Groundhog Day

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A survey was created on the Bent Tree NextDoor page a couple of days ago. The survey introduction says “A sample question of why you moved to Bent Tree. Completely anonymous with one selection. The results cannot be altered by the author. Surveys are the key to determine our future direction. Thanks in advance. More survey questions to follow. Survey question to guide Bent Tree future direction”.

Here are some thoughts:

  • Bent Tree Community, Inc. is not affiliated with the Bent Tree NextDoor group.
  • Only a small subset of Bent Tree property owners are members of the NextDoor group.
  • Multiple persons owning a piece of property can participate in the survey (it is not limited to one response per property).
  • There are members of the BT NextDoor group who no longer own property in Bent Tree, but they can participate in the survey.
  • Some members of the group live in Bent Tree but do not own property in Bent Tree (i.e. renters). Those renters can participate in the survey.
  • Some members of the group live outside of Bent Tree but NextDoor puts them in the Bent Tree “neighborhood”.  Even though they don’t own property in BT, they can participate in the survey.
  • Was the survey purposely aimed only at people who “moved to Bent Tree”?  What about those who own unimproved lots, or those who own houses in Bent Tree but never actually “moved” there?

The survey gives only six options for “why you moved to Bent Tree” and participants can only choose one.  The choices are:

  1. Tennis and pickle ball
  2. The mountain lifestyle and our wildlife
  3. Our Lake and beach
  4. Golf course
  5. Gated security
  6. House prices

There are other amenities in Bent Tree, such as the Stables and the swimming pools. I know someone who bought in Bent Tree primarily for the stables, but that isn’t even an option on the survey. Some people bought property in Bent Tree for investment purposes (flipping property, rental property, etc.).

The author of the survey most likely has only good intentions. But, there is no way the results of the NextDoor survey could guide Bent Tree’s future direction. As one person so aptly stated, “The survey has absolutely no validity.”

 

Critters Crossing

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cropped-P1420823-2022-0616-poults-use.jpg

Earlier this month I posted a photo of a doe and wild turkey poults in Bent Tree. The photo was taken last June. That was actually the last photo in a series. Here are some more photos, from that day last summer, that tell more of the story.  I stopped to let a doe and turkey cross the road, then saw a couple of poults. Then they just kept coming. It was like the doe was the crossing guard for the turkeys.

June 16, 2022 - Scene in Bent Tree

June 16, 2022 – Scene in Bent Tree (click image to zoom in)

Firefighter Graduation Ceremony on Thursday

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On January 19th, Bent Tree Public Safety will hold a graduation ceremony to recognize those who graduated from the 2022 Bent Tree Fire Rescue Basic Firefighter training course.

The graduates are now official state Registered Volunteer Firefighters. Three of the graduates are Bent Tree residents (one of the three is a also member of the BTCI Board of Directors).

The Bent Tree community is invited to attend the event scheduled for 5:45 p.m. (January 19) in the Club Tamarack Recreation Room. Attendees will get to see a summary of what the training entailed. Check the latest BTCI Friday News email for more details.

 

 

Board Work Session Tuesday

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A Board work session is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday (January 17) in the Club Tamarack Recreation Room. The work session information packet (22 pages) is available on the official Bent Tree website.  Several proposed amendments to the Rules & Regs are included.

One of the topics to be discussed is “Revision of square footage requirements for homes”. Here are some of my thoughts:

  • Yesterday, on a NextDoor social media site, someone stated “The minimum square footage requirement was raised by the BT Board…”.
    • Actually, the minimum square footage requirement was raised by a 2004 amendment to the BTCI CC&Rs. Amendments require not only the declarant’s approval, but approval by the required number of property owner votes.
  • The same person also wrote “It came to light during the orientation sessions that this change could be voted on by the board.”
    • Actually, the board could vote to send it out as a proposed amendment to the CC&Rs. It would then be up to the property owners to decide whether or not to make that change.

I did email my thoughts on the subject to the board members.