Midwest City Neighborhood Coord.

We hope that everyone has their electricity on and has survived the ice storm without too much damage to their property.

OEHA is not responsible for the cleanup or removal of trees planted on private property belonging to individual homeowners.  The Oakwood East Homeowners Association will be very busy arranging for the removal of felled trees on the common areas. The areas included in the Oakwood East Addition common areas are the ponds, parks, our landscaped street islands and entrances.

We can recommend some tree removal services we have used in the past and have been very satisfied with.  You will be responsible for payment of their fees if you choose to use them.

Williams & Sons Lawn and Tree Service   732-2681

What are watershed lakes?

Watershed lakes, or flood control ponds, dot the Oklahoma landscape from border to border. But some anglers mistakenly believe that the public is entitled access to these ponds, which can create conflicts between landowners and envious anglers.

Because they are on private land, these flood control ponds are not open to public access. Most watershed reservoirs were, and still are, built with technical assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Primarily constructed to prevent flooding, these mini-reservoirs allow for increased agriculture and other land use opportunities downstream. Fisheries development is not a primary consideration when building or planning a flood control pond and, if there happens to be good fishing in one of these ponds, it is because the landowner has taken efforts to make it happen.

Permission to fish one of these ponds is entirely at the landowner’s discretion. If asked, many will allow responsible anglers to spend a day fishing their pond, but always ask first.

19 May 2006 - Beaver Problem

Background

Destruction of our trees around the pond areas has been costly. We are experiencing even more Beavers coming across 15th street north of the spillway (you've probably noticed all the trees damaged in that area too).

Solution

Midwest City has done some trapping, but not sufficient to protect our property. I have contacted a Licensed Federal Trapper that has agreed to help us get some relief from these destructive pests.

He has given me a week to notify all residents backed up to the pond area, which I am doing with this flyer. He may trap, or he may shoot the beavers. There is no other way to be rid of them. Either way, once he starts he does not want any interference from our homeowners. He is doing this as a favor to us, but wanted me to remind you that touching him or his equipment is a "Federal Offense".

He has informed me that the beavers will come under your fences and take out your trees also. He suggested you wrap them with heavy wire.

I do not have a date when he'll come, he will just work it into his schedule.

Please pass this information on. Any questions, please call me at 769-4966.

Grace Sullivan, President
Oakwood East Homeowners Association

15 May 2006 - No Trespassers

A Note from the OEHA President:

I found recorded in one of our 1994 Minutes of a Director’s Meeting, the problem of trespassing at our common areas. At that time there were about 300 homes. Stickers/decals for resident vehicles were discussed and rejected.

This problem continues to afflict the residents of Oakwood East. Many residents are concerned about who is using our facilities and the safety of our children. Other residents say they pay $145.00 a year to use the common areas and no one should fish, use the play ground or the path free. Many residents don’t even use the pond/play ground areas and still pay their assessments with no complaint. Maintenance of the entrances is also included in the assessments of course, and residents do appreciate and enjoy their refurbishment as they enter and leave our addition.

Vehicle “stickers/decals” or a resident card can’t work because that only identifies our residents. We want those who are not our guests to be warned in writing – then we have legal recourse. The police will not help us. A resident of Oakwood East came up with the idea of writing down tag numbers and getting them printed so we know who is using our facilities. The police have warned us not to confront people using the common areas because confrontation can become dangerous. Some of the letters I’ve received in response bear that out. Over 50 letters have been sent out telling trespassers not to return unless they are willing to pay. Only 7 have been guest, so we’re making progress to keep our park safe and private. We’ve only been doing this for 4 weeks and our residents wholeheartedly support our efforts.

Some guests have been sent letters, but most residents understand and have been friendly when calling to give me their guest’s tag numbers. There are mistakes made, so I apologize for any agitation. You can help us accommodate your guest(s) that accompany you to our park and prevent us sending them a trespassing letter by calling or e-mailing their tag number to me if their vehicle is used.

Grace Sullivan, President

13 April 2006 - Annual Garage Sale

Our community garage sale will be held May 4, 5, 6 & 7, 2006. You can get a 4-day permit from the city, and use the permit any or all of the 4 days. The permit is purchased from the Water Department at City Hall. We do allow the signs to be put in your front lawn during this time. We DO NOT allow signs (even garage sales) to be put on our common areas or entrances.

10 April 2006 - Non-Residents  down at the pond

In 1994, the minutes from one of the OEHA Board of Director meetings, they discussed the issue of trespassers down at the ponds, and also discussed vehicle decals for our residents. They decided this was not a satisfactory remedy, so for years the residents have tried to come up with ideas to keep our facilities private that we are paying for. Recently there was an idea suggested to take the tag numbers of vehicles, confirm their address and send letters to the non-resident violators. After much discussion the Board agreed to try this in lieu of hiring security, putting up gates, and the hassle of decals. After all, we don't want to penalize our residents.

This proposal was taken to our attorney, and he helped us word the letter that explains our facilities cannot handle the East Oklahoma County public and we're not public funded. Our residents pay $145.00 a year, and approximately 75% of that goes to the Park facilities. So, our letter tells them that if they use our facility without being accompanied by a resident, a $50.00 usage fee for a return visit may be imposed.

These vehicle tag checks are revealing that 2/3s of the people parked at the ponds don't live in Oakwood East. A few glitches are being encountered, but when people call and explain that the non-resident was being properly accompanied by a resident - we adjust the records accordingly.

The reason we no longer walk up and ask people if they are residents is because it became confrontational and the police recommended we no longer do that because it is to dangerous in today's climate. Under the confrontational mode, the people would not leave the premises anyway and often returned. The letter is our written documentation that they are trespassers and have been warned.

OEHA