2022 Spring Newsletter
- May 1, 2022
- 9 min read
Inside this issue:
- Welcome New Administrator - Trailer Parking
- Grass & Weed Maintenance - Synthetic Turf Regulations
- Common Areas - Upcoming Events
- Exterior Paint Policy - 2022 Board of Directors
Calendar of Events:
Spring Chipping - week of May 23rd
Foothills Bluegrass - Wednesday May 25th 6:00-8:00pm
Community Garage Sale - Saturday June 4th
Spring Clean-Up - week of June 6th
Letter From The CVHA President
Lions, Trailers and Bluegrass, Oh My!
There are a ton of things I love about living in Rockrimmon. One of them is that we are
blessed to be temporary guests in the amazing habitats of Front Range wildlife. What makes it even more exciting is knowing that we aren’t necessarily at the top of the food chain, as those who have had to remove a dismembered deer from their yards can attest. Tongue and cheek aside (pun intended), our neck of the woods is waking up from winter and we will all begin to enjoy spring in full bloom.
With this in mind, there are a couple of things I would like to highlight as we start energizing our sprinklers and breaking out our toys. First, a common Covenant violation that gets reported to the Comstock Village Homeowners’ Association (CVHA) Board is trailers parked or stored in the front of homeowner properties. The Covenants allow trailers to be staged in those areas for 72 hours before or after a road trip or to facilitate house projects; otherwise, they need to be stored behind a fence, in the garage, or at a storage facility. Trust me, Board Members are never enthused about asking someone to store their trailer if such a violation is reported. But I can promise you a visit from one of our smiling faces if you stretch the rule. Thanks for your help with this one.
Second, April is almost over and so is the grace period for getting your fences back up from being blown down by winter windstorms. If you chose not to repair your fence, you must remove those downed and/or damaged sections from view. This includes those areas of properties adjacent to our common areas.
Lastly, and most importantly, make sure that you rope off your calendar for 6-8pm on Wednesday, May 25th for our annual Foothills Bluegrass event. Renown local band Grass It Up will be playing for your enjoyment at Foothills Elementary. So, make sure you bring a good lawn chair and blanket and come enjoy some good tunes as the sun sets behind Pikes Peak.
As always, the CVHA Board will be serving up free ice cream and long-winded diatribe during intermission, along with serious gratitude to our sponsors. If your business would like to get a shameless plug or banner posted at the concert, please contact Sidney Patin at hoapatin@gmail.com about sponsorship opportunities.
Special thanks to Sid and his team who volunteer every year to put on this family-friendly event!
Before I sign off, I would like to publicly express my heartfelt gratitude to Alicia Klausmeier, who is stepping down from her Administrator duties this spring. Thank you so much for everything you have done for all of us, Alicia. Your positive spirit and tireless work ethic have been genuinely inspirational to everyone who has had the pleasure of working with you. We wish you and your family well as you continue to grow in Comstock. I would also like to welcome Cathy Gelston, who has been hired as our new Administrator. Please read the following article in this newsletter about Cathy. You will quickly realize how lucky we are to have her filling Alicia’s big shoes!
Behind the Curtain,
Chas Cox
(719)244-8242
Meet Your New Comstock Village Administrator: Cathy Gelston
We are fortunate to welcome one of our own to take the helm as CVHA Administrator, Cathy Gelston. Cathy hails from Wisconsin, but she has lived in Colorado Springs for over the 35 years with the last five as a resident in Comstock. Retiring two years ago, she comes to us with a wealth of experience from health care administration and education fields. Cathy has three grown children, and when she is not busy chasing five grandchildren, she enjoys various activities, including gardening, traveling, tennis, reading, crafting and pickleball. She is married to Gary, and many of you might know the Gelston Family from Foothills Swim and Racquet Club. Both Cathy and Gary love Comstock as the residents are friendly and the beautiful area has much to offer. Cathy has a true heart for our community and is looking forward to helping make our area a better place for families to thrive. Welcome Cathy!
Trailer Parking
The Board of Directors has been receiving quite a few complaints about trailers parked in the front of residences either in driveways or elsewhere on the front yard and CVHA Covenants, Article VI, Section 7, paragraph 12, which states, “campers and trailers shall be parked or stored at the rear of the lot and out of sight of the street or kept in a garage.” Your help in maintaining compliance with the Covenants goes a long way in preserving CVHA standards for all and decreasing volunteer time spent in correcting infractions. Thanks!
Grass and Weed Maintenance
It’s spring time and plants are getting ready to grow fast! We need your help ensure grasses, weeds, and ornamental plants on residences are kept trimmed and present a neat appearance. This also includes low-hanging tree branches and hedge trimming to prevent impeding pedestrian traffic on sidewalks. As a reminder, any residence adjacent to a public sidewalk is responsible for maintaining weeds and grasses in plant beds between the sidewalk and road in accordance with HOA standards for the duration of the growing season. This applies to most of the houses which back up to Rockrimmon Boulevard.
