The NDHA would like to extend our best wishes to all of you for a healthy and Happy New Year and a New Decade! We hope that you were able to enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends, and to get outside to enjoy some winter activities as well!
Our dedicated NDHA board volunteers were very busy over the past year, managing the annual litter, landscaping and maintenance obligations to the community. We will be using the “off-season” to work on the annual budget and lay the groundwork for any projects to be completed this coming spring and summer. Of particular importance to our members, we are pleased to announce that your annual fee will remain unchanged at $307 for 2020.
Your annual $307 fee contributes to much more than just the waterfall, grass cutting, shrub bed maintenance in summer, and snow clearing in the winter. It has funded countless other projects over the past 20 years that make Discovery Ridge stand out above all others. We feel it is important to let you know about some of the “extra” work completed in 2019.
The Xeriscape median project on Discovery Ridge Lane was finished, and we also had ULS complete the warranty replanting of the failed shrubs and perennials on the hill below the roundabout. Both looked fabulous this summer; the rain did help the plants to establish themselves very well. Mulch was added to medians along DR Blvd, DR Hill, DR Vista Point, the front entrance bed and around the entrance waterfall. The main waterline break was repaired, the irrigation system was up and running, and the waterfall operated smoothly. The entrance planters were full of gorgeous flowers for the summer and of course, for the holiday season, the NDHA transformed the seven planters to an evergreen foliage display and installed the annual tree lights for your enjoyment.
Behind the scenes work is always fairly constant. The NDHA entered into a new “Enhanced Landscape Management” (ELM) agreement with the City of Calgary, which had some significant changes from the “Landscape Management Agreement” (LMA) that was previously in place. This was an initiative of the City to try to streamline the various community agreements across the city.
Going forward, we will be engaging with the City and Alberta Transportation to ensure the new ring road area entrance meets the terms of our agreement (LOU) struck in 2017. You will find this document on our website under the “Legal” tab. Several other non-ring road items are under discussion and any news will be shared as negotiations are completed.
2020 NDHA invoicing will take place in February. Please note that approximately 200 households have yet to pay their 2019 fee of $307.00, which was due June 29th. If still outstanding, this fee will have an interest charge of 18% per annum applied as of December 31st. 2019. This is per the terms of your encumbrance on your title. Again, a big thank you to those who pay your fee on time. It allows us to continue this important work in the neighborhood, which we ALL benefit from.
On a different note, the NDHA would like to ask that drivers SLOW DOWN as they proceed through the community. Several deer have been hit and killed on our roadways this year; we have a lot of natural areas in our community and many animals seek shelter and food in them. They cross our roads and medians regularly and are often hard to see. So, please proceed with caution for the sake of pedestrians, the animals, your family, your car and our medians. Hills are often icy and even if animals are not present, we see a great deal of damage to the trees and shrubs from vehicles that lose control and hit the medians. Slow down. It’s not worth the risk.
We are always happy to hear from our NDHA members; please access our website at www.ndha.ca for NDHA News updates or to send an email – you can also call us at 403-237-9595.