Homeowners’ Association News
The NDHA would like to extend our best wishes to all of you for a Healthy and Happy 2021! Although celebrations were no doubt different this year, and visits were likely done via video, we hope that you were able to enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends. We are sure that many of you are making the best of it and exploring new things to do outside, while embracing the winter wonderland we have right outside our door.
The dedicated NDHA board volunteers were busy over the past year managing the annual landscaping and maintenance obligations to the community. The NDHA also takes on responsibility for various other enhancements, including the holiday lights in the trees at the entrance and near the recreation centre, the foliage displays in the planters by the roundabout, the graphic wraps on our garbage bins and the “doggy-doo” bag dispensers scattered throughout the community. We will be using the winter 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, the NDHA is currently working with Alberta Transportation and the City of Calgary to have up to 30 trees replanted in the TUC median and boulevards as you enter Discovery Ridge. The timeline for planting is late spring or early summer this year. These trees are to replace the original ones that were removed for the SWCRR construction work. As many of you recall, in 2017 the NDHA fought hard to secure an LOU agreement with the City and Province to supply and install replacement trees once the ring road work was completed. The LOU document is on our website under the “Legal” tab if you would like to read it. The required Ministerial Consent application is now underway, with the intention to have it approved before spring. We are looking forward to seeing trees in this area once again!
2021 NDHA invoicing will take place in February. We are pleased to announce that your annual fee will remain unchanged at $307 for 2021. Please note that several households have yet to pay their 2020 fee, which was due June 29th. These outstanding fees will have an interest charge of 18% per annum applied effective December 31st 2020, per the terms of the 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 advise our members that the holiday light display endured several acts of vandalism this year, both at the roundabout as well as near the leisure rink. Multiple light strings were deliberately cut, causing whole sections of the display to go dark. Other strings were unplugged, and some connections were tampered with, leaving them in a position to cause electric shock. This vandalism is disappointing and is the first we have ever had. Earlier this year we had someone take it upon themselves to cut off the branches of several trees next to the sidewalk on Discovery Ridge Hill. City of Calgary Parks staff or their official contractors are the only ones who can prune community trees, and True North Christmas Lights personnel or NDHA board members are the only ones who should be touching the light displays. There has been an uptick in illegal activity in our normally quiet neighborhood over the past several months. We all need to elevate our watchfulness. Please do not hesitate to call the police if you see nefarious activity in any part of the neighborhood – your eyes are our main protection!
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.