Guidelines for Synthetic Turf on Front Yards
Last February, residents voted in favor of allowing synthetic turf on yards facing the street. In order to ensure this new xeriscaping policy is properly implemented, the CVHA Board consulted with landscaping experts to develop appropriate requirements for synthetic turf installation and maintenance. On March 16th, the following standards and procedures were adopted (they do not apply for synthetic turf applied behind homes and/or behind fences out of view from the street):
Synthetic turf must be made of polyethylene with permanent backing
Minimum face weight of 60 ounces
Minimum pile height of 1.5 inches
Green in color compatible with the area (preferably a multi-colored fiber with thatch)
A sample must be submitted to the CVHA Board with application, including warranty information and product specifications
Front yard must maintain 30% of overall square footage as organic material such as planter beds, shrubs, bushes, non-lawn grasses, etc.
Artificial grass meeting a neighboring natural grass area must be separated by at least 4 inches of hardscape such as rock or timbers, or planter consisting of organic plant material
Artificial grass must be cleaned and groomed as necessary to maintain its appearance
The CVHA Board reserves the right to require replacement when, at their sole discretion, the turf has become unsightly and/or unserviceable
Professional installation is recommended. If homeowners decide to install turf themselves, the CVHA Board encourages them to reference synthetic turf installation requirements posted in the Minimum Exterior Standards document at www.comstockvillage.com. These requirements are designed to help homeowners protect their expensive investment as sun, wind, and weeds can significantly reduce the service life of synthetic turf.
Lastly, remember to submit your Improvement Application before you hire a contractor and/or purchase materials to install a synthetic lawn that faces a street. Please contact any Board Member if you have questions regarding this new policy.
Preservation of Common Areas
The 42 acres of Common Area belongs to all of us 595 property owners of Comstock Village and can be thought of as our “back yard”. As such, we need to preserve and maintain this acreage. When dog squeeze or trash is not picked up by just a few owners, it negatively impacts the rest of us. The trails and natural areas are to be enjoyed by all of us and they add a lot of value to where we live. Thanks for your assistance.
Anyone who has lived in our area for a while appreciates that wildfire danger is much higher than previous years. Every dry and windy day is nerve-wracking for the fire department and us homeowners. We had the help of the City Fire Department Wildlife Division and CVHA homeowners and volunteers last fall in thinning out the brush behind homes along the west side of Oak Hills Drive and Allegheny Drive surrounding Area D. We hope to do the same to Area B this summer where needed, since it has been over 11 years since we had that work done.
Finally, among the many items on the Common Area Committee’s list for this year is reducing the impact of invasive weeds in the open areas, such as thistle, mullein weed and myrtle spurge. Removing these will make all of this property of ours more enjoyable. Please enjoy it!
Upcoming Events
CHIPPING PROGRAM Don't forget- the Spring Wildfire Mitigation Chipping program sponsored by the Colorado Springs Fire Department will be in Comstock Village the week of May 23rd. 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. It can be found here: https://coloradosprings.gov/fire-department/page/neighborhood-chipping-program. This does work with mobile devices now! You must be registered by May 21st to get on the schedule!
Community Garage Sale
The CVHA Community Garage Sale day will be Saturday, June 4th starting at 8:00 am. Signs will direct customers into the neighborhood the day of the event. Join your neighbors in selling your treasures. Hoping for great weather!
Clean-Up Weekend
The Spring Community Clean-Up will be breaking into two different dumpster drops, first Monday, June 6th -7th and second Thursday, June 9 – 10th. The same format as in the fall will be used. The first 3 dumpsters will be delivered to Blackhawk Drive cul-de-sac, Grey Eagle Terrace cul-de-sac and War Eagle Drive S cul-de-sac. Each dumpster will only be dropped for one night so as to prevent over-filling. It is important we use them correctly and respect the neighbors in the area of the 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, 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-chipping-program.
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.
Foothills Bluegrass
“Foothills Bluegrass” at Foothills Park is coming! It is scheduled for 6:00 – 8:00 pm on May 25, 2022 at Foothills Park next to Foothills Elementary School on Allegheny. This event was a huge success last year. The unofficial count of people attending was about 320. We hope to be able to get even more this year! The bluegrass performance will be provided by a group called Grass It Up! They were fabulous last year and we booked them again for this year’s event. We hope to be able to call on them again at a future event. Miles Holmes, a very talented magician, entertained the crowd and especially the children with his magic tricks while the band was setting up. Miles will also be at this year’s event. Try to show up a little earlier if you want to see the magic show. Thanks to our local merchants who donated to help pay for the costs of this event. Watch for further announcements. See you there!
Exterior Paint Approval Policy
With the arrival of spring many of our Comstock neighbors are starting outside projects and paint is always a popular improvement. With that in mind we’ve made some minor adjustments to the approval process to hopefully streamline approval and prevent problems. We’ve identified a number of earth-tone colors from Sherwin Williams that will be administratively approved. If the colors you choose are not on the list, no problem. It will just take a few days longer while a board member reviews them. If you plan on repainting your house, you will need to submit actual color chips with your Improvement Application as picture submittals of colors will no longer be accepted. The reason for this is that the color and brightness settings on computers can significantly distort colors. Thanks for your cooperation with this new policy.
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 to present 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.
2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2022
President, Chas Cox
719-244-8242
Vice President, Kevin O’Connor
719-494-4055
Secretary/Treasurer, Jim Lovewell
719-661-7402
Sidney Patin
719-578-5104
Vera Feldman
719-599-7603
Howard Feldman
719-599-7603
Al Watson
719-492-0310
