2023 HOA ASSESSMENT

Most everything costs more today than it did a year ago due to the high levels of inflation in our country. Likewise, your HOA’s expenses have continued to increase. The contract for our management company, legal fees, insurance, tree removal, and county fees have all increased. We are fortunate to have a five-year, fixed-cost lawn maintenance contract. This contract will expire in December 2024 and will likely increase. The SMHOA BOD is dedicated to keeping assessments as low as possible and in fact we have one of the lowest, if not the lowest assessment of any HOA in Montgomery County. This is in large part to the excellent/dedicated group of people managing our HOA. The SMHOA BOD will take all reasonable steps to keep costs in check. However, to cover the additional costs, the annual assessment for 2024 will increase to $275 in the BOD's proposed 2024 budget, with a $40 discount for payments received by the HOA by 12:00 AM on February 1, 2024. Please get them in early. The BOD will not entertain any excuses for late payments. This is only a $13 dollar increase from the 2023 base assessment, but the discount for early payment is increasing from $20 to $40, more than offsetting the base assessment increase for those who pay early. 

2023 DERECHO

We all experienced the late July Derecho. A derecho is a weather occurrence with widespread thunderstorms and very strong winds. These winds did over $12,000 worth of tree damage on HOA common land not including the damage that individual homeowners and the county had. There were trees down all over the development with at least 5 homes having minor damage.  I am happy to report that most of the damage has been fixed.

FALL MAINTENANCE ISSUES

Leaf collection

In the past, there are some homeowners who don’t pick up their leaves regularly as specificed in the HOA’s lawn care policy document. The HOA lawncare policy document can be found here. It is not sufficient to simply pick up all leaves at the end of the season, they must be picked up regularly and disposed of properly. The county will collect leaves in the large paper sacs or in plastic reusable trash containers designated for lawn waste.  Our community does not have curbside leaf pickup. Please pick up your leaves regularly and be a great neighbor. The BOD can’t be everywhere, if you see a lawn where the leaves haven’t been picked up, please contact the HOA and we will reach out to the homeowner.  We are so lucky to live in a great community whose residents really care about the appearance of their homes and community.

GARDENING IN FALL

Believe it or not fall is a great time to time to plant and garden. It’s a great time to get your perennial flowers and especially shrubs and trees into the ground. Trees and shrubs begin dormancy in anticipation of winter making them less likely to die upon transplanting. They also have more time to acclimate to soil conditions before further establishing root systems in the spring, making them more likely to flourish the following year.  

Please consider planting native species in your yard. Native plants benefit the entire food chain of local wildlife, helping to enhance biodiversity in our local ecosystems. Non-native species which include most of the plants sold at commercial nurseries, Home Depot and Lowes often provide severely reduced or even negative benefits to the surrounding ecosystem. Some don’t even grow well here. Please go native!

TRASH CANS

The Board continues to receive complaints of homeowners leaving their trash cans out after their pickup day and/or leaving out items that weren’t picked up at the curb. Please do not put trash out earlier than the day before your scheduled pick-up. If the county doesn’t remove something that you have left out for collection, it is your responsibility to remove it from the curb. Leaves and grass cuttings must be in a dedicated lawn waste container or paper bags. Click here for more information. Garbage cans MUST be stored out of view from the street except on pickup day.

EMAIL ADDRESSES

Snowdens Mill HOA Board of Directors

smhoa.bod@comsource.com

Snowdens Mill HOA Covenant Enforcement Committee

smhoa.ce@comsource.com

Snowdens Mill HOA Managing Agent (Charles Laskey)

clasky@comsource.com

PLEASE PAY YOUR ASSESSMENT ON TIME

You are paying a lot of money to collect past due accounts. I say you because you each own part of the HOA. The HOA is legally obligated to collect assessments from every homeowner in the HOA. When someone doesn’t pay the past due account gets turned over to the HOA attorney for collection. Your $275 assessment will turn into almost $700 by the end of 10 months and increases monthly each due to the added legal fees and by one year post due your deed has a lien on it and the HOA attorney is contemplating a lawsuit to collect the debt. All of the expenses incurred by the HOA to collect these debts are the debtor’s responsibility, but the HOA doesn’t always get these legal fees back. This year we had a homeowner who was many years behind in their assessment and their house was foreclosed on and sold by the bank. The HOA is a secured party having a lien on the debtor’s property, but our claim was behind others. The sale price didn’t cover all of debts and your HOA lost about $9,000. Losing this much money is very rare. 

