Hungry? Ready for a picnic? Having company for Mother’s Day? Treat yourself! This Saturday, May 7, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is the 45th annual Chicken BBQ.

This year delicious smoked brisket will be available to purchase in addition to the chickens and sausage (all lovingly smoked on the St. Mark’s BBQ pits) as well as all the trimmings (coleslaw, beans & brownies). Plan ahead and order early (especially the brisket–it goes fast) or just come by on Saturday and satisfy your hunger.

A downloadable order form is available online (or you can pick up an order form at the church). Drop your completed order form and payment at the church office and we’ll have your order ready to pick up between 10:30 and 2:00 Saturday.

Prices are: Half chicken @ $3.75 each, Sausage @ $1.00 per 1/4 lb. link, Brisket $8.00 per lb. (in 1/4 lb. increments) The BBQ coincides with the City Council Election, as well as the St. Mark’s Day School carnival, so it will be a busy and fun-filled day!

 

On Saturday, April 23, we will be participating in the city-wide program, It’s My Park Day for a work day on both of our trails: Gus Fruh and Homedale! We have developed quite a skilled core team of trail leaders and workers, and both trails are in need of our attention. The Austin Parks Foundation, which sponsors the city program, is helping us recruit additional volunteers through their website and other promotional activities.

To date, we have commitments from two groups of young volunteers: the University of Texas Service Group and the Travis County Juvenile Probation ­Community Service Group. We will need the help of our neighborhood volunteers to guide the process and balance all that youth with wisdom!

Please come join us for a hopefully beautiful spring day sprucing up our Greenbelt trails. We are bound to have lots of fun and the reward of a day well spent with visible results that many others can enjoy. Please RSVP as soon as possible to gleeful@earthlink.net to sign up for the trail work day. You can come for all or part of the day. Please indicate which trail you would like to work on. Stan Ostrum will be guiding the work at the Gus Fruh trail and I will be guiding the work at the Homedale Trail. John Cook, our COA Parks Partner, will be trailboss for the Gus Fruh trail renovation efforts.

Recent Work Day Report

After twice re-scheduling due to inclement weather, on March 5 the clouds held the rain in check long enough for us to assemble at the Gus Fruh Trail and give it some vigorous tender- loving care. We had twenty-five spirited neighbors show up and put muscle and mind to the tasks at hand. Together, we contributed 90 hours of service to our Greenbelt.

At the end of the day, there were large mounds of ligustrum carcasses spread throughout the top portion of the trail. They had been converted from invasive pests to new homesteads for wildlife. The Invasive Species Crew was enthusiastic and merciless!

We have begun an ambitious renovation of the steep switchback trail, which was suffering from extensive erosion damage. All of the cross-trail drainage bars will be replaced with newly designed ones that will be both more effective, and definitely more aesthetic than the rubber tire strips. The entire trail will also be resurfaced. At the end of our March work day, one-half of the switchback trail had been excavated for the new drainage bars. Since that work day, John Cook has had the help of an AmeriCorps group to excavate the rest of the drainage bars. We are optimistic that this renovation work will restore the trail to its former wheelchair accessible status.

Other March work day accomplishments: The entrance to the trail was tidied, pulling back invading ivy and the small host of sticker weeds that were popping back up (a much reduced population after last year’s weeding frenzy), and re-establishing the lines of the rock border. Also, our Clean-up Crew came upon a tangle of old barbed wire ranch fencing and wrestled with it, bringing it to the trailhead to be hauled off with the bags of bottles, cans & cast-off clothing.

PLEASE COME OUT AND JOIN US FOR THE APRIL 23 WORK DAY

 

#1. The BHNA newsletter is coming!

Another fine edition of the best news in this part of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge zone is coming and will be delivered to all neighborhood residences this weekend. This is an expansion of our past practice where we only did neighborhoodwide delivery for the January and June editions, and just to members in April and October. You can of course see the newsletter online at www.bhna.net (probably late today or tomorrow).

Why are we doing this? Well, of course it is because we are a community and our strength and influence, as well as our vitality, friendliness, and enjoyment, is measured by the active engagement of our members and potential members (residents). The newsletter is self-supported by our wonderful sponsors, so please do make a special effort to support them.

# 2. Uncle Barton Wants You!

WE NEED A VOLUNTEER TO STEER THE JULY 4TH COMMITTEE. WE HAVE A HOW-TO MANUAL FROM LAST YEAR SO THIS IS A BREEZE AND LOTS OF FUN, AND WHAT A GREAT SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU WILL HAVE WHEN YOU SEE EVERYONE CELEBRATING BECAUSE OF YOUR EFFORT. PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP. THANKS.

#3. BHNA MEETING THIS TUESDAY, APRIL 12, STARTING AT 6PM. Your Attendance Needed AGAIN!

We again have a very important neighborhood meeting this Tuesday, April 12th, with Green Mesquite barbecue on the deck at St. Mark’s starting at 6 pm. We have a full agenda, with an Open Forum, and I am strongly encouraging your attendance. This time we might actually have a crisis in the making that we need to pay attention to. As seen in the recent emails regarding HB 2833, the Legislature is considering a bill that would effectively remove the protections of the SOS Ordinance that limit impervious cover in our neighborhood. As you know, this is of profound consequence to our neighborhood planning efforts; SOS is our unique safeguard for securing the beauty and quality of this “planning” area and ensuring current patterns of land use and population density. AND REGARDLESS OF THE LIFE OF THIS BILL, IT SHOWS THAT WE NEED TO GALVANIZE AS A COMMUNITY TO SECURE OUR FUTURE THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN!!

This and many others are all issues of vital interest to our community. And our influence is ultimately based on how active and large our membership is and the strength of our resolve. So please do come. And please help us with turnout by strongly encouraging friends and neighbors to attend as well.

The agenda is below (remember, our social hour/barbecue starts at 6 pm, outside on the deck, enjoying a beautiful spring evening on the Greenbelt; the General meeting then starts at 7pm).

Thanks. We look forward to seeing you this Tuesday evening.

Don Long
President
Barton Hills Neighborhood Association


Barton Hills Neighborhood Association General Meeting

April 12, 2005, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

AGENDA

Start: Welcome – Debby Kalk – 7:00

1. Approval of Minutes – Diana Stangl

2. Barton Hills Neighborhood Watch – John Luther, BHNA NW Director – 7:10

3. Zilker Botanical Gardens (without user fees) – Melvin Hinson, ZBG Manager – 7:30

4. Neighborhood Planning Series of Speakers: Special Guest, Terry Harris, Attorney – Legal issues and Q&A; regarding property law, deed restrictions, etc. – 7:45

5. Neighborhood Planning Update – Next steps (survey, Fall fundraiser) – 8:10

6. ANC Report – Eddie Torres – 8:15

7. Committee Reports – 8:20

– 1. Greenbelt Guardian – Glee Ingram
– 2. Sidewalks – Jen Stuart

8. Open Forum – BHNA Members – 8:30

Adjourn

 
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