Offer People a Place to Sit

Homeowners in HOAs can propose their Boards consider adding a bench or chairs in common areas.  "Good things that can happen:   Meet neighbors while you're building it" (volunteers could build or watch construction).  "Kids sit there to wait for the bus in the morning. Older people stop to rest during evening strolls.... A bench or chairs can transform a lonely space into a lively place.”  Says Jay Walljasper in The Great Neighborhood Book.    http://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/create-commons-your-own-front-yard

Smile, Wave, Greet Everyone

"A great neighborhood is a friendly neighborhood," says Jay Walljasper in The Great Neighborhood Book.

Walk in the Neighborhood

Lively neighborhoods filled with people are safe neighborhoods. Simply get out and take a walk. Eyes on the street make more difference than police cars on patrol. From The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper.

Dog Gone? HOAs Aid in Finding Lost Pets

The bond between people and pets is strong, and panic quickly sets in when a furry family member goes missing. A community association often can reunite pets with their owners by using their neighborhood communications network.

A Frisco HOA set up a pet registration with collar tag (with name of HOA) that the homeowners may obtain at no charge. The tag is a coated cardboard that a homeowner had made on her own to begin the program.  Recently the homeowners have asked the association to upgrade to metal to ensure that the tag is not damaged if the pet gets wet. Homeowners know to contact the onsite office first and the guardhouse after hours.

The association staff also keeps a record on file in an excel spreadsheet so they can search by type of dog, color, name, address.  They also send out emails to the homeowners with a picture of the lost dog.  The longest it has taken for them to find a lost pet’s owner is approximately 4 hours.

The HOA staff uses Constant Contact, an e-mail system, to send out the Friday news eblasts and lost pet reports.  Homeowners can sign up to receive these eblasts on two different databases.  Some of the residents do not want to receive the Lost and Found pet report and others want both eblasts sent to them.

An Allen HOA dedicates a section for pet photos on their association website. That way, if a pet is found  in the community, owners can check the website to see if it belongs to another owner and reunite the pet with its people. What could be better than having a great neighborhood for pets, as well as people?