Dear Mount Hermon Community,
We hope you are doing well, staying healthy, and enjoying the good weather. The MHC Board (Ron Taylor, Cheri Andrews, Marie Demarest, and I) want to inform you of current and upcoming issues and events happening within our community.
Dates for 2021 – The pandemic has kept us from getting together this last year, but we want to keep in touch, keep in the know, and enjoy more activities as we curb the COVID-19 virus. There are 4 events we are planning this year (2021), so mark your calendar. Unfortunately, we will not be having the Fun Day in the summer because there are too may uncertainties with the pandemic right now.
- Thursday, April 29 – Spring MHC General Meeting (by Zoom). Sgt. Jason Dunn will share about safety and crime, Fire Chief Gray will share about fire safety, Bryan Hayes will share about Mount Hermon Association details including a report on the Roads, Trails, Bridges expenses for 2020. We sent a poll on having our Spring meeting on Thursday or Saturday through NextDoor and an email to the MHC list. Many could make either day, but It was pretty close between those who could only make one or the other or neither. The majority said Thursday worked best for them, so we will be holding it on Thursday. we will send another email the week before with the Zoom information.
- Sunday, May 9 – Chipping program for the community. After the storms a couple of months ago, MHA worked hard to clear the Roads, Trails, and Bridges and was able to catch some of the other debris, but not all. MHA is offering a chipping program with the final gathering day Sunday, May 9th. Chipping piles have to be on the road by May 9th! The tree service will only accept branches and shrubs 1” diameter to 4” diameter. No leaves, twigs or things that can go in a green bin (they can’t chip leaves), lay the branches in one direction…no criss crossing, preferably with all cut ends together. Chipping will be street by street over two weeks after May 9th and they will not return to a spot twice. Along with the chipping program, MHA will provide their yearly roadside vegetation maintenance. It will start the same day and will be in tandem with the chipping program. As a guideline they cut back 3 feet from the asphalt and 12 feet high. MHA will send out more details as it gets closer.
- Thursday, October 28 – Fall MHC General Meeting (in person). We will give more details later as to where it will be.
- Tuesday, December 7 – MHC Neighborhood Christmas Dinner. We are hoping that things will be better in December, so we’re planning on continuing this wonderful tradition.
CAL FIRE Zoom meeting – Another event you may be interested in is a Zoom meeting with CAL FIRE to answer questions about the Santa Cruz Lightning Complex Fire from the fall. There will be two Zoom meetings, but the one for our area will be Tuesday, March 16, 5:30pm-7:30pm. I’ve attached a PDF with details.
Area Representatives – We are so thankful to those who are Area Representatives throughout Mount Hermon. We have 10 areas that are represented by volunteers who inform their neighborhood of events that are happening in our community. They are identified by what streets are covered in their area. We have just added two new reps: Tim Galleher and Laurie Shipley. The other Area Reps are Diana Bond, Kimberly Miller, Aubrie & Adam Hensleigh, Reggie & Sherri Coates, Kerri Phibbs, Cheri Andrews, Ron Taylor, and Maria Demarest. You can communicate with them to know what’s going on as well as ask any of the MHC Board members ([email protected]). In our April Newsletter, we will identify the exact streets each Area Rep covers.
MHC Officers – If you would like to know more about the MHC Officers and the nominating process, visit the Board of Directors & By-Laws page at http://mounthermoncommunity.com/board-of-directors/
Roads, trails and bridges issues, plus property issues – If you have concerns in the area of roads, trails and bridges or property issues, call (831) 335-4466 and your message will get to the appropriate person. There has been changes in the MHA staff this last year, but Bryan Hayes, Dale Pollock, and Chris Dumonceaux will be handling most of the issues in Mount Hermon. For information on the Rules & Regulations for Mount Hermon and Guidelines for Enforcement of these, visit our site at http://mounthermoncommunity.com/category/regulations/
Emergency Evacuations – We are working on exits and options for residents to evacuate Mount Hermon in case of an emergency. We will detail this in our next Newsletter at the beginning of April.
Mapping of Mount Hermon homes through C.E.R.T. – We are working on identifying who lives at each address in Mount Hermon and if they have special needs. Older residents may need a buddy to help in emergencies. Laurie Shipley is a certified C.E.R.T representative and will be helping us accomplish this by the end of summer. We need everyone’s help and will give more details in our April Newsletter.
Concerns – There have been some concerns about Mountain Lions recently in our area. Be aware that these cats are around and do not leave a small animal outside at night. Check out the Puma Project for more information (http://www.santacruzpumas.org/). Cars going too fast throughout Mount Hermon continue to be a concern for many neighbors. Please, do not exceed 15 miles per hour and be alert to children and other cars.
Good Neighbors – It never hurts to remind each other of qualities that make a good neighbor. We want to have a community that is enjoyable to live in and builds relationships.
- They practice frequent positive communication.
- They want to build good relationships.
- They are quick to lend a helping hand.
- They look out for other’s property and possessions for possible theft or damage.
- They are involved and are responsive to unusual situations.
- They promote the well-being of the whole community.
- They are concerned for widows, elderly, and children.
- Parents are willing to provide a safe place for neighborhood children.
- They obey the law.
- They seek a win-win situation when problems arise.
We hope this has been helpful information. Stay tuned for the coming Newsletter at the beginning of April and our Spring meeting April 29. We want to make sure everyone in Mount Hermon receives these emails, so ask around and see if your neighbors on on this list. If not, have them contact [email protected].
Thanks,
Reggie Coates