VERIZON CONSTRUCTION

As you have likely noticed, Verizon has been back at work in our neighborhood, digging up roads and people's yards to install new lines.  There have been several complaints from the Homeowner's in our Association on the work that is being done. 

So...we had a representative from Verizon come out yesterday, May 28th, to discuss some of these issues. We are in the process of setting up a second meeting with Verizon and a couple other people, one of which is the head of the project in our neighborhood. 

We are asking that if anyone has a complaint or concern, that they forward that to the Association so we can address all of the issues at the same time. 

Pleease send your concerns and any pictures you may have to phphast@yahoo.com

We are also recommending that you contact Verizon so that if there are any urgent issues, they can get them resolved more quickly.

If we communicate well, as an Association, we can better ensure that the work involved in this project gets completed properly and that the cleanup is done in a way that we would all approve of.

Thank You,

PHPHA Board of Directors

City of Camas Meeting - March 16th 2009

Rising Rates - Coming Soon!

“CAMAS" — The city council on Monday approved residential and commercial rate increases for water, sewer and stormwater fees, effective April 1.

The council also voted unanimously to hold off adopting the remainder of an aggressive, five-year utilities rate increase plan. That followed 90 minutes of pleas from several residents who cited tough economic times and fixed incomes. Even so, the new 2009 rates represent the steepest jump scheduled in that five-year plan.

Monthly water rates will rise 5 percent, sewer rates 34 percent and stormwater rates 46.3 percent on April 1. The rate increase applies equally to home and commercial users.
A Camas ratepayer with an average use of 800 cubic feet of water per month, according to city data, would pay another $11.18 per month more than the $45.11 now charged for the three services. That’s an increase of nearly 25 percent.

City staff told the council the cost of extending debate on higher rates to April would be around $50,000. Upon hearing that, members chose to approve only the 2009 rate hikes.
“The only downside that I can think of is that we’ll be here again in six months,” said Monte Brachmann, Camas public works director.

The larger, five-year plan for rate hikes, developed with help of a consultant group, was designed to help pay for $25.5 million in water and wastewater repairs, upgrades and expansion.

Please keep children away from the pond areas

Please Click Photos to Enlarge

Last week, the City of Camas contacted the Association in regards to a problem with our upper Water Detention Pond System. This is the system between Valley Street and Sierra. The Pond was filling up and not draining. Water was coming out of manholes, and Valley Street was having serious drainage problems. We don't have all of the details yet but it appears that there are multiple problems including excessive sediment buildup in the ponds, clogged pipes, burried drains and manholes, and the list goes on.

The City has already begun some work in the area to prevent more widespread problems such as downstream flooding or further damage to our pond system. The Association will be hiring a company, this Monday (March 9, 2009), to continue some of this work. This will include draining the west side of the pond and flushing out pipes that are critical for the proper functioning of the ponds and drainage system in the area, including Valley Street. This work needs to be done immediately or the City will have to do the work and bill the Association , which will likely cost us much more.

The Board is in the process of working with the City to assess the situation. Work done will be in stages. We will first take the immediate action that the City has required us to take. We will then get bids on the rest of the work that is required and discuss the bids, how the Association will pay for the work, and then we will schedule the work to be done.

In the meantime, it is important that everyone, especially children, stay away from the pond system because there are holes in the ground and the area is saturated with water. 

There is currently no danger of homes being flooded! We are most concerned with children playing where the City has been digging in the Pond area. Please contact the Board of Directors at phphast@yahoo.com with any questions or concerns and check back frequently for updates on the Association Website and this blog.

Thank you,

Your PHPHA Board of Directors

Verizon FIOS Install put on hold

... our neighborhood is all marked up with flags and such for the Verizon FIOS install. I called Tetra Tech construction service today since it's been nearly a month and spoke with Matt (503-710-2972). He told me that Verizon has put this project on indefinite hold due to current economic conditions. He said we can pull up any flags... they ask the utilities not to put them down (use paint only) but they do it anyway. Just thought I'd pass this on.

- Frank Sevier

Let's come together in support of our friends and neighbors, the Helt family. Please click to enlarge

Want to get more involved?

