September 7th, 2022

HELP! TWO MORE OFFICE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TOMORROW AND FRIDAY TO HELP PREP ANNUAL MEETING PACKET MAILING FROM 8:30AM TO 4:30PM!

If you can help even for an hour or two it would be greatly appreciated!  Contact Audri at askillern@ccmcnet.com or call the office at 972-401-4946.

Happy Wednesday Hackberry Creek Residents! The Board nomination period has closed and your list of candidates can be found below!

Lots of other news in this Mid-Week Update includes...

• New Rules for Board Meetings and Resident Forum Section
• Garage Sale Registration Open
• City of Irving Changing Trash Pick-up Service - Once Weekly
• List of Board Nominees - 12 Candidates
• Board Candidate Forum - September 12th at 7:00pm
• Submitting Questions for Candidates - More Questions Needed!
• Volunteering Info - Turkey Trot Chair and volunteers needed
• Village Rules - Pool or Spa Enclosures and Pets - Did You Know?
• September Board Meeting - Save The Date

Have a great week and as always, if you have any questions, please call the Hackberry Creek office at 972-401-4946.

An updated Annual Meeting Timeline for Residents

 Thursday and Friday 9/8 - 9/9 - Office staff compiles 1,200 plus packets with help of volunteers.

Friday afternoon 9/9 - All packets are deposited with USPS for mailing.

We have no control over how fast USPS will deliver the packets but we expect everyone to receive their packet no later than the following Saturday (two weeks from today - September 17th). Please wait until Monday, September 19th to call the office if you have still not received your packet. Voting remains open via absentee ballot until October 18th.

However, all registered homeowners on the Hackberry Creek Website will be able to view much of the information in the packet online PRIOR to receiving it in the mail. Here is what will be available online and when it will be available.

Saturday, September 10th - Candidate Bios will be available on the community website and the link for registered homeowners to access the bios will be provided in the Saturday morning NewsFlash at 8am.

Monday, September 12th - The Village Manager will be hosting and moderating the Candidate forum at 7pm. Final forum details will be provided in the 9/10 NewsFlash.

Immediately after the Candidate Forum the link to access the online absentee ballot submission form will be released to the community where residents can review all ballot items and submit their vote if the wish to do so at that time. Owners will be voting on the Board election, proposed special group assessment, and approval of 2021 annual meeting minutes. No community members, board members past or present, or candidates will have access to view online ballot submissions.

Residents will still need to mail in their DECAL order form received in their Annual Meeting packet or bring it to the office to receive the 2023 decals before October 19th, 2021.

A Chairperson and Volunteers are needed for this year's Turkey Trot

Please contact the office if you would like to Chair or volunteer this year's Turkey Trot event!

• The resident open forum period will be limited to 30 minutes maximum.
• There will be no alcohol allowed at Board meetings.
• Any disruptive residents will be asked to leave.
• Comments / questions must be submitted in advance of the meeting. Utilize the form on the website following the link below. Questions will also be posted on the new "Questions For The Board" forum category that will go live September 12th. The Village Manager will post the question for all to see and only Board Members will be able to respond to the questions on this forum category. Board members may not respond immediately but questions may be answered there before the meeting.
• To ask a question / provide a comment at the meeting you must submit it in advance. If you are present at the meeting you will be allowed two minutes to ask your question / provide your comment. 
• Based on the number of questions, there is no guarantee your question / comment will be allotted time for review. At two minutes per question there can only be a maximum of 15 questions, likely a few less. In light of that, we encourage residents to submit their questions so they can be posted on the "Questions For The Board" forum category.
• Make questions / comments clear, concise and succinct.
• Questions may be of an open-ended or yes/no nature.
• Questions / comments should address matters of operation of the Association, current issues, policies, procedures, financial / spending-related, about future plans / goals / projects, their vision for the Village, or about their philosophy of governance of the Association.
• Keep questions / comments general and non-personal in nature. Questions should not be disguised as a personal attack against any individual, homeowner, or board member past or present. 
• Understand that questions should be brief enough and clear enough that a board member could answer in a few minutes or with limited time.
• Avoid multi-part questions that would require lengthy, detailed responses.

