Mosquito Control Update - 9 May 2013

From Jean Soucy

The County Mosquito Control Tech came by today and walked “The Ditch”. All seemed very healthy and clean with no man made debris in the ditch. There is lot of natural decaying going on and that is good. We do have a couple of areas that fallen trees need to be pushed around to allow water flow and for fish to better thrive. I will work on doing that before the Tech returns.  There are of course a lot of mosquito eggs, although I have not seen any adult mosquitos this season. The Tech put some pellets down to retard mosquito growth. There are fish still thriving in the water but “B” plans to return Monday, May 12 with a couple of gallons of newly hatched fish and continue to come once a month to monitor the Mosquito population. We get excellent support from the Chatham County Mosquito Control people.

Hello neighbors,
This Saturday, May 11,  postal workers will participate in the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive to benefit local food pantries. We hope that everyone will make an effort to help with this worthy cause by placing a few cans of food in a bag and hanging it by the mail box before our letter carrier arrives.

Thanks in advance for demonstrating that The Settlement is a caring community.

April HOA Board Meeting Highlights

• We currently have 29 homeowners that have returned their forms for the new directory.
• We have 14 residents that have signed up to get automatic alerts from the website.
• Mac’s Landscape and lighting replaced 8 bulbs at the front entrance and repaired a cut wire. 
• The Architectural committee reported that we still have one homeowner in violation of the covenants and after a discussion by the board it was decided to turn the matter over to our attorney.
• The board voted to place a lien on two properties because of nonpayment of dues.
• The board discussed ideas for neighborhood events for the summer and fall.  Ideas for an ice-cream social, 4th of July kids & pets parade, and a pumpkin patch were some of the ideas discussed.
• A board member will research the prices for purchasing signs for the front entrance for events and announcements.
• A board will call the extension service to come out and check the trees in the "park" area to make sure that they are healthy.
• A request was made for articles for the website.  If anyone is interested in sharing something on the website, please email it to thesettlementonwilmington@gmail.com.
• The treasurer's report stated that the cash balance in checking as of 3-31-13 was $14,012.22 and the money market account balance as of 3-31-13 was $2,203.04. March expenses were $54.96 to GA power, Maloney’s $235.00, and office expenses of $113.25.  This included paying $60.00 for our PO Box and supply reimbursements.  A website expense line was added to the budget and reflects as zero since it had not previously been an item in the budget.  The cost per year is $9.16 for one year.  The 2012 Federal Taxes were mailed on March 12, 2013, no balance due. The corporation was renewed on March 26, 2013, and the fee of $30 will be noted in the April report as the payment had to be made by credit card and the reimbursement check for the payment will be cut during April.

Other Announcements

If anyone lost a garage door opener, please contact Jean Soucy.

If you have something that you would like to put in the announcements, please contact a board member or email us at thesettlementonwilmington@gmail.com

Have a great week!

 

Hello neighbors... It's not too late to get those directory forms turned in.  We have had a lot of people turn in forms already, but still have many that need to be returned. If you haven't turned one in, you can drop it off  at Wendy Amerson's house at 4 Settlement Ct.  She will be working on the new directory in a few weeks. We really hope that everyone participates, so please remind your neighbors about the directory and also joining the website.   For those of you who have joined the website, we hope that you are finding it full of useful information.   Please remember it is a work in progress and we welcome any new ideas.  Just email us... Have a great day!

If you need another form please follow the link below to print out a new one. 
http://thesettlementonwilmington.blogspot.com/p/homeowner-documents.html

Happy Spring Everyone!

The Settlement is blooming with Azaleas, Loropetalum, and Bradford Pear trees.  Our neighborhood looks very nice this time of year, so please remember to rake and bag your leaves.  The County collects yard waste every Thursday and the bulk trash on the 4th Friday of each Month.  Dog walkers please clean up after your dog and do not place your dog's waste in your neighbors trash can.

The Board is aware of the lighting problems at the entrance and we have received a quote for replacing the landscaping can lights with LED lights.  The cost for this is approximately $100 per can.  However, the LED bulbs would burn for 30,000 to 50,000 hours as opposed to 5,000 hours that the present lights burn.  If anyone has any thoughts on this subject, please contact a board member.  Also, we welcome any suggestions for the spring and summer plantings.

Please remember not to park or drive your vehicle on the grass or sidewalks at the front and sides of The Settlement entrance.  We have had to replace sprinkler heads this year in those areas because they have been damaged by parked vehicles. 

Over the weekend some of the Board members visited each household to give out information about our new website and the new directory.    Hopefully by now you have had an opportunity to join the website by email and take a "look" around.  Please make sure you complete your directory form and return it to 4 Settlement Court as soon as possible.  We are hoping to have the directory completed by May 1st and many other summer activities planned very soon.

Are you ready to celebrate St. Patrick's Day?



