Inside this issue:

- Meet Board Director Kevin O'Connor - Communication is Key

- Weed Control and Snow Removal - Fall Clean-Up

- Common Areas Update - Status Fee Requirement

- Foothills Bluegrass - Abandon Vehicles/Trailers

- Process to Change Covenants - Minimum Exterior Standards

Calendar of Events:

• Fall Chipping - week of Oct 10

• Annual Meeting - Oct 19

• Fall Clean-Up - weeks of Oct 17 & Oct 24

Letter From The CVHA President

Greenery!

Can I get a witness -- haven't we been richly blessed by pleasant afternoon rain showers this summer? Some of you might point to the down sides of pulling weeds and high pollen counts, but I think most of us would still gladly suffer through both than experience prior year droughts. Overall, Comstock residents have made good use of the gift of moisture to grow and shape their landscapes. These efforts are greatly appreciated by all, so be encouraged to keep making our neighborhoods some of the best in the Springs. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a few have let the moisture get the better of them. A large part of being a good neighbor is managing what should and shouldn't grow on our properties. Looking forward to the fall, the Comstock Village Homeowners Association (CVHA) Board has designated wood chipper and dumpster dates. Read the enclosed article to better understand how we are adjusting our fall cleanup procedures, because the dumpsters continue to be misused by opportunists who live outside Comstock. The Board is making adjustments to see if scheduling dumpsters is still viable. Please help us by policing the dumpsters in your neighborhoods during cleanup so that we can continue this service in the spring of 2023. Additionally, take a look at the article on the CVHA Minimum Exterior Maintenance Standards (MEMS) and Covenants documents that were updated this summer and hung on comstockvillage.com. This is an effort by the Board to make navigating the Covenants more user friendly so that we all can get to a collective "good" that much quicker. Finally, please attend the CVHA Annual Meeting Fire Station #18, 6830 Hadler View at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, October 19th where the Board will go over the proposed budget, count ballots for Board member elections, answer any questions, and address any concerns that residents may have about Comstock Village and our way forward. Special thanks to those of you who are willing to throw your hat in the ring to serve this great community. May we all endeavor to make it an even better place to grown our families.

Gratefully,

Chas Cox

(719)244-8242

Meet Your CVHA Board Director: Kevin O'Connor

Have you ever met a true American hero? If you have, chances are you were only aware of it because someone else told you about what they did to earn the distinction. One of your Directors, Kevin O'Connor, fits squarely in that category. Kevin was born in New York City to Irish immigrant parents and he joined the Marine Corps at 17. He later made an inner-service transfer to the U.S.

Army Special Forces and his deployments took him all over the world concurrent with many of the international headlines, breaking in the '80's, '90's and early 2000's. Most of what Kevin did to protect our nation and its citizens during those. crises will not be recounted publicly, nor recorded in history books. Kevin was first stationed at Fort Carson in 1994 and he and his lovely wife Ana Rosa have three adult children, Saoirse, Keva, and Daniel, who all went through Rockrimmon Elementary, Eagle view Middle, and Air Academy High Schools. After many sacrificial deployments overseas, Kevin retired from 10th Special Forces Group in 2008 and he and his

family to continue to call Comstock Village home. Kevin has the genuine heart of a servant and never seeks any recognition for what he has done or continues to do. His inherent desire to give back to the community he loves is simply the reason why he ran for and joined the CVHA Board of Directors. Kevin's challenge to the rest of us is to volunteer to serve a term as a CVHA Director and make our community a better place.

Communication is Key

If you currently do not receive occasional emails from Comstock Village, please provide our administrator, Cathy Gelston, with your updated email address and phone number. We want to ensure all homeowners and members of Comstock Village receive the most updated schedule of events, timely messages and safety information. Don't miss out of these important emails. Please send updated information (email and phone number) to admin@comstockvillage.com.

Weed Control and Sidewalk Snow Removal

Exterior landscaping and sidewalks must remain free from overgrown vegetation. Current city codes consider weeds and grasses over 8 inches in height as a violation of the codes.

