New Announcements

  • Condolences to the family of Merle Day who died February 1, 2013. Merle was the only Homeower who had a "North Pointe coffee" at her home (2007), 2831 Kelly Drive.
  • Please welcome Roger & Annette McHaney who purchased 2810 Kelly Drive on January 31, 2013.
  • Please welcome Ronda Willard who will purchase 2843 Kelly Drive on October 17, 2012.
  • Condolences to Robert Mohr and family, 2846 Kelly Drive, on the death of Robert's wife, Carrie Mohr, in July 2012.
  • Please welcome Gary & Joan Adelhardtl who purchased 2016 North Pointe Drive on July 13, 2012.
  • Congratulations to Trisha Gott and Ben Trenary (2007 North Pointe Drive), on the birth of their first child, Charlie, in June 2012.
  • Please welcome Tim and Joyce O'Hara who purchased 2812 Kelly Drive on April 16, 2012.
  • Condolences to Clifford Jett, 2800 Kelly Drive, on the death of his wife Edith "Faye" Jett on May 9, 2012.
  • Congratulations to Mary and Matt Nigh, 2030 North Pointe Drive, on the birth of their first child, Grady, on April 9, 2012.
  • Congratulation to Christina and John Albrecht, 2004 North Pointe drive, on the birth of their first child, Anna Layne, on March 29, 2012.
  • Please welcome Ben Trenary and wife Trisha Gott who purchased 2007 North Pointe Drive on March 2, 2012.
  • Please welcome Bruce Cornelius, a psychiatrist at Fort Riley, who is renting 2808 Kelly Drive, fall 2011.
  • Please welcome Matt & Mary Nigh who are renting 2030 North Pointe Drive, summer 2011.
  • Please welcome Ardie Showalter who purchased 2826 Kelly Circle in summer 2011.
  • Please welcome Bev Holden who purchased 2828 Kelly Circle in the summer of 2011.
  • Condolences to Elberta Yunk, 2013 North Pointe, and family on the death of her husband Jake, November 3, 2011.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Seasonal Hints & Vacation Hints

SEASONAL HINTS for the NPHOA Newsletter
(by Carl Wilson, updated April 16, 2009)

FALL: 1. Disconnect your hose from the outside house faucet so that the faucet drains. Drain your hose so that water in the hose does not freeze and rupture your hose.
2. Slope the dirt so that water drains away from your basement walls. If moisture or water seeps down your basement walls, the wet soil will compact and significant settling can occur, moisture will build up water pressure and crack your foundation walls. A bag of topsoil at Home Depot costs only $1.39.
3. If you notice that fall leaves are packed on your grass, please rake up the leaves so your grass does not die. We plan to have the contractor bag the leaves (with mowers) at least once, but they may miss some or be late.
4. Spray around your house perimeter for ants, bugs, etc. They like to come in the house when the cold weather arrives.

WINTER: 1. Change furnace filters at least once every 3 months.
2. If possible, before the snow plows get to you, sweep or scrape the snow away from your garage door and the divide between driveways so that the snow plows do not damage your landscaping, etc.
3. If you notice that a neighbor may have forgotten to close his/her garage door, give them a call and ask if they have forgotten.
4. Have someone check your gutters for leaves and debris. Leaves can cause snow and ice to back up and damage your shingles. If the leaves wash down your drain, the drain tube might plug up.
5. HELP! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! If you just want someone to come and help you get up, phone the Riley County Ambulance Service at 539-3535. This number is non-emergency, and tell them what you need. They will send a couple of guys over to get you up and there is no charge. If you call 911, you will probably get 3 responders: an ambulance, a fire truck and the police.
6. Garage door won’t close. Carl has some lithium-based grease to put on the overhead screw. Your garage door is probably about 10 years old now, and the grease gets dried up and sticky enough that the sensor thinks the door has hit an object (say your car, or a person), and reverses itself back up. Call Carl on his cell phone (341-3013 – a local call). You might be able to get the door down by pulling on the door while signaling it to close with the remote. But call Carl (preferably on his cell phone – 341-3013) and he can easily apply some grease, and maybe save you a $50 service call.


SPRING: 1. Turning on your A/C. If the outside fan on your A/C unit just buzzes and doesn’t start up, get a screwdriver (or something long & thin) and give it a push. Maybe rotate the fan blade 2 or 3 turns. The fan should start up fine during the rest of the cooling season. The bearings are self-lubricating when running, but sometimes “freeze up” during long periods (winter) of not being used.
2. If your A/C does not seem to be cooling well, it might need some more freon. Check the air temperature coming from one of your registers. It should read approximately 60F.
3. Spray (kill) all your grass within one foot of your patio fences, house, etc. so that the mowers and weed-whips do not damage your property. Also spray for bindweed etc. within 5 feet of your house.
4. Fireplace Pilot Light. I always turn off the pilot light in my fireplace during the summer. This saves about $2.75/month on gas plus the extra cooling needed (feel the heat on the glass face). This could also apply to the pilot light in your furnace if it stays on all summer (some are auto-ignition).

