Capes News – September 2021

From the Emergency Preparedness Committee

  • Grab-and-Go Bags – If you ordered a pre-packed Grab-and-Go Bag and haven’t yet picked yours up, make sure you contact the office to schedule your pick-up the next time you’re at The Capes. You never know when you might need that bag!
  • Don’t forget to sign up for Tillamook County emergency alert notifications (you will need to create a free account) and nixle alerts. When registered for these free services, you can receive text messages, emails and/or automated voice messages to alert you to emergency situations and hazards within Tillamook County. Depending on what you sign up for, you can also receive notifications of road closures, power outages, severe weather, missing persons, etc.
  • Depending on when the rainy season decides to start, we have at least another month (and possibly two) of “fire season” ahead of us. Please continue to be extremely cautious with all things flame-creating.
    • Do not leave burning barbecue grills unattended.
    • Fire pits or any other kind of ‘open burning’ is not allowed, nor are fireworks (including sparklers).
    • If you smoke, please make sure cigarette butts are completely extinguished by running them under water and disposing of them indoors or putting them in an ashtray rather than on the ground.
  • One of our EPC members recently received permission from the ARC to test a flame-retardant product on his townhome called FlameStop 2. This product is advertised to be a fire retardant and wood preservative when applied to the exterior of your home (cedar shingles). Based on the test application, the ARC observed no apparent change to the exterior appearance. Because it did not change the color or texture of the shingles, the use of the product does not require ARC approval. Since that initial application, another EPC member and townhome owner has applied it to her home as well. Information regarding FlameStop 2 can be found on the company’s website [https://www.flamestop.com/shop/fire-retardants/fire-retardant-spray-for-wood/] and a demonstration video created by the painter who applied the product to the townhomes can be seen here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VakTVQDLKg2o79d9_81i1q84Gqq_jREj/view?usp=sharing

Disclaimer: Please note that the ARC has not tested this product and has no opinion regarding the effectiveness of the product other than noting there was no apparent change to the exterior appearance where it was used. The use of this product is solely the responsibility of the owner. Any other similar product that a homeowner would like to use will require ARC approval.

Coyote Cautions

As you’ve doubtless heard multiple times by now, at least two coyote have been making themselves comfortable in and around The Capes. They’ve been spotted at the office, pretty much everywhere throughout the neighborhood and on the beach. Last weekend, a homeowner reported being stalked by a coyote while walking her dogs on the beach. The coyote approached from behind as they walked very near the water line and came within 30 feet of the dogs. The dogs in question here are much larger than the coyote (think medium-sized elephants) and ran it off with no trouble, but for those of you who walk your smaller dogs off-leash on the beach, you will want to keep a careful eye out!

Time to Clean-Up!

Our Fall Clean-Up has been scheduled for Friday, September 17th through Sunday, September 26th. Here are all of the details, if you don’t know how this works:

WHAT: Our spring and fall clean-ups are your opportunity to do a little yard work without having to worry about what to do with the debris. We will set up 5 collection areas throughout the neighborhood where you can discard your leftover plant material and other woody debris, and we’ll dispose of it for you.

WHEN: The clean up will run from Friday, September 17, 2021 through Sunday, September 26, 2021.

WHERE: The collection sites will be marked with orange stakes (or cones) as follows:

  • The front of Lot #115 on Fall Creek Drive. (East side of the road, just south of 475 Fall Creek Dr.)
  • The Meadow (where Capes Drive, Capes Loop and Capes Point all come together)
  • Tract F on Capes Drive (the northernmost point of Capes Drive, right at the point where the road makes a 180° turn)
  • Tract N on Promontory Lane (near where the observation platform used to be)
  • Fall Creek Drive near the tennis court

Here is a map for the more visual among us. The sites are marked with a big, red X:
https://www.thecapeshoa.org/documents/forms-and-information/Landscape/Clean%20Up%20Location%20Map.pdf

WHO: Josh Vance of His Glory Landscape Care and Home Maintenance will be organizing the collection sites and disposing of the debris. He is also available to assist with any yard maintenance or tree trimming that you would like (at your expense). Josh can be reached by telephone (503-812-5716) or email (hisglorylandscapecare@gmail.com)

THE FINE PRINT:

  1. All woody debris (trees and tree limbs) should be limited to NO LARGER THAN 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER. Anything larger is your responsibility and should not be taken to a clean up site.
  2. Please remember that this is for “clean up” and not “clearing”. If you are clearing or significantly thinning a vacant lot, disposal of large amounts of trees will be your responsibility. (Our budget will not handle the disposal of an entire forest. Sorry!) If you are not sure whether or not what you are planning to remove constitutes a “large amount of trees” then it probably does…but feel free to contact the office and make sure!
  3. Debris must be taken to one of the staked sites in order to be disposed of as part of the Clean-Up. If for some reason you need Josh to collect debris directly from your lot, it is your responsibility to contact him and let him know. If the debris meets the criteria for items #1 and 2 above (it’s less than 4 inches in diameter and is not a significant number of trees) he will still include it with the HOA disposal items, however, you will be billed for any time/labor charges incurred while collecting the debris from your property. Our contract/arrangement with Josh is for setting up and clearing the 5 collection areas only. Anything above and beyond that requested by a homeowner will need to be done at that homeowner’s expense.

Office Closures

The office will be closed on Monday, September 6, 2021 for the Labor Day holiday and will reopen as normal on Tuesday, September 7th at 8:00 am (ish). Additionally, please be advised that the office itself is not open to in-person traffic at this time. (Thank you very much, Delta Variant!) If you come by the office for something, please don’t be offended if I talk to you through the door – it’s easier than having to re-sanitize every time someone leaves!