2021 Archive of Events
We Are the Nuttiest Neighborhood in Plano for 2021
In a presentation by North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) revealing the results for the 2021 Peanut Butter Drive, Whiffletree was recognized as the Nuttiest Neighborhood in Plano by Plano Mayor Pro Tem, Kayci Prince. This award goes to the Plano neighborhood with the highest donation amount per household. Congratulations to all Whiffletree neighbors and thank you for your generous donations, which totaled $5,063 (combination of online donations as well as physical peanut butter), up almost 3X over 2019 and up 50% over 2020.
We were part of the annual NTFB Peanut Butter Drive that exceeded $347,000, up from $222,000 in 2020. Thank you to all the Whiffletree neighbors that showed incredible generosity. Our donations help the NTFB feed the 1 in 6 food insecure families in North Texas!
2021 Board Minutes
Board Meeting Minutes
Holiday Safety Webinar via Zoom (Dec. 14, 2021)
Fall Into Fitness Competition (Nov 1-30, 2021)
City of Plano Neighborhood Services is again challenging neighborhoods to compete in the 2nd annual Fittest Neighborhood Competition (won last year by Whiffletree). This competition runs during the entire month of November in which neighbors run, ride, lift, play or just be active. You can encourage and motivate one another. You can also schedule group activities, like neighborhood strolls, morning yoga meetups, etc. November 1-30, you track and report your activities onto a website. The more intense the activity, the more points you’ll earn. The neighborhood and individuals with the most points win! Prizes include ribbon/medal for top 3 individual men and women finishers along with Plano Recreation Center memberships, and of course bragging rights to the top finishing neighborhood! Can you help Whiffletree repeat?
Each individual within a neighborhood who wants to participate needs to sign up for this event at https://my.raceresult.com/184011/. There is drop down menu to select Whiffletree V, VI, VII as your neighborhood. You then receive email confirming your registration along with some rules and instructions on where and how to upload your activities once the competition starts on November 1.
Let’s go Whiffletree neighbors! Sign up for this event and track your workouts in November and receive the benefits of an active life!
WHOA Board Meeting - Oct 25, 2021 @ 6PM via Zoom
All Whiffletree neighbors are invited to attend upcoming Whiffletree HOA Board meeting on Monday, October 25 at 6:00 PM. This meeting is estimated to take up to 60 minutes. This event will be held via Zoom. To join the meeting click on the link below:
https://netapp.zoom.us/j/9728373705
6:00 PM Whiffletree Board meeting agenda:
- Old business:
- Approve minutes of the last board meeting (September 20, 2021)
- Committee reports:
- Social - Angela Hurn
- Membership – HB Bartz
- Treasurer – Bill Ostergren
- Welcoming – Lucy Lorenzo
- Crime Watch including review of National Night Out on 10/5 – Tom Moore
- Beautification – Tom Dixon
- Other Old Business
- Garage sale on 10/2 – Lisa Kravitz
- Peanut Butter Drive – Tommy Mrazek
- BEST application status – Jim Skelly
- Status of vote to amend covenants – Jim Skelly
- Any new business
- Open Forum/Questions & Answers where neighbors can ask questions
Regards,
Jim Skelly
Tel: 214-505-0862
National Night Out, October 5, 2021
National Night Out was held at Prairie Meadow Park on Tuesday, October 5. National Night Out is an annual event established to enhance the relationships neighbor-to-neighbor and with law enforcement. As we have done in the past, we invited our friends from Estates of Forest Creek (EFC). In total we hosted over 100 neighbors from Whiffletree and EFC. Everyone enjoyed the delicious ice cream from Handel’s. We were honored that Mayor, John Muns, and Police Chief, Ed Drain, joined us. They both spoke to all the attendees and then spent a significant time speaking with many individual neighbors. We sincerely thank Mayor Muns and Chief Drain for spending time with Whiffletree and EFC neighbors. We also, want to thank City of Plano for providing these and other photos of Whiffletree HOA, which we have saved onto Whiffletree website.
Short Video: Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSk32gy3qGA to view the video from the City of Plano taken at a number of NNO events across Plano, including the NNO event celebrated by Whiffletree and Estates of Forest Creek.
