Phone: 555-555-5555
Fax: 555-555-5555
E-mail: someone@example.com

Primary Business Address
Your Address Line 2
Your Address Line 3
Your Address Lne 4

	Vol. 4, No. 1					January 2007

It Was a Challenging Year

The Advocate

Page 8

		

Volume 7, Number 2

May 2012   

Cassie Property
Owners
Association
P. O. Box 34
Buchanan Dam, 
TX 
78609

cassiepoa@cassiepoa.org

POA Board Members
 President: 
    Terence Willis
 First Vice President: 
    Col. Edward Klaus (Ret.)
 Second Vice President:
    Janie Howard
 Secretary:
   Sue Hosterman
 Treasurer: 
   Billy Ashley
 Board Members:
    Merrill Stevens
    Ronald Petrick
    Gerald Marx
    Elgin Killebrew

	

The Advocate

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May 2012

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The Advocate

May 2012

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May 2012

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Cassie Property Owners Association members have faced many challenges this past year. As President of the Cassie POA my goals were to ensure that Cassie property values were protected by the diligent enforcement of property restrictions; that POA members (membership is conditioned on good standing obtained through the payment of annual dues) were well informed on issues that affect our area; that our community was a safe and enjoyable place to live and visit, and that we continued to be an attractive and respected community in Burnet County. In addition to the above goals, I was and still am absolutely committed to ensuring that the POA Board works closely with the Cassie Community Center Association, the Burnet County Emergency Services District #2 Board  and the Cassie Volunteer Fire Department to secure our safety and maintain the high quality of life I believe we all want for our community.
  
The Cassie Property Owners Association Board works diligently to protect our community from situations which will frustrate the above stated goals. The POA board is comprised of women and men who own property in Cassie and who VOLUNTEER their time to sit as unpaid Directors of the Property Owner’s Association. As an example of the POA Board’s efforts, information letters were sent out in 2011/12 to all the property owners asking them to follow recommendations from the Texas State Forest Service to clear their land of brush and weeds to help prevent fires such as the terrible fires that destroyed much of the Bastrop lost pines area. We greatly appreciate those who cleared their land demonstrating their concern and consideration for their fellow community residents. The POA operates only through the dues collected from members and uses those dues payments for maintenance of the park areas, boat ramp, liability insurance for land ownership, road repairs when there is sufficient funds available to cover that cost and numerous other projects for the benefit of members. We must all work together to protect our property values by maintaining the appearance of our community, which will help make Cassie an attractive and desirable place to live. Those who fail to pay their dues and those who refuse to follow the Cassie rules and regulations endanger the future of our community and place needless burdens on their fellow Cassie residents who wish to see our community thrive. 
                                                        Continued on page 2

PHOTO
(to come)

May 2012

dvocate

CASSIE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. BOX 34
BUCHANAN DAM, TX. 78609
Email: cassiepoa@cassiepoa.org

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP 
(July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013)

NAME OF OWNER: _______________________________________________________________

NAME OF SPOUSE AND/OR CO-OWNER:____________________________________________
 
MAILING ADDRESS:
_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

PHONE NUMBERS: ______________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________
EMAIL ADDRESS:          PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY
 _______________________________________________________________

CASSIE PROPERTY OWNED: LOTS ________, BLOCK ________
CASSIE PROPERTY ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT FROM THE MAILING

ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________________

We are asking for email addresses to improve communication with our members and reduce costs. The POA has an email address now and a web page.
 Please provide your email addresses.
 
THE POA WILL START TOWING UNAUTHORIZED VEHICLES AND TRAILERS FROM ALL POA PROPERTY.

DUES OF $50.00 ARE DUE AND PAYABLE FOR 2012-2013 BY JULY l, 2012.  IF YOU WERE A RESIDENT IN PREVIOUS YEARS AND HAVE NOT PAY PREVIOUS YEAR’S DUES, THE PREVIOUS YEAR’S DUES MUST ALSO BE PAID (Maximum of $250.00) TO REINSTATE YOUR MEMBERSHIP. 

