Category: News

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Reminder – National Night Out – August 2nd, 6-9PM

Hello everyone,

We hope you have had a great weekend and are looking forward to National Night Out this Tuesday at the VAT park!

As a reminder this family friendly event is open to all of the Thornapple community as a way to foster relationships within our community as well as with our local fire and police services.

Our plans for this event include:

Dan & Paul Acoustic – 6-9PM

Kona Ice – 6:30-8PM

Kona Ice will be donating a % of their sales to the VAT Social Committee so please come with your sweet tooth! As a reminder Social Committee funds are dependent on the generosity of neighbors, no funding is provided by VAT annual dues. The Social Committee will also have bottled water and other non-alcoholic beverages available for sale. 

Columbus Fire Department – Fire Truck Visit – 7-8PM

Plus sidewalk chalk, cornhole, lawn bowling, a visit from the Columbus Police Department (hopefully!) , and other outdoor fun! 

We kindly ask that folks DO NOT park on the Aldengate street side directly in front of the park on Tuesday to leave room for both the Kona Ice and CFD Trucks.

This area is a tight fit with these large vehicles and we are anticipating a fair amount of foot traffic, we highly suggest walking to the park or parking nearby and not directly in this area. 

This is a family friendly event and all rules of the park will be in effect (ie, No Alcohol/Illegal Substances, No Smoking, Pets must be leashed at all times, etc). Please help do your part to keep the park looking great by removing any trash upon leaving.

In thanks to the CPD & CFD for all they do we will have some posters available for folks to sign if they wish, thanking them for their service to our community. Please stop by and add your message to these boards!

So grab the lawn chairs and blankets, bring the bubbles and games for the kids, and come join us for an evening of community, fun, and thanks.

See you there!

2022 VAT Board

 

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National Night Out – August 2nd, 6-9PM

Hello Neighbors,

We hope everyone is having a great summer and enjoying the sunny weather!

In the past 12 months there have been lots of new faces joining our community – and with all the construction projects – lots of activity in the surrounding area. 

For the first time our community has opted to participate in National Night Out.  National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. This event is open to all members of the VAT community.

Our hope is that participating this year will give everyone an opportunity to meet one another, learn more about each other, and learn more about how our community is run. 

Plans are still in the works but this is a family friendly event. Neighbors can expect live music, outdoor games and fun, a visit from the Columbus Fire Department for the kids to get an up-close look at a firetruck from 7-8PM, frozen treats for sale benefitting our Social Committee and Columbus Police will (hopefully!) be making a stop as well. 

So grab a lawn chair, bring the bubbles and sidewalk chalk and join us for a community night out. The VAT Board hopes your family can make it out and that this will be the first of additional annual events for the community!

National Night Out – August 2nd, 6 – 9PM
VAT Park

Please note:  In the event of severe weather or lightning this event would be cancelled. A blog post will be created to update the event status.

We hope to see you there,

2022 VAT Board
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Tree Updates

Dear Homeowners,

As many of you are likely aware, there has been discussion about the care and maintenance of the street trees within our community. Specifically, several ash trees require bi-annual trunk injection treatments against Emerald Ash Borer at a significant cost to the community – which was mentioned at the annual meeting in February.

After discussions among the board, property management, City of Columbus Urban Forestry, arborists, and neighbors, we have decided to proceed with treating these trees for 2022. Below are some of the details related to this decision:

  • Treatment for the ash trees dates back to 2012. The Association has been absorbing these costs since then.
  • Due to the size of the trees in question, trunk injections are the best course of action. Soil soaks are not as effective on trees as large as ours.
  • The board would like to have further community discussion on this issue, but due to the timeline to treat these and other trees on community-managed property (i.e., entrances, the park) a decision had to be made quickly.
  • Our community arborist will only be treating trees with less than 30% of decline. Trees with higher rates of decline will not be treated by the HOA. Homeowners with these trees on their properties may choose to treat these trees themselves, but will need to complete the permit process with the City of Columbus Urban Forestry Department.

The board received much community response, and this is not a final decision on these trees for the future. Treatment for these trees will not be needed again until 2024 and the board would like to engage the community more directly with the opportunity for homeowners to ask questions and hear feedback at a future annual meeting.

A reminder on street trees: These trees fall under City of Columbus ordinance and are subject to specific city code. In our conversations with the Forestry section, they explained that trees marked with a blue dot indicates that the City is keeping that tree under review for possible future removal. Trees marked with a blue “X” are scheduled for removal. Please keep this in mind as you walk around the community.

Finally, if you have a tree in need of pruning due to low branches over sidewalks or a tree that is creating a hazard that needs to be removed, please call the City of Columbus 311 line to report – (614) 645-3111, M-F 8:00AM – 5:00PM .

