JULY 2009 RIVERWOOD ESTATES SUMMER NEWSLETTER THE RWE TRUSTEES HAVE SEVERAL TOPICS THAT WE NEED TO SHARE WITH OUR HOMEOWNERS. 1. PREVENTION OF CRIME IN RIVERWOOD ESTATES
2. NEW PROCEDURES FOR OVERNIGHT PARKING/OTHER VIOLATIONS
3. HAZELWOOD STREET WORK PROGRAM
4. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
1. CRIME IN RIVERWOOD ESTATES
The Trustees and the Neighborhood Watch Program meet quarterly with the Hazelwood Police and Code Enforcement Personnel to discuss crime prevention in RWE. In addition, our Councilperson, Mary Singleton, notifies us when an incident or crime occurs in Ward 8.
We have had multiple car and home break-ins throughout RWE, but most have been incidents of cars parked on the street and unlocked. These types of crime are hard to prevent and are a high target for thieves. The NHW program is set up to help prevent these types of crimes by being alert to unidentified vehicles in the area, unknown persons loitering in your area. An easy way to prevent crime is to keep your garage door closed. The police stated that when they patrol the area late at night many garage doors are left open allowing persons to enter your home or steal from your car and garage. Cars left on the street, unlocked in driveway, garage doors left open, gives criminals an objective to wander our streets looking for an easy way to steal. If we correct these simple habits we can deter crime by limiting what brings these criminals into our community If we make it easy for them they will continue to remain in RWE looking for fast targets. These are easy crimes to prevent if everyone would: Lock your cark, park in driveway and keep your garage door closed. Also, do not leave valuables in plain sight in your cars, and you should take your garage door opener inside with you. Once someone has broken into your car, they can then open your garage and get inside your house. Be alert and look out for anything out of the ordinary, like unknown vehicles or persons. Call the police any time you are concerned. They would rather be called even if it is not necessary than to be called when a crime occurs. Please participate in the RWE Neighborhood Watch Program. We meet about once every three months. The Hazelwood Police Department participates in our program,and this is a means to prevent crime in our area. If you wish to join our efforts, please call the RWE Coordinator Bill Blacksher 831-0757 or Bill Hammerly 831-1346 2. NEW PROCEDURES FOR OVERNIGHT PARKING/OTHER VIOLATIONS
New procedures for our overnight parking program in RWE were instituted some time ago and have been successful. Once a week we have someone who drives all the RWE streets, at random times during the night. If a car is parked in the street (12am through 6am) a notice is left on the car and is recorded. After three notices on any vehicle parked at that address, it is logged in and a first letter is mailed notifying the homeowner of the date of occurrence, type of car and license plate number. If no action is taken by homeowner, overnight parking is continued, the trustees have not been contacted by the homeowner, a second letter is sent. If overnight parking continues a third and final letter is sent with a notice that our attorney will follow up (with a charge of $100.00 for the attorney fees). We always hope that this will not be necessary but when we arrive at this point a total of at least 9 parking infractions have occurred. Again, this is a huge job for the trustees and many hours are spent on this one violation which can increase the opportunity for crime. One concern we are facing is that some homeowners call and state that the cars listed in front of their homes are not their cars or their guests' cars. When this concern arises, we will now check license plates at a cost of $40.00 per vehicle. If the vehicle does belong to the homeowner we will forward this charge to them. If it is not the homeowners we will attempt to contact the car’s owner and bill them. If you have neighbor’s parking overnight in front of your home please inform them that they should refrain from parking there. This is a costly procedure for the Riverwood Homeowner’s Association but your trustees are charged with enforcing the by laws as long as they exist. THESE PROCEDURES WILL ALSO BE IN PLACE FOR OTHER VIOLATIONS I.E. BOATS, CAMPERS, ETC. PLEASE HELP US WITH OVERNIGHT PARKING AS THIS IS A SOURCE OF CRIME AND IS AN EXPENSE FOR OUR ASSOCIATION. 3. HAZELWOOD STREET WORK AND PROGRAM
As you know, Hazelwood has started work on the streets in the front part of RWE. Hopefully, by the end of the year all side streets will be completed and Riverwood Estates Blvd. work will follow. Street parking will be enforced on all streets except the area where work is occurring. This may be an inconvenience for homeowners but a necessary repair. PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH THE WORKERS. Our Ward 8 Councilperson, Mary Singleton, asked that we share a message from her to all our homeowners “I would love to keep you all informed about what is going on in the City of Hazelwood. I send out an e-newsletter from time to time that contains information that may interest you. If you would like to receive my e-newsletter please e-mail me at MGSINGLETON@HAZELWOODMO.ORG 4. MISCELLANEOUS
The trustees would like volunteers for some projects that occur from time to time. Example, judging the Christmas light contest, type up newsletter, etc. With 462 homes and only 3 trustees the workload is very heavy. Remember this is your community and without constant attention RWE would not remain the great community that it is now. Common ground is one of our major expenses --grass cutting maintenance, upkeep on our entrances and monuments, and care of cul-de-sacs' make up the bulk of these expenses. HAZELWOOD CODE ENFORCEMENT does help us with violations such as grass not being cut and trimmed, homes not being maintained. ONE REMINDER, AND THIS IS A HAZELWOOD ORDIANCE , IS TO HAVE YOUR HOUSE NUMBER ON THE FRONT OF YOUR HOME SO AS IT CAN BE SEEN BY THE FIRE, POLICE AND OTHER EMERGENCY VEHICLES. THEY SHOULD BE A MINIMUN OF 4 INCHES TALL AND A MINIMUM OF THREE (3) FEET ABOVE THE GROUND AND VISISBLE FROM THE STREET. It is difficult to determine an address from the street, especially in the dark. Hazelwood Code Enforcement will write tickets for this infraction. Please refrain from parking in a cul-de-sac as this is a hindrance to trash/recycle/mail and other delivery vehicles. The trustees are notified about the difficulty these companies are dealing with in making their services due to vehicles in our cul-de-sacs. PLEASE CONTACT A TRUSTEE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WE HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT SUMMER! BOARD OF TRUSTEES BARBARA STOGSDILL DONALD KUSTERER JERRY WEISS | 
