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Grand Prairie Pipeline Direct | Splash into Summer Activities

Summer Reading Club

Join the Summer Reading Club at all Grand Prairie libraries!  Come to the library and pick up your reading log.  Kids earn coupons as they read.  Teens and adults earn entries into prize drawings.

Children’s performances are on Mondays at the following times:

  • Warmack Library, 760 Bardin Rd. – 1 p.m.
  • Shotwell Library, 2750 Graham St. – 3:30 p.m.
  • Main Library, 901 Conover Dr. – 6 p.m.

Aug. 3: Life-Size Games (games vary by branch)

Aug. 10: Yoga Kids! with Sarah Sampson of Poser Kids Yoga

Aug. 17: Superhero Spectacular

For more information, call 972-237-5700 or click here.

Low Cost Vaccinations and More

The Spay Neuter Network’s mobile clinic will be doing vaccinations and sterilization surgeries at the Prairie Paws Adoption Center, 2222 W. Warrior Tr., on Monday, Aug. 17.  Appointments must be made in advance for sterilization.  Additionally, the Spay Neuter Network is offering $20 sterilizations on Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes throughout the entire month of August.  Call 972-472-3500 to schedule an appointment or for more information.

More info

Register for After School Programs

Tony Shotwell Life Center

972-237-7529

Picks up from Garcia Elementary, Travis Elementary and Harmony Science Academy

Charley Taylor Recreation Center

972-264-6890

Picks up at Lee Elementary

Dalworth Recreation Center

972-237-4760

Picks up at David Daniels Elementary

Mon-Fri (during school days) 3:20 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Includes: A p.m. snack and organized and supervised activities

$20/week/child (Lee, Garcia, and David Daniels)

$30/week/child (Travis and Harmony Science)

Register now. Spaces fill quickly.

Battle for the Blood:  Grand Prairie vs. Irving

Dallas County Commissioner, Dr. Elba Garcia, has challenged Grand Prairie and Irving to compete for the most summer blood donations.  Let’s show Irving that Team Grand Prairie can win this.

Donate now through August 9!

The mobile donation center will be at various city locations throughout the summer.  Click on the  location to schedule a visit today!

Make sure to state that you’re donating on behalf of Team Grand Prairie!  You may also donate at any Carter BloodCare location.

The winning city will be recognized by Dr. Elba Garcia on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at Commissioners Court in Downtown Dallas.

A party for the winning team will be held on Saturday, Aug. 15.

Neighborhood Enrichment Team

The city of Grand Prairie Neighborhood Enrichment Team (NET) is a collaborative effort between city departments focusing on nuisance and chronic problem properties that have not responded to traditional methods of compliance.  The Police Department, Code Enforcement, Fire Department, Housing and Neighborhood Services, Building Inspections, Environmental Services, Public Works, City Attorney and parks, Arts and Recreation Department are all part of the NET.

To be considered a “Nuisance or Chronic Problem Property,” the property must exhibit repeated non-compliance, constitute a long term public nuisance, or is of such a severe nature that the health, safety, and well-being of the citizens and businesses of the city of Grand Prairie is at risk.

To report a complaint or concern, call 972-237-8296 for assistance.

Hatch Chile Festival
Saturday, Aug. 22

8 a.m.-2 p.m.     Market Square      120 W. Main St.

  Get your hot roasted Hatch chiles at Grand Prairie Farmers Market’s annual Hatch Chile Festival.  Join us for live music, food and much more.  Also, shop the market’s fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, coffee, tea, tamales, jellies and relishes, grass-fed meats, homemade soaps, candles and more.  For more information, visit gptx.org/farmersmarket.

Lake Parks at Joe Pool Lake
Due to May flooding at Joe Pool Lake, Lynn Creek Park and Loyd Park have been partially or fully closed through most of the summer.  The city’s Parks, Arts and Recreation Department has been working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to get the lake parks back to normal.  The city hopes to have parks open for Labor Day weekend, but this is subject to change.
For updates visit:
New and Improved Mobile App
 Grand Prairie residents can download the latest version iof the My GPTX mobile app – a convenient tool for keeping in touch with your city – from iTunes for iPhone/iPad or Google Play for Android.
The app allows users to report issues to city staff (such as code violations, potholes, street light outages, etc.), track service requests, access the city’s phone and email directory, look up council district, trash and recycling days, nearest park and more.
My GPTX (formerly named Snap and Send) is free to download and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and Android devices. Learn more at gptx.org/app
Pipeline Monthly Newsletter
The Pipeline water bill newsletter mails out monthly to residents who receive paper water bills.  The newsletter is filled with city news and events.  To view the Pipeline water bill newsletter online go to: gptx.org/pipeline

Deadlines Approaching

Just a reminder to everyone, July 31st is the last day to apply for a Visitor Parking Permit and also for getting your Pool Pass.