For more information about street trees please visit: https://www.columbus.gov/street-tree-faqs/

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Updated Handbook – Handbook 7.0 Now Available

Dear Homeowners,

At the annual meeting of the VAT Homeowners’ Association, the board announced that an updated Community Handbook would be released reflecting some revised guidelines and standards.

We are pleased to announce that the new handbook is available for homeowners to read and use.

This is linked below for your convenience: https://thornappleassociation.org/homeowner-resources/association/

As a quick reference, the following are a few changes:

  • Annual membership dues shall be billed on or before January 1 and shall be due and payable each year on January 31
  • Collection policy has been extended on delinquency
  • Recreational vehicles may remain long enough to prep for use and storage, but shall not exceed a 48-hour period
  • Homeowners are responsible for maintaining and painting mailboxes while adhering to the community design standards

As always, many exterior maintenance and home improvement projects within our community are subject to Architectural Review. If after reviewing the handbook you still have questions related to your proposed project or maintenance, we encourage you to reach out to the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) via email: [email protected]

We hope you find these changes/updates a welcome reflection of continued pride in keeping our community exceptional.

2022 VAT board directors

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Alert: Armyworms taking Ohio by surprise!

Hello Members of The Thornapple Association –

We were provided time sensitive information related to the growing infestation of Armyworms from Five Seasons Landscape (one of our service providers) and wanted to pass this along.

“We have recently seen an unanticipated infestation of Fall Armyworms in central Ohio. This armyworm is native to southern parts of the country but has migrated its way north due to some of the large summer Gulf storms we have experienced across our area.

The Fall Armyworm is different than the common Armyworm that is native to Ohio, which mostly causes damage in the spring to cereal crops such as wheat. We have seen lawns get devoured in just a few days once the Fall Armyworm larva starts to infest an area. Fall Armyworms feed on a range of plants, but they prefer turf, especially Bermudagrass, Fescues, Ryegrass, Bentgrass and Bluegrass. With all the rain that has fallen this year, most lawns are covered with lush green grass, and that has resulted in large populations of fall armyworms moving across lawns in a mass, devouring what seems to be every blade of grass.

Insecticides may need to be utilized to control large populations of Fall Armyworms from causing catastrophic damage to turf areas. Even if you have received an insect/grub application this year from Five Seasons Landscape, you may need to have an additional application of insecticide applied to control the infestation of this insect.

Fortunately, the Fall Armyworm only feeds on the upper portion(leaf) of the grass plant, so many times the plant will recover on its own. It is important to keep the crown of the grass plant moist during this recovery period by supplemental watering/irrigation. Also, an application of fertilizer can help the turf recover faster if there is adequate moisture, by providing nutrients to encourage new leaf growth. Your brown lawn may look bad for a couple of weeks, but in most cases the turf will recover with proper care.”

For more information, contact Five Seasons Landscape | www.fiveseasonslandscape.com
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Alert: Playground Area Closed Sat (6/12) for 48 hours!!!

Attention Homeowners and Friends.  The company that provides maintenance to our playground equipment and surface will be doing some repair work on Saturday, June 12th, to fill some holes that are in the surface.  This process will take between 36-48 hours to properly cure.  All areas of the park, outside of the playground equipment and safety surface will still be open for use.  Please help us let Pro-Techs people make these repairs properly by avoiding this area this weekend.  The area should be cleared by Monday am!!  And if you find yourself enjoying the park this weekend, please help us keep the foot traffic off this area.

Our apologies for the late notice but it is weather and availability dependent.

Thank you for your support and assistance.

VAT Board

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HOA Board

The HOA board for this year has been seated and the roles of president, treasurer and secretary have been filled.  The board consists of two members from last year serving the last year of their two year term and two new members that submitted their nomination form and signed the required documents prior to the January 1, 2021 deadline.

The HOA governing documents state that four board members constitute a quorum, so the board is able to conduct business.  There are currently three open board slots.  Article IV Section 7 of the handbook permits the board to fill these vacancies by majority vote.  Any member of the community interested in serving on the board can submit a contact form from the Thornappleassociation.org website or email the board at [email protected].  The board will accept applications through April 15, 2021 and plans to make selections on or before the next scheduled board meeting in May.

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Website Launched

Welcome to The Village at Thornapple community website!  We hope you will find the site informative and easy to navigate.  The site is filled with resources and useful information. Please take a few minutes to register.  Since registration is restricted to Village at Thornapple homeowners, access will be authorized once homeownership is verified.
If you have any questions please contact the Village at Thornapple Board at [email protected].

Thank you,

The Village at Thornapple Board

 

 

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