We regularly receive requests to waive legal fees on past due accounts that we always deny. This is the responsibility of the debtor, and the BOD will not ask neighbors to pay other’s debts. Please pay your assessment on time to help the HOA as well as to get the early payment discount. Also, please remember that if you are asking your bank to pay your yearly assessment, the bank must print a check and mail it which will take extra time. If you get a letter from the HOA or Comsource Inc., our management company, informing you that we have not received your payment, please contact us immediately. We can’t keep costs down without your help. If you don’t want to live in an HOA and abide by the rules of our HOA, please consider moving. But think about how good our HOA looks compared to areas of the county without an HOA. If you haven’t been following the house values in our HOA, single family homes have broken $700,000 and that is because the homes and common areas in our development are beautiful.

FAIRLAND MASTER PLAN (UPDATE)

We have been trying to keep you informed about the status of the Fairland master plan. Our master plan provides guidelines and recommendations for land use, zoning, and development. The last master plan for our area was developed in 1997. For Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, these plans are initiated through the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC). Planning efforts are initiated through respective planning departments and planning boards for each County. Our new master plan is in the County Commission public comment phase before it is voted on by the MOCO county commission. The 5 key recommendations were developing high density mixed use centers focused on transit and community gathering. Prioritize US-29 as a transit corridor. Build more greenways to connect communities together. Establish an East County Resilience hub to serve as a central place where the community can go in an emergency. Finally, build a healthy community food system that includes healthy grocery and dining destinations, farmer markets and community gardens.

Click here for more details.

Email addresses:  

• Snowden's Mill HOA Board of Directors | Email
• Snowden's Mill HOA Covenant Enforcement Committee | Email
• Snowden's Mill HOA Managing Agent (Charles Laskey) | Email

FIRE ALARM SAFETY

Most fatalities in the home occur while occupants are asleep. Contrary to popular belief, the smell of smoke may not wake you up. So, consider: A smoke alarm on every level and if your

bedroom door is shut, put one in the bedroom, Test alarms monthly and replace the battery at

first, “chirping sound,” but at a minimum replace batteries annually. Newer smoke and carbon monoxide alarms have 10-year batteries which will save you time. Vacuum around smoke alarms. Dust and debris can interfere with operation. Smoke alarm batteries wear out and should be replaced every ten years. Some of the houses in our development have hard wired smoke detectors, please make sure that you have a combination of battery and wired with battery back-up for wired-in smoke detectors so they will function in case of loss of power.

NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY

Although we are lucky to live in a relatively safe neighborhood, we all must be vigilant. To help deter break-ins, make your vehicle “unattractive.” The simplest thing is to leave your porch light on, thieves thrive in darkness. Any time you don’t lock your car, you’re a prime target. Remove wallets, purses, loose change, cell phones, packages and GPS equipment and anything you think might be “inviting.” Townhouse vehicles are parked close together, which provides cover for thieves, so we all need to be more careful. If you see anyone strange hanging around your home or parking lot, please call the MOCO police. They are happy to check out any concern that you may have.

• Police emergency: 911
• Police non-emergency: 301-279-8000

FALL FOOD

We hope that you enjoy the recipe section of our newsletter. We have received many positive comments. If you have a recipe that you would like to share with your neighbors, please send it. For fall food we have:

CHICKEN AND RICE

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 rotisserie chicken cut into small bite size pieces
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups long-grain white rice rinsed
• 2 large carrots cut into small cubes
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3.5 cups chicken broth

Instructions:

• In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons of butter. Cook the onions until soft and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, cook until fragrant, about 60 seconds.

• Add the chicken, and season, add salt and pepper to taste and cook about 8-10 minutes.

• Add the rice and cook with the chicken to lightly toast, about 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, then add chicken broth and 3 tablespoons of butter.

• Mix all the ingredients together, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is fully cooked. Remove from heat and allow the steam to continue cooking the rice for 5-10 more minutes.

Enjoy! Very Good.