REMINDER – 2025 Annual Meeting – Saturday Feb 1st, 1PM

REMINDER – 2025 Annual Meeting

A reminder that our annual association meeting will be taking place this Saturday, February 1st at 1PM at the Southwest Area Library – Westland Branch (4740 West Broad St). Our meeting will take place in the large meeting room – the entrance for this meeting room is to the left of the atrium, just past the first set of doors.

As previously mentioned, Officer Paulus (Columbus Police Department, Community Liaison Officer) will be attending this meeting. As the recent crime has affected more than our community we will opening with his remarks and have invited the adjoining communities in our area to attend.

Once Officer Paulus concludes we will then ask non-VAT association guests to please depart and we will continue with our official association meeting. We ask homeowners who have specific questions about the use of HOA funds to please hold those questions until our official association meeting – as not all attendees may be homeowners within our specific association.

Please note that we are limited to one hour in the room we have reserved so please arrive on time for the meeting.  We anticipate that this may be a crowded meeting please plan accordingly.

Join the VAT Board

The association is actively seeking Board Members to join and aid in its governance. A full Board consists of 7 members and currently we have 3 open seats. A background in finance/accounting or business administration would be appreciated but is not necessary.

Serving on the Board is a great way to understand our HOA and its responsibilities more fully, get to know your neighbors, and work toward keeping our community and its assets vibrant for years to come.

Information about serving on the Board can be found our website at:

https://thornappleassociation.org/homeowner-resources/board-of-directors-application/

Applications can be submitted via the webform above or you can download and complete the application online an submit via email to [email protected].

The link to the application follows:

UPDATE – 2025 Annual Meeting

Hello Neighbors,

The Board has confirmed that Officer Paulus, our Columbus Police Community Liaison Officer – WILL be in attendance for our annual meeting this Saturday.

Due to the concerns of our community we will be letting Officer Paulus speak first. We also will be opening this part of our meeting to ALL the Thornapple community attendees (Thornapple Grove, Thornapple Highlands, Thornapple Meadows, Village at Thornapple, and George Fox) who wish to attend.

Once Officer Paulus concludes we will then ask non-VAT association guests to please depart and we will continue with our official association meeting. We ask homeowners who have specific questions about the use of HOA funds to please hold those questions until our official association meeting – as not all attendees may be homeowners within our specific association.

Please note that we are limited to one hour in the room we have reserved so please arrive on time for the meeting.  We anticipate that this may be a crowded meeting so please plan accordingly.

Meeting Location:
Southwest Area Library – Westland Branch
4740 West Broad Street
Large Meeting Room – The entrance for this meeting room is to the left of the atrium, just past the first set of doors.
Meeting Time: 1PM

Have a safe week everyone.

Crime Alert – Vehicle Break-ins

Hello VAT Community,

As our community is aware the Thornapple area has experienced an uptick in property related crime in the last year. Multiple homeowners have reported: vehicles break-ins, vehicle burglary, and burglary from front and back yards. This crime has affected many of our interconnected communities: Village at Thornapple/Thornapple Meadows, Thornapple Highlands, Thornapple Grove, and George Fox.

The Board has been in contact with the CPD since these crimes began as well as our Property Manager to make sure all parties are aware of what is happening in our community. The Board understands the frustration that affected homeowners are experiencing – having experienced these crimes first hand as well.

During the Friday to Saturday overnight hours there were several vehicles broken into within our community – windows were smashed and property was stolen. We also understand that nearby business on Fisher Road was affected – with approximately 20 vehicles affected there as well. CPD officers responding to our community indicated that so many vehicles were affected that CPD had to call in assistance from surrounding precincts. They also indicated that the 20 affected vehicles at the business were broken into and robbed in under five minutes.

As previously posted the Board continues to evaluate all options available to us to help deter these types of criminals from our community. We strongly encourage all homeowners who are affected by crime, even if there is no damage or property stolen, to report the crime to the CPD. If you file a police report on the phone or online please inform Officer Paulus (our community liaison officer with the CPD) via email as well. Much like reporting of poor roadways is the best way to get the city’s attention – residents reporting crime and filing police reports will help increase the likelihood of increased patrolling in and near our community.