Homeowners who are in violation will be given a warning by city code enforcement. If not corrected, homeowners will be cited and fined. A problem area within our Association is behind fences along roads. Homeowners are responsible to keep those areas trimmed of low-handing branches and weed-free.

Winter is just around the corner, and homeowners are also responsible for snow removal on sidewalks, including those located behind fences along roads. Snow must be removed within 24 hours following a storm. Pedestrians of all ages, including parents and their children walking to school, appreciate clear and safe sidewalks.

Fall Clean-Up

Chipping Program Don't forget - the Fall Wildfire Mitigation Chipping program sponsored by the Colorado Springs Fire Department will be in Comstock Village the week of October 10th• In order to participate in the program, you MUST have an onsite consultation prior to the date. Additionally: • Individual homeowners must register to participate. • All chipping dates are the "week of." • Material must be stacked curbside by 8:00 a.m. Monday morning and will be picked up by the end of the week. • Incorrectly stacked piles WILL NOT BE PICKED UP. Neighborhood Chipping online registration is now up and running at: https://coloradosprings.gov/fire-department/page/neighborhood-chipping-program. This works with mobile devices now! You must be registered by October 7th to get on the schedule. Clean-up Weekend The Fall Clean-Up will be breaking into two different dumpster drops, the first during the week of October 17th and second during the week of October 24th. To avoid the past abuse and over­ filling of the dumpsters (see "Dumpster Rules" below), the dumpsters will be dropped and recovered over a 24-hour period. The timing and location of the dumpster deliveries will be announced 24hours prior by the CVHA Administrator by mass email to residents. IMPORTANT NOTE: this may be the last dumpster drop sponsored by CVHA if this service is abused in October. The CVHA President has made it clear that his Directors will no longer dive into the dumpsters to cross-level them or pull out hazardous materials in order for the dumpsters to be hauled off. If this happens, this service will be discontinued in the spring. Therefore, it is important that we use them correctly, respect the neighbors in the area of the dumpsters, and report/run off opportunists living outside of Comstock who are using/abusing our dumpsters.

Dumpster Rules:

• Use only dumpsters marked "Comstock Village." All others are privately hired; any unauthorized use of them is illegal. And those marked "Comstock Village" are for the exclusive use of our residents.

• No paint, televisions, batteries, paint remover, computers, air conditioners, mattresses, refrigerators. NO TIRES!

• Hire your own hauler if you have fencing, cabinets, bathroom fixtures or other items from an extensive remodeling project.

• Do not place trees or shrubs in the dumpster. Instead, sign up for the free chipper service; go to https://coloradosprings.gov/fire-department/page/neighborhood-chipping­program.

• Place items at front of dumpster when the doors are open.

• Discontinue use when the signs say "FULL"

• If the available space is used up, you MUST stop using them.

• DO NOT place items on the ground outside of the dumpster.

Common Area Update

Each of the eight Comstock Village Common Areas (A-H) each has its own identity, needs and issues. Some have identifiable trails, and entrances, with various hiking difficulties. Others don't have trails, but are still fun to explore. Some even have trash containers that are emptied regularly. Some get periodic mowing to keep the weeds down and trails cleared, while some are left in their natural state. A few even have hills to climb to see unobstructed views of our beautiful area. All have been surveyed and marked with green t-posts to show boundaries. Check out the website for maps of all these areas!

To reduce the wildfire risk of various common areas, the Common Area Committee works with contractors, volunteers and the Colorado Springs Fire Marshal's office to secure grants for mitigation activities, including clearing, trimming and chipping. We've been very successful over the past 15 years, and will submit another application this fall.

We appreciate the support of the community in our efforts, including leashing dogs, picking up after them, not feeding the deer and avoiding any fireworks. Thanks to the Board of Directors, the Common Area Committee and all of you who make the 42 acres of common area a real valuable resource.