Yard Sale Registration Now Open! 

Hackberry Creek will be hosting a community-wide yard sale on Saturday, September 24th from 8am to 11am. It will be located on the front parking lot of Las Colinas Elementary School. The cost is $10 for a “booth” aka a parking spot in which you can set up shop and sell your items. Additionally, we hope to have a donation truck come out toward the end of the event so you have the option to donate any unsold items.

Spaces are limited, so don’t wait! Click here to register for this event:

https://forms.gle/fnkVSgyB5ky2seYk9

Volunteers are still welcome! If you would like to help with this event, please email Becca at rgarcia2188@gmail.com. 

The September Hackberry Creek HOA Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 21st, 2022 at the Hackberry Creek Country Club, 1901 W Royal Ln, Irving, TX 75063. The Open Session begins at 7:00pm.

An agenda and more details will be published closer to the meeting. 

The Board of Director nomination period has closed and the slate of candidates can be found below! Candidate bios will be released in Saturday's NewsFlash. Be sure to see Saturday's email for the website link to the bios.

Candidate names were drawn at random and the below order is how they will be listed on your absentee ballot you will receive by mail and how they will be listed on the online absentee ballot (which will be available Monday evening after the candidate forum).

2022 Board of Director Candidates

Roger Myers

Dave Siebert

Russell Riggins

Weston Wakefield

Martie Cenkci

Michelle Ferris

Paul Silverlieb

Susie Shaw

Anthony Herr

Meryl Kearns

Tricia Macaluso

Mike Kwiatkowski

To submit a question for the candidates please email the Village Manager by clicking the button below or sending your question to rasmith@ccmcnet.com. Ground rules for question submissions can be found at bottom of this email.

Installment 8 - Pool or Spa Enclosures and Pets

Each week we will be highlighting a portion of the recorded village rules for Hackberry Creek.

The Village Rules were last updated on 12/15/2021.

POOL OR SPA ENCLOSURES AND PETS

Pool or Spa Enclosures

a)     A “Swimming Pool Enclosure,” as used herein shall mean and refer to a fence that surrounds a water feature, including a swimming pool or a spa, installed as a safety measure to prevent accidental drownings of children.

b)     A Swimming Pool Enclosure may not be installed upon or within common area or any area which owned or maintained by the Association.

c)      The Swimming Pool Enclosure may be installed after receiving written approval from the MACC/VACC. The submittal shall include a pictorial design of the Swimming Pool Enclosure which includes, at a minimum, the height of the fence and the colors of all materials.

d)     To be approved, the Swimming Pool Enclosure:

          i.     may not exceed six feet (6’) in height;

         ii.     may not include, as part of the design, any aspect or feature which would allow a child to climb on, up or over the fence;

         iii.    must have black metal frames; and

         iv.    must have clear plastic panels or black transparent mesh.

e)     The owner is solely responsible, to the exclusion of the Association, to ensure that all aspects of the Swimming Pool Enclosure function properly to effectuate its intended purpose as a safety measure to prevent accidental drownings of children.

Pets

Any noise or odor emitted by, and any discharge or waste from, any animal which can be seen, heard or smelled outside the perimeter of the subject Owner's Lot or Parcel shall be deemed noxious and offensive and is therefore prohibited.

No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept on any residential Lot or Parcel, except that dogs, cats or other household pets may be kept (in accordance with applicable municipal law), provided that they are not kept, bred or maintained for commercial purposes and they are not noxious, offensive, vicious or dangerous.

Any outside animal pen or cage which can be seen, heard or smelled by anyone other than the subject Lot or Parcel Owner must be approved by the Board in its sole and absolute discretion.

Each and every dog, cat or other household pet, if not kept and confined within a portion of the Owner's/Resident's/Member's Lot or Parcel, must be leashed and accompanied by its corresponding Owner/Resident/Member, particularly when traveling beyond the perimeter of the Owner's/Resident's/ Member's Lot or Parcel, and such Owner/Resident/Member shall promptly clean and remove the discharge and waste of their pet from any Lot, Parcel or the Common Properties.

