug. 13th

Emerson's Annual Inspections begin on Monday, August 13, 2018 and will continue on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis until completed.

This process usually takes a few weeks to complete the 1100 homes within the community.

Only the exterior is inspected, so homeowners do not need to be present. If an issue is noted, the Emerson Community Manager will send a notification with a timeframe for addressing the issue.

The checklist provided to the teams is as follows:

Basketball Backboards Not Permitted in Townhomes

Emerson's bylaws do not permit basketball hoops in townhome communities at all, even if they are put away in the evenings. 

From the Emerson HOA Bylaws, certain types are permitted in single family homes but not townhomes:

06 BASKETBALL BACKBOARDS

A. General Considerations

1. Basketball backboards (both permanent and portable) must be located so as to minimize the impact of their appearance and noise on neighboring properties.

2. When locating basketball backboards, the size of the property, relationship to adjacent residences, and screening provided by existing and proposed structures and/or vegetation are important.

3. Pole-mounted backboards are recommended rather than building-mounted backboards.

4. Any addition of paving material also requires review and approval.

5. Townhomes: Basketball Backboards are not permitted in Townhome Communities due to the close proximity of units, and the potential negative acoustical impact.

Emerson HOA Board Meeting 3/26/18

Attendees:

1. Emerson Board: 

• Nancy Tucker (Howard Hughes Corp.)
• Erica Root-Cikanek
• Feleke Eshete
• Unable to attend: 
• Knott Realty Representative
• Narsimha Doma

2. CMC Management:

• Steffanie Felder Nollie
• Heather McGreevy

3. Residents: Approx. 7 in attendance

Summary:

• Resident Forum: dog waste stations, commercial vehicles
• Committees need volunteers, especially Safety
• Swimming Pool to open full-time May 26 (there will be no early opening dates)
• Clubhouse Renovation Update
• Emerson Finances very healthy, intend to lower assessment rate again
• Yoga Class approved for Clubhouse (10 weeks)
• Draft FY19 Budget to be prepared by 4/22/18, approved 5/21/18
• Emerson wants to revitalize Committees
• Possible Committee Night
• Also potentially seek an intern to update web site

Meeting Details:

Forest Conservation Easements

One of the distinguishing characteristics of Howard County is the extensive 2600 acres set aside as green open space that supports a wide variety of wildlife and also plays a critical role in floodwater management.

(According to Howard County, soil beneath a mature forest can absorb 14 times the stormwater of a mowed grass lawn.)

Reforestation Areas
Since the 1970s new developments in Howard County have been required to set a certain percentage of their land area aside for open space.

Included within that preserved land are forest conservation easements managed by Howard County Recreation and Parks, though this only directly affects a few of our houses in Autumn Walk.

Sometimes also called reforestation areas, these tree-filled lands are embedded within our communities, but as a rule neither homeowners nor HOAs are permitted to alter them.

Storm Damage (Maintenance of Reforestation Areas)
Last month Winter Storm Riley's highly unusual sustained winds of over 30 mph (with gusts over 70 mph) toppled trees in the rain-softened ground throughout the region, as well as taking off shingles, siding, and other exterior items.

The question arose prior to the storm of who can address storm-related issues in the reforestation areas:

Emerson Capital Improvements - Town Hall 10/24

Emerson will discuss the survey results and the Board's decisions for capital improvement projects at the next Emerson Town Hall Meeting on Mon., Oct. 24th at 7 PM in the Clubhouse.

As you will recall, the Board sent out a survey asking residents to provide feedback on possible improvements to Emerson facilities in order to enhance our quality of life, ranging from an expansion and renovation of the Clubhouse to an expansion of the pool.

48% of the almost 1000 households in Emerson filled out the survey, with many write-in suggestions as well.

Please Pick Up After Your Pets

Pet waste is growing a problem throughout Emerson.

There are many Dog Waste Stations installed all around Emerson that both supply bags, and have trash receptacles for depositing them after they have been used.

Please help to keep Emerson clean! Thanks all!

Emerson National Night Out - Food Drive for Ellicott City

Emerson's National Night Out (NNO) will still continue as scheduled tomorrow night, but appearances by Howard County police, fire, and government officials have been cancelled due to the recovery efforts from the devastating floods in Ellicott City this past weekend.

One of Emerson's residents has arranged for a Food Drive for Ellicott City in conjunction with the Howard County Food Bank and the Grassroots Center. Donations can be brought to a dedicated area at NNO.

Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Time: 6 PM - 8 PM
Location: Emerson Clubhouse

1. National Night Out Events: