January News from Your HOA

CHILDREN’S FANTASY

First Place: 14415 Sugar Mill

Second Place: 14418 Big Sur

BEST GOLF COURSE VIEW

First Place: 7631 Virginia Water

Second Place: 7306 Holly Court Estates

BEST DOOR

First Place: 14958 Inverrary Dr.

Second Place: 7310 Holly Court Estates

BEST MAILBOX

First Place: 14111 Vista Mar

Second Place: 7418 Cart Gate

BEST HOUSE

First Place: 14727 Sandalfoot

Second Place: 14006 Baltrusol

Third Place: 14927 Sandalfoot

BEST STREET

Muirfield Valley Lane

MESSAGE TO ALL HEARTHSTONE RESIDENTS FROM THE HEARTHSTONE COUNTRY CLUB

Incidents of trespassing on the golf course have recently had a dramatic increase. Accordingly, the club has posted new signs at all areas of access that address the trespassing issue. No one, whether members or non-members are to be on the club property at any time, day or evening, unless you are registered with the Pro shop. No walking or jogging, no dog walking, no bike riding, no fishing. The club has asked the Constables to assist in the enforcement of this violation. Please be a good neighbor and respect the club’s property.

GOLF CART OPERATORS IN HEARTHSTONE

Parents, please remember that all operators of golf carts on both public streets and at the Hearthstone Country Club must be at least 16 years old and have a valid TX Operators license. We have recently noticed many underage operators driving through the community. Underage drivers subject both themselves and their parents to citation by the Harris County Constables Office. Should an underage driver cause any damage to a person or property, most insurance companies will not cover the loss leaving the parents open to civil litigation. Please parents, if your child is underage and operating your golf cart, ask them to stop. If our Constable on patrol continues to observe underage drivers she/he will have no choice but to stop the driver and call the parents. Let’s take care of this issue on our own. Thanks!

REMINDER

Please be mindful of the Harris County Leash Law and be certain that your pets are on a leash when not confined to your home or backyard.

DO’S AND DON’TS OF DEED RESTRICTIONS

Deed restrictions or often called “restrictive covenants” (especially in the context of homeowners associations) are restrictions contained in incorporating documents that limit how a property can be used or what can be built on it. Subdivision developers create these restrictions in order to keep size, quality and nature of housing consistent in an effort to maintain market value of the subdivision.

For the most part, Hearthstone residents abide by our deed restrictions. Yards are kept clean and neat. Home exteriors are washed and unsightly mold is removed. Our neighbors file the required ACC forms when making changes to their home exteriors or adding a room or other structure. Trailers are not parked in driveways or on the street for extended periods of time and commercial vehicles are kept in garages.

However, there are always a few who, from time to time forget or are not well informed about to do’s and don’ts of our deed restrictions. We need your help. We need everyone to follow the deed restrictions. If you aren’t familiar with them, they can be found in the documents section of our website. If you’re not sure, call the management company. Our management company inspects the community once a month checking for violations. There are times when they will miss something. If you have a neighbor who is a continuing violator, call the management company. If you want to remain anonymous call Katie Ivanics directly and let her know.

Moving forward, the Board has instructed the management company to continue to inspect closely for violations and follow up with notices allowed by law.

1. The first notice is a courtesy letter.
2. If the violation is not cured within 30 days a second letter is sent.
3. If the violation continues another 30 days it is referred to our attorney and a third letter is sent. The attorney letter results in a $302.50 charge to the homeowners account.
4. Continuing violations and/or non-payment of a homeowners account can lead to a notice of foreclosure.

For the good of all of our homeowners in Hearthstone, let’s keep our community clean and neat. Thanks to all of you who already abide by the rules and thanks in advance to those few who will strive to do better!

STOP THAT BARKING

Many dogs left alone all day get lonely, bored and restless. Many find relief in barking. Some respond noisily to any and all activity. But, nothing is as annoying as incessant barking - even for dog lovers. If your dog is a yapper or a yowler, please consider some of these bark-abatement ideas to keep the noise down in your area. Your neighbors will thank you!

