Village Updates

March 9, 2010

Now you can follow MVHOA Village Updates on Twitter! Just look for the "Follow me on Twitter" button. - D. White

March 8, 2010

If you'd like to add a note to the banner for our returning Olympians, you may drop by the management office sometime this week or attend the HOA Board Meeting on Wed. evening. Several fans have already signed it! - D. White

March 3, 2010

Bounce-back emails were mentioned at last night's Membership Meeting as an enhanced service confirming that online requests made via the mvhoa.com website have been received. Clarifying this point, the confirmation is provided both by email (be sure to authorize messages from mvhoa.com and avalonweb.com in your spam and junk filters) and by a message that appears onscreen once your service request has been submitted successfully.

Another service enhancement from the Management Office is detailed request tracking and improved response times. In that regard, the Management Office received a nice compliment this morning from a homeowner who attended the meeting:

"Fantastic. What perfect timing. :) I just arrived home from the Homeowners meeting and I see responses to my emails. The process is working well. Thanks!"

Very nice to hear. - D. White

March 3, 2010

Thanks to MBPD Officer Stephanie Miller who presented the merits of Neighborhood Watch at the HOA Membership Meeting on March 2. It's time we partake of this beneficial opportunity to enhance the security profile in the Village as has much of the rest of our City, including the Estates. If you're interested in participating or just learning more about Neighborhood Watch, please to contact Board member and Security Task Force head Ruck Nicholls directly at 310-545-9480 or ruckbrit@roadrunner.com.

It would be outstanding to have one or more members of Neighborhood Watch on each court and in each group of townhomes. - D. White

March 2, 2010

In response to rising water costs and a desire to conserve resources, the Landscaping Committee and GS Brothers have worked together to implement a number of cost and water saving efforts in recent months, including:

- Installing pressure regulators to reduce overall water pressure and water waste
- Redirecting/improving sprinkler systems adjacent to streets to minimize runoff and asphalt damage (note: this is a best efforts process; a small amount of streets and sidewalks will always get some level of overspray)
- Installing low-precipitation sprinkler heads in a test area to evaluate effectiveness (green belt near Evergreen). Unfortunately, these are expensive and can't be installed all at once
- Installing new low-precipitation sprinkler heads whenever landscape renovations are performed or heads require replacement
- Separating lawn and ground cover watering circuits/valves to enable differential watering levels as appropriate (many valves were combined by the builder)
- Beginning to employ drought tolerant "creeping red fescue" (as in test are along Marine east of Gateway) in lieu of standard sod where considered appropriate
- Continuous resetting of watering timers and levels in response to weather forecasts
- Minimizing all watering except during the summer months
- Complying with Manhattan Beach watering regulations
- Requesting a study by the West Basin Water District to evaluate the feasibility of installing recycled water circuits for landscaping use (the study is in progress)
- Plan to install remotely controlled watering valve on a test basis the next time one needs to be replaced.

Contrary to some concerns, there is no plan or intention to convert the Village's lush landscaping into a desert environment, or to remove our beautiful trees. We do, however, seek to manage our landscaping in a responsible and conservation-oriented manner. - D. White