Neighborhood Meeting: Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 5:30 PM in the main conference room of the Blacksburg Motor Company Building at 400 South Main Street.

Planning Commission Public Hearing: Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 7:30 PM in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers on the 2nd floor of the Municipal Building at 300 South Main Street.

Questions? Call the Planning and Building Department at 540-961-1126 and visit www.blacksburg.gov.

Small markers have been placed at the base of the most vulnerable trees. To “adopt” a tree simply write your family name on the marker with a waterproof felt-tip pen. Then make certain that the tree receives 6 to 10 gallons of water per week (preferably not all at once; 6 if we get significant rain, 10 if not). Note that we do not yet have an outlet at the shelter so you will need to bring water from your home.

Thanks for your help.

Update: The cell phone has been found. Thanks!

At the meeting, neighbors voiced opinions on both sides of the issue. The final vote was 20 to 3 in favor of adopting the fee. The change will be enacted by a revision to Article XIV of the Wyatt Farm By-Laws. The new version of the by-laws has been posted to the neighborhood web site.

We again want to thank Heavener Rental for the donation of their bobcat and auger, which helped immensely with the installation process. Next time you rent something from those fine folks please mention our playground and extend your personal thanks to them. It’s always helpful for them to realize their efforts are truly appreciated.

And thanks again to Terry Whitesell from Woodbine, who provided key playground-installation advice and expertise. Thanks, Terry!

From the amount of use the playground has gotten in this first month, I think we can proclaim it a big hit! Happy playing!

We thank everyone for their contributions to the playground construction effort, be it large or small. Every step helped! It will be virtually impossible to name names, and we’d certainly leave someone out inadvertently. So we’ll just say thank you, thank you, thank you!

We do specifically want to thank Heavener Rental for donating the bobcat and auger for hole-drilling day! That saved us quite a bit!

Thanks also to Terry Whitesell from Woodbine, who provided very helpful advice based on his experience of putting playgrounds together in the past. Terry met with us several times throughout the planning stages, and helped with the crucial step of staking out the hole locations. Thanks, Terry!

We hope everyone enjoys the playground!

[Update] The proposal files have now been separated for easier download:

• Proposal Summary (start here)
• 3D rendering of playground layout (landscape shown is not representative of our plan)
• Playground Model (top view), Annotated
• Playground Model (top view)
• Line item quote for playground equipment
• Line item quote for landscape elements

Homeowners are asked to download and review the proposal carefully, then come to the Annual Meeting on December 10 at which the playground committee will present the proposal and answer any questions. Following the discussion, a vote on the proposal will be taken.

If you absolutely cannot attend the meeting, you may submit your vote on the proposal by proxy, which must be signed and delivered to the meeting by another homeowner. Only one vote may be submitted, in person or by proxy, per lot. The proxy voting form can be downloaded here.