COVENANT CORNER

We have a new addition to our newletter about covenant issues that we commonly receive questions about. If you have questions about our covenants please look at them or contact the BOD. It is legally mandated that each homeowner recieves a copy of our documents when they purchase a home in our development. You can also find our documents on our website.

What is a covenant? Members of a homeowner’s association are bound by agreements known as HOA covenants. This is a legal document that defines the guidelines homeowners must adhere to in the neighborhood. They outline the rights and obligations of homeowners to the association and vice versa. In essence, these are the rules of your community.

Are neighborhood covenants legally binding? Once you buy your home within an HOA, you automatically become a member. That means you must abide by the covenants which are legally binding and legally enforceable. The deed for you home specifies that your home is in an HOA.

Property use and appearance covenants, for instance, primarily focuses on maintaining curb appeal. When curb appeal drops, so do property values. HOA covenants also protect homeowners’ rights to quiet enjoyment of their property. 

Covenants include things you can do with your property. These types of HOA covenants also require you to perform specific tasks as a homeowner and member of the community. These include but not limited to property maintenance, exterior appearance, property alterations and additions. 

We have two issues this quarter, trailers and new sidewalks. It is expressly spelled out in our covenants that trailers of any type are not allowed in our development.  

We have talked to homeowners who want to install a sidewalk from the front of their home to the side or rear. The HOA expressly forbids the installation of new sidewalks. If you want to replace your current approved sidewalk, please do. The BOD has noticed the installation of new unapproved sidewalks and are planning law suits to force their removal.

COVENANT INSPECTION UPDATE

We are approaching the end of our biennial covenant inspection process that started one year ago. We are down to 2 unresolved violations that have been sent to the to the HOA attorney. The HOA is in the last steps before we initiate legal action against those owners to compel them to correct their violations. The violations include unkept landscaping, dead trees, paint, and dirty siding.

TOWN HOME ROUNDUP (HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR TOWNHOME OWNERS)

Snowden's Mill Townhome Association #1 (Tufa Terr and Tourmaline Terr)

• Townhome residents, please remember, that visitor spaces are for visitors. These spaces should not be used to store vehicles or for parking more than 48-hours. Should you have a need to keep a vehicle onsite more than 48 hours, please notify the board at snowdensmillhoa1@gmail.com.  

• Trash and recycling containers should be out of view until 7pm the day before pickup. If there is a federal holiday, the pickup day will shift to Friday. Please remember to adjust the day you put out trash bins. This will reduce the opportunity for rodents to be attracted to the trash. Our goal is to keep a clean and a manicured community.

• Please look out for our beautification project starting this Fall. We hope to bring vibrancy and color to the neighborhood. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know through email or by contacting Charles Laskey at clasky@comsource.com.  

Your Townhome Board

snowdensmillhoa1@gmail.com

Board:

• Anna Douglas, President
• Wes W. Wolgemuth Vice President
• Marc Chasen, Treasurer/Secretary
• Ermiyas Mengesha, Member

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

FALL IS HERE ALREADY... THE LEAVES WILL SOON BE ON THE GROUND

Remember your SMHOA community does not have county leaf collection services. Homeowners are responsible for collecting and properly disposing of fallen leaves from their property and the street curbs along property lines. For Montgomery County pick-up, the raked leaves MUST be bagged in recyclable paper bags (purchase at Home Depot, Giant or Safeway) or loose in a garbage can (reusable and environmentally friendly) and placed curbside on your recycling day. 

Following the SMHOA Lawn and Yard care policy document, leaves should be picked up multiple times throughout the season and just not once when all leaves have fallen. The HOA will again perform a yearly leaf pickup inspection. Those not picking up and properly disposing of their leaves will be sent a letter to either pick up your leaves now or the HOA will have them picked up and bill the homeowner for the service. 

Please do not stuff leaves or grass clippings down storm drains: Doing so is illegal (enforced by the County Environmental Protection Agency with fines of $500) and will block the drain causing flooding. Also, please don’t throw your leaf and yard waste on SMHOA common property or pile it in the curb area in front/or adjacent to your home (this creates a safety hazard to pedestrians, walkers, school children, school buses, and car traffic, and is unsightly). 

Please practice being a good neighbor and keep your leaves regularly picked up. 

You can download our Lawn and Yard Care Standard Operating Procedures from our website by clicking here.

IMPROVING SAFETY ON TOURMALINE COURT

WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP WITH THIS.

The homeowner’s association (HOA) has asked the county to build a sidewalk along the west side of Tourmaline Ct.  There are times when the street is not safe to walk on due to auto traffic. A sidewalk would increase pedestrian safety on the street. We have proposed to have the sidewalk built along the west side of Tourmaline Ct. No tree’s will be removed in the construction of the sidewalk. But we aren’t there yet. To move forward with this project, we need your help. If you haven’t indicated your support for this project, please do so now. Its relatively easy to do. As with most requests, the number of submissions showing support will help to prioritize this project. Please find instructions below.

1. Click here to display the MCDOT Sidewalk Installation Request page. 

2. Type, "Tourmaline Court" in the search bar and select, "TOURMALINE COURT" under Sidewalk Requests. 

3. Click the magenta line that is displayed on Tourmaline Court and a pop-up will display that says, "From East Randolph Road to Olivine Way." 

4. Click, "Support this Sidewalk," and complete the form with your information. 

We thank you for helping to make our neighborhood safer. We thank those of you who have already gone online to express your support of this sidewalk project.

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:

BEEF AND NOODLES

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 lb. beef stew meat cut into 1" pieces
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 12 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 qt. beef stock 
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 12-oz. bag egg noodles. Frozen egg noodles work best

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and 1/2 teaspoon each of seasoned salt and black pepper. Add the cubes of beef to the bowl and stir until well coated.
2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the butter and olive oil, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Place the meat in a single layer and cook until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir the beef and let brown on another side, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and transfer the beef to a plate.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, mushrooms, garlic and remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of seasoned salt and black pepper. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, seared beef, and thyme sprigs. Bring to a simmer, cover, then reduce heat to low. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, with the stock just barely simmering.
4. Remove the lid and discard the thyme sprigs. Add the egg noodles and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender. Serve immediately, topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of parsley.