Landscaping improvements--Thanks to donors!

We've made several landscaping improvements in the past several months thanks to generous donors and the bulb sale. A big THANKS! goes to the volunteers who helped plant, and to those who contributed. Here's what we've done:

1) Donated black-eyed susans and perennials planted along stone wall on Oella Ave. ~800 block.

2) Donations for a tree in memory of deceased mill worker Earnest Harding, Jr. exceeded the cost of the tree. Thus, we planted a redbud tree behind Short Brick Row and some perennials at the Long Brick Row outhouse garden.

3) Part of the bulb sale proceeds were used to purchase beautyberry bushes planted near the outhouse garden. The rest of the proceeds will be used in the Spring to purchase redbud canes for planting along the riverside in the Spring Street/Lillies Lane garden areas.

4) Donated daffodils were planted at Timber Point, Long Brick Row, and Short Brick Row. More bulbs are on their way. E-mail Amanda if you want some for common areas near your house.

Tentative Oella HOA Meeting Agenda - Monday, October 18th at 7pm

1. Call to Order – 7:00pm
2. Meeting Minutes – Discuss/Revise/Approve
3. Treasurer’s Report
4. ARC Update
5. HOA Landscaping & Common Areas
6. Guidelines Committee update
1. Community feedback
7. Board Action Items from Management Report
8. Old Business
9. New Business
1. Annual Meeting Preparation
2. MD House Bill 842
3. Bruce Elliot Nomination
10. Questions and comments from residents
11. Move to Adjourn

GOCA Fall Festival Saturday at Banneker Park

Fall Festival activities will be held on Saturday afternoon in Banneker Park, sponsored by the Greater Oella Community Association. Everyone is welcome.

Reminder: turn in proxies if you cannot attend the annual meeting

The HOA needs a quorum of members to conduct business at the annual meeting on November 15, 7pm, Westchester Center. Your vote is important, so please turn in your proxy as per the instructions on the form if you will not be able to attend the meeting. An annual meeting notice will be sent to you shortly.

We are still collecting nomination forms. If you would like to run for a board position, please submit a form to American Community Management. A list of candidates will be posted before the meeting.

Design Guidelines Review

The Board of Directors of the HOA is pleased to make ready for review the Oella Design Guidelines document, which has been in preparation for nearly two years. As you may know, the Oella HOA was formed in the early 1980s by the developer, Charles Wagandt, when he began restoring the historic homes that were to become our community. As Developer, he had a vision for our historic village and to keep that vision on track he retained the right of Architectural Control.

In December of 2008, Charles and the HOA Board of Directors negotiated a transfer of Architectural Control to the Oella HOA. Part of that Agreement stipulated that the HOA was to create a set of Architectural Guidelines which present and future Architectural Review Committees (now a committee under the HOA) could use as a reference guide to make objective decisions on matters in regard to character of future changes to properties. We hope that the Guidelines will also serve to enhance each community member’s understanding and, hopefully, enjoyment of our community.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite all Oella homeowners to review the Guidelines and offer comments and suggestions. We believe that community participation is of the utmost importance in this matter, and feel that community commentary will help to make the document as cohesive as it can possibly be.

Every homeowner is encouraged to participate in this important undertaking. The new Guidelines are currently available at http://www.oellahoa.com/design-guidelines.htm. Comments will be accepted via the online comment form found alongside the link to the document itself.

If you have trouble accessing an online copy of the Guidelines, please note that there is a hard copy available at American Community Management’s main office at 9198 Red Branch Road, Columbia, MD. In addition, a hard copy can be requested from ACM and mailed to you at a cost of $0.15 per page. Comments can also be submitted in writing. If you would like a hard copy of the comments form, please contact Alan Mangen of ACM at 410-997-7767 ext. 151.

The review period will end on Monday, October 25, 2010. Comments, both written and online, must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, October, 25th. The Guidelines Committee will then finalize the document, taking each and every comment into
consideration.

Thank you and we look forward to receiving the community’s input.

Sincerely,

Oella HOA Board of Directors

Visit the Design Guidelines Page »