Status Fee Requirement

There have been some questions on the Status Fee that has been sent to homeowners who are selling their home. Comstock Village charges a fee of $75.00 to inspect property that is being sold to ensure the property complies with the Comstock Village Covenants at the time of sale. The fee was approved by the Board of Directors over 40 years ago and it covers the cost of having a Director view the property and reports any discrepancies to the Comstock Village Administrator who uses that information to prepare a "Status Letter" for the seller and/or buyer's agent. This Status Letter is required by the title company to close on the sale of a property in an HOA.

Foothills Bluegrass

"Foothills Bluegrass" on June 22 at Foothills Park was a successful and fun event. We did not take an actual headcount, but a guesstimate was around 250. The bluegrass performance by Grass It Up https://www.grassitupbluegrass.com/ was great as usual. We hope to be able to have them again at a future event. Miles Holmes entertained the crowd and especially the children with his magic tricks while the band was setting up. We hope to see him again at future events. Thanks to our local merchants who contributed to help make this event possible. They are, in no particular order:

Connie Slater State Farm Insurance Mathnasium Delmonico Cleaners First Bank Pinon Valley Liquor Between Friends

Thanks to Margi Barrutia, ERA Shields Real Estate for providing the restroom facility (port-a­ potty). Please keep our sponsors in mind and support them by buying their goods and services. And thank you to all who helped with the numerous things that needed to be done to arrange this concert. The Board of Directors thanks all of the participants for attending the event. We hope to provide a similar event again in June. Looking forward to next summer!

Abandoned Vehicles/Trailers Parked on Streets

Two topics that have taken a large amount of volunteer board time in 2022 are reports of abandoned vehicles and trailers on our residential streets. We already have 'no parking on streets' guidance in our covenants (applies to trailers too),and, according to Colorado law a vehicle is considered abandoned on public property when left unattended for a period of 48 hours or longer. Comstock Village residents often contact the HOA for resolution, but this is a municipal issue and can only be addressed by reporting one of two ways through the City of Colorado Springs: 1) submit a Code Enforcement Complaint Form via www.coloradosprings.gov, or 2) call the Colorado Springs Police Non-emergency number, (719) 444-7000. We've seen vehicles tagged and towed away in a variety of timeframes depending on CSPD prioritization, so be aware this process can take some time and multiple persons are welcome to report the problem. The best first step is to make contact with the residents who have a suspected abandoned vehicle or trailer in front of their home, as in many cases just making them aware can lead to a quick resolution.

Process to Change Covenants

The CVHA Board has responded to several recent questions from residents on how to change the Covenants. To make this information readily available to all homeowners, a link to an information article titled "Process to Change Covenants" has been posted on the comstockvillage.com covenants page. The Board encourages any effort led by a homeowner to change the Covenants, but it is not an easy task. Per the Covenants, a Covenant change requires a signature vote of 357 positive votes (60% of 595 record homeowners in Comstock). While challenging, Covenant change is still possible - the most recent occurring in 2018, which allowed residents to have chicken coops in their backyards.

Minimum Exterior Standards

As we head into fall, many of our Comstock neighbors will want to tidy up their properties. In an effort to stay up to date in the community there have been updates to the standards regarding paint, fencing, weeds, and more. You can find all the current Minimum Exterior Maintenance Standards (MEMS) on the website www.comstockvillaqe.com by clicking the exterior standards link on the left side of the home page. Thanks for your efforts.

2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00pm. Meetings are currently being held at Directors houses as library hours have changed. All meetings of the Board of Directors are open to the members of CVHA. If you have an item top resent and do not want to attend the entire meeting, you can ask to be placed first on the agenda so that you do not have to stay the whole evening. You are more than welcome to attend all meetings. Please contact the Administrator, Cathy Gelston, to confirm the date and location of the meeting.

President, Chas Cox 719-244-8242

Vice President, Kevin O'Connor 719-494-4055

Secretary/Treasurer, Jim Lovewell Sidney Patin 719-661-7402

Vera Feldman 719-599-7603

Howard Feldman 719-599-7603

Al Watson 719-492-0310

Cathy Gelston, Administrator 719-660-7726