CHECKS SHOULD BE MADE PAYABLE TO CASSIE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. AND MAILED TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS.

PAYMENT RECEIVED By________________________Date______________                                                                         Cassie POA Treasurer

POA ANNUAL MEETING OFFICIAL PROXY

THE POA’S OFFICIAL PROXY MUST BE USED.
IT IS THE ONLY PROXY THAT WILL BE ALLOWED.
IT MUST BE RETURNED IN ITS ENTIRITY.

If you are not able to attend the annual meeting on June 21, 2012
at 7 p.m., please fill out this proxy and send it to:

Cassie Property Owners Association
P. O. Box 34
Buchanan Dam, TX 78609

If you attend, you may cancel this proxy.

The undersigned may not be able to be present at the Annual Meeting of the Cassie Property Owners Association, Inc. that will be held at 7:00 P.M. on June 21, 2012.  I understand I will be able to cancel this proxy if I attend the Annual Meeting.  The undersigned hereby gives Patty Morrow, Treasurer, our proxy to vote on our behalf as set forth below:

DIRECTORS NOMINATED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1. Ron Petrick — Off Water
2. Harry Ransier — On Water
.
.
PLEASE GIVE YOUR PROXY ON MATTERS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE MEETING
I give my proxy to Patty Morrow  to vote on any issue that may be presented for a vote in the POA Annual Meeting on June 21 ,2012 or any adjournment thereof, as she may decide.
_

______________________ ______________________ _______________________
Member's Signature                               Print Member’s Name                                          Date Signed

All Members who paid dues of $50.00 for 2011-12 are eligible to vote.  Your proxy must be received no later then June 16, 2012.    Each  household is entitled to one vote, regardless of the number of joint owners  or the number of Cassie properties owned.

May 2011

The Advocate

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Page 3

Cassie Property
Owners
Association
P. O. Box 34
Buchanan Dam, 
TX 78609

cassiepoa@cassiepoa.org

Board of Directors

Harry  Ransier
President
512 793-2027

Ron Petrick
Vice-President
512-793-2242

Donna Kiley
512 793-6111
Secretary

Patty Morrow
Treasurer
512 658-8946

Greg Hosterman
512 793-2402

John Davis
512 793-3402

Coley Henry
512 793-2839

Chris Conway
512 300-0733

       

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May 2012

The Advocate

Annual Meeting Scheduled
Cassie Property Owners Association
June 21, 2012 7:00 PM

1.	Opening of Meeting
2.	Reading of the Minutes
3.	Treasurer’s Report 
4.	Discussion by Members (three minute maximum per member)
5.	Nomination of Directors form the Floor (Each candidate must be a Cassie resident, property owner, and willing to serve as a director)
6.	Election of Directors
7.	Adjourn

                                                                  Come help us celebrate the 4th of July with a parade that will begin at the Fire Station on July 7th.
 We will gather at 9:30 a.m. with an array of golf carts, tractors, bicycles, wagons and walking groups.  The Parade route will be determined later, but will start and end at Fire Station.  The Fire Department will be hosting the event this year supplying refreshments and  inside facilities. Please join us — or at least wave at us as we go by.

The Directors of the Property Owner’s Association have continued to struggle over the past year with how to best explain why Cassie must have a formally recognized Property Owner’s Association (POA), what the POA does and does not do, and why we need your personal and financial support. We hope that everyone received their copy of the Special Edition of the Advocate sent out in March of 2011. If not call one of the Directors and we will send you one. Bring ideas and concerns to the POA Board. The Board does listen and will take the appropriate action. The POA Board is here to help protect the quality of life and the property values of the Cassie Community. Support your POA with your dues and your involvement.

