November 2008 Newsletter

BRUSH PICK UP SCHEDULE

The next brush pick up by the City of Edinburg for our area should happen the week of November 10-14.  With any luck, they will be back on a 5-week schedule at that time.  If you can hold off putting out brush until just prior to those dates, the whole neighborhood will benefit.  We remind you that the City of Edinburg says, “solid waste collection services are not provided on any vacant lot(s). Brush must be placed on the front behind the curb or in the alley (if applicable) of each homeowner’s property for pickup during normal schedule”.  Please notice that it says brush is to be placed behind the curb, not in the street.  Those residents that do this are creating potential hazards not to mention an unattractive mess that detracts from the use and enjoyment of our property.

Chapter 95 of the City’s Code of Ordinances requires that property owners keep their property free of tall grass or high weeds, and unsightly, objectionable matter to accumulate and grow on said property to include the utility easement.

If you get this notification from the City of Edinburg, and do not correct the violation within seven (7) days, the City may chose to clean the property, in which case the expense of so doing and a $100 service charge plus interest at a rate of 10% per annum will be assessed against your property.  A complaint may also be filed against you in Municipal Court where you may be fined $200 each day the violation continues.  No one wants that, so please try and be considerate the next time you or your landscaping service starts clearing brush.  The entire neighborhood will thank you.

OUTGOING AND INCOMING BOARD MEMBERS

After serving our wonderful association for 3 years, Chris Franz (President) and Gil Peralez decided to spend more time focusing on their law practice.  They resigned and passed the torch to Sheila Dunagan (President) and Hollie Bishop (Vice President) September 16, 2008.  Later in September Jackie Billings joined the board.  Holly Mickelson (Secretary/Treasurer) and Sherry Dillard have agreed to continue serving on the board.  We want to thank EVERYONE who has served and is serving to keep our association active.  It takes all of us volunteering a little bit of our time to keep our neighborhood looking great.

ASSOCIATION DUES

Can you count yourself among the 64 homeowners that have already paid their dues?

If you aren’t sure, it’s easy to find out if you have or haven’t by calling your Treasurer, Holly Mickelson at 383-6366, or sending an e-mail to:
and the information will be sent to you.

At the Annual Board Meeting held June 9, 2008, your Board of Directors voted to change the accounting method of the Association from a fiscal year to a calendar year in order to help streamline our financial records.  Because of this change the annual association dues will be collected at the beginning of each calendar year.  To get this on track and to help alleviate any potential financial hardship to some property owners, we are offered you two options for payment.

The first option is to pay July 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008 and any past due amount, knowing that in January of 2009 you will be billed for an entire year.
Or
The second option is to pay July 1, 2008 - December 31, 2009 and any past due amount, knowing that you will not be billed again until January of 2010.

A pre-addressed return envelope was sent out with the dues statements on July 2, 2008 so that all you have to do is put a check for your share, payable to Lake James Recreational Facilities, Inc. in the envelope and either put a stamp on it and drop it in the mailbox or put on your walking shoes, get outside and stroll on over to 4111 Lebanon Lane and pay your Treasurer personally.  Stamping the envelope is easy - the walk is a bit harder, but look around, notice the beauty of our neighborhood, it just may be worth it!  If you’ve misplaced the envelope or prefer to mail in your dues, please make your check payable to: 
Lake James Recreational Facilities, Inc (LJRFI) and sent it:  c/o Holly Mickelson, Treasurer, 4111 Lebanon Lane, Edinburg, TX 78539-7718.

UPDATE ON LAWSUIT AGAINST LJRFI

In May of 2008, the Lake James Recreational Facilities Inc. (LJRFI) was sued by Mirta Zorilla, a homeowner in the neighboring Plazas del Lago Subdivision (Cause No. C-3065-05-C, 139th District Court, Hidalgo County).  It is our understanding that Dr. Zorilla wanted to build a fence on the sides of her property all the way down to Lake James.  Her neighborhood HOA, Plazas del Lago, apparently notified her that such a fence was against the Plazas del Lagos’ covenants and conditions.  Dr. Zorilla then filed a lawsuit against the Plazas del Lago HOA seeking to declare those covenants and conditions void.  That suit has been pending for three years.  Recently, Dr. Zorilla joined LJRFI as a Defendant, apparently because LJRFI owns the 30-foot strip of land surrounding the lake on which she wishes to build a fence.  We sent the lawsuit to our liability insurance carrier, which has hired a lawyer to represent us. We will attempt to get LJRFI dismissed as soon as possible and to recover our attorney’s fees if feasible.  If anyone wants a copy of the suit or wants more information, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail me.  --Sheila Dunagan

CLASSIFIED ADS

Do you have an upcoming garage sale that you want everyone to know about?  Do you have child that can baby-sit or walk a dog?  Do you know about an upcoming event in the Edinburg or McAllen schools that you think the neighborhood needs to know about?  Then send an e-mail to and we’ll do our best to include it in our next issue, or better yet, we will try and post it on the Lake James website http://www.lakejamesedinburgtexas.com.  All that’s needed is the particulars and contact information.