• Training: Always the first recommendation for any behavioral problem! Help is as close as the Yellow Pages. Training not only helps your dog, you’ll be surprised how much it helps you, too. You may get some insight into why your dog barks so much or what it is trying to communicate.
• Citronella collars: A humane alternative to the electric-shock, anti-barking collar and costs about the same. Available on the web and in pet stores.
• Confinement: Sometimes simply bringing an outspoken dog indoors or confining it to a crate can cut down on the disturbance to neighbors.
• For inside dogs, reduce stimulus. Close drapes to help muffle street noise or leave a radio on to mask it.
• Companionship: Dogs are pack animals; they need companionship - a cat, bird or another dog. Consider a mid-day visit from a pet-sitting service or drop your pooch off at a friend’s place or a day-care facility once or twice a week.

Keep in mind that dogs who bark from loneliness or boredom, may not do it when you are home. Meanwhile, your neighbors may be getting serenaded while you are away.

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR HARRIS COUNTY CONSTABLE

The Harris County Constable’s Office, Precinct 5 is now offering a class on Rape Aggression Defense (RAD). RAD is one of the best women’s self-defense courses available. It’s a program based on realistic self-defense tactics and techniques. It is a comprehensive self-defense course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance, while progressing on to the basics of hands-on defensive training. If you’re interested in more information and signing up, go to this link:

https://constablepct5.com/index.php/rad 

Make sure if you or your family goes on vacation to put in a “Vacation Watch” with our department. That way you’ll know your house is being watched by our patrol deputies. You can fill out a vacation watch form online here:

https://constablepct5.com/index.php/vacation-watch/ https://constablepct5.com/index.php/special-watch/ 

Or you can call our dispatch at 281-463-6666.

HEARTHSTONE STREETLIGHTS

The Hearthstone HOA coordinates maintenance of all the streetlights throughout the community. This includes the “cobra head” lights like you see along many streets and highways, as well as the decorative light poles along Huffmeister and in some of the neighborhoods.

Cobra head streetlights need to be reported to CenterPoint, using the pole number, which is the “address” for the light. It is a six digit number facing the street. You can report streetlights that are not working or staying on during the day at http://cnp.centerpointenergy.com/outage (Google streetlight outage) or give us the pole number and we will do it for you.

Outages or problems with decorative streetlights should be reported to Inframark at 281-870-0585. Please note the exact intersection or closest address. The association has a contractor doing a monthly nighttime inspection for lights that are out, but if you see a problem, please report it, so we can achieve our goal to keep all the lights on all the time.

TRASH DAYS

Trash days are Tuesdays and Fridays with recycling pickup on Fridays. If you have questions, call 281-368-8397.

BOARD MEETING

Board Meetings are now bi-monthly, usually on the 3rd Wednesday at 6 PM. Hearthstone Country Club.

LOST & FOUND PETS IN HEARTHSTONE

Folks in Hearthstone are very helpful in getting lost pets reunited with their owners, but all dog owners should ensure that there is a tag on each dog with their name, address and phone number. Local pet stores have machines that make tags like this while you wait. At least that would help found dogs get back home quicker and with less trauma.

HEARTHSTONE HOA EMAIL ALERTS

Just register at the site using “Join our Mailing Lists” on the opening page. You will be automatically added to the email group.

This group will be used to quickly but sparingly, get information out to members between newsletters. If you would like these messages sent to more than one email address, just register again with each address you want included in the group.

The addresses will not be sold, distributed or used for any purpose other than association business. Your address will not even be shared among group members. Messages sent to the group will be limited to those authorized by the HOA Board of Directors.

If you have already joined the email group, you do not need to do so again. 

HEARTHSTONE EXTERIOR MODIFICATIONS

When making any changes to the exterior of your home, please keep in mind that you must first submit an application and receive written approval. An application can be obtained by sending a request to customercare@inframark.com.

The call center main number is 281-870-0585. The hours are 7 AM to 6 PM Monday through Thursday and 7 AM to 5 PM on Fridays.

Hot Momma Chili Cook-off, Bad Mom’s Christmas Dinner & Ornament Exchange, Holiday Market and Santa Visits. Dues are $30 for the year and cover the cost of all planned events for the kids. Contact Nicole Allen at 610-248-4745 or email hearthstonemoms@gmail.com for more information. Please also check out our website at https://sites.google.com/view/hearthstone-moms-co-op/home.