The entire population of the Highland lakes area and associated communities are in a horrific struggle to protect our vital water resources from abuse and misuse, including the continued loss of businesses around the lakes and the destruction of property values. I urge everyone to join this epic struggle to save our water and join the Central Texas Water Coalition. You can learn about this struggle and what you can do to help protect your lake and your property values by logging on to this website www.OurWater-OurFuture.com  

The Cassie POA Board will continue to interpret and enforce the restrictions, rules, and regulations. Your comments and especially your attendance are welcome at all of our regularly scheduled Board meetings 

Harry Ransier—President

P

As your Board of Directors for the Property Owners Association, we often hear complaints that the POA does very little to maintain or improve the property values within Cassie.  Most often cited is the condition of the streets throughout the area.

In truth, maintenance of the street network throughout Cassie is a shared responsibility with Burnet County.   The POA is responsible for maintaining only the streets shown below:

•	Agarita – Paved ( Note---the POA is coordinating with the county to have the county assume responsibility)
•	Chuck Wagon -- Gravel
•	Bonanza - Paved
•	Apache -Paved
•	Lariat -Paved
•	Sunset- Paved
•	Lasso Loop- Paved

All other streets (paved or unpaved) within Cassie are maintained by Burnet County.  Of note, should the residents along White Tail and Buckboard Trail purchase paving materials, Burnet County would complete the actual paving and maintain the paved surface from that time forward.

After many years of not being able to do so, the POA is financially in a position to assist those residents not living along streets maintained by Burnet County resurface those streets.  The amount of assistance cannot be fully determined at this time, but our plan is to contribute a percentage of the total cost of the resurfacing for each street. The percentage and thus the dollar amount will depend on the number of streets resurfaced and the cost of resurfacing.  

Your Board had several discussions in an attempt to make this support as equitable as possible.  The approach agreed upon is fairly straight forward.  First, in order to qualify for support, all property owners with property fronting the streets outlined above must be members in good standing with the POA defined as current in dues over the last 2 years and the current year.  Streets with even a single property owner not in good standing will not be eligible for support from the POA.  Second, if the street is naturally divided by an intersecting road (such as Apache Trail is naturally divided into two sections, RR690 to Chaparral and Chaparral to the end of Apache), the Board will entertain discussions to pave that street based on the natural division, subject to the limitation that all property owners on the segment must be members in good standing as described above.  Third, upon a 75% MAJORITY vote of property owners in good standing with property fronting a designated street/segment, the Board will designate that street or section as eligible for funds from the POA.  The mechanism for voting has not been finally established, but will likely require either return of a notarized signature page attached to an edition of The Advocate or an “in-person” vote during a specially designated meeting of the POA or  combination thereof. 
Article  continues on  next page

Continued from  page 3

Once the vote has been taken and a “Pave/Don’t Pave” decision made by street or street segment, each street or segment will designate a Point of Contact (POC) to work with the POA Board.  How that POC is designated is to be decided by the property owners of the affected street or segment.  The Board augmented by the designated  POC’s will requests bids for those streets or segments  designated as eligible to receive POA funds ( eligibility decided as described above)  from not less than three vendors.  We will ask that bids be submitted by street or street segment as well as for the total project as the major expense will not be the cost of the materials, but the cost of transporting the equipment to the work site(s).  After Bids are received, the POA Board will reach a preliminary decision as to the amount of POA funds that will be available by street/section and relay that information to the designated POCs.   It is the responsibility of the designated POC(s) to present the bids and availability of POA funds reports to the street/section they represent and report back to the POA Board with a “Proceed/Do Not Proceed” decision.  Based on those reports, the POA Board will work with the POCs to reach a consensus as to the contractor to be selected and the final amount of POA funds allocated by street/section.

With the “Proceed” decision(s) made, street/segment POCs are responsible for collecting and providing funds to the POA Treasurer for the difference between the total cost of paving their designated street/section and the amount allocated that street/section by the POA.  The POA Treasurer will establish a separate account with the bank currently used by the POA to receive and disburse these member funds to accomplish the paving by street/section.  As with POA funds, these funds will require two signatures to be disbursed. 
Once funds have been deposited to cover the costs of the entire member funded portion of the project, then and only then will the POA enter into a contract with the selected contractor to accomplish paving of the selected streets/segments.  The POA Director for Roads and Grounds will oversee the project on behalf of the POA and its members and make the final recommendation to the POA Board to accept the project as finished and recommend final payment to the selected contractor.

