City Council and the Arbor Day Tree Sale

The Highland City Open Space Steering Committee has been reviewing all 18 open space neighborhoods and will be reviewing our 3 developments soon. The first one to be reviewed will be Chamberry Fields this Tuesday, April 19th. The purpose of this City Council review is to lift the moratorium on participation in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement (OSMA). What does this mean? It means that those backing unimproved open space can participate in the OSMA by improving the area adjacent to their property. This area will still remain city property. This agreement will allow homeowners to eliminate the "natural vegetation (weeds)" in open space adjacent to their property that has been permitted in the Highland City Development Code for Open Space Developments. Highland Hills and Mercer Hollow will be reviewed by the Open Space Steering Committee sometime in May. After the committee has reviewed the neighborhoods, their recommendations will go to City Council for their approval of lifting the moratorium Watch for more information to follow soon.

Prior to the Open Space Steering Committee review, there will be an opportunity for you to meet with your representative(s). We will need signatures from as many residents as possible, whether or not you are eligible to participate in the OSMA, as to whether or not you support the OSMA. Also, we will need to know who is interested in participating if you are eligible.

We would also like to send our sincere appreciation and deep gratitude to Carol K. who has worked tirelessly on the City's Open Space Committee to help improve our open spaces. Thank you Carol and we wish you the best in your relocation! For those in Highland Hills, any questions or concerns can be redirected to Kristi V. or Doug C. on the Open Space Committee at this time until a new Open Space Committee volunteer representative is appointed.

Last, but certainly not least, the city is again having their annual Arbor Day Tree Sale! You can check out the city website for trees that will be available for purchase. The sale will take place Saturday, April 30th, starting at 8:00 a.m. Happy Arbor Day!

Highland City Open Space Steering Committee

Last year Mayor Ritchie began an Open Space Steering Committee to research and propose solutions for individual open space neighborhoods. The committee has been working hard at creating and revising the Open Space Maintenance Agreement and has begun reviewing each of the 18 open space developments. Many issues and concerns have been addressed which include: homeowner improvements to immediate adjacent open space (Open Space Maintenance Agreement), trails, fencing, orphaned open space parcels, parks, and many other unique and individual concerns. Over the next few months these neighborhoods will be contacted individually and the committee is requesting comments/concerns and whether or not homeowners will be interested in utilizing the new Open Space Maintenance Agreement. The Open Space Maintenance Agreement allows residents to improve adjacent open space which has previously been designated as "natural vegetation". Many people call this "natural vegetation" weeds! The Open Space Maintenance Agreement does not pertain to property previously improved such as grassed open space and grassed park areas.

The Open Space Steering Committee is requesting your help. Please have a list of concerns/comments ready for your committee representative. Also, if you are interested in participating in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement, please let your committee representative know. While comments and concerns will be reviewed, the primary purpose of this neighborhood review is to evaluate the interest/participation in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement. Your Open Space Steering Committee representatives are: Highland Hills-Carol Kounanis, Mercer Hollow-Doug Cunningham, Chamberry Fields-Kristi Vick. You can send any comments/concerns to openspace@q.com and the information will be forwarded onto your representative or you can contact them directly.

Detention Basin Sod

This week work will begin to prepare the ground in the detention basin (Chamberry Park) for sod. The ground will be raked, low spots regraded, and herbicide sprayed to kill existing weeds. This will also occur on the east dirt slope of the Highland Hills Ithica Playground. Once the ground has been prepared, sod will be laid. Please remember to stay off the sod for 2 weeks. After that, it's all game!

Detention Basin Sod Coming Soon!

Tonight, Tuesday, July 20th, the Highland City Council approved funding to install sod in the detention basin, (Chamberry Park). Sod will be coming soon! Remember that you will need to stay off of it for two weeks, but after that, you can run at your heart's content! Just remember, it's not for motorized vehicles or bycicles (of course, sleds are o.k. and oh, so much fun in the snow!)

Detention Basin

The previous city council budget session allowed for funding of the detention basin. Highland City Council will be reviewing and approving the action item 9.3 on the agenda for sodding of the detention basin/Chamberry Park on Tuesday, July 20th. The action items are tentatively scheduled for 9:40, however, City Council meetings don't always follow this time well. You can email your city councilmen/councilwoman and encourage them to support this action item. You can also show your support by attending the meeting. You can find each city councilperson's email address at http://www.highlandcity.org/cgi-bin/hc/elected_officials.html.

Detention Basin - Come Show Your Support!

Highland City is holding a special session tomorrow, Tuesday, June 22nd, to consider the city budget for next year. It will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the Highland City building. One of the budget items will be to address sod in the detention basin (Chamberry Park), piping the open drainage system and canal behind the Ithica Park playground, and leveling/covering the dirt hill behind the playground. Please come and show your support for funding these important items so that the work that was started can be completed!

Open Space Steering Committee Meeting Tonight

Tonight, Monday, June 21st there will be another Open Space Steering Committee Meeting at the Highland City Building. From 6:00-7:30 will be presentations on each of the 18 open space developments. Information has been collected from each of the 18 neighborhoods by their representatives. There will be a public comment portion at the end of the meeting. This is a great time to make your voice heard! See you then!