Annual Neighborhood Garage Sale - Oct. 2, 2021
We heard your requests and the Whiffletree Neighborhood Garage Sale will be held a little earlier this year! This year the Neighborhood Garage Sale will be held on October 2, 2021. Before that day, WHOA will put up a banner indicating the neighborhood garage sale is happening. This is a good time to clean out unwanted items and have a garage sale when others in the neighborhood are having garage sales at the same time. There is no cost to participate in the neighborhood garage sale. To participate, simply have a garage sale on October 2, 2021. Sometimes, neighbors will combine their sales together, which makes it a little more fun!
Each household is responsible for their own garage sale permit which is FREE. Click this link to the City of Plano website for information about holding a garage sale in Plano, https://www.plano.gov/335/Garage-Sales. We will make posts on various websites that advertise garage sales. When you apply for a garage sale permit with City of Plano, your garage sale will be added to a map indicating homes that are having sales. No other advertising is needed!
The 2021 Texas Recycles Day is on November 13. It is held in the Chase Oaks Church parking lot. This is a great way to donate items you didn't sell at your garage sale. For more information, see https://www.plano.gov/649/Texas-Recycles-Day.
Here are some tips that may help you in getting ready for a garage sale.
- Make an inventory list of what you want to sell
- Group items that can be put in a box and sold at a general price, like books or toys
- Get price stickers (you can find these at an office supply store)
- Get or make signs - see the City of Plano website above for rules about signs
- Decide how you are going to display items - do you need tables? Will everything be on the driveway?
- Get cash for change: $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills, and maybe a roll of quarters
- You may consider using a payment service like Venmo in addition to cash
- Have shopping bags or cardboard boxes on hand to help people carry their goods.
Annual Peanut Butter Drive for North Texas Food Bank
Whiffletree is supporting the Annual Peanut Butter Drive for the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). The program runs September 1-30. There are over 44,000 food insecure children in Collin County and we can help address hunger in our region. In the past two years our Whiffletree neighbors have donated over 5,000 pounds of Peanut Butter. Our goal is to be awarded the "Nuttiest Neighborhood" title for 2021.
For this year's drive, we are pushing a virtual drive. We are encouraging the Whiffletree Homeowners to donate virtually. The giving page can be found at https://give.ntfb.org/site/TR/Events/General?pg=team&fr_id=1070&team_id=1437. Also, this information will be available on our website: www.mywhiffletreehoa.com. All the proceeds collected through drive will go to the peanut butter purchased by NTFB. Collectively, we can provide a meaningful contribution to this program. Any support you can provide will be appreciated.
Note that every $1 donated on the NTFB giving page for Whiffletree will be converted into 16 oz. of peanut butter.
If you want to donate physical peanut butter, you can drop off your donation(s) by donating the peanut butter or alternative products on the front porch of the home of Tommy & Debbie Mrazek, 7325 Paul Calle Drive. There will be a labeled container on the porch for these donations. Almond butter is also acceptable. If you prefer to donate with a check, make it out to WHOA and drop the check at Tommy & Debbie Mrazek's home in the container on his front porch. We will accumulate all of the checks and make a corresponding donation for the neighborhood on the NTFB website.
Other arrangements can also be made as needed to collect donations and we welcome any additional involvement or ideas that you might have. Tommy can be contacted by sending an e-mail to deltatommy@aol.com.
Thanks for all you do to support our neighborhood and of those in need in our community!!
Board Meeting & Property Standards Info - Sep. 20, 2021 via ZOOM @ 6PM
Our upcoming Whiffletree HOA Board meeting was held on Monday, September 20 at 6:00 PM via ZOOM and lasted for approximately 45 minutes. Immediately following the Board meeting will be a presentation by Plano Property Standards representative, Dan Christensen, who covers the Whiffletree area.