There have been a variety of suspicious vehicles in the community over the last year. While we would like to think this as one group of criminals, it is likely several or potentially several working in tandem. Homeowners are encouraged to keep an eye out for any suspicious vehicles within our communities.

Suspicious vehicle traits include, but are not limited to:

  • Vehicles driving slowly and aimlessly – particularly at night without headlights
  • Vehicles parking in secluded areas
  • Vehicle occupants looking out of place
  • Vehicles with visibly damaged license plates, dark tinted windows, or a cars that appear to be casing a location repeatedly
  1. We share this information with neighbors for awareness as always your safety is priority one and we urge you strongly to NOT APPROACH suspicious vehicles.

Below we have listed reminders of best safety practices as well as some social media sites/groups that tend to have active (and in some cases real-time) conversation. As a reminder: the VAT Board does not own, administer, or manage any of the content nor access to any Facebook or other social media group. We share this information ONLY to further help keep our community safe. The only official communications from the Board will come from the community newsletter posts or letters/emails sent directly to homeowners. Likewise we encourage any feedback you would like to give the board to be emailed or submitted via contact form on the website.

 

Best Safety Practices
Please discuss these with all appropriate members of your family, especially teens and teen drivers.


  • Be sure to secure any vehicles left outside as well as securing doors and windows at night

If at all possible park vehicles in garages where they are most secure.

  • Secure any valuables left outdoors or in vehicles

Locking your vehicle and ensuring that no items are visible is the number one way you can reduce your likelihood of being a victim of these types of crime.

Specifically make sure to remove: loose change, cards, wallets, all bags (backpacks, purses, diaper bags, etc), sunglass cases, etc. Criminals look for these items to make easy money by reselling. To make sure alarms don’t go off they will often break windows to get to these items. Make sure these items are not stored in your vehicles!

For items that are too large to move indoors, like porch/patio furniture, consider using security cables. Ensure all walkthrough gates are locked when possible. Making items harder to steal is an easy way to reduce crime.

 

  • Make best use of any security features you currently have on your home

Be sure to keep exterior lights on or on timers at night. Make sure motion lights are powered and have functioning light bulbs. Increase the sensitivity of any motion detectors or video cameras on your property to ensure that they are capturing as much video as possible when motion is detected. Some camera systems offer “linked camera” features causing all cameras to record footage even if motion sensors did not activate them. Learn all the tools on your security devices and use them. Add locks to any gates to make removing property from your yard more challenging.

  • Use landscaping to your advantage

If your property has easily visible sightlines to property you feel is valuable (like patio furniture, gas grills, yard decorations, etc) try to obscure the view by using well placed plants, flowers, and shrubs. This is particularly important for any homeowners on corner lots where more of their property is visible.

  • Add the Columbus police non-emergency number to your phone’s contacts

If you see anything suspicious in the neighborhood contact the non emergency line at 614 645 4545. Be prepared with as much of a description as you can safely provide – vehicle or clothing descriptions, license plate numbers, vehicle damage, any identifying characteristics can be very useful to police. As always, DO NOT APPROACH ANY SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE OR PERSON. Your safety is paramount.

  • Check your property and any camera motion-alerts daily

A quick review of your exterior property will ensure that you are aware of when anything may have been taken as well as give you an opportunity to ensure your safety measures are always in place and working as intended. Reviewing doorbell or other security camera footage may show any suspicious activity even if your home wasn’t directly affected.

  • Report any crime/theft to Columbus Police

Obtaining additional patrols in the area of our community will not happen if there are not documented reports with the Columbus police of any issues. Please take the time to file the appropriate reports at the time of any incidents.

 

Social Media


While the Board does not manage an official VAT Facebook group there are three unofficial groups we are aware of that are fairly active. We have included their information below for reference, however please note that these groups have their own specific descriptions and intents. Please review all group rules prior to joining/posting.


Thornapple Community Facebook Group  – This is a group that consists of neighbors within VAT, Thornapple Meadows, Thornapple Highlands, Thornapple Grove and George Fox (essentially all the interconnected neighborhoods).

 

Village at Thornapple Unofficial Facebook Group – This is a self managed group of neighbors within VAT only.