SUMMER: 1. The landscaping in the small slot between the driveways is the joint responsibility of the 2 Homeowners.
2. House painting. Remember that your house needs to be painted at least once every 7 years, whether it looks like it is needed or not. If you leave it until it shows (starting to peel, etc.), then you will need it scraped, primer coated and painted. Please let the Association know (for our records) when you have painted (include a note with your dues payment).
3. Going on vacation? Please let a board member know if you will be gone on vacation and leave a key with a neighbor or board member. If you will be gone over a month, you might save some money by having some services shut off (water meter –no charge to turn off or on; Cox TV – the turn-on charge is usually a lot less than one month’s service, you might turn off your hot water heater (or some have a vacation setting. Set your thermostat appropriately: say put the A/C on 85F or 90F in summer; your heater on about 55F in winter.
4. Fireplace? I always turn off the pilot light in my fireplace during the summer. It reduces A/C costs.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Coffees and Social Activities

We would like to list any social activities that are open to all Homeowners. These might be weekly or daily coffees, or other activities. Please contact Paulette or Carl to get these social activities listed.
1. North Pointe Coffee - At Burger King West on Mondays at 1:30 PM. Questions? Contact Jean Peterson. Everyone welcome.

Volunteers

North Pointe needs volunteers for several purposes.
1. Newsletter Distribution (contact Paulette Schaller)
2. Gardening Committee (we need a contact person and volunteers). Past volunteers include Ryan Green, Nancy Peterson, Arlene Barrett and others. We need a group to keep the Traffic Circle looking good.
3. Manhattan Day (the 1st Saturday in June). Organizer Jean Akin (776-6037)
Volunteers: Joan Spiker, Loleta Morton, Arlene Barrett. Are there any others?
4. Dog Walking: Leigh Murray (2852 Kelly Drive, phone 575-649-7879) has volunteered to walk dogs in the past.
5. Coffee: Would someone like to organize a Saturday morning coffee?
6 Welcoming Committee. Jean Akin (776-6037) and Loleta Morton invite you to join them in welcoming newcomers to North Pointe (visitation and cookies, etc.).
7. Are there some volunteers who would be available to help on very light activities such as changing light bulbs, changing batteries in fire alarms, shutting down (in Spring) and starting up (in Fall) the gas fireplaces, etc.?

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Miscellaneous Help for Residents

1. Aaron Schwabauser (341-5077) is a young fireman who is willing to do miscellaneous work for $20/hour. On Saturday (Oct. 30th) he cleaned LeRoy & Jo Johnson's (2847 Kelly Drive) dryer vents (and maybe raked leaves and cleaned up Eydie Foltz's mother's yard). He is willing to do other "non-professional" work including some painting. Johnson's have had him back to do other work.
2. Bill Price (537-9014), also at $20/hour, is retired, but has done work around North Pointe for several years. His wife says that he has semi-retired again and may not want to do certain work.
3. Harold Randa (565-0331), also at $20/hour, is also retired and does light landscaping and maybe some touch-up painting. Dolly Anderson has used him quite a bit.
4. Paulette Schaller hired a professional contractor (Brad Lyons, phone 447-1000) to install soffit vents, turtle roof vents, a side gable vent, and replacement of her back door assembly. She was very pleased with his work (prompt and excellent workmanship) and would recommend him to anyone.
Carl Wilson (341-3013). Posted Nov. 3 & 4, 2009.
5. Doug Bodily (phone 313-5298) is a young full-time painter and would be glad to give you a quote. He comes highly recommended by a friend of Carl Wilson.
6. Chris Brock ("Purple Pride", phone 410-4839) specializes in Landscaping and comes highly recommended by Paul & Eydie Foltz. He did a wonderful job on and around their patio (brought in stone, metal trim, etc.). And very inexpensive too.
6. Marianne Dubois, 2832 Kelly Circle, highly recommends Jeremy Sutton (341-8767), a fire-fighter, for painting (interior & exterior). Jeremy has painted 9 years for Schultz Construction. Posted September 23, 2010.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Description of North Pointe Townhomes

North Pointe Townhomes, a residential community featuring a common architectural style, is conveniently located on the NW corner of Kimball and Browning Avenues in Manhattan, Kansas.

There are 84 Townhomes (42 side-by-side duplexes) built from 1994 to 1998 and located on two internal streets (North Pointe Drive and Kelly Drive) on 13.6 acres. Layouts range from a 2 bed-room with one bath and a single car garage Townhome on a cement slab to a four-bedroom, 2-1/2 bath, with both a full basement and a second story, and a 2-car garage.
The Planned Unit Development (PUD) is governed by the North Pointe Homeowners Association which elects a five-member Board of Directors to conduct Association business. Monthly homeowner's dues cover the cost of lawn care (mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, etc.), snow plowing and improvements to the common area. For more information, write North Pointe HOA, Box 297, Manhattan, KS 66505-0297. An internal landscaped traffic circle helps to manage traffic flow and is shown in the photo. Click on photo to enlarge. Posted by Carl Wilson, Nov. 2009.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Creation of North Pointe Web Site

This is the opening post for the North Pointe Web Site