 

Greening of the Fountain

March 8, 2013 at 12:00pm the fountain in Forsyth Park will turn GREEN to help kick off the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Savannah. Enjoy this Savannah tradition, as the city gets ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

 

Tybee Irish Heritage Parade-Saturday, March 9th at 3:00pm 

The 11th Annual Tybee Island Irish Heritage Celebration Parade will be held Saturday, March 9. Tybee Island’s fun, family-friendly parade to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Dress in green & join in the fun at 3pm on Saturday. Parade starts at City Hall and proceeds down Butler Avenue to Tybrisa Street.

Parade goers are encouraged to come out dressed in green and join the celebration. This is a free, family-friendly event and is open to the public.

 

Shamrock Run for March of Dimes
6 PM Sat. Mar 9, 2013 @ City Market
912.354.5900
Beginning and ending in City Market, there is a free1/4 mile Kiddie Fun Run prior to the race.

 

Tara Feis family festival
Saturday, March 9, 2013
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Emmet Park (east end of Bay Street)
Presented by the City of Savannah’s Department of Cultural Affairs
Free and open to the public



Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade- Saturday, March 16 at 9:00am

Article from http://www.savannahsaintpatricksday.com/

 

Savannah is known for hosting the second largest parade in the world. However, all that have seen it say it is the grandest in the world! We begin this religious and cultural celebration approximately two weeks prior to the parade. Some of these traditional events include the Investiture of the Grand Marshal, Greening of the Fountain in Forsyth Park, Tara Feis, Celtic Cross Mass and Ceremony, and Sergeant William Jasper Green Ceremony. On the morning of the parade, Mass is held at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in historic downtown Savannah. We welcome you to attend any and all of these events and learn about our rich Irish heritage.

Savannah’s first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was in 1813, only 80 years after the city was founded by General James Oglethorpe. A small group of Hibernians organized and marched on the streets of Savannah to remember the death of our Patron Saint, Saint Patrick of Ireland. Over the years the city prospered with Irish immigrants due to the potato famine and political persecution their country faced. We are proud to carry on the tradition our ancestors began almost 200 years ago.

Stepping off at 10:15 a.m. sharp, the three-hour parade consists of over 350 units, including several U.S. military divisions, many award-winning bands, and the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales. Some of the bands include the 282nd U.S. Army Band (Fort Jackson, S.C.), The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps (Fort Myers, VA), U.S. Coast Guard Pipes and Drums (Norfolk, VA), Irish Air Corps Pipes and Drums (Dublin, Ireland), and many more outstanding marching units.

Link to Official Site here

 

"The Ditch"

What we have come to call “The  Ditch,” is the area behind the houses on Mary Musgrove Drive. The County Engineers and the US Army Corps of Engineers calls it the Wetland Conservation Drainage Easement. This is a municipal and federally protected area for drainage and flood control.

There are two distinctly different parts to the ditch. Behind addresses 1 thru 19 Mary Musgrove Drive the ditch is an intermittent stream. When the water gets to high it flows into the culvert that carries it into the Storm Drainage system.

The second distinct part runs behind addresses 101 thru 119 Mary Musgrove and along the side property line of 106 Settlement Way, here the ditch is defined as a Chanel. It is a terraced series of retaining ponds that fill with water from rains and overflow from the Lagoon. The storm drainage runs from Settlement Way, under the far side of the property at 106 Settlement Way through a culvert that empties overflow into the Lagoon. At the far and of the Lagoon the water Overflow enters the far end of the Chanel and flows back towards Settlement Way. This works to keep our properties and streets from flooding. Last week we had over 5 inches of rain and the system is very healthy and worked well. Check out the pictures.

No alterations to this area can be made. Our responsibility is to keep the ditch clean and clear of trash and non-organic materials. Recent clean ups have removed Construction materials, cans, bottles, Styrofoam and a large assortment of balls. It is now very clean and the entrance way is being maintained for ease of entrance for Cleanup and Mosquito Control.

Chatham County mosquito Control does an excellent job of responding to our requests for assistance. Because of the density of the canopy over the ditch, helicopter spraying does not always penetrate to the ground. They come out often in the worst of the Mosquito season and make egg counts, hand spray and have put gallons of small fish into the water to eat the mosquito eggs.

Mosquito Control and The Ditch Update-March 5, 2013

From Jean Soucy...

We have a new Tech, as Laura has been promoted to a supervisors position. Our new Techs name is “ Everyone Just calls me B ”. She is extremely knowledgeable and Laura briefed her about our ditch. The recent rains have left the water very deep and there are literally millions of hatched and hatching eggs. These are eggs that were laid some time last fall and due to the moisture are now hatching. She hand sprayed a mineral oil on the water to block the larvae’s breathing tubes and destroy the young. Also she spread a growth inhibitor, to stop their growth to adulthood. I have seen a couple slow moving adults but I think we are ahead of a major infestation of mosquitos. The methods being used so far are all natural. The ditch remains clean and very healthy.