Thornapple Community Block Watch – This group posts any security concerns within the area. Please note that there is NOT an active meeting/patrolling block watch at this time – however this group is useful to post any security issues/concerns.

Several homeowners may also use Nextdoor where you can indicate that you live in the Village at Thornapple neighborhood and get digests of information similar to Facebook but with a neighborhood and surrounding area focus.

Stay safe neighbors.

2025 Annual Meeting & Other Updates

We hope that everyone is staying warm with these especially frigid temperatures.

A few quick items to review:

Annual Meeting – Our association annual meeting has been scheduled for February 1st at the Westland Area Southwestern Library (4740 West Broad Street) at 1PM, we look forward to seeing you there!

Join the VAT Board! – The association is actively seeking Board Members to join and aid in its governance. A full Board consists of 7 members and currently we have 3 open seats. A background in finance/accounting or business administration would be appreciated but is not necessary.

Serving on the Board is a great way to understand our HOA and its responsibilities more fully, get to know your neighbors, and work toward keeping our community and its assets vibrant for years to come.

Information about serving on the Board can be found our website at:

https://thornappleassociation.org/homeowner-resources/board-of-directors-application/

Applications can be submitted via the webform above or you can download and complete the application online an submit via email to [email protected].

The link to the application follows:

AT&T Fiber Line Follow-Up – For homeowners who continue to deal with issues stemming from the the fiber line upgrades over last summer there is a short update. AT&T has provided a new contact to follow-up with should you have any lingering or unaddressed issues:

Deani Cook
Technician Quality Control Field
Star Construction, LLC
 [email protected]
 star-llc.net

Recently homeowner have reported new issues with other utility (power) or internet service provider (Spectrum, Breezeline) lines failing. When vendors have come out to properties they note that existing lines that previously had no issues appear to be nicked or cut which is causing inconsistent service or service failures. It appears that many homeowners are able to get these issues addressed directly with their power or internet providers directly, but should you have issues that fall outside of the scope of their repairs and the AT&T fiber line appears to have impacted your issue – you may want to reach out to the contact above as well.

Please note: As previously stated the VAT HOA has no association to the AT&T Fiber upgrades, this information is being provided as a courtesy only. 

Trash and Recycling Cans – A reminder that even with winter weather all waste and recycling cans need to be screened from view when not actively curbside.

Handbook policy states:

All waste and recycling containers and yard waste shall be stored inside the garage or, if outside, 100% screened from view at all times, by a screening structure. Waste and recycling containers and yard waste shall not be moved to the curb for pick-up more than 12 hours prior to collection. Waste and Recycling containers shall be returned to their storage location by the end of the day of waste and recycling collection.

Please make sure these containers are put away at the end of the day.

Thank you for all you do to keep our community vibrant!

Inclement Weather Returns

Happy New Year Neighbors!

Central Ohio is forecasted to receive a significant snowfall for the start of the week and new year. While many kids are dreaming of snow days and sled rides, many members of our community will need to report into work and continue with business as usual. A few reminders for our community for when snow is in the forecast.

Snow removal – City and private trucks will once again be out cleaning our roadways when snow is projected. To keep our neighborhood as safe as we can we need your help. We encourage everyone to observe the following guidelines at all times but most especially when snowfall of 3″ or greater is expected in our area.

  1. Park vehicles in garages or driveways
    Fewer vehicles impeding plows and salt trucks will ensure better snow removal. When possible keep all vehicles off roadways until after plows come through. This is especially important for residents in our courts and cul-de-sacs where extra vehicles can create impassable lanes for these large trucks.
  2. Remove any debris from storm drains
    Water runoff and snow melt that cannot drain will refreeze along roadways and crosswalks creating more hazards for residents. When and while conditions allow, please check storm drains on your property to ensure they are clear and allowing runoff to freely access drains.
  3. Slow down and add time to your commute
    Several bus stops in our community are near tight intersections where children may be waiting for buses. Please take your time navigating slick or snow covered streets especially in the morning hours.

We understand that not everyone will be able to do all of these items, but the more members of the community that do what they can, the safer our streets will be.

Stay safe everyone!

©2025 Thornapple Association, Inc.