  • On Saturday, August 1st, no one can enter the pool area without a Pool Pass. Pool Passes are limited to 5 persons per pass.
  • Also beginning in August, we will begin tagging and towing cars that are parked in Visitors Lots that belong to homeowners. We still have around 15 Applications available for the remaining Visitor Permits.

“But, I pay my dues”

It seems like anytime we send a Violation warning letter to a resident to inform them that they are in violation of the CC&R or other enforceable HOA rules, we often hear the same phrase, “But, I pay my dues!” Sometimes, they will include “on time” to bolster their position, apparently. We have even had a supplemental phrase of “I pay my taxes!”, although I am unsure what that has to do with HOA rules. We have even had someone tell Terry that their dues pay her salary, so they are her boss. Really??

So, perhaps we should revisit what your monthly, mandatory dues include:

  • Utilities – Water, sewer, trash pickup
  • Maintenance – Exterior painting of your home and trim, exterior woodwork (soffets, facia, gables and other wood areas, excluding entry doors), gutters, front faucet, storage building (excluding framing and doors), common area fences, sidewalks, roadways and a few other things detailed in our documents.

These are the main things your monthly dues cover but also includes payroll, grounds maintenance, landscaping, pool costs and maintenance, and picking up the exorbitant amount of trash people toss out around our 22 acres. We have one maintenance guy whose primary job is to pick up trash that inconsiderate individuals toss out all over the property; his salary is better utilized maintaining the 416 homes here, but we do have prevent the area from looking like a landfill. We also acknowledge and thank the homeowners who pick up trash from near their properties; we have others, mostly renters, who believe we are here to pick up after them, as if we were their Mom.

Parking Permit Program – Update

 

To date, we have less than 15 homeowners apply for a Visitors Parking Permit. Anyone interested has until the July 31 deadline to apply. We will issue a final warning to those violating the Visitor Parking Only rules. In addition to the possible towing of vehicles at $300 each instance, violators are also subject to monetary fines per the CC&R, Fines and Enforcement Policy  and other governing documents.

 

 

Pool Open and New Pool Passes

The Pool is open today at the normal time. We will monitor the chemistry and adjust as needed.

Everyone who has already paid their $5 needs to stop  by the Office and get their Pool Pass. Once fully implemented, no one will be allowed in the Pool without a Pool Pass. There will be a 5 person limit on how many people can be on a single Pool pass.

Below is an example of the pass:

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Visitor Parking Permits and Carports

There seems to be some confusion about one of the requirements to get a rented visitor space, which states:

No visitor parking permits will be issued to any property where these two parking spaces are used for any other purpose than for parking operable motor vehicles. There are boat, trailer and RV storage places where space can be rented for those items or other recreational vehicles.

A few people think this says that you cannot park a boat, trailer or RV camper on your own property under your carport; it says no such thing.  What it does say is that you will not be considered for a rental visitor parking space if you use your carport for something besides a place to park 2 cars.

We remind everyone that we do require any vehicle, boat or trailer to have current registration, inspections, or other state required permits while parked under your carport, as stated in our Parking Rules.  You can be issued fines if they are expired, even under your own carport.

 

 

Trees, Grass and Watering

We ask our residents to please water the recently planted trees and the grass in the common area in the front and rear of your property.  No rain is forecast for many weeks and we need to protect the money we have invested in trees and the 500-600 pounds of grass seed we have sown around the subdivision. The water used to keep the trees and plants alive is part of your HOA dues, you will pay nothing extra.

As a reminder, here is the watering schedule from Grand Prairie:  (the first three restrictions apply to sprinklers)

Current Water Restrictions

The following restrictions are in effect in the city of Grand Prairie: 

  • No watering on Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday.
  • Even Numbered addresses may water on Mondays and Thursdays.
  • Odd numbered addresses may water on Tuesday and Fridays.
  • Handheld and soaker hoses are allowed to be used any time.

*The following restrictions also apply at all times:

  • Residents and business are prohibited from watering their lawns anytime between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
  • When watering, a constant stream of water should not be allowed to flow into the street drainage.
  • Watering during precipitation is prohibited. Rain sensors are required on newer watering systems.

Pool Still Closed

We are working to get things fixed and the chemistry back where it needs to be.  Our chemical costs have increased with the increase in swimmers, some who are non-residents and acting like this is a public pool.

“Why can’t I have 4 cars”?

I recently had a resident ask this question. He was genuinely trying to find an answer. After I explained things to him, I invited him to attend the August 6th Board meeting; I thought the actual numbers might explain things better:

  • Townhouses –  416
  • Spaces under carports (2) –  832  
  • 4 cars per home –  1,664
  • Spaces needed to park the other 2 cars –  832
  • Number of Visitor Spaces –  249

The numbers show we are 583 parking spaces short for all residents to have 4 cars per household. Yes, this is a worse case scenario, but it does illustrate the problem.

Where are visitors supposed to park if residents continually fill up the visitor lots? That’s the problem we are addressing, entirely too many residents parking in the Visitor Lots. Whether or not there are empty Visitor spaces available is irrelevant.