Home > General > Monthly Update > December Recap, January Outlook

Second in the series of monthly postings with “things that happened last month” along with “things to know about the coming month.”  See last month’s installment, if you missed it.

As usual, I like to start with the “look forward”…

January Outlook

Trash Talk: Bulk Trash and Holiday Schedule

First I have to confess that I messed up the notice for the December holiday schedule.  According to the web page I found after I posted the notice, no holiday schedule for Christmas or New Year’s!  For the first week of January, regular trash bin pickup on Monday January 2, and regular recycle bin pickup on Thursday January 5.

Bulk trash is the week of the second Monday, which is January 9.  Avondale Public Works crews will pick up your bulk trash some time Monday through Friday, 1/9 thru 1/13 — usually later in the week.

Note however that the week of Martin Luther King Jr holiday on January 16, 2017 does put us on a holiday schedule, according to this Avondale web pageFor this week, trash bin pickup on Tuesday January 17, and recycle bin pickup on Friday January 20.

Rio Crossing Block Watch Presentation

Everyone is invited to the community-wide presentation by the Avondale Police Department on their Block Watch program.  This will be held Tuesday, January 10, starting at 7pm, and will be in the Mohave Room at the Avondale Civic Center.  See this announcement for more details.

There is also a briefing planned at the HOA meeting on January 19, but the HOA Board hasn’t yet made a formal announcement, and they typically permit only homeowners to attend the meetings, which prevents renting residents from attending.

New Management Company

Every homeowner should have received the announcement letter from AAM, the new management company hired by the Rio Crossing Homeowner Association Board of Directors.    If you are a homeowner and didn’t get the letter from AAM, send me an Email and I’ll send you a copy and put you in touch with the right person there.  If you are a non-owner/rental resident, you shouldn’t receive anything from AAM — it should go to your landlord instead.

If you or your mortgage company already sent your first quarter assessment payment to the old address — don’t worry, it should be forwarded to the new company automatically.  But be sure to pass along the information to your mortgage company, if they pay your assessments out of escrow, so that payments for subsequent quarters go to the right place.

I’m not really sure what we’ll see different from this management company, but they do seem to have a more robust web site, as well as seeming to be more proactive in coming out to the community.  If you happen to have any direct interaction with them, I’d love to hear about it.

Regular January Board Meeting

There is a regularly-scheduled HOA Board Meeting on January 19, 2017.  I haven’t seen an official notice, but for the moment I’d assume a start time of 7pm, and hopefully the same location as recent meetings: Barbara B. Robey Elementary in the Media Room, 5340 N Wigwam Creek Blvd,  Litchfield Park, AZ 85340.  If any of these change, I’ll post something here.

December Recap

Crime Update

Looking at the LexisNexis Community Crime Map for our area, it looks like the big spurt of crime reports (10 in November) is back down to our usual 3-4 reports for December.  (Select the dates 12/1/2016 to 12/31/2016, and under the Event tab, click the Select All at the bottom.) There were 3 “criminal damage” reports spanning December dates.

There was some discussion on NextDoor.com about people climbing over the wall into the Wigwam Creek South subdivision at the green belt just west of Roma and 124th.  Some suggestions were made about modifying the wall, but apparently the wall is technically on Wigwam Creek South’s property, so it’s not our wall to modify.  There was some speculation that the people crossing back and forth there might be “up to no good”, but we don’t have any definitive evidence on that – yet.

Note: Did you know that Wigwam Creek South and the area just to the west of Rio Crossing is all unincorporated Maricopa County property?  Litchfield Park doesn’t actually start until you get west of Dysart.

Signs Up!

Speed Limit signs went up at both entrances in early December, and later in the month No Outlet signs went up at the entrances to all the cul-de-sacs.  Along with the No Outlet signs, the Avondale streets crew also replaced the street name signs with the slightly larger 12 inch high signs which are their new standard format.  I think they’re a little easier to read, and hopefully the No Outlet signs will reduce the occasional “lost visitor” driving down each cul-de-sac just trying to get out of here.

Board Chooses New Landscape Company to Begin in February

In the December board meeting, the finalists who responded to the landscaping RFP (Request for Proposals) were interviewed, and a new company selected.  The current landscape company, Apache Scapes, should continue through January, and the new company, Somerset Landscaping, will start in February.

Trash Bins

In the last week of December I’ve seen the concrete pads being poured for the 4 trash bins being installed around the neighborhood.  Once the pads cure (which the rain isn’t helping, I’m sure), we should see the bins installed.  The board started this project to help reduce trash around the neighborhood.

Street Light Repairs

It’s looking a little brighter around the neighborhood, and not just because of the festive holiday lights — which by themselves look marvelous!  But the Avondale street light crew has responded to all of my requests to repair burnt out street lights in the neighborhood.

If you see any street light not working, or blinking constantly (usually an indication that it’s about to go out all the way), you can either Email me or feel free to report it yourself using the My Avondale app.  If you’re going to submit the report with the app, I recommend taking a picture of the identification number on the front of the light pole to include in the report.

The city was behind in fixing lights due to shortage of supplies, after their contract with their supplier ran out.  In talking with supervisor Bennie, he says they’ve got a new contract and ready access to new supplies, and their goal is to respond to any reported street light outage within a week at the most.

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