Would you like to have a direct, positive impact on your community? We need more homeowners to be involved in our association! There is a saying, “If you’re not involved, you have no right to gripe!” When the Association was organized, there were several committees put together to help keep our neighborhood and Association strong and to help our property values stay as high as possible. These committees, with the exception of the Landscape Committee, have been vacant for quite some time.

What does a committee do? Committees are an extension of the Board. They meet together, normally once a month, and head up small projects that the Board wouldn’t normally have the time or the resources to get to. These committees provide an opportunity for homeowners to contribute to the Association and they usually require very little time, depending on how much you want to take on.

Because the Board currently consists of five homeowners who are all very busy parents, time does not allow them to get to all of the things they, and other homeowners, would like to see accomplished. Amazingly, a lot has been done over the last two years with two understaffed Boards, but with a little of your time, we could do so much more!

The first committee we are hoping to fill is the Communications Committee. As you can see, the Board has attempted to reach out, communicate, and get people involved. We have sent emails, created a new Association website, and recently added this blog so that we can keep everyone informed. We would like to expand, however, possibly in the form of a quarterly newsletter, intermittent flyers, welcome packages for new neighbors, Association picnics, etc. You would work with the Board to decide what projects to take on and carry out.

If you are interested in volunteering, please send a quick email to the Board at phphast@yahoo.com . All you have to say is, “I’m interested in helping out” and we will contact you to find out what you are interested in doing to help. If you would rather serve in another way, perhaps by serving in another committee or by joining the Board, please let us know. We have a list of vacancies and the potential jobs that accompany each of these volunteer positions.

We would love to get to know you better and would really appreciate your help! It makes the experience very enjoyable when you are working with your friends and neighbors and, of course, when you have more people to get more things done. Please, talk with your neighbors and get them involved as well. Head up a committee together!

PHPHA Board of Directors

Fence Repaired on Lower Retention Pond

The fence around the lower retention pond was repaired this week. Ten or more years of wear and tear had taken its toll and portions of the fence had collapsed during pond work this summer . It was decided that for liability reasons, the fence should be reparied as soon as possible.

After receiving bids, gathered by our Landscape Committee, Aaron Myers (Cedar Star NW LLC) of Washougal was hired to do the work. As you can see, he did a great job.

We will eventually need to replace this fence but it's our hope that this repair will last until the Association is in a better position (financially) to replace it. Please click pictures to enlarge.

Thank you Kristi Macdonald & Al Maier!

We wish to extend a special thanks to two homeowners in the Association who have volunteered their time:

Al Maier - Al has spent numerous hours this summer pulling weeds and trimming back bushes, brush, and blackberries from the entry areas of our association as well as on the trails. Al has also been present at many of our Board Meetings and has voiced his questions and ideas which has been very helpful. Thank you Al for all of your hard work and support!

Kristi Macdonald - Kristi has also been present at many of our Board meetings. She has shown much support for our Association for many years and has volunteered to head up our Landscape Committee. Committees are an extension of the Board and are very important in helping the Board to get more done than they normally would by themselves. Kristi has also spent many hours of her time communicating with neighbors, contractors, gathering bids, and has also spent a lot of time on pulling weeds and spreading inhibitor on the flower beds. Thank you Kristi!

PHPHA Board of Directors

WELCOME!

Welcome to the new Prune Hill Park Homeowner's Association Blog. In an attempt to offer better communication between the Board of Directors and the Homeowners, we have created this as an addition to the PHPHA Website.

All major announcements, calandars, and official Association information will still be offered on the official PHPHA website (http://www.phphaonline.com/) . Please check the website first, for announcements, before going to the blog so that vital information and news isn't missed.

We are excited about this new opportunity to better communicate with you, and to bring us closer together as homeowners and neighbors. Please feel free to add your own comments to posts, however, if you have any suggestions, concerns, or important news that you would like posted on the blog, please email the Board of Directors directly at phphast@yahoo.com. We reserve the right to moderate all posts and comments submitted to this blog.

Thank you for your continued support!

PHPHA Board of Directors