Your Board realizes this is not a perfect solution.  Rest assured we have not undertaken this task lightly and are convinced that it is the most fair and equitable use of POA funds available at this time.  There are signs that the economy and attendant housing market may have reached bottom and be poised for recovery.  Moving forward with this project soon offers the residents of Cassie an excellent opportunity to contract for services while costs are still reasonably inexpensive with a belief that the completion of this project will provide maximum benefits to current and future property owners in Cassie

Maintain and Improving Our Streets

Wildfire can strike home if you have not taken some steps to protect your house and property. The actions and precautions listed below are designed to help you prepare your home and lessen the threat of wildland fire damage to you and your property.
1.	LPG tanks should be far enough away from buildings for valves to be shut off in case of fire. Keep area around the tank clear of flammable vegetation.
2.	Store gasoline in an approved safety can away from occupied buildings.
3.	All combustibles such as firewood, wooden picnic tables, boats and stacked lumber should be kept away from structures.
4.	Clear roof surfaces and gutters regularly to avoid build-up of flammable materials such as leaves and other debris.
5.	Remove branches from trees to a height of 15 feet or more.
6.	In rural areas, clear a fuel break of at least three times the fuel length around all structures.
7.	Have fire tools handy such as: ladder long enough to reach your roof, shovel, rake and a bucket or two for water.
8.	Place connected garden hoses at all sides of your home for emergency use.
9.	Assure that you and your family know all emergency exits from your home.
10.	Assure that you and your family know all emergency exits from your neighborhood.

TEN SIMPLE STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR CASSIE HOME FROM WILDLAND FIRE

The Cassie fire fighters are the men and women in our community who answer calls for help. That is the only time we receive calls. We work structure and wild land fires.  Accidents and EMS calls. Missing persons and a variety of other calls and we do it by volunteering our time for training and responding to calls. The rewards for us are the smiling face when we arrive on scene.  All of our calls involve someone in need of help and they are always glad to see us and we are glad to see them. Most of our calls are EMS related and we provide man power for the EMT’S.  We are trained to give CPR and other first aid. Helping others is very rewarding work. If you would like to share in our reward, please come by the Fire Station or call and leave us a message. (512-793-2926) or email us at cassiefiredept@gmail.com. We also have a web site that gives you a lot of information. ( www.cassievfd.com) With the aging of our department, we are always looking for new fire fighters. Today we have 5 fire fighters between 70 and 80 years old and 5 others between the ages of 60 to 70. The other 4 are younger 25 to 45 or the age of some of our socks.

Our new pumper-tanker is on schedule to be delivered in early October 2012. This replacement will put our fleet of 7 vehicles in the best condition in the history of our department. In the past we have purchased someone else’s used equipment, which seemed to always need some type of repairs or broke down on the way to a call. We now drive new and much safer equipment and that sure makes the job better. 

Thank you for your support
Gene Ehler, Chief    

THE FIRE FIGHTER

May 2012

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The residents of Cassie are fortunate to have seven waterfront access areas that all POA members can use.    The members who do not have waterfront property benefit from these areas because they provide access to the lake.  These access areas are located throughout the Cassie with the boat ramp in the center.   There is no lighting on any of the areas, so use is limited to daytime.  Camping is not permitted in Cassie in park or shoreline areas.   Members also need to remember that no brush or other refuse may be dumped in the access areas. These areas are maintained three to four times a year depending on the weed growth and the POA budget.

Some members have graciously maintained access No. 1 and others volunteered to maintain No. 7.   The POA will greatly appreciate anyone who volunteers to maintain an access area.  The maintenance will enhance the appearance of the subdivision.

Keeping Access Areas Clean