KUDOS CORNER

A special Kudos goes out to several residents of Lebanon Lane.  On Monday morning October 13th a group of residents cleaned up the mounds of 3-foot high weeds and grass left on the street in front of 4120 Lebanon after the yard had been cut.  Holly Mickelson, Sonny and Odilia Villarreal, Billy Dillard and a few of his son’s friends pitched in with rakes and brooms to clean up the mess for quick removal by the City that same morning.  They pulled over their own garbage bins and got an extra one from Joyce Vinita and within a short time the street was clear.  Good thing too as by early afternoon there was a downpour and had they not cleaned it up, all that debris could have caused the street to flood and storm drains to clog.  It was great to see folks caring enough to do something right away and not wait around for someone else to do “ it “ who knows when.

What a Great Neighborhood to live in!  I would like to thank everyone that helped me raise money for the Edinburg Ambassador Chorale.  Your help was awesome!  I hope those who purchased the tickets had the opportunity to attend the concert.  Not only did I sell tickets to the concert, but I received donations and was also lucky enough to have Mrs. Franz spray me with mosquito spray and Mr. Peralez for coming by my house the next day to purchase tickets.  I hope you went to the program.  Thanks so much for your support.  Brayden Dillard.

Congratulations to Holly Mickelson—Her photo of a sunset over Lake James was chosen to be displayed as one of the official photos in one of the Hidalgo County buildings!  Hers was one of twenty-three photos chosen.  WHAT A HUGE HONOR!! We are so proud of you!!!

SAVE THE DATE - CHRISTMAS BLOCK PARTY IS COMING!!!!

SUNDAY DECEMBER 14TH FROM 3 pm—7 pm is the date that has been scheduled for the annual block Christmas Party. We will be using the empty lot on James Street.  All food and drinks will be provided.  Just bring yourself, your family and your appetite.  Official invitations will be mailed out soon.  Sherry Dillard & Hollie Bishop are coordinating this event.  Thank you Sherry & Hollie!
If the weather does not corporate with us on the 14th we have set aside Sunday December 21st as the back up date.

HAPPENINGS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The first Thursday of the month the ladies of Lake James try to get together.  Sometimes it is at someone’s home other times we meet at a local restaurant.  Beth Wood was kind enough to host the ladies in October.  For the month of November the ladies are meeting at the home of Joyce Richards (3003 Lakeshore Drive).  This month even the men are invited!  We are planning to meet on Saturday November 8th from 4:00—6:00 pm.  They ask that you bring finger foods and then we’ll head out for a boat ride.  In keeping with the ladies luncheon tradition this will be an evening of adults only. 

Lake James is a BEAUTIFUL lake area.  While the lake is absolutely gorgeous, it is also in need of some TLC and debris removal.  We are discussing the best and most feasible way to approach this issue.  If you have any suggestions or ideas we would love to hear them.  If you would be interested in being part of a committee that works on this project PLEASE let us know.  We’d love to have you!

Your board meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 8:00 pm at 4118 Michael Blvd in Edinburg.  If you have any issues you would like the board to discuss, please email them to and we will do our best to place these items on the agenda and discuss them.

Part of the goal as an association is to help all of us get to know each other better.  In 2009 we hope to have a few more social events along with our annual Christmas party.  We were thinking about an ice cream social block party, a once a month Friday night adult beverage get together, possibly a Monday morning walking group.  All of these are just ideas, so if you have something you’d like to see please let us know.  We all live next door to each other so we might as well get to know one another.


GRAFFITI/VANDALISM/THEFT

In the past we have had some issues with vandalism and theft during the holiday season.  We would ask if everyone to keep their eyes open and report any suspicious activity to the Edinburg Police Department as soon as possible.  If we all look out for each other we will have a safer neighborhood.

FRONT ENTRANCE AT McCOLL & MICHAEL

As many of you have noticed we have been hard at work trying to improve the front entrance off of McColl onto Michael.  This project was started long ago when a few of our residents graciously volunteered their time and landscaping expertise.  If you have also noticed, we have had lighting that has managed to escape any vandalism for several months.  In the course of working to obtain a more updated look some changes have been made such as changing the color of the Lake James from black to blue and adding tile to the curbing.  The tile was on the agenda and approved at the annual meeting on June 9, 2008.  The budget was $300 but when the final receipts for materials added up to nearly $600, a couple of our residents graciously volunteered to do the installation, which allowed the project to be completed without further cost to the Association.

Unfortunately, we should have checked with the City of Edinburg before we started making changes.  We have learned the city is requiring us to remove the tile as they own and maintain all of the curbs and gutters.  They will not consider a special use permit and they consider the matter closed.  We should be receiving written confirmation from the city in the next few days that states their position and gives us a timeline to come into compliance with city ordinances.

As the current board president I apologize to those who worked so hard on this project and also for the cost it will take to remove the tile.  We will be contacting a few local contractors to obtain bids and hopefully be able to appease the city without too much additional expense.  If you have suggestions or would like to discuss this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at or give me a call at 457-5297 or drop me a note at 4118 Michael Blvd.  Thank you, Sheila Dunagan