Reminder: 3rd quarter HOA fees are due in July

The management company does not send out quarterly invoices, so the blogger will try to post reminders each quarter. You have options for payment. You can:

1) Send a check to ACM along with your coupon (books distributed in January)

2) Pay online at:
http://communitymanagers.net/OwnerServices/payments.htm

3) Sign up for direct debit at:
http://communitymanagers.net/OwnerServices/directdebit.htm

Note that it costs the HOA money each time a reminder notice is sent out. If you have trouble remembering to pay on time, please consider using direct debit.

Thank you!

Long Brick Row Happy Hour July 3

The residents of Long Brick Row are hosting a happy hour this Friday, July 3, starting at 7pm. We'll be gathering behind 746 & 748 Oella Ave. It is a BYOB event, but food will be provided (grilled items, snacks). Ice for the drinks and coolers and chips would be appreciated, though.

Come out to meet your neighbors!

Parking etiquette

We've had some recent parking complaints, particularly at Timber Point and Long Brick Row, that some residents are parking too many cars or are taking up multiple spaces with one car.

Parking is tight in Oella. Please do not store extra vehicles, please do not take up multiple spaces with one vehicle, and please consider your neighbors when making parking decisions.

Finally, non-HOA residents who are not guests of residents are not permitted to park in HOA-owned lots. A number of non-HOA people have been parking in the Long Brick Row lot to access the river, and their vehicles will be tagged with violation notices and towed if they do not display the appropriate parking permits.

Resident feedback requested: Lawn fertilizer and weed control

Please offer your opinions on how the HOA should proceed with lawn fertilizing and weed control. Several Oella residents have expressed concerns about the chemical herbicide/pesticide and fertilizers that are applied to the HOA lawns. The blogger is exploring non-chemical options such as pre-emergent weed controls that contain corn gluten instead of chemicals and overseeding/aerating the lawn. Corn gluten also acts as a natural fertilizer. Chemicals tend to kill all the good stuff in the soil, which requires more chemicals to remedy. However, they definitely kill weeds and make grass green.

The new plan would involve:

1) Replace chemical applications with corn gluten formula
2) Supplement with compost application (non-stinky variety)
3) Overseed with grass seed suited to our area & aerate grass in Fall
4) Mow hillsides instead of spraying for pesticides

The blogger has tested this corn gluten + compost program offsite (Dad's lawn), and it has been very successful to date.

Invasive Oella "raspberries"

Bad news. The tasty, tart little raspberries that pop up all over Oella are actually an invasive asian berry called wineberry. The plant is considered an invasive species that is a threat to forests. The best non-chemical defense is to cut them back before they produce fruit. Once the fruit is set, the birds & deer eat them and spread the seeds around the forest in their feces.

Click on the link above for more info.

Announcement: Spring Street Meeting June 25

Spring Street residents are organizing a meeting to discuss the runoff and maintenance of the strip of HOA-owned property that runs behind their homes.

Time: 7pm
Date: June 25
Place: 939 Oella Ave.

Local runner races to help Baltimore's "Back on my feet" Charity

Those of you who are up before the crack of dawn have probably seen local runner Geoff Baker on the Oella trails. Geoff's latest run is an incredible 100-mile "Race Across the Sky" in the Rockies to raise money and awareness for Baltimore-based charity Back On My Feet. Back on My Feet is a non-profit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of the homeless population by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. Back on My Feet is a comprehensive program that offers connections to job training, educational scholarships and housing assistance.

To read more about Geoff's run or to support Geoff's efforts, click on the link above. It also wouldn't hurt to send him good thoughts as he undertakes this very strenuous run!

Article about new Rt 40 bridge over Patapsco River

Click on the link above to read about plans to build a new Rt 40 bridge over the Patapsco.