6:00 PM Whiffletree Board meeting agenda:
- OLD BUSINESS:
- Approve minutes of the last board meeting (August 23, 2021)
- Committee reports:
- Social - Angela Hurn
- Membership – HB Bartz
- Treasurer – Bill Ostergren
- Welcoming – Lucy Lorenzo
- Crime Watch including National Night Out on 10/5 – Tom Moore
- Beautification – Tom Dixon
- OTHER OLD BUSINESS
- Status of vote to amend covenants – Jim Skelly
- Peanut Butter Drive – Tommy Mrazek
- BEST application status – Jim Skelly
- Garage sale on 10/2 – Lisa Kravitz
- ANY NEW BUSINESS
- Open Forum/Questions & Answers where neighbors can ask questions
6:45 PM Presentation by Dan Christenson with topics to include city ordinances and common violations to name a few issues of interest.
Whiffletree Patriotic Parade & Picnic - July 3, 2021
Our annual Patriotic Parade and Picnic was held on July 3rd at Prairie Meadow Park at 10:30am. Paid HOA members enjoyed hamburgers and sides from The Hamburger Man including iced treats for the kids.
Prizes for the best decorated wagon, scooter, bicycle, and person were awarded Baskin Robbins gift cards to enjoy a cool treat during the hot summer.
Check out the pictures by clicking on PHOTOS in the menu bar of this website.
Whiffletree Is a "Newsletter of the Year" Winner (2021)
Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) is proud to announce that two Plano neighborhoods, Estates of Forest Creek and Whiffletree V, VI, VII won Newsletter of the Year and came in as a finalist for Neighborhood of the Year at the 2021 Neighborhoods USA Conference!
We will hear from both winners as they share some tips on what makes a great newsletter and neighborhood. Also hear about their experience at the NUSA Conference ... what they learned, what you need to know about NUSA and why you should attend the 2022 Conference in Little Rock, AK!
2021-2022 WHOA Annual Meeting and Board Election
Whiffletree Homeowner Association (WHOA) held its Annual Meeting on April 5, 2021 via Zoom. This meeting included the election of WHOA Board Officers and Committee Chairpersons. We also reviewed proposed budget for fiscal year, April 1, 2021-March 31, 2022, and discussed topics important to Whiffletree residents. Following the business meeting, a presentation was given by Frances Adams, City of Plano Recycling Education Coordinator. The presentation was very interesting and provided an opportunity for questions.
CLICK HERE to view the Minutes from the Annual Meeting.
CLICK HERE to view the Recycling Presentation
WHOA Annual Meeting 2021
Recycling PresentationHow to shut off your water if your pipes freeze and burst (2021)
A short article has been written in response to neighbors who are asking where their main water shutoff valve is located and how to shut off water in the event of frozen and then burst pipes. Pictures are included to help explain the steps to follow. This short article was written by a fellow neighbor (Jim Skelly).
CLICK HERE to review the "How to shut-off your water" in case of emergency.
Short-term Rentals in Whiffletree? How do you feel about this? (2021)
Recently several of our neighbors have contacted the Whiffletree HOA board members about short-term rentals entering Whiffletree. They were concerned that short-term rentals like Airbnb could turn some residential homes into mini-hotels. We need to decide as a neighborhood if that concerns us enough to take action to try to suppress it. For example if your neighbor decided to sell his/her home to an investor who planned to rent the home out by the day, week or month - would that concern you? Would you be concerned about the potential for noise, traffic/available parking, partying, upkeep of the property and frequent turnover of renters?
The reason I am reaching out to you today is that our covenants (as currently written) as well as the City of Plano ordinances do not prohibit short-term rentals. If, as a community, short-term rentals significantly concern us, we would need to hire legal representation to update the covenants, and that could cost a few thousand dollars. Beyond that it could cost significantly more if/when we have to enforce the covenants in the future.
The first step, however, is to take the temperature of our neighborhood and get a feel for whether this is a significant issue to you. If it is, we would need 75% of our 477 homes voting in the affirmative to amend the covenants to block future short-term rental properties in Whiffletree.
Would you please tell me your view on this topic? CLICK HERE to submit your feedback.
If interest is high, we will investigate options to deal with this by updating our covenants to prevent short-term rentals. Thank you in advance for your input, and I hope all residents will respond back to me with your views on this issue.