To read all of the Village Rules, click the button below to go to the website page where the document is located!

INTERESTING STORY OR AWARD? TELL IT TO HACKBERRY CREEK LIVING MAGAZINE



Have you or someone in your family recently won an award, or have an interesting hobby, talent or interest that you would like to share with your neighbors? If so, we would love to include it in the next issue of Hackberry Creek Living Magazine. 

Have you taken a trip or had an adventure that you would like to share? Explore, Dream, Discover is the title of a regular feature about our residents’ travels that will run in Hackberry Creek Living. Hackberry Creek residents have visited many fascinating places, both in the United States and all over the world. 

If you are an aspiring author, we encourage you to write an article that you think your neighbors would enjoy reading. And, photos are always welcome! 

Please e-mail your submittals to Hackberry Creek Living Editor Nancy Miller at: studio.design1@hotmail.com. The submittal deadline for the October/November issue is September 10, 2022.

EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1ST

Effective Oct. 1, Irving Solid Waste Services (SWS) collection schedule, guidelines and fees will be adjusted to continue providing residential trash, recycling, brush and bulky service while a permanent plan is developed.

Note: There will no longer be twice per week trash collection.

HACKBERRY TRASH DAY IS TUESDAY

To learn more and go to the City website page detailing changes - click button below.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the Board Candidate Forum to be held via Zoom on September 12th, 2022 at 7:00pm. Your Village Manager will do a brief review of how voting and the election process works, then introduce all candidates running for a board of director seat. Candidates will have an opportunity to introduce themselves, make a brief statement and answer questions.  All candidates will be calling in via Zoom from their own private connection so the sound and video quality should be very good. 

The entire forum will be recorded for those who cannot attend and a link will be made available on the community website the following day for those who wish to view later.

The format / schedule for the forum will be released after the nomination period closes as the number of candidates will dictate time allotted for each candidate to present a statement and how much time can be allotted for questions.

Zoom Info for meeting can be found below:

Topic: Hackberry Creek Board Candidate Forum

Time: Sep 12, 2022 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82848664263  

Meeting ID: 828 4866 4263

To call-in by phone only - (346) 248-7799

Ground rules for the candidate forum and how questions will be selected.

• Understand that it is not possible that every submitted question can be asked of the candidates over a two - two and a half hour period.

• Any homeowner is welcome to submit a question.

• An as of-yet-to-be-determined number of questions will be selected from all submissions. It is likely several questions will be similar but worded differently.

• No candidate or current board member will have advance knowledge of the questions submitted or what questions will be selected - only the association office staff.

• Submission of questions for candidates will be accepted via email or in-person at the office until Monday, September 12th at 12 noon.

• The number of candidates will dictate time allotted for each candidate to present an opening statement and how much time can be allotted for questions and a closing statement.

• There will be no debate. Candidates will address homeowners, not other candidates, and provide answers to the submitted questions read by the moderator (Village Manager). Each candidate will get equal time to answer each question. Order of candidates speaking will follow the order as listed on the annual meeting ballot.

• Homeowners attending the forum via Zoom will have their audio and video muted during the entirety of the forum. All questions asked will be homeowner-submitted questions (as read by the moderator) - no questions will be formulated by the moderator or association staff.

Guidelines for question submissions:

• Make questions clear, concise and succinct.
• Questions may be of an open-ended or yes/no nature.
• Questions should address matters of operation of the Association, current issues, policies, procedures, financial / spending-related, about future plans / goals / projects, their vision fo rthe Village, or about their philosophy of governance of the Association.
• Keep questions general and non-personal in nature. Questions should not be disguised as a personal attack against any candidate, homeowner, or board member past or present. 
• Avoid questions asking for specific statistics or "gotcha-type" questions.
• Understand that questions should be brief enough and clear enough that a candidate could answer in a few minutes or with limited time.
• Avoid multi-part questions that would require lengthy, detailed responses.

If candidates agree to publicize their contact info, at the end of the candidate forum that contact info will be provided so homeowners can reach out for more specifics from a particular candidate or candidates.