Kid-friendly walking tour of Historic Ellicott City June 13

Join the Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway (FPVHG) and Howard County Tourism for a kid-friendly walking tour of historic Ellicott City. Walk along Main Street in the historic district and learn the '5Rs of the Patapsco River Valley" - River, Railroad, Road, Rock and Rebuild!!! During this tour, you will...

travel along Main Street as part of an imaginary railroad...

participate in a 1800s-style bucket brigade to put out an imaginary fire...

learn how the rock formations along the road were blown up before dynamite...

explore one of the mystifying alleyways of Tongue Row, and

experience the sounds of Main Street during the 1700s.

In this lively one-hour walking tour along Main Street, learn the 5Rs (Railroad, River, Road, Rock and Rebuild) of Ellicott City, as well as the rest of the Patapsco River Valley. Learn about 20 historic sites, including the raging Patapsco River, the first national road, the town's hidden cobblestone alley, B&O Railroad Museum, the gigantic rock cliffs alongside the sidewalks and the mysterious marker near the Railroad bridge. Discover the abundance of antique stores, restaurants and specialty shops as you walk along the bustling historic district.

Experienced tour guides provide a safe, educational, interactive and entertaining day-time tour for school-age children and the young at heart. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended.

WHEN: Saturday, June 13, 2009, RAIN OR SHINE!

TIME: Tour begins promptly at 2 pm, so register by 1:45 pm

WHERE: Meet at Howard County Tourism Office, located at 8267 Main Street, Side Entrance, Ellicott City, MD 21043. Free parking is available in Parking Lots D and F (for a good map of the historic district, go to http://www.ellicottcity.net/tourism/parking).

COST: FREE for FPVHG members. For all others $8/adult $6/child or senior

FOR MORE INFO: Reservations are requested but not required. For more information call 410-313-1900 or 1-800-788-8747.

Wear comfortable walking shoes!

HOA Board Meeting agenda for June 9

Oella HOA Meeting Agenda – June 9, 2009

1) Call to Order – 7:00pm
2) April Meeting Minutes – Discuss/Revise/Approve
3) Treasurer’s Report
-Delinquency Report – Status of legal action
-Budget Status as affected by delinquencies
4) ARC Update
5) Guidelines Committee
6) HOA Landscaping & Common Areas
7) Parking Committee
8) Old Business
-Mill liaison
-Tree at Stone Row
-Garbage can streetscape
-Effectiveness of quarterly coupons
-Recordation of Millrace Easement
-Reserve Study
-HOA Picnic
7) New Business
-Discussion of issues concerning ACM
-Discussion of selecting a Chairperson for ARC and a replacement (term expiration)
-New board members
-Yard debris left sitting at Logtown Road
-Discuss the “Blue Book” current status and issues
-Discuss HOA / ACM intermediary
-Revision to ARC request process: Run through HOA for better tracking.
-Questions, comments from residents
8) Move to adjourn

Oella Historical Society meeting June 8, 7pm

Meet in the Oella Company conference room at 803 Oella Ave. Everyone is welcome to join the OHS.

Check out their new website:

http://historicoella.org/

Greater Oella Community Assoc. (GOCA) meeting June 10

7pm, Westchester Center.

On the docket for discussion:
-Oella float for 4th of July parade
-Public works report, including resurfacing & traffic calming of Westchester Ave, Union Dam demolition
-Officer elections

All Oella residents are welcome.

Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway Storm Drain Stenciling/Community Outreach Project

The Friends of Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway are starting a campaign to increase public awareness of stream health and how it relates to the storm drains on their roads.

In order to have an immediate visual impact, they plan to paint local storm drains with a message explaining the relationship of a storm drain to the health of the local streams as well as the Chesapeake Bay. A pilot project with a neighborhood will begin on or about August 2009.

You can help them decide which message to stencil by voting for your top 3 (send vote to forestrygal@comcast.net):

1. Pollution starts here
2. Dumping here pollutes our streams (or Bay)
3. Please Don't Pollute! --- Protect Our Watershed
4. Dump No Waste - Protect Your Water Supply
5. Only Rain Down the Drain --- Chesapeake Bay Watershed
6. Keep It Clean --- Gateway to the Chesapeake Bay
7. Gateway to the Chesapeake Bay
8. Don't dump -- Chesapeake Bay drainage